Tagged: LNA

RTLSDR4Everyone Four New Posts: Janilab Preamp Review, Why Use a Preamp?, Small ADS-B Antennas Review, SDRUno User Guide

Akos from the RTLSDR4Everyone blog has recently posted three new articles. The first article reviews the Janilab LNA Preamp which has a frequency range of 1 MHz to 3 GHz and an adjustable gain. In the review he compares reception with and without the preamp at shortwave frequencies and at ADS-B frequencies. Finally he also compares it against the LNA4ALL and LNA4HF, and notes that they generally have better specs than the Janilab preamp, but the disadvantage is needing two to cover HF + VHF/UHF, meaning an increase in costs.

In his second post Akos explains when and why you should use a preamp. Basically he explains how the lower noise figure of the preamp can help improve SNR.

In his third post Akos does a review on small ADS-B antennas. These are small whip type antennas that are tuned for 1090 MHz. In his testing he found that a telescopic antenna gave significantly better results that the ADS-B whip, but recognizes that these are designed for pilots and light aircraft owners who need a small sturdy antenna.

Finally his fourth post he shows an updated beginners guide for SDRuno. SDRuno is the official software for the SDRplay RSP, but is compatible with the RTL-SDR.

The LNA4ALL and LNA4HF vs the Janilab Preamp
The LNA4ALL and LNA4HF vs the Janilab Preamp

Testing L-Band Inmarsat Reception with Three LNA4ALL’s + Two Filters

Over the last few weeks Adam 9A4QV has been testing L-Band Inmarsat reception with his LNA4ALL low noise amplifiers. In a previous post he tested reception with two LNA4ALL and found that he got an improved SNR ratio over using just one LNA4ALL. In his latest video he tests Inmarsat reception with three LNA4ALL’s and two L-band filters. His results show that the SNR is improved over using two LNA4ALL’s, and can almost match the results obtained by a commercial L-band front end which he also demonstrated in a previous video.

3x LNA4ALL on L-band + 2 Filters

RTLSDR4Everyone: ADS-B Bias-T Filter and External amplification

Akos from the RTLSDR4Everyone blog has recently come out with a new post where he explains how to get the best ADS-B reception with an LNA and filter. In his experiments he uses an LNA4ALL low noise amplifier and and ADS-B Filter, both of which are sold by Adam 9A4QV. New versions of the filter sold by Adam now also include a built in bias-tee circuit which allows you to easily power the LNA4ALL over the coax cable, allowing you to place it externally.

In the post Akos shows where to optimally place the LNA and how you can use your Raspberry Pi together with the ADS-B filter with bias-T in order to power an antenna mounted LNA4ALL. The post also discusses what the cheapest solution is for European customers attempting to optimize their ADS-B reception.

ADS-B Setup including a filter, bias tee, LNA and Raspberry Pi.
ADS-B Setup including a filter, bias tee, LNA and Raspberry Pi.

Finding Cheap Pre-Designed PCBs for SDR Projects

Recently RTL-SDR.com reader Neil KM4PHK wrote in to us to let us know that he’s been having a good time searching for SDR related PCB’s over on OSH Park. OSH Park is a company that allows you to upload and share a PCB, and then have it cheaply printed and sent to you for construction.

Some useful RTL-SDR related PCBs we found searching through their shared projects include PCB’s for a SAW filter, a PSA4-5043+ based LNAan MGA-53543 based LNAa lowpass or bandpass filteran FM trap, an ADS-B filter with LNA and a bias tee. More projects can be found by searching the shared projects page for strings like “SDR, LNA, Filter, Bias Tee, ADS-B”. Neil also writes that although some projects don’t have instructions on their OSH Park page, usually searching Google will reveal them.

An example PCB for an LNA that can be found on OSH Park.
An example PCB for an LNA that can be found on OSH Park.

Review: FlightAware ADS-B RTL-SDR + LNA Positioning

Recently FlightAware released a new RTL-SDR dongle sold at zero profit at $16.95 USD. It’s main feature is that it comes with an ADS-B optimized low noise amplifier (LNA) built directly into the dongle. FlightAware.com is a flight tracking service that aims to track aircraft via many volunteer ADS-B contributors around the world who use low cost receivers such as the RTL-SDR. In this post we will review their new dongle and hopefully at the same time provide some basic insights to LNA positioning theory to show in what situations this dongle will work well.

FlightAware Dongle Outside
FlightAware Dongle Outside

A good LNA has a low noise figure and a high IIP3 value. Here is what these things mean.

Continue reading

RTLSDR4Everyone: The best RTL-SDR setup for $60

Over on his blog RTLSDR4Everyone author Akos has uploaded a new post showing what he believes is the best possible RTL-SDR set up that you can get for under $60. Akos writes that the best combination of components is one of our RTL-SDR Blog dongles (back in stock in a couple of weeks!) with bias tee combined with an LNA4ALL low noise amplifier. The LNA4ALL is a ~$30 USD LNA based on the Minicrcuits PSA4-5043+ component and is sold by Adam 9A4QV who also sells other products such as RF filters.

Akos reminds us that the LNA4ALL can actually be bought from Adam with the bias tee enabled already which saves you from the difficulty of needing to source the required inductor and perform surface mount soldering. The post also explains why  you might want to use an LNA in the first place and how to enable the bias tee on our RTL-SDR.com dongles.

RTL-SDR.com dongle + an LNA4ALL
RTL-SDR.com dongle + an LNA4ALL powered with the bias tee

Tutorial on Properly Positioning a Preamp (LNA) in a Radio System

Radio blogger Anthony Stirk has made a post on his blog explaining some critical concepts behind understanding why it is important to position a low noise amplifier (LNA) near the radio antenna, rather than near the radio. In the post Anthony explains how the Noise Figure (NF) and linearity (IP3) of a radio system affect reception.

Using the free AppCAD RF design assistant software, Anthony explains how the noise figure of a system increases with longer coax cable runs, and how it can be reduced by placing an LNA right next to the antenna. He also explains why the sensitivity of the radio won’t increase if the LNA is placed close to the radio instead.

In addition to this, he also explains why adding more LNA’s to a system decreases the linearity (IP3) of the system and that if the receiver has a built in LNA that the system linearity can be severely degraded by adding extra LNA’s, causing easy overloading and intermodulation. In conclusion Anthony writes the following:

In summary, a setup with a good antenna system connected to a receiver with a built in LNA:

  • May not benefit from having a preamp at the antenna.
  • The presence of a built in LNA is detrimental to the linearity and may degrade the signals.

So in conclusion:

  • Put the preamp as close to the antenna as possible.
  • Receivers with a built in LNA may not get the most out of an antenna system or preamp.
  • Proper gain distribution guarantees better performance than one-size-fits-all solutions, both in terms of sensitivity and strong signals handling.

Optimal Setup: Antenna -> LNA -> Coax -> Receiver
Optimal Setup: Antenna -> LNA -> Coax -> Receiver
NF and Linearity Calculations
NF and Linearity Calculations in AppCAD

Designing a Low Noise UHF Front End with Sharp Filtering for SDR

Most wideband SDR’s do not come with any front-end filtering built in. This limits their ability to receive weak signals in the presence of strong signals. Recently Sivan, a reader of RTL-SDR.com wrote in to let us know about a paper he published through the ARRL detailing how to design a concrete front-end unit for SDR use. A front-end helps to filter out signals that are outside of the desired passband, thus reducing interference from nearby strong signals significantly. Although Sivan uses a USRP with WBX daughtercard in his paper, he writes that the same front-end design principals can be applied to the RTL-SDR as well.

In the paper he designs a 431 – 435 MHz front-end using low cost SAW filters, a low noise amplifier (LNA) and a limiter to protect the radio. He writes that the design could easily be adapted for other bands as well.

A Selective and Robust UHF Front-End
A Selective and Robust UHF Front-End