Tagged: LNA

April 26, 2018

Getting the V3 Bias Tee to Activate on PiAware ADS-B Images

A few owners of our RTL-SDR V3 and/or our Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA (or other bias tee powered LNAs) have been having trouble getting the V3 bias tee to activate on the FlightAware PiAware Raspberry Pi image. The core stumbling point is that the PiAware image activates the dump1090 ADS-B decoder immediately upon boot. To activate the bias tee, the bias tee software requires access to the dongle which it cannot get since dump1090 is blocking it. So to get around this the bias tee must be activated first before dump1090 runs.

PiAware is FlightAware's Raspberry Pi image which feeds their flightaware.com flight tracking service using RTL-SDR dongles. By using our Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA, users can expect increased range and decoded messages, especially when using long runs of coax cable, and/or in environments with strong interfering signals.

In the instructions below we'll explain how to set up a PiAware image that automatically enables the Bias Tee upon boot.

Downloading the V3 Bias Tee Software onto PiAware

First we assume that you're starting fresh from a new PiAware image, so we need to enable WiFi and SSH connections which is part of the standard set up for PiAware. See the following links for instructions.

Enable WiFi via config file https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build

Enable SSH by adding ssh file to boot https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build/optional#password

Now log in to your PiAware machine using SSH and PuTTY (or any other terminal software) using username "pi" and password "flightaware".

Run the following commands to update and install some dependencies.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git cmake build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev

Download and install the RTL-SDR V3 Bias Tee software.

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl_biast
cd rtl_biast
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DDETACH_KERNEL_DRIVER=ON
make

Testing the Bias Tee

Over on his blog Akos has created a short guide to activating the bias tee manually, by first stopping dump1090, activating the bias tee, then restarting dump1090. It's a simple one line copy and paste job.

So after installing the rtl_biast software above you can use the following line to test the bias tee. After running this line the FlightAware service should be up and running again, with the bias tee and LNA activated.

sudo service dump1090-fa stop && cd ~/rtl_biast/build/src && ./rtl_biast -b 1 && sudo service dump1090-fa start

Automatically Starting the Bias Tee on Boot

Ideally we don't want to have to reactivate the bias tee manually every time the Raspberry Pi reboots. To make it automatic use the following instructions:

First create a service directory and configuration file

sudo mkdir /etc/systemd/system/dump1090-fa.service.d
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dump1090-fa.service.d/bias-t.conf

Then paste in the following

[Service]
ExecStartPre=/home/pi/rtl_biast/build/src/rtl_biast -b 1

Finally press Ctrl+X then Y to close and save. Now whenever PiAware reboots the bias tee should be automatically activated as this service runs before dump1090 is activated.

Credits:

Thanks to the discussion on the FlightAware forums and in particular user 'obj' for originally finding this automatic solution.

April 23, 2018

Tysonpower Reviews our Triple Filter ADS-B LNA

Thank you to YouTuber 'Tysonpower' who is known for making various RF related videos as he has recently reviewed our Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA on his blog and on YouTube. Note that his video is in German, but it contains English subtitles. In the review he compares our LNA against a more expensive ADS-B LNA and found that it performs just as good, if not better in some cases.

Our ADS-B LNA uses a triple filter design, as well as a two stage LNA which aims to significantly cut out interference from out of band signals which could overload the LNA and/or SDR dongle. It also has a low noise figure and high output gain of 27dB which is great for reducing losses on long runs of coax cable. More information about our LNA on the release post, and it can be purchased from our store.

[EN subs] Top ADSB LNA für nur 25€ - RTL-SDR Blog LNA

Watch this video on YouTube

March 22, 2018

Radio For Everyone: Testing the RTL-SDR.com Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA, Amplified Coketenna

Akos, author of his blog 'Radio for Everyone' has recently reviewed our new RTL-SDR.com Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA. In the review he compares our ADS-B LNA against another external ADS-B LNA by Uputronics and against the FlightAware Prostick and Prostick+. The tests use the external LNA's plugged directly into the dongle in order to more fairly compare against the FlightAware dongles which have LNA's built in to the dongles themselves. From his results the RTL-SDR.com ADS-B LNA appears to have near identical results with the Uputronics LNA, and slightly better results compared to the FlightAware dongles. Akos has not yet tested the main use-case of the LNA, which is to use it at the end of a run of coax cable, however he plans to do this in a future test. Also in his second post Akos shows how to build a simple amplified Coketenna using our ADS-B LNA.

On the subject of ADS-B performance we note that there are two ways to set up a system for optimal reception (apart from the antenna). The first is to place the computing and radio devices (such as a Raspberry Pi and RTL-SDR) as close to the antenna as possible (leaving a ~1m coax run to avoid local interference from the Pi). For this type of setup it is cheaper to use a FlightAware Prostick Plus RTL-SDR dongle since this has an ADS-B LNA built into it. However, the disadvantage is that you may need to set up a Power over Ethernet system, or find a remote power source, and possibly place the Pi in a difficult to service location such as in an attic or up a mast.

The second option is to use an external ADS-B LNA close to the antenna, and run coax down to the computing device which is positioned in a more accessible location. The LNA will negate any losses in the coax cable, and with high enough gain on the LNA, using quality coax is not such a high requirement since those losses are negated by sufficient LNA gain. Both methods will yield similar excellent performance.

Tested ADS-B LNA's and ADS-B RTL-SDR Dongles

February 8, 2018

New Product: RTL-SDR Blog 1090 MHz ADS-B LNA

We're happy to announce the release of our new high performance low noise amplifier (LNA) for improving 1090 MHz ADS-B reception. The LNA uses a low noise figure high linearity two stage MGA-13116 amplifier chip and three stages of filtering to ensure that strong signals or interference will not overload either the amplifier or SDR dongle.

The LNA is currently only available from our Chinese warehouse, and costs US$24.95 including shipping. Please note that the price may increase slightly in the future, and that Amazon USA may not be stocked until March.

Click here to visit our store

An LNA can help improve ADS-B reception by reducing the noise figure of the system and by helping to overcome losses in the coax cable and/or any other components such as switches and connector in the signal path. To get the best performance from an LNA, the LNA needs to be positioned close to the antenna, before the coax to the radio.

The gain of the RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA is 27 dB's at 1090 MHz, and out of band signals are reduced by at least 60 - 80 dB's. Attenuation in the broadcast FM band and below 800 MHz is actually closer to over 100 dB's. In the LNA signal path there is first a low insertion loss high pass filter that reduces the strength of any broadcast FM, TV, pager or other similar signals that are usually extremely strong. Then in between the first and second stage of the LNA is a SAW filter tuned for 1090 MHz. A second SAW filter sits on the output of the LNA. The result is that strong out of band signals are significantly blocked, yet the LNA remains effective at 1090 MHz with a low ~1 dB noise figure.

The LNA is also protected against ESD damage with a gas discharge tube and low capacitance ESD diode. But please always remember that your antenna must also be properly grounded to prevent ESD damage.

Please note that this LNA requires bias tee power to work. Bias tee power is when the DC power comes through the coax cable. The RTL-SDR V3 has bias tee power built into it and this can be activated in software. See the V3 users guide for information on how to activate it. Alternatively if you don't own a dongle with bias tee built in, then an external bias tee can be used and those can be found fairly cheaply on eBay. Finally, if you are confident with soldering SMT components, then there are also pads and a 0 Ohm resistor slot on the PCB to install an LDO and power the LNA directly.

In addition please remember that this is a high gain LNA. It is expected to be used at the antenna side, with some 3+ db loss expected on the coax. However, if desired, it can still be used on the receiver side. If used on the receiver side or with a low loss run of coax, you will need to tune the RF gain on the RTL-SDR dongle. By default most software sets the RF gain to maximum. We recommend turning the RTL-SDR RF gain down to about 32 dB if connecting it directly to the dongle, otherwise the high input power may overload the dongle causing poor performance.

Specification Summary:

Frequency: 1090 MHz
Gain: 27 dB @ 1090 MHz
Return Loss: -16 dB @ 1090 MHz (SWR = 1.377)
Noise Figure: ~1 dB
Out of band attenuation: More than 60 dB
ESD Protection: Dual with GDT and ESD Diode
Power: 3.3 - 5V via bias tee only, 150 mA current draw
Enclosure: Aluminum enclosure
Connectors: Two SMA Female (Male to Male adapter included)

Dimensions:

46.5 x 32 x 15.6 mm (not including the SMA).
Including the SMA the length is 69.8 mm.

Testing

We tested our new LNA against another ADS-B LNA with filter built in that is sold by another company and the FlightAware Prostick+ dongle in an environment with strong out of band signals such as pagers, broadcast FM, DVB-T and GSM signals. The results showed that the RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA gathered the most ADS-B packets. In the tests both LNA's were connected on the receiver side to be fair to the FA dongle. Improved performance could be achieved by moving the LNA to the antenna side.

Other ADS-B LNA vs RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA Received Messages

FlightAware Prostick+ vs RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA Received Messages

Checking in SDR# for out of band signals also showed that the RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA significantly reduces those strong out of band signals, whereas the others have trouble blocking them out. Below we show the results as well as some measurements.

RTL Blog ADS-B LNA tuned to Broadcast FM

FlightAware Protstick+ tuned to Broadcast FM

RTL Blog ADS-B LNA tuned to a DVB-T Signal

FlightAware Prostick+ tuned to a DVB-T Signal

RTL Blog ADS-B LNA tuned to a GSM Signal

FlightAware Prostick+ tuned to a GSM Signal

Reviews

Tyson Power YouTube Review

Radio For Everyone Review

Conclusion

This RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA can significantly improve ADS-B reception, especially if you are in an environment with strong out of band signals. Even if you are not, the low noise figure design will improve reception regardless.

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April 26, 2018

Getting the V3 Bias Tee to Activate on PiAware ADS-B Images

In the instructions below we'll explain how to set up a PiAware image that automatically enables the Bias Tee upon boot.

Downloading the V3 Bias Tee Software onto PiAware

Enable WiFi via config file https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build

Enable SSH by adding ssh file to boot https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/build/optional#password

Now log in to your PiAware machine using SSH and PuTTY (or any other terminal software) using username "pi" and password "flightaware".

Run the following commands to update and install some dependencies.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git cmake build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev

Download and install the RTL-SDR V3 Bias Tee software.

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl_biast
cd rtl_biast
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DDETACH_KERNEL_DRIVER=ON
make

Testing the Bias Tee

sudo service dump1090-fa stop && cd ~/rtl_biast/build/src && ./rtl_biast -b 1 && sudo service dump1090-fa start

Automatically Starting the Bias Tee on Boot

Ideally we don't want to have to reactivate the bias tee manually every time the Raspberry Pi reboots. To make it automatic use the following instructions:

First create a service directory and configuration file

sudo mkdir /etc/systemd/system/dump1090-fa.service.d
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dump1090-fa.service.d/bias-t.conf

Then paste in the following

[Service]
ExecStartPre=/home/pi/rtl_biast/build/src/rtl_biast -b 1

Finally press Ctrl+X then Y to close and save. Now whenever PiAware reboots the bias tee should be automatically activated as this service runs before dump1090 is activated.

Credits:

Thanks to the discussion on the FlightAware forums and in particular user 'obj' for originally finding this automatic solution.

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April 23, 2018

Tysonpower Reviews our Triple Filter ADS-B LNA

[EN subs] Top ADSB LNA für nur 25€ - RTL-SDR Blog LNA

Watch this video on YouTube

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March 22, 2018

Radio For Everyone: Testing the RTL-SDR.com Triple Filtered ADS-B LNA, Amplified Coketenna

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February 8, 2018

New Product: RTL-SDR Blog 1090 MHz ADS-B LNA

Click here to visit our store

Specification Summary:

Frequency: 1090 MHz
Gain: 27 dB @ 1090 MHz
Return Loss: -16 dB @ 1090 MHz (SWR = 1.377)
Noise Figure: ~1 dB
Out of band attenuation: More than 60 dB
ESD Protection: Dual with GDT and ESD Diode
Power: 3.3 - 5V via bias tee only, 150 mA current draw
Enclosure: Aluminum enclosure
Connectors: Two SMA Female (Male to Male adapter included)

Dimensions:

46.5 x 32 x 15.6 mm (not including the SMA).
Including the SMA the length is 69.8 mm.

Testing

Other ADS-B LNA vs RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA Received Messages

FlightAware Prostick+ vs RTL-SDR Blog ADS-B LNA Received Messages

Reviews

Tyson Power YouTube Review

Radio For Everyone Review

Conclusion

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February 1, 2018

How an LNA can Improve VHF Reception with an RTL-SDR

Over on his YouTube channel Adam 9A4QV has uploaded a video showing how an LNA work to improve signal SNR on VHF, as long as the LNA is placed close to the antenna. Adam is the manufacturer and seller of the popular LNA4ALL low noise amplifiers.

On UHF and high frequencies an LNA can help by reducing the system noise figure, but on VHF this effect is small. But if the LNA is placed near the antenna then the LNA can still help significantly by overcoming any losses in the coax cable, filters, switches or any other lossy components in the signal path. It might also help create a better SWR match for the dongle and antenna. The video has some sound issues in during the demonstration part, but on his Reddit thread Adam writes:

LNA4ALL on the VHF close to antenna effect

Watch this video on YouTube

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April 17, 2017

Comparing Two LNA’s for HRIT/LRIT (GOES) Reception

Over on his blog Lucas Teske has been comparing the LNA4ALL and an SPF5189 LNA from eBay on HRIT/LRIT reception from GOES satellites. SPF5189 LNA’s can be found on eBay for less than $8 USD, with free shipping from China, whereas the LNA4ALL costs 27 Euros shipped from Croatia. GOES is a geosynchronous orbit weather satellite which requires a satellite dish or other high gain antenna to receive. It downlinks at about 1.7 GHz, which means that a high quality LNA with low noise figure and good PCB design is needed for reception.

In his post Lucas mentions how he saw a review on eBay stating that the SPF5189 did not work at L-band. However, he found that odd as all of his SPF5189 LNA’s seemed to work just fine with L-band reception. So he did a benchmark comparing the SPF5189 to the PSA5043+ based LNA4ALL which is known to work well on L-band.

From his comparisons he found that the SPF5189 does indeed work well on L-band, and is comparable to the LNA4ALL. He concludes that the reviewer must have received a bad unit, or didn’t know what he was doing.

Lucas also makes an important note regarding the PCB design of these LNA’s. Even though the SPF5189 and PSA5043 chips have similar specs, with LNA’s the design of the PCB is crucial, as a poor design can significantly degrade performance. With the LNA4ALL you can be sure that the design is good, although the SPF5189 LNA’s currently on eBay look to be designed okay as well. Though with some eBay sellers there is no guarantee that you will receive a good board. We note that we have seen some really poor designs for PSA5043 LNA’s out there as well.

The eBay SPF5189 LNA vs the LNA4ALL from 9A4QV

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January 18, 2017

Radio For Everyone New Posts: Line of Sight, Why USB Cable Quality Matters, Uputronics 1090 MHz Filtered Preamp Review

Over on his radioforeveryone.com blog, author Akos has uploaded three new posts. The first post briefly explains visually what is meant by line of sight when it comes to radio signals. Essentially at UHF and higher frequencies the radio antenna needs to be able to ‘see’ the transmitter, meaning that any blockages such as trees, houses etc will block the signal.

In his second post Akos briefly explains why USB cable quality can matter when it comes to SDRs. He shows that some USB cables tend to pick up more interference than others.

Finally in his third post Akos reviews the Uputronics 1090 MHz Filtered Preamp. Uputronics is a UK based company that sells various filtered LNA’s. Akos writes how he’s very impressed with the premium packaging, look and feel of the device and thickness of the metal case. In performance tests the preamp together with a V3 dongle with bias tee power clearly improves ADS-B position reports significantly. We note that we also have 1090 MHz filtered preamp from Uputronics (an older model), and can also highly recommend their products.

The Uputronics 1090 MHz Filtered Preamp reviewed on radioforeveryone.com

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October 28, 2016

FlightAware Release their Pro Stick Plus: An ADS-B Optimized RTL-SDR with LNA and 1090 MHz Filter Built in

Back in March of this year we posted about the release of the FlightAware "Pro Stick". The Pro Stick is FlightAware's ADS-B optimized RTL-SDR dongle. It uses a low noise figure LNA on the RF front end to reduce the system noise figure, thus improving the SNR at 1090 MHz. Because the added gain of the LNA can easily cause overload problems if there are other strong signals around, FlightAware recommend using one of their 1090 MHz ADS-B filters in front of the dongle to prevent overload.

FlightAware have just come out with the "Pro Stick Plus" which is the same as their Pro Stick, but now with the 1090 MHz filter built into the dongle itself. The Pro Stick Plus costs $20.95 USD on Amazon, which is a good deal cheaper than buying the standard Pro Stick ($16.95 USD) plus their ADS-B filter ($19.95 USD), which totals $36.90. Customers outside of the USA can purchase the Pro Stick Plus from seller "WiFi Expert" on eBay for $29.95 USD.

FlightAware.com is a company that specializes in live air travel tracking. Most of their data comes from volunteers running RTL-SDR ADS-B receivers.

The new Pro Stick Plus RTL-SDR based ADS-B Receiver from FlightAware.

Over on their forums and on Amazon, they announced the device and specs. They wrote:

FlightAware is excited to announce the next evolution of USB SDR sticks for ADS-B reception! The new Pro Stick Plus USB SDR builds on the popular Pro Stick by adding a built-in 1090 MHz bandpass filter. The built-in filter allows for increased performance and range of reception by 10-20% for installations where filtering is beneficial. Areas with moderate RF noise, as is typically experienced in most urban areas, generally benefit from filtering. By integrating the filter into the SDR stick, we are able to reduce the total cost by more than 40% when compared to buying a Pro Stick and an external filter.

Specifications:

Filter: 1,075 MHz to 1,105 MHz pass band with insertion loss of 2.3 dB; 30 dB attenuation on other frequencies

Amp: 19 dB Integrated Amplifier which can increase your ADS-B range 20-100% more compared to dongles from other vendors which can increase range 10-20% over a Pro Stick in environments where filtering is beneficial

Native SMA connector

Supported by PiAware

R820T2 RTL2832U chips

USB powered, 5V @ 300mA

Note that this dongle is only for ADS-B at 1090 MHz, and not for 978 MHz UAT signals, as the filter will cut that frequency out.

Back in April, we did a review of the original Pro Stick. We found its performance on ADS-B reception to be excellent, but only when a filter was used. The low NF LNA theoretically improves the SNR of ADS-B signals by about 7-8 dB, but in reality there is too much gain causing signal overload everywhere, thus making reception impossible without the filter. Rural environments may not need a filter, but in a typical urban or city environment strong FM/TV/GSM/etc signals are abundant and these signals easily overloaded the Pro Stick when no filtering was used. This new Pro Stick Plus dongle completely solves that problem at a low cost with its built in filter.

Remember that if you are using a run of coax cable between the LNA and RTL-SDR, then it is more optimal to use an external LNA, like the LNA4ALL. Only an external LNA mounted near the antenna can help overcome coax, connector, filter and other losses as well as reducing the system noise figure. The FlightAware dongles are the optimal solution when they are mounted as close to the antenna as possible. This is usually the case when running the FlightAware feeder software on a Raspberry Pi.

We hope to soon review the Pro Stick Plus, however we assume it will operate nearly identically to the Pro Stick + FlightAware ADS-B filter combination.

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