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APRS antenna: what to use?

rwayne

Well Known Member
In reviewing several threads about antennas I am more confused than when I started. Bottom line is I need an antenna and am not sure what to use. What are others using? Are there wingtip mount options that work?
 
The good old J Poles that were being sold here seem to work fine from the reports. Can't get much simpler than those...
 
Wingtip Jpole

Rwayne,

My son Ryan might have one left on the shelf from the last mfg run. Send me a message if you are interested. $30 delivered. A number of the guys here run them with pretty good results
 
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I am using...

Ryan's with great results in my right wingtip, seems to always get out even on the ground. No interference. Pretty simple. Check out my tracks, N349CE.
 
Good results so far with the J-pole in R wingtip. I'm planning to do a side-by-side test with a buddy who has a different setup (exterior antenna) and will report back once we get this done.

greg
 
Yard sign antenna

I used the J-pole antenna taped to the inside of the canopy for a while. Worked great, but was a hassle to tape up and to remember to remove before opening canopy! I have since added a belly antenna that yields near 100% reception of transmissions. I used the 1/8" diameter post from a yard sign left by the company that did some work at my house. I cut it to length as mentioned in Sam's article. I then soldered it into a PL259 male connector, added JB weld to the back side to secure it. I mounted a 6" square plate just in front of the wing spar with the female PL259 connector on it. The coax routes from under the panel in front of the wing spar. Separate the center conductor and shield and solder those to the connector center pin and a tab under one of the mounting screws for the female connector. I had a comm antenna nearby, so I bent the new rod to about the same angle and called it good. It works really well. My recent flight to Salida, CO is over some big hills and almost every point got received.
 
RAMI AV-14

In reviewing several threads about antennas I am more confused than when I started. Bottom line is I need an antenna and am not sure what to use. What are others using? Are there wingtip mount options that work?

I am using a Rami AV-14 that I got from E-Bay and have had excellent results.

I have an extra Rami AV-14 that is available for $32.00 plus shipping if your interested.
 
After trying several antennas, I finally sprung for a $65 Phantom Stealth 1440 (designed for 144mhz). It has a very small footprint - about 4"(l), 2"(w), and 2"(h).

http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3209


Scott,

Just trying to get the right antenna for my APRS the first time and wanted to ask a few questions about this antenna.

They are asking for a 40" diameter ground plane. I had intended to install on the belly and there is not 40 inches.

I was not able to see how it mounts, can you shead any light on the subject. Does it just screw onto the mount (mentioned below) and you align it into the wind by tightening the mount in the correct orientation?

It is calling out a 3/4 permanant hole mount that is purchased separately. There are a lot of cable varieties for this mount, any reccomendations?

My Micro-Trac RTG tracker is on BO at the moment so I do not have it in hand to check the antenna connector, what type do I need?

This is going on a Mustang ll :eek: so the wingtip antenna is not an option. I have a comm antenna on the top of turtle deck and wanted this on the bottom to separate them. This ship sits pretty low to the ground so a regular whip if used, would need to be bent. Am I on the right track with this choice?

Thanks, Tim.
 
Scott,

Just trying to get the right antenna for my APRS the first time and wanted to ask a few questions about this antenna.

They are asking for a 40" diameter ground plane. I had intended to install on the belly and there is not 40 inches.

I'm confident the belly of the plane is an adequate ground plane for this antenna as it is for a whip.

My Micro-Trac RTG tracker is on BO at the moment so I do not have it in hand to check the antenna connector, what type do I need?

The RTG has a female SMA antenna connector.

This is going on a Mustang ll :eek: so the wingtip antenna is not an option. I have a comm antenna on the top of turtle deck and wanted this on the bottom to separate them. This ship sits pretty low to the ground so a regular whip if used, would need to be bent. Am I on the right track with this choice?

Thanks, Tim.

A bent whip works great. Bend as necessary for ground clearance.

Happy tracking!
 
Antenna and mount

Corbinace wrote...
Just trying to get the right antenna for my APRS the first time and wanted to ask a few questions about this antenna.

They are asking for a 40" diameter ground plane. I had intended to install on the belly and there is not 40 inches.

I was not able to see how it mounts, can you shead any light on the subject. Does it just screw onto the mount (mentioned below) and you align it into the wind by tightening the mount in the correct orientation?

It is calling out a 3/4 permanant hole mount that is purchased separately. There are a lot of cable varieties for this mount, any reccomendations?

My antenna is mounted directly under the passenger seat of my RV7 - about 12" from the side of the fuselage. The entire skin of the airplane acts as a ground plane (not just the flat bottom skin - but the WHOLE skin!)

The antenna is mounted by punching a 3/4" hole, then mounting an NMO mount (with an SMA male connection and RG 58 or RG 400 cable to go to the transmitter). The NMO is inserted into the punched hole from the outside of the plane. The mounting ring is then screwed on from the inside of the plane. After you get the NMO mount installed, the antenna is pushed onto the mount and rotated 1/8 turn to lock it in position.

Tighten the SMA connection onto your APRS transmitter, supply power and a GPS data signal to your transmitter, and go flying.

Sources to look for antenna parts include L-com electronics, The Antenna Farm, Ham City, etc...
 
RE:Decided not to reinvent!!!!!

In reviewing several threads about antennas I am more confused than when I started. Bottom line is I need an antenna and am not sure what to use. What are others using? Are there wingtip mount options that work?

Check out Sam's info on APRS stuff. Great read.

I am flying with the MT-RTG and Sam's DIY antenna!!!!

http://home.hiwaay.net/~sbuc/journal/tracker.htm

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... Flying and Tracken Call Sign N74BZ www.aprs.fi
 
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