03/03/21 17:07:29 UTC
122.800 MHz
ALBEMARLE, NC
 "GECKO06, no drop, no drop" Prob a C27J, tail#10-27030 (AE4CFE) at 12,500ft over KMEB vic. 3/3/2021, 1200hrs. -AJ
 
03/03/21 02:25:31 UTC
240.350 MHz
CLINTWOOD, VA
 Mid air re-fueling training Eddie62
 
03/03/21 01:42:27 UTC
252.100 MHz
WAUCONDA, IL
 Correction MASH84 KC135 near Toledo OH
 
03/03/21 01:41:41 UTC
252.100 MHz
WAUCONDA, IL
 BRICKYARD MASH85 FL250 Code 2 one write up
 
03/02/21 17:58:17 UTC
276.500 MHz
,
Mid air re-fueling training
 
02/14/21 02:49:06 UTC
132.550 MHz
?
 
02/12/21 07:43:49 UTC
121.500 MHz
?
 
02/12/21 07:41:41 UTC
123.300 MHz
?
 
02/12/21 07:40:05 UTC
252.100 MHz
?
 
02/12/21 07:38:31 UTC
281.025 MHz
?
 
02/12/21 07:31:27 UTC
243.000 MHz
?
 
02/12/21 07:29:55 UTC
123.550 MHz
?
 

Military Air & Space Communications Facebook Group
Facebook Group: Military Air & Space Communications.
2700+ members, logs, how too's & more. Please click the link and join.
Self-Contained Aircraft Radar System For Less Than $100.00

I have been using my $20 ADSB Dongle with a $35 Raspberry Pi computer in a standalone configuration to send military mode-s data to my Live Military Aircraft Mode-S Logger page. Not only does this provide the standard mode-s data as seen on other Mode-S sites, but also provides real-time altitude and signal strength graphs of military aircraft as they fly through my area. Check it out! This is Mode-S data sharing with more detailed info then other sharing sites.

This was my first project using the Raspberry Pi and the Dongle. I used the very same Dongle that I had use in my article Your Own $20 ADSB Aircraft Radar System.

If you don't have any experience using the Raspberry Pi computer you first need to see my article Raspberry Pi - Getting It Ready for Neat Scanner Projects. That article will guide you through installing an operating system, setting up the networking, and getting the Raspberry Pi computer and Dongle to talk to each other.

In this article I will guide you step by step, line by line, key stroke by key stroke on how you can build your own Mode-S Aircraft Transponder monitoring system on a single board computer. When completed it will be smaller than a TV Remote Control!

Picture of the Components Assembled into a Mode-S System
Click on Picture for larger image


A neat thing about the Pi computer is that you can connect to it via Ethernet, WiFi, or simply plug it into the HDMI connector on your TV or monitor. You can connect a mouse and keyboard directy to the Pi as well. We will be using an Ethernet cable as well as WiFi in this article. But below I have included a picture of the function system plugged into my TV just to show that it will work this way.

Below is a picture of the Raspberry Pi connected to a TV Dongle, HiDef TV, keyboard, and a crappy 5" antenna setting ontop of a DVD player. The reason only a few aircraft are being tracked in this picture is because the antenna is only 2 feet above ground level. But it shows that this is possible.

Click on Picture for larger image


This next picture is the Raspberry Pi and TV Dongle connected to my real Mode-S antenna. This is accessing the Raspberry Pi computer via WiFi. One useful project for this type of setup is that you could mount your Pi and Dongle in your attic or on your antenna tower close to the antenna there by getting improved performance since you're not going to have coax loss. Coax loss is a big deal on 1090 MHz! For more info on my real Mode-S antenna Click Here and you can build your own for about $7.00

Click on Picture for larger image


A great thing about the Mode-S software running on the Pi computer is that is it is "OpenSource" and written in the "C" programming language. I've spent nearly 30 years programming in "C" so when time permits I hope to make some modifications to the program and hopefully have it do more....but that is for a later time.

Below I've included step by step instructions so that even someone with limited computer experience can get up and running. This assumes you've already read and done the steps as outlined in Raspberry Pi - Getting It Ready for Neat Scanner Projects.

Download and Install the DUMP1090 Software

  • 1) This is a pretty easy step, simply type the following commands:
    • cd /home/pi/
    • git clone git://github.com/MalcolmRobb/dump1090.git Besure you use Capital Letters where shown!
    • cd dump1090
    • make
    • sudo apt-get install pkg-config
    • make


  • 2) See it work! Type ./dump1090 --interactive making sure you put the 2 dashes before interactive. You should now see a screen with hexcodes and other aircraft info.


I hope you've enjoyed this article.