iFly GPS Forum

I went through the same sequence Jim did. Started out with the original SkyRadar receiver, decided I wanted better traffic info, and picked up the Skyguard transceiver.

If you're going to get a receiver only, then you should only count on the weather-related ADSB-in benefits.

I am playing around with a free software package called RTL-1090 and a USB dongle receiver that I bought off EBay for under $20. It is not practical for inflight use and more like a HAM receiver but fun to play with. It will pick up the planes transmitting ADS-B on the 1090 frequency and also pick up MODE C transponders. It displays the ADS-B unencoded packets as well as decoded data. Visit Sonicgoose.com for more information on this one.

I am working with that kind of hardware. If Adventure folks will just tell me what their interface requirements are, we could all have the ADS-B in, and AHARS, and WAAS GPS capability for less than $150. We'd have weather, partial view of other planes in the area, more accurate GPS data, RAIM style GPS, and more, IF Adventure Pilot folks would just tell us what their software needs. Yes, i know they make a buck from the units they sell but the folks that do "homemade" has a really small intersection with the ones that buy the $1,400-40,000+ equipment to do the same thing, so AP won't lose any money anyway.

<sigh>