Multiple Feeds and Maximum Range

FlightAware ADS-B Flight Tracking
1

Hello there!

I am fairly new to the world of ADSB, and was curious if anyone can point me in the right direction to setup feeding to other services (ADSBExchange or elsewhere) as well as FA. I would rather not have to re-image my SD card (if possible).

I currently have this antenna : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013S8B234/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was curious if it can be put outdoors, or if anyone has tips to improve range. I currently have it sitting on a window-sill.

2

Install the ADS-B Receiver Project from script, not/not from image, if you want to keep what you already have. That said, I would go with the image installation.

3

This will work even if I am running PiAware? I’m just wondering how I can simply add new feeds, but since I went with PiAware over some linux based OS - it makes it “harder”?

Just looking for some guidance.

4

That’s a slippery slope, soon you will end up with a $40 antenna on roof like many of us :smiley:

3 Likes
5

I was hoping to put it on the roof…but the cable from the receiver —> antenna is fairly short.

I’m currently seeing just under 100NM

6

If you can install an antenna outdoors, suggest the FA antenna. If the budget is limited, search for the QuickSpider antenna here in the discussion forum.

7

Yeah I would likely return the indoor-ish one, and get the outdoor. Just have to make sure I have enough wire running to my Pi.

8

For affordable cable, use RG-6, this is the one used for cable and satellite TV.

9

Does the FA antenna come with any cable?

10

Bake a Pi

It has following sections:
OPTION-1: Piaware SD card image
OPTION-2: Raspbian image + Piaware (add-on) + dump1090-fa (add-on)
OPTION-3: Raspbian image + Piaware (add-on package) + dump1090-mutability v1.15~dev

Additional Data Feeders: Installation of Flightradar24, Planefinder, and Adsbexchange data feeders.

Note: in OPTION-2, the version of piaware in installation command is 3.5.1. As the current version is 3.5.3, please change 3.5.1 to 3.5.3.

1 Like
11

No, it has an N connector. If you go with RG-6 already terminated with F connectors, you will need an adapter. They can be sourced from eBay.

12

Gotcha I will have to look into those options then when/if I do that. Thanks!

13

Wow! Thanks for all the info - still combing through it all. A preliminary question though.

Do I have to uninstall PiAware to add ADSBExchange? It seems like I just have to add it, and I don’t have to dump my image currently.

14

some additional sites opensky, adsbhub, radarbox

[Dump1090 OpenSky Feeder (Raspberry Pi-based)] ***

[How to feed ADS-B data to ADSBHub?] and VRS too.

[Raspberry Pi RBFeeder - AirNav RadarBox - Global Flight Tracking Intelligence | Live Flight Tracker and Airport Status]

15

Do you feed to all of them? Which can you recommend, and is the setup all pretty much the same? I’m just trying to figure out if I need to get rid of PiAware and run some other OS

16

no need to change OS. I have debian jessie lite with piaware and all the rest.
from PC I feed VRS/adsbexchange.
if you follow abcd’s instructions above and those in the sites I posted you should be ok - no conflicts.

17

Ok I’ll re-look. I just followed this initially: PiAware - build your own ADS-B ground station for integration with FlightAware - FlightAware

So I used their image and it worked out of the box. I assumed it would break other feeds or make it more complicated.

18

AFAIK it would not. but a lot of things are accomplished here by the trial and error method.

19

If you install the ADS-B Receiver Project, it’ll offer/prompt you to install FR24, FA, ADSB Exchange, and Planefinder. I think you can install others individually after that. The main benefit of the ADS-B Receiver Project in my opinion are the graphs it includes. They are very helpful not only on an ongoing basis, but especially in the begining, during the optimization phase of you receiver setup.

One caution based on my experience. The more feeders you have on a single Pi, the greater the potential compatibility issues, especially when updating and/or modifying one of them. The feeder that gave me the most trouble of all was FR24, but it could have been bad luck on my part. Just be prepared to ‘learn’ a lot in the process. :grinning:

20

This is a question the answer, I suspect, could cause controversy. I won’t go there. I’ll only say that after playing a bit, I decided to feed to only one site. The reason behind the choice, it’s the one that currently offers what I need now. Things can always change in the future.