What does everyone use for ADS-B and antenna?

[N1XDS]

For myself I use DPD ADS-B Vertical Outdoor Base Antenna mounted outside on a 40ft pole. For the ADS-B program I use is RTL1090 that I use for Military AIR and to log Military ADS-B I use Military ADS-B via: Military Air planes with Mode-S ADS-B

Overall I am happy with my setup!
http://www.live-military-mode-s.eu/

 

[N9JIG]

I to use the DPD antenna but on my RadarBox. I am kind of a casual watcher of ADS-B but it was a pretty simple install all the way around.

 

[mm]

Garmin gdl39 ads-b rcvr, ipad and Garmin software.

Antenna: Both the built in antenna at times which works fine and at other times a home brew antenna.

 

[frazpo]

I use the dump mutability setup on the Raspberry Pi.
And this antenna minus the preamp. Homebrew.

The Flightware forum is very active in setups and antenna experimentation.
At least it was when I was building and experimenting.

 

[N0IU]

I have to start off by saying that I am also just a casual ADS-B enthusiast. My dongle came with a mini mag mount antenna (as do most dongles) and I stuck it on the window sill of the north-facing window in my shack. My objective was to just get all of the pieces to play together (the dongle, computer and software) and then I would look into getting a "real" antenna tuned for 1090 MHz one day. It has been a year and a half and I am still using the mini mag mount!

Using the mini mag mount, here is a typical day:

I live where the red arrow is pointing and the plane in the red circle is just over 200 miles away! I could get a better antenna, but at some point, this nasty thing called the curvature of the earth comes into play. I can see planes headed for O'Hare, but once they drop below a certain altitude they fall off the screen and no antenna can account for this. Even if I put an antenna 15-20' higher, that would not buy me significantly more range.

I have been thinking about getting (making?) an antenna to put above the roof line of the house but about all that would do is show me planes in a 360° radius instead of just the ones to the north.

I do like that antenna in your picture frazpo. I know Google® is my friend, but could you post a link to the plans for that antenna? It would be most appreciated.

 

[frazpo]

ads b

Scott,
It was actually your post from a quite a while ago that encouraged me to put together my setup! I am not online at the moment due to the pi being used for something else. I just need to connect the antenna and put in the sd card to be back online.

Anyway, I found a wealth of info on the Flightaware forums ,especially this link that I will post.
I really need to get back online. Flightware has introduced multilat.

Built my first antenna and doubled my coverage : ADS-B Flight Tracking

Scroll through a bit to find that antenna that we are discussing.
It works well. And it just takes a PL259, a couple of adapters, and a few pieces of copper wire for elements.

I actually built this one,,, Its much easier and very little soldering.

 

[gcopter1]

Really like the simplicity of your build. I noticed also, yours has 4 radials less than the one shown on the pdf. Can you tell if the difference is big enough to affect reception?

 

[theoldcop]

DPD antenna and SBS-1eR. Very happy with teh combo.

 

[frazpo]

Really like the simplicity of your build. I noticed also, yours has 4 radials less than the one shown on the pdf. Can you tell if the difference is big enough to affect reception?

I have not experimented with that myself however I have read that it did not make a noticeable difference using more radials in more than one forum post.

 

[gcopter1]

Thanks for your reply. I used to have two Antennacraft scanner antennas for my SBS3. Had an accident with the mast which fell to the ground and broke off the elements on the ST3 antenna. The ST2 I used before, also suffered the same fate on another side of the house / mast failure. Guess I'll need to reinforce my masts, lol!

Kidding aside, I did see here a post for an e-Bay bought ADS-B antenna that looked like a rubber ducky. Thought it worthy a try, wanted something smaller able to withstand wind loads or failing masts, but it costs around $40 some bucks. This (what you made) is small and cheap. If it ever falls, no big loss and easily replaceable. Thanks for sharing!

 

[frazpo]

Thanks for your reply. I used to have two Antennacraft scanner antennas for my SBS3. Had an accident with the mast which fell to the ground and broke off the elements on the ST3 antenna. The ST2 I used before, also suffered the same fate on another side of the house / mast failure. Guess I'll need to reinforce my masts, lol!

Kidding aside, I did see here a post for an e-Bay bought ADS-B antenna that looked like a rubber ducky. Thought it worthy a try, wanted something smaller able to withstand wind loads or failing masts, but it costs around $40 some bucks. This (what you made) is small and cheap. If it ever falls, no big loss and easily replaceable. Thanks for sharing!

I bet that is the one that Flightaware is pushing on their forum. The description and price are the same.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WZL6WPO?tag=fligh01-20

 

[popnokick]

It's important to note that there are three distinctly different types of antennas being discussed in this thread -
- A ground plane antenna (pictured) with no gain
- Link ref to a coaxial colinear antenna that is probably the highest gain (and most pickup area) of any of the antennas (likely > 8db)
- A "rubber duck" style antenna being sold on Amazon; unknown if it's a coaxial colinear but advertising 5 db gain

Coaxial colinear antennas for 1090 mHz are simple and cheap to build and offer the highest gain and most "metal in the air" for receiving. Here are links to two versions:
- RTL-SDR Tutorial: Cheap ADS-B Aircraft RADAR - rtl-sdr.com
(scroll down the page for info on the ADS-B colinear antenna)
- Coaxial Collinear Antenna for ADS-B
And there is an extensive review of a commercially available (eBay) coaxial colinear posted here, showing complete installation detail and performance results -
http://forums.radioreference.com/ai...-1090-mhz-6-dbi-gain-colinear-4-elements.html

 

[SteveEJ]

Length of copper?

frazpo,

What is the length of copper on your antenna build?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[frazpo]

frazpo,

What is the length of copper on your antenna build?

Thanks,

Steve

2.575 inches or 65mm

Its a quarter wave

 

[blangell]

Scott,




Built my first antenna and doubled my coverage : ADS-B Flight Tracking

Scroll through a bit to find that antenna that we are discussing.
It works well. And it just takes a PL259, a couple of adapters, and a few pieces of copper wire for elements.

I actually built this one,,, Its much easier and very little soldering.

Steve, the antennas in Post 4 and 6 are the same just built a bit differently. I believe all the wires are 2.575 inches but all the info is at the link that frazpo provided.

I just might try to make one!

Whoops a little late!!!

 

[frazpo]

I actually found a rubber cap that I mounted over the antenna to protect it from the elements. I punched a hole through it for the top element and so the cap sets about halfway down on the other elemenst and protects the connectors. I ran the coax through lenght of 1/2 inch pvc. So the pvc is mounted and the antenna basically just sets on top of it with the coax weight keeping the antenna secured at the top of it.
I need a picture, kind of hard to explain.

Another very simple cheap antenna was the cantenna. I was amazed by the coverage.

 

[SteveEJ]

Excellent! Thanks.. Now to build one!

 

[frazpo]

Just to add on to this conversation. I added an inline amp, power inverter, and a DC blocker into my setup and my messages and plane count has more than doubled. Parts were around 15 $

 

[ki5gf]

5/8 wave groundplane

My 5/8 wave ground plane started life (back in the 70s) as a mag-mount mobile CB antenna. It was called a "Firestik" and had a mag that held in place on my 70 Merc at warp speeds. That antenna has been in my junk box since sometime in the 80s when the CB craze faded. Amazon still carries a "Firestik" antenna that looks just like mine (at least the mag base does). Mine had a loading coil just up from the base. I started making my ADS-B antenna by snipping the loading coil wire but left the coil form in place. I used the upper solder point on the old coil form to connect the center conductor of a new run of RG-6. I connected the coax shield to the solder point on the bottom of the coil form. I rearranged the hardware
on the bottom part of the antenna so that the whole base, from the bottom of the old coil form down to the
mag mount, was the negative side of the antenna. I then shortened the steel whip so that the driven (plus side) was exactly 5/8 wave length long from solder point to whip tip. That's .54 feet or 6 31/64 inches.
I then placed the mag mount on a 3 pound steel coffee can. The coffee can just happens to be 6 1/4 inches tall and the mag mount base adds another 3/8 inch which makes the "radial" side of the antenna
just slightly over the 5/8 wave length.

Now how does it work -- GREAT. As I said, I used a new run of quad-shield RG-6. I added an inline amp and a DirectTV power inserter and mounted it on my roof at approx. 28ft AGL. My FlightAware stats for today so far show coverage out to 300mi plus in all directions except straight north and straight south. The tree to the north will get some chainsaw work. The VHF and UHF stacks on my tower exactly south will take some thought.

All in all, it looks like my 50-year accumulation of radio junk has paid off again.

 

[frazpo]

Ki5GF
Thats awsome! What is your flightaware username?

****nevermind I found ya****