News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

USB-DVB-T-DAB-FM-RTL-SDR-Realtek-RTL2832U-R820T-Tuner-Receiver-PAL-IEC-Inp

Started by DavePEI, August 18, 2015, 02:41:58 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

twocvbloke

I've seen a number of those collinear antennas round here, usually they're hooked up to CB radios as they were (and probably still are) quite popular, along with radio scanners and probably a few Hams too... :)

My home-made TV aerial was just so that I didn't have to actually buy a cheap barely-operable indoor thing, but looked into the makings of a basic dipole and to make it halfwave (I think? Could be quarterwave) for size, and of course mounted it on a plastic tube because it was there... ;D

twocvbloke

Had a mooch around ebayUK (that seller of your stick won't ship to the UK oddly) and came across a similar stick but with the same chipsets in them:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281561364981

Only difference I can see is it has no remote function, but at £4.92 (equates to about CA$10 give or take a few cents) it's not too bad either way, just have to wait 'til Tuesday to make a purchase myself, gives me time to look for some more Belling connectors with screw terminals to make up some basic Dipole antennas to play with... ;D

DavePEI

Today, by placing the mag mount antenna on a tin can lid ground plane, and placing it in a window,I have been reliably decoding ADS-B signals for planes 300 km away (over as far as St. John, NB).Just makes me wonder what range I will get with a good antenna!

I have ordered a Ham it Up! Upconverter to allow me to receive from the AM band right up to 30 mhz. on the dongle as well at its ranges up to 2 Ghz or so. It works by converting the HF signals to the higher frequencies supported by the dongle. These operate between the antenna and the dongle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnof4xGkdAo

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njw5rM2MSi8

These can be ordered from Amazon.com. Just type in NooElec Ham It Up v1.2 in the search... I have also ordered an extruded case for it.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

twocvbloke


TelePlay

Quote from: twocvbloke on August 22, 2015, 10:21:16 AM
Had a mooch around ebayUK (that seller of your stick won't ship to the UK oddly)  . . .

Interesting. I'd suggest to the seller just to list the countries to which they will ship. Seems that would be less typing in the listing. I wonder if this has anything to do with China Post not having locations in these countries . . . ? Or if it's an "export license" thing.

"Excludes: APO/FPO, Colombia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Taiwan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, Western Samoa, Bermuda, Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Iceland, Ireland, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of the, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbawe"

twocvbloke

Quote from: TelePlay on August 22, 2015, 02:42:52 PMI wonder if this has anything to do with China Post not having locations in these countries . . . ? Or if it's an "export license" thing.

I'd guess at them having specific stores for specific parts of the world or something of that ilk...

DavePEI

Monday evening at 21:45 hrs., still using the antenna that came with the SDR, here are the airways over PEI! Any question that we are directly under the International flight path? I love the line of planes tracking through N.B. heading over PEI, and on a heading to go straight over our heads! Looks like a swarm of flies! What is amazing is they are all outgoing! I do get better coverage to the West, as my antenna is currently in a west window of the house. When I get a better antenna up higher, I should get more even coverage in all directions.
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

NorthernElectric

Here's something odd.  When I clicked on the image in Dave's latest post hoping to see a larger version with readable text, I get the following:

PS.  never mind; it's working now.
Cliff

DavePEI

Quote from: NorthernElectric on August 24, 2015, 08:55:29 PM
Here's something odd.  When I clicked on the image in Dave's latest post hoping to see a larger version with readable text, I get the following:

PS.  never mind; it's working now.
Yes, I had that happen on someone else's post tonight. I think what causes that is when someone is updating a photo as you try to view it. In the case of this one, more planes kept appearing on the screen, so I updated it twice, each time with later screen grabs - you likely viewed it as I was updating...

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

twocvbloke

Well I've just ordered me the similar stick I found the other day, aswell as three Belling Balun plugs (similar to what I used to make my TV aerial), just need to play the waiting game while the little ol' man from china walks here with my orders... ;D

DavePEI

Quote from: twocvbloke on August 25, 2015, 03:55:45 PM
Well I've just ordered me the similar stick I found the other day, as well as three Belling Balun plugs (similar to what I used to make my TV aerial), just need to play the waiting game while the little ol' man from china walks here with my orders... ;D
Ah, slow boat from China Syndrome! That is a killer! But it eventually comes, and you will have a lot of fun with these. I have one hooked up to my computer here, and the other day hooked one up to the computer over in the Museum. I am also in wait mode, awaiting the Ham it Up! up-converter to receive HF on the dongle and a couple of adapters. Can't wait for them to come so I can compare the combination to my TS-140S. The reports I have heard, is that it is excellent, with as good receive as the most modern receivers. And at a fraction of the cost...

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

Fabius

I have an airplane location display app for my iPhone that shows this information.

http://tinyurl.com/q32tf42
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

DavePEI

Quote from: Fabius on August 25, 2015, 04:52:34 PM
I have an airplane location display app for my iPhone that shows this information.

http://tinyurl.com/q32tf42
Hi Tom:

Yes, I know you can do it that way, but it is more about doing it for yourself. Buying a simple, cheap SDR and being able to use it for as many purposes as possible. An analogy, perhaps to us setting up C*Net connections rather than simply getting consumer VOIP - its all about learning to do it yourself.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

DavePEI

I have just completed building a co-axial ADS-B antenna using RG6U solid dielectric cable. One has to adjust the length of each section is using solid dielectric cable for it, each section should be 9.1 cm. for foam dielectric each section should be 11 cm. in length.

These are assembled as in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUYdCPFXXs

With my poor eyes, I found it difficult to see well enough to thread each section into the next, and as you go, you have to watch out for shorts using a DVM.

In addition to sealing each joint with tape, I also used heat shrink tubing over the tape to further seal it and to add a bit of rigidity.

The assembly was placed inside a length of PVC electrical conduit which serves as a radome, and as in the video, the ends were made from self-amalgamating (self fusing or self sealing) tape to ensure the assembly is waterproof..

The total cost is $10-15 or less if you have some of the materials handy.

I won't be able to test it thoroughly until my adapters for the cable arrive, but there is no reason it won't work perfectly....

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

twocvbloke

I've been looking at the NOAA weather satellite side of things, and some of the antennas for those are pretty funky looking things to deal with the circular polarisation of the signals beaming down to earth, I've used circular-polarised stuff before, namely a British Satellite Broadcasting "Squarial" (which is a square, flat-panel satellite antenna from the late 80's & early 90's back when we had two competing satellite operators (Sky and BSB, before Sky bought out BSB)), but that wasn't serious stuff, just messing about with analogue satellite TV before it all went digital... ;D

I quite like the thought of building a Quadrifilar Helicoidal antenna though, mostly because of it's name, but also because it looks unusual... ;D