A note on the delay and beta version availability
As you might have noticed the release got somehow delayed. I have come across some unexpected frames I thought the box itself would take care of. This is partly malformed messages and as a result of that fake planes detected by the system. Right now I am waiting for some more ICAO documents which will clear things up for me and hopefully with them I will be able to fix it.
What's fully working right now:
- sbs1mpx - multiplexer for Linux and MacOS-X, lets you connect more than one BaseStation to one receiver. If you want this software for Windows, please go to jetvision.de and look for Multi-EM.
- sbs1hex - gives you raw mode-s frames, hex encoded with timestamp.
- sbs1emu - can play files recorded with sbs1tcp, useful for debugging.
What's done, but still a little buggy:
- sbs1tcp - a mode-s decoder with a custom format which can be easily converted to the TCP30003 with a filter application. It also has capability of recording raw data which can later be used with sbs1emu.
I have not released it yet because I don't want you to get a product half-ready. However, if you want to try it and you are aware of the fact it may not be perfect here and there, please contact me by email and ask for a beta version of the tool you need. I will certainly appreciate any feedback.
Right now I am sending out only binaries compiled for Linux 2.6.x x86, SlugOS LE ARM, FreeBSD 6.2. You will have to wait some more if you want to get the Mac-OS X version of the software.
August 3rd, 2008 - 16:40
I noticed these bad packets with the vodka tool also. I think they are just garbled bits. One way to filter them is to put the received DF11 addresses into a queue, and then compare the other DF received addresses to this queue. If it’s not in the queue then it must be garbled, so ignore the packet. The chances of two garbles coming out the same being a low probability. The queue would have an insert time also, and you could expire queue entries after a minute, or update the time on addresses already in the queue. Basically a scan to scan filter, or sliding filter of good addresses.
Just an idea.
August 3rd, 2008 - 16:54
I just had another thought, that the DF11 filter probably wouldn’t work in a location that had no Mode-S radars, so probably have to make it a switch to enable or disable the filter. I think in a non-Mode-S area, the garbles would be a lot less anyway.
August 3rd, 2008 - 17:09
A bit off topic, and I updated my email address, as I keep leaving the ‘n’ off, ha.
If you need a display program for your data, I’m working on one that works with the SBS socket data. It’s pretty stable now, so I plan on finishing the needed parts, like configuration saving, lat/lon home location changing, and tabular displays.
I tested it on Ubuntu Linux, but it had trouble with the mouse wheel. Linux is notorious for having mouse wheel problems. I just switched to fedora so will have to test how good the mouse wheel driver is on that. The mouse wheel is used to zoom-in and zoom-out of the display. I may have to add a page-up and page-down to associate with the zooming.
The source code and downloads are on google:
http://code.google.com/p/sbsviewer/
August 3rd, 2008 - 18:07
I tried that at the very beginning, it helps a lot but some planes are still doubled.. they share squawk and callsign.. but their 24bit address is different :/ I will have to find a solution for that one way or another.. Basestation does it, so this should be possible. I will surely have a look on your software, for now I am using my own web based solution. It’s working pretty well and it supports multiple data feeds but it’s still in early development.
http://piopawlu.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/radar.png
August 3rd, 2008 - 19:12
Your web based graphics look pretty good! That’s the problem with my java program, is that it spends a lot of time drawing the map. Then again, everyone has to find or make their own map.
August 3rd, 2008 - 20:08
Actually it uses Google Maps so you don’t need to create your own map :-) All you need is a file with VOR/NDB/FIX positions. Contact me on email if you want to try it out.
August 16th, 2008 - 19:38
Hi, these programs that you are working on seems very promising, i would like to test the beta version if you would like to send them in their current form. Are your planning on compile a version for windows as well?
August 17th, 2008 - 09:19
There will be Windows versions of most of the tools except for the sbs1mpx which is already available for a good price elswhere. However for now you can only test sbs1hex if you want to use the beta version as I do not build Windows binaries reguraily. As mentioned in the post please contact me by email.