So the idea of receiving cubesat transmissions by combining a bunch of
commodity omni radio hardware that is already out there with just a
software update isn't totally out of the question. Could it even be done
with wifi or cell phone radios? I'm thinking of something like seti@home.
Download this app and when you aren't using your bandwidth we'll use your
receiver to get data from student cubesats! I guess you would need to know
the location of the receiver pretty precisely.
On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 2:22 PM, David Summers <dvidsum@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yes, that is called a phased array - most electrical engineers probably
built one in school!
Thanks!
-David Summers
On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 3:14 PM, Robert Steinke <robert.steinke@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Please excuse my ignorance if this question is off base. I know almost
nothing about radio.
When you track with a directional antenna you're basically ensuring that
a signal coming from a particular direction hits all the elements of the
antenna at the same time in the same phase.
If you have a fixed array of omni antennas, and you know what direction
your signal is coming from you should be able to work out the time lags and
phase shifts that the various antennas would see.
Could you "track" in software by filtering the signals from the omni
anrtennas with those time lags and phase shifts, and any signal from that
direction will constructively interfere?
Bob
On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 1:59 PM, Monroe L. King Jr. <
monroe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
With the yagi you need a way to track. I'm not sure what you mean by
broadside array but any array would also need to track the target in the
case of a cubesat.
Monroe
Gain antennae *are* phased arrays of individual radiator elements, orantenna.
phase-tailored reflector surface (a parabola) and a suitable feed
