I got the 1m metre 1090 Antenna and I was originally going to mount it on a 1.8m J mount on the side of the house but when I tested it yesterday at that height I just wasnt getting that much better coverage because we have a lot of trees around
I was going to have it running on a 3m lmr 400 cable because it seems that would be a lot less signal loss and I thought having the antenna on the roof and then needing 10m of cable to run it to the pi would have a lot of signal loss?
my setup is antenna to the FlightAware 1090 bandpass filter to the flightaware 1090 dongle
I don’t have any other lna apart from what’s built into the the dongle because I know most people go for a lna as well on the antenna side which is also getting complicated for me because then it needs bias tee power and some sort of enclosure for the lna at the antenna
so I’m considering to still mount the antenna to the tv antenna mast and just with the 10m lmr400 straight to the band pass filter and dongle but I read the adsb antenna could get a lot of interference from the tv antenna?
is that the case? or what if I was to get say another 1m extension to mount to the antenna mast and then put the adsb antenna so that would mean the adsb antenna is at least 1m away from the tv antenna would that be better?
also to give some context the tv antenna is actually useless to us anyway because even with a booster we don’t get a clear tv signal in the house anyway it was like that when we bought the house but I don’t know if that’s due to bad antenna placement or a bad antenna we’ve never had it looked at as we watch free to air tv over the net anyway. But if it was a case that the bad tv reception was due to being in a black spot would that mean there’s no need to worry about interference from the antenna then since there’s barely any signal coming past?
I could also just remove the tv antenna anyway if it’s going to be a problem as a last resort since it’s not used
Both antennas are reception only. I may be talking out of my ass and people will correct me if I’m wrong, but as long as the antenna are receive only (not transmission) I don’t this it matters how many are together on the same mast. Though I didn’t think about interference with the cables.
In my yard I have a 1090, 978, and tv yagi all on the same mast… They all run into the house together. I’ve noticed no difference when there were 1, 2 or 3 antennas on the mast… so maybe if there is interference it’s trivial… but now I’m having 2nd thoughts about my setup.
Here’s two cents worth. Get rid of the unused TV antenna entirely and install your ADS-B antenna at the top of the mast with every bit of height you can get out of it. Run your 10 meter 400 coax in to the house and have all of your electronics there. Signal loss is not going to be a problem.
thanks I thought about that but how do you run the pi end of the cable from the wall? Do you just have some sort of faceplate where you poke the cable through?
Im still pondering what I do. I am thinking another option and leaving the tv antenna there and installing another mount this one away from the antenna
See my roof. The black circle is where the tv antenna is. the Red circle is where I am planning to to put the antenna.
I think to remove the antenna and mount the adsb one will be just as much work as to install the new one in the new place and the adsb would be at the same height anyway just different position
I can then drop the cable straight down through the roof and the manhole will be just below it and there I will just strap the pi to one of the roof trusses and it wont be a nuisance if I ever need to get to it
This way I can get away with 5 or even 3m of cable max
Running it into the house sure would be great but its going to add to the cost and complexity of the job as I am going to pay an antenna guy to install this all for me as I am not a handyman lol
Mounting an ADSB antenna on the pole but above the TV antenna would be perfectly acceptable and not cause any mutual interferance.
Would that place the ADSB antenna above the ridge line which would be ideal.
It looks like this sort of mount. It doesn’t matter if it round or square.
I would get a new mount and install it as close to the ridge line as practicle to get the best height. I run two Pi3s in the roof with metal heatsink with fans and have had no problems for 5 years in Melbourne heat even when it hit 45C on Black Saturday.
My coax terminates at the FA blue dongle which is cable connected to my Rpi4 just 6 inches away. No computer room will be maintained at 55 C. Beware: Solar panel inverters are famous for generating ugly amounts of electrical noise. Steer clear.
Thanks so how do you get the cable through the wall? Do you just use a blank faceplate and then cut a hole in it and poke the cable through?
Thanks are you referring to the fronius inverter which I would have in my garage? Or are the inverters on the roof as well near the solar panels? If that is the case, how much clearance should I give from them?
I assume you must already have a entrance for the tv coax cable coming into the house. You might consider removing the unused tv coax and passing your ADS-B coax through that entrance. Your garage solar inverter is probably all there is. My point is to avoid it with your ADS-B coax and antenna.
yeah but that goes into the family room. I’m intending on keeping my tv aerial ATM unless the installer thinks it will be in the way. It’s all going to depend on how much distance I have with the 10m cable Ive measured it out and it’s going to come close to where I want it and I already have ethernet running down the wall so they can follow that.
if I want to get the aerial to get into my computer room I may have to put the serial in front of the tv antenna which still doesn’t matter since I’m not getting reception anyway.
I just think I’d rather leave the antenna where it is rather than find somewhere to store it if we ever sell the house I don’t want to have to put it back
I’ll just point out that since your TV antenna is made of metal, it is possible that it will cause minor interference with your ADS-B reception. Not a lot, but if you’re trying to optimize your reception you’ll want to be aware of it. It’s fine to have them co-located on the mast; just lift the ADS-B antenna so that it’s at least 60cm above and there should be no problems. The increased height will also help your ADS-B reception.
Your TV cable is probably being run into your attic, and you can run your 400-series coax through the same opening and then divert it where you want the receiver. Or alternately, you can run the cable down the side of your house to where your Pi will be and drill a hole that the cable will fit through. If you want to get really creative, there are pass-through metal or PVC conduits you can get, but this will increase the size of the required hole. Whatever you do, you can maintain the water- and bug-proofing of your home by filling the gap between the cable and the wall with silicone gel.
As for your TV antenna, most likely it’s not working due to the cable having degraded over time (it’s very likely to be RG-58), or the balun connecting the antenna to the cabling is broken. Either way, it’s a fairly easy and inexpensive fix with a new balun and/or some RG-6 cabling. You might consider repairing your TV antenna so you have local television in case your internet goes out or there’s some kind of local emergency.
I think you can go ahead and mount the ADSB antenna on the TV antenna, with the ADSB antenna right above the post. Since ADSB signals are vertically polarized and Television signals are Horizontally polarized, the interaction is minimal and the TV antenna should help provide a ground plane for the vertical ADSB.
From experience, I suspect your TV cable may have some water inside the cable after years of exposure. Replacing the cable with good connectors (perhaps self-vulcanization tape to seal both TV and ADSB cables) should restore the TV reception. Fewer penetrations of your roof is always a good thing. Have fun with your project.
