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Stratux GDL90 to SBS Converter for Virtual Radar Server

Getting UAT data into Virtual Radar Server continues to be a challenge. The tools available can be difficult to install and can provide inconsistent and unreliable data to VRS.

Stratux is a well-tested platform for receiving and decoding UAT data, however its output format is GDL90 which is suitable for avionics, not VRS. To use a Stratux or use its tools to feed VRS, a format converter from GDL90 to SBS is needed. The python program GDL90_to_SBS.py does just that, taking the GDL90 data and making it available on TCP port 33333 in SBS format for VRS. No changes to the Stratux GDL90 output are made. The program can work on a pi running Stratux or a pi without Stratux. Choose your option below.

Running the python program on a Stratux

  • If you want a self-contained copy of VRS running on your Stratux with complete offline maps and aircraft database, just go here: Virtual Radar Server on Stratux.
  • If you are running a local Stratux box and already have VRS installed there or elsewhere, you can simply download the python script GDL90_to_SBS.py and my checker script GDL90_to_SBS-check.sh to the Stratux and create a new receiver on your VRS to point to port 33333 to get all traffic information from Stratux. Include in the Stratux's crontab to run the the checker script GDL90_to_SBS-check.sh at reboot with '@reboot sleep 60 ; /home/pi/GDL90_to_SBS-check.sh'. Make sure developer mode and persistent logging are enabled when you install the program and modify the crontab. You can disable those after installation.
    • If you also have a 1090 dongle connected to your Stratux and you enable the "Show Traffic Source in Callsign" option in Stratux's settings, my python program will filter out all non-ADS-B traffic and only pass along UAT traffic on port 33333. You can also point your VRS to Stratux's port 30003 to have an ADS-B-only feed, though that's only useful if you want to have separate UAT and ADS-B feeds into your VRS since the python script's feed on port 33333 will have both UAT and ADS-B traffic (unless you enable "Show Traffic Source in Callsign" as explained previously).

Running the python program without Stratux

If you prefer not to run Stratux to have UAT data fed into your VRS, you can install the necessary programs on a raspberry pi without having Stratux to get UAT data into VRS. You just need three files from Stratux along with my python program and then install dump978-fa. To do that, download to your pi then run the script UAT-data-for-VRS.sh by running the below line on your pi. You will of course need an SDR dongle for 978 MHz UAT reception plugged in to the pi and you need to know its serial number.

After running my installation script, edit the configuration in /etc/default/dump978-fa appropriate to your setup (specifically dongle serial number and RECEIVER_LAT=xx.xxx and RECEIVER_LON=-xx.xxx appropriate to your location) then reboot your pi. Finally, create a new receiver in VRS and point it to your pi's port 33333 to get a solid and stable UAT feed into your VRS.

The installation includes entries in the crontab for monitoring scripts:

  • GDL90_to_SBS-check.sh . This script starts the python program and restarts it if it fails. Dates and times of any restarts are captured in ~pi/GDL90_to_SBS_failures.txt
  • UAT.sh. This script starts "gen_gdl90" after 30 seconds then restarts it if it fails. Dates and times of any restarts are captured in ~pi/gen_gdl90_failures.txt
  • dump978-check.sh. This script monitors dump978-fa status and restarts it if necessary. After too many failures, it will reboot the pi. Dates and times of any failures between reboots are captured in ~pi/dump978-fa_failures.txt whereas dates and times of any associated reboots are captured in ~pi/dump978-fa_reboots.txt. You can modify this script if you prefer different behavior.

Installation of dump1090-fa (sudo apt install dump1090-fa) is not included in my script since it isn't necessary. However, running dump1090-fa with or without a 1090 MHz SDR dongle allows you to view the local SkyAware map if that's of interest to you. If you decide to install dump1090-fa without an associated dongle, be sure to specify "RECEIVER=none" in /etc/default/dump1090-fa. If you install it without a dongle, setup the device configuration as appropriate to your setup. In either case, include the lines RECEIVER_LAT=xx.xxx and RECEIVER_LON=-xx.xxx appropriate to your location in /etc/default/dump1090-fa.