Installation Pictures

Let me know how it works out. I plan on doing this, but with parts that anyone can buy, and run from the chip so rssi and snr values can be accessed.

Wonderful to see systems from around the world, and even up in the arctic circle !

I took the low tech approach, keeping with materials laying around. This was because:

A. I wanted to get the system running right away.

B. I wanted friends of mine to see how easy Outernet is with this kit. The Outernet kit is for all, not only for 'Ubertechies. :satellite:

First I needed to install the satellite receiver into the very UNDER-engineered radome to protect it from the winter storm outside.

– What is the L-band attenuation of damp/wet/sodden cardboard ??? Let’s prop it up in a camp chair and find out.–

Oh, by the way, as soon as it went outside, the snow also began :wink:

Did it work? Oooooooh, yes!


I’ll use these pictures to make the point that this is a very viable way to reach the world’s population with information, education and friendship building.

Now.time for the upgrade - The new “radome” is a U.S. brand ‘Hefty’ gasketed, locking food container. 'Radome, Mk 2.0" :slight_smile:

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Syed, the servos are from eBay. Search for sg90. I think they are like $1.50 each. Mine has metal gears, so cost was 50 cents more.

@tomi Hay Tom, Do you have the link for the .STL files for that servo AZ/EL mount?

I would like to see about printing a set of them.

Thanks!

-Cecil
AA5CE

@tomi I can see how the motors allow for panning, but how did you do the tilt?

The 3D model is from here (definitely not my design!)

Because I used the 3D printer in a public library, I had a kind of one shot opportunity. Something went wrong so I had to carve lots of material from the insides to the mount to fit servos. Plus copious amounts of hot glue. But it works!

Syed, see the link for the 3D model:

In the pictures you can see that inside of the case one servo is pointing down (pan) and the other one is on top of that, sideways, for tilt. Very, very compact setup from this designer!

Two halves of the main case (thingiverse.com):

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@tomi Thanks, that is so much easier than the mount for the bigger antennas I printed for the satnogs project. But it has much less turning force.

-Cecil

@Lolo what is that dark red/white box connected to the ADS-B in your photo

Es una Raspberry PI 3 en su caja oficial.

Translation:

It is a Raspberry PI 3 in its official box.

My initial setup up here in Norway

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to: OutThere -

That looks GREAT! Especially good because you are out of range of internet, so this make your out-of-the-box test even better.

Thank You for Posting this -

RadioRay …_ ._

I cant ever seem to remember to take pictures during the day, so sorry about the quality of that picture.

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I got the DIY kit a few days ago. I drilled two holes in the antenna and put it in a window facing south. LNA is in a box and wrapped in foil. The elevation is about 22 degrees where i live in Sweden. It gives me a SNR of 7 or 8. It is working great.
/Claes


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I have had my DIY kit for about two weeks. Other than some minor problems I had flashing the new OS, everything has been smoothly operating. I actually had it propped up on my kitchen counter looking out a window and was running consistent 6-7 SNR, but it was a pain in the back side, working around it. I decided to mount it properly.

Basically I found a nearly clear plastic storage container which was large enough to accommodate everything. To mount the antenna, I first removed the two nylon screws that go all the way through the antenna and replaced them with longer nylon screws and used an additional pair of nylon nuts to complete the antenna mounting. I gobbed some silicone sealer around the screws to prevent water leaks.

Next I constructed a gimbol mount which allowed precise aiming. I made it from 1" x 1/16" steel strap, did the bending and hole drilling and was ready to mount everything up.


When I built my house, I made certain the house was oriented north-south since I also use solar power and wanted a “southern” exposure, which came in handy mounting the Outernet receiver. Using a compass and protractor, I adjusted the heading and the tilt according to the specifics I found online for the INMARSAT 4-F3. I then used a 2.5amp power supply (from a Raspberry Pi project) to power the receiver. I really like this power supply since it comes with a ferrite core in-line with the power cable.

Once I got everything aligned and the wing nuts good and tight I was pleased to see the increase in my SNR.

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Looks like a neat setup. How much range do you get from the Raspberry Pi3 wifi?

Sorry for the confusion. I use a CHIP computer that comes with the DIY kit. I only use the power supply from a Raspberry Pi. I wanted something that was on 24/7 so I used it instead of the power brick that comes with the DIY kit.

In answer to your range question, the Outernet Receiver is probably 30 feet and three walls away from the Wi-Fi router.

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My setup so far with water cooling for the SDR and the small heat sink on the CHIPs CPU salvaged from a stepper motor driver like the ones in some 3D printers. The alfoil is just to protect the tubing from UV light. The SDR dongle was getting too hot to touch, especially when the air temperature is in the 38c + range, now it is close to ambient temperature. The helix antenna gives me a SNR between 7 and 10, 7 at night and up to 10 during the day. The LNA is in a plastic tube and covered in copper foil.

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Rain Attenuation Deterrence

Due to rain build up on the top of my old Lantern protective cover, I have redesigned the cover with a clear plastic container (Purchased at a Five Below Store).

The new design slopes the top so rain cannot pool as before. Signal improvements in heavy rains average about 4 dB in SNR and corresponding Rssi levels.

What might look like a large tree canopy over my terminal in the reflection is off to the side of a clear sky view. Today in heavy rain in Annapolis, MD, my SNR peak increased from 4 dB to 7.59 dB. Ken

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Now i want to show you my pics of my outernet kit:

Printed mounting brackets for the LNA and the C.H.I.P. Screwed from behind to the Box and mounted the LNA and C.H.I.P on. I glued the USB Hub and the 18650 Samsung Li-Ion cell in (easyer)


Also Printed brackets for the Patch antenna

Now It sitting outside on a balcony window. “Mounted” with an thick copper welding wire and an old lead acid battery.

Got Pretty good snr but balcony in the 2nd floor blocks a bit of the signal.

Battery stays full in case of Power fault (my mom/family :smiley: )

I uploaded this script to the Community Content.

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