Run the PlaneFinder ADS-B Client as a Windows Service

Planefinder is a real time aircraft location visualisation and mapping platform that accepts data feeds from ADS-B or MLAT capable receiving devices. This guide shows you how to setup the PlaneFinder ADS-B feed client.

Prerequisites

In order to setup the PlaneFinder feed client you will need:

A PC running Windows 7 or later
To procure the necessary minimal hardware (eg. SDR dongle and antenna) and software (e.g. Jetvision RTL1090) to capture and decode ADS-B
To contact PinkFroot and obtain PlaneFinder feed login credentials
The PlaneFinder ADS-B feed client

Before commencing configuration please read our general notes in regard to Windows service setup under FireDaemon Pro. This guide assumes you have already run through steps 1 through 3 above already and have been approved to act as an authorised PlaneFinder feed.

Install the PlaneFinder ADS-B Feed Client

Step 1: Download and Install NodeJS

Download and install NodeJS Stable Windows Installer into the directory of your choice (eg. C:\Program Files\nodejs)

Step 2: Install the PlaneFinder Client

At a command prompt type:

npm install -g http://clientfiles.planefinder.net/pfclient-latest.tgz

The PlaneFinder client and a variety of dependencies will be installed into C:\Users\<YourLogin>\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\pfclient.

Step 3: Configure the PlaneFinder Client

At the same command prompt type:

pfclient --config

You will be asked a series of questions as follows (for detailed configuration instructions please contact pinkfroot.com):

Receiver Type: this should be one of puck, avr, beastbinary or 30003. If you are using the Jetvision RTL1090 client choose 30003
Connection Type: this should be one of network or serial
Home Location: this is the decimal latitude and longitude of your receiver separated by a comma (eg. 50.113,-1.222)
Username: This is the username as supplied to you by pinkfroot.com
Password: This is the password as supplied to you by pinkfroot.com
IP Address: This is the IP address of the receiver. If you are using the Jetvision RTL1090 client this should be 127.0.0.1 assuming the Jetvision client is running on the same machine
TCP Port: This is the listening port of the receiver. It should be 30003 if you are using the Jetvision RTL1090 client

Now confirm the PlaneFinder client is running by typing the following at the command prompt:

pfclient

You should see the PlaneFinder client connect to the receiver and display a webpage (http ://localhost:30053) displaying various tabs. All good! Press Ctrl-C to stop the PlaneFinder client.

Step 4: Download and Install FireDaemon Pro

Download and install FireDaemon Pro. Install as a local or domain administrator.

Step 5: Create the FireDaemon Pro PlaneFinder Service

Start FireDaemon Pro by double-clicking the desktop icon and then click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar or type Ctrl+N. Enter the information in the fields as you see below. Pay special attention to the Executable, Working Directory and Parameters fields. These should be:

Executable: C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe
Working Directory: C:\Users\<YourLogin>\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\pfclient
Parameters: client.js --showBrowser=false

Note that <YourLogin> is the user that you are logging into Windows as (eg. jbourne). The showBrowser directive stops a browser window from being displayed.

Ensure you uncheck Graceful Shutdown in the Lifecycle tab:

Then optionally, you can make a Dependency on the FireDaemon Pro Jetvision RTL1090 service if you are using that software as your receiver decoder:

Step 6: Install the Service, switch to Session 0 and see the PlaneFinder Client Feed Working

Now click OK to install the service then switch desktop to Session 0 to see the client connect to the receiver and start delivering ADS-B data to PlaneFinder.net!