Airnav Radarbox Pics are in.......

[rdale]

The 22:00 hours is the network time...The servers are in the UK somewhere I believe...

22 is UTC as mentioned, so it is correct, but it shows that your timestamp is an hour off.

22 UTC is 6pm EDT, but you say the picture is from 6pm EST. I thought Canada also did Daylight Saving Time in the summer (EDT), but if they don't that would be why you are off an hour.

 

[jonesyxvii]

This thread got me looking into the AirNav, SBS BaseStation and the Mode-S Beast, but all of those seemed so cost-prohibitive. Then I stumble across a very low-cost alternative. The range is not as good, admittedly, as what 02blackss is getting with his AirNav setup, but for the cost I don't think I can complain.

I'm using an RTL2832U dongle with the supplied antenna. This USB stick is intended for receiving digital television signals, but with the free RTL1090 software and free Zadig drivers, it can be tuned to 1090MHz and receives Mode-S or Mode-A/C. I then have the free Virtual Radar Server listening to port 31001 (which is the broadcast port for RTL1090). VRS has a built-in web server so you can view plane plots with a web browser overlayed on a Google map. VRS can also rebroadcast the Mode-S and A/C signals on other ports in other formats (BaseStation and AVR, or simple pass-through). I have one feed going to PlanePlotter's 21-day trial, another to FlightRadar24's feeder server, and another feeding the free ADSBScope software, which is similar to PlanePlotter. I'm getting a range of 200+nm (record so far is 229nm). However, because I'm in an apartment building directionality is definitely an issue. I can see in a 180 degree arc to the south, but very, very little to the north. Below is a screenshot from ADSBScope showing the range "bloom."

Total cost: about $23 for the dongle off eBay (shipping included).

Rob

 

[02blackss]

Excellent looking screenshot there. Hey for the money it looks great. There is suppose to be a major "service pack" coming out for the airnav suite soon as well. We will see what improvement/fixes t will bring. I am sure you can increase your range if you can get your antenna outside somewhere. Unfortunately with ADS-B, its all about line of sight....

Cheers!!

This thread got me looking into the AirNav, SBS BaseStation and the Mode-S Beast, but all of those seemed so cost-prohibitive. Then I stumble across a very low-cost alternative. The range is not as good, admittedly, as what 02blackss is getting with his AirNav setup, but for the cost I don't think I can complain.

I'm using an RTL2832U dongle with the supplied antenna. This USB stick is intended for receiving digital television signals, but with the free RTL1090 software and free Zadig drivers, it can be tuned to 1090MHz and receives Mode-S or Mode-A/C. I then have the free Virtual Radar Server listening to port 31001 (which is the broadcast port for RTL1090). VRS has a built-in web server so you can view plane plots with a web browser overlayed on a Google map. VRS can also rebroadcast the Mode-S and A/C signals on other ports in other formats (BaseStation and AVR, or simple pass-through). I have one feed going to PlanePlotter's 21-day trial, another to FlightRadar24's feeder server, and another feeding the free ADSBScope software, which is similar to PlanePlotter. I'm getting a range of 200+nm (record so far is 229nm). However, because I'm in an apartment building directionality is definitely an issue. I can see in a 180 degree arc to the south, but very, very little to the north. Below is a screenshot from ADSBScope showing the range "bloom."

Total cost: about $23 for the dongle off eBay (shipping included).

Rob

 

[jonesyxvii]

Unfortunately with ADS-B, its all about line of sight....

You're not wrong there. I've found that if the antenna is leaning slightly, even as little as 15 degrees or so, the range drops dramatically. It has to be straight up and down to get the maximum out of it. Right now it's just sitting in a window (between the glass and the screen) but I'm sure if I managed to get it out of the window it would be better still. I've ordered a second dongle to stick out my west-facing window. With RTL1090 you can stream multiple instances together over UDP ports. I can't wait to see how that opens things up.

 

[jonesyxvii]

Duplicate post. Sorry 'bout that.

 

[Forts]

That's pretty slick! I'll have to try that out with one of my RTL dongles and see what I can get in my neck of the woods. I'll have to come up with a better antenna solution as all of my antennas beyond UHF are yagis.

 

[jonesyxvii]

Someone asked me for more detailed instructions on how I've got my dongle setup, so I've written a blog post with step-by-step directions.

Sonic Goose – Using a RTLSDR Dongle for ADS-B

Rob

 

[Forts]

That's a great write up, thanks for sharing that! Guess what I'm going to try out now