Why Open Source Matters in Aviation: The Stratux Story

In 2015, a pilot named Chris Young published a GitHub repository called Stratux. He’d built an ADS-B receiver from a Raspberry Pi, two RTL-SDR dongles, and some code he wrote himself — total hardware cost under $70. Commercial equivalents cost $500–800. Within weeks, thousands of pilots had downloaded the software and built their own. Within months, the FAA was receiving letters from the Stratux community. Within years, the project had changed how GA pilots think about cockpit technology.

That’s what open source does in aviation. And we’re still early.

The Problem Stratux Solved

The FAA’s ADS-B mandate (effective January 1, 2020) required ADS-B Out equipment in most controlled airspace. The rule created a massive new market for ADS-B In receivers — portable devices that let pilots receive traffic and weather data in the cockpit on their iPads and EFBs.

Commercial ADS-B In hardware is good equipment. But it’s priced for the avionics market, which historically means “whatever the market will bear.” The Garmin GDL 39 — one of the most popular commercial portable ADS-B receivers — retailed for $599 to $799 depending on variant. For a $30,000 used Cessna pilot flying 50 hours a year, that’s a significant barrier.

Stratux eliminated the price barrier. Not by cutting corners — by using commodity hardware (Raspberry Pi, RTL-SDR) that mass production had driven to near-zero cost, and by publishing open-source software that anyone could audit, modify, and improve.

What Open Source Actually Means for Safety

The avionics industry sometimes treats open source as a safety concern. The opposite is closer to true.

When Stratux has a bug, it’s fixed in public. Anyone can see the issue, see the proposed fix, and see the testing before the fix is merged. The Stratux GitHub repository has hundreds of contributors who’ve each inspected the code. This is a meaningfully different security model than proprietary firmware that one company controls and audits internally.

Proprietary firmware can have bugs too — bugs that the company discovers, patches quietly, and ships in an update without ever telling users what was wrong. Open source doesn’t allow this. Everything is visible.

For supplemental situational awareness tools (which is what Stratux is — non-certified, non-primary), this matters. The community of pilots using and testing Stratux is larger than the QA department at most avionics manufacturers. Real-world flight testing happens at scale.

The Right to Repair Your Own Equipment

If a commercial ADS-B receiver fails, you send it to the manufacturer (or more likely, buy a new one — repairs are often not economical). The hardware is proprietary, the firmware is proprietary, and you have no recourse if the company discontinues the product or exits the market.

Stratux is repairable at the component level. SDR dongle failed? $15 replacement on Amazon. Raspberry Pi toast? $35 for a new board. GPS module dead? $10. Every part is commodity hardware that’s available from multiple suppliers indefinitely. The firmware is on GitHub — it won’t disappear if a company gets acquired or decides to discontinue the product line.

For equipment you depend on in the cockpit, right to repair isn’t just an ideological position. It’s a practical reliability argument.

Community Knowledge vs. Corporate Knowledge

The Stratux community has produced a staggering amount of practical knowledge. Forum threads with thousands of responses. YouTube build guides. Setup walkthroughs for every major EFB app. Troubleshooting guides for edge cases that no commercial manufacturer would have documented.

This knowledge lives on the internet permanently. It’s indexed by search engines, linked from aviation forums, and available to any pilot who needs it. When you’re stuck at 11 PM the night before a long cross-country trying to figure out why Stratux isn’t showing traffic in ForeFlight, you’ll find the answer — because someone had the same problem three years ago and posted the solution.

That’s the other thing open source produces: a community. Stratux users aren’t just customers. They’re contributors. Builders. Testers. People who care about the project because they use it and because they can participate in making it better.

The Economics of Open Hardware

Stratux didn’t make aviation companies poorer. It grew the market. Pilots who built their own Stratux became EFB power users — they subscribed to ForeFlight, bought better iPad mounts, upgraded their headsets. The accessibility of ADS-B In data pulled in pilots who never would have paid commercial hardware prices.

This is how open source usually works in hardware markets. The free availability of the platform expands the ecosystem. More pilots using EFBs means more EFB subscriptions means more investment in EFB development means better tools for everyone.

Stratux Today

The Stratux project is active. The community maintains the firmware, adds features, and tests on real aircraft. Commercial variants — pre-built units for pilots who want the Stratux capability without the assembly — have emerged from companies like Crew Dog Electronics that believe in the open-source model and sell hardware that runs the same community firmware.

The Crew Dog Electronics catalog offers pre-built Stratux units for pilots who want ready-to-fly equipment built on the open-source platform. Same firmware, same community support, no soldering iron required.

What Comes Next

Open-source avionics is still early. Stratux solved the ADS-B In problem. The same model could address other GA pain points: weather displays, engine monitoring, autopilot interfaces. The Raspberry Pi hardware platform that powers Stratux is capable of much more than ADS-B.

The barrier to entry for open-source avionics hardware has never been lower. Commodity single-board computers, affordable SDRs, accessible programming languages, and a global community of makers who are also pilots. The next Stratux — whatever problem it solves — is probably being built in someone’s garage right now.

That’s worth caring about.

Most Stratux support questions start the same way: “It worked great on the ground and then…” Don’t be that pilot. A two-minute pre-flight check of your Stratux takes longer than reading this sentence but saves a lot of frustration 5,000 feet up.

These eight checks come directly from patterns our support team sees repeatedly. Work through them before your first flight — and again any time you haven’t flown with Stratux in a while. The Status page on your Stratux web interface (at 192.168.10.1) tells you almost everything you need to know.

1. Confirm GPS Lock Before You Move

Open the Stratux Status page and look for GPS position, altitude, and satellite count. You want 6+ satellites minimum; 10+ is ideal. The position should match your actual location — not 0,0 (somewhere in the Atlantic) or some random address across the country.

Why this matters: no GPS means no AHRS attitude data, no relative positioning for traffic, and your ownship won’t appear correctly in your EFB. Give Stratux 3–5 minutes after power-on to acquire satellites if you’re in a new location or haven’t used the unit in weeks.

2. Verify Traffic Reception

Even sitting at the ramp, you should see 1090 MHz messages on the Status page — transponder squawks from nearby aircraft, ground vehicles, anything that’s transmitting. If you have a dual-band unit, check 978 MHz UAT counts too (in the US).

If you see zero messages while sitting at a busy airport, something’s wrong: antenna connection, SDR, or settings. Fix it before you fly, not after.

3. Confirm Your EFB Actually Has Stratux Data

This is the one that catches people. Open your EFB app — ForeFlight®, Garmin Pilot, SkyDemon, WingX, whichever you use — and verify it shows “Stratux connected” or an equivalent status. Then verify your position is coming from Stratux, not the tablet’s internal GPS.

Most EFBs show a small GPS source indicator. If it says “internal” or shows your tablet’s cellular-assisted location instead of Stratux, the WiFi connection dropped silently. Reconnect and verify the source before you taxi.

Bonus check: see at least one traffic target in your EFB (even a ground vehicle with ADS-B Out). If you’re connected and seeing nothing, check whether your EFB is set to show traffic from external devices.

4. Set Your Region

On the Stratux Settings page, Region must be selected — not left at 0 or “not configured.” In the US: enable both 978 MHz UAT and 1090 MHz ES. In Canada and Europe: 1090 MHz ES, plus 868 MHz OGN if you have that hardware.

UAT coverage extends across Canada via CIFIB towers — pilots flying across the border don’t need to change hardware. But they do need the right region setting. Wrong region = wrong frequencies = no traffic where you expect it.

5. Enter Your Ownship Code (If You Have ADS-B Out)

If your aircraft has ADS-B Out, set your ownship ICAO 24-bit hex code in Stratux Settings. Without it, your own transponder appears as a nearby traffic target — a ghost following you at 0 feet separation, which is confusing and can mask real targets.

You can find your aircraft’s hex code by searching your tail number on any flight tracking website. It’s a 6-character hex string like A1B2C3. Enter it once; it stays in your Stratux configuration.

6. Check Power Before You Leave the Ramp

Stratux should have been running for at least 5 minutes before takeoff. On the Status page, check CPU temperature (below 70°C is fine) and make sure there are no power warnings. On the hardware, no red or blinking LEDs should be present.

Power cable quality matters more than people expect. A cable that’s marginal on the ground becomes a problem at cruise when vibration loosens the connection. Strain-relieve your USB cables before you fly; use at least a 2.5A power source, ideally 3A.

7. Calibrate AHRS in Its Flight Position

Stratux’s built-in AHRS — the attitude reference that drives synthetic vision in your EFB — is a remarkable $20 backup tool. It gives you pitch and roll when your primary instruments are unavailable. But it needs to be calibrated with the unit in its actual flight position, not sitting flat on a table.

Mount Stratux where it will fly. Then on the Settings page, tap “Set Level.” Do this once when you install the unit; repeat any time you change the mounting position or haven’t flown in a few months. A few seconds on the ground means accurate attitude data in the air.

8. Antenna Has Clear Sky View

ADS-B is line-of-sight. If your antennas are buried inside a metal structure — dashboard, door pocket, bag — reception suffers. Mount Stratux where the antennas have an unobstructed view upward. A suction cup mount on the glareshield, a kneeboard mount, or a seat bracket all work well.

While you’re at it: make sure USB cables are strain-relieved. A cable that pulls free in turbulence takes down your entire setup mid-flight. Secure them with a cable tie or velcro before you go.

After Your First Flight

When you land, spend 60 seconds on the Status page: were traffic messages received throughout the flight? Check your EFB track log — did it record a complete track? If AHRS attitude was drifting, recalibrate the sensor orientation via Settings → Calibrate AHRS before your next flight.

The Stratux community forums and the Crew Dog Electronics support team see most issues quickly. If something didn’t work right, bring your hardware specs, firmware version, and a description of the symptom — someone will recognize it.

---

These checks cover the most common pre-flight gaps we see. They don’t replace your aircraft checklist or aeronautical judgment — Stratux is a situational awareness tool, not certified avionics. Fly the aircraft first, always.

Building a new Stratux? Crew Dog Electronics builds and sells complete, tested units ready to fly — no soldering required.

Your Raspberry Pi has no idea what time it is without an internet connection. The onboard clock drifts. If you’re running a homelab, doing ham radio APRS or FT8, or just want a reliable time source off the grid, you need real GPS time — not internet NTP.

The stack: a VK-162 USB GPS dongle feeds raw timing data to gpsd, which hands it off to chrony, which runs as a local Stratum 1 NTP server (adequate accuracy for LAN use — for sub-microsecond, you’d need PPS hardware). Every device on your network gets single-digit millisecond accuracy from GPS satellites. No internet required.

Yes, your $4 billion GPS constellation is now your Pi’s alarm clock. Setup takes about 10 minutes.

What You Need

• Raspberry Pi — any model with USB (3B, 3B+, 4, Zero 2W)
• VK-162 USB GPS dongle — u-blox chipset, plug-and-play on Linux, no drivers. Also available at Crew Dog Electronics.
• Raspberry Pi OS (Lite or Desktop — Debian-based)
• Sky view for the GPS: a window, or a USB extension to get the dongle closer to glass

Step 1: Install gpsd

gpsd reads raw NMEA data from your GPS and makes it available to other applications via shared memory.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gpsd gpsd-clients -y

Plug in the VK-162 and find its device node:

ls /dev/ttyACM* /dev/ttyUSB* 2>/dev/null

VK-162 typically appears as /dev/ttyACM0 (CDC-ACM chipset) or /dev/ttyUSB0 (CP2102 variant). Note which one you see — use that in the config below.

Configure gpsd:

sudo nano /etc/default/gpsd

START_DAEMON="true"
GPSD_OPTIONS="-n"
DEVICES="/dev/ttyACM0"
USBAUTO="true"

Replace /dev/ttyACM0 with whatever appeared in your ls output. The -n flag tells gpsd to open the device immediately rather than waiting for a client — essential for chrony to get timing data at boot.

sudo systemctl enable gpsd
sudo systemctl start gpsd

Move the Pi near a window and verify:

cgps -s

You should see satellite data within 1–5 minutes. First fix after a cold start can take a few minutes depending on sky view. Once you see a valid latitude/longitude, gpsd is working.

Step 2: Install and Configure chrony

sudo apt install chrony -y

sudo nano /etc/chrony/chrony.conf

Add these lines at the top, before any pool entries. Then comment out or remove the default pool lines if you want GPS-only time (or keep them as internet fallback if you have connectivity):

# GPS via gpsd (NMEA — single-digit millisecond accuracy)
refclock SHM 0 refid GPS precision 1e-1 offset 0.9999 delay 0.2

# makestep: allow large clock steps on first 3 updates (handles stale Pi clock)
makestep 1 3

# Allow LAN clients to sync from this server
allow 192.168.0.0/24

# Comment out or remove these if using GPS-only (no internet):
# pool 0.debian.pool.ntp.org iburst
# pool 1.debian.pool.ntp.org iburst

About the offset value: 0.9999 is a temporary starting value that prevents chrony from immediately rejecting the GPS as a falseticker. After running for 10–15 minutes with a GPS fix, run:

chronyc sourcestats

Look at the Offset column for the GPS source. That’s your real measured offset — update the offset value in chrony.conf to match, then restart chrony. Typical USB GPS offset is 0.05–0.4 seconds.

sudo systemctl restart chrony

Step 3: Verify the Time Source

chronyc sources -v

Once GPS has a fix and chrony has synced, you’ll see an asterisk next to the GPS source:

MS Name/IP address    Stratum Poll Reach LastRx Last sample
=============================================================
#* GPS                      0   4   377    11  +12ms[+11ms] +/- 95ms

The # means local reference, * means selected as primary. After offset calibration you’ll typically see single-digit milliseconds — vastly better than a drifting Pi clock with no reference at all.

chronyc tracking

Look for Reference ID : GPS. That’s your Stratum 1 NTP server.

Step 4: Point LAN Clients at the Pi

Linux (chrony):

sudo nano /etc/chrony/chrony.conf
# Add:
server 192.168.0.X iburst prefer

Windows:

w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"192.168.0.X" /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:YES /update
net stop w32time && net start w32time
w32tm /resync

macOS: The GUI no longer supports custom NTP servers easily. Use Terminal:

sudo sntp -sS 192.168.0.X

Common Issues

cgps shows no data / no fix

The VK-162 needs a clear sky view. Move it to a window, or run a USB extension cable to get the dongle closer to glass. Cold start (first fix after moving locations) takes 2–5 minutes.

GPS appears in sources but no asterisk

Chrony is conservative about promoting a new source. Give it 10–15 minutes after first GPS fix. If it still won’t select GPS, confirm cgps -s shows a valid fix and that gpsd is running (systemctl status gpsd).

gpsd not starting after reboot

USBAUTO="true" handles USB enumeration timing. If gpsd still starts before the device appears, add a ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 3 line to the gpsd systemd unit override.

Ham Radio Use Cases

GPS time sync earns its keep in digital modes that depend on precise timing:

• FT8 / WSJT-X: Requires system clock within ±1 second (±0.5s recommended for reliable decoding). A drifting Pi clock breaks FT8 off-grid. GPS fixes this permanently.
• APRS with Direwolf: Accurate position timestamps and beacon timing. See our VK-162 APRS setup guide for the full Direwolf stack.
• WSPR: Transmission windows are 2-minute aligned — GPS keeps you on the correct window without internet dependency.

The Hardware

The VK-162 USB GPS uses a u-blox 7 chipset — well-supported by gpsd, plug-and-play on any Debian-based Linux, no driver installation needed. Plug it in, /dev/ttyACM0 or /dev/ttyUSB0 appears, done.

A note on accuracy: USB GPS over NMEA gives you single-digit millisecond accuracy after offset calibration. That’s more than adequate for NTP, FT8, APRS, and general homelab time sync. If you need sub-microsecond accuracy (financial systems, precision test equipment), you’d need a GPS module with a PPS output wired to a GPIO pin — a different project and a different class of hardware.

Summary

• Install gpsd, configure /etc/default/gpsd with your device path and -n flag
• Install chrony, add refclock SHM 0 with makestep 1 3 and your allow subnet; calibrate the offset after first run
• Verify with cgps -s (GPS fix) and chronyc sources (GPS selected with asterisk)
• Point LAN clients to the Pi’s IP — your $15 GPS dongle is now a Stratum 1 NTP server

Problem 1: iPad Keeps Disconnecting from Stratux Wi-Fi

This is the most common complaint, and it has a completely fixable cause.

Root Cause A — Screen Dimming and Auto-Lock

When your iPad screen dims or auto-locks, iOS aggressively manages Wi-Fi connections to save battery. If Stratux Wi-Fi isn’t actively transferring data when the screen goes dark, iOS can drop the connection.

Fix: During flight, disable auto-lock. Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock → Never. This is a pre-flight habit, not a hardware issue.

Root Cause B — 2.4 GHz Interference

Crowded airports, FBOs, and some cockpit setups have RF noise on 2.4 GHz. Stratux broadcasts on 2.4 GHz by default.

Fix: Make sure your iPad is only connected to the Stratux network — not simultaneously trying to reconnect to a nearby airport or FBO Wi-Fi. Forget any competing networks before flight. On some setups, repositioning Stratux closer to the iPad makes a measurable difference in connection stability.

Root Cause C — USB Power Issue Causing Intermittent Reboot

If Stratux is rebooting mid-flight, your iPad will lose the connection and reconnect each time. You might not notice the reboot if you’re heads-down.

Fix: Check your power supply. The Raspberry Pi 4 can draw up to 3 amps at peak. Cheap USB cables and underpowered battery banks cause undervoltage events that restart the Pi silently. Use a quality cable and a battery bank rated at 3A output or higher.

Problem 2: GPS Won’t Lock

If Stratux is showing “No GPS Fix” or it takes more than 5 minutes to lock, these are the usual suspects.

Root Cause A — The GPS Module Can’t See the Sky

USB GPS dongles (including the VK-162) need a clear view of the sky to acquire satellites. Inside a metal-roofed cockpit or under an instrument panel, you might only have a partial sky view.

Fix: Position the GPS module near a window — even touching the windscreen works. If you’re getting intermittent locks only in certain seat positions, that’s your diagnostic. For a permanent solution, a remote-mount antenna with an SMA extension cable lets you position the antenna puck on the glareshield where it has a full sky view.

Root Cause B — Cold Start After Long Storage

After weeks without use, the GPS module has lost its last-known satellite positions. First lock after a long break can take 3–5 minutes.

Fix: Power on Stratux while you’re still in the pattern, not in the run-up area. Let it acquire satellites during preflight — by the time you’re taxiing, it’ll have a fix.

Root Cause C — gpsd Not Running on the Stratux

Occasionally the GPS daemon on Stratux doesn’t start correctly after boot.

Fix: Open the Stratux web interface (go to 192.168.10.1 in your browser while connected to Stratux Wi-Fi). Check the GPS status indicator. If it shows “No GPS” even after several minutes outside with sky view, do a soft-reboot via the web UI and let it restart fully.

Problem 3: Not Seeing ADS-B Traffic

Before assuming something’s broken, it’s worth understanding what “no traffic” can mean.

Root Cause A — You’re Outside UAT Tower Coverage

Stratux receives two ADS-B frequencies: 1090 MHz (ES, aircraft-to-aircraft worldwide) and 978 MHz (UAT, US only, requires FAA towers). UAT weather and ground-based traffic rebroadcast only work within range of a tower.

Fix: If you’re flying VFR cross-country and you lose FIS-B weather and UAT traffic, you may have simply left a tower’s footprint. This is normal. 1090 ES traffic from aircraft transponders will still display — those are direct aircraft-to-aircraft, no towers needed.

Root Cause B — Traffic Layer Not Enabled in Your EFB

Every EFB has its own layer controls. Traffic doesn’t show up by default on all of them.

Fix: In ForeFlight®: tap Maps → Layers → Traffic and make sure it’s toggled on. In Garmin Pilot: check the map settings for the traffic overlay. If you can see the Stratux in your EFB’s “Devices” or “Connected” section but traffic isn’t showing, it’s almost always a display layer setting.

Root Cause C — SDR Dongle Not Seated Correctly

The software-defined radio dongle that receives ADS-B signals has a USB connection that can come loose during turbulence or from handling.

Fix: Open the Stratux web interface and check the ES and UAT receive counts. If both are zero and you know you’re in range of traffic, power Stratux down, reseat both SDR dongles, and restart. A quick tug-and-reseat fixes this 90% of the time.

Problem 4: Stratux Shows GPS Fix But No Traffic in ForeFlight

This one trips up a lot of pilots. The connection looks established, but ForeFlight® only shows attitude (synthetic vision) — not traffic or weather.

Root cause: ForeFlight® connected in AHRS-only mode. Some GDL 90 devices have a handshake sequence — ForeFlight® can connect to Stratux and receive AHRS data before the traffic stream fully initializes.

Fix: Check the Stratux web UI. Look at the ES and UAT receive counts — they should be incrementing if there are aircraft in your area. If counts are climbing but ForeFlight® still shows no traffic, close and reopen the ForeFlight® app while staying connected to Stratux Wi-Fi. This forces it to re-initialize the full GDL 90 data stream.

Problem 5: Stratux Works, Then Stops Mid-Flight

Root Cause A — Heat

The Raspberry Pi 4 will throttle and eventually restart if it gets too hot. In direct sunlight on a glareshield, it can hit thermal limits in under 30 minutes.

Fix: Keep Stratux out of direct sun. Under a seat, on a console, or anywhere with airflow and shade works. If your aircraft runs hot in the cabin, a small USB fan aimed at the Stratux vents can help. The case is designed for airflow — don’t block it.

Root Cause B — Power Supply Under Load

Cold weather, long flights, and power-hungry USB accessories can push your battery bank to its limits.

Fix: Check the Stratux web interface for any undervoltage warnings. If you’re seeing intermittent restarts on longer flights, upgrade to a higher-capacity battery bank and verify your USB cable is rated for 3A.

When Nothing Works

If you’ve worked through all of this and something’s still broken, you’re not out of options.

The Stratux community is active and well-documented. The GitHub issues page has solutions for edge cases that would take hours to find elsewhere. The Discord community has pilots and builders who’ve seen most failure modes.

And because every component in Stratux is replaceable, a hardware failure is never a total loss. SDR dongles, GPS modules, Raspberry Pi boards, and cases are all available separately. If the GPS fails, you replace the GPS — not the whole unit.

Replacement parts and accessories are available at our Amazon store if you need them.

Still stuck? Leave a comment below. We read everything and answer the ones we can.

There’s a question that comes up every time someone compares Stratux to a sealed ADS-B receiver: “Aren’t they basically the same thing?”

The hardware does similar things. The price is similar. But the philosophy isn’t.

Open source means the code that runs in your cockpit is public. Anyone can read it, audit it, improve it, and build on it. That’s not a selling point — it’s a structural property. If a bug is found, any developer in the community can fix it. If a feature is missing, any developer in the community can add it. If the company that built the hardware disappears tomorrow, the software lives on.

Sealed devices can’t say that.

Repairability Isn’t a Feature — It’s a Commitment

Stratux is built around components you can replace. SDR dongles. GPS modules. Antennas. The Raspberry Pi at the core. Every piece is available, documented, and swappable. When something breaks — and in aviation, things break — you fix it. You don’t throw it away and buy a new one.

This is what we mean by “the Framework Laptop of aviation.” Framework became famous for making laptops repairable. The aviation equivalent has been overdue.

Think about what that means in practical terms. Five years from now, a sealed ADS-B receiver might be obsolete. No parts. No support. The manufacturer has moved on. Your Stratux, on the other hand, is built on standard hardware you can find on Amazon for under $15. A failed GPS module is a Tuesday afternoon project, not a $400 equipment replacement.

Right-to-repair isn’t a political stance. In aviation, it’s a safety argument.

No Vendor Lock-In

Open source software means your data, your config, and your setup belong to you. There’s no subscription to cancel. No firmware update that silently removes a feature. No end-of-support date that bricks working hardware.

What you build, you keep.

That matters in a cockpit where the rules are already complicated enough. Your Stratux will work with the EFB you have today and the one you switch to in three years. It works with ForeFlight®, Garmin Pilot, WingX, AvPlan, SkyDemon — any app that reads GDL 90 traffic and weather. No proprietary handshake. No exclusive compatibility list. Standards-based from the ground up.

Built by Pilots and Makers, Together

Stratux started as a community project on GitHub. It still is. The people who fly with it are the same people filing issues, testing builds, and writing documentation. That’s not marketing — it’s a development model.

When a pilot reported that GPS lock was slow at high altitude, the community investigated and shipped a fix. When a flight school wanted to run Stratux on multiple aircraft simultaneously, developers worked out the configuration. When someone found a bug in the AHRS calculation, a pull request fixed it in days — not months, not “your support contract doesn’t cover that.”

This is what an open community looks like when it’s working. The hardware gets better because the people using it have the access to make it better.

AHRS: A $20 Synthetic Vision Backup

Stratux includes an AHRS (Attitude and Heading Reference System) sensor. This gives your EFB pitch, roll, and heading data — enabling synthetic vision on your moving map without a certified ADAHRS system costing thousands of dollars.

It’s a backup aid, not certified avionics. Say that plainly and it’s still remarkable: for $379, you get ADS-B In traffic, weather, and a synthetic vision backup for your tablet. Treated as what it is — an enhancement to your situational awareness, not a replacement for your primary instruments — it earns its place in the cockpit.

The open-source architecture means if the AHRS performance on your specific aircraft could be improved, you can dig into the configuration. Calibration guides live in the community wiki. Edge cases get documented. Nothing is a black box.

Who This Is For

Not everyone needs open source avionics. If you want something sealed in a box, fully supported, and you’re comfortable with that tradeoff — that’s a legitimate choice.

But if you’re the kind of pilot who wants to understand what’s running in your cockpit, who’d rather fix something than replace it, who thinks the right to repair your own equipment shouldn’t require a lawyer — Stratux was built for you.

The GA community has always been full of builders and tinkerers. The original homebuilders. The guys who fab their own parts. The folks who know their aircraft better than any shop. Stratux fits that tradition. Open source isn’t a workaround. For a lot of pilots, it’s the point.

Get Started

The pre-built Stratux is available at [Crew Dog Electronics](https://crewdogelectronics.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=identity-page) — ready to fly out of the box, no configuration required. If you want to build your own, the GitHub repository and community documentation are public and free.

Either way, what you’re getting isn’t just a receiver. It’s a piece of hardware with a philosophy behind it — one that assumes you’re smart enough to own what you buy.

*Status: DRAFT COMPLETE — 870 words | Pre-publish checklist: verify /why-open-source/ URL, add internal links to B17 (setup guide) + B18 (buyer’s guide), confirm RankMath keyword (“open source ADS-B”), generate DALL-E featured image before publish.*
*Scheduled: Pre-publish checklist Mar 8 | Publish Mar 10*

Will It Work With Your EFB?

Yes — and that’s the right question to ask first.

Stratux is compatible with ForeFlight®, Garmin Pilot, FlyQ, WingX, and Avare. The connection is dead simple: Stratux creates its own Wi-Fi network, your iPad or iPhone connects to it, and your EFB sees it as an ADS-B source. No dongles, no pairing codes, no app store download required beyond whatever EFB you already use.

ForeFlight® is by far the most common setup. If that’s what you’re flying with, you’re set. Full walkthrough here: How to Set Up Stratux ADS-B for the First Time.

(Note: ForeFlight® is a registered trademark of ForeFlight LLC. Stratux is compatible with ForeFlight — not affiliated or endorsed.)

What You Actually Get

At $379, the prebuilt Stratux from our US store ships as a ready-to-fly unit. A Raspberry Pi, software-defined radio dongle(s), GPS module, and AHRS sensor in a case. You plug it in, connect to the Wi-Fi, and your EFB starts showing traffic and weather. That’s it.

What it delivers in the cockpit:

• ADS-B traffic — aircraft broadcasting ADS-B Out show up on your EFB map
• FIS-B weather — NEXRAD, METARs, TAFs, TFRs, PIREPs — all free, FAA-provided, no subscription
• GPS position — feeds your EFB for moving map even without cellular
• AHRS — attitude data for synthetic vision on your EFB (more on this below)

“Open source” isn’t just a tech detail — it matters for you as a buyer. The Stratux community has been improving this software for over a decade. There’s no company that can decide to discontinue the product, lock you to a subscription, or push an update that breaks your setup without warning. You own the hardware. You own the software. That’s unusual in avionics.

The $449 kit option is for those who want to build their own. Either way, nothing is sealed. Every component is user-replaceable. It’s been called the Framework Laptop of aviation — the analogy holds.

What It Won’t Do

This section is the one most buyer guides skip. We’re not skipping it.

ADS-B Out: Stratux does not transmit. It only receives. If you’re flying in Class B, C, or above 10,000 feet MSL in Class E, you need ADS-B Out from a certified transponder or standalone transmitter. Stratux won’t satisfy that requirement. This is the most common misconception — worth being completely clear on.

Certified weather: FIS-B is FAA-provided real weather data, but Stratux is not a certified avionics system. Use it as a supplemental tool alongside certified sources in actual IMC. This is the same limitation that applies to any ADS-B In portable — Stratux isn’t unique here.

AHRS — what it is and isn’t: Stratux includes attitude data (pitch, roll, yaw) from an onboard sensor. For the cost of roughly $20 in components, you get a real synthetic vision backup on your EFB. That’s remarkable. It’s not a certified attitude indicator and shouldn’t be treated as primary — but as a backup awareness tool during unusual attitude recovery or vacuum system failure, pilots consistently find it useful. For best results: mount it level, away from RF interference sources, and let it settle before takeoff.

SiriusXM weather: Stratux uses FIS-B only. No subscription weather streaming.

Pilots respect honesty more than marketing spin. These are the limitations. They’re the same limitations any portable ADS-B receiver has — Stratux is just up-front about them.

The Setup Reality

The “Raspberry Pi” part makes some pilots nervous. It shouldn’t.

When you buy the prebuilt unit, the Pi is pre-configured. It boots automatically when powered. You don’t touch a command line. You don’t install anything. The process is: power it on, connect your iPad to its Wi-Fi network, open ForeFlight — done. Most pilots are looking at traffic and weather in under 20 minutes from opening the box.

The community around Stratux is genuinely active — Discord, GitHub, years of documented answers to common questions. Compare that to calling a tech support line and navigating a phone tree for a sealed device. Open source wins on support, even if it sounds counterintuitive.

Powering it is portable: any USB battery bank works. Mount options range from suction cup to kneeboard to panel mount — pilots have figured out every cockpit configuration imaginable.

Where It Sits in the Market

We’re not going to tell you every other receiver is garbage. That’s not our style, and you’re smart enough to do your own research.

What we will say: as of early 2026, sealed entry-level commercial ADS-B receivers start around $399. Stratux at $379 sits in the same price tier. The difference isn’t the sticker — it’s what happens in year three when something breaks. Replace a $15 GPS module or buy a new $400 device? That’s not a price argument. That’s a right-to-repair argument.

For pilots who want a detailed head-to-head breakdown, our FlightBox V3 vs. Stratux comparison covers the specifics.

One more number worth keeping in mind: a ForeFlight® subscription runs $200/year. Stratux is a one-time hardware purchase on gear you own outright. The math works in your favor pretty fast.

How to Get Started

Two paths:

Buy prebuilt. The Crew Dog Electronics Stratux ships from our Amazon store, ready to fly. Pick one up here — Dual Band is the one most pilots want (traffic from both 978 MHz UAT and 1090 MHz ES aircraft).

Kit builders. The GitHub repo is live, community is active, and the build documentation is thorough. If you enjoy this kind of project, it’s a weekend well spent.

Either way, your next stop after unboxing: Set up Stratux in 20 minutes →

Questions? Crew Dog Discord — real pilots, real answers.

---

Crew Dog Electronics sells prebuilt Stratux units and components. We’re the team behind crewdogelectronics.com — based in the US, shipping to US and Canada.

You can turn a $30 Raspberry Pi and a cheap RTL-SDR dongle into a
real-time flight tracking station that feeds live aircraft data to
FlightAware and FlightRadar24. The hardware is cheap, the setup takes
under an hour, and once it’s running you’ve got a 24/7 feeder that
contributes to the global tracking network.

Shortcut: We sell a PiAware 8.2 pre-loaded Micro SD card — plug it in and skip the software install.

Most PiAware Raspberry Pi setup guides skip one detail: the
timestamps your feeder sends matter. ADS-B uses time-of-arrival data to
figure out where aircraft are — multiple feeders triangulate aircraft
positions based on when they each received the same signal. If your
system clock drifts, your timestamps drift, and your contribution to the
network gets less accurate.

The fix is a $15 USB GPS dongle. Plug in a VK-162, wire it into
gpsd and chrony, and your system clock is
GPS-disciplined to within a millisecond. Your feeder data gets better,
and you’ve got a more interesting build than “Raspberry Pi + SDR.”

Here’s the full setup.

---

What You’ll Need

Item	Notes
Raspberry Pi 3B (recommended)	Pi 3B+ also works
RTL-SDR Blog v4 dongle	RTL2832U chipset, the standard for 1090 MHz
1090 MHz ADS-B antenna	The single most range-critical component
VK-162 USB GPS dongle	For GPS-disciplined timing (optional but worth it)
MicroSD card (16GB+)	Pi OS Lite
Power supply	Official Pi 3B PSU (5V/2.5A)

The antenna matters more than most people expect. A good antenna on a
bad location still beats a great antenna in a drawer. We’ll cover
placement later.

---

Step 1: Flash
Raspberry Pi OS and Install PiAware

Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit) to your microSD
using Raspberry Pi Imager. Enable SSH in the imager’s advanced settings
— you’ll want headless access.

Once the Pi is booted and SSH’d in, install PiAware from
FlightAware’s official apt repository:

curl https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/files/packages/pool/piaware/p/piaware-support/piaware-repository_10.0_all.deb \
  -o /tmp/piaware-repo.deb
sudo dpkg -i /tmp/piaware-repo.deb
sudo apt update
sudo apt install piaware

Register your feeder on FlightAware’s site to get your feeder ID,
then configure it:

sudo piaware-config feeder-id YOUR_FEEDER_ID
sudo piaware-config allow-auto-updates yes
sudo systemctl enable piaware
sudo systemctl start piaware

For FlightRadar24, the process is similar — download
fr24feed from FlightRadar24’s site and run
sudo fr24feed --signup to walk through the configuration
wizard. Both can run simultaneously on the same Pi and point to the same
RTL-SDR.

---

Step 2: Install
dump1090 for 1090 MHz Reception

PiAware works with dump1090-fa (FlightAware’s fork),
which installs automatically as a dependency. Your RTL-SDR should be
picked up automatically — verify it’s detected:

rtl_test -t

You should see your dongle listed. If you get a permissions error,
add your user to the plugdev group:

sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER

At this point, PiAware is running and feeding data. Check your
FlightAware stats page (flightaware.com/adsb/stats/user) —
you should see aircraft counts within a few minutes of going live.
Typical range with an indoor antenna near a window: 50–150nm. With an
outdoor antenna, 150–250nm.

---

Step 3: Add
GPS-Disciplined Timing with the VK-162

This is the step most PiAware guides skip. Here’s why it matters, and
how to add it in about 10 minutes.

Install gpsd and chrony:

sudo apt install gpsd gpsd-clients chrony

Configure gpsd to use the VK-162 (which shows up as
/dev/ttyACM0):

sudo nano /etc/default/gpsd

Set:

DEVICES="/dev/ttyACM0"
GPSD_OPTIONS="-n"
START_DAEMON="true"
USBAUTO="true"

Add a GPS refclock to chrony’s config:

sudo nano /etc/chrony/chrony.conf

Add these lines (above the existing pool lines):

refclock SHM 0 offset 0.5 delay 0.2 refid GPS
refclock SHM 2 offset 0.0 refid PPS prefer

Restart both services:

sudo systemctl restart gpsd chrony

Verify the GPS has a fix:

cgps -s

Verify chrony is using GPS as its time source:

chronyc tracking

You should see GPS listed as the reference source with
offset in the single-digit milliseconds. Your feeder timestamps are now
GPS-accurate.

Full gpsd + chrony walkthrough: If you want more
depth on this setup — including PPS pulse-per-second for sub-millisecond
accuracy — see our Stratum
1 NTP Server guide. It covers the same VK-162 stack in more
detail.

Already running an APRS tracker? If you set up VK-162
+ gpsd for APRS on Raspberry Pi, your GPS timing stack is already
configured. PiAware just rides on top of it.

---

Antenna Placement

The antenna is the most important part of this build and the one
people underestimate most. A few rules:

• Outside or near a window beats inside, always. Even
  a thin window pane costs range.
• Higher is better. Roof mounts or attic installs can
  cover a 200nm radius in flat terrain.
• Cable length kills range. Every extra meter of coax
  costs you signal. Keep the antenna close to the Pi, not the other way
  around.
• Lightning protection. If you’re mounting outdoors,
  a simple coax arrestor on the cable run is worth the $10.

If you’re starting indoors, try a few spots before committing —
you’ll notice significant range differences between window
placements.

---

Verify Your Feeder Is
Contributing

Once everything is running, check:

• FlightAware:
  flightaware.com/adsb/stats/user — shows your aircraft
  count, range map, uptime
• FlightRadar24: Your fr24feed status page shows
  coverage in real time
• PiAware log:
  sudo systemctl status piaware for connection status

Typical results with a decent outdoor antenna: 150–250nm coverage,
100–400 aircraft during peak hours depending on your location. Urban
areas see higher counts; rural installs see more range.

---

Parts List (with Links)

All the hardware for this build is available in the Stratux
Store on Amazon:

• VK-162 USB GPS dongle — GPS-disciplined timing for
  your feeder
• RTL-SDR Blog v4 — the standard for 1090 MHz ADS-B reception
• MicroSD cards, Raspberry Pi accessories

The full build (Pi not included) runs well under $75, and most of the
hardware is reusable across other projects — the same VK-162 works for
NTP timing, APRS, vehicle GPS logging, and now ADS-B feeding.

Questions? Drop them in the comments — we read and answer all of
them.

---

The VK-162 is a $15 USB GPS dongle that runs on a u-blox chip and works plug-and-play on Linux with zero driver installation. Most people pick one up because they need a cheap GPS source for a Raspberry Pi project and this one keeps showing up in forums as “the one that actually works.”

They’re not wrong. But most people use maybe 20% of what this thing can do. Here are five projects worth building.

1. Stratum 1 NTP Server (GPS-Disciplined Time for Your Network)

The most underrated use for a USB GPS receiver: feed its 1PPS signal to your network as a reference clock.

A Stratum 1 NTP server gets its time from an atomic source (GPS satellites carry atomic clocks). The VK-162 receives that time and passes it through gpsd, which chrony then uses to discipline your system clock. The result: sub-millisecond accuracy, completely offline, zero subscription cost, for as long as it has GPS lock.

This is genuinely useful if you run a home lab with VMs, containers, or network gear where time drift causes certificate errors, log confusion, or auth failures. It’s also useful for anyone who just enjoys not relying on pool.ntp.org.

What you need: VK-162 + any Raspberry Pi (even a Pi Zero W) + about 30 minutes.

👉 Full guide: How to Build a Stratum 1 NTP Server with a Raspberry Pi and VK-162

2. APRS Tracker or iGate (Ham Radio Position Beaconing)

If you have a ham license and a radio interface, a VK-162 + Raspberry Pi + Direwolf is everything you need to build a working APRS tracker or receive-only iGate.

The setup is clean: gpsd reads position data from the VK-162, Direwolf pulls location from gpsd with a single config line (GPSD localhost 2947), and your position packets go out over RF. You can run this mobile in a vehicle, fixed as a home iGate, or portable in a backpack with a battery.

The u-blox chip in the VK-162 behaves reliably on Linux — no polling jitter, consistent NMEA output, no fights with ttyUSB0 vs ttyACM0. That matters when Direwolf needs steady position updates.

What you need: VK-162 + Pi + radio interface (Signalink USB or similar) + amateur license.

👉 Full guide: How to Use a VK-162 USB GPS for Ham Radio APRS on Raspberry Pi

3. Vehicle GPS Logger and Dashcam Enrichment

No cloud. No subscription. No “we updated our privacy policy.”

The VK-162 logs raw NMEA sentences over USB. A simple Python script reads from gpsd’s socket and writes a GPX file — latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, and timestamp — every second. Combine that with dashcam footage and you have a fully geocoded drive record you can replay in Google Earth, Gaia GPS, or any GPX viewer.

This is useful for road trips, route documentation, fleet operators who want local logging, and anyone running Raspberry Pi-based dashcams who wants to tag footage without a cellular data plan.

The script is short — under 50 lines of Python using the gpsd-py3 library. Cold-start time is typically 30–60 seconds outdoors; mount the dongle near a window for best results.

What you need: VK-162 + Pi (any model) + Python 3 + gpsd-py3 + a small USB drive or SD card for log storage.

4. Offline Field Navigation (Hiking, Overlanding, Off-Grid)

A Pi running offline maps + a VK-162 = a GPS navigator that works without cell service, without Google, and without a $400 dedicated unit.

Software options: Navit (open source, actively maintained, works on Pi), OsmAnd (Android-focused but Pi builds exist), or a simple terminal readout via cgps -s if you just need coordinates. OpenStreetMap tiles work offline once downloaded; Navit will route you without internet.

This setup is popular with backcountry hikers, overlanders, ham radio operators doing field day from remote sites, and preppers who want a navigation system that doesn’t depend on any external service.

Cold-start lock takes 30–90 seconds on first use. After that, hot starts are typically under 10 seconds. Keep the dongle in a clear sky view — inside a vehicle on the dash, or attached to a pack’s shoulder strap.

What you need: VK-162 + Pi + Navit or similar + offline map tiles for your region.

5. Astrophotography and Telescope Alignment

This one surprises people.

Telescope alignment and astrophotography software needs two things: precise time and precise location. The VK-162 provides both, pulled from GPS satellites. Hook it up to gpsd, and software like KStars/Ekos, Stellarium, or AstroTortilla can pull accurate coordinates and UTC time automatically.

In practice, this means faster meridian flip calculations, better plate-solving results, and cleaner autoguide calibration — all because your clock drift is essentially zero and your lat/lon is GPS-accurate rather than typed in from memory.

Some astrophotographers run this on a Pi mounted directly to their telescope rig. Others use it as a time/location source for a dedicated astro PC. Either way, $15 for GPS-disciplined time and coordinates is a legitimate value-add for a setup that might have $1,000+ in other gear.

What you need: VK-162 + Pi or any Linux machine near your scope + KStars/Stellarium/AstroTortilla.

Parts You’ll Need

Item	Notes
VK-162 USB GPS Dongle	u-blox chip, plug-and-play Linux driver
Raspberry Pi (any model)	Pi Zero W works for NTP/logging; Pi 4 for heavier tasks
MicroSD card (16GB+)	For Pi OS
USB cable / hub	If Pi has limited USB ports

👉 Get the VK-162 USB GPS Dongle →

One Module, Five Projects

The VK-162 isn’t a specialty part — it’s a general-purpose GPS input that happens to work reliably on Linux. Whether you’re building a home lab time server, an APRS tracker, a vehicle logger, a field navigator, or a scope alignment tool, the hardware is the same $15 dongle.

The limiting factor isn’t the hardware. It’s knowing the use cases exist.

Now you do.

Questions? Drop them in the comments. If you build something with this guide, we’d genuinely like to see it.

If you’re running APRS on a Raspberry Pi with Direwolf, you need a
reliable GPS source. The VK-162 USB GPS dongle is a solid choice —
plug-and-play on Linux, u-blox chipset, no driver installation required.
Here’s how to get it talking to gpsd and feeding position data to your
Direwolf setup.

This guide assumes you have:

• Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye or later)
• VK-162 USB GPS dongle
• Direwolf installed (for the APRS TNC layer)
• A radio interface (soundcard, Signalink, or hardware TNC) — out of scope here, but assumed

---

Step 1: Plug It In and
Find the Device

The VK-162 shows up as a USB serial device. Plug it into a USB port,
wait a few seconds, then check what appeared:

ls /dev/ttyACM* /dev/ttyUSB*

On most Raspberry Pi setups with Raspberry Pi OS, the VK-162
registers as /dev/ttyACM0. If you have other USB serial
devices attached, it may be /dev/ttyACM1 or
/dev/ttyUSB0. The dmesg output right after
plugging in will confirm:

dmesg | tail -10

Look for a line mentioning u-blox or
cdc_acm — that’s your GPS.

---

Step 2: Install gpsd

gpsd is the standard GPS daemon for Linux. It handles the raw NMEA
stream from the VK-162 and exposes it to multiple applications
simultaneously — Direwolf, cgps, YAAC, whatever you’re running.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install gpsd gpsd-clients -y

Tell gpsd where to find your GPS device. Edit
/etc/default/gpsd:

DEVICES="/dev/ttyACM0"
GPSD_OPTIONS="-n"
START_DAEMON="true"
USBAUTO="true"

The -n flag tells gpsd to start polling immediately on
startup, which matters for APRS — you don’t want to wait for a client to
connect before acquiring lock.

Start (or restart) the service:

sudo systemctl restart gpsd
sudo systemctl enable gpsd

---

Step 3: Verify GPS Lock

Before wiring Direwolf to gpsd, confirm the GPS is actually working.
cgps shows a live dashboard:

cgps -s

Or for a more detailed view:

gpsmon

On first boot (cold start), GPS lock takes 1–3 minutes — longer if
the antenna hasn’t been outside recently. The VK-162’s built-in patch
antenna works fine for most situations; just make sure it has a clear
view of the sky. Through a window or in a basement will degrade
acquisition time significantly.

Once you see satellites and a position fix in cgps,
you’re ready for the next step.

---

Step 4: Configure
Direwolf to Use gpsd

Direwolf can pull position data from gpsd directly — no need to point
it at the serial device separately. In your
direwolf.conf:

GPSD localhost 2947

This tells Direwolf to connect to the local gpsd socket on the
standard port (2947) and use whatever position gpsd is reporting. Simple
and clean — gpsd handles the hardware, Direwolf handles the packet
layer.

For basic APRS beaconing, you’ll also need your callsign and beacon
interval set in direwolf.conf. A minimal beaconing setup
looks like:

MYCALL N0CALL-9
...
PBEACON delay=1 every=30 symbol="/-" lat=XX^XX.XXN long=XXX^XX.XXW comment="Raspberry Pi APRS"

(Replace with your actual callsign and let gpsd supply the
coordinates dynamically — use the GPSD directive above
rather than hardcoding lat/long.)

---

Step 5: Check Your Packets
on aprs.fi

Once Direwolf is running and your radio interface is connected, your
beacons should start appearing on aprs.fi.
Search your callsign. If you’re seeing packets from the right position,
you’re done.

If not — work backwards:

1. Is gpsd showing a valid fix? (cgps -s)
2. Is Direwolf showing position data in its output? (run direwolf in verbose mode)
3. Is your audio interface transmitting? (watch the PTT indicator in Direwolf)

---

Why the VK-162 Works Well
for APRS

A few things make the VK-162 a practical choice here:

u-blox chipset. The u-blox chip in the VK-162 has
solid cold-start acquisition time and reliable hot-start performance.
Generic GPS dongles with cheap SiRFstar or MediaTek chips are
hit-or-miss on Linux. u-blox just works.

NMEA 0183 output. Standard protocol, immediately
understood by gpsd without any configuration gymnastics. No proprietary
binary mode, no driver needed.

USB power only. No external power supply, no UART
wiring. Plug into the Pi, done. This matters for APRS trackers that live
in vehicles or go portable — every connector you eliminate is one less
failure point.

5-meter cable option. Some APRS installs need the
antenna near a window while the Pi sits elsewhere. The VK-162’s compact
antenna head can be extended with a standard USB extension cable, which
gives you flexibility without adding complexity.

---

What About the SSID?

For mobile APRS (vehicle tracker), SSID -9 is
conventional. For a fixed home station doubling as an iGate,
-10. Direwolf supports both simultaneously — you can run it
as a tracker, digipeater, and iGate from a single Pi. Beyond the scope
of this guide, but the VK-162 position input is the same regardless.

---

Parts You’ll Need

Part	Notes
VK-162 USB GPS	The subject of this guide — u-blox chipset, plug-and-play
Raspberry Pi (any model 3+)	Pi 4 recommended; Pi Zero works but USB-A adapter required
Radio interface	Signalink USB is common; hardware TNC (Mobilinkd, TNC-Pi) also works
HT or mobile radio	Any radio with a standard 3.5mm/2.5mm audio jack
USB extension cable	Optional, for antenna placement flexibility

---

Get the VK-162

Crew
Dog Electronics carries the VK-162 — same u-blox chipset, ships
fast, no cable management surprises.

Title: How to Set Up Stratux ADS-B for the First Time (Step-by-Step)

---

You just unboxed your Stratux receiver. Or you’re about to buy one and want to know what you’re getting into.

Good news: setup takes about 5 minutes. No software to install. No account to create. No subscription to enter.

This guide walks you through the complete setup — from power-on to seeing traffic and weather in your EFB — in plain English.

---

What You’ll Need

Before you start, gather these:

• Your Stratux ADS-B receiver (pre-built or kit)
• A power source: USB port, USB power bank, or cigarette adapter
• A tablet or phone running your EFB app (ForeFlight®, Garmin Pilot, AvPlan, FlyQ, or any Wi-Fi-capable EFB)
• About 5 minutes

That’s it. No cables connecting the Stratux to your tablet. No Bluetooth pairing codes. It all goes over Wi-Fi.

---

Step 1: Power It On

Plug your Stratux into a USB power source. Any USB port or power bank works — Stratux draws about 1–2W at idle.

What to look for:

• The LED(s) will illuminate within 5–10 seconds of power
• Some builds have a power button; press and hold 2 seconds if the unit doesn’t start automatically
• GPS lock can take 1–3 minutes on first boot (cold start). Subsequent starts are faster.

Tip for the cockpit: A USB power bank gives you complete freedom from aircraft power. A 10,000 mAh bank runs Stratux for 15+ hours — more than any cross-country flight you’re planning.

---

Step 2: Connect to the Stratux Wi-Fi Network

Stratux broadcasts its own Wi-Fi hotspot. You join it from your tablet or phone — exactly like connecting to a coffee shop’s Wi-Fi.

On your tablet: 1. Open Settings → Wi-Fi 2. Look for a network starting with stratux (e.g., stratux-XXXX) 3. Tap to connect — no password by default 4. Stay connected. Don’t switch back to your home network.

Important: Your tablet will likely warn you that this Wi-Fi network “has no internet access.” That’s expected and correct. Stratux isn’t the internet. It’s a local aviation data feed. Dismiss the warning and stay connected.

Some Android devices will automatically switch to cellular when they detect no internet. If this happens, disable the “Switch to Mobile Data” option in your Wi-Fi settings, or enable Airplane Mode and then re-enable Wi-Fi.

---

Step 3: Open Your EFB and Enable Stratux

Every major EFB app supports Stratux out of the box. Here’s where to find the setting:

ForeFlight

1. Open ForeFlight → More (bottom right)
2. Tap Devices
3. You should see Stratux appear automatically under “Connected Devices”
4. If not: tap ADS-B at the top of the Devices screen and confirm Stratux is listed

Garmin Pilot

1. Open Garmin Pilot → Settings (gear icon)
2. Tap Connected Devices
3. Stratux will appear under “Detected Devices”

AvPlan EFB

1. Tap the Settings icon → External Devices
2. Select Stratux / GDL90 compatible device

FlyQ / WingX / Other GDL90-compatible EFBs

Stratux transmits using the standard GDL90 protocol — the same protocol used by Garmin hardware. If your EFB supports GDL90 input (most do), Stratux will work. Look for “GDL90,” “ADS-B receiver,” or “external GPS device” in your app’s settings.

---

Step 4: Confirm It’s Working

Once connected, look for these indicators in your EFB:

✅ GPS position — your aircraft’s position on the map should update from Stratux (more accurate than your tablet’s internal GPS for most EFBs)

✅ Traffic — nearby ADS-B equipped aircraft will appear as targets on your traffic display. If you’re on the ground at a busy airport, you may see them immediately.

✅ Weather (FIS-B) — METAR, TAF, PIREP, SIGMET, and Winds Aloft data will populate after a short delay (FIS-B requires being within range of a ground station broadcasting weather — you may not have this on the ground in all areas)

✅ AHRS — if your Stratux includes the AHRS module, you’ll see attitude information (pitch/roll) populate in ForeFlight’s Attitude Indicator or compatible EFB displays

The status page: Stratux also has a built-in web interface. While connected to the Stratux Wi-Fi, open a browser and navigate to http://192.168.10.1 — you’ll see signal levels, GPS status, and traffic count in real time. This is useful for troubleshooting or just confirming everything is working.

---

Step 5: Mount It for Flight

Stratux doesn’t need to face any particular direction. That said:

• Keep it elevated if possible — window proximity improves GPS and ADS-B signal
• Avoid metal obstructions around the antennas (if external antennas are used)
• Suction cup mounts work well for GA aircraft; place on the glareshield or windshield corner
• Built-in antennas (on enclosed units) work best near a window

The 978 MHz UAT and 1090 MHz ES antennas are both omnidirectional — orientation doesn’t matter much. Just keep it out of direct sunlight in hot climates (heat kills electronics; a sleeve or shade helps on baking-hot tarmac days).

---

Troubleshooting — Common Issues

“I don’t see the Stratux Wi-Fi network” – Wait 60 seconds after power-on; the network takes a moment to broadcast – Confirm the unit is powered (check LEDs) – Move closer to the unit — Wi-Fi range is typically 30–50 feet

“ForeFlight/Garmin Pilot shows connected but I’m not seeing traffic” – Confirm you’re within ADS-B range of other equipped aircraft (traffic only appears if another aircraft is transmitting) – Check Stratux web interface (192.168.10.1) for signal levels; zero signal = antenna issue – Confirm you’re not accidentally on a different Wi-Fi network (check your tablet’s Wi-Fi settings)

“I see traffic but no weather” – FIS-B weather requires proximity to a ground station. On the ground in rural areas, you may not receive it. – In flight, FIS-B typically populates within 5–10 minutes above 3,000 AGL – FIS-B is 978 UAT only — if you’re in an area with only 1090 aircraft, you’ll still need UAT reception for weather

“My Android keeps disconnecting” – Android’s “smart network switching” will drop Wi-Fi connections that have no internet – Fix: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi → Stratux network → Advanced and disable “Auto switch to mobile network” or enable Airplane Mode + Wi-Fi

---

What You’re Receiving (Quick Primer)

Stratux receives two ADS-B frequencies simultaneously:

Band	What it carries	Range
978 MHz UAT	Traffic (UAT-equipped) + FIS-B weather	U.S. and Canada (CIFIB towers)
1090 MHz ES	Traffic (Mode S transponders, airlines, mil)	Worldwide

This dual-band reception is why Stratux shows you traffic that single-band receivers miss. A 978-only receiver can’t see airliners. A 1090-only receiver can’t receive FIS-B weather. Stratux sees both.

---

You’re Ready to Fly

That’s the complete setup. No ongoing configuration. No mandatory software to manage before every flight. No app subscriptions. You powered it on, connected via Wi-Fi, and your EFB is now receiving ADS-B traffic and weather — the same data feed used by panel-mounted avionics costing 5–10x more.

Questions? The Stratux community on Discord and GitHub has been troubleshooting setups since 2015. Whatever your question, someone’s had it and answered it.

---

Ready to Get One?

If you’re still comparing options: compare the Crew Dog pre-built Stratux — the same hardware this guide covers, ready to go out of the box with no assembly required.

---