After the advice I received in this thread (Accessing Dongle (AirSpy) through TCP/IP) and I finally received my Airspy Mini and Uptronics Ceramic 1090 MHZ LNA, I was able to build a new PiAware on the Raspberry Pi 4 B 4 GB model.
Many thanks to @wiedehopf for his recommendations and clear concise instructions on getting Airspy Mini and PiAware running on a Raspberry Pi 4.
Now we get to the reason for this post. After following the instructions I got Raspbian Bust Lite, PiAware and Airspy_adsb installed. I configured the AirSpy Mini to supply BiasT to power the Uptronics Ceramic 1090 MHz LNA and sutedown the Pi4. Connected the antenna to the ANT port on the Uptronics LNA, a short jumper from the RX port of the Uptronics LNA to the Airspy Mini dongle. After checking all connections, I powered the RPi4 on. Went to the x.x.x.x:8080 and no aircraft. Hmm. Shut the Rpi4 down, checked all connections again, and powered the RPi4 on again. Still no aircraft. Modified the config file for the Airspy Mini to no longer provide BiasT power, and shut the RPI4 down. Wired the antenna directly to the Airspy mini, and booted the RPi4. Surprise, aircraft are seen. Scratching head, I shut the RPi4 down again, checked the jumper from the Airspy Mini to the Uptronics LNA for continuity, recabled to put the LNA back in, rebooted, change the config of the Airspy Mini to supply BiasT power, restarted airspy_adsb dump1090-fa. Still no aircraft.
Does anyone see something I am doing wrong, as I am at a loss here. Any suggestions are more than welcome.
If I recall correctly, the power via bias Tee is an option which can be ordered with the unit.
I added a regulator and associated capacitors to enable it on my SAW version of the Uptronics.
Edit:
This was for when >5v is used to power the LNA.
All our preamps are compatible with most USB SDR Dongles such as the RTL USB, Airspy, Fun Cube. You can power them from either bias tee (This item is 100% compatible with the Airspy bias-tee) or a simple USB minicable (Not Supplied). Bias tee/USB voltage is 5V max unless the optional (see related items) LDO kit is fitted which takes the bias-tee voltage input range from 5V to 26V (USB remains 5V).
I’m not home right now so I can’t provide the output of the requested command, ill do that when I get home. But would this not be the correct way to wire the LNA?
Well it has an input and an output, input is towards the antenna, output towards the receiver.
While having the LNA closer to the antenna is preferred, it’s not required.
Maybe the ANT/OUT sticker was placed the wrong way around from factory?
Anyway check that the side with the mini USB socket is connected with the receiver.
Then you can always check that you don’t have by accident bought some RP-SMA gear with a missing pin in the SMA male connector.
But that seems unlikely, still always good to check.
Then also check the receipt if it’s for the 1090 MHz amp, they offer LNAs for other frequencies.
And as i said it’s always a possibility that your gear is just defective, but still the other possibilities however remote should be checked.
The SMA plugs have the pins not holes in the centre.
The receipt from Airspy.us is for a “1090 MHz ADS-B Premium Filter/Preamp”.
They all look like the SMA Male.
It looks like you were correct. The label is on backwards. The mini USB is on the side the label says is the ANT. Based upon your statment that the mini USB should be on the RX side, I installed the LNA “backwards” (according to the label), and it is now working.
I sent a message with photo to Airspy.us and got the following response;
Yes, it appears that label (or shell) is on backwards. If desired, you can remove the ends of the preamp and turn the shell around. That would effectively fix the issue.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We will check existing stock for the same issue.
@wiedehopf, nice catch! Thank you for your assistance. I would never have thought that was a possibility.
This has been mentioned in the past.
I think I had one backwards too. I think it was a 1090mhz filter too. I have theee or four different modlels (APRS.AIS, UAT and maybe NOAA)
If you have a lot of noise you may need a cavity filter between the amp and antenna. My location in NYC requires them. I have a half dozen cell towers with two or three blocks.
Yup that is backwards. The mini USB should be on the side labelled RX (it is on mine) and that end goes to the receiver, the other end goes to the antenna. See my post from April 2018 - following reseller feedback they rotated the label 180 degrees and changed the text from ANT/OUT to RX/ANT to make it clearer and line up the arrows with the SMAs.
This has caught some users out because they install the filter with the label the same way up as a photo online, but the photo was of the older label so they install it the wrong way around, and the word OUT was ambiguous in the old photo. However in your case it appears whoever loaded/installed the labels on that batch got equally mixed up!
