Dual bands using two extrnal antenna's

FlightAware ADS-B Flight Tracking
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Hi there,

I am a newbie here. First let me explain what I am trying to solve for. I am an ultralight pilot that uses a application that takes a feed from SafeSky. I notice in my area that there are a few dead spots for ADS-B. I live on a mountain overlooking the vally where the holes are. I decided to add a feeder to improve coverage. Most of the traffic I see (with my eyes while flying that are not on SafeSky) are very small GA. After research I like the Piaware platform and add feeds to other services. I was thinking that I should look at 978 UAT as well as 1090 give what I am looking for. Initally I was thinking one Antenna and a splitter but for ease of operation I now am thinking 1 Pro Stick and 1 Pro Stick plus and a 978 Antenna and a 1090 Antenna. I am going to put this either in the attick space of my barn (not a metal roof) or on the roof of the same barn depending on signal. I am considering getting a Pro Stick and just trying to see what I get before purchasing the second radio. Am I on the right track here or did I miss a point somewhere?

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Lots of feeders have dual SDRs, one receiving 1090 and one receiving 978, on a RPi. There are several threads talking about how to set it up. I’ll see if I can dig one up for you.

Starting off with a single receiver is probably the way to go so you can learn and optimize your physical configuration. After that you can start playing with different antennas, optimizing your gain, and other stuff.

Welcome to the hobby. You’re going to both love and hate it.

This is old, but as far as I know it should still work:

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Thanks! Yes I have read though the threads about setting it up and undestand you have to change the serial #’s (I assume they are all the same out of the box). My thoughts/question is more around the RF side. I was going to do a dual band antenna and split it but the loss in the connectors etc or the need to use a splitter is the same as a second antenna. I think I am going to put up two antenna’s as needed.

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Yes, definitely go with separate antennas. Every split and connector in your wiring reduces the gain.

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Thanks. I have seen where people have changed them to 0000978 and 0001090 which I think is a good idea.

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How to Configure ES1090 and UAT978 on Piaware SD Card image

STEP-1: Serialize dongles if using both ES1090 and UAT978: (CLICK HERE)

If you want to recieve both ES1090 and UAT978, then two dongles are required, one for 1090 and other for 978. In this case you will have to serialize dongles so that correct dongle+antenna sets are used by dump1090-fa and dump978-fa.

For 1090 Mhz dongle: use 8-digit serial # 00001090
For 978 Mhz dongle : use 8-digit serial # 00000978

Note: You can use any other serial numbers if you want, but do not use single digit serial numbers (0 to 9) or (01 to 09), as these may conflict with device numbers. Use at least two digit numbers like 21 or 93 etc)

STEP-2: Configure UAT 978

sudo piaware-config uat-receiver-type sdr
sudo piaware-config rtlsdr-device-index 00001090
sudo piaware-config uat-sdr-device driver=rtlsdr,serial=00000978

# Reboot Pi to implement configuration settings
sudo reboot

STEP-3: Check Status

sudo systemctl status piaware  
sudo systemctl status dump1090-fa  
sudo systemctl status dump978-fa

STEP-4: View Maps

4.1 - dump1090-fa map
http://local-ip-of-pi/skyaware/
http://local-ip-of-pi:8080/

4.2 - dump978 map
http://local-ip-of-pi/skyaware978/

 

 

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