PlanePlotter receives and decodes live digital position reports from aircraft and plots them on a chart.
Using PlanePlotter, you can see a radar-like display of all those aircraft around you that are transmitting the appropriate digital messages including ACARS, ADS-B and HFDL.
PlanePlotter - Features
The animated screen grab from PlanePlotter (left) was kindly provided by John Locker.
Message display
PlanePlotter shows a table display of messages received and decoded from live aircraft transmissions.
Data saving
PlanePlotter archives all the digital data that it receives and decodes to a log file.
Chart display
PlanePlotter plots aircraft positions, altitudes and times decoded from the message traffic that it receives. These include embedded position reports, AMDAR reports and ADS reports contained in ACARS messages, ADS-B position reports received by the Kinetic SBS1(tm) or AirNav System RadarBox(tm) Mode-S receivers, and position reports on HF using Charles Brain's PC-HFDL software. The plot can be superimposed on a suitable aeronatical chart that you have prepared, or PlanePlotter can download satellite imagery and plot the aircraft symbols on that. Where altitude information is available (eg Mode-S messages), you can select the data by altitude band to distinguish low level and high level traffic.
Google Earth server
If you are receiving Mode-S ADS-B position reports, PlanePlotter can interface to Google Earth to display aircraft positions over the Google Earth base map. It can even give you a dynamic real-time view from the flight deck of an aircraft that you designate.
Direction finding
PlanePlotter can determine and display the direction of any transmission using a simple passive antenna switch. This allows aircraft to be located even if they are not equipped with ACARS or Mode-S/ADS-B.
Input signals
PlanePlotter can decode ACARS messages, display the message content and plot any positions on a chart.
PlanePlotter can also process and display ADS-B position reports captured by the Kinetic SBS1(tm) or AirNav Systems RadarBox(tm) mode-S receivers.
PlanePlotter can also work in conjunction with Charles Brain's PC-HFDL software (http://www.chbrain.dircon.co.uk/pchfdl.html) by automatically extracting position reports from the log file and plotting them in real time on the same chart display. PlanePlotter adds value by calculating course and heading from successive reports from the same aircraft and plotting the predicted position between reports (right).
PlanePlotter can drive a passive antenna switch and display the direction (QDM) of any aircraft voice transmission.
GPX overlays
PlanePlotter can display waypoints, tracks or routes over the current chart using data from a user-defined GPX format file.
Alerts
PlanePlotter can generate visible and audible alerts on detection of a specified registration, flight number or ADS identifier, on detection of any new aircraft, or on detection of an aircraft whose position is inside a user-defined Alert zone polygon.
Memory-Map Navigator support
PlanePlotter can direct the Memory-Map Navigator program (www.memory-map.com) to display dynamic aircraft position symbols over its proprietary maps using data from either ACARS or Mode-S ADS-B (in conjunction with the SBS1 receiver).
OLE/COM interface
You can access the position and other data for each aircraft known to PlanePlotter using a simple VB script or other OLE/COM capable program. You can use the same interface to update data held by PlanePlotter and to control the user interface.
DDE access
You can access ACARS, HFDL and Mode-S messages received by PlanePlotter using DDE. This facility makes PlanePlotter an ideal front end for other ACARS software.
Peer-to-peer output
PlanePlotter can send its message data to another remote instance of PlanePlotter using UDP/IP datagrams. You can send ACARS messages, HFDL messages, Mode-S (ADS-B) messages and Direction finding measurements so that another computer displays the same data as your computer.
Peer-to-peer audio
PlanePlotter can send audio to another remote instance of PlanePlotter using UDP/IP datagrams. This means that a remote user can hear the ATC instructions that you are hearing on your local air band receiver.
Internet sharing
PlanePlotter can send its message data to a shared server so that messages that you have received locally (ACARS, HFDL or ADS-B), can be seen by other PlanePlotter users in different areas. In this way, each user enjoys the reception coverage of all the cooperating users together.
HF selcal decoding
PlanePlotter can decode HF selcal tones that can be used to identify an aircraft communicating on the HF air bands. No position reports are carried by HF selcal but it provides yet another means of monitoring aircraft that PlanePlotter can perform.
Report generator
PlanePlotter can generate a text file containing user-defined data fields for aircraft received during the session.
Movie generator
PlanePlotter can generate an AVI movie file showing a speeded up version of the display window. You can review aircraft movements, including those received by sharing, at a later date by paying the AVI file in, for example, Windows Media Player.
Requirements to run PlanePlotter
- Pentium level PC running Win95/98/Me/2k/XP/Vista with compatible sound card
- For ACARS : VHF receiver tuned to an appropriate ACARS channel in AM mode and Aircraft within VHF range that are transmitting the messages
- For ADS-B : Kinetic (www.kinetic-avionics.co.uk) SBS1(tm) Mode-S receiver and BaseStation software or AirNav Systems RadarBox(tm) receiver system. Versions of PlanePlotter up to 2.6 work with the Spider version of BaseStation; subsequent versions work with the Snoopy BaseStation. Versions of PlanePlotter from 3.8 work with the RadarBox(tm)
- For real-time flight deck views : Google Earth software
- For direction finding : DF antenna switch
- For HFDL plotting : PC-HFDL software (http://www.chbrain.dircon.co.uk/pchfdl.html) and an HF SSB receiver
- For HF selcal decoding : HF receiver with USB mode and fine tuning steps
- To share local ATC calls : VHF receiver with AM mode tuned to your local ATC frequencies
Download PlanePlotter
PlanePlotter can be downloaded freely and comes in a
self-extracting EXE file which automatically installs itself.
The download file size is a modest 5 Mb.
Registration of PlanePlotter
PlanePlotter can be freely downloaded and used for 21 days. After
that time it must be registered. Registration can be done
swiftly and securely on-line and costs only Euro €25 (plus
VAT for EU residents) for personal use. A higher fee applies to professional
or commercial use of PlanePlotter. We strongly recommend that you ensure
that PlanePlotter performs to your satisfaction before
registering.
PocketPlanePlotter
If you have a Pocket PC (eg an iPaq PDA with ARM processor), then you can decode ACARS messages when you are mobile, by using PocketPlanePlotter. It is intended for use in situations where it is not convenient to use a laptop or desktop computer. Pocket PlanePlotter does not include as many options as the desktop version but it can save decoded messages in a log file for later analysis.
Support for PlanePlotter users
- David Taylor has orchestrated an invaluable wikipedia for PlanePlotter that you will find here. PlanePlotter wikipedia.
- There is a lively user group on Yahoo groups where you can find useful files, charts, utilities and answers to a wide range of questions. PlanePlotter user group.
Plug-ins for PlanePlotter
CombiPlotter provides you with a low-overhead means of displaying the aircraft data known to PlanePlotter on another chart view. It will plot simultaneous data from ShipPlotter, PlanePlotter, OrbcommPlotter and SondeMonitor on a single chart.
PP2GM shows you your PlanePlotter aircraft on a Google-Map display. Curt Deegan has exercised his skill with scripting languages to extract the current aircraft displayed on the PlanePlotter chart and to display them instead on a local Google-Map presentation. This add on requires a recent version of PlanePlotter and an Internet connection for Google-Maps but it does not require a web server.
FindFlight is another of Curt Deegan's outstanding scripts. FindFlight uses a flight number to retrieve flight and airport details from Internet on-line databases. PP designated plane feature used to select which flight to look up and can add the result to the PP database Route field. PP Route time stamp used to update old routes. Allows changing options while running. Will look up and set reg.num. and a/c type. Manual, automatic, and unattended modes. Includes AutoZoom function. Now with mouse-over pop-up route info display.
FlightDisplay is huge script contributed by Allan. FlightDisplay interfaces with PlanePlotter to identify routes from the flightID for specific aircraft or all the aircraft in a user specifed area. FD will also download pictures of the aircraft from the internet which can be displayed on the PP display. FD can also log flight information to its own database which can then be queried. See the manual included in the .zip file for further features.
PP Outline Navigator contributed by Keith, a new add-on author, is a simple one click navigation toolbox that enables you to pan, zoom save and restore in Outline View with just one click. NOTES - requires .NET Framework version 2 (or possibly the latest version 3.5 to be safe), also PP must be running BEFORE you run this executable!
Tutorial for using PlanePlotter with the Kinetic(tm) SBS-1(tm)
PlanePlotter works in conjunction with the Kinetic(tm) BaseStation(tm) software to display aircraft positions based on ADS-B transmissions. The tutorial is rather large so you will need broadband to download it in a reasonable time.
Contact us: support@coaa.co.uk