ADS-B Mode-S

The result of tracking nearby aircraft with a Raspberry Pi and a RTL-SDR.

Yesterday's Stats

Country summary

Airframe summary

What is all of this?

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast - Mode-S

With a $10 DVB-T card, $6 of RG6 coaxial cable, a $35 Raspberry Pi B+, and a massive $20 µSD card I can track flights in real time which happen to venture near my house. Because of this, my friends tell me I have an AWACS system in my extra bedroom.

You only need a few things to get started:

• A RTL-SDR software defined radio
• dump1090 to do the dirty work

If you're still after more:

• You can make some kind of 1090 MHz Antenna, λ=257mm
• Then test the range of the antenna
• Try a Low Noise Amplifier(LNA) and filtered dongle, flightaware - prostick
• Experiment with gain/error correction settings on the SDR
• Move everything off to a Raspberry Pi
• Try to make a shorted quarter-wave (λ/4) stub filter
• Try a sawtooth filter and Low Noise Amplifier(LNA)
• Read some random things I wrote discovering this

ACARS

Like text messaging for planes...
acarsdec

Still parsing info from these, seem to be from mostly older planes which don't have adsb-out.

Active Frequencies:

• 129.125MHz
• 129.350MHz
• 130.025MHz
• 130.450MHz
• 131.125MHz
• 131.550MHz
• 131.725MHz
• 136.850MHz

Mode : 2 Label : H1 Id : 5 Nak
Aircraft reg: N595UA Flight id: UA2795
No: F50A
#M2BREQPWI/TS040406,180418/WQ410.370.320:AEX.IAH.WEEED.WAILN.REDNK.RODIO.MARCS.BRAUN.TROOP.CRISS.JATAX.REUBE.HASDO.ALAMO.RW13R.EMBOW/DQ400C705

References and Software

gr-air-modes - ADS-B receiving software.
wikipedia ADS-B
rtl-sdr ads-b article
dump1090
satsignal pi-1090
asd-b.ca