Hi all, well thanks to the very generous offer by GlynH, I received a brand new ANRB standard antenna, and replaced the Moonraker Miniscan with it (I must admit with considerable scepticism) not expecting much, in fact, quite expecting to find the RB itself, had gone deaf.
The difference is absolutely unbelievable, last evening, it picked up about 80 aircraft in well under an hour, (25 or so instantly, as the program ran up), but the range is incredible, well over 200 miles.
I ran it up again this evening, 90 a/c recorded in 40 minutes (as I post this an hour and a half later 150 count), the most distant at 246nm according to the radar rings, many well over Ireland.
With the Moonraker twig, I was getting a max. of 3-4 in an hour and a maximum range of 30-35 miles. It just goes to show what a superb little antenna the standard twig is.
I'm using a Lindy USB 2.0 Active Extenson System Pro (4 port hub, Part No. 42783)
http://www.lindy.co.uk/12m-usb-2-active-extension-pro-4-port-hub/42783.htmlwith 12m length, costing £53 delivered, which is working brilliantly, the antenna is on the flat roof with RB on the end of the supplied lead. The psu with the entension kit provides up to 2A at 5 volts for whatever USB appliance is connected to the Hub.
I bought and tried the Maplin's passive Cat 5/6 (10m) lead USB extension, which powered the RB up (green led) and the USB (blue led) flashing every second, but not detecting any a/c messages at all, nor giving any info to the lap-top powering it (running on mains power not just the battery), whether this set up would've have worked OK with a desk-top with high power psu, I do not know.
Now, I have a slight problem - Glyn's very generous offer of his unused antenna for use as a "pool" antenna, by any Forum member to test their RB, to prove as with mine, whether the antenna or RB is acting up - but I don't really want to let it go!
Anyway, the antenna is Glyn's and I will support his very generous gesture - he won't even take any payment from me for delivery, so I will do the same for anyone who needs to borrow it to test their RB.
I would strongly suggest, having completely ruined my standard twig, that anyone with a supplied antenna, remove the plastic film over the magnetic base it peels off easily, lever out the magnet, check the state of the co-ax and soldered connections, if at all discoloured or corroded, replace the co-ax. Before re-assembling fill the void with (preferably) electricians' silcone grease ( Vaseline would also give some protection against water entry. Also, do the same with the metal thread that the element screws on to. When fully assembled, clean any excess grease off and paint the whole thing to get it as near water-proof as possible. Mine had been out on the flat roof for less than 4 months, and water had permeated and made its way right down to the SMA plug, as well as rotting off the connections within the antenna base.
AN, I would strongly suggest that you get these antennas manufactured as water-proof externals. It wouldn't add significantly to the costs, and would be a very worthwhile improvement to a fantastic product.
I know we've got a bit of high pressure stuck over us at the moment and that may be giving improved reception, but my reception with the standard antenna against the Moonraker Miniscan is a direct comparison under the same conditions.
And finally (thank heavens, I can hear!) my very grateful and public thanks to Glyn who made this possible.
