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Need advice in buying another outside antenna

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  • Need advice in buying another outside antenna

    Good evening,

    I am new to this forum. I recently purchased a raspberry and a Jetvision ADS-B USB Dongle (R820T2) + Small Indoor Antenna. This dongle has a very small "connection opening" to connect the indoor antenna to the dongle.
    I do not have a very good range and of course I want to increase the range.

    If I want to but another (outside) antenna and cable how can I connect the "new" antenna to this double. For what I read and saw online the able connectors are totally different,( bigger) than the small connector I use.

    Is it possible to buy an antenna and cable and connect this to my dongle or do I have to but another dongle?
    Could some one please help me out. Any advice for an antenna is highly appreciated I am absolutely non technical, so building one myself is no option.


    Thanks a lot

  • #2
    You can get adapters to SMA;
    Flight Tracking Hardwareprodukte & Softwarelösungen Felderprobt – Hochpräzise – Einzigartig jetvision ist auf der renommierten Luftfahrt-Messe. Besuchen Sie uns in Halle A4, Stand 109 für Infos & Tipps zu... ADS-B, FLARM und Helium Hardware Flight


    But you might want to get another dongle instead.
    My favorite gear is listed here: https://github.com/wiedehopf/adsb-wi...s-for-purchase

    Many people like the Flightaware Pro Stick Plus, it has an integrated amplifier, but together with the dark blue FA filter it's almost as much as the rtl-sdr LNA + rtl-sdr v3 dongle.

    You are looking at the FA antenna or which antenna are you looking at?

    Comment


    • #3
      @wiedehopf,

      Thank you very much for the answer. Will take my time to study your answer. But , and please forgive me lack of knowledge, I am not sure what you mean by FA anetenna. I am living in an appartment. I am looking for a outside antenna I can use on my balcony.

      Comment


      • #4
        Purchasing a commercial antenna is good option. However in the meanwhile you can improve the supplied antenna by
        (1) Placing it on a metal palte or can.
        (2) Locating it close to a window.

        Each of the above two steps will bring in substantial improvement.

        (3) For further improvement, cut the removable part of whip to 52 mm, or if you dont want to cut, unscrew the whip and replace it by a thin wire 52 mm long.

        Jetvision DVB-T + Antenna.png Optimized Whip Steel Tie Wire.jpg Optimized Whips x 2.jpg optimized mag-mount 1090Mhz 52 mm.png

        Comment


        • #5
          @wiedehof,
          Thank you for your reply. I will take time to study your snseer. I am not sure what you mean by FA antenna. I live in an apoartment building. Placed my sntenna in front of the einfow. Looking fir sn antenna to put on my balcony or adjust on the railing

          Comment


          • #6
            There are many good commercial antennas available in market. I have used only one of these, and am happy with it: the Flightaware 1090 Mhz 26 inch / 66cm Antenna. It has very good performance and a very reasonable price.

            https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WZL6WPO


            Cables and connectors required for Flightaware antenna:

            [Part-01-DOUBLE_Connect-FA%20Antenna%20Filter%20ProStick] [Part-02-DOUBLE_Connect-FA%20Antenna%20Filter%20ProStick] [Part-03-DOUBLE_Connect-FA%20Antenna%20Filter%20ProStick] [Part-04-DOUBLE_Connect-FA%20Antenna%20Filter%20ProStick] [Part-05-DOUBLE_Connect-FA%20Antenna%20Filter%20ProStick] [Part-06-DOUBLE_Connect-FA%20Antenna%20Filter%20ProStick]
            Last edited by abcd567; 2019-06-17, 21:03.

            Comment


            • #7
              Another commercial antenna which I have used is the low costc PCB antenna (see photo and link below). It is not a 6 dB antenna as written on its label. It is a dipole which can at the best have a gain of 2 dBi. It performs much inferior to Flightaware or other costlier 5 or 6 dBi antennas.

              When comparing with the mag-mount whip of DVB-T placed over a metal can and cut to 52 mm, the PCBantenna's performance is somewhat better.

              PCB Antenna


              pcb antenna.jpg


              Pigtail SMA-male to MCX-male


              pigtail sma-male to mcx-male.jpg

              .
              Last edited by abcd567; 2019-06-17, 20:56.

              Comment


              • #8
                @ABCD567

                Thank you for your reply and suggestions. Placing the antenna on a can sounds weird but will try it. As a beginner I am in no position to doubt a suggestion from a long tome member of this forum.
                My antenna is 6xm rubber top included and already placed near the window. Will unscrew it and replace it by a thin wire.
                Thanks again for the help

                Comment


                • #9
                  Thank you for your answer. But 66 cm is probably to long. The owner of my building will not accept this

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I posted more answers. Guess the moderators have not yet checked them.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      https://forum.flightradar24.com/thre...-ask-questions!

                      New users attempting to post links (remove http:// www. ), common script/web code (FR24 logs included), or other key characters may trigger moderation (attempting to tag users with @'s will trigger this!!) and will not show until approved. Do NOT post more just to avoid - Edit code and links to plain text format to fix, or await approval (note no notification is raised)
                      Posts not to be taken as official support representation - Just a helpful uploader who tinkers

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Do you have a way to get the antenna cable outside?
                        Trying to get the coax cable through the window cracks will only result in bad signal, no matter how you approach it.

                        If you can get electricity to the balcony it's probably best to mount the Raspberry Pi there and protect it with a box.

                        The cheap antenna i linked is quite a bit smaller:


                        You'll have to make your own mounting solution though.
                        And you need an adapter (https://www.ebay.de/itm/352599709689)

                        And SMA terminated coax cable, CFD200 or LMR195 / LMR200.
                        (don't get RP-SMA connectors they are incompatible)


                        Anyhow you should understand how ADS-B reception works:
                        INTRODUCTION The Maximum Range achievable at any location depends on (1) Curvature of earth (2) The terrain around that location. Terrain plays a very important role as hills & changes in ground level will restrict maximum range. This is due to the fact that propagation of radio waves in GHz/Microwave range is line of


                        If you are surrounded by other buildings, your range will be poor no matter the antenna and dongle.
                        (the link above does not take buildings and trees into account)
                        (think of the ADS-B 1090 MHz signals like light, only goes in a straight line and a tree or builiding will block it)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          @wiedehopf,

                          thanks again for your patient and advice.

                          I checked the site you suggested and was suprised vy the results. But there is a building to be seen, so I will never reach the maximum range.
                          According to the stats in Flightradar, my average is 62nm. And a maximum of 212nm. For today the max range is 152nm.

                          Yes I can drill a small hole so I can get the antenna cable outside.
                          If I post a picture of my balcony and I hint where I think I could attach an antenna would that be an idea, so you gurus could even give me a better advice?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It shouldn't matter much where you put the antenna. A few cm above the railing will do fine.
                            Just don't use a metal pole. Best would be a plastic pole, but a wooden pole would work too.
                            (the pole is just to fix the mentioned antenna from ebay to the railing)

                            As you don't get reception towards your building anyway the pole shouldn't hinder reception too much.

                            I'm surprised you are allowed to drill an 10 mm hole into the wall
                            Smaller and the SMA connector won't fit through.

                            If you want maximum reception i'd recommend this LNA: https://rtl-sdr.com/new-product-rtl-...mhz-ads-b-lna/

                            You could even connect it directly to the antenna and use UV and water proof tape and make a small cylinder going down from the antenna around the LNA.
                            If the cable isn't longer than 3m then using the LNA indoors is probably just as good.

                            The LNA needs power though, so you need an additional bias-t or a dongle with builtin bias-t.
                            (https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/ it's the same page where you can buy the LNA)

                            Good luck with your build

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Again, thank you for the fast reply.

                              Will think about all the suggestions.
                              About the hole, well sometimes it is better not to tell

                              The place I was thinking about to place the antenna is , of course, a metal stand, but perhaps a wall constructions can do as well.

                              Thanks again for all the help

                              Comment

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