@HeloFreak sorry my phone broke and I just got a replacement this week. Here's a photo of my balcony, was thinking of putting it in that corner
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@Petah_Grill do you have any pics further to the right? Also, can you confirm that is a power outlet lower next to the sliding door? I have several ideas but will ultimately depend on where you are willing to drill holes and how unobtrusive you are concerned about the aesthetics…which there are ways to make it blend in. And sorry if I missed if you have a WB200 or MGW310…because that would make a difference in priority on where to try and mount it. Sorry just saw your title “no drilling” and also a 310.
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@HeloFreak hello, to the right is basically the end of the balcony. And yes preferably no drilling. I have a 10 foot pole and a tripod stand thing though
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attaching to the top of the pole is ok if you can keep it stable and make the mount solid. I used a round open pole and wrapped thick tape around the mounting rod stuck in to hold it in place. firm and won’t fly out. zip ties to strap the cable to the pole. sandbags is good as long as the pole doesn’t wiggle too much(geodnet). Wiggle can affect the accuracy in the 1-3% range. I haven’t seen wind wiggle affect my geod earnings. The number of satellites have a bigger impact on geodnet earnings. And in the USA there seems to be dropouts of satellites at certain times of the day that affects all geod receivers nearby. Doesn’t affect wingbits. have a drip loop at the plug so any water doesn't drip into the socket. it stops at a wire U below the plug. Same for your cables.
I hope your balcony is open to the sky. tar1090 wiil be the true tell of your range and obstacles. for 360 degrees. With just a little pole to the north and above my mgw310 I lose 100 nm range in a small 20 degree radius. But my south/east/west open sky gives me 200 to 250nm flight tracking range and more. this could also affect GEODNET earnings if it can’t see enough satellites
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@eye4detail sorry my phone broke and I just got a replacement this week. Here's a photo of my balcony, was thinking of putting it in that corner
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@Petah_Grill IMO I would want to get the pole tall enough so the Antenna just sticks up above that ridge line. secure it with 2 antenna brackets attached to the wall at the pole mid way and up close to and just below that ridge line. That will secure the antenna from moving. If you need to remove it you can always fill in the screw holes on the side with matching color caulk. Blocks of wood between the antenna mount and the wall can extend the antenna mount out to clear the soffit.
Last, I believe that the antenna base should be grounded, which would be a wire from antenna base to a ground rod in the ground and better one closest to the electrical ground outside at the meter. Some may discount this idea as not the greatest but the ground plug of a 3 prong outlet should lead directly to the outside ground Thru a common ground block in the electrical panel. I don’t recommend that Per code but if its the only alternative, it may be better than nothing. But only as a last resort. The other methods above are better.
If you are in a no wind location, then maybe the pole could just stand there as long as it doesn’t move or wave with the wind. Small movements of just a few inches of swinging can affect your GEOD rewards accuracy. 6 to 12 inch swings might be a problem for accuracy. It shouldn’t affect ADS-B which is just receiving signals. It does rely on GEOD antennas to declare location accuracy.
I have 1 to 2 inch swings with winds and my GEOD rewards haven’t been affected. More effect by visual satellites in sky.
That looks like about 10 to 12 feet in pole length to get the antenna just above the roof line and actually if you could support the pole just below the overhang underside somehow that should secure the antenna pole. with just the base attached.
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Isn't it possible to install it outside the balcony? You'll lose at least 50% of your coverage/reward.
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@F_Pozzi He will only lose coverage if the balcony is covered. With this being a 2nd floor balcony of a house, I am doubtful that there is anything above it - Pending pictures.
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@F_Pozzi Even if that was the case, if the other 50% was right overhead and direct line of site to a major airport…my experience has performed very well until the LNA failed. But new one is in the queue to be shipped. However, if you are getting the GEODNET MGW310 the line of site issue is a much bigger issue due to GEODNET performance requirements being so high and only increasing as of recently. Bottom line is you have half your view blocked, you can still do well with a WB200 near a busy flight pattern, but would not bother with an MGW310 unless you have conplete sight picture in all directions.
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Hi Petah, Id be happy to offer some recommendations but could you possibly provide some example pictures of your balcony? Everyone’s setup is a bit different and unique so it’s hard to give ideas without knowing your exact setup.
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Wingbits
I’m on a 14th floor balcony with direct line of sight to Dulles international. Great Wingbits performance, until the LNA faulted and now waiting for the replacement that has a 4-8 week lead time. However, the GEODNET was barely making 80% due to the East blockage as mounted on my balcony, even though there is only one more floor above my balcony. So if you have a balcony and can’t reach above or very close to the top of one your building just get a WB200. GEODNET which I don’t recommend in a balcony situation especially with their latest litepapers and the particular situation of not having at minimum 10 degrees full scan (obviously depends on particular location) as they advertise, GEODNET you almost have to have a complete clear 360 to get all the satellites you can. Wingbits is more frequency related and also location to busy airports. But as far as mounting, here is how I mounted my MGW310 and also have a WB200 in a different hex, and wish I just bought another WB200. Specifically for the balcony situation and not being able to clear the top of the building. You can buy a wood board to gain height, and a longer mounting rod, I thing it was 11/16ths it don’t quote me on that, easy to get from Home Depot or wherever. I ended up buying heavier duty clamps to drill the the boards just because. But whatever you do, don’t bang, touch, or handle the unit by the antenna…at all. It will be unrepairable. If you hear the antenna rattling inside the fiberglass housing you might as well start at ticket. They are not durable to impact whether it’s shipping or your own handling.