This Document is

Copyrighted
It may not be reproduced or distributed
without the prior permission of the author.

The original Check-List and other

Guides can be found on the
Radarspotters Forum at:
http://radarspotters.eu/forum

© Anmer Page 1 March 2010

 Contents

Introduction to ModeS ......................................................................................................................... 4

The Competing Products ..................................................................................................................... 4
What’s in the Box? ............................................................................................................................... 5
Optional Items ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Minimum Requirements....................................................................................................................... 7
The Hardware ...................................................................................................................................... 8
The Software ....................................................................................................................................... 9
The Radar Map ................................................................................................................................ 9
Aircraft List ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Other Functionality ......................................................................................................................... 13

© Anmer Page 2 March 2010

 ModeS Receiver & Software Check List

SBS-1 RadarBox

PlaneGadget Aurora Eurotech

At the time of writing (March 2010) there are three hobbyist virtual radar receivers on the market. A
fourth, the Aurora Eurotech, had been announced but not release.
This high-level comparative Guide is intended to help potential purchasers understand the differences
between each product and the associated software. Where possible, the feature lists have been
verified with product suppliers and customers. The Aurora Eurotech information has been
provided by the supplier and has not been independently verified.
Prospective purchasers should not rely entirely on this Guide. Ideally each product should be taken
for a “test drive”, either at a dealer or with a friend. Please visit the manufacturer’s websites and
forums and supplier independent ones such as Radarspotters. Try and gauge the build quality and
reliability of the receiver as well as product support. Forums are often a good place to compare
customer feedback and ask questions.
Finally, this isn’t meant to be a recommendation or endorsement of any product and the author cannot
accept any responsibility for any consequences resulting from use of this document.
All trademarks are acknowledged as belonging to their respective owners.
Whilst every effort has been made to verify the information in this document, it may contain
errors and/or omissions which will be immediately corrected where appropriate.
Any feedback on this document would be most welcome and can be posted on the Radarspotters
forum.

© Anmer Page 3 March 2010

Introduction to ModeS
All the products make use of ModeS/ADS-B data transmitted at 1090 MHz. The fundamental concept
of Mode S is the assignment to each aircraft of a unique ICAO 24-bit address. This address is often
referred to as ModeS or Hex code.
Mode S is a Secondary Surveillance Radar technique that permits selective interrogation of aircraft by
means of the unique 24-bit address, thus avoiding the risk of confusion or mis-identification due to
overlapping signals. Mode S has been standardised by ICAO for many years. It employs ground-
based interrogators and airborne transponders and operates in the same radio frequencies
(1030/1090 MHz) as conventional SSR systems with which it is backwards compatible.
Some aircraft are equipped with ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast) avionics.
ADS-B uses Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position information processed by the
aircraft’s avionics to transmit the aircraft’s location to ground receivers for presentation to air traffic
controllers.
In essence, data transmitted on the 1090 MHz wavelength is picked up by the virtual radar receiver,
decoded and processed to display the aircraft record, with or without positional data. If there’s
positional data, the aircraft will plot on a map.
The accompanying software will process and display the received data in different ways, as described
in the tables below.

The Competing Products

The good news is there are a number of products from which to choose.
Which product is right for you depends on how you want to use is and whether you want to
personalise your experience and are happy “tinkering” and know your way around and are
comfortable editing some computer files.
Product support is important and a visit to supplier and other forums, such as Radarspotters, will soon
provide a useful insight to product quality, the supplier and its customer support.
rd
The use of 3 party add-ons, often free of charge can enhance your user experience but can leave
you high and dry if development and/or support are withdrawn.

© Anmer Page 4 March 2010

What’s in the Box?
Below is a list of the box contents.

Contents SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

Mode-S Receiver 4 4 4 4
FM/AM Receiver 4* 8 8 8

Installation Guide 4 4 4 4

Software Disk 4 8+ 4 4¹

Magmount Antenna 4 4 4 4
USB Cable 4 4 4 4

Soundcard Cable 4 8 8 8
Warranty 12 months 24 months 12 months 12 months
Recommended Price GBP 480 GBP 400 GBP 300 GBP 199
Delivery (For UK Address) GBP 10 GBP 9 Not stated Free

*SBS-1eR
+Extra GBP 10
¹PlanePlotter Lite

© Anmer Page 5 March 2010

Optional Items
Some suppliers offer optional enhancement/upgrades:

Options SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

st
Network - 5 min delay - 1 12 months Not Applicable Free Not Applicable Not Applicable
st
Network - 5 min delay - After 1 12 months Not Applicable GBP 8 a month Not Applicable Not Applicable

Network - Live Free* GPB 14 a month Free* € 25¹

3D Graphics Not Applicable GBP 110+ Free 4²

Radio Scanner Control Interface GBP 30** Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable

*User Group community networking

** Included with SBS-1eR to manage the internal radio. Required to manage an external radio scanner. Not all scanners are supported

+Requires an internet connection to run RadarBox 3D

¹COAA PlanePlotter Registration (one-off fee, excludes VAT) for sharing data. Multilateration (Mlat) is extra €12 per year, plus VAT

²COAA Plane Plotter has a Google Earth feature

© Anmer Page 6 March 2010

Minimum Requirements
These are the suppliers published Minimum System Requirements.

Contents SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

Windows XP Windows XP Windows XP Windows 2000
Vista 32 & 64 bit Vista 32 & 64 bit Vista 32 & 64 bit Windows XP
Operating System
Windows 7 32 & Windows 7 32 & Windows 7 32 & Vista 32bit
64 bit 64 bit 64 bit Windows 7 32bit
Not stated Pentium 4 2.4GHz Pentium 4 2.4GHz Pentium
CPU
AMD 2400xp+
RAM 512MB 512MB 512MB Not stated
Hard Disk Not stated 2GB Free 1 GB Free Not stated
Network Not stated 768 Kbits/sec (3D) Not stated Not stated
Not stated 3D capable Not stated Not stated
Graphics
32MB VRAM
Resolution (pixels) Not stated 1280x1024 1024x768 Not stated

© Anmer Page 7 March 2010

The Hardware
The following is based on either personal experience and/or aggregated user feedback via various forums, including those of each manufacturer, where
available:

Contents SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

Case Plastic Aluminium Aluminium Aluminium

Receiver Build MMM MM Unknown¹ Unknown¹

Antenna Build MMM MM Unknown¹ Unknown¹

Reliability MMM MM Unknown¹ Unknown¹

Mode-S Sensitivity MMM MM Unknown¹ Unknown¹

FM/AM Quality MM Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable

RS-232 Interface 4 8 8 8

Ethernet Port 4 8 4² 8

Antenna Connection 2 x SMA* SMA SMA SMA

PC Connection USB 1.1 or above USB USB USB

Receiver Dimensions 130 x 95 x 25mm 124 x 102 x 20mm 130 x 81 x 30mm 45 x 65 x 30mm

*One for the ModeS antenna, the other for the radio antenna (not supplied)
¹ Both Aurora Eurotech and PlaneGadgets have only just been released
²Optional, upgrade module will be available

© Anmer Page 8 March 2010

The Software
rd
This lists the key “out-of-the-box” features or those that require 3 Party add-ons.
Although some products claim similar features, implementations can be very different and one should always ask for an extended demonstration to check
how each product works. The 3D options will be evaluated separately once the Aurora Eurotech becomes available.

The Radar Map

The radar map is a key feature but what looks good doesn’t always deliver the same user benefits. This is a subjective feature so do “try before you buy”,
especially the options to personalise the display and configure data.

Radar Map SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

World Map 4 4 4 4
Drag and Zoom
Arrow and Zoom Drag and Zoom Drag and Zoom
Map Navigation using Mouse +
Buttons using Mouse using Mouse
Keyboard
Undockable Windows 8 8 4 8

Separate Colours For Land/Sea 8 4 4 4¹

Display Map Terrain 8 4 4 4¹

Add Day/Night Shadows 8 4 8 8

Use Alternative Maps 8 4 8 4
Save Map Views 4 4 4 4
Add Map Tabs 4 8 4 8
Split Map 4 8 8 8

Choose Map Font 4 4 8 8²

Add Outlines 4 4 4 4
Choose & Set Outline Colours 4 Choose Only 4 4

© Anmer Page 9 March 2010

 Radar Map SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget
Toggle All Outlines On/Off 4 4 4 8
Add Waypoints 4 4 4 4

Zoom Level Waypoints 4 8 8 8

Choose & Set Waypoint Colours 4 8 4 4
Toggle All Waypoints On/Off 4 8 4 4
Aircraft Label Conflict Avoidance 8 4 8 8
Aircraft Labels Display at all Zoom Levels 4 8 8 4
Choose Label Position 4 4 8 4
Configure Aircraft Labels 4 8 4 4
View Only Selected Aircraft on Map 4 8 8 8
Minimum Zoom Level 1 nm 1 nm 1 nm 1 foot
Select Map Orientation 4 8 4 8

Display Selected Outlines 4 Partial 4 4

Display Selected Waypoints 4 Partial 4 4³

Add Airport Labels 4 Partial 4 4³

rd
Add Runway Centrelines 4 4 3 Party 8
Delete Runway Centrelines 4 Hide not Delete 4 4
Toggle Roads 8 4 8 8

Toggle Railroads 8 4 8 8
Toggle Cities 8 4 8 8
Toggle Urban Areas 8 4 8 8
Toggle Regional Boundaries 8 4 8 8

© Anmer Page 10 March 2010

 Radar Map SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget
Toggle Airports 8 4 4 8
Toggle VOR/NDB/FIX Outlines 8 4 4 8

Toggle Radar Rings 4 4 4 8

Configure Radar Range Rings 4 8 4 4
Colour Trails by Height Direction 4 8 4 8
Choose Trail Duration 4 8 4 4
Toggle Trails On/Off 4 4 4 4
Set Map Colours 4 4 Not Applicable 4
Vertical Tracking View 4 4 4 8
Set Local QNH Height 8 4 8 4
Popup Aircraft Details Window 4 8 8 4
Configurable Popup Window 4 8 8 8
4
Select Aircraft Range and Bearing 4 8 4 4

Set Timeouts 4 4 4 4
Clip Flights Above & Below Specified Heights 4 8 8 4

Filter Specified Flights on Map 8 4 8 8

Display Leader Lines 4 4 8 4
Polar Diagram 3rd Party 4 8 8

¹Using imported map images

²Font size can be changed
³Selecting a GPX file
4
Task Bar Information

© Anmer Page 11 March 2010

Aircraft List
rd
Another key feature that is best demonstrated. Some features are only available using 3 Party add-ons.

Aircraft List SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

Left / Right / Top /
List Position Right Left or Right Bottom / Floating / New Window
nd
2 Monitor
Hide List 4 4 4 4
Choose Columns 4 4 8 8

Sort Columns 4 4 4 4
Move Columns 4 8 8 8
Quick Filter 8 4 8 8

Toggle ADS-B Only/Show All 4 4 4 4

List Scrolls to Aircraft Selected from Map 8 4 4 8

Airline Logos 4* 4+ 4 4¹

Aircraft Silhouettes 4* 4 4 4¹
rd rd
Flight Route 3 Party 4++ 8 3 Party

Aircraft Type 4 4 4 4
Aircraft Registration 4 4 4 4
Flight ID 4 4 4 4
Altitude 4 4 4 4
Squawk 4 4 4 4
Display Aircraft Images Popup Window 4 4 4

© Anmer Page 12 March 2010

 Aircraft List SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget
View Aircraft Seen History 8 4 4 8
Separate List of Network Flights 8 4 8 8

Set List Colours and Background 4 8 8 4

*Either Logos or Silhouettes, not both

+Uses flight ID not aircraft operator
++Only Displays ICAO codes
¹As an alternative to country flags

© Anmer Page 13 March 2010

Other Functionality
This covers additional functionality.
It should be noted that PlaneGadget uses PlanePlotter Lite software rather than its own, unlike other products. Nor does PlanePlotter have its own database
but suggests one uses the Kinetic Basestation.sqb file. Existing, licensed copies of PlanePlotter can be used with PlaneGadget. PlanePlotter Lite doesn’t
share data
Since PlanePlotter can be purchased to complement the software used by the other three receivers, not all features are listed, such as Multilateration and
MySky, both unique to PlanePlotter. Plus Open Street Maps and lots, lots more.
To discover what else PlanePlotter can offer, please visit www.coaa.co.uk/planeplotter.htm.

Other Functionality SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget

PlanePlotter Ground Station Approved 4 8 4 8

Aircraft and Flight Database SQLite SQLite SQLite ¹

Database Viewer/Editor 4 4 4 ¹
Database Import/Export 4 4 4 ¹
rd
Report Generator 3 Party 4 8 4
Map Zoom Button 4 4 8 4
Zoom Level Indicator 4 8 4 4
Record/Playback Map 4 4 8 4
Multiple Home Locations Manager 4 8 4 8

Radio Control Interface 4* 8 8 8

Integrated Radio 4 8 8 8

Ethernet Connectivity 4 8 8
rd
Concurrent Multiple Sessions 3 Party 8 8 8
Live Data Socket 4 4 4 4

© Anmer Page 14 March 2010

 Other Functionality SBS-1 RadarBox Aurora Eurotech PlaneGadget
GPS Feed 4 8 Option 8

Set Database Timeouts 4 4 8 ¹

Set Database Purge 4 8 8 ¹
rd
Aircraft Alerts 3 Party 4 4 4

Ignore Non-ADS-B Data 4 8 8 4

rd rd
Database Table Editor 3 Party 4 3 Party ¹
rd
Get Nominated Airport Weather 3 Party 4 8 8
rd
Google Earth (3D) Integration 3 Party 4+ 8² 4
rd rd
Lookup Flight Routes 3 Party 4 8 3 Party
rd rd
Download Aircraft Images 3 Party 4 4 3 Party
rd rd
Registration and Other Details Lookup 3 Party 4 3 Party 4
FTP Current Map to Website 8 4 4 4

ACARS Decoder Integration 8 4++ 8 4³

¹Requires Basestation.sqb file

²Bespoke 3D
³PlanePlotter
*Not all scanners are supported
+Optional, chargeable extra
++AirNav ACARS – chargeable extra

© Anmer Page 15 March 2010