Being home for winter break from school means its time to go flying! Yesterday here on the front range in CO we got hit with a pretty good wind storm but today was a great day for a flight. Started off in the morning by setting up the ol' electric space heater/preheater then headed back to the house to assemble a Stratux ADS-B unit using a Rasberry Pi while the engine was getting toasty.



There was mention of the Stratux in this thread a while back: https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/new-adsb-product-18707?p=259598#p259598

The build itself only took a few minutes, then I spent a couple hours researching the various EFB apps that are free for Android. The parts necessary are outlined on cyoung's website (http://stratux.me/) and only cost ~$130 for a dual band setup with an external mount GPS. The parts are as follows, and all available on Amazon:

Raspberry Pi 3 motherboard
Pre-programmed SD card with Stratux software
Stratux 1090ES & UAT (radios and high gain antennas)
Stratux clear acrylic case with small CPU fan
Vk-162 remote mount GPS (optional but gives a stronger signal)



cyoung also recommends a portable battery to power the system. Right now I'm using a small rechargeable battery (2600 mAh) for cell phones, but will probably ditch our panel mounted Garmin Aera 510 which should free up a power source for the Stratux.

Here we have the acrylic case with the fan installed next to the Pi, the two "nano" SDRs (which connect to the antennas), and a couple heat sinks that are included to stick onto the Pi



Here are the SDRs and heat sinks are installed on the Pi



Everything installed that goes in the acrylic case, the tan cords with red end caps are the MCX-SMA pigtails that connect the antennas to the SDRs



And now all closed up with the 978 MHz and 1090 MHz antennas, the external GPS antenna (black cord/unit), and my small portable battery (white cord/silver rectangle)



The initial boot up took a few minutes then it connected easily over WiFi with Foreflight on my dad's iPhone 6. Connecting on my Galaxy S6 took just a bit more work, as I had to install the Avare external I/O plugin. This defaults to port 43211 but it needed port 4000 to listen to the data (only click save if you want to record and save the full .bin file, which isn't really necessary unless debugging). Now I could see all the data that that the Pi was transmitting over WiFi and the Avare app showed lots of traffic heading in/out of the Denver class B! Didn't pick up any WX on the ground though.

Fast forward to my short flight around the patch and I had full ADS-B In WX and traffic in a '57 Pacer! Nothing beats keeping your eyes out the windows for traffic avoidance but this is pretty cool . I'm still getting used to Avare so I'd like to hear which Android EFB apps (preferably free) you all are using and why you like it!

So cool. I am 99.99% certain I will be employing a Raspberry Pi solution for ADS-B, I'm just waiting until the last possible minute. That said, this solution looks very tractable.

albravo wrote:So cool. I am 99.99% certain I will be employing a Raspberry Pi solution for ADS-B, I'm just waiting until the last possible minute. That said, this solution looks very tractable.

Hey Allan, have you heard much about ADS-B up here? I last heard that TC was thinking of going with a satellite based system...

David,

Not much at all. I would put it in the plane just for our trips into the US. We have a few different wine regions within a few hours so I expect we'll be spending some time south of the border.

As far as Canada goes, I've found very little. Some coverage in Newfoundland and some near me if I fly high enough.

I hope to do 90% of my flying where traffic isn't a pressing issue.

A1Skinner wrote:

albravo wrote:So cool. I am 99.99% certain I will be employing a Raspberry Pi solution for ADS-B, I'm just waiting until the last possible minute. That said, this solution looks very tractable.

Hey Allan, have you heard much about ADS-B up here? I last heard that TC was thinking of going with a satellite based system...

Ok. Ya traffic isn't much of a concern for me where I fly. I wondered how it would work for crossing the border. So to fly in the US with my plane I have to have it?

albravo wrote:David,

Not much at all. I would put it in the plane just for our trips into the US. We have a few different wine regions within a few hours so I expect we'll be spending some time south of the border.

As far as Canada goes, I've found very little. Some coverage in Newfoundland and some near me if I fly high enough.

I hope to do 90% of my flying where traffic isn't a pressing issue.

A1Skinner wrote:Ok. Ya traffic isn't much of a concern for me where I fly. I wondered how it would work for crossing the border. So to fly in the US with my plane I have to have it?

Just as a clarification, this is only an ADS-B In solution, not Out and it doesn't satisfy the 2020 ADS-B mandate. All the code is on GitHub, so if you could communicate with your xponder then you could build an In/Out system but this would not satisfy the ABS-B requirements for certified a/c. My understanding is that a Rasberry Pi ADS-B In/Out system could satisfy the requirements for experimental a/c. This is where the FAA AD on all (not just certified) NavWorx ADS-B units is worrisome, b/c ADs are not supposed to be issued against non-certified parts. From the EAA:

The FAA only requires experimental aircraft owners to meet the performance standards of FARs 91.225 and 91.227 in order to satisfy the ADS-B out mandate. Therefore, the aircraft owner is the final authority in ensuring compliance.

See this EAA article for a better description: https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/12-22-2016-eaa-comments-on-navworx-airworthiness-directive

coloradokevbot wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:Ok. Ya traffic isn't much of a concern for me where I fly. I wondered how it would work for crossing the border. So to fly in the US with my plane I have to have it?

Just as a clarification, this is only an ADS-B In solution, not Out and it doesn't satisfy the 2020 ADS-B mandate. All the code is on GitHub, so if you could communicate with your xponder then you could build an In/Out system but this would not satisfy the ABS-B requirements for certified a/c. My understanding is that a Rasberry Pi ADS-B In/Out system could satisfy the requirements for experimental a/c. This is where the FAA AD on all (not just certified) NavWorx ADS-B units is worrisome, b/c ADs are not supposed to be issued against non-certified parts. From the EAA:

The FAA only requires experimental aircraft owners to meet the performance standards of FARs 91.225 and 91.227 in order to satisfy the ADS-B out mandate. Therefore, the aircraft owner is the final authority in ensuring compliance.

See this EAA article for a better description: https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/12-22-2016-eaa-comments-on-navworx-airworthiness-directive

Some additional clarification: the easiest way to determine if ADS-B Out will be required after January 1, 2020, is that everywhere that a Mode C transponder is now required (which is controlled airspace) will be where ADS-B Out will be required, and it will have to be a certified, TSO'd system for certificated aircraft. With the new NavWorx AD which seems to attack performance-based vs. approved parts, that may create a bit of a problem for the experimental market, until that issue is clarified by the FAA.

There are still many places in the US which are uncontrolled airspace, although that's shrinking every year. For someone who is in Class G (uncontrolled) and stays in it without venturing far from home, ADS-B Out won't be a requirement. On the other hand, if you plan to fly very far or higher than 1200' AGL, the chances of running into E or higher airspace is pretty great.

Cary

Cary wrote:

coloradokevbot wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:Ok. Ya traffic isn't much of a concern for me where I fly. I wondered how it would work for crossing the border. So to fly in the US with my plane I have to have it?

Just as a clarification, this is only an ADS-B In solution, not Out and it doesn't satisfy the 2020 ADS-B mandate. All the code is on GitHub, so if you could communicate with your xponder then you could build an In/Out system but this would not satisfy the ABS-B requirements for certified a/c. My understanding is that a Rasberry Pi ADS-B In/Out system could satisfy the requirements for experimental a/c. This is where the FAA AD on all (not just certified) NavWorx ADS-B units is worrisome, b/c ADs are not supposed to be issued against non-certified parts. From the EAA:

The FAA only requires experimental aircraft owners to meet the performance standards of FARs 91.225 and 91.227 in order to satisfy the ADS-B out mandate. Therefore, the aircraft owner is the final authority in ensuring compliance.

See this EAA article for a better description: https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/12-22-2016-eaa-comments-on-navworx-airworthiness-directive

Some additional clarification: the easiest way to determine if ADS-B Out will be required after January 1, 2020, is that everywhere that a Mode C transponder is now required (which is controlled airspace) will be where ADS-B Out will be required, and it will have to be a certified, TSO'd system for certificated aircraft. With the new NavWorx AD which seems to attack performance-based vs. approved parts, that may create a bit of a problem for the experimental market, until that issue is clarified by the FAA.

There are still many places in the US which are uncontrolled airspace, although that's shrinking every year. For someone who is in Class G (uncontrolled) and stays in it without venturing far from home, ADS-B Out won't be a requirement. On the other hand, if you plan to fly very far or higher than 1200' AGL, the chances of running into E or higher airspace is pretty great.

Cary

Cary, is there any customs entry airports that won't require ADS-B out?

Built one of these about a year ago when they first were working on them, before anyone made a box, seems to work better than my Stratus that quit!! That was after the warranty ran out. Anyone want a nonop Stratus to play with?

Stratux works better than some expensive certified installs for traffic reporting. Stratux is open, though, and you can also roll your own if you are handy with go, python, css, and html. Some folks have added filters and features like actual traffic conflict alerts, logging to allow you to replay the entire flight, and better/faster weather overlays and flight planning services from normal cellular data connections.

There are now quite a few Stratux inspired/Pi-based ADS-b Out forks out there. At least a couple of them work very well. They are not legal for use in the airspace system.

As to whether the home rolled system design could ever meet the mandate requirements...possibly with the right approach. A high rate WAAS-capable GNSS receiver, some software to give the right info for position reporting (predictive and otherwise), and quite a bit of environmental testing and no small sum of cash lay between a $300-$350 solution and a certification. A lot of boards just go hooves up below -20F or above 120F, and that is just one hurdle a stock Pi might have to clear.

Hank, I don't know. It would take some research to see if any of the customs ports of entry are outside of any controlled airspace. Aha, Google is a friend! Here's a CBP list of entry airports: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files ... le.doc.pdf

Now it's just a matter of looking to see if any are outside of controlled airspace. I'll leave that part to you!

Cary

Cary wrote:Hank, I don't know. It would take some research to see if any of the customs ports of entry are outside of any controlled airspace. Aha, Google is a friend! Here's a CBP list of entry airports: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files ... le.doc.pdf

Now it's just a matter of looking to see if any are outside of controlled airspace. I'll leave that part to you!

Cary

I'm guessing you are referring to me, but I'm David. Haha. Ya I'll get it figured out. It'll be interesting to see what provisions will be in place for visiting planes/pilots.

David

David,
Might try Porthill, ID., just south of Creston.
Grass strip on border. Convoluted taxi to the border station for both favors. Taxi up onto pad and point aircraft the direction of travel.

I do not know what the ADS requirement will be in 2020


--Bill

I have seen nothing that suggests ADS-B will be required in all controlled airspace...only A B C...

Why are we talking about D and E as issues when that has never been on the docket?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Only above 10,000 ft MSL and above 2500 AGL in E Airspace.

If you don't need a transponder now, you will not need ADSB Out then. Stratux is ADSB in, and works well! ADSB, its good stuff and will be great when everyone has it.






ADS-B Out will be required in the following airspace:
Class A, B, and C airspace
Class E airspace areas at or above 10,000 ft MSL over the 48 states and DC, excluding airspace at and below 2,500 ft AGL
Airspace within 30 nautical miles (nm) at certain busy airports from the surface up to 10,000 feet MSL; airports listed in appendix D to part 91.
Above the ceiling and within the lateral boundaries of a Class B or Class C airspace area up to 10,000 feet MSL
Class E airspace over the Gulf of Mexico at and above 3,000 feet MSL within 12 nm of the coastline of the United States
Any airspace that requires the use of a Transponder today will on January 01, 2020 also require aircraft to be equipped with a Version 2 ADS-B Out system. This can be either a 1090ES (DO-260B) ADS-B system or a UAT (DO-282B) ADS-B system.