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  1. Introduction I am currently running ADSB tracking software on a Raspberry Pi in my home office. This is connected to a dedicated antenna and feeds into a number of flight tracking services. All data is received direct from the aircraft and fed into the services such as FlightRadar24 and ADSB Exchange. At present, coverage broadly extends to Northumberland, over to Cumbria and down to Liverpool and North Yorkshire. There is also some coverage out into the North Sea. Below are some links to the system, mainly posted here for reference purposes. 2. Links We have a couple of options to view the live feed of aircraft in range of the antenna here (typically about 100 miles but varies in some directions). Whichever is selected, the data is the same but the different views are more about personal preference. Personally, I prefer the third option - which provides a clearer view of the flights and associated data. 2.1 Live Feeds Live View 1 Live View 2 Live View 3 2.2 Historic Data Air traf

Edit, 11th August 2024: This system is currently offline. 1. Introduction Software Defined Radio (SDR) is a way of turning a computer, phone or tablet into a radio receiver, covering a wide range of bands, modes and typically, a frequency range of 0 - 2GHz. For those not involved in the hobby, most of that probably means very little. This post will explain a little about what this means then how to access an online SDR that is operating from my home. 1.2 SDR SDR is a catch-all term describing a means of accessing radio signals through a device plugged into a computer or other device. Once signals are received, they are "decoded" by the computer and produce sound or data depending on what is being received. Advantages of SDR are: Wide frequency range - covering 0 - 2GHz (others cover different ranges but these will be useful for most users). Cheap - I use two of these  and find them excellent receivers - these kits come with a basic antenna setup which is often "good eno

  Background Following on from a post  earlier this year, where I discussed reception of FT8 signals, I finally got around to transmitting on this mode in the last few days. As a quick reminder, FT8 is a digital mode for sending messages by radio and is particularly good at getting "through the noise". For those not familiar, everything we do produces Radio Frequency (RF) emissions. Many devices are shielded to reduce this, some are better than others and some have no shielding at all. As a result, that generates a lot of junk/background radio emissions which can make it difficult to get a strong signal through. FT8 is intentionally designed to work in conditions that would be far from optimum for other modes. It is mostly used on (High Frequency) HF bands. Again, for those who are unfamiliar, these are the "long distance" bands and are affected by various factors from time of day, solar weather and other conditions. FT8 can be used on VHF and UHF bands - which are

  Introduction Given the recent US/China Balloon Incident  it seems an opportune moment to discuss tracking aircraft with an SDR (Software Defined Radio) using the ADSB technology deployed in almost all commercial, private and military aircraft. Last night the US shot down the balloon which had crossed the continental US - in reality, a bizarre event - I do not know of another occasion in living memory that the US has had to use missiles to shoot down an object over it's own territory. Even during WW2 when Japan launched balloons against the US mainland, these were never shot down. Whatever the ramifications of this remain to be seen but it was interesting to note many media outlets making use of ADSB tracking data through the Flight Radar 24 website . What many people may not realise is that to track these aircraft with your own equipment is actually a trivial matter and takes no time at all to set-up. This post covers the basic setup and configuration of an SDR receiver to acqui

Introduction A few people have asked me about the amateur radio thing, "why" being the most frequent.  I will touch on this in more detail as time goes on but in short, when I was a kid, I'd wonder, when looking at a normal FM radio, why does it start at 88? Why does it end at 108? What is before and after these numbers. Do you ever remember tuning into a radio when you were younger, hearing some random noises or foreign voices and wonder what it was you were picking up? Remember often hearing stuff from Eastern Europe during the cold war - who were those people hidden behind the Iron Curtain and what were they saying? How was I picking them up and from where? I later found out that this is a great range for widely broadcast services due to the size of antenna needed to receive these signals clearly - and for a whole host of other reasons. So, the short answer as to why -  No, I'm not especially interested in chatting to sweaty truckers racing up the A1 with a deliver