Got the NooElec with the bias tee in it and tested.
First thing I tested was the LNA mounted to base of the antenna. I got no flights(I adjusted the gain) with it in this configuration. I guess the long 25 foot cable was too much separation for the dongle to get the voltage to the LNA. So, I mounted it straight to the new dongle and it worked. While it didn’t work as well as the standard FA blue plus it did work.
When I get the bias tee from china I’ll test a few different bastardized configurations using the FA blue plus, LNA, bias tee and what ever else I see in the shop.
Even if you didn’t have a bias-t at first, the LNA still seems to be defective.
If you hook the LNA dongle combo to the same SMA connector as the ProStick+, it should require some less gain but do at least as good.
At least that would be my expectation.
What gain are you running? rtl-sdr LNA with the smartee, try a gain of 28.
Be sure to use the right method depending on your install: For Beginners - How to Set / Change Gain
Maybe the blue stick is just working better because it has less amplification.
I’ve done the edit to allow the gain switching with the drop down menu in skyview. Nice mod for sure.
I tried gains from -10 down to 20.7 with the results weren’t that great. I couldn’t get much over 120nm and didn’t see many near range aircraft. I’m sure with more testing I could do better.
Right now I have the blue stick at 43.4 and getting a range 150+ NM while still seeing planes at 15nm at elevations of 500. I might be able to push gain up a bit but need to test.
Well, I order a second antenna, an RTL-SDR.com powered dongle and another PI3b+ to further my testing.
Sadly, still, when ever I put the rtl-srd LNA inline I lose all tracking; even with the matching dongle I get nothing. I’ve tried 2 different LNAs with the same result. I’ve also tried the correct bias-T with a nooelec dongle. It doesn’t matter whether the LNA is at the antenna or at the dongle it just isn’t working for me.
