Increasing L-Band Active Patch SNR by using it as a Feed for a Satellite Dish

Recently RTL-SDR.COM reader Bert has been experimenting with our active L-band patch antenna product. He's written in to share that he's found that using it as a feed for a satellite dish works well to improve SNR on those weaker 10500 AERO signals which Bert found that he could not decode from his location due to insufficient SNR. Our active L-band patch antenna receives signals from 1525 - 1637 MHz and can be used for signals from Inmarsat, Iridium and GPS satellites.

To use the patch as a feed Bert used a 40mm drain pipe and mounted the antenna on the end of the pipe. The drain pipe fits perfectly into the LNB holder, and once mounted the distance and polarization rotation can easily be adjusted for best SNR. He also found that adding a secondary sub-reflector about 17x17cm in size helped to boost SNR by about 3-5 dB too.

Bert has tested the active L-band patch as a feed on a 65cm satellite dish and a smaller 40cm dish, both with good results.