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By JonnyS
#1591331
Some aircraft track very precisely on FlightRadar24, I can see movements along taxiways and precise circuit flying. Ours, however, tracks randomly and doesn't seem to be picked up below 2,000ft.

What factors might influence this? Aerial position? Transponder type?
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1591333
ADS-B messages contain precise location data supplied by the GPS source. You therefore only need a minimum of one receiver to pick you up.

Mode S position is synthesised by FR24 using a technique called 'multilateration', which is dependent on:

- your transponder being swept by a radar head
- good line-of-sight visibility to a number of receivers, the more the merrier but even then it's not infallible

There are details on how it works on their site.
Last edited by GrahamB on Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.