Antenna upgrade

[BESWICK]

Hi,

I have been a user of the RB now for over 2 years and is considering upgrading my  antenna  to the RADAR-COM-10 RADAR-EXTENDER Antenna.

Because of where I live which is Canary Wharf I am surrounded by tall buildings and have the supplied antenna sitting on my roof which gives fair results but nothing outstanding.

Would I benefit from the new antenna which has a preamp or would I be wasting my money.

Talking of which Airnav want £402.00 for the kit but Waters and Stanton only want £249.00 for exactly the same item. That a big difference

[RodBearden]

Hi Beswick and welcome to the forum.

Comon opinion is that the supplied antenna is very good, but not suitable for outdoors.

So unless you can gain extra height or a better position with a new antenna, I wouldn't bother. And only consider a preamp in very diffficult circumstances, such as needing a very long connecting wire, and even then only if you can fit the preamp at the masthead.

Hope that helps.

Rod

[bratters]

Hi Beswick - If you use the search facility you will find chapter and verse on the forum about aerials of all shapes and sizes. You should bear in mind though that most of us put up roof aerials purely and simply to gain height and thereby avoid neighbouring houses, trees, hills and other obstructions.

Though small the supplied receives well IMO but it is NOT recommended for outside use. On that basis using an aerial designed for external use is a good idea. However if your new aerial will not improve your line of sight between aircraft and aerial and will not summount the nearby buildings and existing line of sight obstructions, you are probably wasting your money.

For what it's worth my own aerial cost under £60 and works exceptionally well. I am sure there are many other users with their own recommendations but there is no need to pay big money.

Shout if you want further info.