KerberosSDR - 4 Channel Coherent RTL-SDR

I recently ordered a KerebrosSDR, a four-channel coherent RTL-SDR from Othernet. Is this the proper forum for discussion?

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/ksdr/

I have the kerberos-sdr … got it about a month ago… haven’t yet got it working… the hooking up of the sdr box, an rpi, and a tablet … takes more effort then I have dedicated to that project, yet.

I subscribe to the active forum
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

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Very interesting, I hope people discuss it here.
When did this appear in the store?
The passive radar is very interesting, not unlike what Serbian air defense used to target F-117s back in the 90s.

There doesn’t seem to be a way to access that store page without clicking on a link. If I would have seen this I would have bought it a long time ago.

Btw @Syed there wouldn’t happen to be any batch 1 units left would there? I like the idea of usb c.

@Konrad_Roeder I think it’s fine to discuss it here, but the more active discussion is happening on the RTL-SDR.com forum.

@biketool The passive radar will eventually be very cool, but there’s a good bit of work before it will be interesting to a general user. I think the killer app is direction finding of intermittent signals/beacons/trackers.

@demandzm We didn’t do a good job of implementing USB-C. We don’t have any Batch-1 units left, but even if we did, I would discourage getting one of those. V2 will have USB-C properly implemented, but we’re a long way from that product. My guess would be middle of next year–but it will be well worth the wait.

Ya I read that thread on the the rtlsdr forum, it seemed to be more used error than design flaw. I might wait, or I might get both. Thanks

Just ordered one. I’ll be anxiously awaiting its delivery :smile:

It will ship out today.

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Thank you!

Would you be able to tell me where I can find the dimensions and mounting footprint? I plan to install it into an aluminum enclosure with a raspberry pi, power supplies, etc. for an automotive environment.

You mean the dimensions of the existing aluminum enclosure that the Keberos PCBs are placed inside of?

Yes :slight_smile: I don’t need specifics if you don’t have them. Just a general size so I can order an appropriate sized case for it.

@Syed,
I have taken my questions over into the RTL-SDR forum there.

Do you see an opportunity to use the KerberosSDR to act as a front-end to receiving LoRa from a LEO satellite where you have a far better linked budget, but need to electronically steer receiving antennas to follow a cubesat for example?

picture as received

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@Joe_Gilkey

45.1 mm from header to socket cap screw (height)
78.6 mm wide
54.5 mm deep (front to back) including SMA without terminator/screw

@Konrad_Roeder Do you mean the LoRa satellites that Fleet has/is launching? I believe they are the only commercial service operating a LoRa transmitter. I think Lacuna is rx-only. In either case I don’t see much opportunity there. Fleet sells proprietary IoT equipment for their network. I’m not sure that a tracking antenna is that useful in this case, as an omnidirectional/hemispheric antenna will have a horizon-to-horizon view of the sky.

Thank you @Syed for the info :smile:

That is NOT what I received. maybe it is version 2, See my picture in the above post…

Syed,
I was wondering if KerberosSDR might be the next direction that Othernet might be going in: coherent reception of Othernet on the KuBand? It made me wonder if four Ku-Band LNBs that have their LO’s phase locked could be used as an Othernet Antenna.

Then I was taking the idea a step further without going full-blown Kymetta. Could one electronically steer such an array? Or receive LoRa on 900 MHz and steer the antenna?

I concluded that KerberosSDR must have been a side-project, unrelated to Othernet.
–Konrad WA4OSH

@Konrad_Roeder I wouldn’t call Kerberos a side project, as we have spent considerable resources in its design and production. But it’s definitely unrelated to the free broadcast data service.

There are plans to further refine Kerberos, but not in the manner you described. Our goal on the satellite broadcast products is to cost reduce. Adding an electronically steerable antenna to a Ku receiver would substantially increase the price of a receiver.

Beam shaping should be possible on Kerberos, but that’s not where the development effort has been focused (so I can’t point to a way to actually do it). Direction finding is where most of the software effort is right now.

good, as four receivers seem costly for ku reception of a data feed

waiting for version 2 of kerberos just for df