FlightAware Pro Stick dongle. Has integrated LNA, no filter
SDRPlay RSP1
PC running outnernetinabox
With the aforementioned, what is the bare minimum requirement for additional hardware?
I built a quick 4 turn helical, but didn’t see anything on the SDR# spectrum with the FlightAware dongle. Pointed 178 degrees and 53 degrees elevation. Location here is San Antonio Texas.
So, the questions…
Is the Outernet LNA with filter the key to this?
Any chance at all the FlightAware Pro stick will work with just the Outernet patch antenna?
Not adverse to buying the parts, just seeing what will work with what I’ve got. If nothing, so be it. I buy parts!
With the ProStick, the performance of the amp is best around the mid range band of the RTL dongle from 600-1200 Mhz per Flightaware. I imagine it will also have problems overheating at the higher Outernet frequencies. I never could get mine up.
I would definitely go with the RTL-SDR.COM v3 dongle. But it appears Outernet and Amazon are out of stock now. The Elonics E4000 dongle handles the higher frequencies and also works, but reportedly not quite as well.
You will also need a decent LNA such as the Outernet amplifier. Yes it’s filter appears to be necessary. No chance the FlightAware Pro stick will work with just the Outernet patch antenna
The Outernet patch antenna performs great, slightly better than my homemade 6 turn helical, and is not as critical with aiming.
These would get you up on the Outnernetinabox. But you still should get a CHIP to get the whole Outernet experience. You could use a Raspberry Pi, but support for them is on the way out.
There is no way around the requirement of the filter. We have a few units where the assembly process failed to place the filter and I’ve tried to use them–but get no signal from the test setup. @clavo has one of these filterless amps and he had a similar experience.
I’ve been able to receive packets with a lower gain patch of 4 dBi, which was not pointed at the satellite. But this was an active antenna with the LNA/filter located directly below the patch.
Any pointers on housing materials? Thinking about building it into something like this: Amazon.com
The patch antenna should fit nicely in the lid, leaving plenty of room for the other gear plus a cooling apparatus in the bottom. Hoping the ABS plastic won’t attenuate the signal much.
I haven’t used a housing, so can’t give any advice about that. My unit is in a South facing window, pointed in the general direction of the sat, through blinds and window screen. I get a good signal, 8+ snr, during the day, but at night it drops to marginal, probably due to the large trees in that direction. Not sure if the dew on the trees causes more attenuation or the sat path maybe wobbles behind some large branches. Anyway, my reception is acceptable, overall.