WXSat proof of concept

Analoguesat

Analoguesat

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You can set different values for each set of directions in wxtoimg. So if you have a good view north but have hills to the south then you could set it to say 1:15. And similar for east/west


Im currently watching summat a bit unusual go over - there will be a new thread about it in a bit :)
 
Terryl

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You know a thread for "Today's weather picture" would be nice, that way we could post a photo of whats the weather going to be like in my area.

We know we have the UK and the West coast of the US (and the North pole) but getting other locations would be nice.
 
Analoguesat

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Terryl said:
You know a thread for "Today's weather picture" would be nice, that way we could post a photo of whats the weather going to be like in my area.

We know we have the UK and the West coast of the US (and the North pole) but getting other locations would be nice.
Click to expand...


One brand new thread coming up :D
 
Analoguesat

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Ive finally managed to get sdr# to autotrack the satellites as they come into range one after another. Intermixing sdr#1361 orbitron & mydde. It works well when I remember to start all the different components.....
 
Terryl

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I could not get SDR# to work on my setup, don't know what the problems were, had to use SDR Console.

So I guess I'm out of luck with the tracking part.
 
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Terryl said:
I could not get SDR# to work on my setup, don't know what the problems were, had to use SDR Console.

So I guess I'm out of luck with the tracking part.
Click to expand...
You could try using a raspberry pi like I do. That auto tracks the satellites.

I still have a few tweaks to do but so far I am very pleased with the results now.

058AA5F9-BA8D-470E-BB9F-DDD8B11BE188.jpeg61A12FC8-5444-42DF-91BB-A2ECF125E17F.jpeg49869EB2-B0AD-424C-B76D-A6BF92948BDB.jpeg2A796ED1-5246-4F95-9190-4FE7F310A865.jpeg
 
Analoguesat

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Ive moved the antenna 20 feet or so - but Im thinking about moving it back because the house is blocking more of the low westerly arc......
 
Terryl

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Terryl

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Analoguesat said:
Ive moved the antenna 20 feet or so - but Im thinking about moving it back because the house is blocking more of the low westerly arc......
Click to expand...
Can't you put it up on the roof??

I raised mine 10 feet and it works so much better.
 
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Taken out the mains plug adapters and popped a bt WiFi extender in, that now feeds the network switch that the pi’s are plugged into.

Also removed the Poe feeding on of my WiFi access points the plug now goes direct to the WiFi point.

I think it’s made a big difference.

NOAA 19 16:13

A66752AF-E7CC-4CF8-B497-53ECCF0D74DE.jpeg9F5C3308-CDF3-44F2-8CCA-96C063CC7FFD.jpeg25E44EF6-1D4A-4959-BAA3-A7385E1E9EAE.jpeg4F3DE12B-656B-4E3A-89F4-2B648966FBC7.jpeg
 
Terryl

Terryl

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Yes it does look better....Question, is that Pi thingy in a case or is it bare bones out in the open??

If out in the open your interference problems (lines on the photo) could be due to system clocks (or their harmonics) on the Pi being picked up by the SDR dongle.

I found that to be the case with mine, I used a USB extension cable and put the dongle inside a shielded and grounded case, knocked most of the RFI down from the PC by 90%.
 
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I
Terryl said:
Yes it does look better....Question, is that Pi thingy in a case or is it bare bones out in the open??

If out in the open your interference problems (lines on the photo) could be due to system clocks (or their harmonics) on the Pi being picked up by the SDR dongle.

I found that to be the case with mine, I used a USB extension cable and put the dongle inside a shielded and grounded case, knocked most of the RFI down from the PC by 90%.
Click to expand...


I have the pi in a standard pi case, the dongle is on a 50cm usb patch cable.

Sounds like I want a box like you have. any chance of a photo please?
 
Terryl

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Yah give me a bit.
 
Terryl

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OK here is the dongle mounted on a heat sink, (with heat sink compound under it) then the shielding in place, the little gray thing on the USB cable is a clamp on ferrite bead, like what is used on some monitor cables, it helps, the green clip is the Earth ground. (this will be replaced soon with a bigger ground wire)





RDS dongle 1A.jpg





RDS dongle 1B.jpg





Dongle shield.jpg

A small self tapping screw connects the shield and heat sink electrically at one point. (the green clip)
 
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Terryl said:
OK here is the dongle mounted on a heat sink, (with heat sink compound under it) then the shielding in place, the little gray thing on the USB cable is a clamp on ferrite bead, like what is used on some monitor cables, it helps, the green clip is the Earth ground. (this will be replaced soon with a bigger ground wire)





View attachment 117353





View attachment 117354





View attachment 117355

A small self tapping screw connects the shield and heat sink electrically at one point. (the green clip)
Click to expand...
What’s the cage made from?

I can get a heatsink just wondering what I can use for the cage.

Thanks for posting the photos up.
 
Terryl

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The cage is made of perforated aluminum sheet metal, do you have a Lowe's store near you?? (or equivalent)

If so then look for this stuff. (I had some scrap laying around)

Code: 
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Accord-Ventilation-White-Steel-Perforated-Sidewall-Ceiling-Grilles-Rough-Opening-24-in-x-24-in-Actual-24-in-x-24-in/1000034413

It's easy to cut.
 
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Terryl said:
The cage is made of perforated aluminum sheet metal, do you have a Lowe's store near you?? (or equivalent)

If so then look for this stuff. (I had some scrap laying around)

Code: 
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Accord-Ventilation-White-Steel-Perforated-Sidewall-Ceiling-Grilles-Rough-Opening-24-in-x-24-in-Actual-24-in-x-24-in/1000034413

It's easy to cut.
Click to expand...

Just found some small rodent mesh, I will order some and have a go:Y
 
Terryl

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The smaller the holes the better, the holes on the aluminum I have are about .5 mm.

You could also use aluminum window screen.
 
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Just found some clip on ferrite rings.

AE07FCA1-4A9D-449C-B718-E895A1A17157.jpeg

Does it matter at which end I clip it to?

Eg dongle end
 
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Terryl said:
The smaller the holes the better, the holes on the aluminum I have are about .5 mm.

You could also use aluminum window screen.
Click to expand...
The smallest I can find has 1mm holes. Would that be ok?

Code: 
Pack of 2 - Stainless Steel Woven RODENT PROOF Mesh - 1mm Hole - A4 (210 x 300mm) Great For Airbricks https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0743H3LN5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AZF-Ab60TKARM
 
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