ISS SSTV rig

[Analoguesat]

Having raided the parts boxes again Ive started the new computer project. This one is for more occasional use than the previous build so no new cases for this one. Instead Ive found out the old computer base unit I bought back in 2000, stripped the psu & motherboard out and used this as the basis for the build. Its a beast of a case if a bit tatty round the edges!

The plan is to connect this one to a 145MHz dipole antenna mainly for use when the ISS is txing SSTV. Although it will also be used for experiments in decoding DAB which I havent tried yet and anything else which takes my fancy without risking upsetting the wxsat setup. (I have a nasty habit of disabling the auto frequency track & forgetting to re-enable it when Ive been playing with other stuff!)


New psu required of course so another VS550 as in the last build has been slotted into the case and Ive found an old hdd for it .. More details later.

 

[Analoguesat]

Awaiting deliveries of bits n pieces including another DTT dongle as all mine are in use Then I can start putting things in place

 

[Channel Hopper]

Old cases really are the best for shielding.

I use one as a seat, you can't do that with the modern stuff out there.

 

[Analoguesat]

Ive been given another old beast of a case, so I shall have to find a use for that one as well - once the innards have been removed it will make a nice wet weekend project. At the moment its coming in useful stopping my office door blowing shut when the window is open

Nothing to do with these sdr projects but at work Ive been asked to build up some none network desktops for the music dept to run Open Office & various bits of low end software on. Ive rescued whats left of my stash of broken old ex network units from the server room and I spent an enjoyable if rather dusty afternoon mix & matching bits of dead computer in the hope of making 5 or 6 good ones from a dozen or so partially stripped spares donors. Hard going though - I really am scraping the bottom of the barrel with these donor boxes - they are exceptionally poor to start with. (12 year old and very tired RM Ascend 2020B models if anyone wants to look them up)

However Ive managed to get 3 going so far using pukka Win XP SP2 discs from the store room. This will be upgraded to SP3. They will run ok for what the music dept want them for with 2GB ram in them. (The mobos support 2*2GB but Ive got plenty of old 1GB sticks in stock doing nothing)

 

[jeallen01]

"There comes a time", as they say, when one has to get somewhere near "something more modern" - maybe time to talk to the music dept about "updating" their "ideas"?

 

[Analoguesat]

"There comes a time", as they say, when one has to get somewhere near "something more modern" - maybe time to talk to the music dept about "updating" their "ideas"?

Already planned - when our current 6 year old network kit is eventually decommissioned I shall refurbish some of that for them with win7 on it

Its simple economics for them - cast off ex network kit or nothing. We dont have the spare cash to be buying 15 or 16 new computers for the 2 rooms. To be fair apart from an occasional failed hdd and the power supply caps going in a few of them the 2020B's have been pretty good. Mainly I suspect because they are not on the internet or networked so most of the kids arent interested in using them

At the end of the day music room 1 got a mini suite of 10 machines for zero cost (apart from my time & this sort of project is fitted in when things are quiet in the office) Ongoing maintenance costs are effectively zero as well as I just source parts from the rapidly dwindling stash of identical sister units I keep hidden away.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I've spotted two Apple PowerMac G4 cases in the corner of the shed. One I know works and the other can be used as a decent Faraday shell.

 

[Analoguesat]

Now up to 6 operational Frankenstein computers from the pile of scrappers

 

[Analoguesat]

Already planned - when our current 6 year old network kit is eventually decommissioned I shall refurbish some of that for them with win7 on it

Its simple economics for them - cast off ex network kit or nothing. We dont have the spare cash to be buying 15 or 16 new computers for the 2 rooms. To be fair apart from an occasional failed hdd and the power supply caps going in a few of them the 2020B's have been pretty good. Mainly I suspect because they are not on the internet or networked so most of the kids arent interested in using them

At the end of the day music room 1 got a mini suite of 10 machines for zero cost (apart from my time & this sort of project is fitted in when things are quiet in the office) Ongoing maintenance costs are effectively zero as well as I just source parts from the rapidly dwindling stash of identical sister units I keep hidden away.

I foergot to mention - when I got involved with the music dept computers they were running 20 year old BBC B's . The first stuff I gave them (Win98 kit cast off from our first network when it was replaced in 2006 was a huge improvement!)

 

[Analoguesat]

Getting back to the original idea - thats awaiting wiring the dipole antenna up to the dongle which will have to wait to the xmas holidays as Ive run out of coax - more details once the project is restarted

 

[Analoguesat]

Already planned - when our current 6 year old network kit is eventually decommissioned I shall refurbish some of that for them with win7 on it

3 years later & our old network kit (much of which was 9 years old, & was well past its useful life ) was finally decommissioned over the summer. I salvaged the newer stuff (only 6 years old!) and plans are now in place to replace the 15 years old kit in the music dept Its getting win10 on it though - activated with win7 COA's off the scrapped kit The old RM Ascend 2020s are getting increasingly unreliable and arent going to last much longer.

One of these 6 year old computers will probably be borrowed (with permission from my boss!) as a working from home computer seeing as

(1) my current home rigs are getting on a bit and are tricked up in all sorts of weird & wonderful ways for specific purposes
(2) any reasonable falls of snow over the winter makes it very interesting to get out of our village....

 

[Analoguesat]

3 years later & our old network kit (much of which was 9 years old, & was well past its useful life ) was finally decommissioned over the summer. I salvaged the newer stuff (only 6 years old!) and plans are now in place to replace the 15 years old kit in the music dept Its getting win10 on it though - activated with win7 COA's off the scrapped kit The old RM Ascend 2020s are getting increasingly unreliable and arent going to last much longer.

One of these 6 year old computers will probably be borrowed (with permission from my boss!) as a working from home computer seeing as

(1) my current home rigs are getting on a bit and are tricked up in all sorts of weird & wonderful ways for specific purposes
(2) any reasonable falls of snow over the winter makes it very interesting to get out of our village....

Three years since the last message in this thread & one final update. What was left of the music dept RM Ascend 2020s & the other assorted kit Ive valiantly kept running over the last decade were finally decommissioned a couple of weeks ago & are now awaiting uplift for final scrapping.The school is moving to a new building late next year & we cant take any extraneous kit with us. So as usage of the old computers has dwindled over the last 3 years the decision has been made to make a start on the tidy up & decommission all the standalone computers.

I was rather sad as I disconnected them all for the last time - Ive put a lot of hours into those computers to keep them running over the years.