Low level signals with RTL-SDR, more gain?

[steve]

Hi, having low signals level with Satnogs/RTL-SDR. Even passes with the NOAA sats show barely anythings on the waterfall.
Satnogs RF gain is set at 32.8. Antenna Diamond X30-N, cable 6m RG213. Lots of signals running the RTL-SDR with SDR++ so hardware seems ok.
SoapySDRUtil --probe is not working “command not found”

Any ideas??

[SA2KNG]

for reference, obs and station.

regarding command not found, this is true if you follow the old troubleshooting guide and is on the new docker stack.

the antenna is made for terrestrial contacts, as can be seen in the gain plot.

this somewhat compensates for weaker signals on the horizon and stronger overhead. but they’re often quite deaf to signals at high elevation angles.
it is also not made for 137MHz, so the gain and pattern at that frequency is probably unknown.