11 hours ago
Update #7 4m dish build. Just a quick look see! It's really taking shape and more fun now all the messy cutting and drilling is done.. #Ghz_bands #eme #hamradio https://t.co/aGn3UajP55
11 hours ago
16 ribs ready for the 4m dish. Lots more to do now the Aluminium has arrived. Outer and inner rings next.
#eme #Ghz_bands #hamradio https://t.co/I2ykN7rrbQ
11 hours ago
I thought i would add RA and DEC output to my DSN Tracker. What a rabbit hole. Soon was knee keep in LST and GST and Hour-Angle. Took way too long to get this going. But it's done (i hope).
Now am thinking sidereal tracking would be a nice addition too... https://t.co/22LhQXYQJB
11 hours ago
Nick James observing from Chelmsford, UK provided this GIF via Seesat-l of #Change5. Potentially interesting! I heard reports from EU radio observers of signal level variations earlier. Not 100% sure this is the payload and not the final rocket stage. https://t.co/XJYuQ3oJNJ https://t.co/ZiPPxfLTHm
13 hours ago
New blog post: A look at Chang'e 5 telemetry. Details, code and data for the Chang'e 5 frames that I've been tweeting about lately. Thanks to @usa_satcom and @uhf_satcom for providing the data and to @r2x0t for leading this decoding effort. https://t.co/0bRoP2bPe2 https://t.co/Ro9QEYRhaz
17 hours ago
CE5 X-Band downlink this evening, new tracking data from @coastal8049 working a treat, no tweaking needed of antenna position! https://t.co/owWjnHvfXv
Category Archives: Projects
Heat sink and shielding for HackRF One
The HackRF one PCB is manufactured with an option for a shield. This shield is available from NooElec. It’s a simple and quick addition, just some easy soldering. The hardest part is just removing the HackRF one from it’s plastic … Continue reading
AirSpy working with Inmarsat Decoder
My new AirSpy SDR arrived last week. The goal this weekend was to make a small application to stream the IQ over Ethernet and then test it with one of the Inmarsat decoders that I have previously developed. The API … Continue reading
RF Selection for AOR AR2300
In an serious effort to reduce patch panel management, another Mini-Circuits USB 4SPDT-A18 RF Switch has been added. Now, along with the original RF Switch, selections can be made from up to 10 different RF sources, including various dishes, yagis, … Continue reading
Posted in Projects
Inmarsat Antenna Distribution
Inmarsat L-Band signals from both CONUS and POR need to be routed to various receivers and SDRs, this distribution system is a pretty simple solution (as shown below). It’s based on taking an L-Band signals from a dish, where pre-amplification … Continue reading
Chang’e 5-T1 and new 1.8m dish online
New spacecraft and new dish were tested this weekend. The spacecraft is the Chinese Chang’e 5-T1, an experimental unmanned lunar mission that was recently launched by the CNSA. The dish is a 1.8m Prodelin offset and is inverted for ease … Continue reading
Posted in Projects, Spacecraft
Tagged S-Band
Aero Decoding and Full Support for HackRF One
After some work it is now possible to fully support HackRF One with my Inmarsat Aero decoder. In the past, the Inmarsat Aero decoder used two SDRs (each covering 2MHz) to cover up to 4MHz of L-Band spectrum as well … Continue reading
Adding External Reference to HackRF One SDR
The HackRF One SDR is a great value but it’s frequency stability leaves something to be desired. Using the Si5338 clock generator from Silicon Laboratories is an easy way to address the problem (if it’s really a problem for your … Continue reading
HackRF One and Decoders
I’m always looking for opportunities to reduce the costs associated with high quality decoding tasks. The HackRF One is intriguing because it’s not very expensive, has a wide band receiver (10MHz – 6GHz) and an SDR that is capable of … Continue reading
Aero Coverage of POR and CONUS
The diagram below illustrates the current Aero coverage that is possible here at USA-Satcom. As you can see there is quite a bit of IQ bandwidth to deal with and consequently at least two i7 hex core machines are needed … Continue reading
AERO-I 600 Baud GMSK
Currently there are 9 AERO-I 600 Baud GMSK channels on POR. Quite a bit of ACARS and CPDLC traffic along with the usual Call Management signaling units. These signals are huge as you can see from the “tightness” of the … Continue reading