Listening to the sky over the Wimmera

VicADSB is a community network of home-built receivers that pick up the signals aircraft broadcast. We're placing stations strategically across regional Victoria: Warracknabeal is online, and Swan Hill is underway.

Build a station Read the setup guide
A red and white King Air air ambulance on approach, wheels down
Air ambulance on approach. Photo: AusAircraft
250 nm range
Live map Builds Setup guide Decode a message The network Start a station

What a receiver hears

Aircraft broadcast short bursts on 1090 MHz, about twice a second each. Every burst is 112 bits: who they are, where they are, how fast they're going. These are real messages, decoded right here in your browser.

Example messages from The 1090 Megahertz Riddle, the standard guide to decoding Mode S.

What we do

Flight-tracking maps are built by volunteers with receivers. Out here there are almost none, so aircraft vanish once they leave Melbourne, Adelaide or Canberra.

Build

Build receivers

Tested designs for every spot, from a window in town to a solar mast in a paddock, with full parts lists and prices.

Place

Fill the gaps

Stations go where they cover the most sky, spaced 50 to 100 km apart so they can work together to locate older aircraft (MLAT).

Share

Share the data

Every station feeds the open networks, including adsb.lol, adsb.fi and airplanes.live, so anyone can see what we hear.

A station every 50 to 100 km

Warracknabeal is online and Swan Hill is underway. Each new site is chosen to close a gap, building a ring of stations that gives continuous coverage down to low altitude. With four or more working together, the network can place aircraft that don't send their own position.

SAVIC50 km100 km150 km200 kmHorshamHopetounSt ArnaudSwan HillMilduraWarracknabeal
Range rings around the Warracknabeal station. Map © OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
WarracknabealRooftop station, feeding since 2026 ≈36.3°S 142.4°E
Live
Swan Hill 146 kmThe Murray corridor ≈35.3°S 143.6°E · 046°
Underway
Horsham 54 kmGrampians, Horsham airport and the Western Highway ≈36.7°S 142.2°E · 199°
Station wanted
Hopetoun 59 kmNorth into the Mallee, close enough to pair for MLAT ≈35.7°S 142.4°E · 358°
Station wanted
St Arnaud 87 kmEast, linking toward Bendigo ≈36.6°S 143.3°E · 118°
Station wanted
Mildura 229 kmSunraysia, where coverage drops out today ≈34.2°S 142.1°E · 354°
Station wanted

Who's flying overhead

The aircraft that matter most out here fly low and far from the cities.

Air ambulances

Flying Doctor and Ambulance Victoria flights cross the region every day.

Fire season

Water bombers and air attack work low over fire grounds, where coverage is weakest.

General aviation

Ag pilots, training flights and charters from regional strips the big networks barely see.

Run by locals

Tech tinkerers, aviation fans and families who want their town on the map.

Your own station in three steps

You buy the parts and the station is yours. We help with everything else.

1

Pick a build

Indoor, rooftop, rural or solar. Choose the one that suits your spot from the builds.

2

Set it up

Write the software to a card, plug it in and enter your location. About 30 minutes with the setup guide.

3

Feed the network

Your station starts sharing with the open networks straight away and shows up on the map.

Got a spare $300 and a passion for tech or aviation?

Or just want to try something new? Stations are built and owned by the people who run them, and we'll take you through it step by step: picking parts, setting it up, and finding the best spot to put it.

Start a station