Question about cell booster antenna

[corbintechboy]

I just got the RSPDx and I have been using it on a youloop for HF with no real issues. I wanted to check out aircraft decoding on 1090 and had an idea. I have a cell booster that is not in use but the antenna is outside.

I hooked it up and it does indeed work. I did decoding no issues and it even picks up things my SDS 200 can't pick up. It is a booster antenna and it is hooked to the radio to a port that has a switchable bias-t. Would that antenna have a signal booster built it? I looked everywhere and found no information which brings me to my next question. If I try the bias-t and it does not have a booster or whatnot, does it fry the radio or antenna or does it do nothing? Thus far I have run no risks but I am curious and curiosity killed the.... Well, you catch my drift.

Is there a risk to trying?

Thanks for reading.

 

[mmckenna]

I just got the RSPDx and I have been using it on a youloop for HF with no real issues. I wanted to check out aircraft decoding on 1090 and had an idea. I have a cell booster that is not in use but the antenna is outside.

I hooked it up and it does indeed work. I did decoding no issues and it even picks up things my SDS 200 can't pick up. It is a booster antenna and it is hooked to the radio to a port that has a switchable bias-t. Would that antenna have a signal booster built it? I looked everywhere and found no information which brings me to my next question. If I try the bias-t and it does not have a booster or whatnot, does it fry the radio or antenna or does it do nothing? Thus far I have run no risks but I am curious and curiosity killed the.... Well, you catch my drift.

Is there a risk to trying?

Thanks for reading.

Sharing some specifics would help us.

Most cell boosters/bi-directional amplifiers are a separate box. There's an outside antenna, the BDA and an indoor antenna.

It's unlikely the outdoor antenna has the amp built in. That would be problematic for keeping the system from self oscillating. Likely it is a passive antenna and sending power to it won't accomplish anything. You could certainly try….

Most of those outdoor antennas are designed for very broad bandwidth, and often cover from 600MHz up to 2GHz+. The omnidirectional designs are often a little discone. I've got one sitting in my garage. The directional models are often a log-periodic design and will have a few dB of gain and the directional nature can certainly help.

 

[corbintechboy]

Sharing some specifics would help us.

Most cell boosters/bi-directional amplifiers are a separate box. There's an outside antenna, the BDA and an indoor antenna.

It's unlikely the outdoor antenna has the amp built in. That would be problematic for keeping the system from self oscillating. Likely it is a passive antenna and sending power to it won't accomplish anything. You could certainly try….

Most of those outdoor antennas are designed for very broad bandwidth, and often cover from 600MHz up to 2GHz+. The omnidirectional designs are often a little discone. I've got one sitting in my garage. The directional models are often a log-periodic design and will have a few dB of gain and the directional nature can certainly help.

This is the unit I bought in 2017: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS2KFS0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

So sending power to it won't hurt anything? I think that is a slightly newer model as mine didn't do 5G.

Thanks for the reply,

 

[mmckenna]

I don't know anything about that exact model, but if it's like all the others, the antenna is passive and running power up it isn't going to help. Depending what type of antenna it is, it might show a dc short, so make sure your radio will be OK with that.

Not surprising it works well on those frequencies. Like I said, it's a broad band omni antenna that should work OK on the services you mentioned.

 

[corbintechboy]

I don't know anything about that exact model, but if it's like all the others, the antenna is passive and running power up it isn't going to help. Depending what type of antenna it is, it might show a dc short, so make sure your radio will be OK with that.

Not surprising it works well on those frequencies. Like I said, it's a broad band omni antenna that should work OK on the services you mentioned.

Thanks for the reply.

I probably just won't try it than with the bias-t.

Some info: On 162.400, I have a Noaa station the scanner or the loop cannot pick up. That station is about 70 miles from me. Last night I also got a station on 155.400 and it was faint but readable, scanner did not receive it. On FM radio, the loop is noisier but seems to have more gain in some ways where the booster antenna can seem to dig deeper.

Thanks for all the help. I really think the thought is proving to be a good idea.