MountainScope with ADS-B equipment

The latest and greatest aviation technology is "Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast" (ADS-B). MountainScope supports this technology by connecting to a Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) and displaying traffic and weather information right on the moving map.

ADS-B was developed as part of the Capstone Program in Alaska, to improve safety of flight in areas of poor or non-existent radar coverage. The system involves putting transceivers (UATs) in each aircraft, along with Ground-Based Transmitters (GBTs) that work together to bring live traffic and weather information into the cockpit.

The ADS-B service is free. MountainScope's ADS-B support is free -- it only requires an extra software plugin, which is a free download from the web site. You still have to purchase the UAT.

Currently, MountainScope supports the following ADS-B equipment:

In the image below, you can see traffic, NexRAD and METAR/TAF information displayed, as received from a UAT. The light blue rounded-nose targets are transponder traffic being beamed up by a GBT. The lines in front of them show where their last report predicted them to be after one minute. (Click on it for a bigger image)

ADS-B Links