Stream data to MQTT - How to guide

Technical Support
1

I originally posted to see if anyone had worked out how to send all received ADS-B data from a Pi running the ADSBx image with the official blue dongle to an MQTT server for use in other systems like via NodeRed and for Home Assistant.

I didn’t get a response, so ChatGPT to the rescue.
The below is the final instructions after about 40 mins of going back and forth, hitting errors and solving them.

Instructions…

:airplane: How to Stream ADS-B Aircraft Data from Raspberry Pi to MQTT for Node-RED

This guide explains how to decode ADS-B aircraft signals on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W with an RTL-SDR dongle and publish live aircraft data to MQTT, ready for use in Node-RED or home automation.

:white_check_mark: Prerequisites

  • Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
  • RTL-SDR dongle running readsb
  • MQTT broker on your network (e.g. 10.10.50.8:1883)
  • Python 3 installed
  • Network access between Pi and broker

:hammer_and_wrench: Step 1: Verify readsb is running and outputting JSON

Make sure your readsb is started with:

css

CopyEdit

--net-json-port 30154

Check the service:

lua

CopyEdit

sudo systemctl status readsb

Check the port is open:

perl

CopyEdit

sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 30154

You should see something like:

nginx

CopyEdit

tcp   0   0 0.0.0.0:30154   0.0.0.0:*   LISTEN   476/readsb

Then test the output:

swift

CopyEdit

printf "GET /data/aircraft.json\r\n\r\n" | nc localhost 30154

You should get JSON lines, one per aircraft.

:package: Step 2: Understand the JSON format

The feed is newline-delimited JSON objects, not a JSON array. You must parse it line-by-line.

:brain: Step 3: Create the ADS-B → MQTT bridge script

Save this as:

swift

CopyEdit

/usr/local/bin/adsb-to-mqtt.py

Paste this full code:

python

CopyEdit

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import socket
import json
import time
import paho.mqtt.client as mqtt

MQTT_BROKER = "10.10.50.8"  # ← Your MQTT broker IP
MQTT_PORT = 1883
MQTT_TOPIC = "adsb/aircraft"

HOST = "localhost"
PORT = 30154

def fetch_and_publish(client):
    try:
        with socket.create_connection((HOST, PORT), timeout=5) as s:
            s.sendall(b"GET /data/aircraft.json\r\n\r\n")
            buffer = b""
            while True:
                chunk = s.recv(4096)
                if not chunk:
                    break
                buffer += chunk
                while b"\n" in buffer:
                    line, buffer = buffer.split(b"\n", 1)
                    if line.strip():
                        try:
                            aircraft = json.loads(line)
                            client.publish(MQTT_TOPIC, json.dumps(aircraft))
                            print(f"Published: {aircraft.get('hex')} → {aircraft.get('flight')}")
                        except json.JSONDecodeError:
                            print("Bad JSON:", line)
    except Exception as e:
        print("Socket error:", e)

def main():
    client = mqtt.Client(protocol=mqtt.MQTTv311)
    client.connect(MQTT_BROKER, MQTT_PORT, 60)
    while True:
        fetch_and_publish(client)
        time.sleep(5)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Make it executable:

bash

CopyEdit

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/adsb-to-mqtt.py

Test it:

swift

CopyEdit

python3 /usr/local/bin/adsb-to-mqtt.py

If successful, you’ll see logs of published aircraft in the terminal.

:inbox_tray: Step 4: Install the MQTT Python client globally

css

CopyEdit

sudo pip3 install --upgrade --force-reinstall paho-mqtt

Verify:

sql

CopyEdit

python3 -m pip show paho-mqtt

:repeat_button: Step 5: Set it up to run at boot with systemd

Create the service file:

swift

CopyEdit

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/adsb-mqtt.service

Paste:

ini

CopyEdit

[Unit]
Description=ADSB to MQTT Bridge
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/adsb-to-mqtt.py
Restart=always
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=adsb-mqtt

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Make sure User= and WorkingDirectory= match your setup.

Reload and start it:

pgsql

CopyEdit

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable adsb-mqtt.service
sudo systemctl start adsb-mqtt.service

Check status:

lua

CopyEdit

sudo systemctl status adsb-mqtt.service

Live logs:

nginx

CopyEdit

sudo journalctl -f -u adsb-mqtt.service

:toolbox: Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
No data from port 30154 Make sure readsb is running and has --net-json-port 30154
No aircraft received Check SDR, gain, antenna, or reception conditions
Script fails in systemd Make sure paho-mqtt is installed system-wide (sudo pip3 install)
MQTT not receiving data Confirm broker IP/port and firewall; test script manually first

:white_check_mark: Result

Each aircraft is published individually to MQTT topic:

bash

CopyEdit

adsb/aircraft

You can now connect this in Node-RED, Home Assistant, or any MQTT-aware system :bullseye:

2

I’ve also published this to my Github