Hi alleyoopie maybe this help…
Thanks. Been doing radio/microwave stuff for 60 years now. I would have used an SMA, but I didn’t have any flange-mount ones to use.
- Jim
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Almost 5 years ago I bought a FlightAware ADSB antenna. Two years ago I mounted it outside on a pole.
A few weeks ago I got a problem with it (see the red cross in the graphs).
I ordered a Vinnant COL1090/5-H F as a replacement. Not very expensive, solid build and leightweight.
Left side from the red cross is FA antenna and right side is Vinnant one. I only changed the antenna. Problem with the FA antenna was water inside the N connector.
Maybe it could be helpful for others who don’t want to spend a lot of money.
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Just in case somebody is asking about the difference between the Jetvision 5dBi and the Vinnant 7.5dBi
There isn’t any, at least on on my location. I had installed the Jetvision before and changed to a Vinnant. The results are pretty much the same, I count the deviations as standard.
I do not have a long-term result so far regarding reliability.
Had the Jetvision outdoor for almost a year, which can be seen only on the sticker. The rest is well maintained and still in factory conditions
Left Jetvision A3 - Right Vinnant 7.5dBi
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@foxhunter
Thank you for the graphs. Guess the Vinnant will be sold more.
It’s a longer aerial so the angle of radiation will be a little bit lower but actually, I can’t say I’m too surprised that there’s no real difference in practical use.
We have one of his shorter aerials at the MTG site and it’s working very well. I don’t think swapping it for the longer one would make any real difference. I do keep trying to get it raised up as I think we can probably get it another 15’ higher and I’d really like to do that.
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The mentioned test is severely limited by terrain.
Not really a test of the antenna.
Your main station already uses the DPD antenna or something crazy right?
For stations with already long range, the extra gain on the horizon can make a difference i’m pretty certain.
Actually in that case i WOULD most definitely expect a real difference in practical use.
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I’m using a Jetvision A3 here so effectively the same as the FlightAware 26" jobbie.
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I never mentioned it is a “real” test.
Beside the terrain limitation it is also impacted by the different volumes of aircraft seen.
It was just a note that both antennas are not bad delivering the same results. Some might think of it because of the price difference and it fits to the topic of this thread
Me neither. Both were installed at the same location, it only differs on the length of the antennas themselves, but these extra 30cm of the device itself cannot be expected as “impact”.
The only surprising thing is that the extra 2.5dBi are not shown in the signal graphs
That will only apply to aircraft on the horizon.
That’s where the gain is given.
The gain at some elevation above the horizon will be lower actually, such is the nature of colinear antennas.
Generally you can’t have gain in a passive antenna without directionality.
You’d have to do some graphs that tracks RSSI at a certain elevation above the horizon.
Thanks for explanation. I think it doesn’t help me only understanding why different values do not deliver different results sometimes
Actually the A3 is a bit better according to some opinions.
Maybe the gain depending on frequency has spikes at frequencies that aren’t mobile frequencies.
So the A3 might be act as a filter for that stuff while the FA antenna doesn’t.
Or the A3 just has a bit more gain despite the sticker says it’s the same.
The A3 is more expensive … one would hope it’s better.
But with antennas that doesn’t even apply to build quality …
Often quality and price aren’t correlated at all.
I suppose that vinnant antenna would be too much wind load for your ADS-B install?
I would be kinda curious if you’d see a difference.
But i know what’s involved to change that antenna … and knowing how good your range already is i wouldn’t expect you to make any changes 
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As far as i know the Flightaware kits sometimes contain Jetvision antennas, at least in Germany. I’ve seen pictures of boxes where a Jetvision was in.
The quality is a good point. The A3 seem to be very well manufactured while looking on the details. But the vinnant also look pretty reliable.
Comparing the two antennas, the Jetvision is shorter, but the tube is thicker than of this which is the Vinnant built in. Not sure if this really has a lot of impact to the wind sensivity of the antenna itself. But the setup of keithma is somewhat special
Beside that the Vinnant mount looks more reliable as it has two clamps with a longer distance compared to only one on the Jetvision
Vinnant also offers the antenna in a 5dBi version, this should be the same length as the Jetvision.
It would - I’ve got the aerial mounted on the 40m extension post on top of the hexbeam and although it’s got support wires going out to the spreaders, I wouldn’t want to put any extra strain on it. That extension post isn’t very substantial fibreglass.
Quick update regarding the Jetvision and the Vinnant
Looking on my position distributions per distance the numbers gathered with the vinnant are higher than with the Jetvision:
Jetvision approx 300-350 per day, Vinnant 450-600 per day. For both reviewed days the rest of the positions were similar.
This is the only real difference i can see right now
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I’ve recently ordered the 12dB stripline one. We’ll see how it compares to the cantenna I threw together in an hour. That is if it ever clears Chinese customs so I can get it. They’ve had it for almost a week.
Looking at pictures of the PCB inside I haven’t been able to figure out the design.
Don’t hold your breath. I’ve got several (two different types) and their performance is quite underwhelming.
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I’ve recently ordered the 12dB stripline one.
Well, I still have the cantenna to fall back on in case the stripline one is even worse. It was only around $15 including shipping, so no great loss if it turns out to be crappy.