Originally posted by 1090 MHz
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Originally posted by 1090 MHz View PostHi Exadios,
From what I can see on the outside you have multiple antennas and a wifi link, I also see a solar panel powering it. That's really interesting looking but what exactly do you have setup inside the suitcase?
Thanks
The box is a cheap plastic tool box ($20 at K-Mart) which I have put a 12V automobile battery in the bottom section and electronics in the top section.
I use the box as a test setup. Most of the antennae are receiving signals which are unrelated to aviation. However one of the antennae is a 1090 MHz collinear which is connected to a RTL2832 receiver and Raspberry Pi. Eventually I will pull this out of the test box and mount it on a mast.
I am a member of a gliding club which flies from YNRG. A couple of months ago we held the state gliding competition at YNRG. During competitions we launch and land a large number of aircraft in a short time interval. The problem is that the Flying Doctor arrives unannounced a couple of times of times a day which causes us some problems. Using this station we were able to receive early warning of these arrivals and plan accordingly.
Having the antenna this near to the ground is far from ideal. Even so I could receive aircraft up to 350 Km to the east through a saddle on the ridge. Ranges in other direction were about 200 Km because of the obstructions of the local horizons and, even worse, hangers and so on. A permanent installation would clear the local buildings and improve the near horizon some what.Last edited by Exadios; 2015-01-07, 05:06.
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Receiver(s): FR24 receiver (F-YSSY3)
Antenna(s): 0dBd antenna supplied by FR24
Cables/Connectors: 5-metre H155 6 mm diameter low-loss coax cable with N-type and SMA male connectors supplied by FR24
Pigtail/step down adaptors: N/A
Software: N/A
Comments: Mounted on a two-storey building above the TV antenna. Regular maximum range is approximately 400-450 km or 220-240 nm to the west. LOS to the east is blocked, resulting in only about 200 to 250 km range.
Antenna:
ADSB_Antenna_Small.jpg
Range:
Range-20150110-km-nm.jpg
View from antenna:
Roof Pano Bearings-01.jpg
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FR24 feeder here. I doubled the length of the ethernet net/router cable provided by FR which allowed me to locate the box next to an exterior wall near the outside antenna:
Went to extra lengths to make sure the GPS antenna had a full view of the sky:
Standard issue FR24 1090 MHZ ant. ~20 ft above ground:
Last edited by Patrick Reeves; 2015-07-11, 03:53.F-KDAG1
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Going by your plot you seem to be losing some range out towards the ocean... I'm wondering if the antenna is a bit too low behind the wifi grid antenna. You might want to place it up 2 feet above the top edge of the grid reflector and see if there is an improvement, otherwise it looks like a great installation!
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[QUOTE=Patrick Reeves;68367]FR24 feeder here. I doubled the length of the ethernet net/router cable provided by FR which allowed me to locate the box next to an exterior wall near the outside antenna:
Went to extra lengths to make sure the GPS antenna had a full view of the sky:
Standard issue FR24 1090 MHZ ant. ~20 ft above ground:[QUOTE]
Patrick, I like your way of thinking as CAT5/6 for 10/100Mb cable can be run over far greater lengths without loss than the Antenna Cable.
In addition, if the FR24 Receiver was mast mounted in a weather proof box, you could use 3 AWG DC Cable up to 30 meters to operate the receiver on the mast at the required 5VDC 1AMP with only 1% loss.
This would also enable you to create a flat platform on the mast to mount the FR24 GPS receiver....
The cost savings over having to extend the antenna cable, add a pre-amp, DC Injector etc. is significant.
Demon (Newbie)If life is a stage, most of us are unrehearsed...!
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New Mast (Stage 1)
Finally got around to erecting first stage of the new mast at 5 meters, will test over next day or two to examine results, if need be, I still have another 4m length of mast to make it 9 metres if I need to raise it a bit further.
In the images, the lower of the two boxes, the FR24 Receiver is in the top box. I decided to separate them to reduce heat in each box, they will also be sprayed white as here in Antas the sun can get very hot, even over the winter months... if heat does become an issue, I will get a PC Fan, fit it in the box with the receiver and power it from the USB Ext Port.
I have run 20 metres of Power Cable and 20 metres of Cat5e Cable from my apartment up onto the roof as this solution means no loss of data in the Cat5e cable from receiver to box and the power is Mains Voltage allowing me to install more equipment such as another receiver or amplifier etc.
If life is a stage, most of us are unrehearsed...!
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I finally got the good weather and the time to install the additional 4mtr of Mast, so now at 9mtrs (29ft), the GPS receiver now mounted on one of the brackets to give better view of the sky.
Overall it has NOT extended the reach by that much distance in those areas where mountains are located between 100-300km from my location, however over the last 24hrs monitoring it does appear to be getting more 'positions' reported in all directions. I have uploaded a map of the 'reach' from Virtual Radar with a legend for clarity.
New 9m Mast.jpgIf life is a stage, most of us are unrehearsed...!
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My install at work.
http://rotate.aero/forum/gns-5890-ad...b-receiver#151
A vid about my install at the house is also on the page.
T-KIAH6 and T-KIAH9
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This is my current setup without a Filter or Pre-Amp. Although, once HAB Supplies has new stock of their SAW Filter and Pre-Amp (hopefully tomorrow Feb 1st) I shall be adding that and will add another image of the comparison of my receiving range.
6dB Collinear Antenna from Bulgaria placed 30ft high.
Antenna.jpg
9mtrs of WF100 Cable From Antenna into Dongle and Dongle direct into Raspi2 Mod B. A PC Fan can be seen behind in which I switch on once Dongle temp has exceeded 30 degrees celcius. A wired temp sensor is taped to the rear of the Dongle :-)
Raspi2B_1.jpg
This is a screen shot of VRS with Range Rings at 25nm increments up to 200nm.
VRS Display 31_01_2016.png
This is a screen shot of VRS Altitude Range at 25nm increments up to 200nm.
VRS Range 31_01_2016.jpgT-EGBB16
Hardware: NooElec DVB-T2 Dongle, Raspi Pi2 Mod B, 6dB Collinear Antenna, Nevis Pre-Amp & 1090mhz SAW Filter, 9mtrs WF100 Cable and 28ft Mast.
Software: Rasbain Jessie Lite, FR24 Feeder, Dump1090mutab and VRS.
Stats for Mar 18, 2016. Uptime:100%. Aircraft seen:2,012. Positions Reported:486,817. Maximum Distance:243nm (Stats provided by FR24)
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I just started feeding to FR24 today (T-EHLW33). I've been feeding to other sites already for a while.
My setup is an old dell laptop with usb dvb-t dongle and a simple antenna folded from a piece of electrical wire.
Everything is mounted indoors on the attic, which is sadly limiting the range somewhat, but I still quite decent I think.
2016-02-08-220213_2560x1440_scrot.png
The red spot is the direction of Amsterdam Schiphol airport.T-EHLW33
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F-SMZO2
Receiver(s)
FR24 receiver
Antenna(s)
FR24 supplied 1090 MHz
Software
Virtual Radar Server
ADSB Scope
ModeSMixer
Range
FR24 Receiver range from VRS with Range Rings at 25nm increments up to 225nm.
The gap to the west is caused by my neighbors two story house with a large roof (almost a whole floor in height )
The gap to the north-west is from a park with tall palm trees across the street.
As there is no east-west traffic in range of the feeder there is a nice gap towards the south.
FR24 Receiver range from VRS with Altitude Range at 25nm increments up to 225nm.
Setup
The galvanized steel pipe is 0.47m (1ft 6") above ground level.
The FR24 antenna base is at at 10.6m (34ft 9") above ground level while the other antennas are at 5m (16ft 4") above ground level.
The FR24 coax cable is just long enough to reach the top of my window where the feeder is located so that's why I could not put the antenna any higher.
I plan on moving the PlaneFinder and FligtAware antennas to the top and change the construction resulting in a height of 13.5m (44ft 3") above ground level for the antennas. But it's going to take a lot of planning and work.
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Originally posted by Sam26KNice setup and looks like amazing coverage. Have you considered lightening strikes? You should have a good path to ground with the top aluminum section just in case. Also, you might want to use something more substantial than the plastic cable ties in case of a lightening hit.
BTW, what is your altitude above sea level?
We don't have issues with lightning here but it's an item on my list for the new construction to investigate. For the new setup I will have all the equipment housed inside an enclosure that is attached to the pole. From the house I wil run a cable for power and an Ethernet cable.
The FR24 GPS that is about 3 meters above the ground shows a reading of -24.8m AMSL
According to Google Earth the elevation is 7 m
Originally posted by WindsurfmaniacDon't you were told that no man should serve two masters?! What to say about three?!
Don't you mean one of the gaps is to northwest?
The Fr24 antenna is pretty high and you want all of them higher. Don't you have problems with winds and lightining strikes?
LOL, there will be a position for a 4th :P
Correct, it's NW and not NE. Changed that.
Winds will be a problem. The aluminium pipe is smaller in diameter and thus flexibel. When the winds are strong it swings (mainly due to the cables that run to the house) and that's why I plan to attach guy wires.
Originally posted by Sam26KActually, the most curious gap is directly to the south inline with the airport. What is going on with that?
In may of last year there were 3 aircraft flying all over the country for meteorological research so I hope they'll return this year.
Below an indication of the flight paths. (Click for larger image)
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