This Wiki is a User Guide and simplifies searching the Forums for answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
New March 2023 Dreamcatcher 2301 Board
This new Dreamcatcher version 2301 board became available for purchase in March 2023. As of July 5, 2023, it is running Firmware Version 1.0.6.
Here’s a Quick Start Guide for the Dreamcatcher 2301 Quick Start Guide for Dreamcatcher 2301.pdf (252.2 KB)
- The current Firmware Version is 1.0.6, and to upgrade a previous Firmware Version, you must reflash the board as described above in the Quick Start Guide.
- The new Dreamcatcher 2301 can be seen live on-line connected to SES-2 North America at 87 West. The Dreamcatcher 2301 Board is at http://76.111.80.23/ (Current as of September 24, 2023)
Wiki Table of Contents from User’s Guide for Old Dreamcatcher v3.05 Running Skylark 5.8
The following Sections are extracts from the May 31, 2022, User’s Guide in higher resolution**
Please Note - - we are retaining this User’s Guide for Dreamcatcher v3.05 running Skylark 5.8 for those still using them.
It has been revised to accommodate the new European Satellite Astra 3B (23.5E) that started to operate in May 2022. The current May 31, 2022 User’s Guide is ready for your use.*
The Guide had not been updated for the new SES-2 , frequency of 12.0581 MHz which was changed in January 2023; and in April 2023, Eurosat/Astra 3B’s down link frequency changed to 11657.1 MHz *
-
Section I - Purchase, Unpack, and Assemble
Addition equipment to purchase
Assembly
Software download
Micro SD Cards
Updating Previous Versions of Skylark
Over the Air (OTA) Updates -
Section II - Energize Dreamcatcher Setup
Energizing for first time
Accessing the Skylark Program
Finding the Othernet WiFi Hotspot
User Names
Unique Problems Encountered After Updating Previous Versions
Navigating the Skylark Program -
Section III - Acquiring the Satellite
Setting Up Your Satellite and LNB Type
Verifying LNB Bias-T voltage
Satellite Footprints
Finding your correct look angle to the satellite
Tips on pointing to the satellite
Satellite Calculator for Othernet Beams
Selecting the Correct Satellite and Tuning To It
Dreamcatcher Placement
Cones and horns to improve performance
Free-to-Air Antennas
Inline Satellite Amplifier -
Section IV - Connecting the Dreamcatcher to Your Local Router WiFi as a Client
The Network App
Finding your Dreamcatcher’s local IP address
Changing Administrator and WiFIPasswords
Rebooting and Resetting the Dreamcatcher to Factory Default
LED indicator meanings
WiFi repeaters
Ethernet Dongles
Calls (Rotating progress bars)
Port Forwarding
Dreamcatcher Reporting Status to Headquarters Stealth Issues -
Section V - Additional Storage
Micro SD Cards - Size and Format Requirements
USB Flash Drives
Installing and Running The Rachel Data Base and Other Programs -
Section VI - Printing and Othernet Satellite Radio
Printing
Othernet Satellite Radio
Use of a speaker or FM Player Transmitter
Adjusting the Volume -
Section VII - Skylark Content
File Manager
-VOA News Summary Audio Feed
Messages
-Automatic Packet Reporting System (ARPS) Function in Skylark
-Non-APRS General Messages
News
Tuner
-Viewing Status Screen when Using Logon Guest
Weather
What’s New
Wikipedia -
Annex TABS
Annex A: Power Cubes and Cables
Annex B: Trouble Shooting
Annex C: LNB Enhancements
Annex D: Dreamcatcher v3.03 Unique Features
Annex E: Over the Air (OTA) Skylark OS Updating
Annex F: Low Noise Block (LNB) Devices
Other Valuable Information
VIDEO EXPLAINING OTHERNET
Check this YouTube Video produced by Forum Member, Matt, explaining the Dreamcatcher v3.05 running Skylark 5.7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCewB_PuvDk&feature=youtu.be
SOURCES OF USEFUL SOFTWARE TO DO A SKYLARK INSTALLATION ON A DREAMCATCHER
- 7 Zip https://www.7-zip.org/
- Win32DiskImager https://win32diskimager.org
- Rufus http://rufus.ie/
- Etcher balenaEtcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives
- DishPointer https://www.dishpointer.com/
- Angry IP https://angryip.org/
- Advanced IP Scanner https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/
- Bonjour Services Download Bonjour Print Services for Windows v2.0.2
- AOMEI Partition Assistant Download Magic Free Partition Manager Software - AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard
- VLC Player Official download of VLC media player, the best Open Source player - VideoLAN
- PuTTY https://putty.org/
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR DREAMCATCHER USERS
- Hardware Information
- Software to Use for Other Applications
Armbian Linux
Dreamcatcher Chat Application - Other Software Options
- Wiki for Dreamcatcher 2
- Wiki for SDRx
- Wiki for moRFeus
- Note/Revision History
Hardware Information
- Transceiver Semtech sx1280/1
- Allwinner A13, is a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor is the heart of the Dreamcatcher Board Series
- Single USB type A for connecting devices
- One micro type B USB plugs for 5vdc 2amp power
- Speaker jack and Speaker pin connector 1/8" (3.1 mm) mini both speaker
- Antenna one SMA connector pre-wired to a short cable with a male SMA connector on the Dreamcatcher v3.05 and two female SMA jacks on the Dreamcatcher.
- Supplied LNB and female Type F to female Type F coax connector
- Maverick Satellite MK 1-PLL single standard Ku band LNB 11.7 - 12.2GHz 10.750 GHz LO Powerered at 13 or 18 vdc max 135ma (included with Dreamcatcher v3.03) or Othernet Dual Band LNB
- Touch screen display only on Dreamcatcher v3.03 or v3.02Q QVGA 2.4"TFT LCD Touch Shield 320x240 Serial Module Display,ILI9341 Power requirements 5v or 3.3v and 100ma. A 40 pin GPIO extension ribbon cable can be used to remotely mount the display.
- The two sd card slots tested with up to 64GB micro SD cards. Must be good quality
- Mounting holes
- Various “points” on the main board (no longer has a jtag) uart terminals are typical interface is provided typical http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/Cables/USBTTLSerial.htm and
http://www.amazon.com/Armorview-PL2303HX-Cable-Module-Converter/dp/B008AGDTA4 - EDUP Wifi mini usb device is supplied http://www.szedup.com/product-item/802-11n-mini-wifi-adapter/ 8011n,g,b 2.4 GHz with rf power 13~17 dBm Chipset Ralink5370
- Power on/off Reset button - push and hold 10 seconds to interrupt the intermediate power buss
- Ventilation and cooling requirements - - infra red scan shows the display, power regulator chip U-1 and Allwinner A13 to be warm
Software to Use for Other Applications
-
Armbian Linux Based: Customized for the Dreamcatcher
Software Downloads
Suggested starting points are: “sudo nmtui” or armbian-config -
Dreamcatcher Chat Application
The Dreamcatcher v3.05 is capable of transmitting text messages to other Dreamcatcher v3.05 boards on frequencies between 40 MHz and 6 GHz using the Dreamcatcher Chat Application. The application achieves this by controlling both the mixer and radio peripherals present on the Dreamcatcher board. It uses a different set of software to achieve this capability that is available at GitHub - Othernet-Project/dreamcatcher-chat: A chat application for the Othernet Dreamcatcher data radio. Two Dreamcatchers side-by-side - - one is the transmit end and the other is the receive end. The link is half-duplex. If you separate the Dreamcatchers, you can perform half-duplex messaging between them. Don’t forget, you may need a license to transmit depending upon where you are operating.
Other Software Options
- Future options may allow the setting to be stored: type “sudo alsactl store”
- Selecting Coax inputs Note: The only valid configurations are when rfswitch1 is off and rfswitch2 is on, or the other way round.
a. Selecting Direct SMA Code block
sudo su
cd /sys/class/leds/rfswitch1/
echo 1 > brightness
cd /sys/class/leds/rfswitch2/
echo 0 > brightness - Turn on Bias-Tee to the Coax Connector
a. Code block for 14 volt dc at both sma input connectors
sudo su
cd /sys/class/gpio
echo 119 > export
cd gpio119
echo out > direction
echo 1 > value - Adjusting SDR parameter
** RF Amplifier Gain
** Lora and other SX1281 parameters
The default for the chat application found in main.cpp:
modulationParams.PacketType = PACKET_TYPE_LORA;
modulationParams.Params.LoRa.SpreadingFactor = LORA_SF7;
modulationParams.Params.LoRa.Bandwidth = LORA_BW_0400;
modulationParams.Params.LoRa.CodingRate = LORA_CR_4_5;
PacketParams.PacketType = PACKET_TYPE_LORA;
PacketParams.Params.LoRa.PreambleLength = 0x08;
PacketParams.Params.LoRa.HeaderType = LORA_PACKET_VARIABLE_LENGTH;
PacketParams.Params.LoRa.PayloadLength = 50;
PacketParams.Params.LoRa.Crc = LORA_CRC_ON;
PacketParams.Params.LoRa.InvertIQ = LORA_IQ_INVERTED;
Wiki for Dreamcatcher 2
- Alternative Uses for Dreamcatcher 2 Ambian. Flash this image to your sd card: Software Downloads (readme file in that folder useful to get started, guessing you’ve done this part before though. Then before updating any software via apt-get upgrade! Follow the info on this post Dreamcatcher - DONT UPGRADE KERNEL BEYOND 5.27! - #4
Revisions