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Comment by anonu | Hacker News Reader

Or just run antirez's dump1090 https://github.com/antirez/dump1090 with the appropriate ADS-B dongle

> Ever wonder what airplane is flying overhead?

Also - not all planes broadcast ADS-B. Also - theres a privacy push to mask a plane's real tail number in ADS-B broadcasts - relevant for private planes (not commercial)

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The world of ADS-B decoders is an annoyingly messy one, but antirez's dump1090 is the oldest decoder there is and you almost certainly don't want to use it--The decoding logic hasn't been improved in more than 7 years.

Wiedehopf's readsb is the latest decoder, which is under active development, and designed to pair well with the front-end UI that is also under the most active current development, tar1090.

Installation instructions for readsb: https://github.com/wiedehopf/adsb-scripts/wiki/Automatic-ins...

The world of ADS-B decoders is annoyingly confusing, mostly because people keep forking one executable (while keeping the same name) that does both decoding and web UI instead of creating a decoding library where we could pool our collective efforts at improvement.

  Name                                          Last update
  ----                                          -----------
  dump1090 (antirez)                            > 7 years ago
  dump1090 (mutablity)                          6 years ago
  dump1090 (adsbexchange's fork of mutability)  4 years ago
  dump1090 (adsbexchange's fork of fa)          2 years ago
  readsb                                        4 months
  dump1009 (fa)                                 1 month ago
  readsb (wiedehopf dev)                        6 days ago

Thanks for that summary; wish I had it when I first started feeding. The number & genealogy of all the forks confused me to no end (well, at least for a few hours).

Tacking on two more software pointers:

- The mikenye collection of docker packages is well maintained, well documented, and a very easy way to get started feeding. Example: https://github.com/mikenye/docker-readsb

- I made a little CLI "gui" to monitor/visualize the SBS1 stream from dump1090 and clones. It was just a little excuse to understand the telemetry/protocol better. Welcome any suggestions or feedback! https://github.com/mik3y/flightmon

Please do not run Antirez's version, it is much less updated than Readsb or FlightAware's dump1090 fork

https://github.com/flightaware/dump1090

https://github.com/wiedehopf/readsb

I'm an open-source dump1090-on-rPi fanboi. This thing works great. I live near a somewhat dangerous river mouth, and dump1090 shows me who the helicopters are when they show up. Coast Guard? TV News?

I use it with a cheezy indoor antenna for my rtl-sde dongle. Plenty of range for what I'm doing.

I can also see the high-altitude airliners going to and from JFK.

If you live in the sticks (I don't) flightAware will provide their rPi / receiver / antenna for free, in return for your data feed. I think they're still trying to get more receivers in places like Labrador and Greenland -- definitely fly-over territory.

Yes, I plan on building a custom antenna so I can place it outside

The antenna from Pimoroni in the UK are a good price and give you a good splat (I get nearly 200nm from near sea level in London with an antenna in a window).

Regarding the last bit, that is correct. We (I'm FlightAware's ADS-B Program Manager) send ADS-B receivers free of charge to places we need better coverage. Labrador and Greenland are great examples. If you're interested please visit our website, specifically the FlightFeeder page.

Thank you! I have been running one of those FlightFeeders for over a year now. Antenna mounted on the roof at 11m above ground. As an EE I can say those feeders have much better hardware than average Pi+RTL-SDR+wire. Thanks to a very good GNSS receiver inside I can also now tell exactly where my house is at any time ;). Have you also tried to use the data from GPS network for any other purpose than flight tracking (seismology, atmospheric studies)?

Glad you like our gear and really appreciate you being a host!

We haven't done anything with the GPS data yet and probably won't with this generation of FlightFeeders. We're currently in the design phase for a Pi4 based kit with a brand new FlightAware designed SDR. Part of that project includes an Epic for what we're calling "Science Packages" internally. What you suggest fits in with that concept.

Do you have any plans to include AIS for ship tracking as well? I guess that would need a second SDR, or perhaps you can cycle through the two frequencies and get enough messages to still be usable?

Edit: Or maybe support for ATC radio traffic? Again, it probably needs a second SDR, but it would make it much easier for those who are interested than it is now. I would love to be able to just run some daemon and get an audio stream on a local port and maybe an audio player in the web client.

Considering FlightAware is getting rich off your data, selling blocking services, actively working against enthusiasts through lobbying with NBAA and EU authorities.

FA / FR24 offering nothing in return but a fake enterprise account, a bunch of gimmicks, basically good marketing to trick fools into proving them 10 of millions of dollars in free data a month.

Suggest looking up https://www.adsbexchange.com/ and talking to them about hardware - that way everyone can make good use of the data instead of FlightAware and Daniel Baker getting rich from a business model based on extortion.

Absurd to me that people brag about hosting FlightAware or FR24 hardware while in reality all they are is getting fucked while FA and FR24 run off with bags of money.

> Also - not all planes broadcast ADS-B.

Aircraft that do not broadcast ADS-B have not been airworthy in the US since January 2020.

Only in airspace where a transponder is required. Most airspace in the US does not need a transponder unless you're near a major airport, and therefore doesn't require ADS-B.

Aircraft without an electrical system are also exempt from the transponder requirement.

> Also - theres a privacy push to mask a plane's real tail number

Please, call them registrations. The majority of countries don't use numbers in aircraft registrations, and carry them on the fuselage instead of the tail...

Any pilot or controller anywhere in the world knows the term tail number. I own a US registered airplane and the number is on the fuselage, but it’s still referred to as a tail number. I’ve had Mexican and Dominican Republic controllers ask for my “tail number.” And most American planes have letters in their registration as well. “Number” isn’t literal. And “tail” isn’t literal. But it’s universally understood and it’s distinguished from “fleet number” which may be on the nose or fuselage.

Over the radio “registration number” is 6 syllables. “Tail number” is three syllables. And brevity is essential on radio frequencies. However far more common is “call sign” which may or not be the “tail number/registration.” I have flown outside the US frequently, mostly the Caribbean and Latin America, and tail number is extremely common. The ICAO flight plan calls for an Aircraft Identification — which is the technically correct term internationally but I have never heard that in spoken radio communication in any country.

The point is that there is some aviation “slang” that is widely accepted and used. While we can get mired in pedantry, it doesn’t really add to the discussion. I don’t think many people discussing aviation topics are confused about the term “tail number.”

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