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Am I a good candidate for a free ADS-B receiver?

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  • Am I a good candidate for a free ADS-B receiver?

    I want to apply for a free ADS-B receiver and would like to know more about what's involved first rather than blindly send off an application.

    I live in a hilly area, on the western slope of a small hill. According to Google Earth, the top of the hill is higher than my rooftop by about 100ft at a distance of 600ft to the east, and by 200ft, 900ft to the south-east. North, south and west are clear. Practically all flights of interest are to the west and north-west.

    The nearest airport is about 9 miles to my north-west on the eastern side of a mountain and is exactly 2000ft lower than my house. It has about half a dozen scheduled commercial flights daily. Coverage seems to be poor as I have never been able to track flights properly below several thousand feet.

    Question 1: How likely is my location to qualify for installation of a receiver?

    Question 2: How much data bandwidth is involved? I have a 4 Mbps ADSL connection which is on 24x7. It sometimes slows down considerably. It rarely stops completely but it does happen.

    I have considerable experience in designing, building and repairing electronic products, aerial reception of distant TV stations and some experience in receiving commercial satellite TV broadcasts for redistribution. I do not have experience in aircraft tracking systems.

  • #2
    Nearly two weeks gone and not a single reply?
    Please note that the question is aimed, not just at the admins and mods of the forum nor at the folks who run FR24, but at anyone who can offer informed opinions considering the factors involved.

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    • #3
      Answer 1: Apply! It's free. If there is low or none coverage....well try it. But prepare to wait a bit for reply.
      Answer 2: 4Mbps is enough.
      For official support use Contact Form

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      • #4
        I submitted the application more than a week ago and received a 'no-reply' acknowledgement. The impression I got from browsing the forum is that some applicants are left in limbo for weeks or months, not knowing whether they're likely to receive the receiver or not. This is why I wanted to have an idea first about whether my location is likely to be seriously considered for installation.

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        • #5
          Unfortunately applying is the only way you are likely to find out, I applied and then forgot all about it, it came as some surprise when out of the blue I was accepted some months later.
          As it cost nothing to apply why not give it a try, if you are unsuccessful you could always build or buy your own station, it is easy enough, I built my own for OGN/PilotAware and for PlanePlotter and have a FR24 supplied setup to feed FR24.
          Ben.

          Originally posted by Pimpom View Post
          I submitted the application more than a week ago and received a 'no-reply' acknowledgement. The impression I got from browsing the forum is that some applicants are left in limbo for weeks or months, not knowing whether they're likely to receive the receiver or not. This is why I wanted to have an idea first about whether my location is likely to be seriously considered for installation.
          FR24 F-EGLF1, Blitzortung station 878, OGN Aldersht2, PilotAware PWAldersht, PlanePlotter M7.

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          • #6
            Thanks for the reply. OK, I guess the only thing to do is to wait and see although, once I put my mind to something, I seldom forget about it. I can be quite patient with the waiting; it's the uncertainty that gets me.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Pimpom View Post

              I have considerable experience in designing, building and repairing electronic products, aerial reception of distant TV stations and some experience in receiving commercial satellite TV broadcasts for redistribution. I do not have experience in aircraft tracking systems.
              Neither did I but spending some time on the forum will get you up to speed.

              You can also send and application to the other flight trackers that send out free equipment. I started with FR24 and now have three
              F-SMZO2

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              • #8
                Sorry about the late reply. No, I haven't received any further update after their initial acknowledgement of my application. It's almost a month now since I submitted the application. I wish they'd give us at least some indication one way or the other.

                In the meantime, I'm refraining from going for a paid subscription to FR24. I live in an exceptionally close-knit society where a lot of people are interested in FR24. The main thing holding them back is the poor coverage of the only airport in the state.

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                • #9
                  I must have been lucky. I applied back in September and got approved after answering their questions and providing some pictures of where the antenna was going to mounted and pictures to the 4 cardinal points of the compass from the antenna location. I have had my ADS-B box online for over a week now. I live in northern Alberta and am surprised at the amount of air traffic that flies by. My farthest contact has been 205 nm.

                  Its an addicting app/website, that's for sure.

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                  • #10
                    How far from the airport are you? What is the surrounding terrain like? As I said earlier, my city's airport has only half a dozen scheduled flights a day but there's a busy international route about 5 miles to the south.

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