Aircraft ACARS/ADS-B in NZ

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Aircraft ACARS/ADS-B in NZ

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#1749946 29-Mar-2017 09:49

sbiddle:
Many people just run feeders to get free access to the apps without paying.

workmate has done exactly this. He has two raspberry pi devices to get free full-access to two sites.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

msukiwi

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#1749959 29-Mar-2017 10:04

I bought my Flightaware antenna from eBay via their "official" rep: "wifi_expert"

Cost US$109 including shipping.

Price has gone up recently as Flightaware have so much coverage now that they no longer sell anything at their cost.

Shindig

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#1749995 29-Mar-2017 10:47

msukiwi:

I bought my Flightaware antenna from eBay via their "official" rep: "wifi_expert"

Cost US$109 including shipping.

Price has gone up recently as Flightaware have so much coverage now that they no longer sell anything at their cost.

They seem to perform quite well though!

The little things make the biggest difference.

msukiwi

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#1750006 29-Mar-2017 11:07

Well I've used multiple SDR dongles / with and without 1090Mhz filters (Internal or external) /

with and without a 1090MHz preamp (Internal or external) and multiple antenna's (All 6.5m up a pole).

and the best combination is the Flightaware BLUE SDR Dongle (With filter and preamp builtin) and their 66cm 1090MHz Antenna.

frankv

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#1750013 29-Mar-2017 11:23

Shindig:

I feed FR24 off a RPI and the 1.5M whip antenna. It works ok, but range is pretty poor.

With antennas, bigger is not necessarily better. You want to tune the antenna to the 1090MHz frequency, so that electrical reflections off the ends of the whip reinforce the signal rather than cancel it out. There seems to be lots of free antenna design software on the Net, but probably someone has already calculated the optimum length of a whip?

Oblivian

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#1750018 29-Mar-2017 11:34

As little as 67mm.

One of the working designs that originally sparked it was a can lid with a piece of wire out the top. I built a colinear with 25mm separation coil that worked well based on such plans. But now have the heavily expensive DPD. http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_vhf_air.html#adsbout

One of the FR users has done a fair bit of DIY. https://forum.flightradar24.com/threads/3831-best-antenna?p=55925&viewfull=1#post55925

Shindig

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#1752672 1-Apr-2017 14:13

Oblivian:

As little as 67mm.

One of the working designs that originally sparked it was a can lid with a piece of wire out the top. I built a colinear with 25mm separation coil that worked well based on such plans. But now have the heavily expensive DPD. http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_vhf_air.html#adsbout

One of the FR users has done a fair bit of DIY. https://forum.flightradar24.com/threads/3831-best-antenna?p=55925&viewfull=1#post55925

Changed from the 1.5m whip to the 67mm one. Moved from the loft to the highest clear line site window to the horizon.

No word of a lie, range has increased!

Cheers

The little things make the biggest difference.

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msukiwi

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#1753685 3-Apr-2017 12:45

So what combination of Antenna / Receiver / Software / Hardware is everyone here using?

And what do you think of the performance?

Oblivian

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#1753767 3-Apr-2017 13:33

msukiwi:

So what combination of Antenna / Receiver / Software / Hardware is everyone here using?

And what do you think of the performance?

DPD 1090 + 4m LMR-400 + Mode-S Beast (+ microadsb, + SDRs) + PC (+ Pi). ~160-200km range average

msukiwi

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#1756279 4-Apr-2017 13:07

Thanks for the reply. Good to get an idea what others are using.

Obviously from the lack of messages, not many people are into ADS-B here.

lokeynz

105 posts

Master Geek

#1756342 4-Apr-2017 14:15

I'm running a standard FlightRadar24.com supplied kit on a mountain top - good coverage out into the Tasman.
Interestingly FlightAware seems to be getting the data from it somehow?
The FlightAware track log lists the reporting feeder simply as "New Zealand" instead of one of their feeders.

msukiwi

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#1756347 4-Apr-2017 14:21

lokeynz:

I'm running a standard FlightRadar24.com supplied kit on a mountain top - good coverage out into the Tasman.

Out of interest - which mountain?

lokeynz

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#1756349 4-Apr-2017 14:37

Mt Frederick

It has a reasonable view of the horizon

ScuL

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#1757882 7-Apr-2017 01:24

I have been keen to get into this for a while and bit the bullet a few weeks ago.

Ordered a Raspberry Pi Zero W from ModmyPI in the UK. Got the RTL-SDR stick from Amazon (UK) via Youshop and built my own setup in a weatherproof ABS enclosure that I got from Jaycar.

I got some cable, a socket and a plug from Bunnings and put it all together

The PI also sits in a breadboard enclosure with a temperature/pressure/humidity sensor so I can run it as a Weather station for Weather Underground.

I have installed DUMP 1090 as my main feeder from the RTL-SDR stick and linked it to both FlightRadar 24 (via beast-tcp) as well as FlightAware. So I'm feeding to both sites from the same box.

I also run another home server (on Windows) where I have installed Virtual Radar server that connects to the main DUMP 1090 feed so I can also view local range.

As for an antenna, I only have the one that came with the stick which is not very great for ADS-B.. but I've followed some tips & tricks that I read on various community forums and the hot dog can works very very well. Using this setup I have been able to pick up planes as far away as 167km from my location. (no filter, standard antenna!!)

I have ordered the FlightAware antenna from Amazon US and am anticipating to receiving it soon.. cost only US$44.95

https://www.amazon.com/1090MHz-ADS-B-Antenna-66cm-26in/dp/B00WZL6WPO

I've opted to get it here via YouShop with some other orders from the US.

Haere taka mua, taka muri; kaua e wha.

Shindig

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#1757888 7-Apr-2017 06:40

rPi3 - 6.5cm whip antenna - get around 100nm on a good day.

Looking at building a COCO (Coaxial Collinear Antenna) (https://www.balarad.net/), this weekend.

Keep thinking of placing the kit outside!

The little things make the biggest difference.

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