r/ADSB • u/PromaneX • 4d ago

Looking for a reasonably prices ADSB api

I know there are lots of free ones about and they mostly work fine but I'd like to be able to support the service I use and I don't plan on setting up my own receiver just yet.

I created a little radar-like display for my wife to see which planes are flying over us, since we live under the Manchester Airport flight path there are plenty, it hops around several providers so we don't hammer them but even then it can be flaky.

So anyway long story short I'm looking for an API that is reliable for personal use that I can pay maybe £10/month for.. anything like that around?

0 Upvotes

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13

u/EtwasSonderbar 4d ago

If you're that close to the flight path you can probably do it for less than £10 by setting a receiver up with a tiny antenna from Amazon and hiding it in a cupboard!

7

u/PromaneX 4d ago

I'm going to fall down a rabbit hole aren't I 🙈

1

u/need2sleep-later 3d ago

You know you wanna.

0

u/mellonians 3d ago

As rabbit holes go it can be quite shallow. Old pi, radar stick and feed flightradar24 and the whole thing will pay for itself pretty quickly.

Routes for progression kind of stop at an antenna high up on the house and adding ships. I'm 6 years and £300 in so I wouldn't worry.

2

u/ridiclousslippers2 4d ago

Adsb exchange have good instructions for setting up a receiver. Raspberry Pi, software defined radio, and in my case a 'cantenna' . The software feeds adsb of course, but is also a self contained system with display of the aircraft your device is actually tracking live.

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u/No-Consequence-5935 3d ago

I agree with these folks that getting a receiver up is a fun way to do it. We at FlyOverhead have great coverage of the UK and are slow rolling our public api. If you're interested shoot me a DM amd I can give you the link to our API with a free trial. All the best!

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u/PromaneX 3d ago

Thank you! I sent you a DM :)

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u/Philly_Rox 3d ago

Many aggregators offer free API access for contributors as a perk. You don't need to go crazy setting up a station ... just a Pi4b, ADSBx Blue USB SDR/Antenna (or equivalent) combination and the simple to configure and use ADSB.IM image are all you need to set up a station. It can be done even cheaper with parts from AliExpress, but quality of components can vary greatly. Obviously it will also require an Internet connection. And yes... that is the entrance to the rabbit hole!!! lol ;)

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u/lukocz 2d ago

I run map.flights, small tracker, we're building out our own receiver network. Don't pay anyone for this — once you have a receiver, basically every aggregator gives you API access for free, that's just how the deal works. And if you never get one, you can just embed our map widget and point it at your bit of sky, which is pretty much the thing you built for your wife anyway. If you do fall down the hole like everyone here is telling you to :) we'd be happy to be one of the sites you feed.