Hi falcoguy,
To add some detail to the above comments and (hopefully) answer your specific questions.
1. Re the 1090 Status Indicator. Green means 1090 data is currently being received (+ figure increasing), Amber means no data received for something like the last 15 seconds - (so not unusual), Red means no data received since power-up - so there is either no 1090 traffic about, or you havea fault. The comment ‘Unavailable’ usually indicates no dongle present, or dongle is defective (or just not properly seated in USB port). Your initial post certainly implies that the original dongle has died, but it’s strange that you are getting the same effect with a replacement. Specifically, what model of NooElec are you trying as the replacement?
2. Reasons for failure to receive 1090 traffic are usually:-
No traffic in range.
Faulty (or poorly inserted) dongle.
Antenna or cable fault - this can be tested by temporarily replacing the antenna/cable with a short length of thin wire carefully
inserted into the centre only of the socket on the dongle (assuming there IS traffic about).
3. As advised above, your power issue may be due to your mains USB source being unable to maintain an adequate supply (it must be able to maintain a minimum of 5 Volts when the unit is drawing up to 2 Amps) or may be due to using an inadequately rated USB cable. (The supplied cables are rated with a heavy duty 20awg Power Wire, many readily available USB cables won’t meet this specification.)
Hope this helps. Please let us know how you get on.
Regards
Peter