basic scanner/aerial setup advice

[baldiedc]

Hi firstly a shout-out to Dave and everyone providing these feeds, a lot goes into making this happen.  Easy to take for granted a crystal clear tower feed to your cell phone in real-time until it disappears

With the current gap on KDCA I wanted to experiment myself with a basic setup, got a Uniden BC355N, able to pick up DCA tower/ground/app/dep etc with the basic antenna indoors, but most of the transmissions are not very clear and have a lot of noise (adjusted squelch).

Any advice on a basic external antenna I can try.  I was looking on Amazon and see a lot specifying frequency ranges such as 136-174MHz, isn't that outside aircraft band?

I am about 3 miles from DCA on the 16th floor of a building but may have some interference from my building and other tower blocks in the area. 

Also interested in what location/factors result in the best reception - is it proximity to the airport, or to other transmission aerials in the area.  I assume frequencies such as ground may be more localized to an airport but the Potomac approach/dep frequencies are being more broadly transmitted.

Sorry for the novice questions - any advice/pointers appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

[dave]

Hi Paul-

Thanks for reaching out. I'll try to give a brief summary.

Indoor antennas generally do not work well. YMMV based on building construction, window treatments, and other factors. One of those other factors, and it applies to both indoor and outdoor antennas, is RF noise. RF noise can come from many sources, and I won't go into all of them here. But generally you don't want an indoor antenna near computer devices and appliances. Again, YMMV and every situation is unique.

For a receive antenna a basic VHF antenna that meets any aesthetic requirements will be OK as long as you are within 5 miles of an airport surface area without any major obstructions. It is always better to have a "close to resonant" antenna - one that is cut for the frequency range in question. But not required and good results can be had with many types of antennas.

Goal 1: Hear the controllers.
Goal 1A (nice to have): Hear aircraft on the ground. Sometimes this can be difficult depending on airport/ramp construction and the receiver's physical location. Being up high is good for this.

Hearing airborne traffic is easy, unless your building blocks you in a certain direction.

For Approach controllers in this case, most of those radio transmitters are at DCA. There are other PCT (Potomac TRACON) transmitters in other locations (like ADW) but most of them are at DCA.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Hi firstly a shout-out to Dave and everyone providing these feeds, a lot goes into making this happen.  Easy to take for granted a crystal clear tower feed to your cell phone in real-time until it disappears

With the current gap on KDCA I wanted to experiment myself with a basic setup, got a Uniden BC355N, able to pick up DCA tower/ground/app/dep etc with the basic antenna indoors, but most of the transmissions are not very clear and have a lot of noise (adjusted squelch).

Any advice on a basic external antenna I can try.  I was looking on Amazon and see a lot specifying frequency ranges such as 136-174MHz, isn't that outside aircraft band?

I am about 3 miles from DCA on the 16th floor of a building but may have some interference from my building and other tower blocks in the area. 

Also interested in what location/factors result in the best reception - is it proximity to the airport, or to other transmission aerials in the area.  I assume frequencies such as ground may be more localized to an airport but the Potomac approach/dep frequencies are being more broadly transmitted.

Sorry for the novice questions - any advice/pointers appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

[FlightLevel310]

I have a BC355N as well and the reception with an attic antenna from an airport 9-10 miles away is decent. Aircraft on the ground can be a bit scratchy, but the tower comes in clear. The tower isn't super high at the airport, but it is high enough.

This is the antenna I use with it (https://dpdproductions.com/collections/aviation-base-mobile-antennas/products/vhf-air-vertical-outdoor-base-antenna). It is a bit expensive, but it does work.

I also have a few SDRs with these antennas (https://www.amazon.com/RTL-SDR-Blog-Multipurpose-Dipole-Antenna/dp/B075445JDF/). They are cheap, but are good value for the cost. Dave is currently in the process of trying to set these all up as feeders.

What I have come to find out is that an attic antenna can work just fine under the right conditions. Obviously, outside mounted would be better. Indoor at the ground level won't do you much good, but you said you are 16 floors up. The higher up, the better due to line-of-sight reception. Building materials can be an issue as well. I'm not sure about your orientation to DCA, but if you have a window facing that way, you can try an antenna in the window.

[baldiedc]

Thanks for the repsponses.  I was able to make a 'flower pot antenna' with RG58 coax and a PVC pipe, tuned for the air band with mixed results that I suspect is more about location - some clear transmissions on approach/departure frequencies with intermittent noise; helicopter freq (which also contains tower side of fixed wing comms) is ok tho that freq is also back up on LiveATC now with better quality; tower itself is still noisy but ground is actually better than tower.  It improves a little when I put the antenna outside tho I am a bit limited - on one hand I have height and line of sight to the north arrival/departure corridor but unfortunately somewhat confined by buildings around me and no roof mounting option.  But good experiment so far, planning to take it to some places near DCA and see the results.