[time-nuts] 58532a ANTENNA CABLE?

Hal Murray hmurray at megapathdsl.net
Thu Mar 27 16:14:45 EDT 2008


> There appears to be three software-monitoring programs available,
> GPSCon  Pro, GPS Control & SatStat.  I was just curious about what the
> group thinks  of these three programs or if there are any other
> available. 

SatStat is free.  It will get you off the ground.


> I do have rg58/u and coax CATV cable on hand but the problem is that
> it is a  difficult process to run the cable from my basement lab to
> the second floor  attic and I only o want to do it once.  Originally,
> I was going to penetrate  the roof at the ridgeline and install the
> antenna on a one foot but I  understand it is possible to receive
> singles from under the plywood/asphalt  shingle roof. Is it worth a
> penetration of the roof? 

I don't think you are going to get a simple answer.  That's why I suggested 
experimenting.

RG-58 is fairly high loss.  I doubt if it will work at 50 ft.

Cable TV coax is readily available in two flavors: RG-59 and RG-6.  (Or did 
10 years ago when I last looked.)  The RG-6 may be advertised as low-loss.  
It's significantly bigger.

If you have enough RG-6, I'd start by feeding it out a window or run it up 
the stairs and out the door.  Put the antenna out in the open.  If that 
works, it will probably work better on top of your roof.

If it works well, you can try tucking the antenna up under the eaves.  That's 
a good approximation of inside your attic below the roof.


There is a slight quirk.  You have to get it working before you know it's 
working.  You probably need to do a Survey.  If your antenna is marginal, you 
can watch it struggle to find satellites until it gets locked up.  (The 
Status page will show you what satellites it is working on.)





-- 
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's.  I hate spam.






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