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SD Card Image Documentation

Thank you for purchasing (or downloading) the SD card image for our feeder software based on open-source code, ie. readsbtar1090, etc.

 

Note: this image works on Raspberry Pi 3 or 4, may also work slowly on Pi zero if PROMG=no is set in adsb-config.txt file to disable graphana.

 

IMPORTANT: Before first boot, insert the microSD card into your PC/Mac/Workstation, and using a standard text editor:

  • Edit /boot/adsb-config.txt with your latitude, longitude, and altitude.
  • If you intend to use wifi, edit /boot/wpa_supplicant.conf with your Wifi SSID/Name and password.
  • Save the files, and safely eject the card, then insert in your Pi.
  • Once the Raspberry Pi boots, give it a few minutes, and visit https://www.adsbexchange.com/myip If you see two green smiley faces, you’re good to go!

If your network supports multicast DNS, you may be able to access the web interface of your Pi at http://adsbexchange.local, and also SSH to “adsbexchange.local” instead of needing to locate your internal IP.

 

Helpful Tips:

ADSBexchange.com Custom Kit Initial Setup

  • Please use a basic text editor like Notepad when working with this file. Avoid using WordPad or Microsoft Word as they can change the formatting in ways that will break your configuration.

  • Do not to use “smart” or “magic” quotes, and don’t alter the existing format.

⚠️ Windows Users

 

Please do not use WordPad to edit this file—it can corrupt the formatting and cause your configuration to fail.

Instead, use a proper text editor such as:

  • Notepad
  • Notepad++
  • VS Code
  • Atom
  • Sublime Text

⚠️ MacOS Users

 

If you’re using TextEdit, please:

  • Switch to plain text format
  • Disable smart quotes (TextEdit → Preferences)

If these settings aren’t adjusted, TextEdit may use incompatible characters that will prevent your network configuration from working properly.

 

  • Configuration file adsb-config.txt is located on the SD card.
     

Sample clean adsb-config.txt:

LATITUDE=13.366081
LONGITUDE=-121.694665
ALTITUDE=1050ft
USER="name_of_feeder"
DUMP1090=yes
GAIN=49.6
DUMP978=yes
AUTOGAIN=no
ZEROTIER=yes
PROMG=yes

 

  • Edit the adsb-config.txt with your information and altitude of antenna in MSL. 
  • Save the configured adsb-config.txt to the sd card.

 

ADSBexchange.com Custom Kit Initial Wifi Setup

 

ADS-B Exchange image uses default Raspbian setup for Wifi.  You can also use raspi-config if you have a keyboard and mouse.

 

wpa_supplicant.conf method  

  • Before you power on the device you need to edit the wpa_supplicant.conf with your SSID and password located on the sd card.
  • After editing wpa_supplicant.conf, you can plug everything in and power the Pi.
  • At any time you can place a new wpa_supplicant.conf on /boot to update Wifi.  If it doesn’t work on the first boot, you can always create the file again and make another attempt or use an alternative method such as raspi-config.

 

Sample wpa_supplicant.conf:

ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
 update_config=1
 country=US
 network={
  ssid="Name of your WiFi"
  scan_ssid=1
  psk="Password for your WiFi"
 }

More Information:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/

 

 

SSH Login

SSH access is enabled and runs on port 22.

Default user: pi
Default password: adsb123

ssh pi@<lan_of_your_pi> (or use hostname adsbexchange.local if your local network supports mDNS)

 

Grafana Dashboard Login

Username: admin
Password: adsb123

 

Display ADS-B Exchange config

cat /boot/adsb-config.txt

 

Restart readsb service

sudo systemctl restart readsb

 

Show readsb status

sudo systemctl status readsb

 

Start Feeder Services

sudo systemctl start adsbexchange-mlat
sudo systemctl start adsbexchange-feed

 

Restart Feeder Services

sudo systemctl restart adsbexchange-feed
sudo systemctl restart adsbexchange-mlat

 

Show Feeder Services

sudo systemctl status adsbexchange-mlat
sudo systemctl status adsbexchange-feed
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