Tagged: ads-b

Setting up a FLARM Receiver with an RTL-SDR and Orange Pi Zero: Tracking Gliders and Helicopters

Most people already know about ADS-B aircraft tracking, but few know about FLARM (FLight AlaRM). FLARM is a low cost and low power consumption ADS-B alternative which is often used by small aircraft such as gliders and helicopters for collision avoidance. It is used all over the world, and is especially popular in Europe, however it is almost non-existent within the USA.

Back in 2014 we posted about FLARM reception with the RTL-SDR, and also about the Open Glider Network (OGN). The OGN is an online FLARM aggregator that is similar to sites like flightaware.com and flightradar24.com which aggregate ADS-B data.

More recently, Łukasz C. Jokiel has posted a tutorial on his blog that clearly shows how to set up an RTL-SDR and Raspberry Pi Zero based FLARM receiver for feeding the Open Glider Network. 

Łukasz’s tutorial uses an Orange Pi Zero which is a very cheap (~$7 USD) Raspberry Pi embedded computing device. He also uses an RTL-SDR dongle and an antenna tuned to the FLARM frequency of 868 MHz. The tutorial goes over the Linux commands for installing the decoder, calibrating the RTL-SDR and setting up the Open Glider Network feeder.

Remember that FLARM is typically 10-100 times weaker than ADS-B so a good tuned antenna is required, and the OGN recommend building (pdf) a collinear coax antenna tuned to 868 MHz.

A Commercial FLARM receiver.
A Commercial FLARM sender/receiver.

SDRplay RSP1 & RSP2 Now Support ADS-B Decoding on the Raspberry Pi 2 & 3

Over on the official SDRplay blog, head of marketing Jon has announced that the RSP1 & RSP2 is now compatible with their dump1090 ADS-B decoders for the Raspberry Pi 2 & 3. They write:

ADS-B for both RSP1 and RSP2 now available for the Raspberry Pi 2 & 3 – you can get the software from downloads – http://www.sdrplay.com/downloads

If you are an RSP2 user, make sure you use Antenna Port B.

The RSP2
The SDRplay RSP2

 

A Tutorial on Using a Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless for ADS-B Flight Tracking

Allaboutcircuits.com contributing writer Mark Hughes has recently posted a tutorial that shows how to use an RTL-SDR dongle with a Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless to track aircraft with ADS-B. As a bonus he also shows how to program and wire up a 64×64 RGB matrix screen to display currently tracked flight numbers.

The Pi Zero is one of the cheapest single board computers available, costing only $5 USD, and the wireless model with WiFi connectivity only costs $10 USD. It is powerful enough with its 1 GHz CPU and 512 MB of RAM to run an RTL-SDR and run several non CPU intensive applications such as ADS-B decoding.

The tutorial starts from the beginning by installing a fresh Raspbian image onto the Pi Zero. He then goes on to show how to install the PiAware tracking and feeding software from flightaware.com. Later in the tutorial he also shows how to collect data straight from the flightaware.com API, and also how to build and control an RGB matrix which can display live flight numbers.

It also seems that FlightAware themselves have recently released PiAware 3.5, which now directly supports the Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless.

Track Overhead Flights with a Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless, a Software Defined Radio, and FlightAware

FlightAware Prostick Plus Now Available in our Store

The FlightAware ProStick Plus is an modified RTL-SDR designed specifically for ADS-B reception. Its main defining feature is that it has a built in low noise figure LNA, and a 1090 MHz SAW filter. The LNA reduces the noise figure of the RTL-SDR, improving ADS-B reception and thus increasing the number of messages received and the receivable range of aircraft. The SAW filter helps remove out of band signals which can cause the RTL-SDR to overload if they are particularly strong. The Prostick Plus also comes with a TCXO, and SMA connector.

If you are mainly interested in ADS-B reception, or are looking to set up an ADS-B station then the Prostick Plus is one of the best choices you can make. See our previous review here.

We are now reselling some of FlightAware’s Prostick Plus dongles in our store now. They cost $24.95 USD including free shipping worldwide. We intend to sell them mainly to customers outside of the USA, as FlightAware already sell them officially on Amazon, but we offer free shipping anywhere in the world.

Click here to visit our store

The Pro Stick Plus RTL-SDR based ADS-B Receiver from FlightAware.
The Pro Stick Plus RTL-SDR based ADS-B Receiver from FlightAware.

Radio For Everyone: Testing Several ADS-B Antennas Under $50

Over on his blog ‘Radio for Everyone’ Akos has shared results submitted to him by FlightAware forum user ‘Nitr0’ which compares several ADS-B antennas that cost under $50 USD. The antenna that we most recommend for ADS-B is the FlightAware antenna, but for European buyers there are also many lower cost alternatives available on eBay, most of which are made by fellow radio hobbyists or hams. The tests use the six antennas listed below, comparing each one against the ‘reference’ FlightAware antenna.

  1. The FlightAware Antenna – $45 USD
  2. A Bulgarian made antenna by LZ3RR – $31 USD + shipping
  3. A Slovakian made collinear antenna by stanislavpalo130 – $25 USD + shipping
  4. A Slovakian made 5/8 antenna by stanislavpalo130 – $24 USD
  5. RTL-SDR stock antenna – Included with generic RTL-SDRs
  6. A 3.5 dBi loaded whip – $3 to $15 USD

In summary the tests seem to show that nothing beats the FlightAware antenna, with the closest in performance being the Bulgarian made antenna. We should mention however, without knowing the real radiation patterns, SWR and various other factors it is hard to say which one will work best for everyone. Different locations/obstacles/mountings could mean that antennas with different designs and therefore radiation patterns work better than others. But it seems that the FlightAware antenna is the top performer in the common scenario of being able to mount the antenna on a roof with a good view of the horizon.

Two ADS-B antennas being tested by Akos.
Two ADS-B antennas being tested by Nitr0.

Radioforeveryone New Posts: PiAware Step-By-Step Guide and a Guide to Feeding Other ADS-B Aggregrators

Akos from the radioforeveryone.com blog has recently uploaded some new posts. The first post is a tutorial on setting up a PiAware server with an RTL-SDR. PiAware is the official ADS-B feeder software from FlightAware.com, which is a web service that provides real time tracking of aircraft. Most of the flight data comes from volunteers around the world running a PiAware server with an RTL-SDR, ADS-B antenna and Raspberry Pi. The installation is fairly simple, involves burning an SDcard with the PiAware image, setting up the WiFi and then seeing your receiver online on the PiAware website. From there you can then configure the device further.

In the second post Akos describes how to feed other tracking websites, e.g. not just FlightAware, but also similar sites like Planefinder.net and flightradar24.com. Akos has also mentioned that a single Raspberry Pi can be used to feed all three aggregators simultaneously.

FlightAware vs FlightRadar24 vs Planefinder Plots
FlightAware vs FlightRadar24 vs Planefinder Plots

Radio For Everyone New Posts: Building an ADS-B Station, Easy Homemade Beginner ADS-B Antennas

Akos the author of the radioforeveryone.com blog has recently added two new articles to his blog. The first post is a comprehensive guide to setting up your own ADS-B station. The guide focuses on creating a system that is easy to use, has good performance and is value for money. In the post he shows what type of computing hardware is required, what software can be used and what RTL-SDR dongles work best. He also shows what choices are available when it comes to amplification and filtering to improve signal reception and goes on to talk a bit about adapters and the antennas that work best for him.

BuildingADS-Bstation
Building a ADS-B station

 In the second post Akos shows more on how to build your own beginners antennas for ADS-B reception. The post focuses on showing how to modify the stock magnetic mount antenna that comes with most RTL-SDR dongles, and how to build a half-wave ‘spider’ antenna entirely out of coax cable. The post is full of easy to follow images which make it great for beginners.

EDIT: It’s been pointed out in the comments by antenna experts/enthusiasts that the 1/2 wave ground plane antenna described by Akos in his tutorial may not be technically correct. A 1/2 wave antenna has a huge impedance which requires some sort of matching. Without matching there is going to be about 10 dB of loss due to the mismatch, and so the antenna will perform poorly. We recommend sticking with a 1/4 wave design, which is essentially the same as Akos’ 1/2 wave ground plane antenna, just with the element lengths halved.

Radio For Everyone: An Easy Homemade Outernet Antenna, More FlightAware Pro Stick Plus Results

Akos from the radio for everyone blog (formerly known as the rtlsdr4everyone blog) has uploaded two new posts. On the first post he shows some further tests on the new FlightAware Prostick plus. The Prostick is an RTL-SDR that contains a built in LNA and the Prostick plus adds an additional SAW filter on the stick. For him the Prostick Plus works significantly better than the regular Protstick + external FA cavity filter and also gets about twice the ADS-B reception reports as our V3 which does not use an additional internal LNA. Next week we hope to release our own review of the Prostick Plus, and we’ll hopefully be able to show and explain why some people see better performance with the plus and why some instead see degraded performance.

In his second post Akos shows a tutorial on building an easy helical antenna for Outernet reception. The antenna is constructed from readily available household materials such as a soda bottle, coax cable, electrical tape and a cookie tin. With the cookie tin used he was able to get a SNR reading between 7 – 9 dB, which is pretty good considering that only 3 dB is required for Outernet decoding to work.

Outernet hardware plus the homemade helical antenna made by Akos.
Outernet hardware plus the homemade helical antenna made by Akos.