DIY Radio Telescope / Satellite Finder Made From Old Dish

[@R2-9000]

You’re a true soulmate. Unfinished projects and tinkerin with pretty much useless stuff. But you always learn something along the way! Wish we had Axman or similar in Finland.

[@northeden8661]

That's pretty cool. Using Linux on an old laptop is clever. It would we really great if you could pick up any of the lunar orbiters because they are finding all sorts of oddities on the moon.

[@sonofeloah]

Back in the late 60s - early 70s, there was a lot of amateur interest in diy satellite monitoring. One guy had a chicken wire antenna and was even monitoring military satellites. It was posted in an article in one of those mags, popular mechanics or mechanics illustrated, something like that, it was so long ago. Maybe some sleuth type can find the article for us and we can read what that guy did? Exciting stuff you are doing. I am looking forward to see what comes of this.

[@sonofeloah]

@Wilson Declan: Now, why would you do that? If she is your gf, then I suspect she will not be for long. If you do not trust her, then why are you with her? And you think that if you catch her cheating that you are any better committing a crime?

[@imnotlettingyouseemyname]

Wow, I just watched your video getting an image from the Meteor satellite and it reminded me that I want to try making my own radio telescope. Imagine my surprise when I click on what looks like the best video and I see your excited face again!

[@SDMRichie]

I know this video is a couple of years old, but you look at an arcade stick for the PTZ control as it is simply 4 buttons, so your current setup could easily be swapped, and you'd have a cool joystick to use. You also get quick-release versions to pop off if need be.

[@michaellichter4091]

A very beautiful idea, the next star to our Sun is clearly visible in the waterfall diagram. The concept of the rotor is not bad either.

[@rushley5813]

That time-lapse make your satellite look like ed 209 from robocop great video man

[@prottentogo]

Some radio astronomy would be super cool.

[@csx345]

I just got one of these from trash picking. It would be pretty cool to do something with it. Nice work!

[@nbarrager]

If you still have the same phone from two years ago, my phone likes to delete pictures and video and the solution was an app called Open camera. It's ad free and it appears in the "select application" menu for photo uploads. It also has a shit ton of settings which might help with the framerate issue.

[@harlanbaker7476]

Just discovered you and could tell we are kindred spirits. Definitely subbed and looking forward to going through you videos.

[@jafinch78]

Awesome collection of the PTZ camera controllers. I'll have to keep in mind for similar use. Been working on my Dobsonian Mount design for my dishes since thinking will be better balanced for faster sweep rates since I'm planning use more for RDF, tracking and mapping. Thanks for sharing, subscribed!

[@1chinablue1]

I hope you will consider doing a video showing how you made that killer button controller to turn the dish.

[@patchvonbraun]

At Ku-band, the only discrete objects you'll be able to "see" with your setup are the Sun, and possibly the Moon. However, you could put a "can" feed on for the 21cm hydrogen line (1420.405MHz) and using a SawBird+ H1 LNA get hydrogen emissions from along the Milky Way. The 21cm hydrogen line is fairly "bright", so even a small dish allows you to detect those emissions in many parts of the sky. But at Ku-band (11-12GHz), you'd need a much larger dish, which means much more stringent pointing requirements, etc.

[@scottnicholascook3567]

Nice finds!! I just traded some old HAM equipment for a spotting scope with a SkyWatcher AZ-Gti and am diving into using that for satellite tracking for radio. Seems promising, unfortunately I need a windows machine to run most of the software. Trying hard to do it in Linux if I can.

[@SilverSin]

Your personality is what got me to sub!! Keep it up.

[@Tom-em3dv]

I wanna try because i have the same dish but a lil older

[@Cool-db1hp]

How do you even begin learning how to do what you do? This genuinely intrigues me and I'd love to have the knowledge to successfully tinker with the parts I have laying around

[@kearneyIT]

only discovered you and I am delightedI did.

[@terrywheelock9458]

Hey, that thing being slow is better for scanning and locking in on stuff! 👍 Use the other one for the AUTOTATOR TURRET! 🤣

[@PaulBigwood]

AX-Man! Walk in to get one part for a project, walk out with enough parts, doo-dads, doo-hickeys, and assorted amazing junk for 10 projects.

[@gottowatchflankdrivedomeni1434]

Great stuff wish I had the knowledge Make one myself

[@AstroLabs28]

What kind of LNB are you using? I have a SWM 3D1LNBR0-01 and I’m not sure if it will work. The biggest problem I seem to be having is it only has one cable port so I don’t know how to power it

[@chrishenniker5944]

Ever thought about using it as a radio receiver? I wouldn’t be surprised if you can make it receive free to air radio stations from around the world.

[@saveitforparts]

I haven't tried that yet, I saw a few radio channels on various satellites but nothing un-encrypted. This dish is a little too small for KU-band radio channels.

[@xyaz_]

is it possible to make one of these for gmrs frequencies? like for fox hunting or finding local jammers

[@prpprprp]

this is awesome. i'd like to build a radio telescope for a long time but i dont have enough money for buying a sdr and a dish :(

[@scottarmstrong5607]

Too bad Proxima Centari is in the southern hemisphere. They seem to have called recently but nobody has answered.

[@pradyumnagrao384]

Hey can you please tell the names of the antenna connectors that you used to change the coaxial cable to the usb port at 8:00?

[@saveitforparts]

The USB device is a Software Defined Radio (SDR), the one in this video was a super cheap one from eBay (RTL2832). I'm not actually sure what the antenna connector on that is called, I had some old Wifi antenna parts that happened to fit. A better one (but slightly more expensive) is the RTL-SDR Blog V3. That's what I'm using now, it has a more standard antenna connector called SMA that's easier to find connectors for.

[@gunnerdavidson7287]

What software did you use for the receiver?

[@migalito1955]

This spring I'd like to experiment with radio telescopes & I have a question. The LNB is a low noise block downconverter. I always assumed down converting ment converting the signal, say at 2Ghz to a lower frequency say 1 Ghz that is then fed to the receiver. So, if my assumption is valid and the satellite is published as sending data at ??? Ghz then how do you know where in, say SDRuno, to look for the satellite's signal? On the other hand a published receive signal could be the frequency a typical LNB converts the actual transmitted signal to? Being totally a newbie, I can only guess at the moment.

[@saveitforparts]

The LNB has a "local oscillator" (LO) frequency which is what you subtract from the original signal. So if it's a Ku Band signal at 12ghz, and the LO is say, 10.75ghz, the receiver will see the signal at 1,250Mhz. Different regions use different frequencies and LOs, so a "universal" TV LNB from Europe might be more flexible than a US model.

[@SpaceFactsWax]

Thank you for sharing. I had the chance to view a rocket launch in 2018. Incredible experience. I uploaded a pretty cool montage of the trip to my page.

[@bencotton3050]

Man is a genius

[@jonathanblack3123]

Great video: thanks. As you have time, more, please. With respect, please include more data and specifics. Thank you Sir.

[@saveitforparts]

What kind of specifics are you looking for? I'm not an expert on this, I just duct tape trash together :-)

[@1chinablue1]

This is a very nice and helpful video. What are the specifications for the LND that you used and can you provide a link to where you purchased it? Ty.

[@saveitforparts]

The round one I tried for FTA TV was just some cheap-o imported eBay thing, no brand since it's one of those overseas manufacturers that changes their name every 5 minutes to avoid import restrictions and/or bad reviews. When I was doing radio astronomy I think I just used the stock LNB that came with the dumpster dived dish.

[@remyasajeev9985]

@@saveitforparts do this work

[@andrewdown4103]

Can you explain how to put together a connection to the laptop and on to a computer screen or TV.

[@saveitforparts]

I'm using an RTL-SDR to connect the antenna to the laptop: www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/

[@stevo12378]

Make something that scans for uap,s plz 🙏🤣.and is it possible to make something that could look for satellites we don't know about around the moon ? Thx 👍

[@BartJBols]

For a telescope i would slow that movement from the gimbal WAAAAAY down.

[@simpsonmichael45]

I have the same Pan-tilt unit. It uses 24 volts AC, but how did you wire up your control box? Please advise.

[@saveitforparts]

I don't have a diagram handy, I think I just did one button for each direction and used ethernet cable for all the wires required.

[@iammichaelhughes]

Any ideas on how to do something like this to get better phone and data signals for my home in a rural area? I purchased a parabolic antenna but mounting and aiming is a nightmare.

[@saveitforparts]

A satellite dish might not work for cell phones, it depends on the frequency range your carrier uses. When we lived in Alaska we had to put a directional antenna up on a pole and aim it at the nearest cell tower. Websites like this one will tell you where the towers are and what elevation to aim your antenna: www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/cell-tower-map-united-states/

[@AlexDiaz-wx3ng]

just needed to get into the adapter . connection from satellite to pc.

[@saveitforparts]

I might build a custom computer for this with dish aiming controls and weather sat decoding stuff.

[@AlexDiaz-wx3ng]

@@saveitforparts got see how get more power .get further out.if possible dish that size.

[@jamesparker2337]

Most interesting!

[@PilotAtInception]

Cool project! Do you reckon it would be possible to convert a TV antenna/aerial into a directional 4G antenna?

[@saveitforparts]

I'm not sure about the modern digital TV antennas, I've honestly never used one! If the frequencies are similar then I would think it would be possible.

[@LionTurbo]

@@saveitforparts hello, have you implemented the function of automatic targeting of targets in the sky?

[@Tom-em3dv]

Neat dude

[@1chinablue1]

Also what are the specifications of the PTZ mount that works for your disk? TY again.

[@saveitforparts]

It's a Vicon Micropan, I think the V3000 model? It only holds up to 15lbs, the dish was about 14 so kind of pushing it for weight. It takes 24 volts AC, each direction uses a different wire plus a common ground. I just used this since it was lying around in the junk pile at work.

[@1chinablue1]

@@saveitforparts I looked around for one online and they are $200-$400! This is a nice solution but I think I will have to wait to see if I can find one cheaper.

[@Iris-iris028]

♥️♥️♥️

[@Niko-ht3ih]

Awesome

[@krishshah6070]

Hey, We are planning to do the same, but are facing issue in connecting the batteries and also powering the lnb through it. Please guide us and if possible provide an email on which we can extend this conversation.

[@saveitforparts]

Sure, you can email me at gabe (at) saveitforparts.com. I just hooked two 9V batteries in series to get 18v, and then hooked it to a coax connector. There are also in-line power supplies or power injectors you can get online that do the same thing.

[@Kens1966]

Man are you a ham you Dona lot of neat.stuff

[@saveitforparts]

I have a ham license, I'm just too busy to do much with it!

[@timmy9003]

I have windows computer will it work on windows and can I use a RSP1a sdr the software

[@saveitforparts]

I haven't tried it on Windows, I'm sure there are some programs for that. I found a lot of helpful info on Reddit on the rtlsdr and amateursatellite sections.

[@timmy9003]

@@saveitforparts thank you

[@zakaria_mahmouud]

Where is the sale brother europian usa? spain ? cairo ? iraq ? where is sale for me ?

[@jackphelps3642]

What exact lnb are you using?

[@saveitforparts]

I'm not sure, it's just some DirectTV thing that either came with the dish or was in the $1 bin at Axman surplus. I don't think it has any model numbers on the outside. I did later buy a universal LNB on eBay that works better for some of the free channels.

[@pou7151]

he look like discount wolverine

[@saveitforparts]

Lol!

[@benclark7239]

get the Google Pixel 5 or 6

[@qzorn4440]

wow recycle stuff. 😎 nice, make a radio telescope for very little money.

[@TheMidnightcwby]

🍻👍

[@adamdamandeman2852]

track things like planets, satellites, and aircraffffff...... jump cut

[@bobbyjackson3141]

Listen to itsly spains, radio show

[@rethomps1]

Bro, let's see your gurl robot!

[@salvage-1electronics606]

Just picked up an AVL Technologies model 960K 0.96M VSAT uplink for $12.50 and there's a mate to it up for auction now too. Curious if you've played around with anything like this? KE6GHS / PG000233223

[@saveitforparts]

I had to Google that, looks cool! If there were one nearby I'd be all over that auction!

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@saveitforparts >>> Great video...👍👍