Dedicated ADSB antenna at lower height?

[DS506]

I have been exploring flight monitoring. Bought the Micro Radar Box dongle and connected to my discone at top of the H40 mast. Using AirNav RadarBox. I purchased the ADSBexchange 978/1090 antenna. My question; Is the dedicated antenna going to outperform the discone if it is not on TOP the mast? For other monitoring, I would prefer to keep the discone on top.

 

[mmckenna]

I have been exploring flight monitoring. Bought the Micro Radar Box dongle and connected to my discone at top of the H40 mast. Using AirNav RadarBox. I purchased the ADSBexchange 978/1090 antenna. My question; Is the dedicated antenna going to outperform the discone if it is not on TOP the mast? For other monitoring, I would prefer to keep the discone on top.

Likely.

Discone antennas have zero gain, add in feed line losses at 1GHz, and you'll find that a lot of the received signal is never making it to your radio. To add to the issues, discone antennas have really wonky radiation patterns at the higher frequencies.

A dedicated 1090MHz antenna with some gain and a good view out to the horizon will probably give you a noticeable improvement in performance. I'm running one about 40 feet off the ground mounted off to the side of a mast supporting a VHF antenna and I very regularly get ranges of 300 miles.

 

[ind224]

A dedicated 1090MHz antenna with some gain and a good view out to the horizon will probably give you a noticeable improvement in performance. I'm running one about 40 feet off the ground mounted off to the side of a mast supporting a VHF antenna and I very regularly get ranges of 300 miles.

Single sector or omni?

 

[mmckenna]

Single sector or omni?

I have the omni that FlightRadar24 sends you with their receiver. I replaced their coax with LMR-400, added a more suitable GPS antenna for the site, and it's been working well for many years now.

 

[ems55]

I have the omni that FlightRadar24 sends you with their receiver. I replaced their coax with LMR-400, added a more suitable GPS antenna for the site, and it's been working well for many years now.

Just curious, do you ever crimp your connectors or solder ??

 

[mmckenna]

Just curious, do you ever crimp your connectors or solder ??

I do both. I do a lot of LMR-400/LMR-600 cable, plus Heliax at work, so I have the correct tools for them.
On the ADSB/GPS, I used LMR-400 with their EZ crimp connectors, the entire thing is crimp, no solder. They get a bit of scorn in the industry from some, but they work reliably, and I ended up with a bunch of them from a previous project. On other cable types, I've done connectors that have solder center pins and crimp outer rings.

Success come down to practice and having the correct tools. The right tools can be affordable, and the practice comes down to buying some extra cable and connectors.

If that ain't your thing, there's a number of companies that will build perfectly good custom cables for you at reasonable prices. Nothing wrong with going that route.

 

[ems55]

I do both. I do a lot of LMR-400/LMR-600 cable, plus Heliax at work, so I have the correct tools for them.
On the ADSB/GPS, I used LMR-400 with their EZ crimp connectors, the entire thing is crimp, no solder. They get a bit of scorn in the industry from some, but they work reliably, and I ended up with a bunch of them from a previous project. On other cable types, I've done connectors that have solder center pins and crimp outer rings.

Success come down to practice and having the correct tools. The right tools can be affordable, and the practice comes down to buying some extra cable and connectors.

If that ain't your thing, there's a number of companies that will build perfectly good custom cables for you at reasonable prices. Nothing wrong with going that route.

Hey, thanks for the fast response !!
I have no problem putting/soldering connectors on 9913. Horrible at doing LMR 400 !! Better idea to buy with connectors on !! Who's your favorite for custom cables?
Just looking for a ADSB antenna and cables.

 

[mmckenna]

Hey, thanks for the fast response !!
I have no problem putting/soldering connectors on 9913. Horrible at doing LMR 400 !! Better idea to buy with connectors on !! Who's your favorite for custom cables?
Just looking for a ADSB antenna and cables.

I've always made my own, never purchased any pre-made.
I think I'd start with www.theantennafarm.com and see how they compare. I know there are other companies that will do that sort of work, but no experience with any of them. I have purchased from antenna farm in the past, and they've been good.

 

[Ravenfalls]

I'm also using supplied FR24 equipment. I've only changed the coax to reach outside. My main RX plot OR the rural area I want to cover is from the E to W line north. South of me at least dozen airports within Class B to provide coverage. I am located north of Class B. Get just about everything aircraft wise being in a practice area. Several MOA.

The pole on top of house has a few things on it, going to top wasn't an option.. Yes it would help. So placed the antenna on the north side of the pole. That provides the fill in coverage needed.

 

[mmckenna]

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Classic cardioid pattern. Could be the mast acting as a reflector or terrain blocking. Mine is on the side of a hill, so I have great views to the west and south.

 

[Ravenfalls]

Plan to add another pole & put adsb on top. For the longest time, the antenna was inside.