Recently we posted new that Outernet had released their 1.5 GHz LNA, Patch Antenna and E4000 Elonics RTL-SDR + E4000/LNA Bundle. When used together, the products can be used to receive the Outernet L-band satellite signal, as well as other decodable L-band satellite signals like AERO and Inmarsat STD-C EGC. Outernet is a new satellite service that aims to be a free “library in the sky”. They continuously broadcast services such as news, weather, videos and other files from satellites.
EDIT: For international buyers the Outernet store is now started selling these products at http://store.outernet.is.
A few days ago we received the LNA and patch antenna for review. The patch antenna is similar to the one we received a while ago when writing our STD-C EGC tutorial, although this one is now slightly larger. It is roughly 12 x 12 cm in size, 100g heavy and comes with about 13 cm of high quality RG316 coax cable with a right angled SMA male connector on the end. The coax cable is clamped on the back for effective strain relief.
The LNA is manufactured by NooElec for Outernet. It amplifies with 34 dB gain from 1525 – 1559 MHz, with its center frequency at 1542 MHz. It must be powered via a 3 – 5.5V bias tee and draws 25 mA. The package consists of a 5 x 2.5 cm PCB board with one female and one male SMA connector. The components are protected by a shielding can. Inside the shielding can we see a MAX12000 LNA chip along with a TA1405A SAW filter. The MAX12000 (datasheet here) is an LNA designed for GPS applications and has a NF of 1 dB. It has a design where there are two amplifiers embedded within the chip, and it allows you to connect a SAW filter in between them. The TA1405A SAW filter appears to be produced by Golledge (datasheet here), and it has about a 3 dB insertion loss.
We tested the patch and LNA together with one of our V3 RTL-SDR Blog dongles, with the bias tee turned on. The LNA was connected directly to the dongle, with no coax in between. The patch antenna was angled to point towards the Inmarsat satellite. A 5 meter USB extension cord was then used to interface with a PC. The images below demonstrate the performance we were able to get.
The Outernet team writes that a SNR level of only 2 dB is needed for decoding to work on their signal. With the patch and LNA we were able to get at least 12 dB so this is more than good enough. Other signals such as AERO and STD-C EGC also came in very strongly. Even when not angled at the satellite and placed flat on a table it was able to receive the signal with about 5 dB’s of SNR.
In conclusion the patch and LNA worked very well at receiving the Outernet signal as well as AERO and STD-C EGC. We think these products are great value for money if you are interested in these L-Band signals, and they make it very easy to receive. The only minor problem with the patch antenna is that there is no stand for it, which makes it difficult to mount in a way that faces the satellite. However this issue can easily be fixed with some sellotape and your own mount.
In the future once the Outernet Rpi3 OS and decoder image is released we hope to show a demonstration and tutorial on receiving Outernet data.
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