Side bar to: FUNcube Dongle and SDR - Radio Console for schools support

Transcription

1 Side bar to: FUNcube Dongle and SDR - Radio Console for schools support Hector L Martinez, CO6CBF 2013 AMSAT Space Symposium Houston, Texas

2 SDR receivers and satellites have potential to be used to support theoretic phenomena in Engineering, Physics and Mathematics classrooms.

3 During my trip, I received a lot of donations to improve my satellite station and I became a proud owner of one of the earlier versions of the FUNcube Dongle.

4 My first round with the Dongle was running HDSDR version It was my first time playing with an SDR receiver. It was amazing!

5 So far a second round with the Dongle was running SDR - Console version 1.5. What a great combination!

6 The software is just as important as the hardware we choose to get good performance from an SDR radio system. The SDR - Console is not only an advanced solution for the FUNcube Dongles but also included a lot of very interesting features. It is being continually developed with new features added on a regular basis. For FUNcube Dongle owners the console offers almost everything you need in one package:

7 No license is required. Satellite support including: Tracking. Doppler correction

8 NOAA weather image viewer.

9 Full range of modes, filters and other DSP options.

10 Recorder automatically starts when the currently selected satellite is visible and ends when it is no longer visible.

11 You can see in the waterfall almost the complete transponder passband and all contacts in progress.

12 The console supports remote connections via network with a very narrow bandwidth.

13 You can make a Panadapter for non-sdr transceivers like FT-817 using FUNcube Dongles and the Console; you can adjust the offsets simply entering the frequency difference and selecting up or down-converter. Picture credit of

14 It has a very comfortable appearance. You can combine the Console and FUNcube Dongles with others radios to operate Full-Duplex, Full - Automatic controlled on satellites. + +

15 Digital Modes. Rotator Controller The future development includes: Recording scheduler (version 2.3). HF radio integration. Digital Modes. Rotator Controller

16 I had made some satellite presentations in my University. Even running my homebrewed and primitive setup, I attracted some enthusiasts and now there is a guy already licensed and some getting ready for it.

17 On January my University was celebrating "The Science Day", and I was invited to talk about Ham radio and satellites.

18 It was my first presentation with my new gear and the Dongle caught all the attention. Physics teachers loved to see the Doppler shift on the waterfall and the IQ analysis facilities.

19 The SDR Console allows an advanced analysis of all signals received in the 96 khz Dongle s bandwidth and combined with you can record all the bandwidth as an IQ recording and playback it later in any time, any computer; It results in a very advanced instrument to support physics phenomena.

20 Teachers and I chatted for a long time about how motivating and encouraging could be for students this kind of experiments. My goal was to figure out how students could use the SDR receiver in real time from the laboratories using the hardware and software already installed. Of course, the remote network connection was the solution.

21 The big problem was the limited bandwidth of our network. Even, we were using lower values for everything in the SDR Console Server; more than three users connected turned unstable the system.

22 I was tracking the ISS with an ELK antenna while I was using a ThinkPad laptop connected to the University`s network What an experience!

23 On August 30 th, the version 2.1 build 1494 (Beta) was released. I asked for a bit of help and I downloaded it. The 2.1 version has some very interesting features added. I was fascinated with the clean user interface, with no unnecessary features. Just all we need for a full satellite operation plus some earlier issues fixed.

24 After my first attempts with the new version, I noted an issue in the console frequency correction. The +/- 500 ppm range were not enough to correct the frequency shift on the receiver. The real frequency was around 8 KHz away from frequency shown on the waterfall.

25 I contacted Simon Brown (the SDR - Console creator) and he fixed it quickly. SDR - Console is not only amazing SDR software for the FUNcube Dongles but it also has a great support!

26 Now, in my University, we are making plans to construct better Sat antennas. Meanwhile, we have homebrew omni antennas with homebrew preamplifiers and time to time under teacher requests I turn on the system to listen for ARISS contacts or listen for other satellites. Our dream is make an ARISS contact in the future!

27 Needless to say that it is a perfect combo for satellite reception and an outstanding told to inspire next generations and support its curriculum making complex theories interesting and easy to understand. It is just incredible that an all-band, all-mode receiver fits in the palm of your hand. Thanks to Howard and Simon for this amazing combo!

28 The Cuban Satellite Group (GROS) has been working very hard to promote Ham radio by satellites in our country. We have seen how hard is to accomplish things in space and the amazing job of AMSAT.

29 We appreciate AMSAT s efforts to keep Ham radio in space. We would like to help AMSAT with our small seed, but unfortunately we don t have funds for donations and we cannot help with a lot of things due to the ITAR restrictions. So, right now our only way to help AMSAT is promoting Ham radio by satellite and encouraging other operators to join us. Logos credit of

30 FOX-1 will be an enjoyable satellite for Cuban operators and a great tool to encourage new satellite enthusiasts. We look forward to its successful mission!

31 Thanks for your attention! Questions?