best antenna

[abcd567]

Did our "Best Antenna" constructed here survive the winter cold ?

All my antennas always survives the weather - Cold, Heat, Strong Wind. All my antennas are located inside my apartment

[abcd567]

To install dump1090 on my RPi B+, I gave following commands:

sudo apt-get install git-core
sudo apt-get install git 
sudo apt-get install cmake
sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev
sudo apt-get install build-essential

git  clone  git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git
cd  rtl-sdr
mkdir  build
cd  build
cmake  ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON
make
sudo  make  install
sudo  ldconfig

cd ~
sudo  cp  ./rtl-sdr/rtl-sdr.rules  /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo  reboot
cd  ~ 
git  clone  git://github.com/MalcolmRobb/dump1090.git
cd  dump1090
make
./dump1090 --interactive --net

I got this error message

Found 1 device(s):
0: Realtek, RTL2838UHIDIR, SN: 00000001 (currently selected)

Kernel driver is active, or device is claimed by second instance
In the first case, please either detach or blacklist the kernel
(dvb_usb_rtl28xxu), or enable automatic detaching at compile tim

usb_claim_interface error -6
Error opening the RTLSDR device: Device or resource busy

How to solve this problem?

[1090 MHz]

Found 1 device(s):
0: Realtek, RTL2838UHIDIR, SN: 00000001 (currently selected)

Kernel driver is active, or device is claimed by second instance
In the first case, please either detach or blacklist the kernel
(dvb_usb_rtl28xxu), or enable automatic detaching at compile tim

usb_claim_interface error -6
Error opening the RTLSDR device: Device or resource busy

How to solve this problem?

It's saying dvb_usb_rtl28xxu is running ... your USB radio or its driver. Remove it and or do a clean OS install... then try again.

[1090 MHz]

Did our "Best Antenna" constructed here survive the winter cold ?

My stuff was sure put to that test last year during the December 21st, 2013 ice storm.

http://ads-b.ca/ice_storm/

The tower is a heavy duty reinforced design with an ice load rating ... I'm sure glad I went for this design and not take my chances like the HAM up the road that had his skinny tower bend over.

[abcd567]

It's saying dvb_usb_rtl28xxu is running ... your USB radio or its driver. Remove it and or do a clean OS install... then try again.

Found 1 device(s):
0: Realtek, RTL2838UHIDIR, SN: 00000001 (currently selected)

Kernel driver is active, or device is claimed by second instance
In the first case, please either detach or blacklist the kernel
(dvb_usb_rtl28xxu), or enable automatic detaching at compile tim

usb_claim_interface error -6
Error opening the RTLSDR device: Device or resource busy

I solved the problem! Here is how:

First I checked the blacklist file for rtl-sdr.
I did NOT find find the file "rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf" in the directory "/etc/modprobe.d"

I was in GUI, and tried to create this file, but it refused to create.
I then open console and typed this command:

"sudo leafpad /etc/modprobe.d/rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf", and the file was created.

I then opened the newly created blank file and typed in the file:

blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu
blacklist e4000
blacklist rtl2832

Then saved the file, rebooted, and gave command

cd dump1090
./dump1090 --interactive

and bingo, the dump1090 started working. Showing lots of plane with whip which came with DVB-T USB Stick!

DSC03530-R.JPG

Edit:
(1) Leafpad command creates file only when given to RPi console directly. It does not create file in SSH mode. In SSH mode, new file can be created by nano command i.e sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf.
(2) It is not necessary to use name rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf. Any name can be used, but the extension should always be .conf
(3) To see the plane plotted on google map, following command is to be given:

cd dump1090
./dump1090 --interactive --net --net-http-port 8080

This will open port 8080 on RPi, and then typing http://127.0.0.1:8080 in browser will display planes plotted on Google map

[abcd567]

My stuff was sure put to that test last year during the December 21st, 2013 ice storm.

http://ads-b.ca/ice_storm/

The tower is a heavy duty reinforced design with an ice load rating ... I'm sure glad I went for this design and not take my chances like the HAM up the road that had his skinny tower bend over.

Wow! A thick coating of ice, and it still worked?

The bird sitting on your Triple Yagi seems to be a "polar bird" - freeze proof like polar bear, penguin, & seal.

[1090 MHz]

Wow! A thick coating of ice, and it still worked?

The bird sitting on your Triple Yagi seems to be a "polar bird" - freeze proof like polar bear, penguin, & seal.

The bird is a Cooper Hawk, he's always up there and seems to think the tower now belongs to him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%27s_hawk

The Ice had no effect on the antennas. The satellite TV and GPS antennas had an inch of ice coating them but they all seems to work fine. It seems ice is conductive to microwave signals however the same amount of snow buildup can knock the signal out. I theorize that the snow crystals are more loosely placed and scatter the signal around degrading it.

When the tower first went up in 2007 it was the roosting post of many starlings who are no longer around... I think the Hawk ate them all .

[abcd567]

@1090MHZ:Your antenna tower can be nick named as "The Bird Sanctuary"!

[Birdie]

The bird is a Cooper Hawk, he's always up there and seems to think the tower now belongs to him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%27s_hawk

The Ice had no effect on the antennas. The satellite TV and GPS antennas had an inch of ice coating them but they all seems to work fine. It seems ice is conductive to microwave signals however the same amount of snow buildup can knock the signal out. I theorize that the snow crystals are more loosely placed and scatter the signal around degrading it.

When the tower first went up in 2007 it was the roosting post of many starlings who are no longer around... I think the Hawk ate them all .

Have you ever thought of putting a FAKE Eagle on top of the antenna?

A friend of mine "chased away" all the birds by doing that.

eagle_3834_2.jpg

[fungus]

Guys,
Great idea which some may find beneficial.

Regards,
Gregg

[1090 MHz]

Have you ever thought of putting a FAKE Eagle on top of the antenna?

No need to fake it... if it's not the Hawk it's the two Crows controlling the top. IMG_9001.JPG

[STR_EDDS]

@abcd567

i soldered a franklin with 2mm˛.
im not happy with the results, something is wrong.
can i make the stubH <1mm?
I can do 0,5mm with soldering

EDIT: ok found your upload, but its for 1mm˛
http://forum.flightradar24.com/attac...7&d=1392155800




IMG_20150120_002057.jpgIMG_20150120_002123.jpg





This plot is splitted coax cable in half, 2x 69mm
plot.jpg



Can i add more elements to the franklin for more gain?

[abcd567]

@STR_EDDS:
Thinner the wire used, easier it is to bend with narrow gaps, but antenna is mechanically weaker with thinner wire.

Thicker wire gives mechanically stronger antenna, but thicker wires are difficult to bend in narrow gaps.

I have made my franklins with core of RG6 coax. This core wire is 1mm dia, is made of copper covered steel, hence stronger than copper. Since my antennas are indoor and dont face wind, 1 mm dia wire is ok. Others found 2.5mm dia wire obtained from electric power cable suitable for oudoor installation.

One more thing. All wire sizes I have mentioned in my posts is mm diameter, and NOT mm˛ which is area of crossection. Electric wires are normally specified by area of crossection e.g.1 mm˛, 1.5 mm˛, 2.5 mm˛, 4 mm˛, 6 mm˛, 10 mm˛. Their diameter to be calculated by formula diameter = 2 x square root of (area of crossection/pi).

[abcd567]

@STR_EDDS:
Yes, you can add more sections if you like. All examples i have posted are for 4 vertical sections, 3 stubs. You can make 6 vertical sections, 5 stubs.

[bezeefly]

Here's the spider antenna that I built. All 5 wires were cut to 69mm long before construction. I am confuse with the length measurement starting point of the vertical whip shown on the different 2 diagrams. Is the 69mm length of the vertical whip measures from point A or point B?

spider2.jpgspider_diagram1.jpgspider_diagram2.jpg