I’m looking into adding some “arms” to it… to extend out to the length for “decent” VHF resolution. Something that can be put on and removed easily.
There is enough room to bolt 5 of them on and extend them out to 55+ cm without them hanging out too far of the sides of the vehicle. I’d like to go to the 80+ cm but that would be impractical.
I will have to run another set of coaxes to the ends of the arms. Either a whole new balanced set back directly to the Kraken, or maybe making 5 balanced “extension” ones about 10" long that would screw into where the UHF antennas go now. I’m not sure if that would mess with the phasing though.
I guess I can try it and see!
The other thing I’ve been throwing around is using a 48" x 48" piece of aluminum, instead of the 30" stop sign. I could put 2 sets or holes in that… one for UHF and one for VHF. Attach with the same or more magnets.
Ill try to zoom in to read the dimensions. I assume you measured with something other than yard sticks. this is really amazing. Could you share your dimensions? I want to check my calculations with the spread sheet. I am missing something and my numbers are off. thank you. Kf7gd
HI i want to DF CB radio frequency … is it possible on Kraken… is there any software can calculate it?
i want it exclusively on CB frequencies… the plan is its gonna be added on my backyard with a pole tower so i dont mind the bulkiness of it… is anyone tried it?
Note that it’s not a single antenna that fits on a pole, it’s five antennas in a circle.
If you have the space for a big enough antenna array, CB is possible. Just know you’re looking at 190cm radius at the low resolution end, to 472cm radius at the high resolution end.
Just use our Excel sheet in the QSG for calculating array sizing
I don’t do well in metric, [nor do I have a metric tape measure] so I entered the absolute X - Y dimensions from the spreadsheet calculator into my CAD software, saved the drawing and then converted the units from cm to inches, and then dimensioned the drawing as a guide for my desired frequency.
Question – the vehicle I plan to mount this on already has a LOT of antennas of the roof – any issue with putting the Kraken array on the hood?
Additional question – in regards to KrakenSD sensitivity to nearby RF causing damage, is there any guidance? Is a cell phone too much? What about a public safety radio?
Thanks – very new to this… still building/programming the Pi.
A cell phone is no issue, but a handheld could be an issue. The max input is +10dbm, so you might want to do some path loss calculations to see how close is safe for you to transmit with a handheld. Genernally if we’re talking around 5W at ~400MHz, then a distance of about 2m away from the antennas is fine. For public safety radios that operate at higher powers like 25W, you’d want more like 5m.
I am going to give this a try QD30-36 at Jumbo Pizza Discs Made in the USA (lloydpans.com) simply because it also has a ton of holes already drilled into it. Obviously, being aluminum magnets do not stick to it.
The pan arrived today so I’ll try and get some photos of the final build and on the car. That might be Memorial Day weekend at this point. This is going to finally be mounted on my INNO rooftop platform to go on my existing rooftop crossbars. With all the holes I should be able to ubolt this to the frame no problem.