A flight data stream
Seems like a long time ago, now, when we used to share the unused CPU cycles with others to get jobs done. That whole SETI thing, for example; while the screen saver did whatever it was required to do, your office computer also crunched numbers for a crowd-sourced project. Not sure if they ever found anything…
There are other ways to share your data stream. Besides torrents, of course. I’m thinking here of my latest endeavour. A friend shared a link to the FlightAware site, where I was invited to sign up and host a small receiver. And so I did (sign up), and today the UPS guy (my dog loves that he delivers unexpected biscuits as a sideline) dropped off a box with a new toy.
I have a small computer/receiver in the house, and a very nice UHF antenna outside. Together, the equipment is feeding captured data from passing aircraft. Ground tracking. I knew that planes flew over, especially after dark; now I can tell you exactly which planes, if you care. Too high up to allow any real view (except for flashing beacon lights) I’m going for the other ID method. Every commercial plane broadcasts its callsign, speed, altitude and other bits of data; the receiver is decoding and sending that back to a central network, which then displays the “track” on a map.
I know, hardly earth shattering. Still, I think I’m playing a small part in a service that is important to the aviation industry. And I get to know a bit more about how the whole thing works.
