My Attempt at a $115 ADS-B Receiver Build for Foreflight

Full disclosure: I'm a dummy with newer tech. But this looks amazing and Amazon just got 109 of my dollars.

If you have a wifi only iPad can you still use a Bluetooth GPS receiver for position data?
 
cgrab said:
I found something called a Rasberry Pi Starter Kit that has the WIFI, case and power cord but also has a cooling fan for the computer. At $25.73 for the kit and $35 for the R PI 2 I'll save even more dollars (only 60.73 vs 69.99) and get a better set up.
I plan on making the buy when I get home next week.
Click to expand...
Be careful with that thought process. Unless all the components of this cheaper kit contain devices that use exactly the same chipset as the one everyone has tested against, you are likely going to run into problems. Some reported issues with alternative kits (such as Cana Kit) are with WiFi connectivity and power usage.

I'm all for building a better mousetrap ... but IMHO it's too early in the development process to start swapping components. We all need to be reporting issues based on a common denominator and this makes it very difficult ... unless you are prepared for this not to work out of the box and are willing to try again with fresh components.
 
Last edited:
cgrab said:
Question for current users...are you getting both traffic and wether on your tablets or just one or the other?
Click to expand...
This is a great solution for ADS-B FIS-B weather. It will report some traffic but as John and others have explained that representation is nothing to rely on unless you are also equipped and broadcasting ADS-B Out.
 
I built one tonight with parts I had lying around. Seems to work. Picked up weather, TFRs, TIS-B traffic, etc.

Here's a tip - if the red light is blinking (or off) once the unit has booted up, it's not getting enough power - try another power source.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
JoseCuervo said:
Can you explain what "bogus" means? Are these the same as "non-certified", or is this some sort of malicious act of actual "false" information?
Click to expand...


Sounds like they were trying to create their own "puck".

RickG said:
Be careful with that thought process. Unless all the components of this cheaper kit contain devices that use exactly the same chipset as the one everyone has tested against, you are likely going to run into problems. Some reported issues with alternative kits (such as Cana Kit) are with WiFi connectivity and power usage.

I'm all for building a better mousetrap ... but IMHO it's too early in the development process to start swapping components. We all need to be reporting issues based on a common denominator and this makes it very difficult ... unless you are prepared for this not to work out of the box and are willing to try again with fresh components.
Click to expand...


Bah. People will experiment. Start building lists of what works and what doesn't.

It's never "too early in the development process" to swap things and see how other hardware works. The warning that it might not, is plenty enough. His $. His time.

Pi stuff just isn't that complex. The SDR portion of this one is probably the most touchy part, but he's not changing that.

Recipes are starting points for tinkering. You just have to know you're tinkering.

Got two or three Pis around here. None are doing their originally intended jobs right now. Fun to hack on when I have time. And fun means trying new stuff.

I think I liked setting one up with Asterisk the best so far. Little two port PBX in the palm of a hand...

I wouldn't call the few bucks thrown at a Pi setup that's been used for five or six different things, wasted.

Folks should follow the recipe if they want something that "should work" right away. Those who want to mess around and don't care if they have to work through problems, or see if they can save $4 on the hardware, no warning needed. Normal hacker behavior.
 
RickG said:
Do you have the AvAre helper app installed?

Download this:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apps4av.avarehelper

Connect to "stratux" WiFi. Select "WiFi" in the avarehelper app. Put port 4000. Select the "Listen" checkbox. Should be working after that.
Click to expand...

Yes, I get data streaming to both my phone and the Nexus 7 from the box I just do not get traffic or weather data just what looks like a time and a battery check. I suspect it is working just not picking up any signal from the tower.
 
DFH65 said:
Yes, I get data streaming to both my phone and the Nexus 7 from the box I just do not get traffic or weather data just what looks like a time and a battery check. I suspect it is working just not picking up any signal from the tower.
Click to expand...


Body of the plane maybe blocking it, move antenna to very far left or right of glareshield, or look at coverage map and do a flyby


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My reasoning for pointing out the starter kit was two fold. First, the developer may or may not have been a user and as a user, I would think the cooling fan in an airplane glareshield would be a good add on. And second, we're cheap, I mean pilots, so pointing out a lower price seemed like something that would be appreciated.
Here's the link:
http://www.sainsmart.com/raspberry-...ng-fan-sd-card-wifi-breadboard-hdmi-gpio.html
 
cgrab said:
My reasoning for pointing out the starter kit was two fold. First, the developer may or may not have been a user and as a user, I would think the cooling fan in an airplane glareshield would be a good add on. And second, we're cheap, I mean pilots, so pointing out a lower price seemed like something that would be appreciated.
Here's the link:
http://www.sainsmart.com/raspberry-...ng-fan-sd-card-wifi-breadboard-hdmi-gpio.html
Click to expand...

I think it's important to note that the R-Pi kit you've identified doesn't include the actual -- Raspberry Pi device. Sold separately. So, you're getting the case, blower, breadboard, wifi, SD and the HDMI. Just in case someone was thinking this had the system included. Your earlier post indicated that the buyer must also buy the P-Pi card.
 
I made this and flew with it for the first time tonight. Works great! At one point I had seven towers locked.

For $105.93 in supplies and literally 20 minutes of my time, I now have in flight weather radar, current weather reports, METARS, live TFR updates, and some traffic.

I am very pleased.
 
buzzard86 said:
I made this and flew with it for the first time tonight. Works great! At one point I had seven towers locked.

For $105.93 in supplies and literally 20 minutes of my time, I now have in flight weather radar, current weather reports, METARS, live TFR updates, and some traffic.

I am very pleased.
Click to expand...

Cool! Congrats! :thumbsup:
 
I built it tonight. It only takes about 15 or 20 minutes. Future ones, if you already had the package downloaded and the installer installed, would take less than 10 minutes. I was able to connect and see the device in ForeFlight. No towers showing in the house though. I might try it on my commercial flight on Sunday. It will probably be two or three weeks before I can take a private plane up.

Edit: on second thought, it might look suspicious on a commercial flight.
 
Last edited:
buzzard86 said:
I made this and flew with it for the first time tonight. Works great! At one point I had seven towers locked.



For $105.93 in supplies and literally 20 minutes of my time, I now have in flight weather radar, current weather reports, METARS, live TFR updates, and some traffic.



I am very pleased.
Click to expand...


Just to be pedantic, you have delayed radar that's 1990s resolution, not current weather reports but close, METARs, delayed "unofficial" TFR data that FAA already decided wasn't good enough for one guy, and some traffic.

:)
 
It took me an hour, because it took me 10 minutes to plug it together, 40 minutes to find a pc with a functioning sd reader/writer and then another 10 to write the image.

Use the 2nd revision instructions, you can download the two things while you wait for amazon to deliver. I got 1 tower from my driveway, but it is midnight and I am not sure there is any ADS out traffic in the area.. I did get weather..
 
Got mine yesterday and had it together in about 20 minutes. Haven't had it connected to Foreflight and Ifly for Ipad. No towers available but it is showing up. Haven't gotten to take it in the air yet. But so far this thing is cool!! Also noticed I can't run both apps at the same time. will only connect to one at a time.
 
Last edited:
I've ordered the stuff and am working on a design to encase it all nicely which I'll 3D print. I've looked through the code as well and am watching all of this develop closely.

I'm seriously tempted to sell these built and ready to go all packaged up nicely. Can't promise anyone that Foreflight won't screw it over in a future update..but..hell it won't cost much.

Give me a few weeks to experiment..
 
jesse said:
I've ordered the stuff and am working on a design to encase it all nicely which I'll 3D print. I've looked through the code as well and am watching all of this develop closely.

I'm seriously tempted to sell these built and ready to go all packaged up nicely. Can't promise anyone that Foreflight won't screw it over in a future update..but..hell it won't cost much.

Give me a few weeks to experiment..
Click to expand...

What're you using for the modeling?
 
jesse said:
I've ordered the stuff and am working on a design to encase it all nicely which I'll 3D print. I've looked through the code as well and am watching all of this develop closely.

I'm seriously tempted to sell these built and ready to go all packaged up nicely. Can't promise anyone that Foreflight won't screw it over in a future update..but..hell it won't cost much.

Give me a few weeks to experiment..
Click to expand...


Let me know if you draw something and you're willing to share the file. We have a 3d printer here and it would be nice for it to look a little cleaner.
 
I now have an RY835AI on its way just because I *need* another project ...
 
I was just thinking a nice project box would do it.
 
Will it have a nice PoA logo? :wink2:
 
mikeinbama said:
I have to believe that Foreflight and all the others are going to block this soon.
Click to expand...

Yep, too much lost profit. I will hold off for a few months and see how it plays out.
 
mikeinbama said:
I have to believe that Foreflight and all the others are going to block this soon.
Click to expand...



Does Foreflight have a competing product that loses revenue when this solution is home built?


What would be Foreflights motivation to shut the data source down?
 
JoseCuervo said:
Does Foreflight have a competing product that loses revenue when this solution is home built?


What would be Foreflights motivation to shut the data source down?
Click to expand...

I don't know the answer, but in my 50 years I cant recall a time that a $100 homebrew was allowed to compete with an $800 "certified" anything. I hope I'm wrong and this brings the price down. I think most people would pay say, $250 for the stratus and not worry about the homebrew. I could be totally wrong about this though and I may be one of Jesse's first customers, assuming his isn't $800.:D

Edit: just went to Foreflight's website, the sale of Stratus devices are prominent. I would say that is strong motivation to shut down the homebrew.
 
Last edited:
Keep in mind this also works flawlessly with WingX on iOS, and Avare and FltPlan Go on the Android. Many of us have also done testing with FlyQ, IFlyGPS and others. To keep up with the project see https://www.reddit.com/r/stratux

I would be surprised if any of the EFB developers, including FF, try to block this. FF's recent announcements with FreeFlight suggest their exclusive with Appareo may have come to and end. All the other EFBs support multiple ADS-B solutions and this is just one more.
 
The $115 receiver is emulating the FreeFlight installed ADS-B system that ForeFlight supports, excepting the support for the GPS. Currently, ForeFlight supports two installed receivers, the one from FreeFlight and the Garmin GDL88 via the FS210/110. The only portable ADS-B solution supported by ForeFlight is the Stratus receiver.
 
RickG said:
Keep in mind this also works flawlessly with WingX on iOS, and Avare and FltPlan Go on the Android. Many of us have also done testing with FlyQ, IFlyGPS and others. To keep up with the project see https://www.reddit.com/r/stratux

I would be surprised if any of the EFB developers, including FF, try to block this. FF's recent announcements with FreeFlight suggest their exclusive with Appareo may have come to and end. All the other EFBs support multiple ADS-B solutions and this is just one more.
Click to expand...

Does Garmin Pilot? (I would assume not. It's not really in Garmin's best interest to support anything other than their own hardware.)

John
 
They could certainly make it not work, all they have to do is **** off everyone that has already bought a stratus :)..

Even then, it is likely that a little programming could make it work again.
 
Excellent! I just ordered mine. It's probably a good idea to hold from FF updates for a while.
 
mikeinbama said:
I don't know the answer, but in my 50 years I cant recall a time that a $100 homebrew was allowed to compete with an $800 "certified" anything. I hope I'm wrong and this brings the price down. I think most people would pay say, $250 for the stratus and not worry about the homebrew. I could be totally wrong about this though and I may be one of Jesse's first customers, assuming his isn't $800.:D

Edit: just went to Foreflight's website, the sale of Stratus devices are prominent. I would say that is strong motivation to shut down the homebrew.
Click to expand...


Why not just spend $115 and put it together yourself? The instructions are easy. And, there is plenty of support to walk you thru it.


Unless Foreflight has some sort of interest in Stratus, can't see what motivation they would have to block the display of the data from this system. Foreflight would be risking alienating customers and bad PR if they block non-Stratus systems such that customers see Foreflight pushing them from $115 solutions toward $600-800 solutions to use their $79 software product.

Foreflight, imo, should be encouraging as many hardware providers as possible to make their application more valuable.
 
ksp_530 said:
Excellent! I just ordered mine. It's probably a good idea to hold from FF updates for a while.
Click to expand...


I think there is a Foreflight employee who monitors this forum, maybe he can chime in??
 
If anything, I could see the availability of low cost hardware like this only adding the FF's subscriptions. If people were on the fence before, and now realize they could add weather, etc, for an extra $100... might be just enough to make them sign up.
 
JoseCuervo said:
Why not just spend $115 and put it together yourself? The instructions are easy. And, there is plenty of support to walk you thru it.


Unless Foreflight has some sort of interest in Stratus, can't see what motivation they would have to block the display of the data from this system. Foreflight would be risking alienating customers and bad PR if they block non-Stratus systems such that customers see Foreflight pushing them from $115 solutions toward $600-800 solutions to use their $79 software product.

Foreflight, imo, should be encouraging as many hardware providers as possible to make their application more valuable.
Click to expand...

I do think Foreflight has an interest in Stratus, there are ads right on the Foreflight webpage. As far as doing it myself????Pfffft, I have trouble turning my computer on. Maybe Ill give it a try, Im not overly concerned about FF making it "not work", $115 is chump change when it comes to flying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top