Richard Lee
Member
I'm interested in ACARS on 131.55 MHz AM, and have been thinking about a dedicated antenna for it.
Before, I used an old ham antenna (50,144,440 MHz) mounted low on the side on the house, and got pretty good results.
http://forum.planefinder.net/threads/acars-message-coffee-maker-down.133/
I want to keep that antenna dedicated to ham radio use (transmit and receive).
So, I decided to use a very old 144-440 antenna, which saw some indoor use last winter on the dongle.
It's installed just below the DPD 1090, with it's top at about 30 feet above ground level.
Testing on the R-8500 shows it's working very well and should be able to hear VHF ACARS at a considerable range.
One mishap during install. The N-connector fell off the 9913 cable! The squeeze clamp ring failed
and allowed cable to slip out. The braid was so shredded, it wasn't repairable on the tower.
This was the cable I had been using on the DPD for the last three months!
Luckily, I had a extra 9913 cable on the tower it was just able to reach the dualband connector.
View from the back yard makes it look off-kilter. I think it's due to the odd angle of the DIY mount.
Here's a close-up of the experimental mount. The angle-irons rest on the diagonal steel tower structure. (no droop).
From the street. The camo paint doesn't really work with this kind of foliage..
Before, I used an old ham antenna (50,144,440 MHz) mounted low on the side on the house, and got pretty good results.
http://forum.planefinder.net/threads/acars-message-coffee-maker-down.133/
I want to keep that antenna dedicated to ham radio use (transmit and receive).
So, I decided to use a very old 144-440 antenna, which saw some indoor use last winter on the dongle.
It's installed just below the DPD 1090, with it's top at about 30 feet above ground level.
Testing on the R-8500 shows it's working very well and should be able to hear VHF ACARS at a considerable range.
One mishap during install. The N-connector fell off the 9913 cable! The squeeze clamp ring failed
and allowed cable to slip out. The braid was so shredded, it wasn't repairable on the tower.
This was the cable I had been using on the DPD for the last three months!
Luckily, I had a extra 9913 cable on the tower it was just able to reach the dualband connector.
View from the back yard makes it look off-kilter. I think it's due to the odd angle of the DIY mount.
Here's a close-up of the experimental mount. The angle-irons rest on the diagonal steel tower structure. (no droop).
From the street. The camo paint doesn't really work with this kind of foliage..
