fuzzy_bunny

Oh yes, a more recent copy of the book I have from 1938 from the ARRL is: http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Antenna-Book-22nd-Softcover/dp/087259694X/ -FB

The ARRL (National Ham Association, or Amateur Radio Relay League, something like that) has a ton of information on antenna design. Really, it comes down to what you are trying to receive. Because of physics, your antenna needs (optimally) to be designed to pick up the signal at the frequencies you are interested in. I have an old Parabolic I used for Wifi, I am interested in seeing what I can do with hooking it up to the dongle. For ADSB reception, Amazon carries both powered and unpowered unidirectional antennas. For doing this on the cheap, ham swap meets carry a bunch of radio gear, including antennas that can be applied to this application. Learning is your best bet, as you can get an idea of what is necessary, and also take advantage of interesting atmospheric phenomena like ionospheric skips, which allow you to pick up remote signals that otherwise would be inaccessible. I have an ARRL book from the 1930's (and more recent material) that still has good designs for a variety of tasks. If you really start to dig into it, I recommend getting in touch with your local ham group, as there is a bunch of guys just about everywhere that are quite willing to point you in the right direction, and show you some tricks of the trade. Some material can be learned from books, other information is learned from experience or word of mouth.