Meteor - Buy a Yagi on other bits

[johnb]

Radio Meteor Detection

So I have ordered my Dongle this morning  - http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=1201

Now I need a Yagi Antenna and a cable to connect the Antenna to the Dongle - the more I look the more confusing as in there are so many claims that various cables are better than others - I have no problem paying a little extra for something decent so any pointers appreciated.

 

Antenna - Unfortunately in not in a position to build my own so Im looking for a UK Supplier that I can purchase one from ?

 

Lastly - Im looking for a Telescopic mount for the antenna as I cant attach anything to the property that I am in.

 

When I get the various element I will write up how I brought all the elements together etc - which will hopefully help others

 

Thanks in advance

 

John B

 

[Al.Grant]

Hi,

I used http://www.innovantennas.com/ for my 3 element OWL Yagi, if I remember correctly the price was about £40 2 years ago

They no longer seem to do the one I got - but very similar to this 4 element version  http://www.innovantennas.com/our-antennas/view/productdetails/virtuemart_product_id/331/virtuemart_category_id/35.html

It needed assembling when it arrived, but comes with clear instructions and was very straightforward (a few small nuts & bolts) and has worked without any issue for the last 2 years.

For cable and connectors I went to our local Maplin. I was also getting confused over what to get so to get things working I simply bought one of these 10m cable kits  http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/10m-cable-kit-a98jh  it terminates in a BNC connector but comes with a BNC to SMA adapter which plugs straight on to my FUNcube Pro+ dongle.  I had to the BNC off one end to connect to the Yagi

It was always my intention to change the cable and connectors eventually to try reduce any noise etc .... but it all works so I've never felt the need and again everything is working just fine.  

Can't help with the telescopic mast, Maplins do one but don't know if it's any good or not.

 

Al

http://ukstargazer.net/radio-meteor-detector/

[johnb]

thanks for that, very useful

 

 

John BB

[The Admiral]

Hi John

I second Al's recommendation of Innovantennas. There are various 'types' of Yagi arrays available, but I'm sure that they'll all do much the same job. I think you'll need to go for a 3 or 4 element array as a minimum. I have my antenna in the loft space and after using my own home-made 3-element Yagi, I went for the 3-element quad array (http://www.innovantennas.com/our-antennas/view/productdetails/virtuemart_product_id/371/virtuemart_category_id/35.html), and it has performed very well. It is larger than the photos on the Innovantennas website indicate, as the design has been changed. However, if you are unable to use the loft space or chimney, then a straight Yagi array would probably be more appropriate.

For cables and connectors I used Westlakes (http://www.whwestlake.co.uk/); if you are not in a position to solder the connectors on yourself, then I think they can provide cable with your choice of connector attached. You will need to download the price list in order to see the range of products. There is a cable loss calculator so that you can check what sort of losses you will get with your required length of cable, and so choose the cable quality. Also, because the Funcube dongle has a ridiculously small rf connector (SMA), you'll need one of their SMA adaptors to mate with your chosen rf connector type (the SMA is too small to take a standard co-ax). That is not to say you can't get this stuff at your local Maplins, but it isn't necessarily the cheapest (but may be more convenient).

Now, as to a mast, that is a whole new ball-game. Ideally, you will really need to position the antenna so that it has a clear view of the south-eastern horizon, at any rate, potentially pretty high. I don't know what antenna masts might be available, but either way they'll need attaching to the side of a building or held upright by guy-ropes. Either way, I guess that they are not cheap. I did find this site when I was thinking of mounting my antenna outside, which may be useful http://www.m0mcx.co.uk/store/products/10m-telescopic-flag-pole-antenna-support/, but I've no experience of using one.

Good luck with your project.

Ian

[SteveBz]

On 28/06/2016 at 03:44, johnb said:

Now I need a Yagi Antenna and a cable to connect the Antenna to the Dongle - the more I look the more confusing as in there are so many claims that various cables are better than others - I have no problem paying a little extra for something decent so any pointers appreciated.

Did you have any luck with this.  We are currently fixing up our house and there is an old TV aerial which is coming down.  It looks like a Yagi antenna with S's instead of straight bars, maybe it's just circularly polarised?

I thought I might try it out.  What do people think? 

Regards

Steve

[The Admiral]

I doubt it'll be circularly polarized. TV aerials come in all sorts of shapes though. The problem is that it's not tuned to the Graves frequency, by a long way. That wavelength is ~2m, so a half-wave dipole needs to be about a metre long. I don't know what the wavelength of tv transmission is, but as you can see from your aerial it can only be low tens of cm. If it's easy to try, give it a go, but I wouldn't hold out much hope of success. Even if you get a result it'll be a long way from efficient.

Ian

[martin_h]

http://www.dxzone.com/dx17115/3-elements-vhf-yagi-antenna.html

[BXRO]

Sandpiper antennas do some good VHF (144.050) antennas also supply the cables and connectors

 

Give them a Google and see what you can find

[Carl Reade]

On 14/09/2016 at 13:27, SteveBz said:

Did you have any luck with this.  We are currently fixing up our house and there is an old TV aerial which is coming down.  It looks like a Yagi antenna with S's instead of straight bars, maybe it's just circularly polarised?

I thought I might try it out.  What do people think? 

Regards

Steve

Hi be no use TV band is very wide 470mhz to 850 MHz so far to small for 145mhz. The odd shaped elements are to try and get as much gain over such a wide band. If that helps.

[Carl Reade]

For good coax look up Ultraflex 7. Excellent cable for the 2 meter band very low loss and double copper screened.