Extreme plumbing...

[Lazarus]

Cripes, PDP, I did that too! (Transmit, too)

Probably the only useful thing I ever got the Spectrum to do.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

All those old news agencies........good fun though. RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY

 

[Vipersan]

Latest image NOAA18 14:39 UTC
Nice...
Auto grabbed whilst I was in work..

Hopefully the QFH will be as high up as possible by this time tomorrow so better images to the North ..
..as the house roof will be less of a problem.

 

[Vipersan]

..and if you want to see what the weather was like earlier today over the med..
NOAA 19 16:55 UTC

 

[Vipersan]

Finally got it up ..
OO err Misus ..
Nelson came for a visit this morning ..so we just sat and watched whilst my 75+ year old neighbour ..who loves being on a roof ...fitted the QFH..
Definately I can see further North now ..certainly to include the scandinavian countries ..
The polar cap is out of bounds methinks ..though possibly the southern tip of Greenland is a possibility
Great reliable pics now ..for most close passes.
Nice ..
well worth the effort ..and a cheap and interesting project.
Sent Nelson home with most of the components from my MKI QFH ..which I've no doubt he will use when he has time.

Off to watch Dr Who now ..
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Probably my best-ist speckle free image of a partly cloudy UK..


Also a warning if you descide to try the RTL dongle weather capture method ..
Do not buy from this source on ebay..
advertised an RTL-SDR DVB-T Dongle stick RTL2832+R820T
abosolute crap ..and totally unsuitable.
I cracked this one open just before consigning it to the bin..
it uses an IT9135FN chip ..
so cannot be used for SDR.
I contacted ..warned them to change the advert ..but they ignored me ..and another victim already giving negative feedback.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123#ht_7552wt_1232
Avoid ..and dont waste your money.
rgds
VS

 

[Huevos]

"A great kit let you can enjoy digital TV on the road or during your driving!"

Blimey!

 

[Vipersan]

Issue is now resolved to my satisfaction..
They contacted me and offered a full refund without having to return the dongle I opened up.
They also agreed to remove the listing and change the wording before re-listing the item ..
Thus removing its reference to use with SDR.
Changed my feedback to reflect this.
Fast delivery
Good communication
Item not as listed
but +ve now not negative ..as no one else should fall into the trap.

I think Huevos has a point ..
watching TV whilst you're driving is pure blaady madness ..
They perhaps should change this to 'passengers can enjoy TV whilst you're driving' lol

 

[pride21]

Hi VS the pics are coming along nicely the QFH on the roof is the best place for it,i should try to put mine on the outside,did you get the WXtoImg to work ok.

 

[Vipersan]

Indeed I did ..
A VERY useful bit of kit and a most rewarding if inexpensive project ..
I'll attach a couple of images ..
Repeat of the one I posted in the alcove ..
showing uk ..part of Europe and a slice of med.
plus a grainy capture from the early hours of this morning ..whilst I was still in the land of nodd...
I was amazed I got so far North ..
A huge chunk of Greenland.
nice...

 

[pride21]

nice one VS as you say its surprising what you get even when the sat is not over head.

 

[Huevos]

So what dongle are you using now?

 

[Vipersan]

...Hi Huevos ..
Still currently using the Terratec dongle
RTL2832U & Elonics E4000 front end.
I have an RTL2832/R820T on order from HK ..but will be at least another week before delivery.
rgds
VS

 

[Huevos]

So was the one you linked to on eBay ok? Or was that the bad one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NooElec-T...ther_Computing_Networking&hash=item27d622c406

 

[Vipersan]

@Nelson ..
the MobiDTV dongle you left with me to test definately works for weather sats ..
Very High gain ..but looks like this requires manually setting up as the SDR software doesn't seem to recognise the front end chip.
Nonetheless ..a worker..
here is a map from a direct pass about an hour after you left ..
I'd say it was impressive if not a bit better than with my dongle.
cheers
VS

 

[Lazarus]

There is simply nothing better than chaps comparing their dongles.

 

[Vipersan]

There is simply nothing better than chaps comparing their dongles.

..no law agin it as far as I know ..lol
Well ..mine is roughly the same size and shape as Nelsons ..fnar fnar ..
but his appears to be more potent ..nyuk nyuk..

 

[Huevos]

VS, is it all dongles that should work, or just specific ones? How can I test one for compatibility?

Or if not can we make a list of know good ones (maybe in another thread).

 

[Vipersan]

VS, is it all dongles that should work, or just specific ones? How can I test one for compatibility?

Or if not can we make a list of know good ones (maybe in another thread).

As a General rule Huevos ..
Opening the dongle and checking if it is equipped with a Realtek RTL2832U indicate compatibiliy with SDR Sharp..
but the front end chips vary considerably ..
If the RTL2832U is fitted ..then chances are it will work.

rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

A look inside 2 typical dongles ..
Top is the bogus one I bought Having been listed as RTL2832U +R820T ..
It was not and therefore totally unsuitable.
Below is the one Nelson brought today ..and has the desired chip ..thus can be used.
rgds
VS