Mode-S / ADS-B External Antennas

[AirNav Development]

We are receiving many emails from users wanting to buy external antennas to have a better RadarBox reception coverage. As you may know AirNav Systems sells its own ADS-B antenna kit available on the link below:
http://www.airnavsystems.com/radarbox/order.html

Anyway many users prefer to buy cheaper solutions and/or antennas from their local dealers.
So we've opened this topic for you to share antenna suppliers / antenna kits other than the one we sell on our website.

Any suggestions let us know.

[Runway 31]

I got mine from DPD Productions http://dpdproductions.com/index.html It may not be the cheapest option but it is a quality product, well made and will stand up to any envirnonment.  Dave the owner was very helpful and answered my questions to make sure I got the product I needed. 

A point to remember if like me the antenna needs to be imported, there may be an additional customs charge requiring to be paid once it arrives in the country and before it will be released for delivery, again this was explained to me by Dave at DPD.

Also remember the other ancillary items you need to get the best out of the antenna like cable,fly leads, connectors etc and Henry Westlake http://www.whwestlake.co.uk/ provided me with what I needed and shipped it to me very quickly.  Tell them waht your needs are and they will make it up for you.

Alan

[AirNav Development]

Any suggestions for cheaper external antennas?

[Runway 31]

The DPD Antenna complete with 10m cable etc was came to around £200 including delivery and customs charges etc about half the Airnav kit but without an amplifier which is probably not needed.

Alan

[Horsham Spotter]

Good afternoon all.

I have been using a Mydel BS1105 antenna for the last month.
It came with 10mtrs of ultra low loss cable and required fittings for the box.

Cost came too £104.29 from www.hamradio.co.uk.

Had to get poles/brackets etc another approx £60.00.

My returns went from approx 70 to 130.

Hope of use.
Steve.

[orkney]

Hello

We use a Watson Radar Extender from http://www.rocketradio.co.uk/radar-extender-external-antenna-for-radarbox--sbs-1-1500-p.asp @ £79.95 With 20m westflex 103 @ £1.70 per meter and "SMA to N socket with with short coax lead between" @ £6.00 and 2 "N plug special for Westflex 103" for £7.00 each. all of these were from http://whwestlake.co.uk/

This setup has lasted 2 1/2 years with many gales up to 100mph. We get what I would call a good range as we are only about 40 feet above sea level. 

Andrew

[Alan Parker]

Another vote for the Watson Radar Extender. Got mine from Rocket radio about 18 months ago & its still going strong despite all the strong winds. Often getting planes 220+ miles, so im happy at that.

[RodBearden]

Must give a  mention to Airband-Online: http://www.airbandonline.co.uk/virtual_radar_index.htm

I've had the HBA-1090 with 15m of Westflex for nearly four years now - no pre-amp, no problems.

Rod

[nortonbeak]

I must give credit to the excellent antenna from SSE.

http://www.ssejim.co.uk/26-sseads1090sj.htm

[tommyg]

As per orkney, I got my Watson Radar extender from Rocket Radio. Excellent product and service from that company. Had mine since I got my RB over four years ago.

[bratters]

I've been using a Radarmax for about 3 years.   Regarding performance I live more or less bang in the middle of England at about 30 mtr asl. I reach Dublin to the west and Schiphol to the east - virtually 190-200+ nm all round. Cost about £50 plus a minimal amount of low loss antenna cable direct into my loft and an extra long USB (no loss whatsoever of course)  from loft to study. Works a treat but having used no other type I can offer no comparisons.

Link - http://www.anchorsupplies.com/radarmax.htm

[Budgie]

I'm using the Radarama antenna from Rocket Radio with 30m of West-flex.
Originally I had a masthead pre-amp and was getting 220 mile at about 45m ASL. The pre-amp got zapped so its just the antenna and west-flex on there now and was getting up to 200 mile with that setup until the ANRB got zapped.
After repair I'm lucky to get 170 miles but I don't know if that's a problem with the antenna or the ANRB. Oh, and I now have a static discharge connector in the line to avoid any more "zaps"!!

For a small and light antenna though, it seems to give good performance and is light on the pocket as well.

[jaskel]

soo guys and gals, anyone suggest where to get a decent antenna in Australia from? called a guy today who was a waste of time. I will be running a ADS-B radarbox and currently run an antenna but want a better antenna, cant find them in AU.

Would adding a mast head amp boost my signal?

cheers

[CoastGuardJon]

Hi Jaskel, the pre-amp option is somewhat over-rated.   If you haven't got a signal in the first place, the pre-amp hasn't got anything to amplify, but it can make a very weak signal usable.   You should also bear in mind that any connector or anything placed between the antenna and the RB is going to introduce losses and "noise".    Where a pre-amp will really come into its own and justify the cost, is to be placed as close as possible to the antenna, boosting the signal over a long run of co-ax, eg 5+m of RG58, or longer lengths of low loss co-ax such as Westflex.   IMO get a really good antenna and try that on its own before even considering a pre-amp.   Also too strong a signal can overwhelm the front end of the RB or any receiver.

[jaskel]

Hey champ, thank you for the reply, yes I have an ok signal for my scanner and decoding some data streams, I am about to install a RB and leave it on 24/7 to extend their coverage into Australia so I really want to get the best signal possible for the air nav guys and their community.

Its really hard to find anyone in Australia that does anything to do with mode s let alone even know what it is.