Setting Up an ADS-B Receiver with a Raspberry Pi Zero and RTL-SDR

Author: Brad
Posted: February 5, 2025


Introduction

This guide will walk you through setting up an ADS-B receiver using a Raspberry Pi Zero and an RTL-SDR dongle to track aircraft in real time. We will use dump1090 to decode ADS-B signals and optionally feed data to services like FlightAware, ADS-B Exchange, and OpenSky Network.

Hardware Requirements

Required Components:

Step 1: Install Raspberry Pi OS

  1. Download Raspberry Pi OS Lite from the official website.
  2. Use Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher to flash the image onto the microSD card.
  3. Enable SSH for headless setup:
    • After flashing, create an empty file named ssh in the boot partition.
    • If using Wi-Fi, create a wpa_supplicant.conf file with:
    country=US
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

network={
    ssid="YourSSID"
    psk="YourPassword"
}
  4. Insert the microSD card into the Pi and power it on.

Step 2: Connect to the Pi via SSH

Find the Pi’s IP address using arp -a (on Windows) or sudo nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24 (Linux/macOS). Then, connect via SSH:

ssh pi@<your_pi_ip>

Default password: raspberry (Change it with passwd)

Step 3: Update the System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install required dependencies:

sudo apt install git build-essential librtlsdr-dev -y

Step 4: Install dump1090-mutability

You have two options to install dump1090-mutability:

Option A: Install via apt-get

sudo apt install dump1090-mutability -y

After installation, start dump1090-mutability:

sudo systemctl start dump1090-mutability
sudo systemctl enable dump1090-mutability

Option B: Build from Source

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/mutability/dump1090.git
cd dump1090
make
sudo make install

Start dump1090:

sudo dump1090 --interactive --net

If successful, you should see live aircraft data!

Step 5: Autostart dump1090 on Boot (if built from source)

If you built dump1090 from source, create a systemd service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dump1090.service

Paste the following:

[Unit]
Description=dump1090 ADS-B decoder
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/dump1090 --interactive --net --net-http-port 8080
Restart=always
User=root

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Save and exit, then enable it:

sudo systemctl enable dump1090
sudo systemctl start dump1090

Step 6: View ADS-B Data in a Web Browser

Visit http://<your_pi_ip>:8080 to see aircraft data on a live map.

Step 7: Install tar1090 for Enhanced Visualization (Optional)

tar1090 provides an improved web interface for dump1090. To install:

sudo bash -c "$(wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wiedehopf/tar1090/master/install.sh)"

After installation, access the interface at http://<your_pi_ip>/tar1090.

Step 8: Feed Data to ADS-B Networks (Optional)

FlightAware:

sudo bash -c "$(wget -O - https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/install)"

Create an account on FlightAware and claim your receiver.

ADS-B Exchange:

sudo bash -c "$(wget -O - http://adsbexchange.com/feed.sh)"

Follow the setup steps to begin feeding.

OpenSky Network:

sudo apt install opensky-feeder
sudo nano /etc/opensky-feeder/config.yaml

Edit with your OpenSky username and password, then start the service:

sudo systemctl restart opensky-feeder

Step 8: Optimize Performance

Reduce CPU Load (especially for Pi Zero):

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

Add:

force_turbo=1
arm_freq=1000

Improve Reception:

  • Use an external ADS-B antenna.
  • Place it near a window or outside for better coverage.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up an ADS-B receiver on a Raspberry Pi Zero. You can now track aircraft in real time and optionally share data with major networks.

Next Steps:

  • Experiment with different antennas.
  • Integrate your feed with graphs1090 for performance monitoring.
  • Explore additional ADS-B software like tar1090 for better visualization.

🚀 Happy tracking!