AirNav RadarBox 3D Receive Range

[Burnley]

I've just ordered the AirNav RadarBox 3D and I'm more than excited waiting for its arrival tomorrow ;)

I'm just curious however as to the range on the included antenna.  Having just had two radio scanner aerials placed onto the chimney, I'm not keen on having more external ones unless absolutely needed.  What is the "normal" range for the included antenna?

[tarbat]

Welcome to the forum.  The included antenna is very good, but not suitable for extended external use.  Line-of-sight and height is all important.  With line-of-sight, you'll get around 200 miles range.

These FAQs might help:
http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=7.0
http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=596.0

[Burnley]

Ah so not too bad then, thanks for the information.  I'll check out the FAQ links.

[bratters]

It's perhaps worth stressing that scanner discones are not good at picking up 1090 signals - my own chimney discone proved more or less useless and I got far better reception with the supplied aerial in the loft.

You may not want another twig on the roof but it's the way to go if you want top results Burnley.

[Burnley]

Thanks.  I use the current aerials for my receivers and know they will not work with the AirNav.  I've been looking at aerials for external use, and know i'll be getting one soon, lol

[Hawkeye]

My supplied antenna is positioned in the loft in BB10/BB11 area and I consider the range is reasonable bearing in mind the hills around and close to the town. I get a maximum range of about 130 miles for high level traffic in the directions not affected by nearby buildings rather than the 200 milesTarbat mentions but I’m happy with that.
As pointed out, the line of sight range is of course governed by the height of obstructions and the altitude of the aircraft, - because of the hills you won’t see aircraft at low level in/out of MAN, LBA. LPL etc from most areas of town.

I’m sure you’ll be well satisfied with your new toy whether you go for an external aerial or not.

Regards

Syd

[tarbat]

My supplied antenna is positioned in the loft in BB10/BB11 area and I consider the range is reasonable bearing in mind the hills around and close to the town. I get a maximum range of about 130 miles for high level traffic in the directions not affected by nearby buildings rather than the 200 milesTarbat mentions but I’m happy with that.

A lot depends on roof construction, as different materials attenuate the signal more or less.  For example, my concrete roof tiles block the signal less than the concrete block gable-end walls.

A good example of using the standard supplied antenna in the loft is my thread from over three years ago when I first started out.
http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=450.msg3460#msg3460

I was getting up to 180nm range - and that's the standard antenna in a bungalow loft - so, no line-of-sight and not much height :(

[Burnley]

Currently got the default aerial in the upstairs room on a high shelf and working quite well.  Showing a good range, just missing a little of Leeds/Bradford but that's the fault of this hill behind me :)

Going to invest in a rooftop antenna, probably the Moonraker.  One more aerial wont do any harm, heh.

Where abouts are you? I'm in the BB10 area.

My supplied antenna is positioned in the loft in BB10/BB11 area and I consider the range is reasonable bearing in mind the hills around and close to the town. I get a maximum range of about 130 miles for high level traffic in the directions not affected by nearby buildings rather than the 200 milesTarbat mentions but I’m happy with that.
As pointed out, the line of sight range is of course governed by the height of obstructions and the altitude of the aircraft, - because of the hills you won’t see aircraft at low level in/out of MAN, LBA. LPL etc from most areas of town.

I’m sure you’ll be well satisfied with your new toy whether you go for an external aerial or not.

Regards

Syd

[Hawkeye]

It would be interesting to see how your Polar Diagram develops seeing as you are only a couple of miles or so from me. I've attached a piccy of my well established one for comparison.
I would expect we will both be similarly affected by the surrounding hills and the main differences will be caused by structural obstructions, one of which severely affects my range to the NNE.
I will PM you later re my whereabouts etc
Regards
Syd