New RadarBox Network Access Solutions

[AirNav Support]

There are many other sites across the world which are not sharing to network or are run by us as well. So there is plenty for them.

[viking9]

AirNAv,

"It seems obvious that a few of you are desperately searching for something to bring us to our knees."

This is not the sort of statement I expect from a professional company. It paints for me a picture of a couple of nerds in a unit on a trading estate. I'm not trying to "bring you to your knees" and I'm pretty sure no one else on here is either. How could that possibly be in our interest? I think the ANRB software is the best available, despite many bugs and petty annoyances. What many of us users want, some pensioners like me, is value for money.

Many of us use PlanePlotter from COAA which, for a one-off payment of half of what you are charging per annum, gives access to a huge network of sharers. Time and again I track aircraft up and down and across the British Isles and Ireland which never show up on the ANRB network. This brings home to us just how unsatisfactory the ANRB network is.

Now you are going to offer professionals a real-time network, something which you deny us and we are naturally a bit miffed. We are also miffed that you are going to make a lot more money out of data we provide to you whilst still asking us to pay to share data from others. My suggestion is that you re-introduce the original idea you had, crediting some network time to those of us who share their data.

Far from wanting to bring your company to its knees we want to share in your success.

Tom

[Hosch]

I totally agree with viking9 !

Hosch

[Fenris]

Many of us use PlanePlotter from COAA which, for a one-off payment of half of what you are charging per annum, gives access to a huge network of sharers. Time and again I track aircraft up and down and across the British Isles and Ireland which never show up on the ANRB network. This brings home to us just how unsatisfactory the ANRB network is.

Now, being an engineer, that sort of thing would be an itch that I can't scratch, and I would have to investigate the problem, work out what the cause is, and fix it.

Is this because the RB users don't provide enough data? Might there be a way of allowing others to supply network data if that is the case? Or is it down to some faults in the logic of the network side of things?

I would be more than happy to provide what information I can to help out, but some directed suggestions would be useful. We already know that live<->network transitions are problematic, but it would be nice to get this understood and properly fixed in v2.1 rather than have another 6 months of problems before a future release appears.

Viking's absolutely right BTW, the last thing any of us want is to stop Airnav succeeding, but we would like the bug numbers reduced a lot please.

[Allocator]

I think that this is all getting a bit silly.  There are forum members here who insist that they want AirNav to succeed, but seem to take every opportunity to criticise them.  Every time AirNav try to answer questions, no matter how daft the questions are, they are just hit with another criticism.

Maybe they should do what Kinetic have done - refuse to answer any questions and hide behind the distributor.  At least then nobody would have anything to criticise - but we would all be worse off.

I might be paranoid, but I do wonder now if this is a deliberate attack organised by the opposition.  I'm getting really tired of this.  This used to be a forum where users could help each other and learn how to use RadarBox to its best effect - now it's just "lets have a go at AirNav and see what we can get for nothing"

I'm not enjoying being a member of the forum at the moment and it's not AirNav that I am blaming for that :-(  Any new visitors to the forum will think that we are a bunch of idiots.

Why not just shut down the forum all together, then we can all stumble around in the dark - or is that what the minority are trying to do, to spoil it for the majority.  That's what you are doing for me.

Not happy!

[tarbat]

Tarbat making a suggestion like that you need better proof. The RB makes a connection with servers as soon as it logs on to send specific data such as connected time, ip address etc.. and it does then ping the server so we know who is connected. This is not sending ADS-B data.

So what data is being sent?  As soon as I plug the Radarbox in, the data traffic triples, and that's with only 2-3 aircraft on screen.  And why doesn't the amount of data increase after the 5 minute delay?  Radarbox software was running all the time throughout this test.
This graph from Wireshark illustrates what I'm saying.

It seems obvious that a few of you are desperately searching for something to bring us to our knees.

As others have said, why on earth would I want to "bring you to your knees!?!!  I love Radarbox, I'm just trying to get an honest answer to an honest question.  When I tick the box to share data, what exactly am I sharing, and is it live or 5-minute delayed.  And if this turns out to be a bug, then better that we know about it now.

[Blackthorn]

I have been away from the forum for a while but I agree with Allocator about this topic getting a bit out of hand, this used to be a friendly place. I will put my tin hat on ;-)

If the Radar Box network is unsatisfactory why do members what to be part of it?

Also I think Airnav should make the default not to share data, then users can make their own mind up. It should NOT be a requirement to make that choice every time the program is started.

[Deadcalm]

Silly, it certainly isn't.  Potentially important, it most certainly is.  If your data is being freely milked for other commercial use, potentially illegally, are you all OK with that?  I'm not.  I need to be firmly reassured, without knee-jerk and hysterical reaction.  And why anyone should think this commentary is in any way associated with competitor's activities, heaven only knows.

DC

[viking9]

Allocator,

A few minutes ago you wrote, "I might be paranoid, but I do wonder now if this is a deliberate attack organised by the opposition.  I'm getting really tired of this.  This used to be a forum where users could help each other and learn how to use RadarBox to its best effect - now it's just "lets have a go at AirNav and see what we can get for nothing"

I'm beginning to think you are getting paranoid and that you work for AirNav. For the record, I do not personally know any other RadarBox users though I do know a few SBS-1 users, two of whom recently bought RadarBox after seeing mine. I have given two presentations of ANRB to members of the RBL and am due to be the guest speaker with my presentation of ANRB at the County Commitee meeting of the RBL in Bury St Edmunds on Thursday April 2nd. (All are welcome to the meeting by the way). My presentation in Powerpoint includes a brief history of RADAR and IFF. At the last presentation we had a serving RAF SATCO and a retired Air Vice-Marshal who were astounded at the amount of information provided by the RB. So, to suggest that I have an interest in the downfall of AirNav is patently ridiculous. I'm giving them free advertising.

I do get the impression, when reading the remarks of the AirNAv people that they are not a very sophisticated bunch at the UK end of things. I wonder what the principals of AirNav in the USA would think of staff in the UK who cannot take constructive criticism from their users.

One last thing. Commercial ADS-B receivers and repeaters are going to start to come one the market very soon. The companies that produce them may also find it attractive to bring an amateur product to the market, so if I were AirNav I'd be bending over backwards to keep my current customer base happy.

[jgrloit]

Could AirNav please, in a future update - store the USERS setting for the share Flight Data - Failure to do this could be considered, in the UK to be a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Acts.

It may even be an offence under European Law as well.
Users should be aware of the act of sharing data.

[viking9]

The only law that I am aware of concerning data in the UK is the Data Protection Act. This only applies to data that can positively identify an individual.

[Allocator]

I'm beginning to think you are getting paranoid and that you work for AirNav.

Think what you like my friend.  I've had enough for today without a personal attack - you've achieved your aim in making me sign off the forum this evening.

Too much nastiness.

[viking9]

Anyone else find my last post nasty and personal?

[RodBearden]

I can't believe that there is anyone who buys a RadarBox who doesn't realise that one of its primary purposes is to share data on the network. If someone, including AirNav, makes money from it, what do I care? I'm getting the network that I paid for.

Our aim here is surely to enjoy being aviation enthusiasts - I'm sure there must be many people reading this and similar threads thinking "why don't people with a RadarBox get on with enjoying the facilities that this marvellous piece of kit gives them" rather than wasting their lives attacking the suppliers?".

Nothing's perfect, but AirNav were and are getting on with bug fixing and improving the product long before this thread started. Let's let them get on with it. People who don't want to pay for the network need not do so, and don't need to keep going on about it.

Just my opinion.

Rod

[dudbaker]

Hi

How could anybody think that a phrase like

"I'm beginning to think you are getting paranoid"

Could be viewed as personal.

Dudley