EchoStar-9 / Galaxy 23 ? 121W … due south from Seattle, WA Clear Sky 35.2 dev elevation
No dish
Maverick MK1PLL LNB LO=10,750 GHz
6ft RG-6 coax 75 ohm
(some adapters to match F connectors to SMA)
MiniCircuits ZFBT-4R2GW-FT Bias Tee
DC Voltage: 13V
6ft RG-316 coax 50 ohm SMA-M SMA-M
NooElec RTL-SDR dongle in aluminum housing
Laptop running Skywave Linux Gqrx
The homebrew bias tee and a connector jungle to get from F-type connectors to SMA. It feeds 13 volts into the coax towards the LNB and not towards my RTL-SDR dongle. Basically, it’s a DC blocking capacitor, an RF blocking choke and a handful of bypass capacitors. I got the surface mount parts and the choke from Vetco Redmond, WA. I made the circuit board by hand – a piece of FR4 about 1 1/2 square with an exacto knife.
Which transponder # in EchoStar 9 are you basing your tests on? I was thinking the final choice would be TP31 or 32. Frequency: 12171 V, 12167 H MHz respectively.
By that I mean we won’t have clear view of the satellite.
At my position (39.01 deg N lat 76.5 deg W long), I would need to look at a 25.8 deg elevation angle which is low. INMARSAT 4-F3 is 39.8 deg. Doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but I think others may agree with me especially those in South America. Oops, I checked - - South America isn’t in the coverage pattern. Ken
Two thoughts come to mind - - the first is with my motorized offset feed Ku antenna pointed South (my South is 76 deg W), 121 W is right at the end of my end stops - - if not beyond as I have never pointed there.
The second important issue is, Outernet plans to use a naked LNB pointed at the bird with no dish as I read Syed’s proposal. So I figure a Lantern like device would support the LNB on a tripod or stand of some sort when it goes into production. A user would hand point the LNB using a simple compass - - not a Suunto Tandem. Seems to me, a bird with a higher elevation angle across more of the viewing area would be more practical and easier to aquire. Ken
Ken,
I think you missed the southern half of coverage. I found this for Echostar 9.
But maybe South America is very weak. Note North America is redish-brown color.
Don
[quote=“Tysonpower, post:74, topic:4395”]
Bias Tee is the best solution to power the LNB. You can use the same cable for power as you use for the signal. You can’t supply the LNB over Ethernet, so it doesen’t really make’s sense to me. The only Option would be adding a lan port with POE to power the DC remotly, what doesen’t makes sense with the Display on it.
[/quote]Maybe that should be optional add-on which will allow us to power it using MikroTik or Netonix.
Possible choice of sat: Es’hail-2 will also provide the first Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) geostationary communication capability that connects users across the visible globe in one single hop and in real-time.
We don’t have the frequencies yet, so unfortunately there won’t be any new information to share. Was hoping to have everything signed and sealed by the end of the year, but the sales people were out for most of the week.
Mega Dittoes (to borrow the phrase from Rush Limbaugh listeners)
It’s been a very fun SDRx and DreamCatcher 2.03 project so far. I look forward to the new service unfolding.
