|
Using a VSAT terminal for EME
Some time ago I managed to get a Ku band VSAT terminal After a long time in storage I started to try and see if I can use this for EME on 10 GHz. At beginning I found a problem that elevation was not working, the stepper motor for elevation adjustment was not working. After repair of the stepper motor the whole system worked fine and now I am trying to find a way to auto track the moon. Here you can see a small movie from the VSAT Dish moving on my commands. The system is a 1 meter dish with a RX LNB and a Ku band up
converter max 4 Watt output.
As I did not know what power supply the antenna pedestal unit
needed, I started to open up the unit connected to the external power switch.
I then had to find out how the Antenna pedestal unit would communicate with the tracking antenna control unit, it needed a interface box which I also have and a RS232 cable. After I found how the system should be wired I started both systems and and the initial start-up phase moved the antenna in azimuth and elevation, so it looked to work. I then tried to find the way to change azimuth and elevation
and found that azimuth was working but that the elevation was not responding to
the commands inputted at the Tracking antenna control unit. After I remounted the stepper motor the antenna responded to the commands from the control unit and the system seems to work. Now I have to find a way that the antenna can be linked to a
computer to steer it automatically to follow the moon or the sun. It is communicating through RS232 so I will try to see if I am able to understand this communication
The VSAT Dish in the radome
The dish with antenna pedestal will be installed inside a
radome which I also have, unfortunately I miss the lower part
|