Surveying radio reception before installing antenna

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jdm1

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I'm considering a few different sites for a new antenna installation. I'll be monitoring a number of frequencies and then streaming them to myself over the internet, so I have some flexibility on where to install.

I'm looking for recommendations on how to do a survey of radio reception across these sites before deciding where to locate my antenna. What types of devices could I be looking at and how could I automate this process? I'll be monitoring primarily UHF/VHF public safety channels.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 

popnokick

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You are climbing each tower with a portable receiver and / or a spectrum analyzer, correct?
 

jdm1

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You are climbing each tower with a portable receiver and / or a spectrum analyzer, correct?

Yes, they will be mounted on a rooftop and I will have access to each site. I have set up a dipole antenna on a rooftop before and used police scanners, but have never used a spectrum analyzer before. My main question is what equipment I should use and if there are best practices for doing these types of surveys efficiently.
 

prcguy

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You need a spectrum analyzer and preferably with a peak hold feature. This way you can let it sweep a range of frequencies and it will display a trace with the maximum levels recorded for the duration of the test. Then do it again at other locations and compare the levels.
prcguy

Yes, they will be mounted on a rooftop and I will have access to each site. I have set up a dipole antenna on a rooftop before and used police scanners, but have never used a spectrum analyzer before. My main question is what equipment I should use and if there are best practices for doing these types of surveys efficiently.
 

jdm1

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Thanks for the thoughts. I ended up connecting a scanner to a laptop with Arc XT Pro to do some preliminary signal strength measurements


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