DIY ADSB reciever

[fly_tornado]

For those interested in using ADSB on the cheap

 

copied from

 

[MEDIA=reddit]flying/comments/3fscia[/MEDIA]

 

So I've seen similar claims to this a few times before since the advent of ADS-B receivers like the FlightAware feeders people are setting up now. Was not able to find anything that actually integrated into an app to use while flying.

 

Well, I put the receiver setup together with $113.90 in hardware (primarily Raspberry Pi + RTL-SDR). Project "Stratux" has begun. Instructions on how to set up the Pi are below. This is a screen recording of me taking off and picking up ADS-B towers. I start getting signal at about 300' AGL, and good steady signal from 4+ towers at 1,500'. FIS-B weather on ForeFlight is working great.

 

This is only ADS-B (978MHz) "In", but it's still very useful -- in the broadcasts I'm seeing there is plenty of weather (FIS-B) information. I'd like to work on an ADS-B transmitter, but that will come later.

 

Here's what the receiver looks like:

 

http://i.imgur.com/ojTrmjE.jpg -- just velcro'd them together to carry around while testing.

 

http://i.imgur.com/dSL0zKF.jpg -- mounted in the plane.

 

Demo:

 

 

Future plans:

 

1. TIS-B traffic needs to be tested. FIS-B weather is working great.
    
    
   
2. Implement "Stratux Replay" - "When the screen is turned on again, Stratux automatically sends ForeFlight Mobile any ADS-B weather that was missed, including radar, METARs, TAFs and PIREPs."
    
    
   
3. Figure out some dual-band setup for 978MHz + 1090MHz that is clean. You can get it going with a second RTL-SDR, but that'd be two dongles and two antennas -- not ideal.
    
    
   
4. ADS-B transeiver (transmit). There are some $30 WAAS USB GPSs on Amazon that would be great to test out, maybe someone has tried one and has some feedback.
    
    
   

 

 

EDIT: update 08/08/2015 here -- Raspbian pre-configured image released.

 

EDIT: 08/10/2015. Use this with ForeFlight 7.2 (Jul 13, 2015) and if you have an old RPi, please upgrade to the Pi 2 linked above!

 

 

[Nobody]

Sorry FT it is hard to work out which bit you have copied and which bit you wrote but are youo saying that you have built one of these and are gtting the FIS-B weather on 978 MHZ in Australia? I wonder what/who is broadcasting that if you are?

 

If all of the post was copied from someone in the USA then a better option for Australian use is:

 

http://adspi.ozrunways.com/

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I'm just putting it out there, yes you need to tweek this with a 1090MHz ADSB reciever.

 

 

[Nobody]

I'm just putting it out there, yes you need to tweek this with a 1090MHz ADSB reciever.

Raspberry PI based ABS-B 1090 MHz receivers have been around for quite a while I first had one about 18 months ago but they were availalb ebefore then. They are able to display the position of ABS-B out equipped aircraft on a computer or Ipad running ozrunways or I think AVplan( I havent done it one avplan but think that it can)

 

What this one does that different is 2 things that are usefull if you are in the USA but significantly less useful if you are in other parts of the world.

 

1 It is able to decode the weather stream that the FAA broadcasts. This provides in flight METARs NOTAMS, Weather radar and other useful weather information.

 

2. It works with Foreflight. Now foreflight is a very common aviation app in the USA. It is like ozrunways but better in many ways. They developed their own ADS_B reciever called Stratus and charge between $550 and $900 for an all in one package that has the capabilities in your link. Because they had a product to sell they didn't support DIY options. Recently people have worked out to make the raspberry pi "look" like their commercial stratus and so it can be used with foreflight software.

 

Unless you use foreflight in Australia (and without maps or naips integration why would you?) there are better things that form a similar function out there.