Saveitforparts: Building a Satellite Antenna from an Emergency Blanket and a Rotator from an old Security Camera Mount

Over on his YouTube channel, 'saveitforpaarts' has uploaded two new videos. The first shows how he was able to build a very cheap satellite antenna for GOES satellites out of an umbrella and a metallic emergency blanket. The blanket is simply spread over the inside of the umbrella, creating an RF reflective surface. Then a linear feed with LNA and amplifier is placed at the feed point. The makeshift dish works, though the SNR is marginal, and he is only able to receive slightly corrupted images from GOES satellites.

Satellite Antenna Made From Emergency Blanket

In his second video saveitforparts builds a satellite dish rotator out of an old thrown away security camera pan/tilt mount. The mount is hacked to be controllable via an Arduino microcontroller. 

I Built A Cheap Satellite Tracking System From Spare Parts

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Great Scott Gadgets URTI: Phase Two Progress Report

Over on their GitHub, Great Scott Gadgets, creators of the popular HackRF SDR, have created a phase two progress report for their upcoming URTI product. URTI (Universal Radio Test Instrument) is their next generation software defined radio which will work not only as a full-duplex SDR transceiver, but also as a vector network analyzer, spectrum analyzer and more.

In the phase two update they note that they have completed fabrication of an initial prototype board and have confirmed that all components on the board are functional. They note that much of phase four was already completed in parallel, which means the firmware and gateware development is also close to completion. So hopefully we will see more updates soon.

More information about URTI can be found at greatscottgadgets.com/urti.

URTI (Universal Radio Test Instrument) First Prototype Board
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IndiaRocketGirl Receives NOAA-19 Weather Satellite Images with a Tape Measure Yagi Antenna

Over on her YouTube channel IndiaRocketGirl (@VU3BIZ) has posted a video showing how she was able to receive weather satellite images from the polar orbiting NOAA-19 weather satellite at 137 MHz.

She uses a home made four element Yagi antenna with elements made from a tape measure. This allows the elements to be easily folded down for transportation. A phone running the Heaven's above app is used to help track the satellite in the sky as it passes over, and then SatDump and an RTL-SDR Blog V3 running on a laptop is used to decode the signal into an image.

IndiaRocketGirl notes that in her next video she will show how to make the Yagi antenna that she was using. In a previous post IndiaRocketGirl also showed how she was able to receive geostationary FengYun-2H S-VISSR signals.

How to Receive Real Time Images from Low Earth Orbit Satellites | India Rocket Girl | NOAA-19

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KrakenSDR Radio Direction Finding Setup and Tutorial YouTube Video

Over on YouTube user Skyler F has posted a video showing him unboxing his KrakenSDR, and KrakenSDR antenna set, and then setting it up and taking it on a test to find the location of a cellular tower. In the video Skyler shows how to set up the antenna array using the paper spacers, how to connect the KrakenSDR to a Raspberry Pi, and how to configure the Android direction finding app.

If you weren't already aware, KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding. It can be purchased on Crowd Supply.

Kraken Radio Direction Finding Unit Setup Tutorial and Demo

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Airspy HF+ Firmware Updated to R4.0.0

The Airspy HF+ and HF+ Discovery are popular and affordable software defined radios that have a focus on excellent reception on the HF bands. Recently @lambdaprog, the creator of Airspy products has released updated firmware for the Airspy HF+ series of products. The announcement on X is shown below.

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WarDragon Running KrakenSDR to TAK Python and Federate TAK Server

Over on YouTube Aaron, creator of DragonOS and the WarDragon portable SDR kit has posted a video showing how he was able to set up an run the KrakenSDR to TAK python software, as well as a Federate TAK server on WarDragon. Aaron writes:

In this video, we delve into the integration between the KrakenSDR and TAK (Tactical Assault Kit) server, orchestrated by SignalMedic. SignalMedic introduces his Python-based update to his previous NodeRed-dependent system, designed to extract data from the KrakenSDR and relay it to a TAK server.

Witness the capabilities of SignalMedic's creation as we showcase its functionalities with two KrakenSDR endpoints, transmitting lines of bearing and other information to our TAK server setup. We explore setting up and running SignalMedic's project on a WarDragon, a custom kit powered by DragonOS that I've enhanced with a KrakenSDR specifically for this demonstration.

Join us as we demonstrate the integration between the KrakenSDR and the TAK server, showcasing the ease of setup and operation, thanks to previous tutorials on setting up a TAK server and configuring inputs for KrakenSDR data streams. We address challenges encountered during communication between TAK servers and discuss the manual certificate import process from SignalMedic's server to ensure smooth operation.

Additionally, we touch upon federating two TAK servers to enable seamless information sharing between environments, enhancing situational awareness and operational efficiency.

I also mention the perviously explored the Goatak project, an ATAK client for Linux written in GO, which promises to expand the capabilities and accessibility of TAK operations on Linux platforms.

In the past we posted about SignalMedic's KrakenSDR to TAK converter, but it was recently updated to be written in full Python, so it no longer requires the NodeRED dependency.

If you weren't already aware, KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding. It can be purchased on Crowd Supply.

TAK (Tactical Assault Kit) is software used by the military and other organizations for visualizing geospatial information such as enemy and friendly positions. Civilian versions of TAK also exist, such as ATAK for Android. Previously we posted about how ATAK has the ability to plot aircraft positions via an RTL-SDR receiving ADS-B.

WarDragon KrakenSDR to TAK Python + Federate TAK Server w/ K2T Developer (KrakenSDR)

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Receiving SSTV From the Russian UmKA-1/RS40S Cubesat

YouTuber 'saveitforparts' was recently contacted by the ground controller of the Russian UmKA-1/RS40S cubesat asking if he'd like to try and receive an SSTV image from the satellite. UmKA-1/RS40S is a small educational satellite assembled by a Russian high school. Originally it was intended for a radio astronomy experiment, but due to technical issues it's been switched to the secondary ham radio mission only.

Saveitforparts uses an RTL-SDR, directional Yagu antenna, PC running the MMSSTV decoder, and Android phone running the Stellarium satellite tracking app. After a few failed attempts he was able to eventually successfully track and receive the SSTV image as well as some telemetry.

We note that the SSTV image appears to have been specifically scheduled for saveitforparts personally, so if you try to receive this satellite yourself you will probably only be able to receive the telemetry signal.

Receiving Targeted Message From Russian Satellite

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SigintOS Version 2.0 Community Edition Released

SigintOS is an Ubuntu based distribution with a number of built in signal intelligence applications for software defined radios such as the RTL-SDR and TX capable SDRs like the HackRF, bladeRF and USRP radios.

The OS has a built in launcher UI that helps to automatically launch and set up parameters for various programs and GNU Radio scripts that are commonly used. Examples include an FM transmitter, GPS transmitter, GSM base station searcher, IMSI catcher, LTE base station searcher, LTE decoder and a jammer.

Recently the team behind SigintOS have released version 2.0 Community Edition. The team write on their release page:

About Community Edition

SigintOS 2.0 Community Edition; It was developed to provide a much better experience to its users. With a new interface, more stable and powerful infrastructure and development environment, it allows users to develop new tools in addition to existing tools.

Developing Signal Intelligence tools is now much easier with SigintOS™

It is now much easier to develop your own tools with SigintOS™, which contains the world’s most famous and free signal processing and communication software. You can develop them effortlessly with tools such as QT and KDevelop.

Say hello to the 5G World!

SigintOS™ offers you all the possibilities of the 5G world, free of charge and effortlessly!

Whats News?

  • A completely new look.
  • A more stable and robust infrastructure.
  • Latest drivers and software.
  • User-friendly interface that prioritizes habits.

SOFTWARE LIST

Most used software and features

  • Open5GS
  • srsRAN 4G
  • YateBTS
  • Gqrx
  • GnuRadio 3.8
  • SigDigger
  • SDRAngel
  • ADSB Viewer
  • Dump1090
  • OpenCPN
  • GPredict
  • BladeRF
  • HackRF
  • Rtl-SDR
  • USRP – UHD Drivers
  • Kalibrate RTL & HackRF
  • All Gr Modules
  • SigintOS SDR Hardware Monitor Widget
  • QTCreator
  • KDevelop
  • Mysql
  • MongoDB
  • Apache Web Server
  • Php
  • And more …

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