Easiest way to add 978

[mike8349]

What is the easiest way to add 978? I have a Pro stick + on a PI 4 running the Piaware image with FR24 and rbfeeder piggybacked. I have an orange Pro sick and dual band filter sitting here and would like to add 978UAT coverage.

[abcd567]

@mike8349

I have an orange Pro sick and dual band filter sitting here and would like to add 978UAT coverage.

Quote from “Piaware SD card image 3.8.0 Quickstart Guide”

@abcd567

5 - Serialize dongles if using UAT 978: (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 serial # 00001090
For 978 Mhz dongle : use 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)

6 - 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

7 - Check Status

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

8 - View Maps

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

8.2 - dump978 map
http://local-ip-of-pi/skyview978/
http://local-ip-of-pi:8978/

[chrishallock]

Quick question, but how do you assign the correct “serial number” to the correct radio? For example running a blue pro stick+ and orange pro stick you would want the blue on 1090 and orange on 978?

Thanks,
Chris

[markrrichardson]

This will explain:

How-to Serialize Dongles for ES1090 + UAT978

1 - How to Change Serial Number of Dongles Basically it is done by following command: rtl_eeprom -s [desired_serial_number] 1.1 - Prepare sudo apt update sudo apt install rtl-sdr sudo systemctl stop piaware dump1090-fa dump978-fa 1.2 - Serialize dump1090-fa dongle Serialization is done one dongle at a time. Lets start with serializing dump1090-fa dongle. Plugin the dump1090-fa dongle, and unplug all other dongles. Give following command: rtl_eeprom -s 00001090 The last line of outpu…

[mike8349]

Thanks… Worked great!

[chrishallock]

Thanks Mark, that explains it.

[JohnTuthill]

Just wondering, how do you get two pro stick dongles on a Raspberry Pi? The Orange one I have blocks the remaining 3 USB ports.

[mike8349]

You will need a USB extension.

[markrrichardson]

I purchased these USB Extension on Amazon. Four (4) for $9.99 USD. Fairly short, 15cm.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GA1GKYW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[wiedehopf]

@mike8349

will need a USB extension.

Removing the plastic cover is another possibility.

[JohnTuthill]

OK, next newbie question, where does one find a 978 Mhz dongle? I have searched for one and have come up short.

[abcd567]

@JohnTuthill

where does one find a 978 Mhz dongle?

@JohnTuthill

The Orange one I have

The orange one you have works for both 1090 & 978 mhz, as it does not have a built-in filter. You may need to add Flightaware light blue filter depending on rf noise at your location.

Alternatively, a dongle with builtin 978 filter
https://www.amazon.com/AirNav-RadarBox-FlightStick-UAT-Integrated/dp/B083JJG4LC

[JohnTuthill]

OK, so I began the 978 setup and got fairly far on my Pi with the Orange FlightStick. I see the UAT 978 on my Site page but the counts are zero. The following is the output from piaware-status

pi@piaware2:/var/log$ piaware-status
PiAware master process (piaware) is running with pid 479.
PiAware ADS-B client (faup1090) is running with pid 1596.
PiAware ADS-B UAT client (faup978) is not running.
PiAware mlat client (fa-mlat-client) is running with pid 1543.
Local ADS-B receiver (dump1090-fa) is running with pid 1307.
Local ADS-B UAT receiver (dump978) is not running.

dump1090-fa (pid 1307) is listening for ES connections on port 30005.
no program appears to be listening for UAT connections on port 30978.
faup1090 is connected to the ADS-B receiver.
faup978 is NOT connected to the ADS-B UAT receiver.
piaware is connected to FlightAware.

got ‘couldn’t open socket: connection refused’
dump978 is NOT producing data on localhost:30978.
dump1090 is producing data on localhost:30005.

Not sure where to go from here, any ideas?

Thank you in advance

[obj]

@JohnTuthill

Local ADS-B UAT receiver (dump978) is not running.

This is the main problem.

Are you trying to set up a 978-only site, or a dual 1090 & 978 site? If you’re trying to set up a dual site, do you have two dongles connected and did you serialize them?

[JohnTuthill]

I am trying to setup a dual site. I only have the one orange dongle. So I misunderstood that you could run 978 on the orange stick or is it that you can’t run a dual all on the one dongle?

[abcd567]

@JohnTuthill

Please see this:

@abcd567

If you want to recieve both ES1090 and UAT978, then two dongles are required, one for 1090 and other for 978.

[JohnTuthill]

OK, good to know, I ordered one, it should be here tomorrow. Any additional advice on getting this setup? And I appreciate the help, thank you

[abcd567]

@JohnTuthill

Any additional advice on getting this setup?

Serialize two dongles as follows (8-digit):
Dongle for 1090 Mhz Serial#: 00001090
Dongle for 978 Mhz Serial # : 00000978

Please see this guide:

• if you are using Piaware SD card image:
  How to Install and Configure Piaware 5.0 SD card image - Quickstart Guide
  See items 5 & 6

• If you are using Raspbian image with package install of piaware, dump1090-fa, and dump978-fa:
  [Package Install] How to Install and Configure Piaware on Raspberry Pi OS Image / RPi
  See items 4 & 6

 

[JohnTuthill]

Perfect, thank you. It is amazing how answers seem to always create more questions. I am not sure if I have a SD image or a Raspbian image. I believe I install PiAware using apt-get, but don’t remember because it was a couple of years ago. Any easy way to tell?

[abcd567]

@JohnTuthill

Any easy way to tell?

If in SSH window (PuTTY) you see:

• pi@piaware:~ $
  Then it is Piaware SD card image.

• pi@raspberrypi:~ $
  Then it is Raspbian image (now renamed to Raspberry Pi OS)