Looking at this thread, it seems that more boards will be available very soon? Is there an e-mail list people can get on for notification when those are available?
Thanks,
Rob
kc8kpx
There is the newsletter signup on the main website, though we donāt use it very often. The new device well be available in about two months.
Syed,
Canāt find newsletter sign up page. URL?
Can I go from 5.3 to 5.5 without a glitch?
Thanks, Don
Itās just below the big picture of Earth. It says, āReceive Updatesā.
We havenāt seen any issues with the upgrade to 5.5.
OK found it. Had to scroll down.
Don
Hello - Iām new to the forum, I heard about āLanternā when it was on indiegogo years ago, but I didnāt pledge at the time, so itās been off my radar for a good while. I wasnāt sure if the project was still in existence, but glad to see it is!!
Anyway, Iād be interested in getting a kit when itās available and usable in the UK.
So, it looks like the 3.04 kits will be out in September maybe, is that right?
Where are we with coverage, is it already up throughout Europe, or coming soon?
Hoping I can buy a set and start downloading later in the year!
Wilf
Hi Wilf, welcome to Othernet! Syed has his hands full right now, and is working with a provider to get coverage for Europe up and running. The satellite company has received the equipment and has it ready to go but there is a matter of the completion of the agreement before it is put on the air for testing. It will be a month or so before all this is worked out. Othernet plans to have version 3.05 of the Dreamcatcher available to market in September.
Jerry
Really nice!!
Iām not happy with it, but we really need to just ship.
Functional maybe.
aesthetics maybe not
The first publicly available radio receivers were pretty ugly, but eventually there were ways devised to make them more attractive. For what this is, remember that it is still early in its history.
@Syed, is it fully functional compared to version 3.03?
Itās identical to 3.03 from a functionality perspective. Of course, there is no display. There is an extra button which will be used to return the wifi to an access point.
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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. Iāll 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 folksā¦
- I see the u.fl connector, something differentā¦ not a detriment, but I have destroyed a few using a pliers to connect and disconnect.
- Since the lnbf is bare metalā¦ could it cause an accidental short if it touches the motherboard while adjusting the elevationā¦ 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.