What Hardware and Steps Are Needed to Set Up an ADSB.im Feeder?

Updated

To set up an ADSB.im feeder you need three pieces of hardware — a supported single board computer (SBC), an SDR radio dongle, and an antenna — then you download the matching SD-card image, write it to a card, boot the board, and open the feeder's web interface. The SBC image route is the recommended starting point because it is the most tested and typically the easiest to use, with the fewest pitfalls.

Hardware you need

Item Notes
Supported single board computer Raspberry Pi is the most common choice, and several other boards are supported
SDR radio dongle Receives the radio signals
Antenna Connects to the SDR dongle

The same Feeder Image also supports AIS (ships), Sonde (weather balloons), and ACARS/VDL2/HFDL (aircraft-to-ground data), so the hardware you attach determines what you track.

Installation steps (SBC image — easiest)

  1. Start with one of the supported single board computers.
  2. Add an SDR radio dongle and an antenna.
  3. Download the SD-card image that matches your board and write it to an SD card.
  4. Boot the SBC and wait. Depending on the model and the specific image this usually takes a few minutes, but in some cases it can take 15 to 20 minutes.
  5. If you have wired Ethernet — or after you have configured WiFi — go to http://adsb-feeder.local. If mDNS is not working on your home network, go to my.adsb.im, which should redirect you to your new ADS-B feeder.

If you plan to use WiFi

If you could not configure WiFi while writing the SD card, the image creates a WiFi hotspot named adsb.im-feeder that you can connect to in order to finish setup.

Other installation routes

Besides the SBC image, the site lists two alternatives:

  • DietPi — described as easy.
  • Linux — described as more advanced.

When in doubt, the SBC image should be your first choice.

What you get once it is running

Your feeder plots aircraft on your own map, showing recent tracks and information such as altitude, speed, and — for many commercial flights — the flight route. You can also share your data with aggregators including adsb.lol, adsb.fi, ADS-B Exchange, FlightAware, FlightRadar24, OpenSky Network, Plane.watch, Plane Finder, and others.