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Will a directional antenna guarantee longer reception periods then a standard antenna?

May I ask for the specs for one of this directional antennas to use with RTL-SDR?

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KcFnMi
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1 Answers1

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Will a directional antenna guarantee longer reception periods then a standard antenna?

Provided it's pointed in the right direction, and of the right polarity, then a more directional antenna will have higher gain and allow you to successfully demodulate the signal at a lower threshold than had you used a less directional antenna.

Of course the issue with satellites is the things are always moving, so getting them pointed in the right direction can be difficult. So you have a design compromise to make: do you want it to be able to receive weaker signals, or be less critical of aiming?

May I ask for the specs for one of this directional antennas to use with RTL-SDR?

The RTL-SDR does not require any special antenna. Any antenna with the right connector, and designed to operate at your desired frequency, should work fine.

Phil Frost - W8II
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  • Please, could you comment why it is so ("RTL-SDR does not require any special antenna")? – KcFnMi Nov 08 '15 at 21:15
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    Assuming that the RTL-SDR is expecting an antenna with a 50Ω impedance, then other antenna with a 50Ω impedance will work equally as well when plugged into an RTL-SDR receiver or any other radio receiver that is expecting a 50Ω impedance. To put it another way: an RTL-SDR is at its heart a radio receiver, like any other. – Scott Earle Nov 09 '15 at 00:50
  • I know nothing about antennas. May I ask for the specs of a directional antenna which could do better then the standard RTL-SDR antenna. And an accompanying picture will be great. Ideally low cost and easy to made :) – KcFnMi Nov 09 '15 at 10:25
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    @KcFnMi Shopping questions are off topic here. But since you know nothing about antennas, you could ask to learn about antennas, and then make a decision on a specific antenna to buy yourself. – Phil Frost - W8II Nov 09 '15 at 14:26
  • Ok, I'm asking here (http://ham.stackexchange.com/questions/5492/replace-directional-antenna-by-fixed-antenna). – KcFnMi Nov 09 '15 at 15:25