Looking for a way of using external antenna

[gleff]

Hi all,

Here's my problem.

I live in an apartment building with a veranda door and window that is sealed well (unless open).  I also rent so I can't be drilling a hole for a cable anywhere.

I have an external antenna on my veranda which works great when I have the door open and the cable plugged in.  It's unfortunately not feasible to leave either the door or window open all the time.

I know that mobile phone car antennas have a way of passing the signal via the windscreen just by glueing or taping the two parts together on either side of the windscreen.  Is there any device, or accessory, or way of doing something similar for an external antenna for my RB through my veranda glass door? 

[Tricatus]

In the UK you can get RG6 Flat coax cable for just this type of situation. It is designed for satellite though, and therefore has 'F' type connectors. I really don't know whether this would work technically though e.g. in terms of signal loss, compatibility etc.

[tarbat]

Something like this might work:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Maldol-WSC-50M-Cable-through-car-window-connector-/270433959203
http://www.vk4ajj.com/cubecart/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=289

[gleff]

Something like this might work:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Maldol-WSC-50M-Cable-through-car-window-connector-/270433959203
http://www.vk4ajj.com/cubecart/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=289

Hmmm.. that looks interesting.. I'll check it out.. thanks.

[gleff]

Hmmm.. This has some possibilities.. Not sure what I'd need to do yet and whether it would work with my antenna etc.  I'm using the following outdoor antenna.

http://www.ssejim.co.uk/26-sseads1090sj.htm

I just got a computer ribbon cable to see how it would work.  I can't do it via the veranda door because of the way it closes into grooves.  My coming and going would probably ruin it in 5 minutes if it did work.  The bedroom window on the other hand would work fine. 

I guess now I would need to confirm I'm not going to lose loads of signal by doing this, and i'd have to find some connectors/adapters.  Currently I have an N Plug from the antenna, and a BNC or SMA depending on which device I use.

What's some thoughts on how the loss of signal will be by doing this.  I found another similar cable at http://www.cometantenna.com/newPro_detail.php?ID=264 which says at the frequency range I can expect a loss of 1.8dB but I don't know the significance of that.

eg.

Frequency Range: DC-1300MHz
Connectors: SO-239
Length: 15.75 inches
Max Power: HF 100W PEP
VHF: 60W FM
UHF: 40W FM
900MHz –1.3GHz: 10W FM
VSWR: <500MHz 1.3:1
>500MHz 1.5:1
Loss: DC-500MHz .5dB
500-900MHz 1.3dB
900-1300MHz 1.8dB
Impedance: 50 Ohm

If I'm going to lose loads of signal then there's probably no point.

[gleff]

Just to provide some feedback.  I ended up purchasing the CTC-50M Window Gap Jumper from Hamcity ( http://www.cometantenna.com/newPro_detail.php?ID=264 ).  I got it delivered from the USA yesterday morning.  I've been experimenting with it and I'm really happy with the results.  

http://www.hamcity.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=1787

The specs indicate a loss of up to 1.8dB at frequencies 900-1300MHz.   According to my calculations that's about 25% loss.  While I'm not able to confirm what the actual loss is, I can confirm that the loss of signal is almost negligible.  

Using my stock antenna in my living room I consistently picked up around 2 ADSB aircraft during the test.  Changing to my external antenna, this would increase to around 9 aircraft.  Changing to the pass-through of the CTC-50M, I was getting around 7-8 aircraft.  Changed back to the internal stock antenna, and back down to around 2 aircraft.

Things to note here.  At the best of times my signal cuts in and out so these figures above fluctuated wildly, so I'm using average figures here.

The point is the signal loss is very minimal so it seems.  

The CTC-50M itself is a lot bigger than what it looks like in the photo but that's a good thing because it gives you more room to position it at a window/door etc.

It has a SO239 connector on both ends of the cable.  At the time of ordering, I also got a PL259->N(Female) adapter and a PL259->BNC(Female).  I have my Westflex 103 cable from my external antenna plugged directly into the PL259->N(Female) connector.   I'm using the device for my (competitor product) which feeds my website, but if you buy a different cable connector it will easily be usable on the RB.  I have a 1 meter BNC M-M cable plugged into the box.  

It also comes with some double sided tape and curiously enough some screws in case you decide to screw the ends to something to make it more sturdy.

I haven't mounted it permanently yet because i'm going to wait for my new ADSB antenna with a bit of gain first (saves screwing with the cable too much).

Well worth the money IMHO.  It basically solves my issues.