Getting started with SDR

[Satspot]

Gentlemen I just stumbled across this topic which is very interesting and was wondering what type of antennae you were using. Would it be possible to see a photo of one and a rough idea of how and where you have it mounted. Also what if any brand of RTL2382U based receiver do you favour.

 

[pontiend]

My antenna is a home made Quadrifilla made with cunifer brake pipe.and a cheap NEWGEN RTL2832 SDR

 

[Satspot]

My antenna is a home made Quadrifilla made with cunifer brake pipe.and a cheap NEWGEN RTL2832 SDR

View attachment 155394View attachment 155396View attachment 155397

Thanks for that. No complaints from neighbours or are there any to consider. I saw a number on line examples of building an antenna so your antenna’s siting certainly helps. Just need parts and and receiver. This one seems reasonably priced and up to the job https://www.amazon.de/NESDR-XTR/dp/B00R045W9I/

Looking forward to getting started. Thanks again.

 

[pontiend]

No complaints from the heighbours .but my antenna is restricted it is only a few meters from the house to the south.I live on the north facing slope of a small valley the north is a bit restricted too.I get a good scan from the middle of Norway to spain.This image from NOAA18 is a good example of my range

 

[Terryl]

I use an SDR from Nooelec, they are cheap (under $50 USD) and have lots of options.

Nooelec - Nooelec Home

Default Description

www.nooelec.com

I also use a discone antenna from Diamond antennas, the model number is D3000N, it is a wide band antenna good from 25 to 3000 MHz, (it is not cheap) it uses an "N" type connector, I would also use good coax if your looking to go higher then the 137 MHZ band these satellites run on.

Diamond® Antenna ~ D3000N Super Discone Antenna

Some of these satellites also have downlink signals in the 1700 MHz band, you would need very good coax and the antenna I'm using (there are others) to get the signals on that band.

 

[Satspot]

I use an SDR from Nooelec, they are cheap (under $50 USD) and have lots of options.

Nooelec - Nooelec Home

Default Description

www.nooelec.com

I also use a discone antenna from Diamond antennas, the model number is D3000N, it is a wide band antenna good from 25 to 3000 MHz, (it is not cheap) it uses an "N" type connector, I would also use good coax if your looking to go higher then the 137 MHZ band these satellites run on.

Diamond® Antenna ~ D3000N Super Discone Antenna

Some of these satellites also have downlink signals in the 1700 MHz band, you would need very good coax and the antenna I'm using (there are others) to get the signals on that band.

I’ll be taking baby steps on this one. Start small budget wise and build gradually. Would I get away with mounting the antenna above my motorised dish mounting pole i wonder. Would it be likely to attract unwanted RF interference. Nosey neighbour syndrome to contend with here too.

 

[Satspot]

I use an SDR from Nooelec, they are cheap (under $50 USD) and have lots of options.

Nooelec - Nooelec Home

Default Description

www.nooelec.com

I also use a discone antenna from Diamond antennas, the model number is D3000N, it is a wide band antenna good from 25 to 3000 MHz, (it is not cheap) it uses an "N" type connector, I would also use good coax if your looking to go higher then the 137 MHZ band these satellites run on.

Diamond® Antenna ~ D3000N Super Discone Antenna

Some of these satellites also have downlink signals in the 1700 MHz band, you would need very good coax and the antenna I'm using (there are others) to get the signals on that band.

Yes that was the brand I was looking at. €35 plus carriage charge.

 

[Analoguesat]

Its great fun to do @Satspot

Equipment:

antenna - a 137MHz turnstile antenna imported from Slovakia about 7 or 8 years ago. Unfortunately this particular seller seems to have disappeared
Nooelec sdr
Uputronics 137MHz filter/amp (not essential - you can get good results without them)
old satellite grade cable, various interconnects & cable joiners
old computer with win10 on it (linux can be used too & rasperry pis can be configured to give good results too.

Software for win10 install:
zadig for getting the computer to see an rtl dongle
satdump


Satdump is intimidating to look at but its worth spending time to get your head around it as its a very powerful bit of software and is still under development, unlike most of the old bits of software we used to use.

 

[Analoguesat]

I’ll be taking baby steps on this one. Start small budget wise and build gradually. Would I get away with mounting the antenna above my motorised dish mounting pole i wonder. Would it be likely to attract unwanted RF interference. Nosey neighbour syndrome to contend with here too.

The higher the better but almost anywhere is good to start experimenting with, you just have to accept the images wont be so good if you are blocked in some directions

 

[Terryl]

Note: The satellite cable is not 50 ohm impedance, you would get even better results using some 50 ohm cable and the appropriate connectors, as the dongles are a 50 ohm system.

Try looking for some RG-8x coax, and if you want even better performance in the higher frequency's try looking for some RG-214, it's good to 11 GHz. (but expensive)

My RG-214 coax and discone antenna use "N" type connectors, so at the SDR dongle end I have a 2 foot "N to "SMA" pigtail I found on Amazon.

 

[Satspot]

Its great fun to do @Satspot

Equipment:

antenna - a 137MHz turnstile antenna imported from Slovakia about 7 or 8 years ago. Unfortunately this particular seller seems to have disappeared
Nooelec sdr
Uputronics 137MHz filter/amp (not essential - you can get good results without them)
old satellite grade cable, various interconnects & cable joiners
old computer with win10 on it (linux can be used too & rasperry pis can be configured to give good results too.

Software for win10 install:
zadig for getting the computer to see an rtl dongle
satdump


Satdump is intimidating to look at but its worth spending time to get your head around it as its a very powerful bit of software and is still under development, unlike most of the old bits of software we used to use.

Yes I had a hand held scanner back in the day (Uniden IIRC) back in the day purely for ATC and analogue broadcasts. The SDR certainly looks a lot more appealing and other than the antenna and the RTL-SDR receiver I have everything else you mentioned here. Plus I have a little more time and patience to enjoy the hobby these days. Thanks again for the feedback

 

[Satspot]

Note: The satellite cable is not 50 ohm impedance, you would get even better results using some 50 ohm cable and the appropriate connectors, as the dongles are a 50 ohm system.

Try looking for some RG-8x coax, and if you want even better performance in the higher frequency's try looking for some RG-214, it's good to 11 GHz. (but expensive)

My RG-214 coax and discone antenna use "N" type connectors, so at the SDR dongle end I have a 2 foot "N to "SMA" pigtail I found on Amazon.

I’m looking forward to possibly assembling an antenna myself. The more DIY on this project the better. Thanks again.

 

[Terryl]

I also use an SDR program called SDR console, you can do all sorts of radio services with that one, and if you want to listen in on the ham bands below 50 MHz you can get a dongle that will tune down to those bands.

 

[Analoguesat]

@Satspot you can get away with a simple 137MHz "v-dipole" made from a chocblock connector & two bent bits of wire!. Plenty of descriptions on how tro build them on line

 

[Satspot]

@Satspot you can get away with a simple 137MHz "v-dipole" made from a chocblock connector & two bent bits of wire!. Plenty of descriptions on how tro build them on line

That’s my type of DIY. Blue Peter style

 

[Satspot]

I also use an SDR program called SDR console, you can do all sorts of radio services with that one, and if you want to listen in on the ham bands below 50 MHz you can get a dongle that will tune down to those bands.

It’s great to see so many knowledgeable people replying here. It’s definitely fired my interest in the world of SDR.

 

[Analoguesat]

Warning it addictive - once you start playing with this software you soon get sucked into other things. How about

SSTV from the ISS? (not continuous, there are events throught the year)
Pager reception? (whats left of the service, much has been closed down)
DAB radio?
SSTV from cubesats? (weak signals & difficult to get good results so a real challenge!)
amateur radio via satellite? (numerous satellites in use on all sorts of frequencies)
Brazilian pirate stations on USA military satellites?
Plane tracking on 1090MHz?

Plenty of examples of what can be done using simple equipment in this SDR reception! And because you are only receiving any old antenna can be used - it will work even if wildy mismatched from what the antenna is cut for. Yes there will be losses but it'll work well enough. With a few exceptions - 1090MHz will need a properly cut antenna but chopped up satellite coax housed in a bit of plastic pipe is fine (!)

 

[Analoguesat]

These posts are a bit OT for this thread so I'll split them off into their own topic in a bit.

Edit - done

now we can cover all sorts of interesting topics which may be useful for folks getting interested in sdr who are outside the forum too

 

[Satspot]

It was the piece on weather satellites that got my attention. One of the most universally discussed subjects on this planet I reckon. It will be nice to see my own output in real time too when I have it all set up. Wise men here be prepared for plenty of questions though

 

[Analoguesat]

There is plenty of advice available here.

What I found helpful was I read through the satdump website before I started playing with the software - its got various sections that all need to work if you are going to get a successful decode. You dont have to use satdump - but most of the other windows based s/w has been abandoned & you need to get various bits of software to talk to each other which increases the hassle when troubleshooting. This old thread shows how to set up a very basic wxsat system using the old wxtoimg software

Basic setup guide to wxsat reception (using a windows computer)

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...

www.satellites.co.uk

Its also got a pic of a very simple v dipole i built when i first started.


Oh whilst I remember - as wxtoimg development has been abandoned the keplers updates for the satellites no longer works. This link has a patched version that fixes the keplers

WRAASE electronic | Weather Satellite Receiver Systems

Receive live weather satellite images wherever you are, directly on your computer, with antennas and receivers from WRAASE electronic.

www.wraase.de