How can I make my cessna visible on Flight Radar 24 ?

[pipertommy]

Hi, I noticed a PA28 in the area of Exeter recently on FR24? Has anyone got experience with there aircraft on FR24 ? Is it expensive ?
Thanks all.

[Baikonour]

I think you just need one of these. (Other makes are available)

Plus the cost of installation.

B.

[Jan Olieslagers]

ADS-B out is what it takes, yes. Are you sure you want it?

[ChickenHouse]

You need two things:
1. a Mode-S XPDR capable of ADS-B Out, i.e. Trig TT31
2. a certified WAAS/EGNOS GPS coupled to the transponder

This is my knowledge from a couple of month ago. Flightradar24 samples the data of received transponder data with accompanying GPS data flagged as "precision". I tried it once with a Mode-S'ed plane with only a GNS430 non-WAAS and that does not show up. Are you sure you want that big brother on board?

[OhNoCB]

You will show up in certain areas at certain altitudes if you have a mode c transponder. It won't be as accurate as ADS-B but FR24 can position you through multi-lateration. Being higher helps.

[ETOPS]

Are you sure you want that big brother on board?

Have a think about how FLARM and PowerFLARM work...

[S-Works]

It's does show up with non WAAS Gaemins 430s connected to Mode S transponders pushing out extended data.

[dont overfil]

Flarm works as well. My local gliding site shows numerous contacts on good days.
D.O.

[BackPacker]

You will show up in certain areas at certain altitudes if you have a mode c transponder. It won't be as accurate as ADS-B but FR24 can position you through multi-lateration.

Mode C doesn't emit your flight ID though, so all you will see is your squawk.

To the best of my knowledge:
- If you have a mode-A transponder you will only see a squawk on FR24, through triangulation.
- If you have a mode-C transponder you will see a squawk plus flight level on FR24, through triangulation.
- If you have a mode-S transponder emitting an elementary signal (the typical GA setup), you will see a flight ID (callsign) plus flight level on FR24, through triangulation.
- If you have a mode-S transponder with extended squitter (the typical CAT setup, but there are exceptions), you will see a flight ID plus flight level on FR24, based on the GPS location that's part of the extended squitter.

The best data obviously comes from the last option. The data is most accurate and doesn't require triangulation. But this requires some sort of GPS input to the transponder. This input is typically delivered from an on-board GPS. Certified solutions for GA exist, that use for instance a Garmin 430 as input for the transponder, but this is pretty expensive - although in most cases most of the money goes to the paperwork, and very little to the actual installation of the cable and reconfiguration of the devices.

In the "uncertified" world, for instance gliding, you can also use a non-certified GPS, such as a Flarm device, as your source of GPS position, and hook that up to your transponder via a little (uncertified) box which converts the GPS signal from one format to another. I know the guy that sells these kinds of boxes, and they're pretty cheap. I guess that's the setup that most gliders use, if they want to be visible on FR24.

[ETOPS]

if they want to be visible on FR24.

Of course this has nothing to do with a "spotters" website and everything to do with collision avoidance.

The gliding world has taken to FLARM in their hundreds with a very high percentage fitted in the UK - most of the tugs as well. UK military have also fitted units, most notably in the Red Arrows Hawks.

The cost of TCAS is prohibitive at the light aircraft end of the market thus the development of PowerFLARM. Having seen it in action I think it should be fitted as a matter of course - ADSB out being the "icing on the cake" in terms of conspicuity...

[ChickenHouse]

Although there are a lot of theoretical possibilities to locate and identify airplanes, to my knowledge FR24 uses raw data extracted from the volunteers network receivers.

They do not triangulate, but guesstimate if more then one station sees a signal (from the FAQ of FR24 one can see that they only guess positions by MLAT of "older" Mode-S, so no Mode-A/C's), they do not show raw squawk codes without further information. They started to implement Flarm, but range is so limited that there is only limited visibility of such targets.

[BackPacker]

They started to implement Flarm, but range is so limited that there is only limited visibility of such targets.

Not just that, but Flarm uses a completely different frequency band. I doubt that many of the 1000s of volunteers that forward their captured data to the FR24 servers, are equipped with the right equipment to receive Flarm.

At least the equipment that FR24 is rolling out itself, doesn't seem to be capable of receiving Flarm transmissions. It just captures ADS-B.

Help Us Increase ADS-B Coverage - Free Equipment Offer - Flightradar24.com

Edited - Some specific searching for this reveals that a couple of volunteers have set up ground-based Flarm receivers in gliding-intensive areas, and convert and upload these signals to FR24. As Flarm range is only 2km or so, don't expect global coverage soon...

[PaulisHome]

Some specific searching for this reveals that a couple of volunteers have set up ground-based Flarm receivers in gliding-intensive areas, and convert and upload these signals to FR24. As Flarm range is only 2km or so, don't expect global coverage soon...

It's rather more than that.

The Flarm tracking system is an entirely independent system from FR24 called the Open Glider Network.

There are >50 receivers in the UK (and many more around Europe - all put in within the last year), with ranges sometimes in excess of 50km. See here.

To get a feel for the coverage look here

They show up on FR24 because there's a feed between the two systems.

Hardware that can feed FR24 (though not necessarily the FR24 supplied hardware) can also feed OGN, though probably not at the same time.

Paul