Airnav Radar Box or Kinetics Avionics SBS-1

[tonsoffun]

Hi Guys,

I am seriously thinking about purchasing one of these Radar boxes. Is there anyone in Ontario using one of these? if so, how is it working out for you?, are you using an external antenna to increase range?. Because we are pretty near Pearson do we need to mount an external antenna or is advisable to do so.

Looking forward to here from you if you have any of these radars

Thanks!

 

[mciupa]

Hi Ron , haven't touched base with you for a while!

Anyways, I have a friend in Milton who owns a AirNav Radar Box and wanted to see if he could get better reception than with the supplied antenna. The Escarpment is a limiting factor for him receiving west, but he pulls in spikes on the screen as far north as Parry Sound, as far south as northern Pennsylvannia and east as Massena NY.

Here is some text from his post on the AirNav forum regarding some experimentation he's done.

Re: Using a VHF antenna for RadarBox
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2010, 11:38:01 am »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been spending some time experimenting with various runs of cable for the RB I use in my basement. I have placed the supplied antenna outside and up about 20 feet and connected the SMA connector to an F adaptor and use 75 ohm satellite cable rated for up to 2500 MHZ to deliver the signal. I am happy with the result and getting much better reception now, than when using UltraFlex 400, RG8, RG213 or other 50 ohm transceive cable as the losses at 1090 MHZ are too high. I also use a 24 db amplifier as the cable run is around 50 to 60 feet.

I have a Discone and believe it or not, an HD 4 Bay TV antenna for directional purposes. These are fed into a 2500 MHz combiner for the Satellite cable and considering my location is surrounded by high hills (which limit the signal reception) my use of the satellite cable has been a success and inexpensive. Experiment, however because of the frequency, it is a major factor to keep in mind. Hope this post helps.
Cheers!

 

[kma371]

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Hi Guys,

I am seriously thinking about purchasing one of these Radar boxes. Is there anyone in Ontario using one of these? if so, how is it working out for you?, are you using an external antenna to increase range?. Because we are pretty near Pearson do we need to mount an external antenna or is advisable to do so.

Looking forward to here from you if you have any of these radars

Thanks!

If you download and register planeplotter you can see whose sharing data in your area.

I recently purchased a micro ADS-B receiver that is the same size as a USB stick. For $100, it's a good test to see if you really want to get in the hobby.

http://www.microadsb.com/

 

[KC1UA]

Ron, I've owned both and in my opinion the Kinetics SBS1-eR wins hands down. There is a ton of excellent third party support and the box also has the advantage of working via a LAN which even allows for viewing of data via the web. An outdoor antenna is a must, the DPD Productions antenna is what I've used and it offers excellent performance.

 

[blantonl]

I'm using an AirNav radar box along with a DPD Productions Antenna. I installed the radar box in the attic and ran a 6ft piece of coax, so there is practically zero loss of signal via coax. I then used a USB to Cat-5 extender set to run 50ft down to the computer in my office.

I regularly track aircraft 300+ miles out to the South and East, and 200+ miles to the north. The most common flights I see with ADS-B tracks are cargo flights, the large body Continental airlines flights, all the international flights from europe to Mexico city etc.