Best flight tracker app for NZ?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Best flight tracker app for NZ?

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Oblivian

7296 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#688511 20-Sep-2012 00:48

Heres a screeny of what I come home and check on each night.. cause I can :)

stuffed

288 posts

Ultimate Geek

#688593 20-Sep-2012 09:59

The only App that have used is FlightTrack and it has never not shown any flight that have requested - including NZ domestic.
Eldest son is round the world and everywhere all the time and occasionally he will wake up during a flight and IM me and ask how long until they land!
Also great to combine with Find Friends and FaceTime him when can see he in an airport lounge.
http://mobiata.com/flighttrack-app-taf

Why work on Wednesday and stuff up 2 good long weekends

dontpanic42

1574 posts

Uber Geek

#688774 20-Sep-2012 12:56

Oblivian:
How did I miss this thread!
T-NZCH1 at your service :)
Ask away.

Oh, nice! :)

Ok. Questions.

How much would it cost to set up the most basic ADS-B system? Where would one buy such gear?

There doesn't appear to be any data available for the Dunedin area, so I assume that means there is no hobbyist feeding data into Flight Radar from this area.

Thanks. :)

PS: Perhaps this thread has gone a little far from the initial topic.
Oblivian: Maybe if you re-open your other older thread, we could carry on the Q & A there. :)

Oblivian

7296 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#688813 20-Sep-2012 13:51

dontpanic42:
Oblivian:
How did I miss this thread!
T-NZCH1 at your service :)
Ask away.

Oh, nice! :)

Ok. Questions.

How much would it cost to set up the most basic ADS-B system? Where would one buy such gear?

There doesn't appear to be any data available for the Dunedin area, so I assume that means there is no hobbyist feeding data into Flight Radar from this area.

Thanks. :)

Correct.. I was donated a Mode-S Beast on the condition I used it to upload 24/7 and sent my old receiver down to dunedin and set it up.. but so far not got that far (oops)

My first receiver was $130NZ landed.. not bad really. It is quite basic and has a few flaws like not liking strong/close signals but for the better part its fine for a starting hobbiest.

There is free software bundled with it that is able to give simple graphic displays (like in my old thread) and database management via text files. Or there is planeplotter, which has a nicer database handling for about $50nz to register.

MicroaADSB comes from Bulgaria of all places, but once he has a set in stock it only took 8-10 days to get here and no issues with customs.

http://46.40.125.13:8000/

The more expensive receivers start from around $800nz... so quite the difference jump. They are the likes of Mode-S Beast and Kinetics SBS-3 which also has ACARS and ATC voice receivers built in.

The key is signal quality to the receiver however. 1090Mhz is near microwave and loss is hard to stop. I made my own antenna which is OK but has room for improvement (the one that comes with the micro is surprisingly good), purpose antennas can be purchased from some NZ suppliers for about $180. Or as high as import high gain 9dB ones from the US around $240

I also started with cellfoil low loss RG58 cable, which was OK.. but since changing to LMR400 (20mm stuff) my signal gain has increased dramatically.

You can also add additional boosters later on to the mast head to increase the input/range even further. But for the likes of dunedin, placing one at someones house on top of the hills facing the airport would be ideal as it would complete the Dunedin valley/Wanaka/ZQN/Palmerston gap quite nicely.

dontpanic42

1574 posts

Uber Geek

#688834 20-Sep-2012 14:02

Cool. Heaps of nice info there. Thanks.

I updated the previous post, but you may not have noticed it. ;)
Update on previous post:
PS: Perhaps this thread has gone a little far from the initial topic.
Oblivian: Maybe if you re-open your other older thread, we could carry on the Q & A there. :)

In any case, I'd be willing to set one up in Dunedin if you had a spare.
I'm pretty close to the airport.

See you on the other thread?

kithytom

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#690637 24-Sep-2012 14:21

FlightTrack Pro is still the best

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