Over on YouTube the TechMinds YouTube channel has uploaded a review of our RTL-SDR Blog L-Band patch antenna which we recently released. TechMinds tests the antenna on a STD-C Inmarsat channel with the Scytale-C decoder, and on various AERO ACARS transmissions with JAERO. Later in the video he also tests the patch antenna on Iridium reception using the Iridium Toolkit software. In all tests the patch is able to suitably receive the signal with either an RTL-SDR or Airspy SDR.
We also wanted to make a note about an additional tip regarding polarization that many people using the antenna seem to have missed. As Inmarsat signals are LHCP polarized, it is important to not only point the antenna towards the satellite, but also to rotate the antenna to match the polarization until maximum SNR is achieved. The rotation can make the difference between strong signals and nothing received at all.
We've also recently seen a user 'Bert' who has needed to boost the signal strength as he was running the patch inside and at a location in northern Europe with poor reception of Inmarsat. To boost it he simply added a metal horn over the patch made from an old aluminum box, and also a back plate reflector. He notes that this improved his SNR on AERO 10500 from 8 - 9 dB, up to 12 - 14 dB. He also tested using the patch on a dish antenna, and found very good results too.
