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  • #16
    Originally posted by Tmax View Post
    I received the Pi already and I have a package waiting for me at the post office. I hope it's the ADS-B stick + indoor antenna so I can start testing this weekend, but I have ordered so much stuff lately that it could be something else too... I haven't had time to get an ethernet cable up to the attic so the setup will be dependent on wi-fi to begin with, but at least I got electricity there now
    It was the ADS-B stick and antenna I took the easy route and used the FR24 image, enabled wi-fi on the Pi and that was it. Getting the Business subscription as a result was a lot more confusing as I didn't get an email or any other communication that it was activated, but perhaps it's just me.

    Getting the DUMP1090 map showing up at x.x.x.x:8080/ required some investigating, but adding "--net --net-http-port 8080" to the process arguments at x.x.x.x:8754/settings.html sorted that out (x.x.x.x = IP of my Pi). After some poking around with the settings I also got Virtual Radar Server ("VRS") to work, the only problem is my max. range is very low at the moment (62 nm) so there's not much to see on the map. The small indoor antenna (uncut and sitting on a tin can ground plane) is still on the first floor in a window facing south, but later today I'll move it to the attic (about 4 m higher up) and see what difference that makes.

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    • #17
      Originally posted by boab View Post
      All you need now is a means of programming the micro SD card from your PC. Suitable usb -> card adaptors on eBay either via Standard SD card convertor or direct.
      Look forward to progress report.
      Thats everything ordered now. I've gone for the components previously mentioned. As part of the pack there is a mSD card with Raspbian pre-installed and I have USB SD card adapter along with SD card reader on my PC so should hopefully be sorted in this regard for being able to programme the Pi.

      Definitely will come back with a progress update. Thanks again all for the advise.

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      • #18
        Originally posted by Tmax View Post
        the only problem is my max. range is very low at the moment (62 nm) so there's not much to see on the map. The small indoor antenna (uncut and sitting on a tin can ground plane) is still on the first floor in a window facing south, but later today I'll move it to the attic (about 4 m higher up) and see what difference that makes.
        Moving the antenna 4-5 m up did indeed extend the max. range from 62 to 138 nm. Of course single vs. triple-glazed window may also play a part of the improvement. Cutting the antenna from original length to a total of 67 mm (15+52 mm) did not improve the range, but I don't know if I'm now seeing more planes as my unscientific approach made it difficult to compare the results reliably. The next step is testing the FlightAware 1090 antenna in the same spot when it arrives.

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        • #19
          So I'm hoping to have delivery of all the components by 23rd Aug. I think some of them are coming from Germany via FlightAware/Amazon.

          I've had a look at http://www.heywhatsthat.com/ (Thanks to abcd567 for the link) and the my coverage doesn't look ideal thanks to the surrounding hilly terrain where i am unfortunately. I had a feeling this would be the case. I was hoping my receiver would pick up a lot of the VFR traffic we have around here, typically around the 1000ft - 5000ft range. Between my location and my local airport there are quite a few hills to overcome, so despite it only being 3 miles away, I doubt coverage will be very good towards this location. If my understanding of ADS-B being typically line of sight reception due to the higher freqs is correct? I'm hoping to have my antenna 15/20ft AGL but indoors unfortunately. The surrounding terrain will be the biggest issue.

          Theoretical reception of traffic around 2000ft in Orange and 5000ft in Blue
          2000ft.jpg

          Theoretical reception of traffic around 10000ft in Orange and 35000ft in Blue
          10000ft.jpg

          Sectional terrain view between my location and local airport.
          Sectional View.jpg

          My primary aim will be to have the receiver feed data to FR24, so I'm going to (try to!) follow the instructions here initially once I have my head around the OS.

          I will eventually be looking to use the receiver on a more mobile basis (I'll need to get a much smaller antenna for that) and link it up to an android mobile so i can use it if I am out and about.....but thats another chapter!

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          • #20
            Hello Graeme
            I recently tried the Flightradar24 and FlightAware 3.0.3 SD card images both are very simple to get working and require no RPi knowledge - unless things go horribly wrong ;-)
            Both give a nice map of the planes you see on web port 8080, from the dump1090 software they use.
            Have you bought some spare microSD cards? I recently bought some Samsung 16GB EVO class 10 cards from eBay for £5 each. I have been using Samsung 16Gb class 10 cards about a year and find them very reliable.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Tmax View Post
              The next step is testing the FlightAware 1090 antenna in the same spot when it arrives.
              The antenna arrived some time ago, but not the pigtail so haven't been able to test it. Getting tired of waiting I ordered the FlightAware Pro Stick USB dongle + filter and a 50 cm N to SMA pigtail (RG316) which should arrive on Monday. I live in a "quiet" area so might try the new stick without the filter for a couple of days to see if adding it makes things better or worse. So far the Pi has been running perfectly on WiFi despite relatively weak signal.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by boab View Post
                Have you bought some spare microSD cards? I recently bought some Samsung 16GB EVO class 10 cards from eBay for £5 each. I have been using Samsung 16Gb class 10 cards about a year and find them very reliable.
                I haven't, no. I was hoping to find some laying about from other things but I may just purchase a couple.

                I'm assuming the mSD cards are essentially the booting OS? So they can be swapped in and out as necessary?

                The Pi kit arrived today, and I'm desperate to have a little play about with it to get to grips with the OS etc. I may install the OS and update it. Not much point in downloading FR at this time as the rest of the hardware won't be here until Tuesday.


                Originally posted by Tmax View Post
                So far the Pi has been running perfectly on WiFi despite relatively weak signal.
                This is good to know, as my Pi will be at the other side of the house from the Wi-Fi. However the coverage is excellent in general with this router.

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                • #23
                  Everything is stored on the Card so once you get FR24 working you can switch off and remove the card, and put the original back to practice your RPI command line skills, then switch back to FR24. So you can make a copy of a working system on your PC before you experiment a bit more and perhaps mess it all up. Suggest you back up your current card before you make to many changes that you did not really mean to...

                  Suggest you install putty on your PC and play with SSH into the RPi. I only attach screen and keyboard in extreme emergencies ;-)
                  Last edited by boab; 2016-08-18, 21:52.

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                  • #24
                    So I decided un-box and set up the Pi. Very easy! (I think, I hope?) and it was literally just plug and play. Nice simple GUI to work through. Having used Debian some time ago, this was a familiar environment.

                    I set it up originally via a full wired setup. (HDMI, keyboard, mouse, LAN etc) and ran sudo apt-get update etc to ensure it was fully up to date.

                    Had to make a few changes in the Pi settings to run Wi-Fi, but very simple.

                    Then installed PuTTY (Thanks boab and the PI is now running stand alone with just the power adapter connected.

                    Lastly installed ConnectBot for Android so I can also use an old Android device to access the Pi remotely via my mobile (which is connected to the same Wi-Fi network at the moment). I suspect there will be further complications/programming required if I wanted to use my existing mobile to connect when it is running on the cellular network. To check in on the Pi whilst I am out and about or to even use the whole setup whilst i am out and about - Fully mobile.

                    Pi Starter Kit from the Pi Hut
                    20160819_095755.jpg


                    Pi 3 Model B pack
                    20160819_095832.jpg

                    Don't think there is much more I can do now until the rest of the hardware arrives.

                    EDIT: So The hardware arrived today, and not Tuesday as expected! Fortunately a neighbor accepted the order as I wasn't in.

                    I'm going to start by attempting to run the FA dongle and antenna via my laptop and PlanePlotter to start.
                    Last edited by Graeme2812; 2016-08-19, 15:31. Reason: Unexpected Hardware Arrived Update

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                    • #25
                      .
                      CONGRATULATIONS Graeme2812

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                      • #26
                        So all of the hardware has now arrived and been installed. Quite simple. The antenna has been temporally hung near an upstairs window until i decide where to put it and once all the tweaking and configuring has been completed. I think I've now successfully ran the receiver from my laptop using PlanePlotter (Dump1090 and RTL 1090) and I've also (I think) managed to configure and upload data to FR24 via the Pi. I have a few queries about that, however those are for the data feeding thread.

                        Thanks again all for the advise!

                        Dongle and antenna
                        20160819_141446.jpg

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