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The ADS-B Kit

A complete FlightTracker LED with its own plug-and-play ADS-B receiver, so overhead traffic needs no API provider. Built with the airplanes.live community network. No maple case, which keeps the complete kit at $399.

Illustration of the receiver half of the kit: a single-board computer in its case, a preloaded memory card, a receiver dongle, a 1090 MHz antenna, and a power supply. — An illustration of the receiver half, not a photograph; the display isn’t drawn yet. Real photos come once the first kits are built.

The self-contained tracker

FlightTracker LED · ADS-B Kit

Full Tracker + Plug-and-Play Receiver · Preloaded · One Unboxing

The same 64×32 LED tracker as Mach 2, plus a plug-and-play ADS-B receiver. Plug both in, switch on Local ADS-B in the owner portal, and aircraft appear as your antenna hears them. No disk images, no command line.

What's In The Kit

64×32 LED flight tracker display: the full Mach 2 electronics, every mode and update
Raspberry Pi single-board computer, set up and tested
SD card imaged and configured before it ships — nothing to flash
SDR receiver dongle + 1090 MHz antenna
Receiver case and power supplies
No wood case; see the two configurations below

Two Configurations

Open frame — $399. Caseless panel and electronics plus the receiver kit. Frame or mount it your way.
3D-printed case — $474. A purpose-designed enclosure for the display (+$75). Not maple, but shelf-ready on day one.

Register your interest — no payment or order The kit is still being developed. Joining the list records your interest; it does not reserve a finished unit or place an order. Confirm your email to hear when ordering opens and if the plan materially changes.

Stay in the loop

Be first to hear.

After a confirmation email, I’ll send only kit availability and plan changes. No newsletter, no charge, and you can unsubscribe from any update. Mention the configuration you’re considering in the notes.

Have a question instead?

If you would rather ask something than sign up for anything, message me directly. I answer these myself.

Complete

Display, computer, SD card, receiver dongle, antenna, and power supplies in one box.

Preloaded

Everything is imaged and configured on the bench. There is nothing to flash and no terminal to open.

$399

Open frame, complete. Add the 3D-printed display case for $75. No wood case — that's how it stays affordable with a receiver in the box.

Direct

Overhead positions come straight off your own antenna — fully API-provider independent.

Already own a Mach 2 and a receiver? You may not need this. If you run PiAware, dump1090, tar1090 or readsb on your network, switch on Local ADS-B in the portal. The kit is for people starting from zero.

Which tracker is for you?

Two ways to put the sky on your wall.

Same tracker heart, two different products. The honest way to choose:

Mach 2 — the furniture-grade oneHandmade solid maple, gift-ready, tracking over Wi-Fi out of the box. Local ADS-B works with your own receiver.

ADS-B Kit — the self-contained oneThe full tracker plus its own receiver, no wood case. Hears the sky directly from day one.

You already run a receiverA Mach 2 plus your existing receiver gives you everything the kit does, in maple.

You want the antenna experience, assembledThat is who this kit is for: plug it in and flip one switch.

Out of the box

Plug it in. Switch it on. That's it.

01
Plug in the receiver
Antenna, power, and your home network. No screen, no keyboard, no image to write to a card.
02
Set up the display
The usual guided setup: Wi-Fi, owner portal, your spot on the map.
03
Turn on Local ADS-B
One switch and your receiver’s address. A health card confirms it is hearing aircraft.
04
Your own sky, live
The display reads the receiver over your own network, never the internet. Routes and airline names arrive from the service as always.

The bigger picture

Built with the network that powers thousands of trackers.

Built with the airplanes.live community network, where Mach 2 has drawn its overhead data since day one. Read how Local ADS-B works →

Your antenna fills your gapsShared networks see the sky from wherever their volunteers live. Your kit hears the low, light, and local traffic over your own house — the aircraft no wide network is positioned to catch.

Feeding the networkA planned opt-in lets your kit feed the airplanes.live community network — the antenna on your shelf sharpening the shared sky for every tracker on every wall. Opt-in, and off by default, like everything else we ship.

Nothing your antenna hears is uploadedToday, aircraft your receiver picks up stay on the display. What goes to the cloud is a small health summary — whether the receiver is reachable, roughly how many aircraft it sees, and how fresh that is.

One thing worth being straight aboutThe receiver's address is a setting like any other. You type it into the owner portal, so it is stored server-side with the rest of your display's settings. I would rather say that plainly than claim it never leaves your house.

Kit FAQ

Straight answers, as usual.

Not yet. Reserve a spot here with no payment; when kits are ready, the list orders first, at these prices.

$399 for the open-frame kit: the full tracker plus the receiver. The 3D-printed display case adds $75 ($474 total). There is no maple option; that stays with the Mach 2.

Same tracker, modes, portal and free updates. The Mach 2 is the finished maple piece, ready to give. The ADS-B Kit trades the maple for its own receiver and antenna.

No. A Mach 2 reads PiAware, dump1090, tar1090 or readsb on your home network directly; Local ADS-B is a firmware feature. The kit is for starting from zero.

Yes. Overhead tracking, flight-number tracking and the Departure Board all work over Wi-Fi without the receiver.

Airplanes.live is the community-receiver network behind Mach 2’s overhead data since day one. We are building the kit with them, and a future opt-in will let your kit feed the network. That option is not live yet and will be off by default.

Nothing your antenna hears is uploaded. The box reports only a health summary: whether the receiver is reachable, roughly how many aircraft it sees and how fresh the data is. The receiver address you enter is stored with your other settings. Only private network addresses are accepted.

It comes to me and is used for this kit only: one email when kits are ready, one if the plan changes. Reply to either to leave the list.