Sheet 6 · Gear
The parts list
The Bill of Materials: every part I used for my station, down to the cables, connectors, and every program I name in an episode.
A part on this list is not necessarily a recommendation to buy it: you'll know your own needs best. Episode 11 covers some things that didn't turn out to be right for me. Some links are affiliate links: if you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Where mine was secondhand or is not sold there, the link will take you to a close equivalent, and I've marked it “similar”. If there's something I've missed, let me know.
Antennas
On the roof| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | AIS-band vertical antenna | the antenna on my roof for ships | 0311 |
| 02 | FlightAware 1090 MHz fiberglass antennasimilar | the antenna on my roof for aircraft | 0111 |
| 03 | Diamond D-130J discone antenna | the wide-band antenna on my roof (25 to 1300 MHz) | 041114 |
| 04 | MLA-30+ loop antenna | the small active loop antenna for shortwave | 0506070809101113 |
Filters and protection
Between the antenna and the radio| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05 | Nooelec Flamingo FM | the filter that blocks FM broadcast stations | 0311 |
| 06 | RTL-SDR Blog FM band-stop filter | the filter that blocks FM broadcast stations on my wide antenna | 041114 |
| 07 | Mini-Circuits ZX10-2-12-S+ splittersimilar | feeds two radios from one antenna (mine came from a surplus dealer) | 041114 |
| 08 | TAPR RF Limiter | protects the receiver input from strong signals | 050711 |
| 09 | Turn Island Systems F3060 filter | the 30 MHz low-pass filter in front of my shortwave receiver | 0511 |
Radios
They turn a signal into numbers| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Airspy Mini | the USB radio I use for AIS | 03 |
| 11 | Airspy R2 | the USB radio I use for ACARS | 04 |
| 12 | FlightAware Pro Stick Plussimilar | the USB radio I use for ADS-B, with a built-in amplifier and filter | 0102 |
| 13 | RTL-SDR Blog V4Lsimilar | the USB radio I use for VDL Mode 2 | 04 |
| 14 | Nooelec NESDR SMArt v5 | the USB radio I use for radiosondes | 14 |
| 15 | RX-888 Mk II | the receiver that hears all of shortwave at once (mine is from OpenSourceSDRLab) | 050607080910111213 |
| 16 | Awxlumv aluminum heat sinks, 50 x 25 x 10 mm (2 pack) | the heat sinks I add to most of my SDR dongles (not part of the radios as sold) | 01020304 |
Computers
They read the numbers| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Raspberry Pi 5 | the small computer that runs the decoder | 0304061214 |
| 18 | Raspberry Pi 4 | the small computer that runs my ADS-B receiver | 010212 |
| 19 | ZimaBlade | the small server I call Michelangelo | 010212 |
| 20 | HP EliteDesk small form factor PCsimilar | the shortwave computer I call Raphael (mine was rescued from e-waste) | 0506070809101213 |
Power and storage
What keeps the computers running| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Rosonway RSH-A10 powered USB hub | feeds power and data to the radios on Donatello | 030414 |
| 22 | Raspberry Pi 27 W USB-C power supply | power for Donatello, a Raspberry Pi 5; a weaker supply limits its USB sockets | Guide |
| 23 | Raspberry Pi 15 W USB-C power supply | power for a Raspberry Pi 4 | Guide |
| 24 | SanDisk Extreme 64 GB microSD cardsimilar | storage for a Raspberry Pi | Guide |
| 25 | Crucial MX500 500 GB SSD | the drive in Raphael (mine was bought used) | Guide |
| 26 | CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS (1500 VA, sine wave) | the battery backup that keeps almost all of my station running through a power cut | 01020304050607080910111213 |
Cable and small parts
The parts between the parts| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Low-loss coax, N plug to SMA plugsimilar | the cable from the aircraft antenna to the radio | 01 |
| 28 | Coax with PL-259 plugssimilar | the cable from the discone | Guide |
| 29 | SO-239 to SMA adaptersimilar | joins the discone cable to the SMA parts | 04 |
| 30 | RG-6 quad-shield coaxsimilar | the long cable from the loop; on shortwave it loses very little | 05 |
| 31 | F to SMA adaptersimilar | joins the RG-6 cable to the SMA parts | 05 |
| 32 | Short SMA jumper cablessimilar | connect filter, splitter and radios | 0414 |
| 33 | Snap-on ferrite chokessimilar | keep noise off the loop cable and the USB cables | 05 |
| 34 | 50 ohm SMA terminatorsimilar | stands in for the antenna in the noise test | Guide |
| 35 | Short USB extension cablessimilar | so a wide radio does not block the next hub socket | Guide |
| 36 | Coax grounding blocksimilar | grounds an outdoor antenna cable where it enters the house | 05 |
Other parts
| Item | Part | What it does here | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | XHDATA D-808 | a portable shortwave radio with SSB (and the air band) | 13 |
| 38 | Tecsun PL-368 | a pocket shortwave radio with SSB | 13 |
| 39 | Eton Elite 750 | a classic big portable with SSB and a rotating AM antenna | 13 |
| 40 | Tecsun PL-880 | a portable shortwave radio with SSB | 13 |
| 41 | DX-286 | a great portable receiver (TEF6686 chip), but no SSB, so it can't play single-sideband stations like V32 | 13 |
Programs and references
Other people's work
The station runs on programs that other people wrote and gave away. These are the ones I name in the episodes, with the pages I learned from.
- ka9q-radiogithub.comthe program that cuts the stream into channels (open source, by Phil Karn)05060708091013
- ACARS Hub (docker-acarshub)github.comthe message screen on my home network0406
- acars_routergithub.comremoves duplicates and sends the messages on0406
- airframes.ioairframes.iothe community network that collects aircraft messages0406
- docker-adsb-ultrafeedergithub.comthe hub that reads one stream and feeds many networks0102
- docker-planefencegithub.complanefence and plane-alert: the watcher for unusual aircraft0102
- dumphfdlgithub.comthe decoder for aircraft messages on shortwave (a later episode)0506
- ft8_lib (ka9q fork)github.comthe FT8 and FT4 decoder (a later episode)0507
- Home Assistanthome-assistant.iothe home automation software that sends the alert to my phone0212
- tar1090github.comthe live map0102
- acarsdecgithub.comthe ACARS decoder (the version in the container below)04
- Airframes: introduction to HFDLdocs.airframes.ioa short explanation of the system06
- AIS-catchergithub.comthe decoder I run (open source)03
- AIVDM/AIVDO protocol decodinggpsd.gitlab.iothe best plain-language reference for AIS message formats03
- Band-stop filteren.wikipedia.orgthe kind of filter that removes one band and passes the rest (Wikipedia)11
- browser-screenshot-servicegithub.comthe screenshot container: it opens the live map in a hidden browser and takes the picture02
- Digital selective calling (US Coast Guard)navcen.uscg.govwhat DSC is, in plain words, and the distress and safety frequencies09
- Discone antennaen.wikipedia.orghow the wide-band antenna works (Wikipedia)11
- Discorddiscord.comthe chat app that receives the alert messages02
- docker-acarsdecgithub.comacarsdec packaged as a container04
- docker-dumpvdl2github.comdumpvdl2 packaged as a container04
- docker-shipfeedergithub.comAIS-catcher packaged with feeders for the tracking networks03
- dump1090-fagithub.comthe decoder (FlightAware's version of dump1090)01
- dumpvdl2github.comthe VDL Mode 2 decoder04
- Dynamic rangeen.wikipedia.orgthe room between a radio's noise floor and its ceiling (Wikipedia)11
- FAA Privacy ICAO Address programfaa.govthe official page about privacy addresses02
- FastAPIfastapi.tiangolo.comthe Python web framework that serves the page and its data12
- faster-whispergithub.comthe free speech-to-text program (a fast version of OpenAI's Whisper) that writes down the recorded speech09
- fldigigithub.coma free program that decodes weather fax and NAVTEX. My own decoders are small programs I wrote for my station; fldigi does the same job08
- HFDL system tablegithub.comthe public list of ground stations and their frequencies, as shipped with dumphfdl06
- High Frequency Global Communications Systemen.wikipedia.orga public overview of the US Air Force network and its frequencies09
- ITU-R M.493itu.intthe public standard for digital selective calling (DSC): how a call is built and checked09
- KiwiSDR maprx.linkfanel.neta map of many more public web receivers around the world13
- Leafletleafletjs.comthe map library behind the map page12
- Loop antennaen.wikipedia.orgsmall receiving loops for shortwave (Wikipedia)11
- Natural Earthgithub.comthe public-domain coastline on the world maps06
- NAVTEX (US Coast Guard)navcen.uscg.govwhat NAVTEX is and which US coast stations send it08
- NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Projectncdxf.orgthe eighteen beacons, where they are, and the transmission schedule09
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: GOES X-ray fluxswpc.noaa.govthe sun's X-rays, measured by satellite, live and free. My monitor reads this data10
- NOAA: solar flares and radio blackoutsswpc.noaa.govwhat a flare does to the layer in the sky, and the flare classes10
- NOAA: the ionosphereswpc.noaa.gova short explanation of the layer that bends shortwave back to the ground05
- NWS upper air programweather.govhow and why the Weather Service flies them, and what to do if you find one14
- Ocean Prediction Centerocean.weather.govthe office that makes the charts08
- One-time paden.wikipedia.orghow the cipher works, and why it cannot be broken when it is used correctly13
- Pacific weather fax scheduleocean.weather.govthe published schedule: which chart is sent at which time08
- PiAwareflightaware.comFlightAware's ready-made receiver software for a Raspberry Pi01
- plane-alert-dbgithub.comthe community watchlist of military, government and other notable aircraft02
- Point Reyes weather fax: the charts and frequenciesweather.govthe US National Weather Service page for the broadcast I receive08
- Priyom schedulepriyom.orgthe published timetable: when and where each station should appear13
- Priyom.orgpriyom.orgthe volunteer catalogue of numbers stations and military signals, and the public schedule my station reads13
- Pythonpython.orgthe language the program is written in12
- radiosonde_auto_rxgithub.comthe free decoder my station runs (Project Horus)14
- readsbgithub.comthe decoder and data hub inside ultrafeeder01
- RS41nggithub.comfree firmware that turns a found RS41 into a ham radio transmitter14
- SondeHubsondehub.orgthe volunteer network and live map of every sonde in the sky14
- SQLitesqlite.orgthe one-file database that keeps the last two days12
- Stanford SOLAR Center: the SID space weather monitor programsolar-center.stanford.eduhow to detect solar flares with a very low frequency receiver, written for schools10
- The 1090 Megahertz Riddlemode-s.orgthe best free book on decoding Mode S and ADS-B, by Junzi Sun01
- The FT4 and FT8 Communication Protocolswsjt.sourceforge.iothe paper by the authors of the modes: bits, tones, timing and sensitivity07
- University of Wyoming upper-air archiveweather.uwyo.eduevery official sounding, including the flight in this video (station 72797)14
- WebSDR.orgwebsdr.orgshortwave receivers around the world that anyone can tune from a web browser13
- WSJT-Xwsjt.sourceforge.iothe program that WSPR, FT8 and FT4 come from. It includes wsprd, the WSPR decoder I run07
SpurA few of my own programs are not public, so they have no link. Each episode says so where it matters. For the order to buy and connect these parts, read Build the station.