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ADSB Tracking


McMooney

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Is there any way I can stop ADSB from tracking me everywhere I go?  I currently have an appareo Stratus ESGi

 

If you look on flightAware, you can see everywhere I've flown;  it really makes me nervous.

 

Anyone else not comfortable being tracked everywhere you go ?

 

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There are plenty of people that feel the way you do, McM.

Getting unlisted takes some effort.

Keep in mind, My ship shows up on Flight Aware. I don't have ADSB out or a WAAS GPS source.

You have been traceable for quite some time via your traditional transponder using Mode C...(?)

Search around, you can probably find some discussions on flying incognito...

 

Best regards,

-a-

 

 

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 Big Brother is watching.....lol. FlightAware tracks IFR flights and VFR sometimes,  there a couple companies you register with then file through the them to fly with a "masked" tail number. Not sure what the fee is but I'm sure there is one

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25 minutes ago, McMooney said:

Is there any way I can stop ADSB from tracking me everywhere I go?  I currently have an appareo Stratus ESGi

 

If you look on flightAware, you can see everywhere I've flown;  it really makes me nervous.

 

Anyone else not comfortable being tracked everywhere you go ?

 

I set my FreeFlight RANGR to "anonymous" mode, which works as long as I'm squaking 1200.  Not sure about the Stratus.

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Just now, RLCarter said:

 Big Brother is watching.....lol. FlightAware tracks IFR flights and VFR sometimes,  there a couple companies you register with then file through the them to fly with a "masked" tail number. Not sure what the fee is but I'm sure there is one

I don't think they can mask anything. It used to be that flight aware got all their data from the FAA who could filter it. Now they get it directly from the aircraft. They have thousands of receivers listening for ADS B transponders. You can buy one and hook it to your computer for about $60. If you look at the flight data it shows which receiver is listening.

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8 hours ago, McMooney said:

Is there any way I can stop ADSB from tracking me everywhere I go?  I currently have an appareo Stratus ESGi

 

If you look on flightAware, you can see everywhere I've flown;  it really makes me nervous.

 

Anyone else not comfortable being tracked everywhere you go ?

 

Why would you want to fly anonymously? Your airplane is already registered with the FAA with an N-number for everyone to see - if anything, put your airplane in an LLC  where mail goes to a P. O. Box if you don't want people to know your personal name, address, etc. If it's just Flight Aware you're concerned about go to http://flightaware.com/about/faq and look under privacy for options.

 

8 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Turn off your transponder when outside of rule airspace.

Turning off the transponder is defeating the purpose of installing ads-b in - you are now missing all of the traffic advisories that you paid for when you installed your new equipment and potential traffic can't see you. Seems like this goes against  one of the basic aviation safety principles - see and be seen, whether that was just eyes out the window years ago or electronically as well now. Once you have traffic appearing on your devices it's surprising how much traffic is out there that you can't see visually.

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9 hours ago, Andy95W said:

Unfortunately, the rules say that if equipped, you are required to keep it in operational condition and use it.

and a catch 22 if you are re positioning an aircraft for the transponder check. ATC would much prefer you leave it on, even tho it may be out of the 2 year certification window and report any altitude discrepancies.

 

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I kind of like being tracked.  If I fly VFR, ATC would not normally put me into their system and there would be no tracking.  With ADS-B, I'm always being tracked.  If I were to have an engine failure, being tracked would give people a good idea of where to start looking.  Granted, if I have an emergency I'll probably activate the ELT which, if it works, will give a more precise location.  And if I land successfully and close enough to a cell tower, I can always call and tell people where I am.  Never hurts to have a backup though.

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Yeah please keep your transponders on. I've had some aircraft "pop-up" on my Lynx display when in an ADS-B fringe area. Depending on where you fly, you are being "tracked" by Uncle Sugar whether or not your transponder is on...


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1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

If you turn it off you will be invisible to everybody's traffic detection.

My transponder allows me to change my identity even though I'm not sure about the rules for doing that.

Meaning you can change your call sign that is transmitted? I have flown systems where that was part of our normal flow, verifying that the callsign was current for that day. My understanding is there is a internal code that is registered to the aircraft that can't be changed.

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3 minutes ago, kpaul said:

Meaning you can change your call sign that is transmitted? I have flown systems where that was part of our normal flow, verifying that the callsign was current for that day. My understanding is there is a internal code that is registered to the aircraft that can't be changed.

Oh, it can be changed too, you just have to push a few more buttons.

I think the ID can be changed so airlines can change their flight ID.

Edited by N201MKTurbo
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We can change the ID on our GTX345.  I use the N number for most flights.  When I'm doing an Angel Flight I change it to NGF6996.  I believe there is even a requirement that the ID transmitted by ADS-B OUT equipment must match the callsign.  And for what it's worth, even when I change the ID to NGF6996, the flight shows up in FlightAware whether I search for NGF6996 or N201CB because the code is married to the airframe.

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4 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Oh, it can be changed too, you just have to push a few more buttons.

I think the ID can be changed so airlines can change their flight ID.

My mode S code is registered to the FAA, changing the call sign in the box does not change it.  A snippet of my plane from www.aviationdb.com below shows the code.  Are you saying this one can be changed?

Capture.PNG

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1 hour ago, kpaul said:

My mode S code is registered to the FAA, changing the call sign in the box does not change it.  A snippet of my plane from www.aviationdb.com below shows the code.  Are you saying this one can be changed?

Capture.PNG

Yes,

you have to go into the setup mode. Normally only your avionics tech would do that.

If you couldn't change it how would you ever sell a used transponder? It would have no value.

In my transponder you have to know the hex representation of your mode S code. My calculator knows how to do the conversion.

When I bought my transponder it had the Mode S code and the N number already programmed in. I changed the Mode S code just to see if I could and I could. When you do the airborne certification check that is one of the main things they are checking for is to see if your code is correct.

I would be very careful messing around in setup mode. The settings in there are very particular and one false button press and it is all screwed up. Read the manual three times before going there and write everything down before you change anything.

Edited by N201MKTurbo
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Yes,
you have to go into the setup mode. Normally only your avionics tech would do that.
If you couldn't change it how would you ever sell a used transponder? It would have no value.
In my transponder you have to know the hex representation of your mode S code. My calculator knows how to do the conversion.
When I bought my transponder it had the Mode S code and the N number already programmed in. I changed the Mode S code just to see if I could and I could. When you do the airborne certification check that is one of the main things they are checking for is to see if your code is correct.
I would be very careful messing around in setup mode. The settings in there are very particular and one false button press and it is all screwed up. Read the manual three times before going there and write everything down before you change anything.
Ok that make more sense, it is a maintenance function not an every day application

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

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