This may be a stupid question, but I am a total newb to all of this stuff. I just ordered a FlightAware antenna to replace my week old $8 ground plan antenna. However, right now I am pretty much limited to placing the antenna in my home office (on the 2nd floor). I have my current antenna in my window, and I can reach out about 100nm. I was thinking of mounting the new antenna to my desk which has 2 laptops and 2 monitors on it. Will these affect the signal much? Would putting aluminum foil on the back side of my monitors help at all? Or do the computers and monitors have little to no affect at all?
Before i moved i had my antenna on different spots in my home office and the best performance i achieved at one place which was pretty close to my computer devices.
I did not see any impact from it.
Perfect, thank you for the answer!
Let’s wait for other comments. Only because i do not have an impact it doesn’t mean there is none.
Maybe somebody having more experience can reply
ADS-B reception is best with clear line-of-sight to the aircraft so you’re desk-based setup will pick-up more aircraft out your office window than out your office door. Your laptops and monitors are part of the house-related obstacles the ADS-B signals have to get through.
I also have a 2-story house and have tried an ADS-B receiver in the east window and then in the west window but the best reception was where I have it now - in the attic away from the AC/heat equipment. I mounted the ADS-B receiver box + DIY 1/4 wave antenna as high as I could along the peak of the roof line and powered it from an attic outlet - the wifi signal strength is fine.
Thanks for the insight! Unfortunately have no attic, I will stick to my original plan for now until I can get a proper outdoor setup!