📖 SETUP GUIDE
FinalPing Ground Station Setup
One command installs everything. Pick your platform below.
Before you start
✓ ADS-B receiver dongle + 1090MHz antenna
✓ Raspberry Pi, Windows PC, or Mac
✓ Active FinalPing account
✓ FinalPing Ground Station add-on purchased
What the installer does
✓ Installs RTL-SDR drivers
✓ Installs dump1090 (ADS-B decoder)
✓ Downloads FinalPing Ground Station
✓ Walks you through configuration
✓ Sets up auto-start on boot/login
🍓 Raspberry Pi
Open a terminal on your Pi (or SSH in) and run:
curl -fsSL https://finalpingapp.com/install.sh | sudo bash
💡 The installer will pause for 5 seconds before starting — press Ctrl+C to cancel if needed.
⚠️ If you get a 'password' prompt, type your Pi's password and press Enter. Nothing will appear as you type — that's normal.
The installer will ask for your FinalPing email, password, location coordinates, and aircraft tail numbers/ICAO24 codes. Once done, FinalPing Ground Station starts automatically and runs on every boot.
🪟 Windows
Right-click PowerShell → Run as Administrator, then run:
irm https://finalpingapp.com/install.ps1 | iex
⚠️ Windows requires a manual driver step — the installer will open the Zadig download page automatically. Install the WinUSB driver for your RTL-SDR device, then restart your computer.
After restart, plug in your receiver and FinalPing Ground Station will start automatically on every login via Task Scheduler.
🍎 macOS
Open Terminal and run:
curl -fsSL https://finalpingapp.com/install-mac.sh | bash
⚠️ If macOS blocks the RTL-SDR driver, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Allow Anyway.
The installer sets up Launch Agents so both dump1090 and FinalPing Ground Station start automatically on login.
After installation
Once installed, alerts fire through your existing FinalPing notification channels (Discord, Slack, email, SMS, etc.) and appear in your alert history at finalpingapp.com/dashboard.
To add or change tracked aircraft after install, edit the config file:
# Raspberry Pi / Linux
nano ~/finalping-ground/finalping_ground.py
# Windows
notepad %USERPROFILE%\finalping-ground\finalping_ground.py
# Mac
open ~/finalping-ground/finalping_ground.py
💡 Find your ICAO24 hex code by searching your tail number at globe.adsbexchange.com — it shows in the aircraft details panel.
Troubleshooting
"Cannot reach dump1090"
Make sure dump1090 is running. On Raspberry Pi run: sudo systemctl status dump1090-fa. If your receiver is on a different device, update DUMP1090_URL in finalping_ground.py to its IP address.
"Ground station not enabled"
Your account doesn't have the Ground Station add-on. Purchase it at finalpingapp.com/pricing.
"Login failed"
Check your email and password in finalping_ground.py. Make sure you're using your FinalPing website credentials.
No aircraft showing up in dump1090
Make sure your antenna is connected and pointing skyward. Indoor antennas near windows work but outdoor antennas give much better range.
Windows — no signals received
The Zadig driver step is required. Plug in your receiver, open Zadig, select your device, choose WinUSB, and click Install Driver. Then restart.
Mac — driver blocked by macOS
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → scroll down and click Allow Anyway next to the RTL-SDR driver entry.