***************************************************************************** * I was confounded on what is needed to build an Outernet Inmarsat Receiver * *---------------------------------------------------------------------------* * Here is K4KDR, Scott Chapman's summary of how he did it: * ***************************************************************************** RESULT: A BLACK BOX THAT RECEIVES OUTERNET CONTENT AND CREATES A WIFI HOT SPOT THAT MAKES THAT CONTENT AVAILABLE TO ANY SUROUNDING USERS WITH A BROWSER The system consists of an Antenna, an LNA, a Receiver (SDR) and a processor that feeds a WiFi transceiver. There are multiple ways to do this: The LANTERN: This is an all-in-one including solar power black box made available from the Outernet folks for $169 or so and it is even solar powerd. PC Hackers: There are beta software that can run on various platforms to do the processing, but are frustrating. I will leave that to other threads. THE LOW COST HAM APPROACH: -------------------------- ANTENNA: unless you already have an L-band RHCP antenna, the patch antenna offered by Outernet (via Amazon) is a fine way to start. https://www.amazon.com/L-Band-Patch-Antenna-RHCP-1525/dp/B01JTE7NHU/ ref=pd_lpo_23_tr_t_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SWZ6F4G1DQPTW5355GD9 LNA: The LNA offered by Outernet (via Amazon) does an excellent job. https://amazon.com/Outernet-Inmarsat-L-band-Amplifier-Module/dp/B01K04UG1I RECEIVER: I originally used the Outernet SDR dongle sold on Amazon. Then I tried the newer metal-case rtl-sdr.com TXCO dongle and my L-band signal almost doubled. Unless my units were flukes, the rtl-sdr.com dongle is best. NOTE! – unlike the Outernet SDR, the rtl-sdr.com dongle needs a jumper on board to be soldered to enable the bias-T to power the LNA. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0129EBDS2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1 &tag=rsv0f-20&linkId=9806dfa291f74f7cdb49e2cfbe3d34eb PROCESSOR: -Raspberry Pi-3: Besides being a wonderful little computer for numerous Ham radio projects, the Pi uses a micro-SD card to boot and store data. Changing the micro-SD card completely changes the application. https://amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-RASP-PI-3-Model-Motherboard/dp/B01CD5VC92 POWERING IT: The Raspberry Pi-3 needs at least 2.4 amps from the USB. I do not recommend using AC-only power adapters because you might want to make this system portable away from AC mains. Get an appropriate USB cable, and separately an adapter for AC-to-USB power. I used an Insignia brand. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-micro-usb-wall-charger-black/5689149.p ?skuId=5689149 PI CASE: A basic case protects the Pi and simplifies handling/mounting. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MQLB1N6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01? ie=UTF8&psc=1 MICROSD CARD for the Pi: The Pi’s “hard drive”... so get several. The bigger the more storage the file system can store. https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDHC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-032G- GN6MA/dp/B010Q57T02/ref=zg_bs_3015433011_2?th=1 ------------------------------- SOFTWARE --------------------------------- The only setup step is to download the latest Outernet Pi operating system. rxOS .ZIP image from: https://archive.outernet.is/images/rxOS-Raspberry-Pi/ First, extract the contents of the .ZIP archive; one of the included files has instructions. If using a Windows PC for this task, the utility is: https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/ Once the Pi image is written to the micro-SD card, insert it in the Pi, connect the antenna, LNA, & SDR, and power up the Pi. Using a personal computer, you will see a new wireless network available. Connect to the “Outernet” network (no security by default). Once connected, open a browser on your PC and go to http://10.0.0.1 The Outernet web interface will guide you from there. -------------------------------- USES ------------------------------------ Put it all in a box, take it to the next HAM event and encourage others to use their WiFi devices to check it out! Any APRS client that can draw APRS data from a file, can then display the hourly linked APRS files on its map or messages, etc. Scott Chapman, K4KDR