Adam, manufacturer of the LNA4ALL and LNA4HF is putting out an interest check for an ADS-B folded monopole antenna. The antenna can efficiently cover the 1030 MHz to 1090 MHz frequencies that are used by ADS-B.
The major advantage to Adams antenna is that it uses a DC grounded design, eliminating static build up problems that can potentially fry your LNA or RTL-SDR dongle.
If there is sufficient interest, Adam will sell the antenna for 20 Euros.
The VHF Data Link mode 2 (VDL2) is a new transmission mode used on aircraft for sending short messages, position data (similar to ADS-B) and also for allowing traffic controllers to communicate to pilots via text and data. VDL2 is intended to eventually replace the standard ACARS modes. It is found at 136.975 MHz.
Recently, a wiki page explaining how to decode VDL2 using MultiPSK, Planeplotter and the RTL-SDR has been put up. MultiPSK is a sophisticated software program that can decode a wide range of amateur radio digital signals as well as several professional modes like VDL2. To decode most professional modes like VDL2 however, the paid version of MultiPSK is required, but a 5 minute per use trial of VDL2 decoding can be used for testing. Newer versions of MultiPSK can now even directly connect to the RTL-SDR dongle.
The wiki page shows how to set up the RTL-SDR dongle on MultiPSK to receive VDL2 signals, and then shows how to connect it to PlanePlotter in order to plot the aircraft positions on a map.
The antenna was created by F5ANN, and he used his active antenna together with an RTL-SDR dongle, the RTL1090 ADS-B decoding software and PlanePlotter, and was able to receive 194 simultaneous aircraft signals with a message rate of 556 messages a second at distances of up to 250 nm.
This antenna can now be bought from the 1090mhz.com webstore, and is available with or without LNA. The LNA will help if you need long runs of coaxial cable between the antenna and RTL-SDR.
The beta version of the popular ADS-B decoding software RTL1090 has been updated to version 3. Version 3 comes with a simple radar visualization scope built into the software, which allows you to see aircraft directly in the RTL1090 software.
The popular RTL-SDR ADS-B decoder RTL1090 requires the rtlsdr.dll and libusb.dll files to be manually downloaded and then placed into the RTL1090 folder. However, now the author of RTL1090 has created an automatic installer which will download and install all the required files automatically.
This internet based utility helps you with setting up a complete RTL1090 installation with almost no manual intervention. It automatically downloads the relevant files as rtlsdr.dll, zadig.exe and helps to configure zadig with a built in tutorial.
The installer is called the IMU (Installer and Maintenance Utility) and can be download from the RTL1090 website at rtl1090.web99.de.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) a.k.a The American National Association for Amateur Radio has put online a freely available ADS-B tutorial featured in their monthly QST magazine, written by Robert Nichols, W9RAN. The tutorial focuses on using an R820T RTL-SDR dongle to receive ADS-B signals, and then using computer software to decode the signals and create a virtual aircraft radar.
ADS-B is a protocol used by most modern aircraft to broadcast their position and altitude which is determined via GPS. ADS-B is intended to supplement and eventually replace traditional radar.
In this ADS-B tutorial, they show how to create a weatherproofed 1090 MHz collinear antenna from RG-6/U coax and PVC pipe and how to use the ADSB# and virtual radar server software to decode and visualize aircraft positions, like a radar.
To use the app, you will need an Android device that supports USB OTG, which most Android devices on Android 4.0+ should support. You will also need a USB OTG cable, and an RTL-SDR dongle. You may want to consider a USB OTG cable that has a second port for external charging capabilities, as the RTL-SDR can drain the battery quickly.
The app is cheaply priced at under $2, so give it a try!
This ADS-B antenna by amateur radio hobbyist F5ANN combines a 30dB LNA preamplifier, bandpass filter and antenna tuned for 1090MHz together on a single PCB board. The LNA preamplifier helps boost weak signals, whilst the bandpass filter helps to remove interference from others signals such as GSM. The novel thing about this antenna is that everything is neatly packaged into a single PCB board, which makes this antenna very compact, and yet have high performance.
F5ANN uses his combined antenna together with an RTL-SDR dongle and the RTL 1090 ADS-B decoding software with PlanePlotter, and was able to receive 194 simultaneous aircraft signals with a message rate of 556 messages a second at distances of up to 250 nm.
