New antenna options listed

[DaveStyles]

Hi all..

there are some new antenna options listed on the PlotawareHardware.com website now.

http://pilotawarehardware.com/product-category/accessories/

Important to note that these designs have actually been tested in the air with PilotAware, with good results.

The low profile "coaming top" bull horn couplet dipole, may be of interest to many, as it's so discrete.

The best results we have had to date have been with a monopole whip externally mounted, but that was a very specific setup with the ground plane taken seriously.

The standard antenna was chosen because it gives a standard range out to 20km, so remember there is no NEED to change, but I know some are searching for different options already. Especially smaller options, and the bull horn may satisfy this.

regards

PilotAware Hardware.

[trapdoor]

Any chance you can get a similar antenna option tuned to 1090MHz for the ADS-B Rx to replace that nasty supplied mag base whip?

I do have a range of different end fed stubby antennae but these are tuned for 3G/LTE and whilst work show a fair bit of attenuation because they are out of band by a couple of hundred MHz.

[Paul_Sengupta]

I'm not sure I understand the obsession with the ADS-B antenna. The non optimised supplied antenna receives aircraft from over 100 miles away. Surely it's not necessary to have an antenna that's spot on for this...with a small stubby antenna you may only receive aircraft from 50 miles away...but I'd guess that's still fairly good for traffic purposes!

[Richard]

Just Been looking at the low profile antenna. I was lead to understand that the low profile dipole antenna should be mounted vertical and not horizontal for the best transmit/receive. Is this correct as there is no mention of this in discription.

[Keithvinning]

Hi Richard

All the antennas should be mounted vertically not horizontally.

Regards

Keith

[Richard]

Ok Keith. That is how I understand it should be. It may be worth adding this to the discription as it appears from the measurements given it can be horizontal.

[Ian Melville]

I was just going to ask the same a Richard, though I knew the answer many wouldn't.

Has the reception been tested for targets directly above and below the PAW unit, as this would be a sort of blind spot to a dipole or monopole? I guess the range will always be a lot less, as you are hardly likely to find anyone 1 mile above or below that posed a threat.

[exfirepro]

Hi Ian,

Know what you mean, but anyone directly above or below would have to get there first, presumably from further out and should already have been detected.

The great benefit of a vertical dipole is its maximum radiation (or reception) is effectively horizontal, which is where our greatest threat is likely to be and it doesn't need a ground plane.

Regards

Peter

[Ian Melville]

Good point Peter, I had not considered how they got there. An aircraft descending or climbing into the zone that your filters have previously hidden would be the only case where they could get missed.

I agree that vertical is the only orientation we should be using, just wondered if there was significant blind spot.

[exfirepro]

Theoretically nothing off the end of a true dipole in free space, but in the real world due to reflections and other interactions, this is unlikely to be the case.

Peter

[Deker]

I doubt if it is realistically possible for an aircraft to get "into the blind spot" without it being detected on its way in?

[Paul_Sengupta]

Fun to try though. When I get my bridge I'll go up with a friend and a selection of antennae and see what happens!