Hacking Portable Satellite Dish For More Space Experiments

Summary

In this episode of the Parts Channel, the host explores the process of repurposing a Wine Guard portable satellite dish into a radio telescope or microwave imager. The journey involves acquiring the dish from secondhand markets, attempting to interface with its electronics, and overcoming various technical challenges. The host collaborates with a viewer to wire a serial connection and uses Python to control the dish's movement. Despite initial setbacks with signal reception and motor calibration, persistence leads to capturing recognizable satellite signals. The project serves as a stepping stone for future endeavors with larger dishes, promising more sophisticated imaging capabilities.

Takeaways

• 🛍️ The host acquires portable satellite dishes from various online platforms like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and auction sites.
• 📡 The Wine Guard satellite dish discussed in the video is a common find in the secondhand market, similar to the Tailgators brand.
• 💰 The host bought the Wine Guard satellite dish for $46, including a tripod base, after negotiating the price down from the original asking price.
• 🔍 The Wine Guard dish has a unique setup with two separate boards: one for the main functions and another for stepper motors control.
• 🔧 The satellite dish has features like a GPS module and a DIP switch for selecting satellite providers, but some options appear unused or omitted.
• 🖥️ The host intends to repurpose the satellite dish into a small radio telescope or microwave imager, similar to previous projects.
• 🔌 The video includes a detailed guide on how to interface the Wine Guard satellite dish with a computer using various adapters and a six-pin phone cord.
• 🛠️ Viewers are provided with a link to the equipment used in the project for those interested in replicating it, showing the host's reliance on community knowledge.
• 🔄 The host faces challenges with the satellite dish's motor calibration and its constant search for satellite signals, which leads to continuous movement.
• 📡 The Wine Guard's speed and efficiency in moving the dish are highlighted as an improvement over the previously tested dish tailgator.
• 🔬 The project explores the possibility of using the satellite dish for radio signal scanning and imaging, including attempts to read raw signal strength and combine it with dish positioning data.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the Wine Guard portable satellite dish discussed in the video?

The main purpose of the Wine Guard portable satellite dish, as discussed in the video, is to be repurposed into a small radio telescope or microwave imager. The host also explores hacking it to interface with a computer for control.

Where does the host typically find these portable satellite dishes?

The host typically finds these portable satellite dishes on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, auction sites, and free sites.

What was the price paid for the Wine Guard satellite dish in the video?

The host paid $46 for the Wine Guard satellite dish, after negotiating the price down from the original asking price.

What additional item did the seller include with the Wine Guard satellite dish?

The seller included a tripod base with the Wine Guard satellite dish, which the host accidentally dropped part of later on.

What is the condition of the Dish Network satellite receiver mentioned in the video?

The Dish Network satellite receiver mentioned in the video is in a pretty rusty condition, and it's uncertain whether it still works.

What is unique about the Wine Guard satellite dish's motor system compared to others the host has encountered?

The Wine Guard satellite dish has a unique motor system that is faster compared to others the host has encountered, such as the Dish Tailgator.

What is the significance of the dip switch pad on the Wine Guard satellite dish?

The dip switch pad on the Wine Guard satellite dish is used to select what satellites it's looking for, which is important when it performs an auto search for Dish Network, Direct TV, or Express View.

What challenges does the host face while trying to interface the Wine Guard satellite dish with a computer?

The host faces challenges such as determining the correct wiring and baud rate for the serial connection, dealing with flaky USB to serial adapters, and figuring out how to read data reliably from the SDR and the serial connection.

What is the role of the viewer named Kyle Burgess in relation to this project?

Kyle Burgess, a viewer, has his own Wine Guard satellite dish and has been hacking around with it. He provided the host with suggestions on how to interface the dish using various converters and helped with the wiring scheme.

What is the host's plan for improving the project in future videos?

The host plans to improve the project by cleaning up the code, adding more features, trying different feeds, and potentially using a Raspberry Pi for control. He also plans to work on a bigger dish for the next iteration of the project.

Outlines

00:00

🛒 Acquiring a Wine Guard Portable Satellite Dish

The script introduces a project involving a Wine Guard portable satellite dish acquired for $46 through a local deal. The narrator discusses the prevalence of such dishes on secondhand markets, possibly due to local manufacturing. The Wine Guard dish is compared to the Tailgators brand, noting differences in setup and features. The narrator intends to repurpose the satellite dish into a radio telescope or microwave imager, describing the technical components such as the reflector, L&B, brain, stepper motors, and the unique motherboard setup. The script also mentions the potential for hacking the device for different uses, given the presence of a GPS module and a programming interface, although the narrator admits a lack of expertise in these areas.

05:02

🔍 Hacking and Interface Attempts with the Wine Guard Dish

The second paragraph details the initial attempts to hack and interface with the Wine Guard satellite dish. The narrator discusses connecting the dish to a computer using various adapters and converters, with help from a viewer named Kyle Burgess. The process includes using a six-pin phone cord and a serial-to-USB adapter to establish communication with the dish's 'brain.' The script describes the challenges faced, such as incorrect wiring and baud rate issues, and the eventual success in establishing a connection and issuing commands to the dish. The narrator also mentions the dish's speed and agility compared to previous models and expresses excitement about the project's progress.

10:03

🔧 Experimenting with Python and SDR Integration

In this paragraph, the narrator delves into the technical aspects of integrating the satellite dish with a software-defined radio (SDR) and Python coding. The goal is to control the dish's movements and read radio signals. Challenges arise with the dish's initial calibration process and its tendency to search for satellites indefinitely. The narrator attempts to disable this feature through the device's nonvolatile storage menu, but this leads to issues with motor calibration. Despite setbacks, progress is made with Python scripting, allowing the dish to move according to commands and read signals, although with some data mismatch and interference.

15:06

🌧️ Outdoor Testing and Motor Limit Issues

The script describes moving the project outdoors for further testing, noting the challenges of performing the calibration process in various weather conditions. The narrator observes that the dish's design, which involves grinding gears to find motor limits, may lead to a short lifespan. Despite these issues, the project continues with attempts to capture satellite signals using an RTL-SDR dongle. The narrator discusses the need for fine-tuning the code and addressing the dish's backlash and bounce issues during scanning.

20:07

🛠️ Refining the Setup and Struggling with Offset Issues

The narrator continues to refine the setup, experimenting with different feeds and trying to resolve offset issues where clockwise and counterclockwise scans do not align. Various troubleshooting steps are taken, including changing the way SDR data is read and adjusting the scanning method. The script also mentions the use of a hacked GPS patch antenna to improve signal reception. Despite persistent problems and the need to protect the equipment from the rain, the narrator remains committed to finding a solution.

25:07

📡 Achieving Success in Satellite Signal Imaging

After nearly two weeks of work, the narrator finally achieves success in capturing and imaging satellite signals. The script describes the process of eliminating interference and obtaining recognizable satellite signal patterns. The video concludes with a discussion of the potential for future projects, including the use of larger dishes and more advanced setups. The narrator also mentions plans to share the code on GitHub for others to use and provide feedback on.

Keywords

💡Portable Satellite Dish

A portable satellite dish is a compact and movable antenna designed to receive signals from satellites. In the video, the host has accumulated several of these dishes, primarily acquired from online marketplaces like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. The host's interest in these devices is driven by their potential for repurposing, such as turning them into a small radio telescope or microwave imager.

💡Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace

Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are online platforms where individuals can buy and sell items. The script mentions these sites as the primary sources from which the host has been acquiring used portable satellite dishes. These platforms are significant in the narrative as they provide access to a wide range of secondhand items, including the specific satellite dish models discussed in the video.

💡Wine Guard

Wine Guard is mentioned as the brand of the portable satellite dish that the host is examining in the video. The host is unsure if Wine Guard dishes are locally made, but they are common finds on the secondhand market. The Wine Guard dish is a central focus of the video, as the host explores its features, functionality, and potential for hacking and repurposing.

💡Dish Network Satellite Receiver

The Dish Network satellite receiver is a device that the host acquires for use with the satellite dishes. It is mentioned as being rusty, indicating it may be old or used, and its functionality is uncertain. The receiver is an integral part of the video's theme as it represents the technological component that would typically be used with the satellite dishes for signal reception.

💡Stepper Motors

Stepper motors are a type of electric motor that divides a full rotation into a number of equal steps, allowing for precise positioning and control. In the video, the host describes the satellite dish's mechanism, which includes stepper motors for moving the dish to aim at different targets. These motors are key to the dish's functionality and are a point of interest for the host when considering how to hack and repurpose the dish.

💡RJ11 Jack

An RJ11 Jack is a type of electrical connector commonly used for telephone lines. In the context of the video, the host mentions an RJ11 Jack on the satellite dish, suggesting it may be used for a serial terminal interface. This connector is part of the exploration into how the satellite dish can be interfaced with and controlled via a computer.

💡Serial Port

A serial port is a type of interface on computers for data communication, often used for connecting peripherals. The script discusses the use of a serial port in conjunction with a USB-to-serial adapter to communicate with the satellite dish's control system. This is a crucial aspect of the video's theme, as it demonstrates the host's attempt to hack the dish for alternative uses.

💡Python Coding

Python coding is a reference to writing software programs in the Python language. The host mentions engaging in 'recreational Python coding' to develop scripts that can control the satellite dish. This coding is central to the video's narrative as it represents the host's effort to create custom software for interfacing with and controlling the dish.

💡RTL-SDR

RTL-SDR stands for 'Real-Time Software Defined Radio', which is a popular method for receiving radio signals using software. The host discusses using an RTL-SDR to read radio signals from the satellite dish. This technology is significant in the video as it is part of the host's attempt to transform the satellite dish into a radio telescope for scanning and imaging.

💡Planned Obsolescence

Planned obsolescence is a concept where a product is designed to become outdated or stop working after a certain period, encouraging the purchase of a new product. The host mentions this concept when discussing the satellite dish's design, which seems to self-destruct after a period of use, possibly as a way to encourage customers to buy a new dish.

💡GitHub

GitHub is a platform for version control and collaboration used by programmers to share and manage code. The host mentions the intention to upload their code to GitHub for others to review, critique, or potentially use. This reflects the open-source nature of the project and the host's willingness to share their work with the broader community.

Highlights

The presenter has accumulated multiple portable satellite dishes, primarily found on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

The Wine Guard satellite dish discussed is common on the secondhand market and was purchased for $46.

The Wine Guard dish includes a tripod base and a rusty Dish Network satellite receiver.

The satellite dish has a unique setup with two boards, one for the main functions and another for stepper motors.

The presenter plans to repurpose the satellite dish into a small radio telescope or microwave imager.

Kyle Burgess, a viewer, provided suggestions on interfacing the satellite dish using various converters.

A six-pin phone cord is required for the interface, with wire six not used according to Kyle's instructions.

The Wine Guard dish is faster than the previously discussed dish tailgator.

The presenter struggles with getting the serial connection to work properly with the dish.

Turning off all dip switches did not stop the initial dish scan, contrary to initial expectations.

Disabling the tracker procedure also disables motor calibration, preventing manual calibration.

The presenter successfully creates a self-portrait using the satellite dish and L-band.

Rain and technical difficulties with the rtlsdr and bias te impact the outdoor scanning attempts.

After multiple attempts and adjustments, the presenter manages to capture a recognizable satellite signal.

The video concludes with the capture of GPS satellite orbits and an Aridium satellite's path.

The presenter intends to share the code on GitHub for others to use and provide feedback.

Transcripts

hi and welcome back to the save it for

Parts Channel where we're here yet again

with yet another portable satellite dish

this is like the seventh or eighth one

I've come across I just keep

accumulating these things and people

online keep asking where I get these I

just find them on Craigslist and

Facebook Marketplace and auction sites

and free sites and apparently these

things just saturate the twin Ci's used

Market part of that is because at least

one brand was made locally here the

Tailgators that I've shown in some other

videos this one's a Wine Guard I'm not

actually sure they're made but they seem

just as common on the secondhand market

for about the same price I think I paid

$46 for this the guy had been asking

more but by the time we got together I

only had $46 in cash and he wanted it

out of his truck so I ended up with the

thing he even threw in this

little tripod base thing which I've now

dropped part of it on the ground and I

finally have a Dish Network satellite

receiver although it's pretty Rusty back

here so I don't know if this thing

actually Works mostly I just want to do

what I've done with some of these prior

dishes tear them apart make them into a

small radio telescope or microwave

imager and it looks basically the same

as all the other dishes I've played

around with it's got It's a little

reflector it's got the L&B it's got a

brain back here it's got stepper Motors

the brains on them are always very

different I have not seen a setup like

this before it's actually two boards so

it's got the main motherboard or micro

computer here that looks like it also

has the RF handling hardware and then

it's got a separate board that drives

the stepper Motors there are definitely

some solder pads where things weren't

added as an option for example we've got

a GPS module it's blank BT I don't know

if that's Bluetooth I I forget when

Bluetooth came out and the original

Bluetooth was pretty useless it only

went about 6 in so probably a good

reason to leave that out not sure what

this one's for this little dip switch

pad is how you select what satellites

it's looking for so when it does an auto

search it can look for Dish Network

Direct TV or express view up in Canada

now we do have an rj11 Jack which I've

played around with those a little bit on

some prior wiu guard units and this may

or may not be a Serial terminal

interface this uh pad here seems to be

something like a programming interface

it's got VCC ground clock td0 TDI TMS D

programming I don't really know what all

that means um if I was better at uh

programming or flashing ROMs or whatever

I bet I could use that but yeah I don't

know how to do anything with it right

now now it does seem to have a little

arm processor so again if I knew how to

hack stuff at more of a hardware level I

bet I could get in there and reflash

that to something else or update the

firmware but I don't really know what

I'm doing at that level of stuff in case

I completely destroy the thing I

actually have a second one here it's

been you know mildly run over by a truck

or hit by Falling squirrels or something

but I think the dish inside is just

fine yeah everything looks fine in there

now a viewer named Kyle Burgess actually

has one of these himself and he started

hacking around with it sent me some

suggestions on how to interface with

this thing using a kind of A Rat's Nest

of converters so uh USB to cereal seral

to rs45 to whatever this phone plug is

so I got some of those on Amazon I will

throw the link to all the equipment here

uh down in the description in case

anybody wants to duplicate this project

and then we're going to need a six pin

phone cord or a six conductor phone cord

I think this is technically rj25 I'm

basically trying to wire my terminal

block like so so uh from left to right

on the terminal block we've got wire

three wire 2 wire five wire 4 and wire

one and apparently wire six is just not

used or that's what Kyle said again I am

not um making up this wiring myself I

got this from a viewer huge thanks to

Kyle for figuring this out this is the

kind of thing I wouldn't be able to

figure out on my own so I Rely heavily

on other people uh to do some of this

hard work and then I just copy it I hope

that's correct I might have to correct

myself if I got it wrong here so that

phone cable goes into the console port

and then on the serial Port end the cat

is going to help immensely with this

project on the serial Port end we're

hooking up our serial 2 USB adapter all

right I kind of forgot that when you

give the dish power it starts going

through a little scan pattern looking

for a satellite signal uh so I had to

unplug my console cable here so it

wouldn't get tangled I think we're just

going to let it finish let it decide it

can't find the site and then once it's

not moving around anymore we can try to

interface with it on the computer one

reason I like the Wine Guard over the

dish tailgator is it's way way faster

you might remember how slow that dish

tailgator moved this thing just Zips

around I was hoping it would stop

eventually but this thing will not give

up it has gone back to the original step

of its um calibration process and it's

searching for the satellite all over

again so I think as long as this has

power it's going to keep moving around

remember kids part of the fun of hacking

weird satellite equipment is chasing

down a moving serial

part so I'm not actually getting this to

work I've tried various USB ports and

I'm pretty sure the first one there that

prolific technology is my adapter well

with Linux if it's not working right

away just try it again as root yes I

know everybody says to use OBS screen

recorder I still haven't gotten it to

work on Linux we're going to try this

again with a different B rate um Kyle

suggested a couple possible B rates for

this okay and we've got a console and I

typed a question mark and we have some

commands here so uh yeah it's looking

like we are now talking to the wiu guard

brain going to expand this window so I

can see all of these options okay we've

got some flash information some board

information we've got some uh default

commands looks like we can mess with

transponder settings in the dvb menu I'm

just typing Q to get back up into the

main menu so we're in the motor submenu

and this is looking a little bit more

like stuff I would want to use if I have

a computer controlling this aiming it at

different targets okay we've definitely

done something terrible here because

it's gotten all garbled again I think my

B rate is just a little bit wrong it

looks like our unit is actually named

how up there at the top so uh a device

named Hell that controls an antenna

definitely seems a little bit suspicious

but as long as it doesn't ask us to

replace the ae35 unit we should be fine

let's go ahead and look at this target

menu that is something else that Kyle

suggested first off we are going to home

all the motors so we'll tell it to do

H yeah that's really quick that is fun

so it looks like the valid elevation

range on this thing is from 21° to 73°

so it won't go a full 90° in elevation

but that's fine for most of my purposes

I don't need it to go completely

vertical I'm honestly so excited about

this project that I've gotten up while

it's still dark out so I can sneak in

some recreational python coding before

work is that weird the sun's coming up

and we're finally making some progress

on the python code um I've got it where

I can send a series of commands asouth

and elevation through a Python program

over the serial port and the dish will

move and it's actually a little bit

easier than the uh dish tailgator was

that one would only take one character

at a time this one you can actually send

strings uh you have to convert them into

bites first uh due to pie seral but

anyway you can send it command words

through Python and make the dish ju

stuff so when I pass it a command over

the serial port that seems to work fine

but the returns still come back

sometimes kind of

fractured yeah they come back like that

sometimes I don't know if it's my cheap

Prolific USB to serial cable I know

those have flaky chips and they don't

always work right it could be the ba

rate the only B rate that seems to work

on this is 57600 I can't seem to get it

to go up to 115200 now I dug around

behind the Linux box I'm using and it

looks like there is an actual physical

DB9 serial Port back there okay well

that's not working either because

apparently the physical serial Port

isn't active on this system and I don't

know how to activate it occasionally it

seems like it wants to go all the way

around instead of just incrementing back

the other way not quite sure why that is

but uh one more thing to iron out now

one thing I have talked about doing with

[Music]

this is to rip out the brain unit and

just replace all this with a raspberry

PT High let's move on we can drive the

dish with this little brain and some

serial Port commands we just can't read

the radio signal so let's try to read

the radio signal another

[Music]

way so I've hooked up a software to find

radio to the dish instead of the L&B and

we've just got a little l-band patch

antenna hot glued into the focal point

here so we're looking in the 1500 MHz

range we've got some pretty strong

signals here probably from cell phones

and whatnot I'm going to rotate this by

[Music]

90° and we definitely see some things

happening here with the signal we get a

much stronger area through part of that

rotation so our next step would be to

try to read the raw signal strength or

dbm of Whatever frequency we're tuned to

read the asouth and elevation that the

dish is reporting combine those things

together into an array and then into a

bit map so similar to what we were doing

with the tailgator before still have

some challenges with that I need to

figure out the code for actually reading

from the SDR into python I need to

figure out how to read this information

reliably that's coming over the serial

connection and mash that all together so

I've been poking at this for a couple

days and one thing I was wondering about

and Kyle actually confirmed is that the

dip switches here can all be disabled to

turn off that initial dish scan and

hopefully that'll save some time on

Startup so it won't spend 15 minutes

spinning around looking for nothing now

it does still do the initial calibration

so that it knows all of its

[Music]

limits that still sounds terrible to me

there there has to be a better way to

know the drive limit than just slamming

into it and grinding the gears like that

well it still seems to be searching for

a satellite so yeah turning all the dip

switches off doesn't seem to have

actually helped in this case as I

struggle through the python code to

interface with an rtlsdr it's very

entertaining to look up some of these

things and all of the results I find are

people I know that I didn't know were in

the same field so we've got uh Marcus

from up in Canada discussing stuff like

10 years ago on Reddit talking to some

other people I know from the Twin Cities

who were into this stuff I'm going to

have to contact some of them and see if

they remember any of this okay I think I

might have had my breakthrough moment

with how to get all the codes squash

together get it working and we are now

doing an initial scan so we're just

incrementing back and forth and then

incrementing the elevation so all the

data should be saved in the same format

as it was before so I should be able to

just run it through my same image

processing script and get a heat map out

some of the details and the labels will

be wrong but and that didn't work um

because of course it would have been too

easy if it just worked we're still just

running this inside my office so there

are no satellites in my office that I

know of so we're just getting background

radiation here we're not getting any

actual data all right we're going to

give this a shot outside we've got our

battery Bank our cyber deck our

miniature radio telescope it's December

late December in Minnesota but since

we've screwed up the climate so much

it's t-shirt weather we might never have

winter again this is great for doing

projects outside but I think I'm going

to regret this in uh August I'm going to

be hiding inside with the air

conditioning all right let's see if

it'll

go we're running into that problem again

where the position is kind of relative

so when it homes itself it figures out

where the limits are and if you give it

an asthma that's too close to where it

thinks it's going to run out of space it

just goes all the way back around and

it's it's not always accurate because

it'll run into other limits so yeah

we're going to have to figure that out a

little more too well the dish is

scanning but it's gotten itself off by

180° because it ran into the motor

limits on one side so um we may or may

not get anything successful out of this

there should still be a satellite in the

frequency I was looking at in this

direction but it might be closer to the

Horizon now you notice it is still uh

stepping one degree at a time and I put

in a delay in the python code for a

third of a second that seems to be

enough where it eliminates the shake or

the wiggle of the dish so by the time

the dish starts to backlash or bounce

back it's got the next steper command so

it seems to be moving a little more

smoothly I couldn't do it in a

continuous sweep because the rtlsdr

couldn't keep up and the dish Motors

wouldn't actually keep up with the

scanning so we did have to introduce

some artificial delays it means

everything's a little slower but it's

still running faster than the old

tailgator so that's a plus all that

riding around and crashing into the

motor limits maybe stressing out the

belt and that doesn't bode well for

long-term survivability of this design

so here's what our initial scan looked

like pretty much useless it's still just

background radiation we're not getting

anything uh clearly defined on here um

yeah it it keeps crashing into the motor

limits those hard limits this doesn't

seem to actually have limit switches it

just grinds the gears and that's how it

knows that it can't go any further and

it does that every time it gets power

that is not because of something doing

that is how this is designed it is

designed to find its limits by grinding

its gears so that might be what's called

planned obsolesence after a year or two

of having this on your RV it's destroyed

itself you have to go into Wine Guard

and buy another one it's definitely the

cheap model speaking of which the stupid

thing just rebooted itself shut down in

the middle of my scan and is now doing

the recalibration thing where it grinds

the gears all over the place

so yeah we're basically just tangling

all the cables now so we've got this nvs

menu menu which I suspect might be

nonvolatile storage or nonvolatile

settings something like that now the one

that I'm interested in the

most is disable tracker procedure so I

think I want to see if I can kill that I

went into another submenu here for the

OS and you

can get a list of processes right

and that targeting one is suspended

currently I'm not sure if targeting is

the same as tracker but that's

definitely one I'm interested in turning

off cuz I think that's what initiates

that default scan that wastes 10 minutes

every time this thing turns on so let's

try editing number 20 for disabling the

tracker and we're going to

say

true save these values I don't know

where it's saving it to apparently

there's some nonvolatile memory chip on

the

board all right we are definitely

hanging during the boot process um

normally by now there would be more boot

messages scrolling past well

unfortunately it turns out disabling

that tracker process also disables the

motor calibration and you can't do that

manually from the OS interface or at

least I couldn't find a way to do it

when I try to home the motors it just

grinds against the gears so we're back

to doing the whole song and dance where

every time it Powers up it has to

calibrate all the limits by slamming

into them as hard as possible and then

go through the whole little dance of

looking for a satellite we are now

performing a CAT

scan since this one runs so fast I did a

quick self-portrait of myself sitting on

the floor in lb band and we can

immediately see there's some meshing

issues or some offset issues so

the clockwise scan is not quite matching

up with the counterclockwise scan I

massaged the data a little bit I found

an old script that fixes that offset

error or at least attempts to this seems

a little bit cleaner and apparently this

is what I look like in the L band so

this is what I currently have for a feed

I've got my little PVC pipe I've foil

taped around that to keep any stray

radio signals from getting in the back

here so all the signal going to my feed

should be coming in the front of the

dish bouncing off the secondary

reflector and then coming back here

currently I have this hooked up to a

sawbird goes L and filter I'm trying to

do another scan here but now it's

starting to rain in December so we'll

throw the lid on this thing and we'll

throw a box over the computer well now

the bias te stopped working on my rtlsdr

so this never fails just when I think

I'm making progress on a project like

this something simple just stops working

okay I think it's finally working um I I

don't know what happened I don't know

how I fixed it I just tried it multiple

times and it started working again so

we've thrown everything into protective

Dome so we have the dish in its original

Dome we have the power supply under a

big pan we have the laptop under

whatever that is I don't even know what

that is and we've left space around the

dome for the cables so I'm going to run

inside while the camera is still semi-

dry and we'll see if this works or just

wastes the rest of my day now regular

viewers might ask hey didn't you get a

whole geodesic rate oh so you could do

your radio astronomy and satellite

experiments in an enclosed space Without

Rain on it yes but we still have not set

that up for some reason we thought it

would be cold and snowing in the winter

so we didn't prep the ground we didn't

start installing uh the panels for that

geodesic dome we figured we'd do it in

Spring but yes I am planning to put that

up as soon as I can get helpers to come

out and work on it and then we can run

some of our radio science experiments

with an even bigger dish inside the

cover of the Dome so so I've done a few

scans now and I'm still getting

basically nothing but static just

background noise when I hacked

everything together like this it's a

little bit hard to track down exactly

what the problem is I've brought it back

inside to play with the sand or more

specifically Wi-Fi using my ham it down

down converter so we can go uh a little

bit higher range than the rtlsdr can

usually see and we're going to try to

look at 2.4

GHz so here's the Wi-Fi environment in

my office on a relatively quiet Channel

let's try a more active Wi-Fi Channel

doesn't look like much I've tried a

couple feed options so far I have not

gotten anything to work at the back of

the dish I think it's just too

constricted in there we can't fit a wide

enough wire to pick up anything other

than really uh small wavelength signals

so it's designed for 12 GHz 12 GHz fits

down in there to a small receiver feed a

bigger receiver feed for lower

frequencies like like L band just

doesn't work in there so we've uh rubber

banded another feed on the front and I

am actually seeing some signals from the

go satellite with this not strong enough

to decode but maybe strong enough to

show up on a heat map when you're

outside scanning for satellites like

this it's important to have all the best

technical components possible such as

structural milk crates and since my

cyber deck has a tendency to tip over

backwards a support

brick so in this one we get some signal

at the bottom which I think is actually

my garden fence I think we're just

getting Reflections we've moved some

things around we're no longer getting

much from the fence we are getting some

stuff up in the sky but we're getting it

smeared across the entire Sky it's not a

point signal in here and I think that's

because of the way my feed is set up

anytime it's at the correct elevation I

think it's getting a signal it's getting

side lobes all right we've tried this

again uh changing a few more things

around this is starting to look a little

bit more more like a picture I've got

some semi- recognizable features in here

I think I can see some of the trees in

my yard so we've got another picture out

this is a different frequency yeah they

they kind of came out almost opposite so

I'm getting uh more active emissions

from my trees in the uh 1694 MHz and

more from the sky and less from the

trees in the 1500 MHz it's I'm very

confused I'm not getting really good

enough pictures to quite tell what's

going on this one is interesting not

because we got a good result because we

didn't but because I got that streak of

high radio strength white up in the

upper left I think that's right when I

was running the microwave back in the

house so we're getting some spous

microwave signals from the microwave

oven in the house approximately on this

frequency band and it's kind of wiping

out our signal this just goes to show

how hard it is to pick up some of these

signals with a very small dish with a

fairly wide focal area it's getting

interference from all over we're going

to go back to my little hacked GPS patch

antenna this is just a regular GPS

antenna I've gotten into it I've

desoldered the filter so it'll get more

of the L band it'll amplify that this

runs off a regular bias we're going to

slap that right at the focal point here

maybe put some foil tape over it to try

to cut down on outside signals and give

this one more shot before we throw it

back in the garage the other problem

with that big feed on the front is that

it wouldn't fit inside the plastic

rayome and yes it's raining again so

we've got all the covers back on our

equipment we've got the cyber deck

hiding out there underneath that big uh

aluminum pan thing so the protective

dome for this dish also doubles as an

exciting Cat rocking

toy Donnie jumped in there himself and I

don't know if he's going to leave

again are you having fun in there

sir

Donnie what are you

doing what are you doing are you eating

that don't eat

it you're a little

monster so I'm still having this really

annoying offset issue where the

clockwise rotation scans are off by some

amount from the counterclockwise scans

and I still can't figure out what's

going on with it I've checked all my

math which honestly could still be wrong

I've tried changing from SDR read

samples to SDR bites to try to eliminate

any buffering I've tried putting in

delays I've tried pre-reading the SDR

data uh it seems like the SDR data is

always lagging behind the Dish location

by a little bit so I've been scanning

with the dish across up back up across

up back Etc um the way I fixed this same

issue with the old tailgator was to just

scan across go up go all the way back

scan across go up go all the way back so

I'm basically just scanning in One

Direction every time I don't want to do

that with this because I want to figure

out this back and forth scanning method

I want to use that method on my next

iteration of this project with the

bigger dish because I don't want to just

have to drive the dish back every time

that's going to waste a lot of time it's

going to put extra wear and tear on the

motors i' like to be able to figure this

out so that I can use it in the next

project we're out here yet again trying

this again I keep saying this is my last

try and then like a sucker I keep coming

out here and doing it again we've got

the very latest code uh we've got 3

crate stacked up so hopefully the dish

gets less reflection off of the fence in

the garden here um yeah we're trying uh

little bit different feed again little

bit different

frequency lot of traffic noise in the

background all right after screwing

around with this for almost 2 weeks it

finally works we actually have a picture

of a satellite or at least a picture of

the radio frequency coming from a

satellite and this is finally

recognizable it's not 100% perfect we

still have some choppy edges but we've

got the same signal pattern that we were

getting before with Ku band except now

we're in the L band so this is I believe

inm Marat F3 let's push my luck and see

if we can get any other satellites this

way still no luck for goes east we just

get a very weird interference pattern

with that one so it turns out part of

the reason I got this interference

pattern is that I was being too clever

for my own good again I was having

issues with SDR read samples buffering

and lagging behind the actual array

right so I found there's this SDR read

bites and I thought oh that sounds good

it doesn't buffer it just overwrites

itself so I'll use that one and that

worked once and then every run after

that gives me this interference patterns

now this one might not look like much

but I think it's really cool because we

can actually see the orbits of multiple

GPS satellites because the dish moves a

little slower than the satellites move

across the sky it's catching each

satellite multiple times in its orbit

I'll draw an overlay here showing the

path of each satellite as viewed from

the ground here and these are in what's

called a medium earth orbit so they're

higher in altitude than a low earth

orbit like the old Noah 18 Noah 19 and

Noah 15 satellites now they are lower in

altitude than a geosynchronous orbit

like inm Marat or go this is an aridium

satellite it's one of about 60 lower

thit communication satellites and they

have an orbit that looks very straight

from the ground going north to south or

south to North this one just happened to

be going south to North as the dish was

scanning from the southern Horizon up so

we caught much of its pass as kind of

this long Blobby streak we didn't get

the whole thing because the satellite

was moving faster than the dish so it

ran away from the dish and kind of

dropped off the screen here but we did

get quite a bit of signal from it okay I

think we're going to wrap up this video

we are going to call it a day or like

two weeks now that I've been working on

this I'd like to work on a little more

I'd like to get some prettier pictures

I'd like to fix some of the indexing

issues clean up the code add some more

features try different feeds on this but

all of that is going to have to wait for

another video because we probably

already have like 3 hours of raw footage

and I'm going to have to cut that down

to some reasonable size I never did get

around to putting a Raspberry Pi on here

again that's going to have to wait for

another video stay tuned for that um

eventually some of that might happen

might not I don't know but we do have

plenty of other satellite projects we

have plenty of other dish projects and

as I've mentioned before this was kind

of a stepping stone to the next size up

where we're going to try to use either

that 30-in dish I have or jump up to

some of the cand dishes and be able to

use those with motors uh use some of the

same code or similar code to do imaging

with those and then we'll have

potentially more of a real radio

telescope more of a real satellite

ground station just as with the dish

tailgator project I will throw all of my

half ass code onto GitHub for everyone

to critique and tear apart or possibly

even use themselves although just like

last time I can't guarantee I'll respond

to PLL requests because half the time I

don't understand what other people are

trying to do with their code so thanks

to everyone who sat through this entire

video no matter how long it ended up I

don't think it'll be 3 hours but we

might be over 20 minutes at this point

anyway thanks for watching we'll see you

next

time