Need a DIY Airband Receiver Antenna

[NIranjan]

Hi there, anyone could suggest for best DIY Airband frequency Antenna, as i have alreday tried making a Dipole and bazooka dipole, bot not working, iam able to listen aircraft/Tower communication over my RTL-SDR, but not on DIY Airband Receiver Kit.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

If the aforementioned antennas work fine on said RTL-SDR but not your DIY kit then the antenna may not be the issue. Welcome to the forums!

 

[NIranjan]

If the aforementioned antennas work fine on said RTL-SDR but not your DIY kit then the antenna may not be the issue. Welcome to the forums!

Signals received on RTL-SDR are from different antenna (V-Dipole), which I am using for NOAA satellite image reception, any troubleshooting steps? Pls suggest!

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Signals received on RTL-SDR are from different antenna (V-Dipole), which I am using for NOAA satellite image reception, any troubleshooting steps? Pls suggest!

Other than using that antenna & testing results? Got nothin else
Nevermind, guess that's tuned for a different band...

 

[merlin]

My best was a 1/4 homebrew ground plane, hung off the side of a tower 50 foot up.

 

[Ubbe]

any troubleshooting steps? Pls suggest!

Switch antenna coaxes between the two and see it the DIY receiver works with the other antenna and if the SDR can still receive weather satellites with your homebrew dipole. The dipole are as simple as having an electrical wire of 50cm connected to the center lead of the coax and another 50cm to the coax shield and have one wire going up and the other down. Tape them to a window or to a wooden stick and you can then move the dipole outside to the roof or where you have a clear view to the sky.

If you have the money you can buy a $50 Tram discone and connect using RG6 coax.

/Ubbe

 

[Echo4Thirty]

My best was a 1/4 homebrew ground plane, hung off the side of a tower 50 foot up.

AKA the Airboss special. I see tons of them used at about every airshow I attend.

 

[NIranjan]

Switch antenna coaxes between the two and see it the DIY receiver works with the other antenna and if the SDR can still receive weather satellites with your homebrew dipole. The dipole are as simple as having an electrical wire of 50cm connected to the center lead of the coax and another 50cm to the coax shield and have one wire going up and the other down. Tape them to a window or to a wooden stick and you can then move the dipole outside to the roof or where you have a clear view to the sky.

If you have the money you can buy a $50 Tram discone and connect using RG6 coax.

/Ubbe

After a lot of R&d i left my Bazooka Dipole hung on the window, today early morning when i tuned the receiver connecting that antenna(DIY Bazooka Dipole) with 3mtrs feedline (RG-6 Coax), it picked signals, as it is a Heterodyne Receiver, listened to FM band and ATC comms, but as hour passes signal losts and only static noises are there. Thats weired!

there is no measuring instruments with me to analyze, any possibility that, its due to any interference or anything else?

 

[Ubbe]

its due to any interference or anything else?

I live in a valley and when it rains or snow, as it does right now, reception improves. I think the radio signals bounce off the clouds or perhaps reflect off rain drops or snow flakes in the air at the mountain ridge. It pretty much differs from one day to the next if you don't have a free line of sight to the transmitter.

/Ubbe

 

[EAFrizzle]

Home made flowerpot antennas are quick, easy, and cheap to make, and do quite well on VHF for what they are.

Flowerpot antenna calculator

 

[NIranjan]

Home made flowerpot antennas are quick, easy, and cheap to make, and do quite well on VHF for what they are.

Flowerpot antenna calculator

How is RG-174 coax for flowerpot antenna?

 

[EAFrizzle]

Any coax that you can work with easily will work, you just need to put the velocity factor of the coax in the proper spot on the calculator. For scanners, I use rg9 tv coax. The big box DIY stores also have connectors and crimper to put BNC connectors on the end of the rg9.

 

[NIranjan]

Any coax that you can work with easily will work, you just need to put the velocity factor of the coax in the proper spot on the calculator. For scanners, I use rg9 tv coax. The big box DIY stores also have connectors and crimper to put BNC connectors on the end of the rg9.

yes! i have plenty of RG6 coax, may be it will work

 

[NIranjan]

Thanks to all, finally building a flowerpot antenna worked, able to receive clear signals.