Radarspotting

I'm using PP to monitor aircraft flying into the low level flying area in Mid Wales known as the Mach Loop:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o-Eaixw6ec

but there are significant gaps in the PP network which means that many aircraft transiting across or entering don't appear on PP as enough users aren't sharing it to make MLAT possible.

I'm part of a Facebook group which has over 1000 users so I'm hoping to encourage some of them to take the plunge to share data but that's going to take a while.  I've only just got my ground station setup after a week of trying !

In the meantime I can see who's sharing a particular aircraft so I though I'd plot each of the sharers found here on a Google map so that I could get a feel for the very approximate area that an aircraft might be in.  I've found a list of active sharers here:

http://g4est1.no-ip.org/MyWeb/g4est/sharerdb/phpscripts/sharer_db_published.php

But I'm intrigued what the rx_codes mean ?  Does anyone know ?

Thanks in advance ....

They are the receiver types, clicking on the link 'receivers' on the left hand side under 'PAGE LIST' decodes them for you.

http://g4est1.no-ip.org/MyWeb/g4est/sharerdb/phpscripts/receivers.php

Tim

Ah thanks for that - I clicked on the link repeatedly and got a 404 error.  I'm guessing that the user is running that over their broadband connection which is why it's sooooo slow

Phil

Hi Phil

I agree about the coverage in the North Wales MTA
Higher level stuff shows up fine on mlat but as soon as they go low level , things get sketchy.

I usually keep an eye on traffic westbound through the Lichfield corridor and the Shawbury low level mlat sector.

PP already plots sharers for you using the sharerlocation system which was developed many years ago as a way of locating non plotters

Have a look at  instructions below  **


The default range is 150 miles , but you can edit that to just 20 miles if you like , which will put a circle around the top five sharers [ not just GS ] seeing the a/c

Good luck with your campaign to recruit more Ground Stations in the region.
If I can help in any way , let me know.
I hosted the PP stand for a number of years at the NWales Radio Rally and signed up well over 50 new users across Wales , but many of those were download only

John
PlanePlotter Support
http://www.coaa.co.uk/planeplotter.htm


**
...

download the txt file directly from:  http://www.coaa.co.uk/sharerlocations.php  and paste into the main PP folder replacing the existing one

Go to options chart ....circle sharers tick that.
Now press Control "E" in chart view and double click an a/c
The circles around sharers seeing that a/c will pop.   

  "To use as a GPX overlay, right click on (link on page) and save the sharerlocations.gpx file to your Plane Plotter chart directory.  Note that Windows will try to change the file name extension; force it to be ".GPX".  When you have saved it, select the GPX file using Options..Chart..GPX overlay."

Once you have digested the above......have a look at Beamfinder Plus  in the PP wiki

This is another of PlanePlotters unique systems.
It helps locate a/c  and even if they are not sending Mode S data it can still
find them using the pulses from Mode A/C radar heads.

Your rtl dongle is capable of doing this although SBS3 and Beast do it much better.
As it uses just your local data you dont need the support of other users.

There are three versions of Beamfinder 
BF ...mode S long range
BF Plus S Mode S short range
BF Plus Mode A/C

For BFplus all you need is the sqwk code of the target a/c
You then search for that code in the special section of a/c view , click on it and the beams will try to triangulate the position of the a/c provided you have an accurate radar txt file

The sqk list can be modified so that only codes used in the Welsh MTA will be shown , thus increasing you chances of a good fix.

Quote from: satcom on September 30, 2014, 09:07:59 AM
Your rtl dongle is capable of doing this although SBS3 and Beast do it much better.

What about the Kinetic 1090 Puck and Guenter's Radarcape?

Yep they do it too , but I was trying to keep things simple , using "Familiar" names

Phil is new to this so don't want to overload him with too many facts and figures.

Quote from: satcom on September 30, 2014, 09:23:57 AM
Phil is new to this so don't want to overload him with too many facts and figures.

Sure, but he won't be the only one reading these posts.

 ???

Thanks for the replies guys and to Satcom thanks for the tip about the sharer circles.  That's part of the beauty and the frustration with PP - there's just so much to learn.

Satcom, do you have any specific suggestions on how to get more people to sign up as sharers ?  I'm putting together a step-by-step guide to show people how to inexpensively get a ground station up and running which will hopefully show them that it's relatively easy to do.

Frustratingly I'm located in a valley in the Brecon Beacons with big hills all around me apart from a narrow slot out to the NE which would rule out the use of beamfinder as most of the aircraft I'm watching I'm not actually receiving.

I'm seriously considering setting up a remote station using a Raspberry PI and hiding it on top of one of the hills around here but it would have to run over GPRS which I suspect would be prohibitively expensive !

Hi Phil

There are a number of guides etc.....the best are here on Nic Storey's site as they are up to date...have a look at

http://www.nicstorey.co.uk/planeplotter/?q=Getting%20Started

As for more sharers , local groups , meetings and word of mouth are usually best

PP is not openly advertised in magazines etc as its not  a commercial product in that respect...although Mike won't agree with that statement  :D............we remain a private network to give us the edge.

Recommendation is usually the best way to gather new users.

As for a remote system APRS is used by the FLARM network , but as you say , it can be expensive to set up and run

"APRS is used by the FLARM network" .... sounds interesting, what's that ?

Quote from: Pidea on September 30, 2014, 12:07:19 PM
I'm seriously considering setting up a remote station using a Raspberry PI and hiding it on top of one of the hills around here but it would have to run over GPRS which I suspect would be prohibitively expensive !

How would you apply power for the Pi, receiver and Internet connection?

Quote from: satcom on September 30, 2014, 12:14:22 PM
PP is not openly advertised in magazines etc as its not  a commercial product in that respect...although Mike won't agree with that statement

I'm not the only one who would disagree:

Definition of commercial product

A product that can be sold, rather than one still being developed.

http://lexicon.ft.com/term?term=commercial-product

Quote from: Anmer on September 30, 2014, 12:27:55 PM
How would you apply power for the Pi, receiver and Internet connection?

In the worse case, via a lead acid battery, a small solar panel and charge regulator.  It's early days but I'll work out the power requirements as well as the data requirements.

Another option is that I may be able to get power to the top of a friends field and then use a directional WiFi antenna to use their broadband connection.  As I said, early days ....

Hi Phil,

If you want a location for an RPi GS you should contact your local Amateur Radio Club.

Many clubs maintain radio repeater stations on hilltops and they may allow you to co-locate equipment there.

Wind generators to supply electrical power work well on hilltops.

Tom

Quote from: Pidea on September 30, 2014, 12:26:16 PM
"APRS is used by the FLARM network" .... sounds interesting, what's that ?

FLARM is used by gliders and some light a/c and helos...plus the Battle of Britain Flight
Its more a low power collision avoidance system than a tracking device
You can see FLARM targets on pp with the hex prefix GG

Quote from: Anmer on September 30, 2014, 12:31:25 PM

Quote from: satcom on September 30, 2014, 12:14:22 PM
PP is not openly advertised in magazines etc as its not  a commercial product in that respect...although Mike won't agree with that statement

I'm not the only one who would disagree:

Definition of commercial product

A product that can be sold, rather than one still being developed.

http://lexicon.ft.com/term?term=commercial-product

;D ;D ;D

Surely you pay an annual subscription to COAA, not buy the product?

Thanks for the replies guys - I'll check out the local radio club.

Quote from: viking9 on September 30, 2014, 12:45:34 PM
Surely you pay an annual subscription to COAA, not buy the product?

I pay an annual subscription to Sky.  Does that make it a private, non-commercial product?

QuoteDefinition of commercial product

A product that can be sold, rather than one still being developed.

http://lexicon.ft.com/term?term=commercial-product

That could applies to mega corporation's "commercial products" as well with Service Packs becoming available at regular intervals  ;)

Quoteurely you pay an annual subscription to COAA, not buy the product?

Well I paid once a few years ago and I'm still using it.

Quote from: IanH on September 30, 2014, 01:53:49 PM
Well I paid once a few years ago and I'm still using it.

Really Ian. So you are not contributing your data?

Bringing this back on to topic for a moment ....

Of all the bits of kit listed on here:

http://g4est1.no-ip.org/MyWeb/g4est/sharerdb/phpscripts/receivers.php

are they all capable of sharing data into the PP network ?

I know that the rtl1090 software is no longer suitable for a ground station setup as I had to ditch mine and move to dump1090.

Satcom is probably the best person to answer this. He will know what is able to contribute to the MLAT network.

The list refered to shows receivers and types of input

Basically apart from the rtl dongle in conjunction with dump 1090 windows  the
Kinetic family ...SBS1 and variants , SBS3 and kinetic Puck , plus  Beast and Radarcape are all capable of delivering raw data for use as a ground station.

Excellent thanks - I'll proceed to plot those ones out on a Google Map.  But first .... chocolate then a glass of wine.  It's been a long day !