Masthead Amplifier

[Responder]

Hi All,

I'm currently using a Dongle, 5db Collinear and RPi and my current receiving radius is between 250mi and 300mi depending on weather and wish to increase my receiving strength by using a Masthead Amp.

Can any Masthead Amp be used, such as a Tv Pre-Amp or does it have to be 1090MHz specific?

Thanks.

[TassyJim]

A pre-amp should lower the noise level of your system allowing weaker signals to be received.
Having the pre-amp close to the antenna helps by getting rid of the coax losses.
When I moved my pre-amp from inside to a point close to the antenna, the number of location reports logged by FR24 went from 16k to 24k per day.
(I am in an area with very low traffic)

The problem with a pre-amp is it can easily get overloaded by other strong signals such as mobile phone bases.
You might need a filter either before of after the pre-amp.

I had good success with a pre-amp designed for satellite TV (950 to 2100 MHz).
I now use one I removed from some surplus equipment.
It has a lower noise figure than the satellite TV amp and that did result in more position reports, especially at 250nm and beyond.
I currently use a Satellite TV high-pass filter before the pre-amp.

A normal terrestrial TV pre-amp will not be of much use - too much gain at low frequencies and not much at 1090MHz.

The commercially available pre-amps designed for 1090MHz should be the best choice for maximum results.

Jim

[Responder]

A pre-amp should lower the noise level of your system allowing weaker signals to be received.
Having the pre-amp close to the antenna helps by getting rid of the coax losses.
When I moved my pre-amp from inside to a point close to the antenna, the number of location reports logged by FR24 went from 16k to 24k per day.
(I am in an area with very low traffic)

The problem with a pre-amp is it can easily get overloaded by other strong signals such as mobile phone bases.
You might need a filter either before of after the pre-amp.

I had good success with a pre-amp designed for satellite TV (950 to 2100 MHz).
I now use one I removed from some surplus equipment.
It has a lower noise figure than the satellite TV amp and that did result in more position reports, especially at 250nm and beyond.
I currently use a Satellite TV high-pass filter before the pre-amp.

A normal terrestrial TV pre-amp will not be of much use - too much gain at low frequencies and not much at 1090MHz.

The commercially available pre-amps designed for 1090MHz should be the best choice for maximum results.

Jim

Thanks Jim,

I probably won't gain much more distance as my range is 250-300 miles but I'd probably pull the weaker ones in, like you say. I'll have a look into it.

Cheers :-)

[Birdie]

Thanks Jim,

I probably won't gain much more distance as my range is 250-300 miles but I'd probably pull the weaker ones in, like you say. I'll have a look into it.

Cheers :-)

You can't increase the range further - it will be beyond the horizon.

Moreover, the LNA will overload your receiver since you already have a high gain antenna.

[Responder]

You can't increase the range further - it will be beyond the horizon.

Moreover, the LNA will overload your receiver since you already have a high gain antenna.

Good point, thanks Birdie.

I'll leave it as it is. Why mess with something, when I have good coverage already