DIY RADIOASTRONOMY

In this video i tried to pick up some signals from space with parts from older satellite receiving only (TVRO) . PLEASE do not contact me with alien jokes..
I used a 6ft dish antenna, the ICOM ICR7000 receiver, a LPT-3000 spectrum analyzer and the BladeRF SDR radio. I also tuned my antenna and receivers with a Gigatronics signal generator 0.01 to 8Ghz.
I explored mainlty 2 frequencies, the hydrogen line at 1420Mhz and a broader region from 3.4 to 4,2 Ghz with encouraging results.
Thanks for watching
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[@tvtvvtvt8017]

Universities, "We need 100 million for a radio telescope". This guy, "I'll need a soup can"

[@agostongyarmati]

And a piece of copper wire

[@tvtvvtvt8017]

@@agostongyarmati Haha, of course!

[@Neptunium]

The feed horn is just a box it doesn't have to be made of anything special. And yes surprisingly an antenna IS a piece of wire...Look I never claimed to achieve anywhere near the sensitivity of professional instruments. I do what I can with what I've got,

[@xitin9940]

@@Neptunium are other instruments are expensive that you have?

[@Neptunium]

Have you watched any other videos?

[@joeplocki3525]

This is awesome and inspiring. Now I need to find older (affordable) receiver and spectrum analyzer, and to figure out how to convince my wife I need a 6 foot satellite dish...

[@Neptunium]

Lol!!!!!! This may be the hardest part ..Good luck !!

[@simpsonmichael45]

Nooelec SDR radio. They sell inexpensive radio gear at the hydrogen line frequency. I still testing stuff, but I think you save bigly!

[@Neptunium]

Thats really cool ! Thank you !!! Love that info!

[@chriskelly6574]

Insist that it will help you with house/barn chores.

[@ronmcc100]

Well Done! and Thank you for sharing this! I've been wanting to do this for a number of years and have been trying to overcome some obsticles in accomplishing it. You are very inspiring in your presentation and I can't wait to review more of your videos and observations!

[@Neptunium]

Well Thank you for your encouragement and kind words ! There is much that can be done with today`s resources and yesterday`s equipment ! I appreciate your support! Thanks for watching !

[@erinjones3148]

What a cool project! I'm a visual astronomer but radio astronomy has always fascinated me. I'd love to see a video explaining how all of the components here work together in a bit more detail :D

[@Neptunium]

Thanks ! Yes you're right! I briefly talk about it and just gave a quick overview . I am always working on different project and this one might get revisited at some point! Thanks for watching!!!

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I am wanting to get started in radio astronomy, and appreciate this video very much. I have done visual astronomy of one sort or another since I was a kid, but radio astronomy opens up more of the wonders of the universe! Edit: I subbed! Interesting stuff you are doing. I am also wanting to do a high altitude weather balloon flight in a project in conjunction with my kids STEM school. I follow OLHZ, too!

[@Neptunium]

Awesome ! Good luck with everything! Please post your results! Thanks for watching!

[@ingussilins6330]

Best way to start radioastronomy is a VLF natural radio "auroral chorus" and electromagnetic "dawn chorus". :)

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

@@ingussilins6330 thanks!

[@oryxchannel]

excellent separation of whole physics principles in his delivery.

[@travops8996]

Incredible DIY project, awesome work and video.

[@Neptunium]

Thank you so much! Really appreciate it!

[@bernieflanders8822]

That was really interesting, I always thought it an expensive hobby yet I think it is doable on a low budget.

[@qzorn4440]

wow finally a radio-astronomy video with some real content suggestions of making a DIY backyard R-scope. 😎 now for more and better details like part-2 to do this project. 🥰Thanks.

[@Neptunium]

Yup . That's kind of what I do... Thanks for watching!

[@m1kr0kosmos]

Love it. You’re channel is inspiring

[@Neptunium]

Thank you so much! Really appreciate it! And thanks for watching!

[@turkishrealtor]

Fascinating stuff. I'm a HAM/amateur radio enthusiast (callsign TA1HYK) and I've been wanting to get into radio astronomy for years. This is a very encouraging video and shows that even regular folks like us can do real science in our backyards. Much love and respect from Istanbul, Turkiye!

[@Neptunium]

Thanks a lot ! i`ll be looking for that call sign in HF!

[@alexp8144]

Search the topic " hydrogen line amateur radio astronomy "

[@jonathanrainwater5974]

I just want to say a great job! I am 14 and really into astronomy, astrophysics, and radio astronomy which is why I want to build this. thanks again!

[@Neptunium]

You welcome! Yeah it's a fun project !

[@krazyhartin]

This is really cool. I would love to try this.......some day.......................in the future.

[@Neptunium]

Its not too difficult but it takes time and dedication if I can do it I am sure you could as well!

[@krazyhartin]

@@Neptunium Cool. Thanks for the encouragement. :)

[@gilabides]

Someday isn’t a day of the week. Life’s short, do what you want.

[@dnyaneshwardarade6120]

I am making one

[@Landrar]

Start learning about electronics and how to work on them along with math... Lots of math.

[@CEric-xd2rt]

Nickel je comptais me faire un radiotélescope sur les mêmes bases cet été, maintenant je suis décidé ! Toujours passionnantes tes vidéos ! D'ailleurs c'est en bossant sur un projet de fusor que j'ai connu ta chaîne ;).

[@Neptunium]

Ah bien ca fais plaisir ! Tiens nous aux courant des progrēs et n'hesite pas a me recontacter si t'as des questions!

[@agostongyarmati]

*BURRITOS*

[@friskydingo5370]

One of my favorite videos. 😊

[@Neptunium]

glad you enjoyed it !

[@williamcollett2391]

Well done! Very interesting and informative video. Thanks very much!

[@Neptunium]

Your welcome ! It was fun !!

[@JimSky]

Great job with your video. I enjoyed seeing Radio-SkyPipe and Radio Eyes software getting some use,

[@Neptunium]

Thanks Jim ! It's your masterpiece! So I should be thanking you!

[@shopsshire9282]

My dad and I back in the 80s built a radio telescope in our backyard for my six and seventh-grade science fair projects. In seventh grade, I took first place in my division in my Ohio Regional science fair. Nothing as sophisticated as this. We build it out of wood, PVC piping, and chicken wire and we took readings on an oscilloscope. we had to manually position the antenna wish I had the kind of Technology we have now for this back then. Of course we had interference, but not all the cell phones, Etc we have these days.

[@Neptunium]

Thats prerty cool man. The technology available to the amateur nowadays is amazing. I'd like tondo a follow up video at some point ... thanks for sharing and watching !

[@narogen3431]

This is amazing!

[@bopsop]

Amazing video Great work.👌 I look forward to seeing some more videos about radio astronomy, Are you thinking about making more videos about this?

[@Neptunium]

Thanks man! yes absolutely I am ! but this may be a while since I am tight up with other projects! ! I am open to suggestions anytime! Thanks for watching!

[@chemistryscuriosities]

Great ideas!

[@Neptunium]

Thanks a lot!!

[@wisnog99]

The universe is so beautiful 😍

[@elenobia9684]

impressive ! i loved this video

[@Neptunium]

Thank you ! Very much appreciated!

[@wayneclingman2328]

Great stuff

[@paulwilliams286]

Very interesting and motivational (I need all the help I can get in the motivation department)!

[@Neptunium]

The hard part is to get started! Once you pass that it's all downhill from there my friend! Thanks for watching!

[@Dr22J2]

Great Video

[@Drjtherrien]

Very cool!

[@Neptunium]

Thanks you!

[@user-gd5ne9kb2k]

Great bro

[@pushkarshendre8193]

love it

[@daf6491]

fantastic

[@premanand7803]

That's so cool

[@BellatrixLugosi]

this is very intresting

[@Neptunium]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@you_lost_the_game]

Would love to see a more in depth video about how to set one of these up

[@Neptunium]

Thanks for your interest ! I put a complete description a few messages back ! Feel free to browse, i'll be happy to answer your questions

[@you_lost_the_game]

@@Neptunium I appreciate it, thanks!

[@dawidwitulski5712]

Big Thanks

[@Neptunium]

Your welcome!

[@emmanuelokpas7807]

Nice video... Sharp and concise. Is it possible to use a helical antenna for detection too? I mean since the Wavelength, frequency range is within the performance range of helical antennas. Thanks

[@Neptunium]

Yes ! It has been done before...but a directional antenna eliminates a lot of the intereference noises thus lowering the background and allowing lower signal detection..

[@thegemologist9574]

just brilliant!

[@Neptunium]

Thank you!

[@thegemologist9574]

@@Neptunium do you have linkedin?

[@Neptunium]

@@thegemologist9574 ah no I do not.. If you want to message I am on Sciencemadness.org

[@jamesjbarrek6086]

I wish I had money to get stuff like that,always wanted to do Amateur Radio Astronomy :(

[@Neptunium]

Oh you know not everything is absolutely necessary ! There is still a lot of stuff you can get cheap or even for free! Some people will even pay you to remove eye sore antenna from their yard!

[@cinescopefilms]

excellent

[@Neptunium]

Thank you !!!

[@LovyDuga]

This person is elon musk of radio telescope.

[@robertoler3795]

splendid WB5MZO

[@Neptunium]

Thanks!

[@williamliu9154]

Hi there! I love this video and I want to build a radio telescope in my school. here are some questions hope you could answer the questions of mine what band does the antenna design to receive? could I replace the ic7000 and the spectrum analyzer with a good SDR? thank you

[@Neptunium]

Hey thanks for your interest...Antennas are designed for a specific range of frequencies but generally speaking thr tighter the mesh the higher the frequency. The manufacturer usually indicate the gain at a specific wavelength on the specifications chart. Very little googling can easily provide allvtrh info on antennas. Yes you can use an SDR .I have not kept up with the latest model but they are usually ok . Although maybe not as sensitive on the cheaper side of things..I used successfully the bladerf from Nuand but it is not a cheap model...good luck with your project ! Stay curious my friend

[@kevins4736]

Need a larger dish. I was thinking if a person had a decent sized back yard with some trees in the right places or if he or she had a little money, 6x 40' utility poles could be spaced correctly and a suspended dish can be made. Get that gain increased!!

[@stargazer7644]

Why in the world would you try to suspend the dish? Mount it on a pole.

[@kevins4736]

I was describing how to make a larger parabolic dish out of metal mesh and use the utility pole to hold it up. The one Arecibo was made that way until funding went down and it had to be destroyed. @@stargazer7644

[@chuckvanderbildt]

Could you pick up a pulsar or something similar with this?

[@Neptunium]

No .pulsar are way too weak to be detected with an antenna so small. It has been done by amateurs but with dish 3 to 6 times larger.. at minimum!

[@W8RIT1]

You might also want to check out a NASA program for people called Radio Jove. You can relatively easily listen to the radio transmissions of Jupiter, or the Sun.

[@Neptunium]

That's right! The website I downloaded the chart recorder from (radio-eye) has a whole section about Jupiter's noise, setting up antennas and how to listen ! Thanks ! Appreciate the comments !

[@pitofcreepers2655]

Could you do a video on how you made this? You've inspired me insanely to build one hahaha

[@rifumomaluleke8132]

hello can we talk on whatsApp

[@Neptunium]

I don't have WhatsApp . How can I help?

[@justmythoughts2786]

Gotta listen to Zeta reticula

[@CooldudmanNa760]

Gonna play Voices of the Void irl rq

[@Muonium1]

NINE JOULES bro??!?! Isn't that like oh-my-god particle level energy 😊 I'm thinkin like super ultra femto J or somethin cool demo tho! my only tattoo is of the symbolic representation of the H spin flip on the voyager record.

[@Neptunium]

Lol!! Of course not !! Dude 9 joules!! Haha it's 9x10-25!!

[@Neptunium]

Now THAT is cool a tattoo!!

[@australianoutback]

How do does noise get through the dome above us though

[@agostongyarmati]

You can't build a radio telescope at home. You dont have enought money for that, and you dont know how to even do it Neptunium: *Hold my beer*

[@Neptunium]

You're right I don't know what the hell I am doing ....obviously...Why do I even bother ? Well I tried.... And trying is far better than useless criticism .

[@simpsonmichael45]

Have you ever talked to HAM radio folks? They did it. I did it years ago. So there!

[@Neptunium]

Yes ! I even studied for my license about 2 years ago. I was schedule to take the test before covid happened

[@agostongyarmati]

@@Neptunium Do you use SDR Console, and Radio sky-pipe connected trought LAN?

[@Neptunium]

The SDR connect via USB and radio-sky pipe works with the sound card, mic or line in ...

[@guytech7310]

FYI: Try seeing if you can capture GOES satellite (Weather Sat photos). I believe GOES transmits at about 1900 Mhz. Just a suggestion if you looking for other ideas to use the equipement you already have.

[@Neptunium]

Geostationary weather satellites broadcast with a different polarization. I know you Cn even download the picture from the signal with a free software.. but your right it's a great idea! Thanks Guy!

[@weirdlounge]

Hello! I am trying to do something similar with a scrap TV antenna I found... I'm kinda starting out here so I was wondering a few things... what do you use the ICOM R7000 for? Is it connected to a PC? How is that connection? Any recommendation in case I am not able to find an ICOM R7000? Thanks a lot!

[@Neptunium]

Hello, with the Icom I can select a frequency . There is an output for chart recording in the front of the unit that accept regular phone jacks This can be directly plugged into the microphone or line in on the PC. I personally like the r7000 because it has a wide receiving band from 30 to 3000 Mhz, it's an older model but it's easy to use reliable and solid construction . Any receiver from the radio amateur world will be fine...

[@weirdlounge]

@@Neptunium Thank you very much! :)

[@stargazer7644]

Use an SDR connected to a computer for this.

[@dnyaneshwardarade6120]

Can we image it like the radio images on google and encyclopedias are?

[@Neptunium]

you`d have to scan a portion of the sky and record the radio intensity one section at the time . not impossible but long and tedious.. See how the thought emporium did it by scanning here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5bEmWace76fpKM I have been thinking about it for a long time .

[@MikeTaylor-tw5wb]

this is a great project! it must be so difficult to rule out interference and determine what the interference was, in your results

[@Neptunium]

Yes your right! Especially with short signals! Thanks for watching!

[@bewwpeww3431]

Wonderful video. I just have few questions. We made itty bitty telescope and we don't know how to gather data from antenna. Telescope works well(we hope). 1. I found a article which gather data to computer with set-top box.(which we failed)Is there any way to make it success? 2. Is it possible to analyze antenna->oscilloscope->computer or we need more device such as radio receiver? best regards.

[@Neptunium]

Thank you for the support. As described in the video thoroughly, you can take advantage of the sound port of your computer to collect data . The output of the radio is a simple microphone jack. Thats it. Use a head phone jack available everywhere to connect the 2. Very simple . Enjoy

[@bewwpeww3431]

@@Neptunium Thanks!!

[@rileypowis5319]

Hi there! I love the video but I have a few questions: Does the can size matter? Do you need the big dish? Is the driven element just half of the 21cm? Does it matter where abouts in the can you put the driven element? Thank you so much!

[@Neptunium]

Hi! thank you for your interest.. yes the can size matter to some degree but for my purpose, it just happened to fit perfectly in the holder , The larger the dish the better , but a dish is only effective with higher frequency wave, it would be pointless to use a dish for VHF for example. the driven element is a quarter wave and it only matter as long as it is in or as close as possible to the focal point of the antenna . Happy holidays! stay safe

[@rileypowis5319]

@@Neptunium thank you so much!

[@Neptunium]

@@rileypowis5319 your welcome

[@poly_hexamethyl]

Nice video. Just wondering...do you have any problems with noise? Don't radio telescopes normally have their first preamplifer cryogenically cooled (with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium) in order to keep the thermal noise down? Or does it not matter for certain types of measurements?

[@Neptunium]

Thank you..yes there is background noise but I am not trying to detect crazy low and weak signals ... it's a proof of concept ! No I am not gonna dip it in LN2 for such a small dish ! Lol but the pros do your right

[@stargazer7644]

@@NeptuniumLiquid helium, actually.

[@simpsonmichael45]

Do you have a new radio astronomy video? I have a 12 GHZ LNB and Nooelec SDR radio doggie on-hand, so I’ve used that at 950 MHZ to monitor the sun’s intensity via my itty bitty radio telescope. Thank you for pointing in the right direction. Hope your doing well these days. Mike

[@Neptunium]

No sir..

[@jeffron7]

Can you point this towards the center of the milky way searching for 20.5 mhz like Jansky discovered in 1933 with the once every 23hrs 56 mins where he would pick up a hissing static noise?

[@Neptunium]

Yes ! That's kind of what I did but at a lower frequency. It shouldn't be a problem . I just can't see the Milky Way central area from my location.. thanks for watching!

[@thescience786]

Hi! I wanna make radio telescope and have some questions. Would be glad if you answer. 1. How to determine diameter of antenna depending on what frequencies of radio waves I want to see. 2. How to measure angular resolution and area of the sky that telescope can observe at once.

[@Neptunium]

Thank you for watching and for your question. I have already answered similar queries in the comments before...keep reading and you'll find the link to a software allowing you to calculate the size of your antenna's frequency best response . Also, i demonstrated in the video how to determine the size of your bean but you can always do a very simple search on google, there is all kinds of techniques and ways on how to go about that. So keep browsing my friend ! Happy listening!

[@thescience786]

@@Neptunium Thanks. Hope in future I will be sharing results with you:)

[@Neptunium]

@@thescience786 of course! I hope so too ! Please post your results!

[@mikemalloy1681]

As a long term ham radio operator, I am intererested in monitoring the 1420.xxx Hydrogen line in outer space. The thing is, what mode do you put your receiver on??? AM, SSB, FM, etc

[@Neptunium]

AM ... most of the time but wide FM works too

[@MatheusLB2009]

Awesome video, liked. Music was kinda unnecessary tho

[@Neptunium]

Thanks ! Always appreciate it

[@ahole5407]

living downtown in a big city doesnt help... what would you suggest as far as filtering out all the noise? I have a few old C/Ku-Band dishes and an itch to scratch.

[@Neptunium]

It is Difficult to cancel out the noise .. look at other, less used frequencies or move to the suburbs I guess.

[@astropassion6419]

superbe pouvez vous me dire quelle matérielle utilisez vous ? la tête de la parabole c'est quoi? MERCI BEAUCOUP.

[@Neptunium]

Merci, j'ai decris le detecteur appelè un feedhorn . C'est un ancien detecteur utilisè pour les antennes paraboliques des annèes 90. C'est simplement un petit bout de cuivre avec un amplificateur attachè. Le signal en sort amplifier et a plus basse frequence 900mhz au lieu de 2000 ou 3000 ..

[@kanafamilyfriendly3802]

Hello, what was the size of the cantenna? Diameter etc. That you used?

[@Neptunium]

Cambell soup can, the one that fit the feed horn support. and accept the inner wire length, if its too long cut it if it`s too short find another one or make one. Thanks for watching!

[@pri5469]

Why parabolic antenna is preferred over elliptical antenna?? For astronomy

[@Neptunium]

They have a narrower bean with less side lobe . So more directional and less interferences. Thanks for watching!

[@pri5469]

@@Neptunium thanks

[@rileypowis5319]

Hi I am starting radio astronomy and just wanted some more details on the feed horn Thanks

[@Neptunium]

There is really nothing to it as you can see it's just an exposed wire of a quarter wavelength of interest. So for 21 cm it's about 5 cm long and thats it !

[@rileypowis5319]

@@Neptunium sorry but what does quarter wavelength interest mean? I’m just a beginner and I just brought the nooelec mini 2 sdr

[@rileypowis5319]

@@Neptunium is it really as simple as putting the can in where the lnb would usually be?

[@Neptunium]

@@rileypowis5319 yes the wire is an antenna you want the radio wave focused be the dish to concentrate on this little wire. Antenna resonates with the frequency (or wavelength) you want to detect so if you want to pick up 20cm for example an antenna about 20 cm long will give you the maximum gain, half length ( in this case 10cm) will also resonates and a quarter or 5cm will work too

[@rileypowis5319]

Does the can have to be a certain size and does the antenna have to be in a certain point in the can?

[@DonSolaris]

Not a critique, but why is R7000 set to FM? There's nothing to demodulate in the galactic radiation.

[@Neptunium]

@@DonSolaris oh very good catch!! there is always some disconnect from the video's fillers and what I am doing and talking about. You touch on the editing part of every video I've made. It's not a secret and virtually all KZbinrs do the same thing . At least little ones like me. You do the experiment, write the script and recreate the experiment for the camera so you don't bore the audience with useless fillers, sometimes , something slips through and that's what you caught... Thanks for watching!

[@kanafamilyfriendly3802]

⁠ I didn’t find unfortunately anyone with such satellite, would I be able to pick up the signal using ordinary tv antenna with SDR?

[@Neptunium]

Maybe ! I don't know! Hey give it a try and let us know please!

[@kanafamilyfriendly3802]

@@Neptunium Okay, I'll do that

[@alexp8144]

Here is resource of beginner level radio astronomy videos kzbin.info/aero/PLCEbOD5_znsmOAz8fcIIF9JC-qogFntQN

[@Neptunium]

Very cool ! Thanks !

[@ncoollkv]

Can you help to build another one

[@stringb2647]

I have purchased my parents old house from the estate. There are a lot of tall trees to the east and west but I have had some luck with backyard astrophotography so far. There are not one but two 12' aluminum mesh satellite dishes (left over from the old c-band days) in the backyard... Would these dishes have value in a DIY Radioastronomy setup? Could they be used together and increase effectiveness?

[@Neptunium]

12 feet ! Hell yeah they would ! You can even combine the signal and make an interferometer !!! That's really good stuff!!! Look it up and enjoy ! You can have a lot of fun!!! I am actually jealous!!! Please post pictures or video of the whole setup !!

[@stringb2647]

@@Neptunium I did a quick video of the new backyard. I have a lot of work to do to remodel the house. The dishes are about 100 feet apart... Let me know what you think. I also need advice on whether or not I have enough sky to warrant a permanent visual observatory by the pond. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qquwZGyLrdiIqKs

[@Neptunium]

The link doesn't open

[@stringb2647]

@@Neptunium Darn... I tested the link and it works for me but I'm no KZbinr. It's the only video in my channel as I just did it to show you. I value your opinion of what I would be able to do with this. Hope you can take a look there.

[@Neptunium]

@@stringb2647 ok it worked ...yeah I see what you mean with these tall trees...it should nt matter too much at longer wavelength. Here is the catch these antenna get better gain at smaller wavelength. Right where the trees could be a problem...but I would still try because what you might loose in gain in one antenna, you'll gain it 10 fold if you combine the signals from both antennas . When they point in the same direction you'll have the equivalent resolution of a 100 foot dish!! So who cares about the trees!!!

[@chrisgaming9567]

Would this setup be capable of detecting a SETI signal?

[@Neptunium]

No it would not .. it would be sweet though! it's also too small for pulsar unfortunately! Thanks for watching!

[@briandavis3356]

I have a question, what frequency do I need to use in order to listen to star surfaces and other deep space objects? Forgive the question, for I am very new to radio astronomy.

[@Neptunium]

Thank you this is a great question ! I found that as a general rule, stars and astronomical radio source are "brighter" in the lowest frequencies but difficult to pick up and easier but much less powerful at higher frequencies. So depending on the object observed, the area around the hydrigen line at 1420Mhz is appropriate for that reason AND the lack of interference from man made signal...

[@briandavis3356]

@@Neptunium and what type of rsd, antenna, and other equipment would i need to have to operate and listen at vlf range?

[@Neptunium]

@@briandavis3356 a very long wire works well... yagi antenna are also used

[@briandavis3356]

@@Neptunium also, what sdr would i need to have in order to listen to the sounds of deep space on the 1420 mhz line?

[@Neptunium]

@@briandavis3356 i dont know about deep space but Jupiter is very accessible with virtually any SDR..for weaker signals it really all come down to the amplifier and the size of your antenna .

[@findingreasons8027]

How do the radio telescopes generate images of stars orbiting black holes.. it shouldn't be possible with the simple antenna you used just to detect if there is a signal or not

[@Neptunium]

They use the same technic a lot more precise than my little set up. The resolution is infinitely higher than mine. Then they get a single picel data point one by one until they can get a complete picture. Its a very long painstakingly tedious process.

[@findingreasons8027]

@@Neptunium omg.. and here i was, thinking about looking into the edge of universe with my 4 foot dish..🤣

[@Neptunium]

I whish we all could !

[@Neptunium]

I could not even remotely pick up pulsar eiter ... maybe a 15 or 20 feet dish could but certainly not my 6 ft ! That would be so cool tho..

[@stargazer7644]

The images of the S stars orbiting the Milky Way’s black hole are taken with optical telescopes, not radio telescopes. Images of the black hole itself were done with multiple radio telescopes all over the planet combined together with interferometry to make one big virtual telescope the size of the Earth to achieve the angular resolution needed.

[@blsemetan7232]

Could you see the hydrogen line with the Yagi?

[@Neptunium]

You might be able to find a Yagi tuned for that band yes I believe so

[@blsemetan7232]

@@Neptunium Thanks! I might try and build a 1420Mhz stack Yagi. Tune it with a NanoVNA H network analyzer, hopefully that will work. :)

[@nafifarzana5685]

@@Neptunium yes sir u are correct we can find 21 cm Hydrogen line using Yagi. We are doing our project on Hydrogen line detection using various antenna

[@rajaking1505]

I am having a 3feet offset antenna to capture the hydrogen signal of 1420mhz .... Will it work or not?????plzz

[@Neptunium]

I have no idea what you are using ! Offset what? Dish? Pole ? Yagi ? With what radio/ detector. my guess is You'll probably get something... you're looking for a 21 cm signal (as described in the video) so 3feet or roughly 1 meter is about 5 times too big . Worse case scenario, you can always try it and find out for yourself right?

[@rajaking1505]

@@Neptunium parabolic offset antenna height 38.5 inch and width 35.5 and depth 3inch... Try to capture 21cm wavelength.. Will it work???

[@Neptunium]

It's a bit small but you'll get something for sure. Have fun!

[@UniquelyCritical]

Wow! Now this is cool. Can you detect pulsars?

[@Neptunium]

That's one of the first thing I wanted to do but the strongest pulsar cannot be detected with an antenna smaller than about 6 meters (20ft) ... Bummer

[@stargazer7644]

@@NeptuniumYou can detect the strongest pulsars with a much smaller system than 6m. Check out the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers channel. They have several videos about small aperture pulsar detection. Here's one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/np63eKSDr8ethtE

[@adririos5240]

How did you calculate the length of the wire inside the can? (I'm guessing it's the wavelength, which should be around 21.1 cm)

[@Neptunium]

Correct! The quarter wave works too so about 5 cm if I remember correctly

[@adririos5240]

@@Neptunium Thanks a lot.

[@lovestories6360]

How I procses images by radio telescope this is my first time doing something like this I don't how it's work or just sound listening

[@Neptunium]

Just like I did..plug it in your sound card dude

[@lovestories6360]

@@Neptunium sound card and Any software ??

[@Neptunium]

The one I show on the video is the only free one I could find..maybe if you look around you could find better ? It's called skypipe ..

[@lovestories6360]

@@Neptunium thanks for help sir🙏🙏

[@Neptunium]

No problem

[@kanafamilyfriendly3802]

How did you find the inner wire length?

[@Neptunium]

It's the quarter wavelength.. it depends on the frequency you want to monitor

[@simpsonmichael45]

I have just about the same thing you have for radio Astronomy, but I lack experience with DIY Astronomy. Can I ask you for help?

[@Neptunium]

Sure !

[@simpsonmichael45]

@@Neptunium In your video, 1. Does your ICom-7000 read 420 MHz or 4200 MHz? If the frequency is 420 MHz, are you using a RF mixer and RF signal generator to detect the 1420 MHz. 2. Your setup appears to utilize the C-band for detecting the black body radiation to find the beam size. Is this a correct assumption? (great idea). 3. Are you using the professional Radio Sky program? I’m using the free software recorder until I fully understand it and have used the software with my I-Com 725 rig to listen to sunspot noise and Jupiter’s electrical emissions. I also bought a SDR radio kit to run it daily instead of the I-Com rig, because of thunderstorms. 4. Did you buy your Mini circuit RF Amp from Amazon? Please advise. Thank you. Mike Simpson [e-mail]

[@Neptunium]

@@simpsonmichael45 thanks for your interest Mike! 1 the IC7000 does not reach 4ghz. It has a 1ghz addition button. When depressed the frequency displayed the digit after the 1 so 420 become 1420. That's just the way the screen was designed 2 yes ! Exactly! The frequency generator is part of the video. I show the response from the intensity about 3 minutes in or so 3 I thought I left the link in the description...if I forgot i apologize I'll do it shortly . This is the free chart recording that monitor the input from the mic through your sound card. 4 no ebay

[@shrirangsapate]

How did you checked for the size of the radio beam? Using Radio skypipe?

[@Neptunium]

Based on the frequency used and the size of the antenna there is a way to calculate the size of the beam. I can send you the equation if you like

[@shrirangsapate]

@@Neptunium Yes sure till now I was calculating by running some simulations. I would be great if send me the equation so that I can calculate it practical

[@Neptunium]

@@shrirangsapate per wikipedia on the parabolic antenna page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_antenna beamwidth is KL/d with K a constant depends on the shape of the antenna 9about 70 for a typical dish) L=wavelengh d=diameter of the antenna you can also use this online calculator www.satsig.net/pointing/antenna-beamwidth-calculator.htm or this one www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/parabolic-reflector-antenna-gain or this one www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/gain_bw.htm good luck

[@Neptunium]

As explained in the video, the passage of the sun in front of the focal point of the antenna generates plenty of noise, since we know the size of the solar discs and the speed of the earth rotation we can easily calculate the size of the beam, and I obtained very similar results with both methods .

[@simpsonmichael45]

@@Neptunium Are you referring to the distance to the sun? When you say solar disks, are you referring to the size of the sun in the sky say at 12 pm...then you could figure out the beam angle of the sun on the dish? Please advise.

[@bobgrob4]

seems like there'd be a lot of noise on earth around 1.4 gig. Cool video though.

[@Neptunium]

Thank you! The international frequency allocation allow some area of the spectrum to be saved for radio astronomy.. so no there shouldn't be anything there. Also, I did this proj​Anagha Mahajan Anagha Mahajanect in June/July 2020 when air traffic was at a minimum... Thanks again for watching!

[@pi.log10]

*Sir, Can you please send the list of all the equipments?*

[@Neptunium]

Everything was described in the video but if you need more details I'll be happy to provide them as long as you are being specific. Thanks for watching!

[@pi.log10]

@@Neptunium yes, I need a detail list, as I am making one for my project, please help me out

[@Neptunium]

@@pi.log10 I used a 6ft dish antenna, the ICOM ICR7000 receiver, a LPT-3000 spectrum analyzer and the BladeRF SDR radio. I also tuned my antenna and receivers with a Gigatronics signal generator 0.01 to 8Ghz. The software is the free download chart recorder from Radio Eye. All the cables and connectors are regular TV coax cable found everywhere. Thanks for watching

[@kanafamilyfriendly3802]

I wanted to ask, where did you get the 6 feet dish? Is there a way to get it cheap?

[@Neptunium]

it was an ebay find, i think it was $80 4 years ago. I have seen some in people`s backyard I am sure some people would gladly give them away free ! Thanks for watching!

[@kanafamilyfriendly3802]

@@Neptunium I didn’t find unfortunately anyone with such satellite, would I be able to pick up the signal using ordinary tv antenna with SDR?

[@user-do2hr6rb6k]

Any full tutorials for this? I want to build one. I think I found my new hobby. Looking forward for your reply. Thank you.

[@Neptunium]

Yes there is plenty of tutorial online but I pretty much described in the video most of everything you need. part of the fun is also to figure out problem on your own too! Some things can only be learn through doing yourself, you`ll come out of the experience with a solid knowledge that will last you for life!

[@mdev3987]

Need to buy a small house in the woods and start building 😁 too bad I’m short with time

[@Neptunium]

Oh I am totally with you on that one ! I have to move to a bigger place in the woods too ! Soon !

[@chriskelly6574]

Well cricky! I'm in! Where the pulsars at?

[@stargazer7644]

In the northern hemisphere you want the B0329+54 pulsar located at (J2000) RA 03h 32m 59.368s Dec +54d 34m 43.57s. In the southern hemisphere you want the Vela pulsar located at (J2000) RA 08h 35m 20.65525s Dec -45d 10m 35.1545s

[@wyklady_o_fizyce]

Hello, how could I cite you in my own project? I don't want to do exidental plagiarism and I really value your project. It helped me a lot during building my own model of a radio telescope.

[@Neptunium]

That's no problem. Yes you can cite me!

[@pri5469]

Sir, I am using old computer.. It is not compatible with sdr software... So I am trying to buy new laptop... Can you give any suggestion(recommend) for laptop which in affordable rate..

[@Neptunium]

I am not sure what SDR and computer you are using but they are all compatible without much issue. At least from win XP to win 10 I never tried on vista but I`ve been pretty successful with all of windows product. Google is your friend. Thanks for watching!

[@nickmudd]

What's the difference between this and AM radio 1420? I feel like AM radio signals would just overpower radio waves on earth but I'm no astronomer or radio guru

[@Neptunium]

You can broadcast in frequency modulation, amplitude, side band, etc.. but you listen in whatever modulation that matches the signal you are picking up, if I am not mistaken, the carrier is assigned by the FCC . They dictate what frequency to use to limit interferences between station. In radio astronomy it doesn't make a difference since in this video at least I was looking at the total radio power . I usually set it on wide FM but I did use AM just to see if it would make a difference.. and it doesn't.

[@stargazer7644]

1420 on your AM radio is 1420 kHz in the medium wave band. He’s listening to 1420 MHz, a thousand times higher in frequency in the UHF band.

[@beaconoflight8298]

I am planning to build a radio telescope out of an old satellite dish. I can get my hands on a 0.9m dish that comes with an LNB which operates at 10.7 - 12.75 GHz input frequencies and gives out an output range of 950 - 2150 MHz. Will I be able to observe the Sun with this equipment? In some articles I read that to observe the Sun at 1420 MHZ, one has to build a custom feed. I can understand that. If I build a particular feed it will have a capture bandwidth centered around 1400 MHz. And I can figure out the electronics for that. But I can't understand this LNB thing. Could you explain the input and output frequencies?

[@Neptunium]

With the set up you described, you'll be able to observe in the X band between 10 and 12 GHz. You can use this microwave region to detect cold and warm bodies with extreme sensitivity. Because these are high frequencies difficult to handle, the down converter changes the signal linearity to more manageable frequencies. So if you see a signal at 950 MHz, on your receiver, that means it was picked up at 10.7. GHz by the antenna and down converted to 950MHz . It's a small transformer really . This LNB was designed for TV reception so the signal from the dish could be transmitted by cable to the TV. Keep it. It's very useful.

[@beaconoflight8298]

@@Neptunium Okay now I understand. That's why it's called a downconverter. It's actually receiving the high frequencies and then converting it to low frequencies for analysis. If you could help me with one more thing I would be very grateful. The LNB receives the microwaves. Now I want to get an audio output (a buzzing sound as I point the dish to the sun) and then I would like to plot a graph. I don't know much of electronics. Indeed I'm a Bachelor of Science in physics but I have more control over theoretical aspects than practical applications. Some articles I read says one could use an Arduino. Could you help me with the circuitry?

[@Neptunium]

@@beaconoflight8298 I am not good at electronic either .. you can get a satellite finder that's exactly what it does . You also need to power the LNB and the satellite finder, an old satellite TV receiver and some coax cable is all you need. To get a graph as I showed in the video, you can use the output of the satellite finder and plug it in your PC like I demonstrated, and use any free chart recording software . Hope this helps good luck!

[@beaconoflight8298]

@@Neptunium Thanks for the help. I'll see what I can do.

[@alexp8144]

Do a search for " Alex Pettit galactic hydrogen radio astronomy " and watch the Aug 1 2022 video Cheers, Alex KK4VB

[@Thunder_Dome45]

Power failure. Sounds like when I am trying something interesting and the whole universe changes to make sure I can't.

[@Neptunium]

Lol ! Always in accordance with Murphy's law ...

[@raunak_1999]

How can I connect with RASDR2 software or laptop pls make an video I am working on a project I am from middle class family so I can't afford so pls make a video and help me 🙏

[@Neptunium]

Actually, I am not familiar with the RASDR2 at all but after a quick glance at the website, I don't see why it would be any different than any other SDR and software combo.. they all work the same way and it all come down to the type of connections for your coax cable . It really is that simple. No need for a video my friend, I am sure you are fully capable to connect a cable to an SDR module! Thanks for watching!

[@raunak_1999]

@@Neptunium thnx dear for helping me many more love from India ❤️

[@rohitsaha2732]

Hello Sir this is really amazing I also want to make a radio telescope but I actually don't know how it works if you can make a video on it I will be grateful 😊😊

[@Neptunium]

Hey thanks for the kind word. I am not sure I understand what else you'd like me to explain everything is in the video for more details you could look up on wikipedia's page . Or I did not understand your request?

[@rohitsaha2732]

@@Neptunium Sir actually I didn't understand what components are required and how they are connected and what they are doing? Because I know its a short video you are pointing the key points but I actually want to know about it

[@rohitsaha2732]

@@Neptunium We can talk on email where you can send me suggestions and guidelines 😊

[@Neptunium]

Oh ok..well I'll be glad to explain it in details on a message but i probably will not make another video unless i can bring new info or do something different you know?

[@Neptunium]

@@rohitsaha2732 ok what is your email?

[@dprasen]

I wish i could work with you

[@garrytuohy9267]

I was wondering about using a Yagi Uda antenna and thought that there must be reason why no Amature Astronomers seemed to be using it.

[@Neptunium]

the wavelength is the main reason, dish are generally better at higher frequency and far more directional than Yagi, which are better in the VHF and lower UHF (again generally speaking) and with significant side lobes .. having said that it`s absolutely not a problem to use a Yagi and it has been done before no problem!

[@stargazer7644]

You need a lot of gain to do this as the signals are very weak. You can use multiple long yagis, but a dish has much more gain and is cheaper and simpler.

[@Neptunium]

Exactly!

[@stargazer7644]

Here's an example. If you want to try a yagi, google for DSE2145LY. That $250 antenna has about as much gain as a $150 1m dish. 4 of the yagis for $1000 plus the cost of the combiner gives you as much gain as a $600 2m dish. It continues to get worse as you go up in size.

[@tvtvvtvt8017]

How can you really know with certainty which area of the universe you were receiving radio waves from?

[@agostongyarmati]

Simply. The dish's focus is really wide

[@Neptunium]

Not at all.....The dish was pointing at the zenith (as explained) so I just had to let the earth's rotation do the rest. I took the easiest way ... not clever just lazy ...

[@tvtvvtvt8017]

@@Neptunium Ah, now I understand. That IS clever! That's for the explanation

[@s15s5]

Maybe you can turn the radio waves to images

[@Neptunium]

Oh don't think I didn't try! But it's funny you should mention this now ... That will be in my very next video! Thanks for watching!