Online Mode-S Databases - Your help needed

AirNav Development · July 23, 2007, 06:12:53 AM

Hi All

We are finishing the development of Patch 1.
Almost all the reported problems are corrected now.

Many users have complained about the difficulty in keeping aircraft databases updated.
We have contacted a few sites but we have not yet come to a solution.

What are your ideas here? As users what would you prefer to have? We could sign an agreement with a company that would provide us accurate real-time mode-s information for all the world aircraft. To retrieve this information you need to be connected to the internet.
Is this what users are looking for?

Any feedback appreciated.

Allocator · July 23, 2007, 08:15:15 AM

AirNav,

The guys that provide the Mode S database for the excellent SBS Populate for the SBS-1 are The Gatwick Aviation Society:

http://www.gatwickaviationsociety.org.uk

It is also possible to use their (free) SBS Popultate program to look up individual codes, or to use their on-line database form to look up aircraft.

I think that it would be well worth contacting the GAS and making an arrangement with them.

flightchecker · July 23, 2007, 08:27:05 AM

Good idea, Allocator,
wish I had posted before you :-(

Anyway: "that's it"

Karl

Roadrunner · July 23, 2007, 08:49:40 AM

I agree with the others. The GAS programme has it all - live updating (if you want) ability to update in your own time (if you want) and not having it connected does not affect data capture - by that I mean any internet downtime does not stop the sytem working. I regularly use it post outages to look for missing data etc.

Another area for the data - an EASY way to download to Access/Excel or others, that may also allow update of data from other systems. EG I have 10,600 aicraft logged in SBS1 and only 2000 in RB, to be able to use the data I have alrerady obtained for both systems would be great

AirNav Development · July 23, 2007, 11:00:47 AM

What you think about airframes.org ?

Allocator · July 23, 2007, 11:05:45 AM

Quote from: AirNav Development on July 23, 2007, 11:00:47 AM
What you think about airframes.org ?

I've not used them, so can't offer any advice I'm afraid.

Roadrunner · July 23, 2007, 11:54:34 AM

I use airframes.org a lot of the time and their site is excellent. I often find things on that site which have not yet been added to GAS (and vice versa). They also record all known hexes associated with aircraft so it is possible to establish incorrect codings by some aircraft (lot of military seem to love bogus codes) and between the two of them Airframes and GAS they are the ones to get involved with.

G-PHIL · July 23, 2007, 12:57:36 PM

I myself would go with Airframes.org.
I have done a few searches on the website and found it to be very good.
Some of the links on the GAS website do not work at the moment.

flightchecker · July 23, 2007, 03:21:53 PM

GAS does have the big advantage of "auto populate". You may fill your database even when asleep. Airframe is excellent indeed, why not use it to manually add data that GAS does not find?

Karl

Allocator · July 23, 2007, 03:30:22 PM

Quote from: flightchecker on July 23, 2007, 03:21:53 PM
GAS does have the big advantage of "auto populate". You may fill your database even when asleep. Airframe is excellent indeed, why not use it to manually add data that GAS does not find?

Karl

The GAS software (SBS populate) will only autopopulate the SBS-1 database. I have no idea how the RB database works, but I'd imagine that quite a bit of work would have to be done to SBS Populate to get it to work with RB.

AirNav Development · July 24, 2007, 12:55:24 AM

What we want to do is the following:
1- Maintain a mater database at airnavsystems.com
2- The software looks for this database only and if the information there is not available then our master will contact GAS, airframes.com or any other source.
3- The master will update its information and send it to the users.

This way we would minimize bandwidth usage on GAS/airframes.org, maintain a master database on our site and centralize and make all this process easy.

What is your opinion regarding this? Any suggestions? Any input appreciated.

AirNav Development · July 24, 2007, 12:58:09 AM

Does anyone know the contact of SBSMilLog?
We wanted to centralize its data in our Dallas server too.
Any help appreciated.

Roadrunner · July 24, 2007, 08:44:40 AM

I use their database and the link is www.live-military-mode-s.nl I understand they have a server problem at the moment

AirNav Development · July 25, 2007, 04:38:23 AM

We are still waiting for airframes.org or gatwickaviationsociety to answer our emails. Does anyone know somebody there? we are standing by to implement this feature and after that Patch 1 is done. BTW: we have added lots of new features to patch 1. :-) Wait and see for the new SmartView interface. :-)

Harry · July 26, 2007, 12:24:11 PM

That would be me, but what exactly do you want to do?

Quote from: AirNav Development on July 24, 2007, 12:58:09 AM
Does anyone know the contact of SBSMilLog?
We wanted to centralize its data in our Dallas server too.
Any help appreciated.