Welcome:
ADS-B Technologies is an Anchorage, Alaska engineering and technical consulting firm that provides specialized air
traffic management and air traffic control services. Specifically, it provides support in the deployment of Automatic
Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) and its related Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS)
technologies throughout the world.
ADS-B Technologies' approach to Air Traffic Management (ATM) is based on our strong belief that we are currently
entering a new era in aviation, the Global Satellite Navigation Age, in which the universal application of Global
Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), will trigger changes
in global air traffic management on a scale surpassing even that which was seen during the introduction of Radar,
more
than
sixty
years
ago.
Although we work with both 1090 MHz "Extended Squitter" and 978 MHz "UAT" ADS-B, we prefer to
concentrate on 978 MHz UAT product development because we firmly believe that UAT is the most capable
and flexible ADS-B datalink standard, because:
It is NEXTGEN compatible, and it was the first Cooperative Dependent Surveillance (CDS)
technology to be fully certified by the FAA and ICAO for critical "radar-like" air traffic control
services (2002)
It is a proven and mature technology - it has been providing enroute radar separation, Flight
Information Services (FIS) and rebroadcast Primary Radar target information services (TIS) in
Alaska since 2001
Its large bandwidth and robust design support bi-directional datalink (ADS-B "IN" as well as
"Out")
Its accurate and long range air-to-air capability has the potential to provide excellent collision
avoidance and conflict resolution services.
Our specific goal is to show nations and commercial entities how they can quickly adapt to, and then derive a
significant benefit from, this new generation of satellite intensive Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems.
We also hope that this site will provide you with up to date information related to ADS-B and its companion
technologies. For further information, suggestions, or comments please Please Email us, or take a look at our Links
page.
What
Is
ADS-B
ADS-B is radically new technology that is redefining the paradigm of COMMUNICATIONS - NAVIGATION SURVEILLANCE in Air Traffic Management today. Already proven and certified as a viable low cost replacement for
conventional radar, ADS-B allows pilots and air traffic controllers to "see" and control aircraft with more precision, and
over a far larger percentage of the earth's surface, than has ever been possible before.
Automatic - It's always ON and requires no operator intervention
Dependent - It depends on an accurate GNSS signal for position data
Surveillance - It provides "Radar-like" surveillance services, much like RADAR
Broadcast
How
It continuously broadcasts aircraft position and other data to any aircraft, or ground
station equipped to receive ADS-B
Does
It
Work?
Far different from radar, which works by bouncing radio waves from fixed terrestrial antennas off of airborne targets
and then interpreting the reflected signals, ADS-B uses conventional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
technology and a relatively simple broadcast communications link as its fundamental components. Also, unlike radar,
ADS-B accuracy does not seriously degrade with range, atmospheric conditions, or target altitude and update intervals
do not depend on the rotational speed or reliability of mechanical antennas.
In a typical applications, the ADS-B capable aircraft uses an ordinary GNSS (GPS, Galileo, etc) receiver to derive its
precise position from the GNSS constellation, then combines that position with any number of aircraft discretes, such
as speed, heading, altitude and flight number. This information is then simultaneously broadcast to other ADS-B
capable aircraft and to ADS-B ground, or satellite communications transceivers which then relay the aircraft's position
and additional information to Air Traffic Control centers in real time.
The 978 MHz Universal Access Transceiver ("UAT") variant is also bi-directional and capable of sending real-time Flight
Information Services ("FIS-B"), such as weather and other data to aircraft. In some areas, conventional non-ADS-B
radar traffic information ("TIS-B"), can also be uplinked as well.
ADS-B will someday replace most of the World's Surface
Surveillance Radars (SSR's) for routine Air Traffic Control
functions...
ADS-B and Next-Gen Avionics
What is ADS-B?
ADS-B is a replacement for (or supplement to) traditional radar based surveillance of aircraft. ADS-B is a major
change in surveillance philosophy instead of using ground based radar to interrogate aircraft and determine
their positions, each aircraft will use GPS to find its own position and then automatically report it.
Why would we want ADS-B?
There are three benefits driving the transition to ADS-B. Firstly, the GPS positions that are reported by ADS-B
are more accurate than the current radar positions and are more consistent. This means that in the IFR
environment closer spacing can be used than at present, and this provides much-needed capacity improvements
in congested airspace. Secondly, ADS-B surveillance is easier and less expensive to deploy than ground radar.
This means that airspace which previously had no radar and only procedural separation services can now have
the benefits of ATC services. And finally, because ADS-B is a broadcast service that can be received by other
aircraft as well as ATC on the ground, ADS-B offers the option for an aircraft to have accurate and inexpensive
traffic awareness of other nearby aircraft.
Will I need ADS-B?
Almost certainly. The benefits of ADS-B only become available if substantially all the aircraft participate.
Closer spacing is only available if all the aircraft have improved position reporting. If radar is not deployed,
ATC can only see ADS-B equipped aircraft. Without an ADS-B output, an aircraft would be invisible to the
traffic receiver on another aircraft. For airspace where ADS-B has been deployed as the primary separation
mechanism it is likely that having ADS-B equipment will be an entry requirement.
A very important point is that for all these benefits to work, an aircraft only needs ADS-B Out. That is, the
aircraft must report position information to ATC and to other aircraft. There is no requirement for ADS-B In
that will always be an optional feature.
When will I need ADS-B?
That depends on the airspace you want to fly in. Widespread mandates for ADS-B are forecast between now and
2020. The biggest is already in place the FAA has mandated ADS-B Out in all US airspace where
transponders are currently required, with a deadline of 2020.
Until then, there is not much airspace where ADS-B is actually required, especially for GA aircraft. Over the
next few years other countries will roll out their ADS-B plans, but it is difficult to forecast when this will start to
impact on GA operators. Nevertheless, the expected lifetime of the avionics being installed today extends into
the ADS-B deployment period, and it is worth taking into account future capabilities when buying equipment
now.
What equipment do I need?
To support ADS-B Out, the aircraft must have a GPS receiver as the position source, and a datalink
transmitter to actually send the ADS-B data.
The datalink transmitter that most aircraft will use is a Mode S transponder, using a feature called Extended
Squitter. The Mode S transponder with Extended Squitter is the international standard for ADS-B output.
Specific to US airspace and not approved elsewhere is the UAT datalink transmitter as an alternative to the
Mode S transponder. UAT transmitters may only be used on GA aircraft flying at lower altitudes in the USA.
The GPS receiver used must be an IFR certified receiver. Although that GPS is not required to be WAAS
capable, that may be a moot point. Many legacy GPS receivers that were designed before ADS-B was planned
do not include the necessary calculation of integrity and accuracy that ADS-B needs to operate. It is unlikely
that these older devices can be upgraded, and therefore a new GPS receiver would be required. Most new GPS
products today are WAAS capable.
Should I use UAT or Mode S?
If you are flying outside the USA, there is no choice the only approved solution is Mode S. That is also true
for large aircraft and high altitude aircraft in the USA you must use Mode S. If however you are flying a GA
aircraft in the US, you may instead elect to use a UAT solution.
A UAT solution will almost certainly be more expensive than a Mode S based solution, because the Mode S
ADS-B solution is built into many existing ATC transponders, whereas the UAT solution is a separate datalink
radio. Although there is some hot debate on the subject, you also still need a transponder if you install UAT.
That raises the obvious question why would anyone use UAT?
The key difference between the two solutions is that UAT has spare uplink bandwidth, whereas Mode S
Extended Squitter only has the capacity for ADS-B position reporting. That means that a UAT radio can receive
additional data streams, in addition to the traffic information. The FAA is providing a weather reporting function
using the spare datalink bandwidth of the UAT radio, and the FAA is hoping that this added value feature will
encourage GA operators to install ADS-B equipment sooner that they otherwise might.
What about ADS-B In?
An aircraft with ADS-B In would be able to hear position reports from all the other nearby aircraft
independently of ATC. Such a facility would drive what is called a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information, or
CDTI. In practice this kind of display is often integrated with a Multi-Function Display or moving map GPS
display.
To support ADS-B In obviously requires a datalink receiver, in addition to the datalink transmitter that is
providing the ADS-B Out function. Most UAT based ADS-B solutions will include a datalink receiver as well
as a transmitter as already mentioned the key advantage of the UAT system is the ability to uplink other
information, so theres a limited opportunity for a transmit-only UAT system. Mode S transponder based
solutions today do NOT include the datalink receiver. Instead, the Mode S based ADS-B receivers are generally
packaged as a separate system. At the high end, these are usually integrated with TCAS systems. For GA
aircraft a separate ADS-B receiver is used.
It is worth pointing out that in the US, because the FAA infrastructure will rebroadcast information between
Mode S and UAT systems, it is possible to install a mixed solution using Mode S for ADS-B Out and UAT for
ADS-B In.
What is antenna diversity?
A key benefit of ADS-B is that an aircraft with an ADS-B receiver can detect other nearby aircraft, and that
needs to work for aircraft both above and below, and in any relative position. Large transport aircraft with
TCAS already use more than one antenna for their TCAS and transponder systems, in order to ensure that there
are no radio blind spots caused by the wings or fuselage. Having more than one antenna is called diversity, and
the principle of antenna diversity can be applied to ADS-B installations.
In small GA aircraft the transmission pattern of a typical transponder antenna, although far from uniform, shows
significant radiation above the aircraft as well as below, even when the antenna is on the aircraft belly. On GA
aircraft there is therefore no regulatory requirement for diversity, although on an aircraft with ADS-B In, adding
a second receive antenna may give a better all-round traffic picture.
What does it cost?
All the current Trig Mode S transponders TT21, TT22 and TT31 are also ADS-B Out certified. There is
NO extra cost to the Trig transponder for the ADS-B capability.
The problem is the GPS receiver. Since the GPS needs to be an IFR certified receiver, it is by far the most
expensive part of the solution.
