[Discuss-gnuradio] Antenna Questions

[Jim Borynec]

Hi All,

I've installed/compiled gnuradio on an Ubunto box.  Together with a USRP 
and a 3 foot length of wire,
I've managed to turn my computer into an FM radio.
I really appreciated all of the tutorials and how-to's that people had 
prepared for me.
It made things a *lot* easier.

Next, I'd like to play with two antennas and compare the time latencies 
between them.
(this would give me some primitive direction finding abilities.)
I can put the antenna's out in the back yard, but I don't want to move 
my computer,

Are there any faq's on "roll your own" FM antennas?
Is it simply a matter of taking a coax cable,  cutting bare the center 
wire for a metre and
plugging it into my basic RX daughter board?

The daughterboard has a jack for the antenna, but it looks too small for 
a normal cable TV sized coax cable.
what type of connector do I use?

If I keep the wires the same length then any time differencial in 
signals must be due to the different speed of light latencies in 
reception, correct?

How far from the computer can I move the USRP and still get decent 
throughput?
can I put the antennas in the back yard and run them to a USRP by the 
side of the house
(where there is a plugin), then run a USB wire to my computer inside the 
house?

Is there an easier way to do this stuff?  I saw a picture of 4 antenna 
on the gnuradio passive radar page.
That is sort of the configuration I'll eventually want to work towards.

Thanks in advance for any help.

j.b.