I have my antenna mounted on my roof. The pi and prostick are inside. Saturday and Sunday they were very low compared to everyday for the past 6 months. Any ideas?
Sounds like the weather (probably a snowstorm over you over the weekend, yes?). If that’s the case, you might have something shorting out / bad coax<->connector junctions, something like that.
I’d recommend you check your antenna set up for compromise in the antenna/feedline system allowing moisture to get in.
Mike
I don’t know where you’re located but I’ve noticed lower levels of traffic over the last two days. When I look at the stats page, the nearest stations to me are showing the same.
I really hope it’s not that, it doesn’t have any heat shrink or anything. But it was pretty windy and snowed a bit Saturday could it be weather?
I wish I could say one way or another with any degree of confidence. I have plenty of antennas outside, but they are all VHF/UHF/700. My 1090 antenna is in my attic. Not sure if weather itself affects 1090 mhz or not.
But if you think your # of planes is significantly down, then I’d lean towards the possibility of a short, or an element coming apart, or moisture intrusion into the antenna system. When i say significantly down I mean something like 50% or more. If you are only down 10-20% on planes, it probably isn’t an issue with your antenna/feedline system and is probably just a fluke occurrence or due to weather.
Mike
Your stats
This guy is 10 miles from you.
His reduction isn’t quite as great as yours but I’d suggest this is largely down to conditions, tropo, weather, etc.
Very true, i am hoping its weather so I don’t have to order a new antenna.
There was water near the dongles connection, i dried it a bit but it isn’t as good as it was. Should i let it air dry?
Did you use dialectric grease on the inside of the connector and self sealing tape on the outside?
This is more important on connections exposed to the elements(like the antenna).
Also run the coax so that drips go where you want them to. Water will run down the coax.
I’m in Toronto, but over half my positions come from over upstate NY & PA, and traffic is down a lot for me as well.
If you use self-sealing tape, make sure to wrap it from the bottom up. Do let the dongle air dry before using it.
It does a little, but nowhere near as bad as the higher microwave frequencies.
How does it affect it, does rain/humidity help or worsen range?
I think it’s the antenna, is it scrap now? I neve sealed it
The Antenna itself should be sealed. I remember someone in the North West getting water into the connection and it freezing causing issues. Just take the connection apart, dry it out and re-seal it.
Also check the coax around the connector for water. Is it heat shrink sealed for additional protection?
Rain and snow can absorb, deflect, or reflect the microwaves. That’s how weather radar works. The antennuation at 1090 MHz is minimal, but there.