Difference between revisions of "Radio Activities"

From Bloominglabs
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
We've been slowing working on getting our antennas back up after the move in early 2018.
 +
 
We have several antennas and radios available for several bands and projects. This page is here to help track these projects and let folks know what we are doing.
 
We have several antennas and radios available for several bands and projects. This page is here to help track these projects and let folks know what we are doing.
  
Line 4: Line 6:
 
== Infrastructure ==
 
== Infrastructure ==
  
−
=== Radio Desk ===
+
=== Radio Room / Electronics Room ===
−
This is a desk that has been setup in an out of the way area just for radio activites at Bloominglabs. The idea was to keep this semi-isolated so that it attracts less non-radio related cluter, currently it's in the corner of the kitchen area. This is also relatively close to the antennas for shorter coax runs and provides easy access to the grounding block demarco.
+
Since our move in early 2018 we combined the radio desk with the electronics room so that both can be expanded. We have a larger radio bench now which is much less crowded. It is along the back wall of our building for shorter feed line runs to our growing antenna farm and also provides much easier access to our surge suppression/grounding block.
  
 
FCC licenced individuals are welcome to use our Ham radio gear. If you want to connect your rig to our antennas on a temporary basis that is fine too. If you want to setup any long term gear that's great, just let someone know that you have an interest and we'll help you get hooked up.
 
FCC licenced individuals are welcome to use our Ham radio gear. If you want to connect your rig to our antennas on a temporary basis that is fine too. If you want to setup any long term gear that's great, just let someone know that you have an interest and we'll help you get hooked up.
  
−
[[Image:Blabs_radio_desk02.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Radio desk]]
+
[[Image:Blabs_radio_desk02.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Radio desk / image out of date as of 2018]]
  
  
Line 15: Line 17:
 
* [[Amateur Radio]]
 
* [[Amateur Radio]]
 
** Yaesu FT-7800R dual band transceiver
 
** Yaesu FT-7800R dual band transceiver
−
** Yaesu FT-900 HF transceiver
+
** Yaesu FT-900 HF transceiver (pending hookup)
−
** Radio Shack HTX-212, 2m transceiver
+
** Radio Shack HTX-212, 2m transceiver (spare gear)
−
** Kenwood TK-705D 2m transceiver
+
  
 
* Other bands
 
* Other bands
−
** Radio Shack Sport CB
+
** Radio Shack Sport CB (pending hookup)
  
 
* RX only
 
* RX only
Line 29: Line 30:
  
 
=== Antennas ===
 
=== Antennas ===
−
Our building has a 12 foot ceiling indoors and the peak of the roof line is at about 20 feet. We have a 17' mast which is approximately 13' feet above the peak of our roof. At the top is a dual-band 2m/440 ham antenna, then a WiFi dish is mounted just below that. We have another 10 foot mast with a discone on top mounted North of there for general scanning use, as well as other antennas.
+
We are still building out our antennas at our new location as of 2018. This information will probably change quite a bit through 2019.
  
−
[[Image:BL_masts.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Masts and antennas from left to right]]
+
[[Image:BL_masts.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Masts and antennas from left to right - image out of date as of 2018]]
  
 
* Mast 1 - Left-most
 
* Mast 1 - Left-most
−
** [[Weather Station]]
+
** [[Weather Station]] - pending, needs some work
 
** ADS-B airplane telemetry antenna
 
** ADS-B airplane telemetry antenna
 
** room for one more antenna
 
** room for one more antenna
  
−
* CB antenna mounted to side of building at the peak, no mast
+
* Mast 2
 +
** Dual band Diamond 2m/440 whip
  
−
* Mast 2 - peak is about 33'
+
* Mast 3
−
** 2 meter pole antenna, top of antenna is at about 38'
+
** RX-only / Discone for wide band receiving, LMR-400 coax for low loss
−
** 24dBi dish for wifi mesh
+
** LNA4ALL Low Noise Amplifier for improved high-frequency receiving
 +
** Coming soon: feeds multiple scanners which stream online
 +
** High quality splitter installed with spare feeds, hook up your RX-only SDR to this!
  
−
* Mast 3 - peak is about 25'
+
* Other masts/outdoor antennas being considered:
−
** Discone for wide band receiving, LMR-400 coax for low loss
+
** SatNOGS station
−
** We have a LNA for this antenna if we want to improve higher-frequency reception. Currently hooked up to the Uniden digital scanner.
+
** Ham HF antenna
 +
** CB antenna
 +
** WiFi dish (24DBi)
  
−
* Mast 4 - pending
+
* <s>Mast 4</s>
−
** Cushcraft R-6000 HF antenna
+
** <s>Cushcraft R-6000 HF antenna</s>
 +
 
 +
* <s>CB antenna mounted to side of building at the peak, no mast</s>
  
  
 
=== Grounding Block Demarco ===
 
=== Grounding Block Demarco ===
−
This is above the mud room (former laser room) in the workshop. All of the antenna coax runs go through here and get lightning surge suppression at this spot. There is a grounding plate for all ground attachments and the grounding plate is directly grounded to an outdoor grounding rod.
+
This is now located above the radio desk on the side of the loft area. All of the antenna coax runs go through here and get lightning surge suppression at this spot. There is a grounding plate for all ground attachments and the grounding plate is directly grounded to an outdoor grounding rod. Multiple pieces of equipment hooked to our antennas connect to our network so we have an ethernet surge suppressor here as well.
  
−
Additionally, there is another mounting board installed here for attaching infrastructure equipment for the WiFi mesh when needed. There is power and an ethernet hub here and this is also where the ADS-B receiver lives.
+
<s>Additionally, there is another mounting board installed here for attaching infrastructure equipment for the WiFi mesh when needed. There is power and an ethernet hub here and this is also where the ADS-B receiver lives.</s>
  
 
[[Image:Bl-grounddemarco.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Grounding demarco]]
 
[[Image:Bl-grounddemarco.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Grounding demarco]]
Line 71: Line 79:
  
 
=== Scanner Icecast internet feed ===
 
=== Scanner Icecast internet feed ===
−
In April 2015 we revieved a Uniden 996T Digital Scanner on long-term loan by a very generous member of the public. This is a top end scanner that can receive the P25 digital mode used by our local emergency services and elsewhere across our state. We have an Icecast server to stream a feed from this radio so members can listen in remotely.
+
In April 2015 we revieved a Uniden 996T Digital Scanner on long-term loan by a very generous member of the public (now a member). This is a top end scanner that can receive the P25 digital mode used by our local emergency services and elsewhere across our state. We have an Icecast server to stream a feed from this radio so members can listen in remotely.
  
 
* http://bloominglabs.no-ip.org:8000
 
* http://bloominglabs.no-ip.org:8000
Line 78: Line 86:
  
 
=== WiFi Mesh - pending ===
 
=== WiFi Mesh - pending ===
−
We have two 24dBi 2.4GHz dishes for linking up nearby remote buildings. We have one dish up and pointed towards our first candidate site, we continue to make forward progress.
+
There have been a number of people/groups interested in setting up various types of wifi meshes in town over the years. As of late 2018 there is a renewed effort which we hope to be able to participate with. If/when we are able to link up to this Ham mesh we will list more details here.
−
 
+
−
There are a couple of goals, but the project has room for growth and change. Firstly it would be nice just to see what other sites we can link together to have a private network that spans further than just our building. Second, it could provide backup communication in the event of an emergency. Third, it will be fun just to see what other uses we can come up with for this.
+
−
 
+
−
 
+
−
=== Part 15 station - Bloominglabs Radio - pending ===
+
−
This is essentially a low power non-licensed (legal) broadcast station in the AM commercial band (can be received on any common AM radio). Part 15 refers to [http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/15.221 47 CFR 15.221] (Operation in the band 525-1705 kHz in this case).
+
−
 
+
−
I've operated these in the past and they are a lot of fun. The coverage area can usually have a radius of about 1 mile, output power is limited to 100mA along with a limit of a 10' antenna. Because of FCC rules and the way this band of radio works the mast MUST be mounted directly into the ground, attaching it to our building will not work. Once our back parking lot area becomes more free of trailers I would like to run coax out through a drain pipe and get a station running.
+
  
 +
==== Goals of a mesh ====
 +
This is very open ended. Firstly, it's just a proof of concept to see if we/anyone can get a reliable link up to connect different parts of town off the grid. The hardest part about this is geography. Bloomington has a big "hump" that runs across the middle of town so it's hard to get the line-of-sight required for wifi. However we have a neighbor which should be linked up to this new mesh system soon... There are multiple ways to implement a mesh, as mentioned above the current lead contender is Ham focused. I think there is room for multiple mesh networks serving different purposes (ham and part15). However we are interested in working with anyone else interested in pushing this project forwards.
  
 
=== SatNOGS Ground Station - pending ===
 
=== SatNOGS Ground Station - pending ===

Revision as of 15:08, 27 November 2018

We've been slowing working on getting our antennas back up after the move in early 2018.

We have several antennas and radios available for several bands and projects. This page is here to help track these projects and let folks know what we are doing.


Contents

Infrastructure

Radio Room / Electronics Room

Since our move in early 2018 we combined the radio desk with the electronics room so that both can be expanded. We have a larger radio bench now which is much less crowded. It is along the back wall of our building for shorter feed line runs to our growing antenna farm and also provides much easier access to our surge suppression/grounding block.

FCC licenced individuals are welcome to use our Ham radio gear. If you want to connect your rig to our antennas on a temporary basis that is fine too. If you want to setup any long term gear that's great, just let someone know that you have an interest and we'll help you get hooked up.

Radio desk / image out of date as of 2018


Radios

  • Amateur Radio
    • Yaesu FT-7800R dual band transceiver
    • Yaesu FT-900 HF transceiver (pending hookup)
    • Radio Shack HTX-212, 2m transceiver (spare gear)
  • Other bands
    • Radio Shack Sport CB (pending hookup)
  • RX only
    • Uniden 996T Digital Scanner
    • Realistic Pro-136 Scanner (sub 1GHz)
    • Weather radio


Antennas

We are still building out our antennas at our new location as of 2018. This information will probably change quite a bit through 2019.

Masts and antennas from left to right - image out of date as of 2018
  • Mast 1 - Left-most
    • Weather Station - pending, needs some work
    • ADS-B airplane telemetry antenna
    • room for one more antenna
  • Mast 2
    • Dual band Diamond 2m/440 whip
  • Mast 3
    • RX-only / Discone for wide band receiving, LMR-400 coax for low loss
    • LNA4ALL Low Noise Amplifier for improved high-frequency receiving
    • Coming soon: feeds multiple scanners which stream online
    • High quality splitter installed with spare feeds, hook up your RX-only SDR to this!
  • Other masts/outdoor antennas being considered:
    • SatNOGS station
    • Ham HF antenna
    • CB antenna
    • WiFi dish (24DBi)
  • Mast 4
    • Cushcraft R-6000 HF antenna
  • CB antenna mounted to side of building at the peak, no mast


Grounding Block Demarco

This is now located above the radio desk on the side of the loft area. All of the antenna coax runs go through here and get lightning surge suppression at this spot. There is a grounding plate for all ground attachments and the grounding plate is directly grounded to an outdoor grounding rod. Multiple pieces of equipment hooked to our antennas connect to our network so we have an ethernet surge suppressor here as well.

Additionally, there is another mounting board installed here for attaching infrastructure equipment for the WiFi mesh when needed. There is power and an ethernet hub here and this is also where the ADS-B receiver lives.

Grounding demarco


Radio Projects

ADS-B receiving station

In April 2015 we were notified that our application to receive and host a free ADS-B receiving station for http://www.flightradar24.com/free-ads-b-equipment was approved. The hardware appears to be a Radarcape embedded system with some of the web features disabled. The real time data feeds still work for local data capturing if desired. The antenna is mounted about 30' high. Members can get our premium login to http://www.flightradar24.com, just email contact at bloominglabs dot org for details.

ADS-B receiver

Manual for FR24 streaming: https://feed.flightradar24.com/fr24feed-manual.pdf

For more information about getting data off our receiver, see Bloominglabs_ADS-B.

Scanner Icecast internet feed

In April 2015 we revieved a Uniden 996T Digital Scanner on long-term loan by a very generous member of the public (now a member). This is a top end scanner that can receive the P25 digital mode used by our local emergency services and elsewhere across our state. We have an Icecast server to stream a feed from this radio so members can listen in remotely.

There are a lot of moving parts to get the scanner feed available at the moment. There is a troubleshooting page here for reference: Scanner.

WiFi Mesh - pending

There have been a number of people/groups interested in setting up various types of wifi meshes in town over the years. As of late 2018 there is a renewed effort which we hope to be able to participate with. If/when we are able to link up to this Ham mesh we will list more details here.

Goals of a mesh

This is very open ended. Firstly, it's just a proof of concept to see if we/anyone can get a reliable link up to connect different parts of town off the grid. The hardest part about this is geography. Bloomington has a big "hump" that runs across the middle of town so it's hard to get the line-of-sight required for wifi. However we have a neighbor which should be linked up to this new mesh system soon... There are multiple ways to implement a mesh, as mentioned above the current lead contender is Ham focused. I think there is room for multiple mesh networks serving different purposes (ham and part15). However we are interested in working with anyone else interested in pushing this project forwards.

SatNOGS Ground Station - pending

A couple of us are trying to build a SatNOGS Ground Station. Once this is operational we will be able to contribute to the SatNOGS network and allow members to control the dish for any satellite telemetry work they wish to do.


QR code URL

The latest version of this document is always available online.
http://www.bloominglabs.org/index.php/Radio_Activities

URL for this page
Retrieved from "http://207.192.72.161/index.php?title=Radio_Activities&oldid=3766"
Personal tools