FlightFeeder antenna problem - bad coverage

If you received a FlightFeeder kit from FlightAware between mid-November 2014 and early March 2015, your kit may have included a defective antenna that is resulting in very poor coverage (low range, few aircraft, etc). The defective antenna looks like this:

http://max.flightaware.com/adsb/flightfeeder/antenna1.jpg

The only practical solution is to replace the antenna with a new, similar one that works correctly. FlightAware will be contacting affected individuals in the next two weeks to coordinate a replacement that you will receive in May 2015.

We apologize for any inconvenience or hassle, but continue to thank you for your awesome, continued support. Thank you.

Aha. That’s the problem. :smiley:

Yesterday I gave up on trying to figure out why the coverage from my FlightFeeder (orange) was so poor compared to my other ADS-B receiver that is situated next (50 cm) to it.
http://i.imgur.com/XsCNdmd.png?1

can you give me the link for this website ! , i want check my range .
thanks

[quote=“aligassan”]

can you give me the link for this website ! , i want check my range .
thanks

The screenshot is from a program called Virtual Radar Server

You can also use it to aggregate feeds.[/quote]

[quote=“GitseBase”]

can you give me the link for this website ! , i want check my range .
thanks

The screenshot is from a program called Virtual Radar Server

You can also use it to aggregate feeds.

thanks for repling , i downloading the radar server but he didn’t work , see the pic .

store2.up-00.com/2015-04/1428246434471.jpg[/quote]

Note that you will have to configure VRS (install database) for it to work properly (display flags, aircraft silhouettes).

My installation didn’t give any problems but try http://forum.virtualradarserver.co.uk/index.php

The antenna dimension is like wi-fi 2.4 GHz … :unamused:

I think you’re right… it does looks like a 15 dBi Wi-Fi.

Another hint is a 2400 MHz collinear antenna would perform about this bad at 1090 MHz

I could find out quick enough to see where she resonates at with my new VNA meter.

The issue is not with the dimensions or designed frequency of the antenna, but in an unreliable mounting connection which can cause unexpected interference.

How about dimention stub with about 5cm long on Coco design… full wave on 1090MHz is 0.275 metre. half is around 13.7cm without vf,quarter is 6.8 cm… the element on this antenna is just around 5cm

For Staff, you can already set the date on which the antennas will be delivered to UPS?

Sorry for bad english.

We do not have a date yet for shipping out the new antennas. We are still waiting for them to be bulk delivered to us first before we can ship them out individually.

If you really want to be aware of every step of the shipment tracking, you can go to ups.com and set up notification on your tracking number and you will receive notification by them.

i got this antenna…yeah the coverage is bad… :frowning:

replacement was scheduled to be dispatched (as stated at the top of the Thread ) and that it will be received in late April or early May , But that was not the case…Can we have an updated Post please. ? :unamused:

Hi – we’ve had a couple delays with our vendor. We expect to begin shipping from Houston next week.

Thanks for the update. In one of my earlier posts I pointed out the issue with my antenna AND the box: ads-b-flight-tracking-f21/poor-stats-on-ff-box-as-compared-to-radarcape-t20809.html

Apart from changing my antenna, do I need to do anything else for resolving my issue. Apols, Im raising the issue here as well as Ive not received an updated response from FA.

Hi, thank you for the fast response .In fact , i need to make necessary arrangement to replace the antenna .
I am planning to upgrade my tower since you are replacing the defective antenna with a higher range one …
Thanks once again.

Received the new antenna. It’s green :mrgreen:
Included was a band pass filter.
First impression is not so good. The max range I got was ~130 Km for 5 seconds. :frowning: Later in the day there will be more traffic so keeping my fingers crossed.

http://i.imgur.com/ctkrog5.jpg

You should get much more; is the antenna mounted on a mast and everything screwed in tightly?

Not on a mast yet so my reference is the FR24 setup I have next to it. I’ll recheck all the connections.