How To Decode L band Satellite ACARS and CPDLC messages with JAERO and your SDR

[@mydronevideos3513]

I bought an L-Band Patch Antenna and have set up Jaero. (also ScytaleC for marine observations). All working very well thanks to Frugal Radio's clear and concise instructions. A tip I would like to share regarding maximising of your reception is to use a satellite finder app. I used one called Satellite Finder and once the patch antenna was fine-tuned my SNR is 26 -30

[@FrugalRadio]

Great tip Evan, thanks for sharing!

[@drmisfit]

hi i ggoled and found the link to skytalec software but it seems its not available anymore ,do you hapen have a link you can send ? please

[@TechCrazy]

You are the BEST resource for SDR and people who want to learn. Period!! Keep up the great work!

[@FrugalRadio]

Thanks for the positive feedback!

[@franklyweather3803]

Thanks so much! After getting the SDR radio, L band antenna and software installed it took me two days to get it up and running. I watched this video about 5 times and read the user guides on the equipment. I was thrilled when I got my first ADS-C message @10500 bps.

[@FrugalRadio]

Fantastic! It certainly feels exciting when you can start pulling down all these messages from the satellites. Loads of fun. I'm hoping I'll have another L band video this Summer which will show you how to do even more! Thanks for the donation. Much appreciated.

[@Wayne-Pr]

Just wanted to say another huge Thanks to you Rob for this Video. Finally I got this this weekend to setup my Inmarsat gear using the L-Band Patch antenna that you reviewed a few months back, after falling over all the newbie Inmarsat hurdles like the Bias-tee on/off software ( that really should have been packaged with the Airspy download ) I finally thought that I was there but no I was ripping my hair out why won't this bloody thing decode, why haven't I got any signal, dam it time to Re watch Rob's video in Inmarsat Decoding, hanging off of every word listening to every details to make sure that I had done what it was that you were talking about then finally I heard the one small ( well quiet large actually ) detail that after 2 hours of stuffing around that I had missed..............................................I had not turned up the Gain in the Airspy RTL-SDR, I did this feeling like a complete novice and bingo away we went, have now been happily been decoding Inmarsat for the last few hours with lots of interesting results including Mil stuff Thank you again Rob for a very detailed Video Note to self...............Watch twice act once. :-) Rgs Wayne.

[@FrugalRadio]

Ha ha, glad to hear you've now been successfully decoding Wayne. I'm sure there are many who didn't turn up the gain, myself included! There is a lot of traffic to see, so enjoy!

[@Wayne-Pr]

G'day Rob@@FrugalRadio so yesterday was just a trial before doing a full install. Next I want to experiment with a dish to try & increase the gain. I just want everything @ 100% @ ground level before I permanently mount at height.

[@FrugalRadio]

Are you getting a good decode on the 10500 transponders? That's where most of the activity seems to be, at least on the other 3 Inmarsat birds. I've never been far enough East to pick up 143! What kind of SNR are you getting? When I get round to permanent mounting at the new place, I want to run simultaneous decodes on multiple transponders. It has worked in my experiments, but trying to keep up with all the data is almost impossible. So I'm going to experiment with text-based filtering and categorizing. I installed one of the software pieces that will do the work last night!

[@Wayne-Pr]

G'day again Rob @@FrugalRadio so this weekend just gone was my 1st foot steps into Inmarsat just using my work laptop I left it running for 12 hours until 6am this morning on a 1200BPS transponder and woke up this morning to some really interesting data but until I get "An Inmarsat Antenna" permanently mounted and installed I won't know if I can get any of the 10500 transponders or not. I'm really keen to expand my knowledge, use and decoding of Inmarsat data including looking at how the "Control" channels work I wish there was software like there is for trunking where you could just monitor the Inmarsat control transponder and when it spits out a goto frequency for a voice call the software just takes you there. I'd be really keen to know who you go with your project please keep me in the loop. Based on one of your videos I have just recently purchase a heap of Nooelec gear so as time allows with family & work I plan on putting some of it to good use. Also really pived that the database is no longer available & from the research that I've done no one seems to be able to find the code to rebuild a new one which leaves me with the question why is it no longer available it really takes away from the main software That being Jaero. You mentioned that you had a database....... I've tagged your KZbin channel you in several posts that I answered on several groups that I belong to some of which you are also a member of where people are looking for help understanding Inmarsat. The problem with this hobby is that there is so much abandoned-ware. I'm also cautioning people about just what they post up in the fear that Inmarsat will just go "Right we are encrypting the whole thing " and we will lose everything. Stay in touch. Rgs Wayne

[@FrugalRadio]

It turns out there is a 'hidden' version of Jaero which includes an updated database (from March this year). However the database is now in basestation SQL format. This means that users can update it. I haven't tried this with the 'hidden' version yet. I say hidden, but it is actually a public Alpha or beta version available on the GitHub page. It's just tucked away and hard to find!

[@stevehageman6785]

Thanks for the help using JAERO.

[@FrugalRadio]

Glad the video was useful!

[@timvlismas4578]

Thanks for another interesting video. I'm sure you've noticed that there are some 600bps channels on the 54W bird where the majority of aircraft are USAF transports and tankers. Other channels seem to be aimed at a particular geographical area, such as South America. I caught quite a few USAF VIP aircraft, including AF1 during the recent G7 summit on 600bps and 10,500bps channels.

[@FrugalRadio]

Nice catch with AF1 Tim. That's fantastic! I've picked up several SAM flights in the past. Yes, have definitely noticed plenty of USAF activity on the 600bps transponders. Hadn't picked up on the geographic ones before though. That's interesting to know. I noticed several South American aircraft on the 600 channels, however I mostly monitor the 10500. A future project will be to ingest all transponders at once and set up a filtering system for certain messages. That's a longer term project though! Thanks for your support of the channel.

[@antalperge1007]

Hi, can you tell us, how do we know, if it's 600, 10,500 12500 bps, if the decoder (J.) doesn't recognize it automatically? Thnx 👍

[@FrugalRadio]

You can tell by the bandwidth. The 600bps channels are about 6 kHz wide, the 10500 baud channels approx 11 kHz wide.

[@OldSchoolNI]

Great video. Do you reduce the gain once pointing in proper direction? Much lower noise floor for you there so was curious if you turned the gain down or selected different device settings?

[@FrugalRadio]

No, the L band signals are fairly weak, so the gain needs to be kept at maximum. I just adjusted the Range & Contrast sliders in SDR#.

[@alainbroekema5000]

As always great information, many thanks and keep up the good work !

[@FrugalRadio]

Thanks Alain 🙂

[@mauriciotamayo2953]

nice video, thanks for share. just to clarify, the decodes are CPDLC and ADS-C messages. ACARS works on 1090Mhz

[@FrugalRadio]

Not quite. ACARS works on VHF. CPDLC messages are via satellite in the 1500 MHz range. 1090 MHz is for ADSB.

[@K1ZEK]

GREAT VIDEO This is very helpful, thank you. Recently got the RTL-SDR + and need to learn about the software. Thank you..Leo

[@FrugalRadio]

You're welcome Leo. I'm pleased to hear the video was helpful. Thanks for letting me know!

[@Hookmodo]

This is freakin awesome content, thank you!

[@FrugalRadio]

Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

Thanks for the video ! what about space-based ADS-B ? What do know you about this ?

[@FrugalRadio]

It is receivable, yes. However a large, C-band satellite dish is required. See thebaldgeek.github.io/C-Band.html

[@drmisfit]

HI WERE YOU PICKING UP VOICE COMMS AT THE END OF YOUR VIDEO WITH YOUR L BAND PATCH ANTENNA ?

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes, aviation voice comms are also carried on the satellites.

[@drmisfit]

@@FrugalRadio Thank you very much for getting back to me much very appreciated hope you are doing well and looking forward to more of your videos kind regards Peter

[@antalperge1007]

Amazing work, thank you! Can you tell us, how do we know, if it's 600, 10,500 12500 bps, if the decoder (J.) doesn't recognize it automatically? Thnx 👍

[@sunsetcoastswl6988]

Thanks for your very informative video. Watching your videos I can see where I have some settings wrong on SDR#, so I will apply what you said in your video...and see if I can pick up ACARS...both fingers are crossed!

[@FrugalRadio]

Good luck!

[@sunsetcoastswl6988]

Yes, thanks...I will need all the luck I can get!

[@JONJWS1]

where do i download the jaero software please, just bought my first sdr dongle and would like decode signals. i used to decode vhf acars, it was fascinating, great channel very informative

[@FrugalRadio]

Links to the software are in the lower part of the description.

[@42markk42]

All the download links are above in the description ( github.com/jontio/JAERO/releases )

[@JONJWS1]

@@42markk42 thanks for the help, I think I was looking at the guys old website which wasn’t very helpful

[@pansim87]

Very useful infos.Thank you very much.

[@FrugalRadio]

You're welcome!

[@drmisfit]

Hi great video as always i just got the RTL-SDR v2 patch , does the bias T need to be on ?

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi. Yes, bias t provides power to the LNA inside the patch antenna. This is required to produce a high enough signal to noise ratio to enable decoding. Make sure bias t is switched on when using this patch antenna.

[@drmisfit]

@@FrugalRadio thanks for your quick reply ,do you have a video on how to do this ?

[@FrugalRadio]

It would depend on the SDR you are using. If it's an RTL-SDR v3, instructions are at www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-blog-v-3-dongles-user-guide/ under Feature 2. NooElec SDRs do not have a switchable bias tee. You either buy the one with permanent bias tee (SMArtee), or the one without (SMArt). Please refer to the user guide for your particular SDR.

[@drmisfit]

@@FrugalRadio ok thankyou very much

[@drmisfit]

Hi I'm managing to decode the 600 bps signals ok ,but not the higher frequency 1.545.998 ones as shown in the videoabout 17 minutes into it ,I'm using the speed set to 10500bps , would i pick those frequencies up with my antenna pointing towards the east, i am reciving signal peaks , regards Peter

[@FrugalRadio]

The higher bandwidth signals are more difficult to receive as they are weaker. The 600bps ones are the strongest. The 8400bps are the most difficult to pull in, as the power reduces when a transmission begins. For 10500, make sure your SDR bandwidth is correct (should be around 11-12 KHz - the whole signal should fit within the bandwidth window). You might also want to keep a close eye on the signal to noise ratio (SNR), and JAERO Eb value. Move your antenna to get these as high as possible. The stronger the signal, the higher chance of decode. Also check your volume output level on your SDR software. If the volumes light is green in JAERO It's fine, but if it is a different colour, you'll need to adjust.

[@drmisfit]

@@FrugalRadio thank you very much I’ll keep trying

[@drmisfit]

@@FrugalRadioHi is it possible i could email you regards Peter

[@videodude8137]

This is odd. My RSP1B is tuned to 1.545.065.500, but JAERO at the bottom right says Freq: 1479.43.

[@skyking6989]

So since I live in the northern hemisphere as long as I point antenna towards southern sky I should be good right or does it require signal to be peaked?

[@FrugalRadio]

A patch antenna like this is very directional, so you would definitely need to point it carefully towards to Southern part of the sky until you see the signals. Then adjust for peak reception.

[@jemussi7842]

I am new to ACARS decoding and have the sdr-kits magnetic stick on antenna and rtl-sdr V3 blog. My location is poor but managed to receive some signals/decodes by mounting it on a pole and sticking it out of a first floor window. However it only works after dark. Any idea why this is? Coud this be solar interference etc? Many thanks.

[@FrugalRadio]

Is it VHF ACARS, HFDL or Satellite ACARS (JAERO) you are experimenting with?

[@jemussi7842]

@@FrugalRadio Thanks for your response. It is satellite 1.545GHz with JAERO.

[@FrugalRadio]

Ok, strange. Possible that it is solar interference, but more likely just more background noise received by day. Or perhaps you are receiving reflections, rather than direct from the satellite path. Check that you have the fish pointed directly at the SAT, and are not picking up via a window reflection. Also use a shorter coax run if you can, or replace the extension coax with something less lossy. Also verify clear line of site to the satellite, eg no trees getting in the way. What antenna are you using? The RTL-SDR L band patch? NooElec kit? Modified GPS?

[@thewind-ne8rh]

could you use a direct t v dish to increase gain and senativity

[@MB4AC]

Windows 10 64 bit and still cannot get the constellation viewer to indicate any signal. Using SdrSharp with a AirSpy Mini. ScytaleC works. Amy suggestions?

[@FrugalRadio]

I would check the following : Is JAERO receiving the audio? Is your bandwidth in SDR# set correctly? Can you see the signal hump in JAERO? Sometimes it helps to left-click in the centre of it. Is the appropriate speed for the transponder selected in JAERO?

[@MB4AC]

JAERO does not appear to be receiving the audio. There is no activity in the constellation box or the spectrum. I am using the VB Audio.Virtual.Audio.Cable x64

[@FrugalRadio]

If JAERO isn't getting audio, check that the correct soundcard is selected in the JAERO settings. Then check the volume slider in SDR#. If JAERO is receiving audio, you will see a green light at the bottom beside Volume. If the light isn't green, the volume is probably too low in SDR#. If it goes red, the volume is too high. See if changing that gets you any signal.

[@MB4AC]

receiving data on a laptop. still can't it to work on desktop but will keep trying. thanks

[@FrugalRadio]

If you've got it running on one machine, but not the other, that seems odd. From there I might try reinstalling the virtual cable, and ensuring no other device software is producing sounds on the VB cable channel. Hopefully you'll get it figured!

[@petbytes7167]

To listen to voice transmissions, do you change the audio input source from VB virtual cable to your PC’s own soundcard? Doesn’t JAERO need the virtual cable input source ?

[@FrugalRadio]

For voice, you leave the virtual cable selected. JAERO will demodulate the digital ambe audio and automatically route it to your speakers 😃

[@petbytes7167]

@@FrugalRadio Thank you. I got it working. I had my laptop speakers disabled so I wasn’t hearing anything.

[@FrugalRadio]

Excellent. Glad you're able to monitor the voice transmissions now!

[@ab5gc]

My picture menu disappeared. Is the a hot key to get it back?

[@prodrumernate]

i get the following message and unsure what to make of it..any ideas? "error short frame!!!maybe the soundcard dropped some sound card buffers format id error"

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes, that is a common error. It usually appears when first decoding a signal. As long as that message stops after a few seconds and you have the green lights, all will be well. If the message continues to appear after a few seconds, try adjusting your audio or SDR receiver settings.

[@prodrumernate]

@@FrugalRadio you are awesome.i greatly appreciate the reply.it does seem to have the error message come up every so often but is not constant.i see also at the end of the video you are able to hear audio. i did a seaarch in you current videos on how to set it up but did not see anything that shows how to set it up.i could have passed it and not understood what the video is about but am watching them one by one to find it if available.i did copy the settings as shown in the video here but did not hear anything.i know im missing something but not sure what.is there a video or even a website for setting it up properly that you know of..thank you again.i really appreciate the help and see why people are into radios as im a 3rd generation "enthusiast"

[@FrugalRadio]

No worries. The audio is a little more difficult to set up. You tell JAERO to decode at 8400bps, and set your bandwidth accordingly. As long as you have the correct libraries installed (I don't remember what they're called), it will produce audio. I haven't made a video specifically about it. One thing to note is that the 8400 channels come and go. They also dynamically reduce power after an audio connection has been initiated. So you may hear part of a call, then see the signal lower and possibly drop completely. Have fun experimenting!

[@drmisfit]

Hi i couldnt get the bias T to turn on using sdr sharp then i found out i had to download the BT file so i did that and clicked on the biast t on ,but for some reason it wont turn on i checked for voltage coming out but none presemt, i tried deleting the file and re downloading it but still no luck so i tried useing sdr ++ that works ok and also usiing SDR UNO 5v coming out to the antenna , the only issue I'm having is picking up a signal with my l patch antenna ,looking at the map on here i should be recieving by pointing either east or west here in the UK

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes, I could get Alphasat and 54W when I lived in Ireland. Good luck!

[@MrDwadi84]

Great tutorial as always! I am gonna buy RTL Blog's antenna :) I have question, because idk if i am wrong, L-band also have one weather sat that provide full disc photos - I am really interested in this.

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes, there are a couple of GOES weather satellites that download in the L band. To receive them, you generally require a dish. I hope to demonstrate a set up in the future!

[@MrDwadi84]

@@FrugalRadio will be more than a happy to see a tutorial about this in the future.

[@FrugalRadio]

Good to know it will be interesting to some viewers. Appreciate you letting me know.

[@georgestein7484]

Great video. Can you tell me for central Oregon which satellites I could hear from here. I read where some satellites are not going to be used as they have reached EOL. So what is the deal going forward for my area? It appears there aren't many places to get this antenna. All the best, George

[@FrugalRadio]

98W would be your main sat. Loads of activity on them - so much it's hard to keep up!

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

Nice, grabbing an antenna once available.

[@FrugalRadio]

Good idea!

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

@@FrugalRadio Making one, snagged some PCB boards from eBay ... looks like a fun project.

[@FrugalRadio]

Excellent. If you have a 3d printer, you can also create a small helix antenna for L band. They provide excellent reception from what I hear. Try looking up homebrew L band antennas for several designs 🙂

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

@@FrugalRadio I've ordered some copper PCB for a homebrew plate antenna. Will check out the helix. 3D printer might be a fun addition, not got into that yet.

[@FrugalRadio]

Ah yes, building your own plate, nice. Let us know your results when you get it all assembled and tested!

[@carmelofalzon3589]

This video is awesome..

[@FrugalRadio]

Thanks!

[@box420]

man for the life of me i can NOT get jaero compiled i tryed ruuning there windoes build script an it runs everything but at the end it tells me line 30 cmake command not found. for the life of me i cant get it to work any help would be amzing

[@FrugalRadio]

For Windows I only ever downloaded the pre compiled binaries... Try the windows asset at github.com/jontio/JAERO/releases

[@box420]

@@FrugalRadio so would this be ready to run and has all of the dependencies. And is there a precompiled of the needed voice library?

[@FrugalRadio]

I believe it is all included. Click the little triangle next to the Assets heading, download the windows one, unpack it in your drive and see how it goes!

[@pltamas]

Thanks for the video, i have managed to receive signals but every day the frequency change on my sdrsharp, on which satellite must i aim 54 west or 89 west. This is not clear to me, sorry but i am new at this. I use the sdr-blog antenna en the sdr dongle from them.sorry for the bad english. Hope someone can tell me how to handle the antenna. Thanks

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi Peter. The satellite moves in the sky a little, so it is normal for signal strength to go up and down a bit. The frequency should be stable though, but on USB mode it will be a few kHz different from what is published. As long as the drift is not coming from your SDR itself. Do you notice the frequency changing each day on VHF & UHF signals?

[@pltamas]

@@FrugalRadio hello, thanks for answer. The vhf & uhf signals on the sdr are stable , so it can be that i not adjust the antenna good. Last question for adjusting which satellie nust i have in the West (i live in The Netherlands and have good view from South- West to West)or must i adjust between these that is not clear to me. Good channel you have and thanks for the good videos. Greetings Peter

[@FrugalRadio]

Hello again Peter. Yes, good decoding relies on a clear path to the satellite. Trees and buildings create problems for the satellite signal. From NL you could expect to receive a signal from 54W, and 25E. If your view is clearer to the West, I would try the 54W satellite first. There are some apps, such as Dishpointer, which can help you find the location of the satellite from your position. It might be worth trying one of those as you get started. Best wishes!

[@loz9324]

Sick you rock!

[@FrugalRadio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@n0gps1]

How does one compile the ambi feature for jaero for windows to receive voice commands ?

[@FrugalRadio]

Jonti, author of JAERO has provided instructions at github.com/jontio/libaeroambe/wiki/Building_64-bit_binaries_for_Windows

[@n0gps1]

@@FrugalRadio looks like a job for computer superman as I am limited skills

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes, it isn't for the faint of heart. A few years ago I'm sure I found a codec online that just worked, because I don't recall going through the process of building it like that. I've had a look around, but haven't been able to find it again.

[@ajen665]

Look in the comments below this article: www.rtl-sdr.com/aero-c-channel-voice-audio-now-decodable-with-jaero/ . User Kotelnikov007 has made a useful download available on MEGA. The link is in the comment.

[@FrugalRadio]

@Ajen66, thanks for posting this. I knew there was a file out there somewhere, but didn't know where!

[@Wayne-Pr]

Great video as usual Rob. I used your Amazon link to purchase 2 x L-Band Inmarsat patch antennas & have sunce received them, now all I need is the time to get them up & running. Are you going to do a video on the higher 3.6Ghz links that you eluded to in the start of this video. Keep up the great work & I very much look forward to sharing some of my findings here in Aust. Rgs Wayne.

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi Wayne. Have fun getting the patches running. There really is a ton of data coming from the 10500 bps transponders, at least on the sats I've seen. With your prior satellite experience I'm sure you'll be decoding in no time! As for C band, if I ever get a dish, then yes, I'll do a video. I see old 2-3m prime focus dishes all the time in people's yards when out walking. However I'm moving back to my own property next month which is much smaller, and the south facing yard is surrounded by trees. Also, the wife hated my old 1.2m Ku band dish when I lived in the UK. Not sure how she'd feel about seeing a mammoth contraption like a C band dish in the garden!!!

[@Wayne-Pr]

Thanks Rob@@FrugalRadio fortunately for business unfortunately for my play time we are in the middle of an exteremly busy time so sadly it will be July some time or maybe later before the L-Band sees the light of day. Just for your & other subscribers information after wasting 2 x solid days & dozens of support emails back & forth in direct relation to the RTL-SDR & the SDR PLAY infrastructure it has finally being acknowledged by SDRplay that the Microsoft Surface Pro X will not work with either SDR because of the proprietary ARM chip. Take care Regards Wayne.

[@FrugalRadio]

Hmm, sorry to hear about the problem with the Surface X. That's a bummer. Could have made a nice little portable platform for SDR.

[@sirac19]

18:44 🤣

[@videodude8137]

Arkinsas??? Lol. Arkansas