Hi everyone, Ive been using Flight Aware for about 12 months, at first it was ok with a few aircraft being picked up but not much. I changed my antenna to improve things a bit which it did but not a lot( 15-20 aircraft up to 30-40).It was ok for a bit but then I did not look at it for a few weeks and when I did there were NO aircraft showing up on the map.
I have recently changed my antenna to a Broadsword ADSB antenna and it has only improved to about 2-4 aircraft showing on the map.
My set up is, Broadsword ADSB Antenna on top of the house fed by approx 1.5 mtrs of RG6 to NooElec Smart box directly onto a Rpi 3 then wirelessly(?) to my laptop. Hope someone can point me in the right direction but please be aware that I am not a IT expert so laymans terms if poss,TIA.
Can be everything.
- Cabling
- Antenna faulty
- Wrong gain
Are you operating this without any additional filter? That can also be a reason for bad reception. Unlikely that it’s a software issue as it was working before
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr
sudo systemctl stop dump1090-fa piaware
sudo rtl_test
sudo systemctl restart dump1090-fa piaware
Show the tuner / output of the rtl_test command
That’s assuming you have SSH access already? ( For Beginners - How-to SSH to RPi - Setup Putty in Windows)
Foxhunter, the antenna is brand new from an accomplished antenna maker, the cabling is brand new as well. What is gain and how do I change it??.
Just because it’s new it doesn’t mean to be working.
I bought a HDMI cable recently which was faulty right from the beginning…
Gain is a setting to tell the stick how “strong” the stick should take the signals.
Details here:
gain is a red herring …
The default settings are maximum gain, if anything you don’t get stuff near the receiver.
But if range is bad … gain is not the issue usually.
Well unless someone reduced the gain.
Considering it’s a Nooelec unit, i’d bet it’s an E4000 tuner which is not well suited for ADS-B.
(They offered and still offer several SDRs with that tuner. It’s not sensitive enough at 1090 MHz).
With an antenna on the roof , you should see a lot more traffic than just 40 planes. Something’s definitely wrong there. If the new antenna lead to an improvement, maybe it really is the dongle? Nevertheless, happy new year
yeah, i did not expect it’s a wrong gain setting as he didn’t change anything. Just wanted to add it getting the list of possibilities completed.
Regarding the Nooelec that was my thought as well, but didn’t want to mention it.
Wondering why it was working before the change.
Different sensitivity maybe?
So… looking at the replies here basically it looks like the NooElec dongle is not the best and I should buy a decent antenna. If anyone can give me an idea which dongle to buy and of course which antenna should be purchased I would be grateful.
Happy New Year to everyone.
Chris
Depending on how much money you want to spend.
One of the most efficient solutions would be the blue Flightaware Pro Plus stick.
It contain an amplifier and a filter for 1090 MHz.
You could also get an RTL-SDR stick or even an Airspy Stick. This in combination with a filtered amplifier offers the best basement for a good reception.
But both solutions will be more expensive, especially the Airspy stick.
I would not change both at the same time. The antenna might be ok, i would expect a much higher reception by using one of the alternatives.
The FA stick should be available for < 30 USD (depending on your location).
Happy New Year.
I also have a Broadsword ADSB Antenna and it works a treat, try another dongle first.
You should check which exact model of NoElec you have.
There are many models and most should be much better than what you get.
Maybe you have an invoice or something like that?
Otherwise i previously described how to check via the console.
sudo apt install rtl-sdr
sudo systemctl stop piaware dump1090-fa
rtl_test -t
Please post out put of last command.
After above test, restore system:
sudo systemctl restart dump1090-fa piaware
Â
Right then, Ive purchased a FlightAware Pro Stick Plus, is it just a case of changing it over and plugging everything back in??, does it require any programming or what ever??, as Ive mentioned Im not an IT person so if it does I will have to get an IT friend in.
TIA
Chris
just plugin and reboot, the the system will recognize the other stick and wil start working. If you have selected the adaptive gain option then the system will adjust the gain accordingly
Thanks everyone for the help and information, Ive fitted the Pro Stick and on the first screen there were 117 aircraft up to 220 miles away!!! so I think thats fixed it.
Thanks again.
Chris
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