Building An Autonomous Satellite Tracker For Ham Radio, Part 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2019
- This is part 1 in this mini series of my progress on building the WB0OEW Autonomous satellite tracker. In this video I went shopping for the parts, and ALL the links are below for the original published document, his website and all the parts that I ordered in this video. Future video updates I will post more links to parts I still need to purchase, like a decent tripod. I also have a satellite antenna on the way that I purchased from GigaParts, which will be a separate video in itself. Make sure to subscribe so you can get alerts when updates are posted.
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clearskyinstitute.com/ham/AST/... -Article
clearskyinstitute.com/ham/AST/ -Elwood's website
amzn.to/2XjgfPk -Sunfounder Arduino Mega R3
amzn.to/308EgWn - Sunfounder Ethernet Shield
amzn.to/2NoHPG4 -TP-Link N300 WiFi router that I will be using
amzn.to/2Xo5P0Y -This is the TP link Elwood used
Only 1 is needed, your choice
amzn.to/2XA0qmE -Adafruit GPS breakout ADA746
amzn.to/2LyNXcB -Adafruit Servo driver ADA815
amzn.to/2Xjkv0Z -Adafruit 9 DOF Orientation ADA2472
www.servocity.com/cm-785hb-se... Gearbox
www.servocity.com/spt400-tilt... Tilt System
![[MPD직캠] 베이비몬스터 직캠 8K 'FOREVER' (BABYMONSTER FanCam) | @MCOUNTDOWN_2024.7.11](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ylRx8QOuGXo/mqdefault.jpg)
I built a satellite tracking system in the late 1980's. Obviously the hardware was completely different. I had uhf/vhf yagis and az/el rotors mounted on a roof tower, along with gasfet receiver preamps. I was tracking pacsats put up by the university of surrey in the U.K. In the shack I had a pc running tracking software which interfaced with the rotors. I also ran packet software which listened for the sats, established a packet link, and then downloaded traffic coming into the Midwest USA, and uploaded traffic leaving the Midwest for other parts of the world. My station was the Amsat Midwest packet gateway station. This interfaced with the terrestrial packet radio network. It all ran automatically 24/7. You could hear the vibration from the rotors turning on through the plywood roof, at all hours of the day and night. Some of the equipment had to be modified from stock. I recall connecting the packet TNC directly to the discriminator on the radio as the stock audio circuits on the rig introduced too much distortion. I did not invent any of this, just used info that was out there from guys who were a lot smarter than me. At that time a lot of the Amsat management worked for the JPL. This is where I got most of my info. 73 de NU9H - Dave
Cool project.
Thanks for being considerate of the article author.
Looks like a very cool project. Very tempting. Will see how the build goes. Thanks for what you do.
I REALLY want to see this happen!!!! I have been thinking about this for about a year now! I am so keeping "track" of this!
Hi Eric, Elwood did a great job with this project. I assisted him with some proofreading and minor code edits on the original article. I recommend your viewers read the whole article and website two or three times before diving in. Only because he has two designs, the original like you are working on, and the update version which you glossed over. The update version uses some different components which eliminate other components. For example, the update uses an ESP8266 which eliminates the Ethernet shield and the TP-Link wireless router. It helps to try and understand the architecture as best you can before diving in. This will help yopu make good choices on where to mount some components, especially the DOF, compass, GPS sensors. That said, best of luck with the build, it looks much more complicated than it is. You'll see that once you get building, things will make a-lot of sense. -de N3RCA
It looks like the second version would require less power. I once worked with a series of solar powered meteorology sites and the ethernet switches were one of the biggest power consumers we had. I'm thinking this is going to be a great project to be used on Field Day for extra points. My picture is with one of the solar powered stations a little over 5000' on the side of a mountain.
I wonder how this would work with a raspberry pi instead of the ESP8266.
@@beaseac the code is CPP for Arduino. There are RPI trackers on the internet and they are a completely different system. All work equally well. The Arduino version here is very specific since it uses the Arduino (of course) specific code, and Arduino shields (add on boards). The mechanicals are pretty basic using servos to build a gimbal. It comes down to which is your preference. I have both RPI and Arduino and I use RPI to run my 3D printer, and Winlink station and Arduino for my Sat antenna. Plus the Arduino boots up a whole lot faster than the RPI, and has none of the Linux overhead that the RPI has.
@@RetiredRoadTrips I haven't unzipped his offerings yet , but, are they in HEX ?
@@californiakayaker all the code is CPP source code. You need the Arduino environment setup. Once it is all setup, you will need to tweek the include files. I also highly recommend replacing the print.cpp with his recommendation. The standard print function is real slow causing a very slow loading of the webpage. The updated print.cpp function is leaps and bounds faster.
I was JUST looking for information on this! Thanks!!
Great project and thank you for letting the world know how easy it is to have a Satalite tracking system. Yes I design and build and this will be fun.
Looking forward to the results, sounds like fun. Might give it a shot myself!
Thanks for finding this... Been looking to do an satellite tracker
Hope to see more on this tracker build soon!!
Hey! just heard you on a shortwave broadcast station out of Tennessee! WWTW It went on for an hour! listened to most of it! you now have a new subscriber!
Outstanding video, Eric… I enjoyed every minute of it. I have been chasing AMSAT birds for 30 years and it is the most fun of anything I've done in my 57 years of being a ham radio operator. Very much looking forward to the next episode! 73 de Robert K3RRR
I have been looking for something like this for a few years now. Awesome video. 73's KC2SGI
This sounds like a fun project. I'm working already working on one of Elwood Downey's projects, the HamClock.
This should be an exciting project!
I've been interested in working satellites for a while now. Thanks for exposing me to this project.
jon, Just a suggestion, but I would recommend working a satellite manually first, then jump into the autonomous tracker project.
@@RetiredRoadTrips that's my plan actually. I just like the idea of automatic tracking. My end goal for this project is to have it permanently mounted at my house so I can monitor/work satellites from my shack. But first I want to work some manually somewhere away from my QTH.
This is a very interesting project, and I hope you update us soon! I am just getting into satellite operation and something like this tracker would be awesome to build. 73
Felt like a home shopping club video. Good info.73
I've been slowly accumulating parts for this build since I build Elwood's ham clock in QST a year or so ago. I think all I have left to get are the servo gearbox and pan/tilt system. Glad to see the price on the tilt system came down ;) Can't wait to see how this turns out - it might just be the motivation I need to finally build this thing! :)
Great video! Looks like a fun project. I am an Astronomer and use my Meade tripod ( telescope gear) and drive tracking unit. Works well and can handle weight of both Elk and Arrow antennas. Other larger antennas as well for the birds. However very expensive ! Looking for the next project and this looks like fun. Thanks again for the information. 73,s
This would also track the sun across sky for my solar panels mounted on big satellite dish ring an post! I'd really like that because of 40% (?) more power(they say, who ever they are). Not just morning to night but seasonally adjustments, sweet! Thanks, Tim
Eric - are you going to return to this project soon? I’m eager to see the remainder of the build out of the tracker. I’m sure others are as well. Thanks for everything you do for the ham radio community! Your contributions are incredible!
Cool topic.
"After a few shots of fireball, it makes it a lot easier to spend money!" Lmao 🤣
Great video and a great topic! Looking forward to the rest of the videos as I am looking to build one in the future! 73 KJ7AXF
HELL YES .. im in .. ive been wantingto build one for months now . .. this is gonna be great !!!!!! thanks Eric .. KK6WJE
Great Video and tutorial. Really Appreciate the work you did. I have a dumb question though. Could you use this tracker to do EME? I apologize if I missed that and it was already brought up.
Going to have to order all the parts over a month or two. But after reading the article I'm hooked. Used to love doing the sats, but like you said holding tthat antena properly over 5 to 10 minutes got to be a bit much. I now have bursitis in my sholders and can't hold the antenna up for any length of time.
Very excited. have the antenna and a FT-60 ht ready to go. Could not hold the antenna up long enough to make many qsos. This should help overcome that problem. Purchased the parts last night. Not sure what parts are needed to mount motors to tripod. will follow along and see how you do it. Web site and article not as clear on that as I would like. Thanks de KI5WA
Hello Eric, K4BQN here from Palm Bay. We were in the same plane on a trip to Dayton a few years ago, chat this year for a few seconds. I will be following your build, because I'm also getting on Satellites, and will love to do the same build. Maybe can get together since we are close. Thank you for the video.
Looks like a great project. Do you have any information on the hardware from servo city? I am specifically looking for info on the diameter for the pinch bolts and what screw sizes etc. Anything information on the hardware would be very helpful.
That is very nice. If any advanced in the terms of programming, ham radio operator can program a reader in Python, to auto feed the ARRL satellite data is sent by email. Things could get a lot better or fancier, but it is a nice project.
Python can read from website, Twitter, etc, sure can read data from ARRL sources.
LOL everything's little bit easier after a couple shots of fireball! 😆
You could buy a light tripod and weigh it down. Most of them have a hook at the center where you could hang something heavy. That will save some bucks.
GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN....
Eric and anyone following that is going to build this, when you do the Google search and open the project page for Servo City and hit the place items in cart button. The tilt mechanism does not come with a servo. You will have to order the second servo. Without looking at the tilt mechanism page, you will not know to order the second servo. Looking forward the the rest of the videos.
Don Gibbs KK4QAM exactly. No biggie. Working on specifying and sourcing the second servo now.
I've very interested in this build, glad to see you're doing it. On a side note, at 14:02 Adafruit is not the seller, you're highlighting the manufacturer. The seller is under the "Buy Now" button and is KjdElectronics. Anyone creating a listing can make it say "by so-and-so" and the only reason I'm putting this in a comment is so people can click on the actual seller and read their reviews. There are quite a few counterfeit items on Amazon.
Part 2, part twoooooooo!!!
ETA for part 2 ? Really looking forward
Man, we got two hobbies in common! What Drum Kit you got in the Shack? I gotta get another set in the future. de WV1Q AL
Getting into SatTracking as well. I have a question some of you Elmers perhaps can assist me with. What is better? Using a tracking gimbal (like this) or using a rig control (CAT) program to interface and control freq doppler shift with a stationary antenna? Does that make sense?
This looks like the project for me. I've been looking for an az/el tracker project build for a while. My question is, will the components handle two arrow antennas on a boom? Or one arrow and one L band? The great thing about Ham radio is I get to experiment and find out.
Hi Eric, I purchased a
Pyle Universal Speaker Stand Mount Holder off of Amazon to use for my Mag Loop. You may want to check it out.
great you encouraging newly qualified Hams to do this..its not confined to the old Greys who who's talk sometimes on purpose goes well over your head..yeah go for it!! 73
I love this, and I intend to build my own. I have two points, however:
1: I don't know why one would use the wifi router. I know the primary outputs on those things are in the microwave bands, and theoretically shouldn't interfere, but wifi routers, especially cheap ones, spew a lot of noise in the form of harmonics which can definitely disrupt the vhf/uhf bands you will typically use this for. We are trying to track fairly weak signals and I don't know why one would add to the ambient noise, particularly as I would want mine mounted on a trailer to go to remote areas with no obstructions and *very low rfi*.
2: instead of getting an 8 bit arduino, an ethernet shield, and a router, why don't you just use a single raspberry pi, which can give you all the gpio you need, plus a much faster and more capable 32 bit or 64 bit processor, potentially giving you more accurate and smoother tracking of the tiny, very distant object we are trying to track? plus it gives you an ethernet port for free, which you can use to run as long as you need of a nice, rf shielded and balanced cat6 crossover to the control laptop?
it would be nice if qex had the article up there. I can't seem to find it and I am a paid aril member. I also subscribe to qex and the contest pamphlet they do as well. Any thoughts on posting the article somewhere for us to download it so we can follow along?
never mind found on the clear sky website you have linked. Weird that qex aril website doesn't have It LOL
This may be good for Walmart on the satellite . Also put a battery tray at the bottom of the tripod to prevent wind problems.
Hi Eric,
Excellent video and thanks for the links. Being a home machinist, and an amateur astronomer, I would modify a computer single arm AltAz telescope mount to accept the antenna as most astronomy software will track satellites. As mentioned in the article, just need a current TLE file. 73 WB3BJU
I've seen a TH-cam video where somebody used Celestron NexStair mount to point an Arrow antenna and I'm currently working down that route. I now think I've going to be moving to this build as the Celestron motor controllers are less then reliable. I can't wait to see the next videos. I vote you make this series of videos your top priority.
Good project, I will. WHAT GEAR Ratio is needed for the servos question for purchase At Servocity it is not referenced in the article?
It is referenced. Look at Table 1 - Bill of Materials. It shoes the 5:1 ratio. Also keep in mind the SPT400 tilt mechanism does not come with a servo. You will need to add that separately to your order. Also, some of the exact parts (i.e. tilt servo he used) is discontinued, so you will need to find a suitable substitute.
Hi Eric, I am a new Ham and just found out satellite tracking is a thing. Living in Seward, Alaska in a mountainous fjord, we have no way to get signals out easily. No repeaters set up. But I am thinking this might be a way to go. My question is as I watch the beginning and you ordering boards with wifi, can you use these Nex-Gen hot spots for this? Thanks for the video. sorry for the newb question.
I am thinking if you are going to use that at home then that GPS receiver can be placed in the Roof Space so it can see the satellites, or if you intend to use on a SOTA then could the module be mounted on a tripod so it again can see the satellites, if you cannot find your Battery powered router the the Huawei B331 with a Data SIM should get you online.
Thanks for the Video. Plan to build one in the future. 73 KA0ZIS
Any chance we can get an update with current hardware/software?
The FMJ tripod from Alpha Antenna would probably work well.
Did you miss the revision of the article? The one where he swaps out the Arduino/WiFi shield for an ESP8266? To quote WB0OEW's website: "Update 2018 July 29: The Tracker is now available using the ESP8266 processor, the same one used in my HamClock. This eliminates the need for the ethernet shield and the TP-Link."
It's a nice improvement on the original implementation. Regardless, I'll be following with interest.
Tom, WZ9U
I'll be watching for that update, have the hardware and 8266 and a shield ...
What kind of load can the servos handle LBS?
Cannot find the ansfer, is this software/hardware combination able to track the moon, looking for an not to costly diy guidance solution..
Great initiative. Looking forward to your next videos on this - de 4z5oi jurgen
Things getting simplier easier than in the mid 90s.
I have a rasberry pi think I could get it to run this thing?
For those interested in building the ESP8266 one : github.com/bkerler/AutoSatTracker-ESP . I added also some notes and additional code fixes to elwood's code (with valid sun and wmm magnetic data, and fixed some tracking issues)
Any update on parts. Tampa?
Why don't you go the ESP8266 route like the update from Elwood suggests? Will be cheaper.
Yes, I saw that, and I have an 8266 plugged into this very nice board. Would condense a lot of it. Didn't see a code offering. Yet.
What kind of portable battery did you use when outdoor on your icom?
Bioenno LifePO4
Eric, do you know which sat have FM capability and as such you can talk to them? Any list would be helpful, thx
There are a handful, but SO-50, AO-91, and AO-92 are the ones that run day and night pretty much every day. www.amsat.org/fm-satellite-frequency-summary/
Hope you were filming that last pass of AO-85 today on 7/7/19.
Ummm, were you outside watching me?? LOL, I just came in, I made it into the satellite, however I need to use an earpiece and mic to avoid the loop i heard coming out of the satellite, apparently I was howling and couldnt hear myself clearly.. My fault.. I did video it, but its not watchable HAHA
@@HamRadioConcepts I heard you. I'm new to satellites myself. I was unable to get through the pileup.
@@jazzvt321 Wait a second... Was there a pileup of people calling me? I didnt hear that..
@@HamRadioConcepts I was barely able to pick up a signal for 2 or 3 minutes using my Baofeng and a 1/2 wave lenght antenna. In that short time I heard 3 or 4 people calling for you. I don't have the power of proper antenna.
@@HamRadioConcepts Check your email. You're welcome to contact me there.
Hello good video in the sense that presented this fantastic project but I see from the webpage there is a newer system now with much, much better hardware. Why go for the old version that is out of date? Also I suggest speed up the pace, most of the video is "how to buy objects from Amazon"
I'd buy one already built.. anyone doing this? Where can I buy a complete one?
Hey Eric keep every one posted if they are going to band 2 meter bands thank you WH6FLQ Vic
You could make small battery pack with 18650 batteries and are rechargeable too
yes but you would need a bigger box, the lipo is much smaller. N0ORK
I think the hardest part would be the gps and wifi and all of that integrations. Not the physical build.
Are you going to film the build?
i plan to
See below email from Servo City regarding the SPT-400. As other comments have stated, it does not come with a servo. Here is one possible solution.
We offer the SPT400 with the D645MW servo. If he selects 'assembled' it will come ready to plug in. The fee to assemble is $30 which covers the servo mod that he's referring to. www.servocity.com/sptd645mw-tilt-system
If he'd rather buy the SPT400 without the servo, and then buy the D645MW separately he can select 'continuous' on the rotation option for that servo. It's a $20 fee and it will be modified in a way that will make it much easier to install into the SPT400. He'd still need to solder the potentiometer wires onto the external potentiometer of the SPT400 (as well as fully assemble the SPT400 per the included instructions) when he gets it.
For $10 more, going with the SPTD645MW is my recommendation if that fits the customer's needs.
Thank you,
ServoCity Tech
(620) 221-0123
When buying a tripod, check out KEH.com. They sell used camera gear. Great customer service out of Smyrna, GA. All you need is a sturdy tripod. Doesn’t have to look great. Also you need just the legs, not the head. As your mounting the tracker onto it.
A heavy duty aluminum Bogen/Manfrotto tripod would do great. If you want a kit that’s light weight, look up Davis & Sanford. They have a light weight carbon fiber I got for around $300. Which is truly a good deal. The feature you want in photography tripod is a center post that has a hook on the bottom that you can hang a bag or something heavy to keep the tripod weighted down. Something perhaps useful for a ham field day rig that mobile? In the tripod case get a small mesh bag you can fill with rocks or weights in the field.
If you want adjustability in uneven terrain to make sure it’s level. Get a video tripod with bowl and bowl adapter on it. The bowl is hemispherical and allows you to level camera on tripod without getting legs perfect. Normally on the bowl is the fluid head you mount to it, there’s a spirit level for reference. In this case mount a spirit level on the plate/board that would attach to bowl adapter and setup would be easy.
My recommendation and background as videographer is to get legs and mount that will hold 1.5X - 2X the weight of everything you plan to put on this. That way it won’t go anywhere.
Another option is to get a camera high Hat with bowl mount. This is just a mount for a camera that is meant to mount a camera low, or to bolt onto things. So you could get a high hat and $30 mounting board and could clamp this to a picnic table, or mount to a post of some type for permanent mount. Maybe someone has coupela or place they want a permanent install for ham shack?
I Don’t have a tech license, but been thinking of getting into the hobby. Used to talk AM and sideband CB back in the day all over the place.
Finally if making a rig for field use, you could make some U brackets out of coat hangers or sturdy steel and use those to anchor tripod legs in the ground.
Another idea is to look up tripods for land survey equipment or photography tripods with pointed feet, then you can dig them into the ground.
For easy mounting, look at Arca-Swiss quick releases and plates. They all use standard 1/4 inch - 20 thread mounts. That way you can make the top half of your rig mount a variety of things easily. Plates meant for medium format cameras should be more robust.
I'm pretty sure sunfounder aren't any different in terms of support to any other Arduino clone. Arduinos are completely open source so there are no legal issues but if you wanna support the Arduino foundation you should buy a genuine arduono/genuino which cost a bit more or you could donate when you download the IDE.
73. i'm ON4BA, this projet is to try but my goal is to do the same with solar panels. Should be possible!
Will this track the moon for moon Bounce?
EME is appealing to me. It should be easier as the moon is slower movinh than the artifical satellites. The algorithm for predicting where the moon is located is an easy fix. Just a matter of putting it into the existing software, if not already there.
Your last 2 links don’t work. Just an fyi.
Instead of camera tripods, look at light stands. They are cheaper and bare bones.
Good one. A wander through a large hardware store will bring up other options if someone gets stuck for ideas.
Sarcnet.org has kits waay cheaper
You gotta do programming in the ide from arduino.cc love arduino btw I'm an engineer as well. Good luck and best wishes. 73
The sketches are available complete for download on his website
@@HamRadioConcepts enjoying your videos keep up the great work I will def stay tuned for follow up gave ya a thumbs up liked
You could prob drop the ethernet shield and get a wifi shield and loose the router. Just need to change some code.
The original author has updated the project to use an ESP8266m which has WiFi built in and cheaper than an Arduino.
All Arduinos are "officially" licenced, it's open source.
I am UK Radio Amateur I am full member of Radio Society Of Great Britain I going to contact them what are going to do about it them to asked Ofcom our Regulator for radiocommunications in The UK
reddit.com/r/engrish
Someone plays the drums
this is dangerous. Aliens may contact you and suck your brain out of your eyeballs. Be safe wear sunglasses to keep your brain in :) LOL Cool project looking forward to it will watch closely this project as I had been interested in this previously but was beyond my pee brain handling it.
I know this is over a year old but at 13:00 where you say it's sold by Adafruit it's actually not. that is the manufacturer, the seller is listed over on the right under the Buy Now button, and it's sold by kjdElectronics (NOT Adafruit) and fulfilled by Amazon. I always get caught by this too. I wish Amazon would change the By: Adafruit to Manufactured By: Adafruit. I got burned on some counterfeit Duracell batteries on Amazon a couple months ago because of that misleading wording by whoever makes up the webpage. So you have to be careful and watch who is the actual seller is because it's not always the manufacturer even when you think it is.
Bob D. Well either way I finished it tonight hope to have the video up tomorrow
U,ke0og,kb9vbr,w6lg, DX commander, ham radio 2.0,kevin loughin are big TH-cam gays why don u all make a group video on 144-146 problam