Local Date
30 December 2024Local Time
11:28Location
Gainesville, FloridaCountry or Territory
United StatesName
Automatic Ground Station 3 FloridaSatellite
NOAA-18Archive ID
We were late in plugging-in the semi-permanently mounted V-dipole antenna to the 'recording' AGS, but happy to see it standing on the peak of the garage roof, glinting orange-pink in the sunlight, without anyone attempting to hold it in place, as it received an image from NOAA-18. After several antenna radiation pattern calculations, we decided to try a test antenna height of 0.8 metres off the pinnacle of the roof. While some radio forums suggest putting the antenna as high as possible, others suggest this is not necessary, especially if one is already mounting on a semi-conductive wooden roof (as opposed to concrete or steel). Depending on what surface the v-dipole antenna takes as 'ground', the antenna height can create different patterns of reception, and can even lead to 'null' points where no signal data can be received. However, as Gainesville can get very strong, hurricane force winds, and we couldn't see many examples of tall antennas or rooftop weathervanes in the neighbourhood, we opted to keep the antenna height under one metre, and 0.8 seemed to work great today, despite our lateness. To secure the antenna mast to the roof, we used a steel 'weathervane' mount with special wood screws with deep ribbons that we had gotten at the local ACE hardware store, and a good coating of a transparent sealant gel called, somewhat counter-intuitively, 'Through the Roof!' We managed to hit a stud with one side of the steel mount, which was a good sign for the sturdiness of the antenna, but also meant that the drill pushed further into the roof on the stud side of the mount, and slightly unbalanced the mount. We unscrewed, knocked some wooden 'shims' under the metal pad at the stud side, and checked its straightness by hanging a roll of tape on a golden ribbon next to the mast. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will be able to tie the RF cable onto the mast, and bracket / secure the cable to the roof, wrapping it around the edge of the garage door and entering the garage where the AGS will stay plugged in.