Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on October 03, 2010 at 10:23:45 PST:
Chris, Thank you for your intro. You came to the right place for your hobby. As for the SBS-1, let me first explain what it can and can not do for you. The most important bits of information from the Mode-S transmission are the aircraft's assigned 6-digit hex Mode-S code, the callsign, the altitude, airspeed and position. Unless you already have the aircraft in your database you have to look up what aircraft belomgs to a given Mode-S code. Virtually all commercial airliners broadcast their assigned Mode-S code. Over 90% broadcast their altitude, about 50% their callsign, but only 15-20% currently broadcast their position (GPS coordinates). Only very few "sensitive" aircraft do not broadcast a Mode-S code at all, such as the one discussed in a recent thread further down in the forum. Many military heavies, such as tankers, AWACS, transporters etc. broadcast a code and sometimes the altitude, but almost without exception no position. Very few fighter jets even broadcast a code. If they don't broadcast a code, they won't show up in your log. Right now we have a few German Tornados visiting for Green Flag. They show up with their code, callsign and altitude, but I have no idea where they are because they don't broadcast their position. All I see is what times they take off and land. I am saying all this to show the limitations of the SBS-1 (and the AirNav Radar Box). It can be pretty cool to see what is going on around you, but you will not see the really cool stuff. Plus, if you really want to stay on top of things it will take A LOT of your time to keep your database updated. Not to mention the high cost for these boxes. You really have to be very much into this for the SBS-1 to be useful to you. I am streaming my military stuff to the web site below almost 24/7. You can see my hits if you click on "Search" on the left, and then select "Rachel, NV, US" from the "Location" drop-down list. Most of the time I stream from Vegas, but with a directional antenna pointed into the ranges. I hope this helps. BTW, before you ask: The 737 Janets show up, but with altitude only. Of the Beech'es, only one of them shows up, with altitude only as well.
In Reply to: Question about SBS-1 for Joerg posted by Chris Neal on October 03, 2010 at 8:45:00 PST:
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