I think I originally saw this product on Reddit. There’s a load of aviation geekery on that site and the JetClock turned up. Plenty of people have made their own aircraft indicator displays but of those I’d seen JetClock is the nicest and best looking. I knew I’d probably get one but waited for the right time. The company recently increased their product range to include a version without a display and also an Android app.
I bought the JetClock Zero as this seemed the most versatile version. I could use it on an existing display or I could buy my own screen if I wanted. Yesterday it arrived and the packaging was super nice. I don’t generally care for “unboxing” but the fact that the cables were in a reusable bag and the device itself was in a sealed bag made the whole experience really nice. It took a few minutes to set up the JetClock Zero but that was painless. I like the fact I can change the settings via a web-page but I am slightly concerned that the company aren’t asking for a subscription, I hope they’ve really thought that out.
Today I have ordered a 7″ display so that I can have the JetClock running permanently and on display. I know I want to put it in the lounge but I haven’t quite decided where and how it should be fixed yet. That’s some work to look forward to.
The Logbook is a lovely addition to the device. It’s an online database of aircraft that the JetClock has “detected”. The device doesn’t detect aircraft itself but relies on a server somewhere knowing the position of the JetClock and providing data to be displayed. I already have a Raspberry Pi in the loft that feeds aircraft data to an aggregation service and I have written about that extensively on this site. Below is an image of the logbook output:
I get pretty pictures of aircraft with the world map showing the routes my JetClock can see. I live in the south east of the UK and so aircraft are very common because of travel to and from London and also because the UK happens to lie on a line of the great circle from Europe and South West Asia to the USA. Another bonus for me is that Biggin Hill isn’t far away and plenty of smaller jets fly into there. I’m also sure that at some point over the weekend there will be a Spitfire popping over towards the White Cliffs.
JetClock has a “rarity” score for aircraft. I’m not sure you could do a lot to increase the likelihood of seeing these unless you take your clock with you as you go around spotting. As you can see within 24 hours of set up I’ve already had a plane with rarity of 100. Just as I was writing this I heard an A400 fly over and I’m a little disappointed that its score is only 52! Maybe I’ll do better with the AN-22 that fly over a couple of times a week!
This device is great. Super easy to set up. The customisation options are brilliant and it gives me all the information I could want. Highly recommend.