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- Jul 26, 2003
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- My Satellite Setup
-
TM 5402HD
Sky+ UK.
- My Location
- Scottish Borders
Getting a basic wxsat system up and running actually isnt too difficult. I shall give you a basic guide to setting up a windows decoding station.
Hardware needed
1 old laptop or computer of some kind
an sdr dtt dongle - Im using a nooelec I had lying around
an antenna of some sort (to begin with a very simple one will suffice)
some coax cable
asssorted cable interconnects
Software needed (all free)
Zadig driver software
WXtoImg
SDRSharp (aka SDR#)
Virtual Cable software to pipe the audio from SDR# to WXtoImg
So first of all you need to get the computer to see the sdr dongle. Plug the dongle into your computer. Windows will install the wrong drivers, so run the Zadig software. Select the DTT dongle, you may need to tick the Options - other devices box if nothing shows up. Make sure you select the right device then choose the Win USB v6.xxxxxx driver and allow Zadig to change the driver.
Really old kit seems to struggle to do this bit for some reason - Ive had issues changing the driver on a really old laptop.
The antenna.
To get yourself going you can build a very simple antenna. Find a "choc bloc" connector block and cut a section off 2 blocs long.
Find a piece of stiff wire and cut two lengths 53.5cm long. Strip the ends if required and fasten the two wires into one side of the "chocbloc" The wire needs to be stiff enough to support its own weight - I used thick plastic covered gardening wire that I found in the shed. Thin welding rod or similar would also be suitable. Splay the wires out horizontally so they are about 120 degrees apart. Dont be too bothered about getting it perfect - it'll be near enough for the strong downlink signals from the NOAA birds. Run the coax into the other side of the chocblocs, fasten the chocblock to the top of a post of some sort (I used a broomhandle I found lying around!) and run a length of coax to your computer using whatever interconnects you need to get through windows, etc. Again dont worry about coax specs, using flat section coax to get through windows etc to begin with - it'll work well enough to get some pics. You can play with changing coax / better hardware later.
This is my mk 2 antenna - the chocbloc is under the blue plastic bag which is just there for some waterproofing as the weather is horrible up here atm! About half an hour to make including finding all the bits of junk that went into it!
Hardware needed
1 old laptop or computer of some kind
an sdr dtt dongle - Im using a nooelec I had lying around
an antenna of some sort (to begin with a very simple one will suffice)
some coax cable
asssorted cable interconnects
Software needed (all free)
Zadig driver software
WXtoImg
SDRSharp (aka SDR#)
Virtual Cable software to pipe the audio from SDR# to WXtoImg
So first of all you need to get the computer to see the sdr dongle. Plug the dongle into your computer. Windows will install the wrong drivers, so run the Zadig software. Select the DTT dongle, you may need to tick the Options - other devices box if nothing shows up. Make sure you select the right device then choose the Win USB v6.xxxxxx driver and allow Zadig to change the driver.
Really old kit seems to struggle to do this bit for some reason - Ive had issues changing the driver on a really old laptop.
The antenna.
To get yourself going you can build a very simple antenna. Find a "choc bloc" connector block and cut a section off 2 blocs long.
Find a piece of stiff wire and cut two lengths 53.5cm long. Strip the ends if required and fasten the two wires into one side of the "chocbloc" The wire needs to be stiff enough to support its own weight - I used thick plastic covered gardening wire that I found in the shed. Thin welding rod or similar would also be suitable. Splay the wires out horizontally so they are about 120 degrees apart. Dont be too bothered about getting it perfect - it'll be near enough for the strong downlink signals from the NOAA birds. Run the coax into the other side of the chocblocs, fasten the chocblock to the top of a post of some sort (I used a broomhandle I found lying around!) and run a length of coax to your computer using whatever interconnects you need to get through windows, etc. Again dont worry about coax specs, using flat section coax to get through windows etc to begin with - it'll work well enough to get some pics. You can play with changing coax / better hardware later.
This is my mk 2 antenna - the chocbloc is under the blue plastic bag which is just there for some waterproofing as the weather is horrible up here atm! About half an hour to make including finding all the bits of junk that went into it!
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