I'm not seeing some helicopter flights that are going right over my house. Is there a reason for this? Is there no way to track these flights?
Hello everyb I have the same problem here... yesterday, a helicopter flew over my and there was nothing on my reveiver. Neither before, nor after the fly-by... Any ideas? I have another question. I connected my virtual radar server to adsbexchange (feed....) but my station is not visible on the statistics map. My position is set in the virtual radar server. Thanks in advance!
Hi Most of helicopters don't send its position. It has to be calculated with MLAT but it needs at least 4 stations receiving signal and sending it to same MLAT server. Probably you see ICAO on your dump1090 but without position, altitude and speed. To see such a flight you need data from MLAT server. @holdi If you are feeding only from VRS then your data are visible on Global Radar View. To see your station on ADSBX coverage map you have to install MLAT client and start feeding. BR Marcin
Helicopters do not fly above FL18 and aren't required to have ADSB on board. Most often they aren't even consistently transmitting Mode-S. If they aren't doing ADSB, they have to at least be sending Mode-S -- and then like MDA said you have to have enough MLAT stations copying them simultaneously to have an MLAT track produced. And often helos fly so low that there aren't enough receivers close enough to them to be able to pick up the Mode-S in order to calculate MLAT. They could be using UAT (978 mhz), but that requires a whole different setup to copy that. Around here (Ohio), I rarely see a helo with ADSB, except for some MICU choppers. And their mode S transmissions always seem quite rare. I hear them going over and landing at the airport a half mile away all the time, and rarely even see a Mode-S transmission. m
Thank you for the information. I thought it was something like this... Later today another helicopter was visible. What do you think about the MLAT client - Does it make sense to start a client at my location (Switzerland, in a valley)? I think ADSB-only makes more sense... Just because I can receive ADS-B signals on my own without the help of other stations. My main goal ist to make low flying traffic visible in my area (i. e. below 6000ft). Regards, Andy
Thank you all for your help. Is there any way to find out any info at all about these helos going over my house? Any way at all?
If they don't have a transponder or the transponders are off - the only way is to get out there with a camera with a good zoom or a telescope and get the registration numbers. Hide in the trees spook style.
Hi Andy Try to install MLAT client and you'll see results. Every new feeder is improving coverage. Maybe somebody else will see you on the map and will start feeding. It's like domino BR Marcin
Hi Marcin, You are right. My brother already asked if it would be possible to install a Client at his place too (the Domino already started...) I am still in "testmode" - that means my System is running on a cheap Windows tablet and the antenna is indoors... The Goal is to run a raspberry pi somewhen this winter. Is there a possibility to run a MLAT Client on a Windows machine (just for testing)? Best Regards, Andy
James, Hopefully the neighbors won't think there's a peeping Tom in trees haha. This question will point out my true beginner status, but where do I go to find out more once I have the registration numbers? What exactly do I do with them in order to find out more?
Hi Andy It is possible. Download this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/b6fvn3qg1nymewi/MLAT_client_WIN.zip?dl=0 extract to your tablet and edit "start_mlat_client.bat" file (your position, height in feet and username). At least it works on Win7. BR Marcin
Hi I'm not James but... From at least dump1090-mutability you have link to airframes.org . This is independent website with aircraft database. Due to some reasons you have to register before you can use this database. Enjoy
I have one more question . It seems that my MLAT client is running - but how can I check?? Is there a possibility to see if my station is part of any calculations? Thanks in advance...
Thank you, it seems to work now. My station does appear in the list and every now and then I have messages on the screen. I had to restart the MLAT client. By the way, the client is running on Windows 10. In parallel I feed the ADS-B stream via VRS. I hope that there is some traffic tomorrow to see how it works.
I use Virtual Radar Server according to the "how to feed" menu from the main page... As I said earlier today, this is just a test setup. First I started with ADSB# and ADSBhub now that the MLAT client is running I use dump1090. For the hardware I use an "old" NooElec R820T USB-Stick and a "hand knitted" ground plane antenna - just for the fun
