ADSB Receiver Battle Royale 1

What is the best Software Defined Radio (SDR) for receiving ADSB data? Let's find out in this series putting up all the SDRs I have against each other and get some real world data on what SDR reigns supreme!
Hardware used on this video:
1090 ADSB Antenna:
amzn.to/42z582K
ADSB Exchange Orange SDR:
amzn.to/3TolN4Q
ADSB Exchange 1090MHz Filter:
amzn.to/3JstrXp
FlightAware Blue SDR:
Not available
Raspberry Pi 4:
amzn.to/3FAImO5
SMA Cables:
amzn.to/42huMJb
SMA Tee:
amzn.to/3Z2AMm2

[@LarryKapp1]

nice comparison testing job you did !

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

Glad you liked it! There are more tests in my channel if you want to narrow down what SDR you want to get.

[@Dusty_Ham]

This is great, it's good to see a direct side by side with them using the same antenna at the same time.

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

Thanks! I hope the rest of the series is just as useful to all.

[@1CM69]

Great start to the testing, very interested in the results.

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

Thank you! Battle 2 is done, now I just need to edit the video.

[@K4HLW]

You need to compare the ADSB Exchange Blue to the FA blue, the insertion loss from the filter may explain the difference.

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

It is certainly worth a try. Let me see if I can source one.

[@kleinbiker1]

Why would you use the orange 978 stick with the 1090 filter? Shouldn't that filter be used with the blue ADSB receiver?

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

This is a branding problem with these devices. The orange stick is *not* just for 978. It can listen in a very very wide chunk of the spectrum. The chief difference between the orange and the blue is that the orange has no filters whatsoever built in and the blue has a 1090 filter built in after the pre-amp. Putting the external 1090 filter on the Orange lets us see what the difference would be between having the filtering for 1090 before and after the pre-amp on a heads up comparison because otherwise the guts of the units are identical.

[@temporarilyoffline]

The orange SDR is optimized for 978 tho... right?

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

Negative sir, the Orange ADSBx SDR is just straight up no filtering. The Blue ADSBx SDR has a 1090MHz filter. The Orange SDR can be used for 978 or for any other application where an SDR can be used. I have used mine to tune in ATC, local PD/EMS, and reading my gas and power meters.

[@acjr8607]

Wait, you put a 1090 filter on an orange 978 stick and expected it to get better? Maybe I’m wrong I’m no expert but wouldn’t that block the 978mhz signals? Only allowing 1090mhz to pass through which the orange stick is not designed to pickup?…

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

This is a common misunderstanding between the Orange 978 and the Blue 1090.
The difference between them is subtle but significant. The difference being that the Blue has a built in filter for 1090MHz (similar to the one that is added externally), the Orange has no filters at all. You can use the Orange stick to tune into anything from roughly 01.MHz to 1700MHz. Don't take my word for it, check out the specifications on the hardware if you want to verify that for yourself.

[@n5pa]

So if I understand your test data, when you put the filter on the Orange SDR, it appears to attenuate the signal. Is this correct?

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

Bingo. I expected some insertion loss but I also expected the filter to aid things given that the whole purpose of the filter is to block the unwanted signals and allow in the wanted signals. I'll need to run an insertion loss test on the filter at a later date to see how much signal is lost with it.

[@n5pa]

@@LifeAtTerminalVelocity - I will be looking forward to the outcome of this journey. I want to implement an ADSB receiver system and I want to see the data in your tests.

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

There are at least two more matchups pending. One is completed, I just need to edit the video. The other is in progress right now.

[@blurcak]

Using a sh..ty T-splitter is not a good idea, Z (impedance)

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

It is equally bad for both receivers so I can live with it.

[@rogerp5816]

@@LifeAtTerminalVelocity - Not necessarily equally bad as we don't know how the individual filters and receivers respond to the impedance mismatch you created. To make this a useful test you'd need a 50 ohm signal splitter that's designed for these frequencies.

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

@@rogerp5816 Funny you should mention that. I just finished recording a video on such a power splitter.