Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:
Dear Thomas,
Last week I bought & installed the new KiwiSDR receiver and shared it on the web so anyone can use my setup.
I posted a blog about it:
https://kostverlorenvaart.blogspot.com/2024/04/kiwisdr2-radio.html
Excellent, Frans! Thanks for sharing!
Readers, you can check out and use Frans’ KiwiSDR 2 online by clicking here. As you can see in the photos above, he is in an urban area and uses indoor loop antennas.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who shares the following guest post:
Es’hail-2 Geostationary Satellite – credit Es’hailSat (via Amsat-UK.org)
by Frans Goddijin
Over the last 1-2 years several radio enthusiasts have mentioned the Amsat QO-100 Es’hail2 stationary satellite but so far I had no clue where to begin receiving signals from it. There seems to be no shop selling a complete kit so one has to source and assemble the parts.
Here’s a video (below) about how I did it.
Tije de Jong helped by building me a custom stand for the satellite dish, Hans Holsink (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDBIMjCUKtY and www.hybridpretender.nl) gave me some tips over the mail as did William Lagerberg, a fellow radio enthusiast who has built a small forest of antennas around his home.
In preparation, I looked for pages and videos of other setups but often what I found was way too technical for me, or focused on one or two aspects while skipping over everything else.
So I gathered material from different sources, gleaned information from several websites and videos.
But above all I had the help of Tije, Hans and William who enabled me to get there.
One shortcut that I thought I was taking in the beginning was using an app to get the dish lined up but as it turned out the app seemed to think the satellite was playing hide and seek, sometimes in plain sight across the street and then slowly disappearing around the corner. 😉
Also, I used LiDAR measurement in the app to establish what size and type dish I had bought (a cheap no-brand thing in a store where immigrants buy satellite dishes to watch homeland TV) but later on Tije pointed out to me that the dish on the app screen looked nothing like mine which explained why the orientation tool of the app had me pointing the dish ever higher.
Once I used the information on https://eshail.batc.org.uk/point/ I got going and lining up the dish was easy.
[I also] made a second video this time highlighting the simple details of the setup so others can easily copy the approach:
Best regards,
Frans
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who spotted the radio gear above in the The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Can you recognize this iconic brand? How about the receiver on the lower shelf?
Thanks for the tip, Frans!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:
Dear Thomas,
Recently I watched the film “Golda” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14454876/)
There are quite a few RACAl receivers in the film and I will send you a few screen snapshots!
Best regards,
Frans
Thank you for sharing these screen shots, Frans! What a gorgeous radio!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:
Here’s a little follow up on what I did earlier with the little Hurricane transmitter.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Before I had an ‘indirect’ connection between antenna-OUT of the transmitter and the radio as I had two insulated wires , one from the transmitter, one from the radio, taped close to one another.
Now I first tried a direct coax cable from transmitter-OUT antenna to receiver-IN antenna. That worked well if I took care to not amplify the incoming signal too much.
Next I made a one-off three-way antenna switch into an all-three-way connector.
Then I sent sound/music (by Joe Frank) from the iPhone to the transmitter, to all three radios.
I first listened to each radio and in the end had all three playing the sound.
A pleasant way to listen to some of my favourites!
Best regards,
Frans
I love this, Frans! And what a great music selection to test the new setup! Thank you for sharing, OM.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:
Dear Thomas,
In the following video, I show a little loop antenna that I bought online from AliExpress:
On arrival one of the parts, the semi-transparant box with variable capacitor for antenna tuning turned out to be broken due to the bigger box having been thrown around in transit.
The seller promptly provided me with the necessary part (plus extra) for repairs.
Yesterday I repaired it and today I assembled the antenna and tested it a bit in the afternoon and early evening as soon as reception started to get well enough.
It’s a fun antenna, affordable too.
The video shows how effective the variable capacitor is.
Best regards,
Frans
Thank you, Frans. That is certainly a very affordable passive loop option. If you’re an urban QRPer, all the better. I should also mention, you have one of the nicest radio operating positions out there!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:
I bought the Hurricane AM Modulator.
Here in my living room the hum was considerable even though I had an EARTH connection. So what I did was use a coax cable made of two different ends of coax cable, just the isolated kernel of both taped close together so the signal is transmitted on one, received on the other without the wires touching. One end in the antenna OUT of the transmitter, the other end in antenna IN of the receiver.
Now I can wirelessly send music from my laptop or telephone to the Hurricane and ‘receive’ it on the radio of my preference.
The HUM obviously does not originate from the Hurricane.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Best regards!
Frans
Click here to check out the Hurricane AM transmitter on eBay.
Thank you for sharing this, Frans. The Hurricane sounds amazing via that gorgeous Hammarlund SP-600!