For the past three years i have been receiving with a Nooelec RTL-SDR or a generic stick and using a generic amp, I recently decided to try a Pro Stick + on my setup (RPi B model).
I am running another RPi B model feeding FR24. Both RPi’s are using the same antenna.
Previously the two ran very close in aircraft numbers, although the Piaware software seemed to capture a larger number of positions and messages.
After reviewing a week’s worth of data I find that the Pro Stick + is a significant improvement with a daily increase of around 18 percent in number of aircraft reported. Also noticing a significant increase in messages (not necessarily position reports) compared with what the FR24 RPi sees.
We live in an area where we don’t see a great number of aircraft due to terrain limitations. So adding 18 percent and an increased message rate is very useful. We can use the B model RPi’s here due to the lower demands placed on it from a much smaller number of aircraft.
Richard