Post by @natevw@toot.cafe

Nathan Vander Wilt

@natevw@toot.cafe 3 days ago

main antenna for the rotator arrived, also a bit of a splurge but found an open box one at least

2 media files

a parabolic grid reflector laying in two halves on the floor inside, with a wideband feed flat beside it (as well as some brackets and fasteners)

the grid antenna loosely assembled above its instruction sheet and shipping box, still inside

0 Boosts

0 Likes

Nathan Vander Wilt

@natevw@toot.cafe 3 days ago

the now wider-band radio telescope

Nathan Vander Wilt

@natevw@toot.cafe 2 days ago

got SatDump connected to the PlutoSDR and the AntRunner; no luck receiving anything so far but haven't had any great weather satellite passes yet and there's plenty of variables that probably need dialing in still

2 media files

a webcam feed pointing over the trees and part of the SatDump window with GOES 18 selected but pretty much just a flatline as far as the received spectrum

SatDump now fullscreen in a Debian 13 VM window, now with the FENGYUN 3B satellite being tracked mid-pass by the rotator but only 13º elevation and still no signal from the receiver

Nathan Vander Wilt

@natevw@toot.cafe yesterday

this is getting even more complicated, but ultimately still just a single Ethernet cable in/out

an ADALM-PLUTO, a Nooelec SAWbird, a network dongle, a PoE splitter, and a few USB splitter/adapter cables all tangled together

Nathan Vander Wilt

@natevw@toot.cafe yesterday

did find some pixels from space!!!

SatDump showing the rotator pointing to GOES 18 (but offset to 194.5º Az and 37.250º El) and still a quite poor signal-to-noise ratio, but decoder locked and receiving most of a globe image with only a few black bands

1 more reply