Aurora Eurotech launch a brand new Mode-S receiver

[MichaelWaddicor]

Aurora Eurotech launch a brand new Mode-S receiver

Features :
* Real Time 3D view of tracked aircraft.
* NASA Maps.
* Live Internet sharing.
* Aircraft Alerts.
* Real time photos of tracked aircraft.
* Support for dual monitors.
* Receiver uses advanced signal processing.
   (12bit 40Mhz ADC,FPGA and dedicated DSP)
* Size only 130mm x 81mm x 30mm.
* Connects to Windows PC,Laptop or netbook via Plug & play USB connection.
* No external power supply required.

For more information please visit our website www.auroraeurotech.com

[tarbat]

Interesting.  Some questions (first of many I suspect ):

1. Where does it get the aircraft photos from?
2. Where does it get aircraft registration details from?
3. Is the "Live Internet Sharing" peer-to-peer or via. a central server?  Any ongoing subscription costs?

[Hamish McTorsk]

What a breath of fresh air and at just £299.95 with 3D .... Brilliant

[lordiebee]

lets hope we get free nasa and 3 d downloads now

[jannuh]

Tarbat, nr. 3:
from the FAQ...
Currently we are still adding features to our software and expect that it will soon have more features than our competitors, with the exception that we will NOT be operating a sharing network. Our network is based on a peer to peer sharing and is designed to be used with GPRS/3G network as well as normal broadband connection.
We will also work with other third party companies to develop sharing.

[Anmer]

I've just read the FAQ page and the comments about using Google Earth.

My experience is restricted to using Google Earth with PlanePlotter and the novelty soon wore off due to processing delays.  It will be interesting to comapre Aurora's 3D offerimng and AirNav's using Google Earth when they are both released?

[Fenris]

I feel the need to set aside money for January!

The thing that really makes me interested is the description of the hardware, FPGA and DSP, and 12 bit ADC. That suggests that the receiver performance will be a level above the relatively simple receivers.

Excellent news.

[Anmer]

Early days yet but the product description certainly stirs the taste buds.

Who will be the first to get their hands on one of these?

[Airradiouk]

I wonder if this was Kinetics reason for releaseing the 5 minute delay

[GlynH]

You should offer your services as a Beta tester Chris...that would definitely be a good thing...the best way they could improve their offering IMHO

Looks good...the bit about Dual Monitor support is almost enough to make me bite - if it had an ethernet port I would be buying one today...or as soon as it is ready of course.

I have never been interested in the Network (although I do feed into the network and keep my subscription up to date to offer my support for the feature) so I don't really mind about losing that part of it.

Hopefully they might also have an iPhone app up their sleeve as the talk of GPRS/3G is also interesting.

AirNav had better pull their finger out on their hinted-at-upgraded RB hardware and improve their own software pretty soon or I for one will be jumping ship...

Was I the only one who was totally underwhelmed with the much-anticipated, oft-touted 3.x software and left wondering where all of those suggested & promised new features went?

And is it me or does the aircraft list look suspiciously like the SBS Basestation software? :-)

Is Aurora just another name for Basestation 2 or whatever it was to be called? ;^)

Regards,
-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

I wonder if this was Kinetics reason for releaseing the 5 minute delay

Aurora Eurotech seem to think so;

--------snip from FAQ----------
Q - What do you mean by Real Time.
A - We consider Real Time to mean that if you can see an aircraft take off with your eyes, then what you see on the computer should be delayed by less than 1 second.
This also applies to data sent to third party programs ie. Planeplotter. ALL our data is sent LIVE, all other Virtual Radars on the market delay this data by 5 Minutes.

Update 16 Nov 2009 - After announcing our Virtual Radar 3D to dealers this morning, Kinetic have released an update to remove the 5 Minute delay from their Basestation software this afternoon.
This is good news for everyone.
--------snip from FAQ----------

-=Glyn=-

[Airradiouk]

You will always get a delay until the plane is above a set high for radar to pick it up. Then it should display.

[Anmer]

You should offer your services as a Beta tester Chris...that would definitely be a good thing...the best way they could improve their offering IMHO

-=Glyn=-

Who, Chris at ML&S?  That should be interesting  

[Mcfly91]

Humm, seems to not have ethernet connection... it'll be a important detail for me to not choose this product... Perhaps this is included in their "secret" of new features...

In fact the technology we developed allowed us to track aircrafts using Mode-A and Mode-C as well as Mode-S transponders with a very high degree of accuracy.

But... did i well understand ? Mode-A/C/S ... ?

[Anmer]

Yes, I rank ethernet as an important feature.  If I were an ANRB user I'd be lobbying for that rather than candy floss Google Earth.