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Dang - Antennacraft ST2 down - New antenna recs?
- Thread starter flippinfleck
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Doesn't look bent. Seems a piece actually snapped and the top half is flapping in the wind. Up on the roof three stories up so I haven't got a good look at it yet.
I'm hoping to be able to repair it as they don't make this one anymore, I run several broadcastify feeds off of it.
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Haven't been up on the roof yet but here's what I'm looking at.
Completely missing one of the radials and the whole top section split off at the plastic connector. I wonder if I could use a fiberglass 'marker' to get the top section reconnected? Will know better when I get it down.
Completely missing one of the radials and the whole top section split off at the plastic connector. I wonder if I could use a fiberglass 'marker' to get the top section reconnected? Will know better when I get it down.
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ToddDubya
NES Member
Bamboo plus zip ties. You've done all you can do for it. It's in God's hands now.
Is it receiving?
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It is. Currently feeding to broadcastify with it.
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Broadcastify - Live Police, Fire, EMS, Aircraft, and Rail Audio Feeds
The world's largest source of public safety, aircraft, rail, and marine radio live audio streams
broadcastify.com
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I provide several. This is Sturbridge, pretty quiet tonight. Sturbridge Police Dispatch Live Audio Feed
Any feeds that I provide I also have a scanner running on a separate antenna that I use for confirmation. I don't tend to listen to the feeds unless there is a problem report or I am away from home.
Any feeds that I provide I also have a scanner running on a separate antenna that I use for confirmation. I don't tend to listen to the feeds unless there is a problem report or I am away from home.
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Hmm. Now that I listen to the Sturbridge feed, it seems the SDR may have drifted a bit with the swinging temperature fluctuations. I do Charlton as well. No issues on that one right now. Both fed off the same SDR and antenna.
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Not so sure it's the SDR dongle at this point. That antenna may have been a bit more damaged than initially thought.
Just not seeing the same performance that I was prior to the snap, monitored all day today in the background.
A discone is within my budget but that 'nominal' 2dBi gain is going to kill me. I'm pretty much right in the center of the towers I monitor and need a bit of gain. Probably going to grab another OmniX and use that for Broadcastify streams. Either that or pick up a multicoupler and move the stream Pis back downstairs as none of my scanners are seeing the same issue.
Hell, may just find someone closer to the towers I monitor and see if they'll host the pi for me as I've got a couple older pi units that can handle a single stream.
*sigh*
Just not seeing the same performance that I was prior to the snap, monitored all day today in the background.
A discone is within my budget but that 'nominal' 2dBi gain is going to kill me. I'm pretty much right in the center of the towers I monitor and need a bit of gain. Probably going to grab another OmniX and use that for Broadcastify streams. Either that or pick up a multicoupler and move the stream Pis back downstairs as none of my scanners are seeing the same issue.
Hell, may just find someone closer to the towers I monitor and see if they'll host the pi for me as I've got a couple older pi units that can handle a single stream.
*sigh*
I've run a DPD Omni X for 15 years now. It replaced my ST2.
dpdproductions.com
-JR
OmniX Scanner Base Antenna
Specs Gain: 3 VHF 4 UHF dBi Pattern: Omni-directional Wavelength: 1/2 Elements: 3 Tuned: 118-137, 148-175 & 225-900 MHz Band: UHF & VHF Connector: N Female Cable: RG8X Cable Length: 16 Inches Height: 45" Width: 30" Weight: 2 lb Features Multi Band-Wide Coverage: The uniquely...
dpdproductions.com
-JR
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I've run a DPD Omni X for 15 years now. It replaced my ST2.
OmniX Scanner Base Antenna
Specs Gain: 3 VHF 4 UHF dBi Pattern: Omni-directional Wavelength: 1/2 Elements: 3 Tuned: 118-137, 148-175 & 225-900 MHz Band: UHF & VHF Connector: N Female Cable: RG8X Cable Length: 16 Inches Height: 45" Width: 30" Weight: 2 lb Features Multi Band-Wide Coverage: The uniquely...
-JR
Just double checked. I ordered my current OmniX in 2017. Not quite as long as you, but long enough to know it does exactly what I need it to do.
Will most likely just grab one and be done with it. I'll probably have to rub the little lady's feet or back or something so I don't get the stink eye when it shows up in the mail... So, win/win on my part.
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I already have the mount for a dual-receive setup with transmit as well.
This used to be on the ground in my yard. Flat roof mount with two j-poles (old directv mounts) off to the sides and support for a 10' mast in the center as well. I'll get this up on the roof soon and re-mount everything.
May have to wait till next month for the ST2 replacement. Put a short piece of unistrut across the top to keep everything in line and prevent twisting / shifting.
Looks like this when set up, bunch of cynder blocks sit in the base.
This used to be on the ground in my yard. Flat roof mount with two j-poles (old directv mounts) off to the sides and support for a 10' mast in the center as well. I'll get this up on the roof soon and re-mount everything.
May have to wait till next month for the ST2 replacement. Put a short piece of unistrut across the top to keep everything in line and prevent twisting / shifting.
Looks like this when set up, bunch of cynder blocks sit in the base.
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Wondering if I've got a couple of counterfeit RTL-SDR sticks. Been running one for a while with rtl_test -p on a spare pi and the numbers are all over the place. Going to let it run another ~15 minutes to see if it settles down. Maybe overnight.
I've got an ADSB specific dongle that should be here Sunday which will free up an older RTL-SDR stick but right now, with the most recent one I received, I'm seeing PPM in the ~50s. Definitely not normal. It seems to bounce way up and way down, won't hold steady.
Still figure I'm going to order a new antenna to replace the ST2.
I've got an ADSB specific dongle that should be here Sunday which will free up an older RTL-SDR stick but right now, with the most recent one I received, I'm seeing PPM in the ~50s. Definitely not normal. It seems to bounce way up and way down, won't hold steady.
Still figure I'm going to order a new antenna to replace the ST2.
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Replacement OmniX showed up today. Screw getting up on the roof in this cold / wind.
Probably a good time to check coax and connectors, make sure everything else is OK before I rebuild. Going to grab some conduit with a 45° angle so I don't have to worry about cable jackets getting abused on the edge of the roof.
Is winter over yet?
Probably a good time to check coax and connectors, make sure everything else is OK before I rebuild. Going to grab some conduit with a 45° angle so I don't have to worry about cable jackets getting abused on the edge of the roof.
Is winter over yet?
