Will the power connector still be micro-usb? Is that the power connector visible just below the end of the LNB in the picture? Perhaps a picture of the other side of the board? Thanks, Jerry.
Yes, power is still via microUSB. I’ll upload another picture shortly.
The holes will have rubber plugs. The hole near the microUSB routes the power cable. The base sits on three fit, which elevates it enough to allow a cable under. Three feet were chosen to prevent wobbling. The hole near the wifi dongle allows the RF cable to pass through, in case the user would like to connect to an alternative antenna.
Those pictures help for us curious folks…
- I see the u.fl connector, something different… not a detriment, but I have destroyed a few using a pliers to connect and disconnect.
- Since the lnbf is bare metal… could it cause an accidental short if it touches the motherboard while adjusting the elevation… this has to be done while the board is powered and operating. maybe something to protect the main board?
- could a sticker be applied to the top of the nylon near the big nut showing an approximate elevation vernier scale ?
- I ran into trouble with the v 2.0 boards running the coax too close to the receiver chip. I see you have it routed right over the top of the two shielded chips.
@Syed, thanks for the views you have provided here.
Jim, u.fl was designed to be connected/disconnected using special tools, and as you cautioned, pliers are not kind to them. Fingers work pretty well except that the connectors definitely are very small to handle. Pertinent your concerns with the naked lnbf and the coax, you could re-route the coax and use a round plastic disc (cut down cd?) or even phenolic or cardboard to make a barrier the diameter of the radome that could be placed above the circuit board.
Syed, will you be coming out with a new Skylark 5.6 program? Ken
Yes.
right, I thinking along the same lines… protection but stll allow heat dissipation.
quantity 100 for $4
http://www.amazon.com/Vancens-Perforated-Parchment-Non-stick-Steaming/dp/B07H4MNL9M/ref=sr_1_32
I actually liked the DreamCatcher 3.03. I have ours connected to our network switch via a USB Gigabit Network Adapter. From there, we added an additional SSID and VLAN to our Access Points (we have Cisco AP’s indoors and a Mikrotik Metal 2 outside) to allow everyone access to the DreamCatcher.
I actually have it mounted on the wall in our shed and connected through the LNB on a small DirecTV dish. Using the dish, our SNR went from -13dB to +2.5dB.
I would like to buy a couple more as a backup (if there are any available). We live in a small town in Montana and it is nice to have a decent, reliable source of news and information.
As for the DC 3.04 (and higher), it does look good as well, but I feel it would be better for portable applications. Are you planning on selling the board only, with the capabilities of adding a touchscreen display?
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I think your idea has allot of merit. Many of us have permanent installations at home (mine is connected to an open internet connection with it being port forwarded), and have a portable unit for travel - - as I do.
The most useful function on the touch screen has been the ability to return to the hotspot mode, but Syed has included a button for that on the new board. The new board should be easy to adapted to permanent installations by connecting it to your dish with whatever LNB you chose to use. Ken
I do use the touchscreen to properly align my dish as well as on-the-spot configuration. I had it connected to a 20Ah USB battery while aligning for the best signal. It worked extremely well.
Unfortunately, the pack fell last night and ripped out the USB OTG connector (arrgghh!). Fortunately, it did not damage the USB PWR connector and I have been using that since. I’m half tempted to epoxy the heck out of the USB PWR connector to make it more durable.
I still have my DC 2.03, but am completely clueless on what to use it for.
@Simba7 It warms my heart to see we are providing a useful to information service to a customer in the US. I tend to (wrongly) assume that connectivity is never an issue here. Your post reminds me of a customer who snail mails me $5 with a microSD so I can burn firmware updates for him. This customer is in southern Illinois.
We have a very limited supply of 3.03 Dreamcatchers, which we need for testing. I don’t see why we could not sell the 3.05 as board-only; those will just be special orders. But the display has been completely removed on the 3.05. It was really expensive and one of the things we need to concentrate on is cost-reduction. 3.06 will be even further simplified, if the next bit of testing is successful.
You are right in that we do need to work on something to assist with alignment.
The USB OTG should be easily hand-soldered. If you have a soldering iron, of course.
I think the best new use of the DC 2.03 is for ADS-B. You can find very thorough instructions here:
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/outernet-dreamcatcher-setup-with-ads-b-dump1090-and-piaware-tutorial/
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How about a cell phone app as alignment tool right at the antenna site?
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Theres a number already out there - I use ‘Dish Align’ on iOS
No I mean an app that would look just like the little screen on Dream Catcher that will be removed from the next DC board to be issued.
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is possible to add stabilizer for 12V car acumulator?