I've searched for & come across a few good articles (wikis) and posts about the 2 ways of powering pre-amps: local powering & remote powering. However, I've been unable to find anything about the advantages & disadvantages of using these 2 different methods. Is one method better than the other?
Although I hate assuming anything, I would think that perhaps (logically, at least) the best way is the local method, whereby 2 separate cables are used. This way the signal feed is kept separate from the power feed, so that the power does not interfere in any way with the signal. And that by using the remote method, whereby a single cable is used, there is possibly some slight interference/degradation of the signal, but so minimal that the advantage of using a single cable outweighs any loss.
In my case, the distance between here & the airport is not very far (only 8 miles), but there's quite a bit of terrain in between. Airborne targets I can hear fine, out to about 50 miles or so. The distance ones (out to 180 miles) & communications on the ground at the airport are barely audible above the static. I have a good antenna (the LP from DPD Productions - thanks Dave) & scanner (BCT15), and I'm planning to use a filter & pre-amp to boost those weak signals. And I'm going to be using LMR400 for the feed. And before anyone asks what the he** I want to hear aircraft out to 180 miles for, I'm sitting on a little speck of land in the middle of the Atlantic, 780 miles from any other land, and the controllers here control aircraft out to 180 miles.
But, I digress. What I'm getting at with this post is, I'm using (IMHO) decent equipment, so I would hate to use a method of powering my pre-amp that results in any signal loss, no matter how slight it might be. Using my above assumption, if the remote powering (single cable method) indeed results in any degradation at all, no matter how minimal, then I will opt for local powering (two cable method). In other words, signal strength is more important to me than convenience.
Thanks in advance for the above, and I look forward to your thoughts on this.
Although I hate assuming anything, I would think that perhaps (logically, at least) the best way is the local method, whereby 2 separate cables are used. This way the signal feed is kept separate from the power feed, so that the power does not interfere in any way with the signal. And that by using the remote method, whereby a single cable is used, there is possibly some slight interference/degradation of the signal, but so minimal that the advantage of using a single cable outweighs any loss.
In my case, the distance between here & the airport is not very far (only 8 miles), but there's quite a bit of terrain in between. Airborne targets I can hear fine, out to about 50 miles or so. The distance ones (out to 180 miles) & communications on the ground at the airport are barely audible above the static. I have a good antenna (the LP from DPD Productions - thanks Dave) & scanner (BCT15), and I'm planning to use a filter & pre-amp to boost those weak signals. And I'm going to be using LMR400 for the feed. And before anyone asks what the he** I want to hear aircraft out to 180 miles for, I'm sitting on a little speck of land in the middle of the Atlantic, 780 miles from any other land, and the controllers here control aircraft out to 180 miles.
But, I digress. What I'm getting at with this post is, I'm using (IMHO) decent equipment, so I would hate to use a method of powering my pre-amp that results in any signal loss, no matter how slight it might be. Using my above assumption, if the remote powering (single cable method) indeed results in any degradation at all, no matter how minimal, then I will opt for local powering (two cable method). In other words, signal strength is more important to me than convenience.
Thanks in advance for the above, and I look forward to your thoughts on this.
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