Plane Spotters / Flight Radar Thread

andy_mk3 · 18 Apr 2020 at 20:15

Feek said:
/edit - I personally wouldn't touch RG58 at 1090MHz, it's terribly lossy.

Yeah I knew it wasn't absolutely ideal. But it seems to work plenty good enough for me. I will probably replace it when I move house eventually.

Feek · 18 Apr 2020 at 20:28

15m of RG58 has around 7dB of loss at 1090MHz, that's 80% of the received signal!

andy_mk3 · 18 Apr 2020 at 23:14

Feek said:
15m of RG58 has around 7dB of loss at 1090MHz, that's 80% of the received signal!

I was aware it was lossy but not that bad. Wow haha. I'm surprised it works as well as it does.

Can you recommend a cable?

Feek · 18 Apr 2020 at 23:15

no idea what said:
Can you recommend a cable?

I have a standard answer to this.

"The best you can afford".

andy_mk3 · 18 Apr 2020 at 23:18

Feek said:
I have a standard answer to this.

"The best you can afford".

Yeah, that would made sense! At least, what should I be looking for in particular?

Feek · 18 Apr 2020 at 23:24

Sorry, it's a bit of a glib answer. I'm a big fan of Messi & Paoloni coax and specifically Hyperflex 10 - With my rebuilt system and mounting the aerial on top of the Hexbeam, I've got just over 5m of Hyperflex 10 between the aerial and the receiver. It's not cheap at over £3/meter but you really do get what you pay for.

/edit - Grab the M&P catalogue and have a look at the different cables to see what loss you're happy with.

andy_mk3 · 18 Apr 2020 at 23:49

Feek said:
Sorry, it's a bit of a glib answer. I'm a big fan of Messi & Paoloni coax and specifically Hyperflex 10 - With my rebuilt system and mounting the aerial on top of the Hexbeam, I've got just over 5m of Hyperflex 10 between the aerial and the receiver. It's not cheap at over £3/meter but you really do get what you pay for.

/edit - Grab the M&P catalogue and have a look at the different cables to see what loss you're happy with.

Perfect thank you. I don't mind looking but having some idea of what to look for is a huge help

neodude · 21 Apr 2020 at 09:45

I've used Westflex 103 in the past and can recommend it.

Terminal_Boy · 21 Apr 2020 at 10:02

Anyone wanting very low loss RF cables and connectors could do a lot worse that give these chaps a call:

https://www.wavelengthelectronics.co.uk/products/rf-and-microwave

Wallet warning : long cable runs with low loss aren’t cheap.

andy_mk3 · 21 Apr 2020 at 12:39

neodude said:
I've used Westflex 103 in the past and can recommend it.

Terminal_Boy said:
Anyone wanting very low loss RF cables and connectors could do a lot worse that give these chaps a call:

https://www.wavelengthelectronics.co.uk/products/rf-and-microwave

Wallet warning : long cable runs with low loss aren’t cheap.

That's really helpful thank you.

I might have to have a re-think when I move house. Perhaps have a much shorter cable run.

Danthus · 23 Apr 2020 at 12:56

Feek · 5 May 2020 at 10:44

Always good to see this.

DustyMiller · 5 May 2020 at 11:42

Have to say the American pilots are doing a much neater job that the brits on the same track.

Feek · 13 May 2020 at 16:34

What's this Greek Air Force Gulfstream up to? I've been watching for a while.

/edit - Hmm, he's put his foot down since my original screenshot and is heading off towards mainland Europe now. Perhaps he was just early for a pick up and killing time!

DustyMiller · 13 May 2020 at 17:10

or he knew you were watching him and wanted to draw a giant penis on your screen with his track......

Scuzi · 14 May 2020 at 09:31

Possibly had a tech issue after departure and wanted to stay nearby whilst it was resolved. Happens occasionally and that’s the sort of track you might expect to see if they were being vectored. However if that was the case it is more typical for them to level off rather than continue climb throughout.

Feek · 14 May 2020 at 09:46

Scuzi said:
Possibly had a tech issue after departure and wanted to stay nearby whilst it was resolved. Happens occasionally and that’s the sort of track you might expect to see if they were being vectored.

Yes, that's a good explanation and quite likely, thanks.

Scuzi said:
However if that was the case it is more typical for them to level off rather than continue climb throughout.

They were at FL370 for most of that but as soon as they buggered off towards Europe, they climbed up to FL410 and sped up quite a bit. I see what you mean though, I'd have expected them to be kept lower if they had an issue.

AWACS have been up every day, most of the day for at least a week in the same position I posted earlier.

visibleman · 14 May 2020 at 14:18

F35 Taking Off -

Edit - I assume transponder was turned off (not sure if that's the correct terminology), as it has now disappeared

SuperOwl86 · 17 May 2020 at 21:01

I bought the N type antenna that is linked on the previous page. I already have the flightware pro stick, is anyone able to recommend a short cable to link the two that I can order from somewhere?

Firestar_3x · 19 May 2020 at 22:22

C130 just gone overhead at 450ft, impressively quiet.