How to obtain access key for ADSBExchange RapidAPI
How to obtain access key for ADSBExchange RapidAPI
To get an access key so that you can use the aircraft display functions on the W3SZ/K1RZ Database map, follow the instructions below. Please note that if you use this ADSBExchange service, then you should also set up your own ADSB receiver so that you supply them with a feed of planes that are locally visible to you.
1. Create an account by clicking on "Sign Up" button in upper right corner of web page (I have sandwiched this between two red arrows in the image below, to make its location more obvious:
2. On the "Sign Up" page, enter your chosen username, email address, and password and click the "Sign Up" button. The "Sign Up" button will be grayed out until you enter the above information. Once you have done so, it will turn blue and then you can click it.
You will then be sent an email to the email address that you provided, with a 6-digit verification code.
3. Enter that code on the verification web page that pops up.
4. Answer the questions on the web page that pops up after you correctly enter the verification code and click "Submit" button. The "Submit" button will be grayed out until you enter the above information. Once you have done so, it will turn blue and then you can click it.
You will then be taken back to the RapidAPI aircraftscatter web page, the link from which you started above.
5. On the right side of that page is a section with the heading "Code Snippets". Contained in that code under the heading "Headers" is your ADSBExchange RapidAPI Key. Copy this key to a safe place NOW!
6. Just to the left of the "Code Snippits" heading is a blue button with the text "Subscribe to Test". Click on that button, and a page will pop up like the image below. Click on the blue "Subscribe" button under the "Recommended" and "Basic $0.00/mo" headings.
7. That will cause the following page to appear:
8. On this page, underneath the text "Subscription Created Succesfully", on the line with the text "Start using your API - API Documentation", click on the "API Documentation" link and you should be returned to the RapidAPI aircraftscatter webpage, at the URLhttps://rapidapi.com/adsbx/api/aircraftscatter/. Near the center of this page, just to the left of the "Code Snippits" header, is a blue button now labeled "Test Endpoint" as is shown in the image below. Click on this button:
9. After doing this, the area beneath the "Code Snippets" heading should say "200 Success" and look like the image below:
10. You can expand the listing by clicking on the arrowhead to the left of the text "{} 5 keys" and then the page should look like this:
11. If you click on the arrowhead to the left of the text "0: {} 48 keys" then the page should look similar to this:
12. If all of the above went well, you are now ready to add the ADSBExchange RapidAPI Key to the W3SZ/K1RZ database map. "Cut and paste" the key (without the quotes) into the textbox labeled "ADSBExchangeRapidXKey" on the "Create New User / Setup" form that you open by clicking the "Info" button located in the lower left corner of the W3SZ/K1RZ Database Map. The key shown in the image below is not a valid key.
Also enter a minimum aircraft altitude (in meters, e.g. 10000) on the same form, in the text box labeled "Minimum Aircraft Altitude (m)".
Then click the "Create an account" button on the "Create New User / Setup" form. This will save the information that you entered. An alert box will pop up showing the information that you entered on the "Create New User / Setup" form. Confirm that the ADSBExchange Key as shown in this alert form is the same as your saved key, and that you have not inadvertently cut off the beginning or ending characters, or inadvertently added spaces to the beginning or the end of the key. You should now be ready to display aircraft on the W3SZ/K1RZ database map. Note that if you previously used the old version of the map without the AC or SH buttons, you will need to type Cntl-F5 in order to load the new code into your browser properly.
If when you hit the "Create an Account" button after entering the ADSBExchangeRapidX Key you get an error message regarding the contents of the Grid, Call, or MyAltitude boxes, then you need to delete entirely the contents of those 3 text boxes and re-enter that information again manually. An example of such an error message appearing in this context is shown in the image below:
13. Finally, please set up a receive station so that you can supply ADSBExchange with aircraft that are detectable at your location. You can find more details on how to do this at this ADSBExchange web page:
If you get an alert box when trying to use the aircraft display function of the W3SZ/K1RZ database map after doing the above, then you have made a mistake which you will need to resolve before you can use the aircraft display function.
