ADS-B Feeding with a Raspberry Pi

This page covers everything you need to start feeding ADS-B data to OpenSky using a Raspberry Pi. Choose the approach that fits your situation — if you're just getting started, the multi-feeder image is the fastest path.

1. Hardware Setup

At minimum you need:

A Raspberry Pi (any model with USB; Pi 3 or 4 recommended for reliability)
An RTL-SDR USB dongle — e.g. RTL-SDR Blog V3 or similar
An antenna tuned for 1090 MHz — a simple ground plane antenna works well
A stable power supply and permanent internet connection

For antenna placement, aim for a clear line of sight in all directions and as high a position as practical. More height means more range.

For more hardware options see the adsb.im supported devices list. For antenna choices and recommendations see this community antenna guide.

Option 1: Multi-Feeder Setup with adsb.im Recommended for Beginners

adsb.im provides a ready-made Raspberry Pi image that feeds to OpenSky and multiple other networks simultaneously, with a simple web-based setup wizard — no command-line required. This is the recommended path for most users.

Your OpenSky username (shown on your Account page) is the account name to enter during setup — not your API client ID.

Walkthrough: Configuring OpenSky in adsb.im

Start with the official adsb.im how-to guide to flash the image and get your Pi up and running — there are also video guides available there. Once your Pi is booted and you can reach the adsb.im web interface, come back here to complete the OpenSky configuration.

In the adsb.im interface, complete the basic setup steps: enter your antenna location and configure your RTL-SDR for 1090 MHz. Then navigate to the Feeder section.

In the OpenSky feeder section, you need to enter:

Account name — this is your OpenSky username, shown on your Account page. Don't have an account yet? Register here.
Serial number — a unique identifier for this receiver. If you were feeding OpenSky before with this receiver, use your existing serial number.

Never enter a placeholder serial number. Do not use 0, 1, 1090, 123456, or any other made-up value. Each receiver must have a unique, legitimate serial number.

If this is a new receiver, click Request Serial to obtain one from OpenSky.

This can take up to a minute. The first time you request a serial, the full OpenSky feeder container is spinning up in the background. Wait for the confirmation that is has finished before proceeding and do not reload the page before the serial is in the appropriate field.

Do not forget to click on "Apply" at the bottom (note that this will throw an error if you have not selected one of "All" or "Individual" at the top. Once connected, your sensor will appear under My Sensors in your account.

Option 1b: Feeding other networks via Docker or Balena?

These multi-feeder Docker setups also support OpenSky:

Option 2: OpenSky Standalone Feeder Advanced

For users who want to run only the OpenSky feeder alongside an existing dump1090 installation. The feeder daemon is available on GitHub.

Quick Install (.deb package)

wget https://opensky-network.org/files/firmware/opensky-feeder_latest_armhf.deb
sudo dpkg -i opensky-feeder_latest_armhf.deb

Follow the setup prompts to configure your receiver and OpenSky account.

Alternative: Install via APT Repository

sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https ca-certificates
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/opensky.gpg https://opensky-network.org/files/firmware/opensky.gpg.pub
sudo bash -c "echo deb https://opensky-network.org/repos/debian opensky custom > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opensky.list"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install opensky-feeder

Managing the Feeder

Update manually:

sudo dpkg -i opensky-feeder_latest_armhf.deb

Reconfigure settings:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure opensky-feeder

Restart after an upgrade issue:

sudo systemctl restart opensky-feeder

Check logs if the feeder isn't working:

sudo journalctl -b 0 -u opensky-feeder

Disable temporarily:

sudo systemctl disable opensky-feeder
sudo systemctl stop opensky-feeder

Uninstall (keeps config):

sudo apt-get remove opensky-feeder

Remove including config:

sudo apt-get --purge remove opensky-feeder

Running dump1090 on a non-Pi Linux machine? See the Debian/Linux feeder guide for i386, amd64, armhf, and arm64 packages.