To track a payload there are 3 different scenarios:
From Home
The main factor here is height – you need to get an aerial up high so it can “see” past any local obstructions and has as clear a view as possible of the horizon. Aerial gain matters rather less, and some trackers have managed to track at long distance even with a quarter-wave aerial.
For more gain, choose a yagi (though it’s directional and will need aiming, and re-aiming, at the payload) or a collinear.
I’ve tracked payloads up to 300km away using a small yagi taped to an upstairs window, and at up to 480km away using the same yagi attached to a telescopic fibre-glass pole approx 6m tall.
For the next flight I now have an 8m telescopic aluminium mast with ground screw and guy ropes, carrying a 3m collinear.
Mobile
After Landing
