
ADS-B Exchange – Co-op of unfiltered flight data - AWildC182
https://www.adsbexchange.com/
======
jjwiseman
I have a receiver that I use to feed the ADS-B Exchange network. In return I
get an API key that I use to power a collection of twitter bots that tweet
whenever they detect, in realtime, aircraft circling over various metro areas:

[https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA)
[https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesSF](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesSF)
[https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesDC](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesDC)

The bots have detected police and news helicopters and fixed wing aircraft,
military aircraft
([https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesSF/status/1227832420918935552](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesSF/status/1227832420918935552)),
blimps
([https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA/status/1213310909302493184](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA/status/1213310909302493184)),
autogryos
([https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA/status/1216464781869121536](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA/status/1216464781869121536)),
power line inspection helicopters
([https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA/status/1210280545952776193](https://twitter.com/SkyCirclesLA/status/1210280545952776193)),
and helicopters filming race cars
([https://twitter.com/lemonodor/status/1228100397337702400](https://twitter.com/lemonodor/status/1228100397337702400)).

ADS-B Exchange is the only completely uncensored, global aircraft tracking
network. And it's powered by a considerable amount of specialized open source
software. Even the multilateration client
([https://github.com/adsbxchange/mlat-
client](https://github.com/adsbxchange/mlat-client)) and server
([https://github.com/adsbxchange/mlat-
server](https://github.com/adsbxchange/mlat-server)) code that can determine
an aircraft's position even when it's not broadcasting its coordinates, using
the time-of-arrival information from multiple receivers, is online. tar1090
([https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090](https://github.com/wiedehopf/tar1090))
is a much more efficient replacement for the old Virtual Radar Server front-
end that is currently under development, and can be tried at
[https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/](https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/)

~~~
nilkn
While an unfiltered network is cool, am I the only one who thinks it’s utterly
reasonable for aircraft owners to want some basic level of privacy? I always
have found it strange that communities of folks who very much don’t want to be
tracked themselves are also very interested in aggressively tracking others.

~~~
kbenne
If we're speaking about privacy, then ADS-B is just one element of concern.
The FAA is now finalizing new Remote ID regulations that will require all
unmanned aircraft over 0.55 pounds to be identified and tracked in real time,
with data shared back to authorized data aggregators. This is a major concern
to hobbyists (think first person quad-copter racing), because the details of
the proposed rules make it virtually impossible for hobbyists to fly amateur
built aircraft, while giving cart blanch to commercial drone operators (ie
delivery services) to fly anywhere assuming they have the resources to comply
with the new Remote ID rules. The FAA is essentially saying they have the
authority to regulate all navigable airspace, and since UAVs can fly inches
from the ground, they are claiming authority to regulate who flies an inch
above your own property. The rules are open for comment right now
[https://www.faa.gov/uas/research_development/remote_id/](https://www.faa.gov/uas/research_development/remote_id/).
A good summary is to read DJI's point of view. [https://content.dji.com/we-
strongly-support-drone-remote-id-...](https://content.dji.com/we-strongly-
support-drone-remote-id-but-not-like-this/)

~~~
state_less
I'm not sure where everyone else comes down on these navigational tracking
techniques? Here's my view.

There are times when I do want to let everyone know where I am and who I am.
This allows others to avoid running their vehicle into mine and improve rescue
efforts if I'm in danger. So I think these sorts of digital beacons and
aggregators can be a great improvement to support that mission.

If the nav beacon is mandated for safety reasons, I do not think that I should
be required to give my personal information if I choose not to, and if there
is a navigational concern, I don't think I should give more information than I
need to to enable safe navigation. I think it's enough to provide telemetry
(e.g. there is a boat, plane, car or drone at location x, y, and z).

I personally believe that people should own their data and forcing people to
give more information than required to accomplish the task (e.g. navigation)
is a problem for me. DJI's position is closer to what I'd prefer to see in
this case.

------
AWildC182
Context: As of the beginning of 2020 all aircraft are required to have ADS-B
out capability. This means that they periodically broadcast their GPS position
unencrypted, along with their speed, altitude, heading and tail number.

Most networks like Flight Aware allow owners to blacklist aircraft such that
their tracks do not appear on the site. This is typical of corporate aviation
departments and private jet owners as they don't want their movements to be
available to rivals/hedge funds or the media. Additionally military aircraft
are typically not reported.

Edit: also, for those who are unaware, unlike license plates which are
_generally_ unsearchable, tail-numbers as reported by ADS-B are publicly
searchable with registration and history information available on the FAA
website:

[https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?N...](https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N887WM)

~~~
TigeriusKirk
Not quite all aircraft are required to have ADS-B in all situations, there are
a number of edge cases out there. But close enough, I suppose, and most planes
people would want to track are required to have it.

However, there's also a new privacy initiative that allows aircraft to fly
under temporary ids. The FAA will still know who they are, but for 3rd parties
it will become much more difficult to determine.

[https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-
news/2019/december/2...](https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-
news/2019/december/24/ads-b-privacy-now-available)

~~~
ATsch
I hope not. Unlike car license plates, if you own a plane what you're doing
with it is very much in the publics interest to know, _especially_ if you
don't want people to know.

They can have their privacy while they aren't flying polluting multi-million
dollar planes through the country and above our buildings.

~~~
tjohns
First, airplanes come in a lot of different sizes, and many don't cost
anywhere near millions. A quick search online shows that you can find a used
Cessna 172 starting at $35k - and is about the same size as a car.

Second, just because an airplane is over your building, doesn't mean it's
going to crash into it. Even in an emergency, airplanes can keep gliding. A
car is more likely to hit you while you're on the sidewalk - does that mean
you get to know the name and address of every person driving local streets?

Third, I don't see how pollution has anything to do with privacy.

I can see an argument for being able to report an airplane doing something
unsafe. But that's literally what the FAA exists for, and they have ways to
look up who's flying an aircraft — anonymous or not. I don't see a good
argument to releasing owners' names and addresses publicly so people can do
law enforcement themselves.

~~~
ATsch
I brought up pollution to point out that, although certainly worth it, society
is paying a pricy to let people fly aeroplanes around as they wish. Since
people owning planes are not just regular citizens, society should hence have
some level of visibility into what people are doing with them.

Similar things apply to e.g. Amateur Radio. We've given people a big chunk of
spectrum, and in exchange we expect transparency on what it's being used for.
With few planes being owned by individuals, the case should be even stronger
for aeroplanes, since the privacy argument applies less.

~~~
tjohns
Personally, requiring a public address for amateur radio is a big problem and
I'd argue needs to be changed.

It makes you a target for doxing and swatting, and causes an unending amount
of spam mail that you can't unsubscribe from.

It made sense in the older days when people routinely mailed paper QSL cards.
The FCC also relies on amateur radio operators to self-police each other,
which is relatively unique as far as enforcement goes (see: ARRL official
observers - but even in that case, if you do something sufficiently wrong then
the FCC will get involved and could look up your address).

On the other hand... QSL cards are pretty cool.

~~~
tzs
In the US the address you give the FCC when you apply for a ham license does
not have to be the address of where you live. It just has to be an address
where you receive mail. I used my PO box.

~~~
Mountain_Skies
When I found out Tim Allen has a ham license, I looked up his callsign record.
He uses his production company's address.

------
throw0101a
If one is not using the services of air traffic control (ATC) by flying either
IFR or using flight following, i.e., flying VFR, and if one's transponder
supports the functionality, it is possible to fly in an anonymous fashion
(while still giving position information):

* [https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/february/p...](https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/february/pilot/ads-b-incognito)

What happens is that the transponder generates a random self-assigned
temporary ICAO ID number. This is for UAT only.

* [https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-acts-to-preserve-ads...](https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-acts-to-preserve-ads-b-data-privacy/)

So people can tell _that_ someone is flying in a particular position, but _not
who_.

------
jjwiseman
And if anyone wants to help contribute data, there are a few ways to get
started.

1\. The minimal: Raspberry Pi and an RTL-SDR dongle. You can even use the
small stock antenna that often comes with a dongle, if you put it near a
window.

2\. A real 1090 MHz antenna, plus filter + amp will greatly increase your
performance, and cost less than $100.

Weidehopf has a shopping list: [https://github.com/wiedehopf/adsb-
wiki/wiki/adsb-receiver-sh...](https://github.com/wiedehopf/adsb-
wiki/wiki/adsb-receiver-shopping-list)

As does flightaware:
[https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build](https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build)

Software-wise, you have a couple nearly-turnkey solutions. The easiest thing
is just to follow the guide at [https://www.adsbexchange.com/how-to-
feed/](https://www.adsbexchange.com/how-to-feed/) You can even use their
custom Raspberry Pi image, and instantly have dashboards and maps and all the
cool stuff.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Any “one click buy” resources where I can simply pay for a device to be
shipped and put it on my network to ship data back? I have several locations
in the US I could colocate such devices.

~~~
UnifiedTechs
There are a number of places, ADS-B Exchange sells a preconfigured kit on
their website. If the location is one with weak coverage they may even send
one to you for free, definitely worth reaching out to them if nothing more
then to ask about a bulk discount.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Thank you!

------
jmccorm
I think I'm willing to take one of my RTL-SDR dongles, hook it up to the
Raspberry Pi, and start giving them a regular feed. If only just to identify a
few pesky helicopters that fly over the house that aren't showing up on
flightradar24 like everything else. I can appreciate this service.

~~~
jcims
Does anyone know if it's possible to tee the data into multiple feeds? I'd
like to feed to fr24 just for purposes of getting the better account, but also
to this because the info is better. I could run two dongles i guess.

~~~
ggrs
Yes, you can feed several places. My raspbian is feeding adsbexchange as well
as flightaware, fr24, radarbox, planefinder and open sky network.

~~~
jcims
Sweet. I just googled everything at the end there and found this, look
reasonable?: [http://gordon.celesta.me/2018/04/13/raspberry-pi-real-
time-f...](http://gordon.celesta.me/2018/04/13/raspberry-pi-real-time-flight-
tracker-updated.html)

~~~
ggrs
Skimming those instructions, they don't look bad. The github repo linked above
is James' from adsbexchange, so between the two you should be set.

------
jjwiseman
ADS-B Exchange also gives data to the Center for Advanced Defense Studies'
(C4ADS) Project Peregrine, with the goal to "expose the airborne movements of
corrupt global elites, dodgy public officials, and a vast array of illicit and
criminal actors including wildlife traffickers and conflict financiers."

[https://easychair.org/publications/download/wbQQ](https://easychair.org/publications/download/wbQQ)

~~~
adsbx-james
Don't forget the United Nations, OCCRP, and investigative journalists
globally!

[https://dictatoralert.org/](https://dictatoralert.org/)
[https://tech.occrp.org/](https://tech.occrp.org/)
[https://marketplace.officialstatistics.org/partner/adsb_exch...](https://marketplace.officialstatistics.org/partner/adsb_exchange/)

[https://gijn.org/planespotting-a-guide-to-tracking-
aircraft-...](https://gijn.org/planespotting-a-guide-to-tracking-aircraft-
around-the-world/)

------
NelsonMinar
There's a similar open sharing service for tracking ships in the water:
[http://www.aishub.net/](http://www.aishub.net/)

AIS technology works similar to ADS-B, but the details of being on the water
make reception a different problem than for planes. There's three or so major
ground-based AIS tracking services out there that compete, and while AISHub
isn't the biggest it is the most open.

~~~
wpietri
I've been participating in AISHub for a few years and really enjoy it. One of
my projects is @sfships, a Twitter bot that announces major ships entering and
leaving SF Bay: [https://twitter.com/sfships](https://twitter.com/sfships)

I also built a Python AIS parsing library with a bunch of command-line tools
(e.g., aisgrep, ais2json):
[https://github.com/wpietri/simpleais](https://github.com/wpietri/simpleais)

If anybody ends up using this, please let me know. On Twitter, I'm
@williampietri. I have also been keeping a copy of all the AIS data for the
last few years, and am happy to share it.

~~~
mike_d
Very cool Twitter feed! Would you consider adding a second account that
doesn't include cargo/tanker ships so I can follow and turn on notifications?

~~~
wpietri
Interesting! Which kinds of ships do you want, then? Just cruise ships? Tell
me a bit more about why you'd want to be notified about them.

~~~
mike_d
Military, search and rescue, police boats, cable layers, fire boats,
icebreakers, etc.

The sort where I could subscribe to notifications and get a few messages a day
and go "huh, that is cool".

~~~
wpietri
The trouble here is that AIS is a pretty blunt instrument as far as ship
classification goes. If you go here and scroll down to Table 11, you'll see
what they transmit:
[https://gpsd.gitlab.io/gpsd/AIVDM.html#_type_5_static_and_vo...](https://gpsd.gitlab.io/gpsd/AIVDM.html#_type_5_static_and_voyage_related_data)

Ships like you describe are also often weirder with what they transmit. Cargo
and cruise ships go from known port to known port in reasonably predictable
ways. (Reasonably predictable meaning that 50 or so regexes can usually
extract a little sense from what some sailor types into a bridge console.) But
a lot of data from smaller, less predictable ships is much less regular.

Now that it has been running a while, I should definitely go back and see what
else I can extract from the data. But one of my problems is that this stuff is
poorly documented. What I really need is connections to maritime experts who
can look at the data and say, "Oh, that ship is..."

------
bronco21016
It’s surprising to me that AOPA and NBAA have still been pushing the privacy
angle on this stuff so much still. I guess that’s part of their lobbying
mission though.

As someone else pointed out all of these executives carry cell phones and as
the recent NY Times series pointed out the things are leaking out location
data everywhere. Competitors and hedge funds likely aren’t using ADS-B data to
track movements when they can get significantly better data elsewhere.

I wonder if high level executives have any kind of training and protocols for
avoiding cell phone location tracking.

~~~
raquo
You don't need to be a high level executive to not want to broadcast your
location and identity in realtime for anyone to see.

This isn't about your _choices_ with mobile devices, this is mandated by the
government, and the broadcasted data is literally open to anyone.

------
upofadown
I ran across an administrative way to hide the ownership of an aircraft today.
Something showed up as blocked on one of the other trackers, ADS-B Exchange
gave me an N number that was for an aircraft owned by some sort of trust
company. That trust company listed anonymity as one of the features of their
service.

~~~
zymhan
Yeah I see plenty of jets flying into Atlanta that're owned by Wells Fargo
Trust

~~~
bronco21016
Fortunately, more and more of them are owned by DAL instead of a bank.

------
adsbx-james
[https://adsbexchange.com/data/](https://adsbexchange.com/data/)

Setup a reliable feeder sending data to ADSBexchange.com and get a REST API
key that would cost you $100,000+ a month from FlightAware or FlightRadar24.
Non-commercial enthusiast use only. And please be kind to API, no sending
10,000 requests a second.

[https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/](https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/)

All this data at your finger tips, are you hackers or not!

Let's make something useful and fun!

------
AndrewBissell
Eric Rosenwald used this information to track the movements of Jeffrey
Epstein's plane. Among other things, he found that the plane was in Riyadh on
the eve of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, at the same time Jeff Bezos
was there to meet with MBS:

[http://www.ericrosenwaldphotography.com/jeffrey-epstein-
busi...](http://www.ericrosenwaldphotography.com/jeffrey-epstein-business-
jets-report)

[https://www.insider.com/epstein-riyadh-saudi-arabia-
private-...](https://www.insider.com/epstein-riyadh-saudi-arabia-private-
jet-2019-9)

The TrueAnon podcast had an interesting discussion with him where he speaks at
length about ADS-B:

[https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-36-in-33247305](https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-36-in-33247305)

~~~
adsbx-james
ADSBx was happy to help with that and more!

[https://www.businessinsider.com/us-intelligence-drones-
over-...](https://www.businessinsider.com/us-intelligence-drones-over-the-
black-sea-getting-russian-response-2018-4)

[https://www.businessinsider.com/us-sanctions-cause-
russian-t...](https://www.businessinsider.com/us-sanctions-cause-russian-
tycoon-oleg-deripaska-to-lose-private-jets-2018-5)

[https://www.insider.com/jeffrey-epsteins-private-jet-
flight-...](https://www.insider.com/jeffrey-epsteins-private-jet-flight-
data-2019-7/commerce-on-business-insider)

------
swsieber
Oh, this will be fun. We somewhat often get Helicopters near my house. Setting
up a dongle / tapping the feed will let me build a heads up tracker so I can
anticipate them and prep daughter to spot them (because she loves aircraft).

------
janee
For anyone interested in something similar but for sea vessels check
[https://www.aishub.net/rpiais](https://www.aishub.net/rpiais)

Also...the DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) recently published
the first API spec for shipping lines to provide tracking info to the public
[https://github.com/dcsaorg/DCSA-OpenAPI](https://github.com/dcsaorg/DCSA-
OpenAPI)

Glad to see industries moving towards more open standardized API.

------
milofeynman
I would like to set one of these up. Is there an extensive guide that explains
where to put the sensor, how to setup the pi, etc?

~~~
yardie
I've been using a Pi for a while to track ADS-B and AIS. If you haven't
purchased the hardware yet head over to
[https://www.nooelec.com/store/](https://www.nooelec.com/store/) to get the
SDR dongles. And then grab the latest Dump1090
[https://github.com/antirez/dump1090](https://github.com/antirez/dump1090)

As for guides. It's a pretty big community so just use the keywords from above
[RTL-SDR, ADSB, DUMP1090] and you should get a lot of guides on tracking
aircraft.

~~~
zymhan
Please don't use antirez dump1090, that is the original code base and has long
since been forked into much more thorough projects.

This is a popular and up-to-date fork:
[https://github.com/flightaware/dump1090](https://github.com/flightaware/dump1090)

~~~
yardie
Thanks for the link. I typically link to the original project and leave it to
the user to discovery forks that may be better tailored for their use.

~~~
adsbx-james
LOL link to 12 year old code that is not updated :D

Whens someone asks for a glass of water, do you also drive them to the
mountains and point at the rain clouds?

[https://github.com/mictronics/readsb](https://github.com/mictronics/readsb)

------
not_exactly__
Also for those interested, check out the FAA's SWIM streaming API. it's a
firehose but lots of cool stuff you can do with it.

[https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/swim/](https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/swim/)

------
SergeAx
The license plate of an auto is clear-text and can be visible by any
individual happened to be around. Is it okay to deploy a network of cameras
with real-time plate detection software ($100 setup) to record and broadcast
positions of all cars in the world? Is it at least legal?

~~~
gspr
A license plate is akin to a person talking on the street — audible to a few
others, yes, but not meant for everyone perhaps. An ADS-B transmission is akin
to someone putting the same words in a radio ad. Recording the latter seems
completely different to me, privacy wise.

~~~
SergeAx
Person talking on a street wants to be heard by peers from one meter. Plane
flying in the sky should be "heard" by other planes from tens of kilometers.
It is a technical necessity, not a voluntary privacy surrender.

------
OrgNet
I scanned the waves around my home for aircrafts and it was fairly common to
see an airplane in the sky that wasn't broadcasting any signal

------
artembugara
Does anyone use this data to calculate the insurance price for General
Aviation (small private jets)?

~~~
adsbx-james
Yes and No. It has been attempted by a company in the UK, that would raise
your rates of you fly in conditions that they deem risky. I think market is so
niche and unprofitable that this large data analysis is seem as an unneeded
expense for underwriting.

~~~
AWildC182
I definitely see things going in this direction eventually however. They've
been trying to push it with cars for a while now, doing it with aircraft is
trivial by comparison

------
sneak
Does anyone know of a similar thing for Wi-Fi stumble output? The wigle.net
database is not public.

------
saber6
I like this. I think this data should be open-sourced, and recorded forever,
without the ability to be changed. Maybe a good use for blockchain? (Please
don't downvote!)

FWIW: I have been streaming FR24 my ADS-B data for a few years. In return they
give you a business account ($50/mo value).

Back to the main point: Even the FR24 business-class account data is filtered.
Given that this is an open protocol to begin with, I think the data should be
recored "straight up" and made available to the public as a common service
(benefit).

Future thoughts: Imagine if we had tons of people incentivized to deploy
these? We could make "cyber" phased arrays on a massive scale by doing time of
arrival analysis and so on. It could supplement the FAA primary/secondary
radar system on a huge level. Perhaps even provide dense ATC control for drone
operations where deploying primary/secondary radars is not feasible.

Just my $.02!

~~~
nkurz
> I have been streaming FR24 my ADS-B data for a few years. In return they
> give you a business account ($50/mo value).

I haven't done it myself, but if you are located somewhere that their network
doesn't have good coverage, they'll even send you a free receiver and antenna
to get you started: [https://www.flightradar24.com/apply-for-
receiver](https://www.flightradar24.com/apply-for-receiver)

~~~
UnifiedTechs
So will ADS-B Exchange.

