This method uses installation of Linux OS “Raspbian PIXEL x86” + dump1090-fa + Piaware + other data feeders, on a USB Flash Memory Stick.
After installation is complete, plug-in this USB Flash Memory stick in a Windows/Mac Laptop/Desktop, and restart the Laptop/Desktop, and at Boot time, choose option to boot from USB Flash Memory Stick.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is highly recommended by Flightaware to disable MLAT if you are moving in a car with your Laptop, as location is changing continuously, which will make MLAT to give wrong results. You can Enable MLAT if
(a) your car is parked,
and
(b) you enter the current location coordinates by going to https://flightaware.com/adsb/stats/user/YOUR_USER_NAME
.
(A) Installation of Linux OS on USB Flash Memory Stick
(1) On Windows/Mac laptop, download
“2016-12-13-pixel-x86-jessie.iso”
from: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/pixel-pc-mac/
(2) Plug-in a USB flash memory stick (8Gb or more) in laptop/desktop and format it.
(3) Write the downloaded .iso image to USB flash memory stick using Win32 disk imager or etcher.
(4) Shutdown laptop/desktop, and power up again. At start up, enter option to select boot device, and select USB flash memory as the boot device and boot from it into a Raspbian Pixel style desktop.
Different models of Laptop/Desktop use different methods to get into boot device selection. Most popular is to Press F12. On some models Escape then F9. Some Models may have still a different method to get into boot device selection at startup.
CAUTION: The default startup mode for Raspbian Pixel x86 is “With Persistence”, which on shutdown/reboot retains all the software installed and all the files saved. Without user interference, the Pixel x86 boots automatically to default of “With Persistence”. However if you are curious to see, at Raspberry Pi Splash screen press “Escape”, button, all available options will appear. DO NOT choose “Reset Persistence”, as it will wipe out all installed software like dump1090-fa, Piaware etc. Choose option “With Persistence”.
(5) Enable WiFi
From network icon on top-right of the Desktop, (1) right-click then selecting interface configure network, select Interface wlan0 (2) left-click and turn ON Wifi, then again right-click and it will display list of available WiFi networks.Choose the one you want to connect.
(6) Enable SSH
By default both the “SSH” and “SSH Password Authentication” are blocked. take following steps to enable these.
(a) To enable SSH:
#from terminal window of PIXEL x86 Desktop
#create file ssh to enable ssh
sudo touch /boot/ssh(b) To enable Password Authentication for SSH:
#edit file sshd_config to enable ssh login
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_configPress Ctrl+w and type PasswordAuthentication and press Enter key.
The cursor will jump to line PasswordAuthentication no
Change no to yes
Save file, exit nano, and reboot
sudo reboot(7) Change Keyboard from GB (default) to US
The default keyboard layout is GB. If you use a US Keyboard layout, you will see following differences in the default keyboard keys
Shift+2 will print “, and not @
Shift+3 will print £ and not #
Shift+” will print @ and not "
Since the tool “sudo raspi-config” is not available to change keyboard/locale, take following action
(B) Installation of Decoder and Data feeders on USB Flash Memory Stick
Before starting installation of dump1090-fa (or dump1090-mutability) and Piaware and other data feeder, plug a DVB-T or ProStick or ProStickPlus into your Laptop/Desktop which is running Raspbian Pixel x86 from USB Flash Memory Stick.
Do NOT install piaware by package install method on this page. It fails.
The reason is these packages are built for ARM architecture (Raspberry Pi), whereas laptops have i386/amd64 architechture.
To install dump1090-fa (or dump1090-mutability) and Piaware data feeder, I build these from source, using J Prochazka’s scripts. Since these packages were built right on the laptop, these were built for the architecture of the laptop (i386/amd64).
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git
cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/jprochazka/adsb-receiver.gitThe use of Joe Prochazka,s script required two workarounds:
WORKAROUND -1:
Update software versions in file ~/adsb-receiver/bash/variables.sh
#open file variables.sh for editing
sudo nano ~/adsb-receiver/bash/variables.shIn the file variables.sh, make changes in version numbers as shown below:
WORKAROUND -2
Build and install bladeRF and its dependencies.
Execute this workaround only if you want to install dump1090-fa.
For dump1090-mutability omit this workaround.
INSTALL PACKAGES/TOOLS NEEDED TO BUILD
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install git
sudo apt-get -y install debhelper
sudo apt-get -y install cmake
sudo apt-get -y install libusb-1.0-0-devINSTALL PACKAGES NEEDED TO FULFILL DEPENDENCIES
sudo apt-get install -y doxygen
sudo apt-get install -y libtecla-dev
sudo apt-get install -y libtecla1-dev
sudo apt-get install -y help2man
sudo apt-get install -y pandoc
sudo apt-get install -y libncurses5-devBUILD PACKAGE bladeRF
sudo mkdir ~/build-bladeRF
cd ~/build-bladeRF
sudo git clone https://github.com/Nuand/bladeRF.git
cd bladeRF
sudo dpkg-buildpackage -bAFTER BUILDPACKAGE IS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED
sudo dpkg -i ../libbladerf1_*
sudo dpkg -i ../libbladerf-udev_*
sudo dpkg -i ../libbladerf-dev_*Final Step After Workarounds:
Run the installation script:
cd ~/adsb-receiver
chmod +x install.sh
./install.shA interactive dialogue will appear, follow instructions on it.
NOTE: During this interactive process, one option given is "It is highly recommended to update your system " but it actually upgrades your system.
This update/upgrade takes considerable time to complete, some more space on USB Flash Memory, and also drains the Laptop Battery during normal use due to unnecessary packages are running in background. I said “NO” to it and still my setup is working ok.