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Overview

This document aims to guide you through:

...whilst also building a basic understanding of Docker.

The core set of containers consists of: readsb-protobuf, adsbexchange and tar1090. This will provide you with:

  • ADS-B reception via readsb
  • Feed ADSBExchange, and also receive MLAT data
  • Local visualisation of ADS-B and MLAT data with tar1090

These are deployed (in conjunction with RTL-SDR hardware) as follows:

Example deployment

To explain the flowchart above:

  • ADS-B transmissions are received via the 1090MHz antenna and RTL-SDR dongle
  • The RTL-SDR dongle device is mapped through to a readsb container, this container's function is to decode the ADS-B transmissions and makes them available via several protocols (BaseStation, Beast, BeastReduce, raw, VRS)
  • There are then three feeder containers:
    • piaware - this container reads Beast protocol data from readsb and submits flight data to the FlightAware service, and get their "Enterprise" feature set in return.
    • adsbx - this container reads Beast protocol data from readsb and submits flight data to the ADSBExchange service.
    • fr24 - this container reads Beast protocol data from readsb and submits flight data to the FlightRadar24 service, and get their "Business Plan" in return.
  • Flight data is visualised using tar1090, presenting a web interface allowing you to view the flight data received by you set-up in real time.

There are other feeder packages available (eg: OpenSky Network, Radarbox, etc) that you may wish to consider too. They are all explained in this document.

There are also other visualisation packages available (eg: FlightAirMap/VirtualRadarServer/Grafana) that you may wish to consider, however keep in mind that these may require more horsepower than a humble Raspberry Pi can provide. tar1090 is very lightweight which is why it is recommended here.

All of the containers in this guide will run on:

  • linux/amd64 ("modern" Intel/AMD PCs/servers)
  • linux/arm/v7 (Most Raspberry Pis operating systems)
  • linux/arm64 (Raspberry Pis running 64-bit operating systems)

This mix of architectures allows you to run this set-up this on almost any Linux machine.

If there's another feeder you'd like added as a container, please reach out to me via the methods outlined below.