Tagged: piaware

Getting the V3 Bias Tee to Activate on PiAware ADS-B Images

A few owners of our RTL-SDR V3 and/or our Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA (or other bias tee powered LNAs) have been having trouble getting the V3 bias tee to activate on the FlightAware PiAware Raspberry Pi image. The core stumbling point is that the PiAware image activates the dump1090 ADS-B decoder immediately upon boot. To activate the bias tee, the bias tee software requires access to the dongle which it cannot get since dump1090 is blocking it. So to get around this the bias tee must be activated first before dump1090 runs.

PiAware is FlightAware's Raspberry Pi image which feeds their flightaware.com flight tracking service using RTL-SDR dongles. By using our Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA, users can expect increased range and decoded messages, especially when using long runs of coax cable, and/or in environments with strong interfering signals.

In the instructions below we'll explain how to set up a PiAware image that automatically enables the Bias Tee upon boot.

Downloading the V3 Bias Tee Software onto PiAware

First we assume that you're starting fresh from a new PiAware image, so we need to enable WiFi and SSH connections which is part of the standard set up for PiAware. See the following links for instructions.

Enable WiFi via config file https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build

Enable SSH by adding ssh file to boot https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build/optional#password

 
Now log in to your PiAware machine using SSH and PuTTY (or any other terminal software) using username "pi" and password "flightaware".

Run the following commands to update and install some dependencies. 

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git cmake build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev

 
Download and install the RTL-SDR V3 Bias Tee software.

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl_biast
cd rtl_biast
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DDETACH_KERNEL_DRIVER=ON
make

Testing the Bias Tee

Over on his blog Akos has created a short guide to activating the bias tee manually, by first stopping dump1090, activating the bias tee, then restarting dump1090. It's a simple one line copy and paste job.

So after installing the rtl_biast software above you can use the following line to test the bias tee. After running this line the FlightAware service should be up and running again, with the bias tee and LNA activated.

sudo service dump1090-fa stop && cd ~/rtl_biast/build/src && ./rtl_biast -b 1 && sudo service dump1090-fa start

Automatically Starting the Bias Tee on Boot

Ideally we don't want to have to reactivate the bias tee manually every time the Raspberry Pi reboots. To make it automatic use the following instructions:

First create a service directory and configuration file

sudo mkdir /etc/systemd/system/dump1090-fa.service.d
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dump1090-fa.service.d/bias-t.conf

 
Then paste in the following

[Service]
ExecStartPre=/home/pi/rtl_biast/build/src/rtl_biast -b 1

 
Finally press Ctrl+X then Y to close and save. Now whenever PiAware reboots the bias tee should be automatically activated as this service runs before dump1090 is activated.

Credits:

Thanks to the discussion on the FlightAware forums and in particular user 'obj' for originally finding this automatic solution.

PiAware Radar – A Traditional Radar-Like Display for ADS-B, and Setting up an ADS-B Cockpit Flight Display

PiAware Radar is a Python script that connects to your PiAware server and uses the received ADS-B data to display a familiar radar-like display (green circle with rotating radius, and aircraft displayed as blips). PiAware is the software used to take ADS-B data from an RTL-SDR dongle running on a Raspberry Pi and feed flightaware.com. A radar-like display is probably not very useful, but it could be used to set up an interesting display that might impress friends. Over on his blog IT9YBG has uploaded a tutorial that shows how to set PiAware Radar up on a Raspberry Pi.

Also on his blog IT9YBG has uploaded another tutorial that shows how to set up 1090XHSI, which is a program that displays an 737 aircraft cockpit simulation using live ADS-B data. The ADS-B data updates the instrument displays in real time, giving you a view of exactly what the pilots might be seeing on their dashboard of their aircraft. We posted about this software in the past, but IT9YBG's tutorial helps make it much easier to set up.

PiAware Radar
PiAware Radar
1090 XHSI 737 Cockpit Simulation from ADS-B Data
1090 XHSI 737 Cockpit Simulation from ADS-B Data

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

New ADS-B Mapping and Decoder App for Android from FlightAware

Flightaware.com is a web based online radar service for aircraft. The plane position data is obtained from contributors running ADS-B decoding hardware, such as a special ADS-B receiver box or simply an RTL-SDR dongle.

To increase the number of contributors, the team at FlightAware have released a new RTL-SDR compatible ADS-B decoder app for Android devices. The App is totally free and is also ad free. It can be downloaded from the Google Play store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flightaware.android.flightfeeder. The intention of the app is to target users who may have an old Android device lying around, which can be put to good use in contributing data to FlightAware. More information about running the app can be found on their webpage.

When sharing data with FlightAware you are then eligible for a free enterprise account valued at $89.95 a month which allows you to access several advanced flight tracking features.

To use the app you’ll need an Android device, a USB OTG cable (ideally with external power port) and an RTL-SDR dongle. The USB OTG cable should ideally have an external power port and be powered from the mains with a power adapter as the battery can drain fast.

FlightAware ADS-B App
FlightAware ADS-B App

FlightAware Introduces PiAware for use with RTL-SDR and dump1090 on a Raspberry Pi

FlightAware is an online service providing real time flight tracking. The flights are primarily tracked by volunteers who run ADS-B decoding hardware which is networked through the internet to the FlightAware servers.

Now FlightAware have written in to RTL-SDR.com to let us know about their new PiAware software which enables a Raspberry Pi running dump1090 to contribute data to the FlightAware network. Dump1090 is a popular RTL-SDR compatible ADS-B decoder program for Linux systems.

A major perk for running their software and contributing data is that FlightAware will buy you a licensed copy of PlanePlotter.

The press release provided is quoted below.

If you are running an inexpensive Raspberry Pi ADS-B receiver with dump1090 then you can install the PiAware Package from FlightAware to freely view nearby flight traffic and transmit this data to FlightAware’s tracking network.  Most aircraft within Europe by 2017 and USA by 2020 will be required to have ADS-B transmitters onboard.
FlightAware’s user-hosted worldwide ADS-B receiver network tracks about 90,000 unique aircraft per day and feeds this live data into the FlightAware website in combination with other public/private flight tracking data sources.  FlightAware has over 500 user-hosted ADS-B sites online across 60 countries, with top contributors tracking over 10,000 aircraft per day.  To see how ADS-B data is put to use, check out the FlightAware Live Map.
The PiAware installation process takes only a few minutes.  If you don’t have PlanePlotter, you can download it and then send FlightAware your installation’s serial number and we’ll buy you a license.  FlightAware will also give users a free Enterprise Account ($90/month value) in return for installing PiAware.
flightaware
FlightAware Real Time Map Example