Wingbits FAQ

Answers for the most commonly asked questions.

General Project

Is there a token yet? What blockchain?

This project is still in beta (which started in Nov 2023) and working through the current roadmap items. Wingbits has chosen Solana as the blockchain for rewarding participants.

At this time we are continuing development on our rewards system against devnet.

Our current goal for Mainnet is Q3 2025.

Why should I participate now?

We could try to sell you on how it would help build the network, how it is an amazing community, and even that the ability to watch planes on your own hardware is pretty fun.

But, if that wasn't going to be enough, how about the fact all your submitted data is being stored and there will be retroactive rewards given for participation once the token is live on Mainnet?

You will be in very early.

What is the difference between a location and a coverage hex?

A location is a res6 H3 hex that is used to claim your own station area that no one else can also install a station within. It is not used for any rewards calculation. This size was chosen as it allows many participants to still be a part of the project, while preventing extreme amounts of duplicate data (for example you and your closest neighbor running identical setups in a dense suburb and providing identical data).

A coverage hex is a res3 H3 hex that is used to break up the sky into coverage sections that are rewarded daily to all contributors to that hex. This size was chosen based on evaluation of the geography around the globe and the processing requirements of smaller hexes.

An example of the Atlanta, GA area coverage hex size:

An example of the same Atlanta, GA area showing claimable location areas:

Can I setup a device locally that will be deployed at another location?

You can image/prepare a unit locally by setting up the station in the dashboard with the appropriate future lat/lon details and then using those and the new station ID to configure the device, as you would with a local install. You should also make sure you have the usb receiver and the antenna/cable all connected during this setup/testing.

You may also want to look into a remote access solution such as Tailscale, so that you may remotely adjust gain or wifi settings (provided the host will hook up to ethernet initially).

Warning: To prevent the project from flagging the unit as improperly located on the network, please shut down the machine within 60 minutes of the initial "Online" status change.

How accurate does the reserved location need to be?

The station GPS will be very accurate, showing the correct physical location of the station within a few centimeters. The station must be installed inside the borders of the reserved/claimed location hex. Because of this, using the latitude and longitude of the expected installation spot ensures that you reserve the correct location hex.

You will be unable to install a station outside of the borders of your reserved/claimed location hex, even if it is just meters outside, and still be rewarded.

How much bandwidth will this project use? How much am I using now?

Estimating bandwidth usage is very difficult as it varies drastically depending on your location. Some locations have very high air traffic daily while others have much less. We have seen usage of 10 GB a month all the way up to well over 100 GB a month.

We will be implementing bandwidth reduction methods very soon to reduce these numbers while still providing all the data customers will need.

If you are already running and wish to calculate your current usage: There is Bandwidth Usage graph on your ip/graphs1090/ url with an avg in and out kiloBytes per sec. Change your tab to a period that doesn't include your install (like 7 days as long as your install was over 7 days ago) and add those 2 numbers. Then ask google to convert that to gigabytes per day (google search "xx.x kB/s to gb per day"), then multiply by 30 or 31 days.

Do you plan on collecting Mode S (MLAT) or 978 MHz (UAT) messages?

We are regularly evaluating addition of MLAT functionality and 978 MHz messaging based on business needs. Once we have plans to add either to the system, we will work with participants to implement.

Website

Location shows as owned or reserved by someone else?

If you have just created your station, please clear browser cache and reload map by using SHIFT+F5 (Windows/Chrome) or Option+Command+E (Mac/Safari). Typically this will resolve this display issue.

If you are trying to create a new station and the location is owned/reserved by someone else, you will be unable to setup a station as the project only allows one station to be physically installed within a location hex.

Stats / tar1090 / graphs1090

What is a good number of planes or messages on tar1090?

As for what is a good range or target number, there isn't actually a good answer. Your stats are primarily limited by the traffic your location can see, and then by the effectiveness of your setup to gather as many of those available messages as possible. It may sound like we are being difficult here, but let us provide an example:

If I asked you to go to the closest street corner in your location and count cars that pass by for 30 minutes, and also asked someone else in the project to go do the same... the results would likely be very different.  If you counted 10 cars, that may be normal for your area.  If they counted 324 cars, that might be their normal.

If I tell both of you that ~300 cars is good and ~10 cars is bad, you will feel like you are underperforming when you are not.

All you can reasonably do is to make sure you count as many cars as you can.  

In the case here, get the antenna outdoors and up high enough to have clear 360 degree line of sight (no obstructions) and configure your optimal gain based on your setup. You can't do any better than that and for us to tell you any number or even range would be potentially very misleading.