Tag Archives: Dan Srebnick

Dan’s take on ADS-B with the Raspberry Pi B model

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Srebnick (K2DLS), who recently posted a detailed overview of his ADS-B installation on his blog:

Monitoring NextGen ATC (on the cheap!)

A key component of next generation air traffic control is Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B). The current FAA mandate is for all included aircraft to output ADB-B transmissions no later than January 1, 2020. But you don’t have to wait to receive and map ADS-B. There is a lot of air traffic to be seen.

[…]I decided to use a spare older RTL-SDR stick based on the RTL2832U and R820T chips. This USB device comes with a small antenna that I hoped would be good enough to get me started. It is not in any way optimized for the 1090 MHz signals that are used by ADS-B and is roughly 19 parts per million (ppm) off frequency. It cost a bit over $10 at a hamfest a couple of years ago. The designs have improved since the early models were offered. Newer models include a TCXO (thermally compensated crystal oscillator) for stability and accuracy.

I needed software to take signals from the RTL-SDR stick and plot them on a map. That software is “dump1090”, originally written by Salvatore Sanfilippo. I added an install stanza to the Makefile, along with a systemd service file, for a smooth system install. I also needed to install the RTL-SDR USB drivers. The complete installation runs “headless”, meaning no monitor, keyboard or mouse need be connected. Remote management can be done via ssh.[…]

Continue reading on Dan’s blog…

This is fantastic, Dan! Thank you for taking the time to share all of the code snippets you needed to do the installation on the Raspberry Pi B as well. Post Readers: if you have an older Raspberry Pi and RTL-SDR sitting on a shelf, use Dan’s guidance to turn them into an ADS-B feeder!

Click here to read my ADS-B feeder tutorial based on the Raspberry Pi 3.

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This weekend: MARS communication exercise

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan (K2DLS), who writes:

There is a MARS communication exercise taking place this weekend. As
part of the exercise, a MARS station on the east and west coasts will
broadcast a bulletin which will be verified by a QSL.

Please see the notice below:
A HIGH POWER 60 METER BROADCAST WILL BE MADE TO THE AMATEUR RADIO
COMMUNITY THIS SUNDAY 30 OCT AT 2300 HOURS ON 5330.5 USB (60 M). IT
WILL REPEATEDLY RUN A 5 MINUTE BROADCAST FOR AN HOUR ALTERNATING
BETWEEN AN EAST COAST AND WEST COAST STATION. THE BROADCAST WILL
INSTRUCT AMATEUR RADIO STATIONS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH A MARS STATIONS ON
60 METER CHANNELS (INCLUDING 5330.5 USB) AND REPORT LOCAL CONDITIONS.
AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS WHO RECEIVE THE HIGH POWER 60 METER BROADCAST
WILL ALSO RECEIVE A QSL CARD BY ENTERING A RECEPTION REPORT ON THE
WWW.USARMYMARS.ORG WEBSITE.

Carver W2TFM
MARS Region 2 (NY & NJ) Director, AAA2RD
——–

73, Dan

VEry cool! Thank you, Dan!

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All India Radio DRM: Dan notes two simultaneous feeds

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All India Radio (AIR) Headquarters in Dehli, India. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Srebnick, who writes:

While DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) has long been pronounced DOA (dead on arrival), All India Radio seems to be taking it pretty seriously. Here’s a screenshot of not one, but two simultaneous feeds going out over the same 10 kHz wide 40 meter frequency (7,550 kHz) at 2027 UTC today. The signal on my Perseus was just a tad under S9+5db using my ham band Alpha Delta DX-CC antenna.

So what’s the twist, aside from the 2 feeds on 1 frequency? Even at +5 over S9, the feed was only strong enough to occasionally flutter in with some decoded audio. Mostly, it was silence.

[I had] about a 98% successful decode by 2051 UTC when the signal rose to S9+10 db. I could switch between streams by clicking channel button within Dream!

Dan wrote the message above yesterday, I asked him if he could record AIR today and he kindly sent the following:

AIR DRM recorded today with announcements @ 1930 UTC. Some dropouts as a
great example of the dropout/echo effect heard on DRM when signals are quite
strong enough. This decode was done at S9 signal strength.

Dan actually calls the DRM dropouts, the “Max Headroom Effect.” That is the best description I’ve ever heard, Dan. Thanks for sharing your notes and recording!

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