Not receiving any ADS-B Data

[peeeeeta]

I recently bought this kit on amazon for the purpose of receiving ADS-B data but when I set it up on my macbook with Dump1090 I don't receive anything. I checked the connections, and doesn't look like there is a on button I have to press so what is the issue? I live in midtown manhattan in an apartment building. I was suspecting that interference could be the issue but I'm not really sure. Any ideas?

Amazon.com: Receiver, KKmoon RTL2832u RTL SDR Receiver R820t2 USB RTL-SDR Dongle with 0.5ppm TCXO SMA MJZSEE A300U: Home Improvement

Buy Receiver, KKmoon RTL2832u RTL SDR Receiver R820t2 USB RTL-SDR Dongle with 0.5ppm TCXO SMA MJZSEE A300U: Receivers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[freqhopping]

What program is Dump1090 feeding data to?

 

[peeeeeta]

What program is Dump1090 feeding data to?

What do you mean? Dump1090 is supposed to take the data and display it on a map. I don't think its feeding data to any other program.

 

[dlwtrunked]

What do you mean? Dump1090 is supposed to take the data and display it on a map. I don't think its feeding data to any other program.

Nope. Dump1090 decodes the data to send it elsewhere to be displayed. See the section
Graphical ADS-B RADAR Display Software
at RTL-SDR Tutorial: Cheap ADS-B Aircraft RADAR

 

[peeeeeta]

Nope. Dump1090 decodes the data to send it elsewhere to be displayed. See the section
Graphical ADS-B RADAR Display Software
at RTL-SDR Tutorial: Cheap ADS-B Aircraft RADAR

shouldn't I still be able to see flights appear in the terminal window though?

 

[freqhopping]

Try using SDRsharp to see if the computer is recognizing the dongle and allows you to manually tune frequencies.

 

[dlwtrunked]

shouldn't I still be able to see flights appear in the terminal window though?
View attachment 102178

There does seem to be a problem. As freqhopping suggests, is the dongle working to receive anything on other frequencies-say FM broadcast stations between 88 and 108 MHz?

 

[peeeeeta]

Try using SDRsharp to see if the computer is recognizing the dongle and allows you to manually tune frequencies.

Done have SD
Rsharp since I'm on a MacBook but I ran rtf_test and it shows this:

I'm pretty sure the R820T tuner has coverage for 1090 mhz. When trying to tune to the frequency 1090 mhz in GQRX I couldn't although that could definitely be because I was doing something wrong as it was my first time using the software.

 

[peeeeeta]

There does seem to be a problem. As freqhopping suggests, is the dongle working to receive anything on other frequencies-say FM broadcast stations between 88 and 108 MHz?

I was able to pick up a radio station near 107 MHz but that's about all I was able to find. Still a newbie so there's probably more too.

 

[peeeeeta]

I was also able to pick up a aircraft for 1 second with no callsign and 0 altitude, 0 speed, 0 lat & lon 0 track. dump1090 shows it seen for 1 second. I'm not sure if it is a glitch or something but I got it after I changed my gain to -29.5 so maybe that helped?

Shows it was seen for 6 seconds now

 

[kruser]

I was also able to pick up a aircraft for 1 second with no callsign and 0 altitude, 0 speed, 0 lat & lon 0 track. dump1090 shows it seen for 1 second. I'm not sure if it is a glitch or something but I got it after I changed my gain to -29.5 so maybe that helped?

Shows it was seen for 6 seconds now

Do you have a clear line of site to the sky above? No roofs, buildings etc...

 

[jwt873]

What antenna are you using and where is it located?

If you're using the supplied antenna, it's designed for broad coverage and not optimized for ADS-B. There are antennas designed for receiving ADSB signals. You can purchase them commercially or build them yourself --> Making Antennas for 1090MHz ADS-B Aircraft Tracking - lucsmall.com

The antenna should be mounted outside with a clear view of the sky. But if you have no balcony, then a window will have to do. 1090 Mhz signals won't penetrate the building so you'll only be able to pick up aircraft you can 'see' from the balcony or window.

 

[peeeeeta]

Do you have a clear line of site to the sky above? No roofs, buildings etc...

There are some buildings between me and the airport but even when a plane passes straight over me dump1090 doesn't show any data.

 

[peeeeeta]

What antenna are you using and where is it located?

If you're using the supplied antenna, it's designed for broad coverage and not optimized for ADS-B. There are antennas designed for receiving ADSB signals. You can purchase them commercially or build them yourself --> Making Antennas for 1090MHz ADS-B Aircraft Tracking - lucsmall.com

The antenna should be mounted outside with a clear view of the sky. But if you have no balcony, then a window will have to do. 1090 Mhz signals won't penetrate the building so you'll only be able to pick up aircraft you can 'see' from the balcony or window.

I'm using the supplied antenna from my apartment window, I've tried sticking the antenna out the window but that didn't change anything. I get good reception from that spot on my BC125AT. I'm looking to get a better antenna now.

 

[dlwtrunked]

I suspect something is may be wrong in your setup of the software and would double check that also.

 

[peeeeeta]

UPDATE
Software was correctly set up. The problem was with the cheap antenna and/or dongle. Bought the RTL-SDR kit and everything is working fine. I did have to buy a bandpass filter to pick up a descent amount of traffic.