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3 EASY ANTENNAS FOR BEGINNERS

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  • #61
    They key to minimal loss between antenna and receiver is to put the USB stick as close to the antenna as possible.. USB sticks are cheap, good quality low loss coax is not so cheap. If you use a good quality USB cable you can easily have a run of 15' feet from the USB stick to the pi or computer without a problem with 5VDC source loss.

    Otherwise if you have a long run of coax from the antenna to the receiver, an inline amplifier is the solution. A power supply is required. Did anyone come up with a good solution for the inline power amp? TIA!
    Last edited by Sam26K; 2016-02-20, 23:42.

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    • #62
      Originally posted by Sam26K View Post
      .......
      Otherwise if you have a long run of coax from the antenna to the receiver, an inline amplifier is the solution. A power supply is required. Did anyone come up with a good solution for the inline power amp? TIA!
      Post #68 on Page 7 of thread "best antenna"



      Post #1461 on Page 147 of thread "best antenna"









      CONNECTION ARRANGEMENT

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      • #63
        Originally posted by Sam26K View Post
        They key to minimal loss between antenna and receiver is to put the USB stick as close to the antenna as possible.. USB sticks are cheap, good quality low loss coax is not so cheap. If you use a good quality USB cable you can easily have a run of 15' feet from the USB stick to the pi or computer without a problem with 5VDC source loss.

        Otherwise if you have a long run of coax from the antenna to the receiver, an inline amplifier is the solution. A power supply is required. Did anyone come up with a good solution for the inline power amp? TIA!
        Yes, i think i'll put the RPi close to the antenna! Cheap and good way!
        T-SBCT5/T-SBCT6

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        • #64
          Hi everyone! I did some tests with both antennas (The CanTenna and the original DVB-T Stick one). I put each antenna for recording for 24 hours in the Virtual Radar! This is the range of each one!

          Normal Antenna
          Antena simples.png,

          CanTenna
          Cantenna.png

          Each circle have 50km! It's good or can get better the cantenna range?
          T-SBCT5/T-SBCT6

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          • #65
            Originally posted by dudesjp View Post
            .......It's good or can get better the cantenna range?
            Check what maximu possible range you can get from your location & antenna height by following steps in this thread:

            What is the Maximum Range I can Get? (Post#1)

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            • #66
              Originally posted by abcd567 View Post
              Check what maximu possible range you can get from your location & antenna height by following steps in this thread:

              What is the Maximum Range I can Get? (Post#1)
              range map.png

              Yes! It can get much better! I just need to know how! Would love to find someone here in Brazil that sells a 1090mhz antenna!
              Last edited by dudesjp; 2016-02-26, 20:38.
              T-SBCT5/T-SBCT6

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              • #67
                Originally posted by dudesjp View Post
                ..... I just need to know how! Would love to find someone here in Brazil that sells a 1090mhz antenna!
                1) Where is your antenna located?

                If your antenna is indoors, or it's view of horizon is obstructed by surrounding tall objects (houses, tall buildings, tall trees etc) then taking antenna outdoors, and raising it above the height of surrounding objects will improve the range.

                2) Check this site:
                http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/adsb.htm#e

                .

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                • #68
                  Originally posted by abcd567 View Post
                  1) Where is your antenna located?

                  If your antenna is indoors, or it's view of horizon is obstructed by surrounding tall objects (houses, tall buildings, tall trees etc) then taking antenna outdoors, and raising it above the height of surrounding objects will improve the range.

                  2) Check this site:
                  http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/adsb.htm#e

                  .
                  Hey, thank you for all the support! After all the replies here and all the good advices, I decided that the easy way was put the raspberry pi near to the CanTenna! So, i built this box (images bellow) for him and I put the antenna outside of the roof, in the other side of the wall with now just 64 centimeters of coaxial cable! I'll let the Virtual Radar draw my range and update here, but i'm getting signal from 250km away from my house!

                  IMG_3521.jpg IMG_3522.jpg
                  IMG_3523.jpg IMG_3524.jpg
                  IMG_3529.jpg
                  T-SBCT5/T-SBCT6

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                  • #69
                    @dudesjp:
                    Your setup looks great!
                    Waiting for your VRS range plot.
                    I am very hopeful that it will match with your heywhatsthat.com plot.

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                    • #70
                      Originally posted by abcd567 View Post
                      @dudesjp:
                      Your setup looks great!
                      Waiting for your VRS range plot.
                      I am very hopeful that it will match with your heywhatsthat.com plot.
                      @abcd567, thank you! Here's the range plot! A little smaller than the maximum possible, but already good! Each circle have 50km! So, my maximum range is a little less than 300km!

                      Range.png
                      T-SBCT5/T-SBCT6

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                      • #71
                        Originally posted by dudesjp View Post
                        @abcd567, thank you! Here's the range plot! A little smaller than the maximum possible, but already good! Each circle have 50km! So, my maximum range is a little less than 300km!
                        Your heywhatsthat.com range in south is up to Porto Alegre which is about 550 km from your location, and in West is up to Ciudad del Este which is about 520 kms from your location.

                        Your actual range in south is almost 300 km. This is very good, but less than achievable.

                        I have looked at you installation photos, and I feel the reason for less range is your antenna height. There are tall trees and other buildings/houses around. Your antenna is installed slightly above edge of your roof. The antenna's view of horizon is obstructed by these tall trees and other houses/buildings around.

                        You will get much better range if you raise antenna. If possible, raise it above the tree tops and roofs of houses around. If that much is not possible, raise it as much as you can. each meter counts.

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                        • #72
                          Originally posted by abcd567 View Post
                          Your heywhatsthat.com range in south is up to Porto Alegre which is about 550 km from your location, and in West is up to Ciudad del Este which is about 520 kms from your location.

                          Your actual range in south is almost 300 km. This is very good, but less than achievable.

                          I have looked at you installation photos, and I feel the reason for less range is your antenna height. There are tall trees and other buildings/houses around. Your antenna is installed slightly above edge of your roof. The antenna's view of horizon is obstructed by these tall trees and other houses/buildings around.

                          You will get much better range if you raise antenna. If possible, raise it above the tree tops and roofs of houses around. If that much is not possible, raise it as much as you can. each meter counts.
                          Yes, I took some panoramas today - images bellow - you can see that there is lots of trees and houses surrounding the antenna! I'm afraid that to get a better signal here, i would need a much higher installation!

                          Northwest to southeast.
                          IMG_3547.jpg

                          Southeast to northwest.
                          IMG_3548.jpg
                          T-SBCT5/T-SBCT6

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                          • #73
                            @dudesjp:
                            To get a 100% no-obstruction, you may need substantial height. However raising by using one or two meter long pipe or wooden stick will not be difficult, and will bring substantial improvement in range. Raise it as much as you can conviniently do, and dont worry about length of coaxial cable, 4 or 5 meters extra wont make any difference.
                            Last edited by abcd567; 2016-03-10, 20:44.

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                            • #74
                              Cantenna up & high. No enclosure.
                              By forum member "trigger".

                              Click here: Post #1465, page 147 of thread "best antenna"



                              Last edited by abcd567; 2016-03-10, 22:45.

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                              • #75
                                A Cantenna made of iron food can, instead of aluminum drink can. Mechanically stronger and better suits outdoor instalattion without any casing.

                                Note the Silicone sealant/adhesive at the F connector where whip wire enters it.
                                The sealant/adhesive helps in keeping moisture out of electrical components, and also prevents the whip from getting blown away by strong winds.

                                The finished cantenna may be spray painted to prevent rusting.
                                .
                                Last edited by abcd567; 2016-03-11, 06:16.

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