Introduction:
Hello and welcome to the ManTMA Overflights Group Plane Plotter help desk!
Located here are questions which are frequently asked by users of PlanePlotter which we hope you will find helpful and constructive to enhance your enjoyment of this invaluable 'spotters' software?
This page is 'work in progress' so will be continually updated!
Information:
You will find a selection of topics on the right hand side however most of the answers you will need can be found in the 'Help' section built into PlanePlotter! If not, then find one that is relevant to your problem and click the link!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using the latest version of PlanePlotter (and it is recommended you always should be!) then keeping your PCs clock correct is vital. Please see the first topic on the list for further information.
Thank you.
The latest version can be obtained from here: www.planeplotter.com
MultiLateration: Click Here For A Free Trial!
Answers:
Q: Keeping your PC clock correct.
It is important that your PC clock is accurate.
You can set it against a precise time source or better still, download and install this utility. It will set and keep your computer clock exact without any further intervention.
www.meinberg.de
Get more, general, information about the program if you Click here.
back to top
Q: How do I set up PlanePlotter?
Setting up PlanePlotter is relatively straight forward?!
Here is an example of Input-Output and Chart settings based
upon a sytem for viewing only without any input devices such as SBS1, RadarBox, ACARS etc. but for use with MLat.
[View this important setting for MLat users].
back to top
![[View this important setting for MLat users]](./images/pp_sharing_setup.jpg){kind=link}
Q: How much does PlanePlotter cost?
PlanePlotter is FREE to download from the official website - if you purchased it then you have
been conned?!
The free download has a one-month free trial for those that have ways of obtain the data
(SBS/RadarBox/ACARS etc.) and wish to display that data locally. The registration fee then
becomes payable to continue its use.
To just view the shared data then you have to pay the one-off registration fee immediately
to enable this feature.
After paying the one-off registration fee, which is for life, enables free use on any PC you own.
back to top
Q: Where is the best Help available?
A comprehensive guide to setting-up and using PlanePlotter can be found by clicking the HELP
tab on the tool bar! Further help is available via the 'Direct Links & Information' section at the top of this page.
back to top
Q: What are the type codes and associated symbol colours?
- -1 - ACARS no position (no plot)
- 0 - ACARS position - red
- 1 - ACARS ADS 'next estimated position' report - blue
- 2 - ACARS AMDAR position - green
- 3 - SBS or RB log file data position - yellow (real-time) or orange (delayed)
- 4 - HFDL position - cyan
- 5 - ACARS flight-plan waypoint position - magenta
- 6 - SBS-1 TCP position delayed - yellow or orange
- 7 - RadarBox position delayed - yellow or orange
Q: How do I Calibrate my map files?
Refer to the 'Calibrating Chart' tutorial found by clicking the HELP tab on the tool bar.
back to top
Q: How do you put a "waypoint" onto a map?
"Cut & Paste" the three lines below into an active gpx file and replace your co-ords between
the quote marks.
[e.g. <wpt lat="52.98765" lon="-0.43210">]
<wpt lat="**lat**" lon="**lon**">
<name>Home</name>
<sym>City</sym>
back to top
Q: Can I use PlanePlotter on more than one computer?
Yes - your registration payment is a 'lifetime' subscription. Each computer requires a
seperate number. To obtain this you need to install the latest version of PP on the new
computer and obtain the generated serial number. Then refer to the 'Register PlanePlotter
Now' link from the home page and follow the instructions accordingly.
When you need a second registration number for a second machine (note for personal use
only as the use is monitored!) go to the main PP website "Registration Section" and, using
the orginal Email address you used the first time, enter the new 'Personal' number and wait
for the new registration number to be sent to you.
back to top
Q: Why can't I see any plots on my screen?
There are several possibilities here:
1) Your computers clock may not be correctly adjusted to your time zone?
PP uses UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), aka in the aviation world as 'zulu time', so
your computer must be set accordingly.
back to top
Q: How do I clear the screen?
From the tool bar - "Options -- Purge" then reclick the 'Share' button.
back to top
Q: Where can I find maps for use with PlanePlotter?
A comprehensive range of both calibrated and vector maps can be found at the PlanePlotter
user groups file area or the ManTMA PP Support site. By clicking the ManTMA logo at the top
of this page will also get you to both!.
back to top
Q: Spurious plot positions. How can these be removed?
This is a result of the predictive track setting.
Go to the "Chart Options' icon (Green and Blue Spanner on the tool bar). It is suggested
that you set the altitude in the 'predict positions over' window to at least 3000 feet and
'Omit a/c after' to 5 minutes.
Any changes here must be resaved in the appropriate configuration.
back to top
Q: What is 'Vector Mapping'?
Vector mapping is a dynamic system which allows the user to drag the underlying chart
to a specific location , then at the touch of a button, an accurate , calibrated map is drawn.
Not only that ...it also allows you to zoom down to any reasonable level without pixelation
(Use the zoom tool then refresh the outline button in the tool bar )
The advantage of this is that you can re locate your map to anywhere in the world and bring
up an accurate representation of the coastline airways and airfields. In the case of Europe,
Eastern Australia and Florida you will be presented with hi resolution data in "near radar head"
format.
Courtesy of John Locker.
back to top
Q: Can I change the colours of vector map outlines?
Vector maps can be coloured according to your own taste.
In the first instant, the mapping will load using the PP default colours.
To make the mapping look more realistic , the colours can be changed quite easily by following
this procedure:-
1) Select the line you wish to change ... for example the coastline.
2) Zoom in until you can accurately position your mouse pointer onto the line.
3) Depress the left mouse button whilst holding down the CTRL key ... a colour palette will
appear.
4) Select the new colour you wish to use and hit OK and all features having the same
mapping colour code will now be changed.
5) Once done, closing down PP will save the changes ... or you can save to one of the four
configurations. From the tool bar "File -- Save Config -- A or B or C or D" as required.
Courtesy of John Locker.
back to top
Q: GPX overlays and with vector maps.
Yes, GPX overlay files will work with vector mapping.
You can load up all the waypoints and in addition using EasyGPS sw you can create your own
labels and markers , as required. No more calibrating individual maps and will give you a more
professional looking system that will rival any SBS screen!
Courtesy of John Locker.
back to top
Q: Using PlanePlotter with Windows Vista/Windows 7?
Lots of people use PlanePlotter on Vista (and now Windows 7).
1. Install it in a user directory, NOT in the default C:\Program\files\COAA\PlanePlotter\
2. Current information on this topic from here: David Taylors Guide
back to top
Q: Why Do I Get 'No-Reg' on my plots?
It is really very simple and I have tried to explain it more than once (messages 2244 and 2375 on the
Yahoo Group, among others).
1. There are no registrations in Mode-S/ADS-B transmissions. A priori all aircraft have the rego ".NO-REG".
2. If you receive messages of your own, you will only see a registration if you have done a Look-Up in
this session *or* you have the SQlite database installed and the rego/hex association is in there.
3. If you receive messages by sharing, you will only see a registration if the originator had something from
(2) above (so it came by sharing with a rego) *or* you have the SQlite database installed and the
rego/hex association is in there.
4. You will have the SQlite database if you have an SBS-1 **or** if you have used the one in the files
area of this group following the instructions message 2375 **or** if someone has given you one.
5. The rego will be in your SQlite database if it was there from the beginning *or* if it has been added
by some other populating utility *or* if you have done a look up for that airframe and you have enabled
the "Update" option in the Mode-S receiver setup.
In brief, you only get ".NO-REG" on shared aircraft if neither the originator nor you have got an SQlite
database with that hex code in it. You cannot do much about the originator, but there is no reason why
you should not install and progessively populate your own SQlite database. See message 2375 of this
forum for how to do it.
Now do you see why some see them and others don't?
Courtesy of Bev (the Boss).
** 02/01/08 - The above may now have been addressed with program updates (from v4.2d onwards)? **
back to top
Q: Why Do I Get 'No-Reg' on my plots? [More1]
Since the aircraft registration does not feature in ADS-B messages, there is no registration information in the system by default.
Registration information has to be added somewhere and the final responsibility for doing that is you, the end user of the data. If you see NO-REG, it means that you have not done the necessary to populate a database (by importing it from a friend or from the files area, or by making 'look-up' enquiries for yourself).
If you are lucky, some of the contributors of the data that you enjoy, may have added on registration data from their own sources but the final responsibility is yours. You are the one who can fix it.
If you copy someone else's basestation.sqb, make sure that you know where you put it and tell PP where, using Options..Directories..SBS1.
Otherwise, you need an empty version of basestation.sqb (in the files area) and put that somewhere suitable and tell PP where, using Options..Directories..SBS1. Once you have done that, all your registration look-ups will be saved if you check Options..Mode-S..Kinetic..Update registrations.
In both cases, if you are using Vista, make sure that the place you choose is writeable by PP. Directories in the C:\Program files\ root cannot be written although Vista may deceive you into thinking that you can by virtualising the directory.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
back to top
Q: Why Do I Get 'No-Reg' on my plots? [More2]
Unless I have misunderstood, one or two recent posts have appeared to be reproachful of those sharing reports that lacked the registration data.
Perhaps I need to remind users that PlanePlotter looks in *your* database first and foremost, for registration letters that correspond to the incoming hex code - in the case of Mode-S ADS-B messages. Only if your own local data is found wanting, is the registration (or lack of it) contained in the download displayed.
If you see "NO-REG" and you would rather see a complete registration on the screen, then the answer is in *your* hands. Make sure that the entry is in your database, for that hex code, and you will not see "NO-REG" for that aircraft ever.
Users who are (very generously) doing the uploading, may or may not be interested in compiling a registration database for the aircraft that they upload. Whether they do or not, the hex code is a unique description of the aircraft in question and matching that with a registration is something that the recipient's copy of PP can do invisibly, in real time, if it is provided with the data locally.
Regards, Bev, COAA.
back to top
Q: Using PP with Google Earth.
In PP, enable the Google-Earth server and set it processing. Turn on the contrails. Start Google-Earth and open
the google-aircraft.kml file that lives in the PP app directory. Slew Google-Earth to your home location at, or
close to sea level and tilt it right over to 90 degrees. Now swivel it round to match your window view direction
and you have the clear blue sky with the aircraft streaking across it.
The only difference from the real window view is the aircraft labels (and the blue sky, of course, if you live in England).
Courtesy of Bev (the Boss).
back to top
Q: Planeplotter gives a message when opening with the green button: “on opening the ACARS wave device, device ID out of range”.
Go to OPTIONS : I/O settings : Untick box at top left hand corner. [ACARS reception from audio input].
Courtesy of Steve Kelly.
back to top
Q: The Power of the ABCD Buttons!
The ABC buttons are very powerful
but are frequently misunderstood and misused. They are like Windows Restore
points. They say "Take all my settings back to the way they were when the
corresponding settings were saved." They allow you to make completely
different configurations available at the click of a button (eg acting as the
source in a peer-to-peer pair or acting as the destination in such a pair).
Somewhere in the history of PP, someone thought they were good for selecting
alternative charts and this misapprehension has lingered over the years.
If you want one click access to a lot of different charts, use the Quick Chart
buttons ((re)defined with one click on the toolbar and retrieved with one click
on the toolbar and they remember your zoom and drag offets too). Avoid the ABC
buttons unless you really need two or more radically different configurations of
the whole PP activity and if you are sure that you know what you are doing.
Courtesy of Bev (the Boss).
Further Info. here: ABCD Buttons Usage (from the WiKi)
back to top
Q: How do I 'sharpen' charts on the desktop?
Charts (jpg etc.) are 'as is' and cannot be 'sharpened' if you zoom in/out.
It is better to use the OSM button for your area, zoom in/out to have the view of your choice, click the OSM button again to sharpen then save it as a 'Quick Chart' for the next time!
back to top
Q: How do I Install in Windows 7?
Use an install path outside the 'default' of 'Program Files'! e.g. C:/COAA/PlanePlotter/ as W7 (and Vista) has security settings that don't allow files to be written too if the default is used.
This has a particularly effect when using the 'Look-up' feature (either from the lookup box from the aircraft symbol or the aircraft list) which needs to update any 'no-reg' plots.
There is a difference between the WXPpro way and the W7 way that the airframes.org 'window' displays in that it doesn't come on top of the PP desktop now but flashes the browser icon on the task bar.
It maybe that this is changed so watch this space?!
back to top
Q: Installing/Reinstalling PlanePlotter (Ground station)
The procedure [as a ground station] for installing/reinstalling PlanePlotter is:
STOP SBS1.
STOP PP.
Download the new version to a drive of your choice.
Go to the downloaded .exe file and run it.
Make sure PP is being installed where your last version was.
When PP opens do not press the green button.
Go to I/O settings and tick the "Allow Remote Mlat" box.
Make sure the other boxes you have ticked are not altered.
Go to options Home Location...make sure Home Location is correct [use the test button].
Press the green button.
PP should open and populate.
CLOSE PP.
Open SBS1 let it populate.
Open PP... open I/O setting.....make sure the "Allow Remote Mlat" box is still ticked...OK that ..press the green button.
Done !
Courtesy of John Locker.
back to top
Q: How do I set up Shell Command to Email Alerts
The Alert Shell feature allows you to define what happens when there is an alert.
You can put a program name or batch file name into the dialog and then, when there is an alert, PP will run the program or the batch file that you have specified.
Your email address is not a program or a batch file, so you cannot put that into the Alert Shell dialog.
The recommended way to send an email under these circumstances is to use a free utility program called BLAT. You can download Blat from http://www.blat.net
Without knowing anything about BLAT, you can guess that somewhere in all this you are going to have to tell it what message to send, where to send it, and what mail service to send it through.
To keep these examples simple, it is easiest if you download the Blat files into the PP log directory. This saves lots of typing of paths in what follows.
Dealing with the last thing first, you have to run BLAT with a command line including the url of your mail service and your email account with that mail service. For example, if your ISP was "yourisp.com" your ISP's mail server might be "smtp.yourisp.com" and your login email address with your ISP might be "yourlogin@yourisp.com". In that case, you would initialise BLAT by opending a command prompt (Windows-button-R CMD OK) and navigating to the PP log files directory where you have installed blat.exe and typing :
Blat -install smtp.yourisp.com yourlogin@yourisp.com
Of course, you have to put in the correct details for your ISP and mail server. The ones shown above are dummy values.
You only need to do that process once and Blat will then know how to send emails.
To send an email using Blat, you need to run Blat with details of what to send and where to send it. For example, to send yourself a message manually, you would open a command prompt (Windows-button-R CMD OK), navigate to the PP log fiels directory where you have installed blat.exe and type:
Blat alertmessage.txt -subject "PP alert" -to youraddress@yourisp.com
Of course, the email address must be yours, not the dummy one shown above. When you do that, the file containing the last alert message text (alertmessage.txt) will be emailed to your email address with the subject "PP alert". Make sure it works before proceeding.
Now all you have to do, is to turn that same command line into a batch file and tell PP to run that batch file whenever there is an alert.
Open Notepad:
Type in that command line (using your proper address, of course). Put a carriage return (Enter key) at the end of the command line.
Save it as a text file in the PP log files directory and call it "myPPalert.bat" or something similar ending with ".bat".
Now tell PP to run that batch file whenever there is an alert by putting "myPPalert.bat" into the dialog that opens with Options..Alert..Alert Shell..Setup.
It may all sound intimidating but the steps are very simple and, once you have done it, you can forget all about how it was done (as I had done).
If you have any problems with BLAT, there is a support group for Blat users so it would be better to use that group rather than turn this group into a Blat forum.
There is more information here from David Taylors' site.
Courtesy of Bev, COAA.
back to top
Q: How do I install a second copy?
If you need a second registration number for a second machine (Note: for personal use only
as the use is monitored!) then this is the suggested procedure:
1) Install PlanePlotter on the new machine.
2) Start PP and you will be given a new serial number. Make a note of it and close PP down.
3) Now go to the COAA 'Registration section' here and enter the details requested.
NB: You will need the original Email address you used the first time you registered PP.
4) Once done you can close your browser and wait for an Email notification from COAA advising you of your new (for this install only!) 'Registration number'.
5) When received, make a note of it and start PP again. This time you enter the new registration number and follow the install wizard as required. Job done!
NOTE: Some users have tried to install PP on their works PC - it is more than likely that your IT manager will have barred the use of third-party software so ask first!!
back to top
Current 'End User Liscensing Agreement':
This text appears at the beginning of each installation of PlanePlotter.
Please make sure that you have read and understood this agreement before you click on "I accept the agreement" otherwise you may not install PlanePlotter.
PlanePlotter is supplied 'as is' without warranty of fitness of purpose for any use whatsoever. The author and publisher accept no responsibility whatever for any adverse consequences of using PlanePlotter, except to the extent required by law.
PlanePlotter may be used without payment for an evaluation period of up to 21 days from the date of first installation. All functions of PlanePlotter, except the Internet sharing feature, perform normally during the evaluation period. After the evaluation period, you must pay a licence fee to continue to use PlanePlotter. The Internet message sharing system is an experimental addition to the features of PlanePlotter and may be withdrawn at any time, without notice, at our complete discretion. As such, the Internet sharing feature does not form part of what is provided under this licence. You must ensure that the program works to your complete satisfaction before you consider paying the licence fee. It is not possible to refund the fee after a registration number has been issued. There are two fee structures. For personal or educational use, a lower fee applies. The personal fee covers a single individual user. As a concession, a single user may install the program on a second machine but that must be exclusively for the personal use of the licence holder only. For professional or commercial use, a higher fee applies. The higher fee is a site licence, which allows the user to install the program on more than one machine at a single site and to use it as part of a professional or commercial activity.
There are considerable variations in the legislation concerning radio reception in the different administrations around the world. It is your responsibility to determine whether or not your local administration permits the reception of broadcast messages from aircraft. The ability to send information received by PlanePlotter to other users of the program over the Internet may only be used subject to the condition that such use is permitted in the administrations of both the sender and the recipient. Data received from the Internet sharing system must not be published or distributed in any form. It is specifically forbidden to use PlanePlotter for any illegal purpose whatsoever. The existence and the availability of PlanePlotter are not to be construed as an incitement to commit any unlawful act. It is for use only and exclusively in those states and jurisdictions where such use is permitted by law.
back to top
Disclaimer:
The ManTMA Overflights Group is not directly linked to PlanePlotter and associated software.The information in this FAQ is given in good faith and, while every effort is made to ensure there will be no damage to any users computer or other appliances, is not our responsibility should this occur! e&oe
back to top