I`ve got a really low SNR (between 0 and 1.2) but I’m sure I got the right direction …
In front of the antenna is a window, but this shouldn’t be an issue.
Do you have any tips for me to find the right direction or any ideas what I probably did wrong?
Thanks, Malte
Location: Northern Germany (that’s why my English is so bad)
maltemueller, What setup are you using? What satellite are you tuning into?
I ordered the kit with the CHIP and I’m tuning to the Alphasat 25°E
If you are close to Hamburg Germany then you should be pointing to 159.1° (magnetic) with an elevation of 27.3° to the horizon. Is this what you are using? Have you tried checking the azimuth with compass?
Is your LNA’s red led turning on?
Are you using any additional feedline (antenna cable) with the setup?
Have you tried setting it up outside? It is pretty quick to see if you get a signal lock and what the SNR is.
Could you share a picture of your setup?
I see from another post (that you posted here) that you are in Schleswig Holstein, Germany
To focus to 25E Inmarsat 3-F5 (the outernet, Europe L-Band satellite) you need to point to:
Azimuth 158.9° (magnetic) and 26.6° Elevation
The frequency is 1545.94 MHz but this should be set when you select Alphasat in the configuration setup.
I’m living in Kiel (ca. 100 km to the north from Hamburg).
Yes, the red LED is lighting.
I just used the things which are included in the starter kit.
I did not try to set it up outside, but I will tomorrow (now its dark and rainy).
And I’ll post a photo as soon as possible.
The SNR value is also not really constant. It jumps from -0.6 to 0.8 and so on.
Do you have any other RF signals nearby that may be increasing the noise floor? I am not familiar with the spectrum in Germany. Electric motors with warn commutators can cause RF noise. Are you near any large radio transmitters? Harmonics from high power transmitters could cause interference.
Using the RTL-SDR as a spectrum analyzer could help paint a picture of your spectrum and noise floor. You might want to plug the radio into a computer with a screen and attempt to look at the spectrum near 1.54594 giga-hertrz.
Are the pigtail connectors good and tight?
If you look in the direction Jherman suggested do you see any obstacles? Flats? Trees?
We should also confirm that all of the parts work. Do you have SDR# on your laptop?