If you’re not using the software to turn on bias t to start the LNA then you need that and have to power it to turn on the LNA.
Questions on LNA
- Thread starter AngWay
- Start date
ok i ended up getting this LNA also my 100ft of kmr240 arrived today and i put it on my j pole and i can already tell i'm getting a better signal now but only in the 160mhz the 150 is low and the CC has a hard time locking on i have to crank the gain all the way up for it. i just need to get it mounted up high which i will try to do later on today. i have a fm filter coming that i want to add to the antenna first so i may wait i got the lna because i want to test it and see if it helps i know i probably won't need it but part of the fun is testing stuff. what about you did u ever figure out why sdrtrunk wasn't showing the bias tee option for u?
Where are you planning on installing the LNA? If at the antenna you will need a weatherproof case to house it in.
yes i thought about that i'll have to figure something out i'll try it first on the sdr side just to see but i'll eventually get it at the antenna. for the connector at the antenna i'm just gonna use black tape i see alot of people using that to wrape the connector with .
WELL i have good news i got my j pole ontop of the house and on top of that i put it on a piece of pvc that was about 12 foot tall and i'm happy to report it's doing wonderful i will show u some screenshots of my signal plus a photo of the antenna mind u i done the best i could but it's working.
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Unless you’re young and don’t mind taking the antenna down every couple of years to clean and replace corroded connectors, do a search and find something better than black tape. There are tapes and sealers out there for this exact purpose and pay off in the long run.
Now that it’s up and pulling in better signals you should be good to go and may even pick up stuff further away. Do you have a link for the jpole?
yeah i'll look for something better than black tape i got some of those ferrite beads coming i'm gonna put on it i'm seeing signals already that i havn't seen it's on the same CC but different talkgroup i tried switching out my 2 way splitter and putting the 4 way splitter on and it cut down my signal alot i want to run 3 dongles just to get all i can because i don't hear a ton of traffic at all it can go hours sometimes without hearing anything and i'm locked onto 3 CC maybe that will change with the antenna and better coax now, i hope so. i'm gonna test the fm filter and lna when i get it this week. the j pole i got is this one the seller said it would work for what i'm trying to do with it. J Pole
why is it that a CC that is closer to me is weaker than a CC thats a hour from me. 162.9500 is like 10 mins from my house and 152.6825 is over a hour from my house but the 152 is way way stronger. ? it boggles my mind
I do not see 162.9500 as being part of that Stars system.
Right here it's the elkin's branch freq i'm sorry i meant 161.9500 sorry i put 162 . but that CC is very close like i said and the honaker isn't but honaker is considerably more stronger.
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Also i hear the same traffic on both honaker and oakwood sites sometimes i might hear something on just the oakwood site but mostly it's the same traffic. since that is do i even need to lock onto both sites? also these sites are the only one's i can connect to there isn't any other sites that i am able to lock onto to listen to different stuff it's like i don't have any variety i'm stuck with just the state police pretty much and the department of corrections and thats just people transporting inmates so it gets old i have muted those tho.
Ubbe
Member
J-pole are a narrow band type of antenna so it is probably tuned to and works better at low 150MHz than low 160MHz. But just moving an antenna 2-3 feet could make a huge difference in signal strength. When I install antennas I connect them to a portable scanner and listen to an important system and try to find the best position for an antenna and that specific system. Having an antenna at one side of the chimney or at the opposite side can often make a difference. But usually you are stuck with one position that you can practically use and cannot select where to have an antenna.
If your LNA can use power from the coax, bias-t, you will have no use for it as your RTL-SDR dongle can supply the needed power to the coax.
If you mainly listen to VHF then you can ignore the LNA's lower gain at 900MHz and adjust signal levels to be more perfect at VHF and let it be what it is at UHF.
/Ubbe
when i was using the dipole that came with the dongle i was still getting more traffic on the CC that was farthest away than on the CC that is closest.
Ubbe
Member
Then it can be as simple as that low level site has its signal obstructed, by a building or terrain, in its path to your home, or have its antennas pointing away from you.
/Ubbe
