Do 4G/5G antennas affect ADS-B reception?

Oz Wald

Oz Wald

New Member
Hi All,
I have received, today, notification from the local council that the telecoms companies EE and 3 are applying to place a 20 metre 4/5G aerial array, 200 metres from my place.
A neighbour, heavily into electronics, reckons it could 'overwhelm' my 10 metre ADS-B set-up.
Does anyone have any technical knowledge on the effects of this sort of hardware?
 
As an aircraft avionics technician working GA, we have been informed that 5G is having a decided effect on radio altimeter on aircraft and to inform our customers of that if they have problems with their Rad Alt systems. I have heard anything about interference of ADS-B or transponder systems. I will keep my ear to the ground, in a manner of speaking.
 
Oz Wald said:
Hi All,
I have received, today, notification from the local council that the telecoms companies EE and 3 are applying to place a 20 metre 4/5G aerial array, 200 metres from my place.
A neighbour, heavily into electronics, reckons it could 'overwhelm' my 10 metre ADS-B set-up.
Does anyone have any technical knowledge on the effects of this sort of hardware?
Click to expand...
It depends on what frequencies they are operating on and the strength of the transmitter, but they certainly have the ability to affect your reception, especially if using a USB stick without additional filtering.
 
Stealth said:
It depends on what frequencies they are operating on and the strength of the transmitter, but they certainly have the ability to affect your reception, especially if using a USB stick without additional filtering.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply.
I've had a look at the Wiki for 5G, but it appears to be written in Vogon :rolleyes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G_NR_frequency_bands
I can't see anything in the table in the immediate vicinity of 1090MHz, but as you mention, I am not running any filters.
It this do-hickie from Amazon, the sort of filter required? If so, does it have to be at the antenna end (groan) or the dongle (Yay!).

Thanks again.
OZ
Hopeless Stone Age tinkerer
 
3 and EE use the 800MHz allocation and various other higher bands, the only one that you could have any issues from is the 800 one.
Don't worry about 5G as it uses frequencies way higher than 1090.

The filter you show is the sort of thing I had in mind, although not one I's use specifically. It may not even be needed. Wait and see if the new installation has any adverse effect on the range and number of ADSB signals you receive.

Filters are best placed at the antenna, but are still effective at the receiver end. There are plenty of threads on filters, if not here then look at the Flightaware or Flightradar forums.
 
Thanks for that, I shall await developments. I can get to the antenna end, but it is a bit of a faff at the top of a long ladder, with many cable ties and 3 cables that always end up on the wrong side of whatever.
 
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