I have been thinking about how i can compare vertical antennas on 11/10 meters ..back in my CB days on FM in the UK was easy as on CB there was duzerns of folk i used to talk to and being on FM mine and their signals never changed unless you changed something in fact if someone say had a mic problem and had no audio if you had an analog meter chances are you would know who it was just by thier RX signal ..now i can think of 2 ways to monitor my signal, 1 set up a radio at an elderly relative's house and have a video link over internet, to see the meter, this would be about 6 miles away ..the radio will have to be a cheap CB as it will have to be in an out building that's not practically safe or preferable but i don't know if it will be as effective the furthest i can get on my property is 200yds from my test mast now i could put put a CB 200yds away or even a field strength meter with a large antenna ..but what i am asking i want to measure low angle signal will 200yds away be far enough away to see changes ..typical thing i would be testing is say the difference between an Imax 2000 with or without ground radials or say a car antenna on a mag mount vs a stud mount or just different antenna designs
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testing 10m antennas with repeatable results
- Thread starter davev8
- Start date
To test RX put small signal generator a kilometer away or so. (TinySA)
To test TX use field strength meter, TinySA or similar.
Mike
To test TX use field strength meter, TinySA or similar.
Mike
SDR radio setup somewhere a good distance away from your antennas under test & not on a hill/higher ground with software such as anydesk to remotely view your sdr,
RSP 1a/b have a calibrated s-meter when using sdruno software,
you can do it the other way around, setup sdr at home & take your antennas out to a suitable test place,
The secret sauce for low angle signal strength is antenna height above ground & other conductive junk,
2 wavelengths to base of antenna if at all possible makes more difference than the type of antenna you use,
& never have the antenna electrically connected to a conductive mast & always use an effective choke @ or near the feedpoint,
I would take a properly installed antenna @ 2 wavelengths on lower ground over a thrown together install @ 1 wavelength to base on a hill anyday.
RSP 1a/b have a calibrated s-meter when using sdruno software,
you can do it the other way around, setup sdr at home & take your antennas out to a suitable test place,
The secret sauce for low angle signal strength is antenna height above ground & other conductive junk,
2 wavelengths to base of antenna if at all possible makes more difference than the type of antenna you use,
& never have the antenna electrically connected to a conductive mast & always use an effective choke @ or near the feedpoint,
I would take a properly installed antenna @ 2 wavelengths on lower ground over a thrown together install @ 1 wavelength to base on a hill anyday.
WebSDR?
Down here in The Netherlands there's at least 4 web SDR's I can hit from my location. That doesn't mean it is the same for you in the UK, but have a look at the Kiwi (link) and OpenWebRX (link) maps to see if there's one closeby.
There's more than those two, but it's a good start.
Down here in The Netherlands there's at least 4 web SDR's I can hit from my location. That doesn't mean it is the same for you in the UK, but have a look at the Kiwi (link) and OpenWebRX (link) maps to see if there's one closeby.
There's more than those two, but it's a good start.
My suggestion would be a modification of bob85's.
To test a mobile setup I would put up an antenna at the house attached to a usb based spectrum analyzer, then with either remote access on the computer set up or perhaps streaming to a youtube or twitch account. This would let me test in various areas and see what is going on.
If it is a base setup under test, I would map out several specific parking spots around the area various distances and directions away so that I can take my measurements and return to the same spot for comparisons after making changes to the antenna.
I suppose once you get the remote access or streaming figured out you could also just put a web cam on the radio if you don't have and don't want to get a spectrum analyzer. That being said, the spectrum analyzer would give you more accurate and, if you know what your looking at, more extensive (or perhaps I should say more complete) data.
edit---
19wrc333 lol you got in right before I did, although you are referring to existing ones and I am suggesting setting one up yourself, same basic idea...
The DB
To test a mobile setup I would put up an antenna at the house attached to a usb based spectrum analyzer, then with either remote access on the computer set up or perhaps streaming to a youtube or twitch account. This would let me test in various areas and see what is going on.
If it is a base setup under test, I would map out several specific parking spots around the area various distances and directions away so that I can take my measurements and return to the same spot for comparisons after making changes to the antenna.
I suppose once you get the remote access or streaming figured out you could also just put a web cam on the radio if you don't have and don't want to get a spectrum analyzer. That being said, the spectrum analyzer would give you more accurate and, if you know what your looking at, more extensive (or perhaps I should say more complete) data.
edit---
19wrc333 lol you got in right before I did, although you are referring to existing ones and I am suggesting setting one up yourself, same basic idea...
The DB
I have used the web sdr's,mainly on 80mtrs, The closets one to me is in Doncaster about 15 miles away,
The ones I have tried have crappy rx on 10mtrs or are too distant for 10mtrs,
This is Yorkshire we only recently left the stone age
,
I have not tried measuring the accuracy of the rsp1a with sdruno software but they claim its a calibrated s-meter but only when used with their own software,
if you only want to see any small differences with no need for measurements then a uniden export with the rf gain backed down to a s3-S4 will show exaggerated differences in signal strength.
The ones I have tried have crappy rx on 10mtrs or are too distant for 10mtrs,
This is Yorkshire we only recently left the stone age
,I have not tried measuring the accuracy of the rsp1a with sdruno software but they claim its a calibrated s-meter but only when used with their own software,
if you only want to see any small differences with no need for measurements then a uniden export with the rf gain backed down to a s3-S4 will show exaggerated differences in signal strength.