I think I’ve worked out how to get a better “European” display (I was previously using some Japanese freeware which was good but the display was like a proper 1970s air traffic control display; half the menus were ???????? as European windows won’t natively display Japanese menus; I had to ask a young woman who is very brainy and worked at marconi radars to explain how it all worked.
This freeware is developed by some Germans; although a British guy did the addon for the maps display. you do also need a scanner radio with very clear output or discriminator output (i.e no filter) or a SDR (basically a scanner built into a USB tag, they can be as cheap as €25 if sold as a “digital TV receiver”). You can even go through the database of aircraft to get info about them; or even connect it online and share the info with other users (not sure if I’m allowed to do that in Blighty; although the Ofcom man told me a while back it was OK to monitor provided you didn’t cause any potential safety risks).
I am no planespotter but its interesting sometimes to see just how busy the skies get and what is in them…..
