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Range reduced after changing model of Pi

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  • Range reduced after changing model of Pi

    I have a Pi model B feeding FR24, FlightAware and 360Radar. It is currently using a simple (delicate) collinear antenna (sections of coax taped to a window) and averages a range of a little over 100NM.

    Yesterday I replaced the Pi B with a Pi Zero (same software image) and although the feeds are still running, the range has halved. Before I go fiddling with the wiring, could this just be explained by the use of the lower power Pi, or is it more likely that I have compromised my aerial/connection during the swap?

    I obviously could just put the Pi B back and monitor the effect, but the reason for the swap is that I lent it to my son so don't have it to hand, hence the question.

  • #2
    (1) Is gain setting same in both the Pi B and Pi Zero?

    (2) In Pi Zero, you have to use a USB cable to plug the dongle, whereas in Pi B the dongle can be plugged into Pi directly. If the USB cable is bad, it can cause issues. Try another better quality cable. Dont use long USB cable.

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    • #3
      The topic regarding cable is a good point raised by abcd567

      I was using a 2.50 Meter USB cable which was running good. Now i moved the Raspi closer to the Flightaware stick and i did not need any longer the long cable. I used a shorter one of 1 Meter which i found in my cable box (every man has it).

      Result: Performance decreased by 30%. Returning back to the long cable solved the problem.

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      • #4
        Magnum:
        Your short (1 m) cable is of poor quality or defective, and your long (2.5 m) cable is of good quality.

        There are two factors to be considered
        (1) Quality of USB cable. If it is bad, then even a very short length can cause poor performance.

        (2) Length of cable. If the length is large, even good quality cable can give reduced performance.

        To summerize, use good quality cable, and as short as is practicable.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by abcd567 View Post
          Magnum:
          Your short (1 m) cable is of poor quality or defective, and your long (2.5 m) cable is of good quality.

          There are two factors to be considered
          (1) Quality of USB cable. If it is bad, then even a very short length can cause poor performance.

          (2) Length of cable. If the length is large, even good quality cable can give reduced performance.

          To summerize, use good quality cable, and as short as is practicable.
          Correct, that was my assumption as stated above.
          For testing i put the stick directly in the USB-Port of the Raspberry. It showed that the 2,5 m cable did not have an impact to the performance.

          The 1 Meter cable is already in trash

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