2023-07-28 21:13 UTC

Featured ADS-B Feeder for July 2023: Richard Muraya (Kenya) - PGANRB501504

Richard Muraya, our ADS-B feeder in Kenya

Welcome to another edition of our Featured ADS-B Feeder, where we highlight the feeders who contribute to the RadarBox network worldwide. This month, we feature Richard Muraya from Kenya, a specialist in designing tools based on open-source intelligence architecture towards advancing citizen engineering, data science, civic technology, and digital cartography.

"I am a dedicated outdoorsman with extensive local and international travel experience and, in particular, enjoy plane spotting, amateur radio, astronomy, hiking, birdwatching, landscape photography, cycling, and crafts-making. A newbie here, I have been feeding to RadarBox since April 2023." - Muraya says.

PGANRB501504 ADS-B Station

His home is in a charming rural hamlet in Kikuyu Municipality between Dagoretti Forest and Ondiri Wetland at an altitude of 1,912 meters/ 6,273 feet above sea level, in visual proximity to Nairobi City's Wilson Airport (IATA: WIL; ICAO: HKNW) and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (IATA: NBO; ICAO: HKJK). The high altitude and strategic installation point have optimized his station's reception at 193nm/357km with 28% coverage of the country. And Richard expects to increase the coverage and range in the coming weeks and rise from fourth place to second nationally. His station receives data from 5 airports from Kenyan and Tanzanian airspace, disrupted only by the towering heights of Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, and their highlands. Muruya's station's antenna benefits from a 1-meter-long pole extension on a firm base above the gable end of his bungalow home's rooftop. Richard plans to extend the mount onto an 8-meter-high pole to extend its range, receive data from shore-to-shore from Lake Victoria to the Indian Ocean across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, and install a complimentary AIS data station.

His rooftop antenna coexists with his roof-mounted modern weather station, working in unison to produce real-time weather data for his community.

RadarBox Stations - Kenya Ranking

As an amateur radio astronomer, Richard understands the importance of wide, open, and clear skies for receiving radio data from extra-terrestrial and aviation sources. He chose RadarBox for our fantastic build quality and optimized user interface, providing him with an enriching experience as a feeder. With his DIY spirit, Richard plans to construct a dedicated wall-mounted service box to securely house his equipment, a recommendation that he extends to current and aspiring feeders.

Richard's RadarBox ADS-B (1090 MHz) Antenna

Richard discovered RadarBox through his ongoing citizen engineering research on integrating ADS-B data to calculate real-time greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector. A colleague working in air traffic control (ATC) highly recommended RadarBox as the industry leader in ADS-B data processing and flight tracking. Intrigued by the effectiveness of the platform, Richard, who enjoys tinkering with Raspberry Pi computers and SDR (software-defined radio) equipment, found RadarBox to be a natural fit for his interests.

Richard's RadarBox ADS-B (1090 MHz) Antenna

Across the Valley

Surrounding Area

Outside the House

From a young age, Richard has held a deep fascination for the aviation industry, particularly in the realms of plane spotting and radio navigation. RadarBox has proven to be an invaluable tool, offering him a better perspective on the industry's inner workings. Through RadarBox, Richard connects with like-minded individuals, sharing his passion for aviation and becoming part of a vast, complex global network of stations, plane spotters, and aviation enthusiasts. Furthermore, maintaining his station aligns with Richard's g.oal