Antennas

The type of antenna largely depends on the type of ground station. A no rotator ground station will benefit from a different type of antenna (omnidirectional) than a rotator based ground station (directional). The two different approaches are explored below. In addition to the choice of antenna the choice of location for the ground station will have an effect on the quality of observations.

Non-Rotator Ground Station (Omnidirectional)

This type of ground station will require an antenna that will give a broad coverage from its fixed position. It is therefore not just the antenna that needs to be considered but also the proximity of buildings, geography or metallic structures that might be in the path of a line of sight between the ground station and satellite.

Typical ground stations have had success with simple wire antennas that can be commercially bought or made at home. Colinear or ‘white stick’ antennas are vertically polarised omnidirectional antennas. These have anecdotally been used for successful satellite work but should be avoided. The following are considered suitable choices:

It is highly recommended that you use a mast-mounted Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) with these antennas.

Commercial Antennas		Homebrew Antennas
WiMo TA-1 VHF Turnstile Estimated cost: 90€ Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 141 - balcony-only-east-passes 33 - G7KSE 129 - Chabot Space And Science Center 984 - KJ6DZB (with modified reflector) Product link OZ9AEC Review		Turnstile Estimated cost: TBD Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 13 - OZ9AEC-VHF1 7 - Stony 16 - VK5QI-70CM SatNOGS Turnstile Antenna (TBD) VK4ADC instructions for VHF and UHF Turnstile antennas Six-element tape-measure VHF Turnstile with modeled patterns (could be used as directional) by Herman Oosthuysen Double turnstile construction for 435MHz
M2 Eggbeater VHF / UHF Eggbeater Antennas Estimated cost: $304 (VHF), $280 (UHF), $573 (combo) Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 50 - N5CNB-UHF 77 - N5CNB-VHF Product link for VHF Product link for UHF Product link for combination package		Lindenblad Estimated cost: TBD Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 12 - W2BFJ 98 - Grove-UHF-01 442 - DL1UNX-FFB VHF AA2TX EZ-Lindenblad design can be found at this AMSAT PDF KD6JDJ instructions can be found at this QST PDF W6SHP instructions for VHF and UHF Lindenblad
Winkler Turnstile VHF/UHF Turnstile Antennas Estimated cost: 40€ (VHF), 30€ (UHF) Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 47 - DB0RV Pricing page Product link for VHF Product link for UHF		UHF Parasitic Lindenblad Estimated cost: $15 (with access to a 3D printer) Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 300 - KB9JHU-Experimental 32 - SV1QZZ - UHF #2 187 - K3LRD UHF Lindenblad Instructions can be found at this AMSAT PDF by AA2TX
		Quadrifilar Helix Antenna (QFH) Estimated cost: TBD Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 272 - K3LRD VHF QFH 255 - EA5BZ - Elche 183 - SPUTNIX-R2ANF-VHF/UHF-stationary 890 - Valpo WIRED Lab 3 G4ILO QFH Instructions VHF Model/patterns for QFH by Herman Oosthuysen QFH Calculator by ON6JC/LW3HAZ 3D Printed UHF QFH Antenna by surligas 3D Printed VHF QFH Antenna based on G4ILO's dimensions
		"Turnstiled" Moxon Estimated cost: TBD Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 305 - VK5KJP-VHF 331 - VK5KJP-UHF Instructions can be found at this QST article by W4RNL

Rotator Ground Station

A rotator based ground station is able to make use of directional antennas. These will have a directional gain, meaning that you will need to point them in the direction of the satellite but the signal you receive will be stronger and for longer. They will allow much lower to the horizon passes to be received and more successful observations. These are not complex antennas but the choice will depend on the type of satellite and there are variations on the main types: yagi, helical and quad.

Commercial Antennas		Homebrew Antennas
M2 Circularly Polarized Yagis VHF/UHF Cross-element Yagi Estimated cost: $296 (UHF), $296 (VHF), $638 (Combo kit) Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 2 - KB9JHU 109 - EA6WQ - Tomas Orzaez 25 - N7IPY 834 - Valpo WIRED Lab 1 - (2MCP14 and 436CP30 ~3.3m booms) Product link - VHF Product link - UHF Product link - Combo kit		Yagi Antennas, Cross-element yagi antennas VHF/UHF directional antenna Estimated cost: TBD A common type of antenna that is either horizontally or vertically polarised. Simple to construct and suitable for a large number of satellites. Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: TBD TBD: Assembly instructions Source code for SatNOGS yagi antenna designs are here.
WiMo X Quad VHF/UHF Cross-element Quad Estimated cost: 149€ (VHF), 149€ (UHF) Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 6 - Apomahon 49 - OZ7SAT 232 - VK5QI-AZ/EL Product link		Helical Antennas UHF circularly polarized directional antenna Estimated cost: TBD A less common type that are circularly polarized. The antenna looks a bit like a corkscrew and can be either LHCP (Left hand circular polarisation) or RHCP (right hand circular polarisation). Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: 6 - Apomahon v4 Assembly instructions v5 Assembly instructions Source code for SatNOGS helical antenna designs are here.
Arrow Dual-band portable yagi VHF/UHF portable yagi Estimated cost: $83-$149 Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: TBD Product price/ordering link Product details link
Elk Log Periodic VHF/UHF portable yagi Estimated cost: $130-$163 Some SatNOGS stations using this antenna: TBD Product link

A radome design is available from SatNOGS. This will protect the ground station from the elements in all but extra ordinary conditions. The design can be found here and construction guide here.