Surplus PrimeStar Dishes => Radio Telescope Array? 20
Sean Clifford asks: "Anyone
have suggestions on how to get started setting up an amateur radio
telescope array using a ton of old PrimeStar dishes? I've read a
couple of articles like this
one, that makes this idea seem good in theory. Adapting some gear
for RVs to steer the dishes should be simple, but does anyone know of
good open source software for controlling them? And *nix software
for collecting, filtering, and analyzing the data would be sweet
too. I've got a couple of hundred dishes in the back yard at work
that are screaming for some type of use other than recycling. I'm
already adapting a couple for a wireless network, but would like to
see what I can do with the rest."
Have you tried... (Score:3, Interesting)
Given that you have the hardware it would seem you need to find someone who has the skills to design the thing. My guess is that your local ham or astrology club would have people who have the knowledge and desire to help. Do you have a university close by, prehaps they might want to take it on as a grad project. But my first port of call would be SARA.
IMHO this is the sort of question that
Re:Have you tried... (Score:1)
I really do hope you meant astronomy club. I don't think Miss Cleo will be of much help with a radio telescope.
Re:Have you tried... (Score:1)
Ok, i'll shut up now
Lockergnome (Score:2)
Phasing (Score:4, Informative)
Bandwidth (Score:3, Informative)
Moon bounce receive, Weather imaging, Microwave (Score:2, Informative)
A quick google search for "dish array" took me here [uiuc.edu] which explains some of the basics of dealing with dish arrays.
One thing I was considering is not using the dishes to look randomly to space hoping to sniff some martian communications, but to somehow extract some known low level signal from somewhere - how about the moon? Amateurs sometimes bounce signals off the moon for communication. Really! Do a search for moon bounce, find out the frequencies often used, and see if you can construct an array.
I know I made that sound _really_ simple, but I'm sure it wouldn't be. I think the frequencies involved would significantly complicate using those small dishes and the supplied LNBs (or whatever the receiving elements they use these days are called). Anyway, it's something to look into.
I'd also suggest looking into ways in which you could turn an array into some sort of radar receiver. Lay them out correctly pointing to the sky and bathe some clouds with radar signals. Try to image the cloud densities, determine their height, etc.
Put them on the wall of a high building for weak-signal microwave receive.
Just some ideas...
Re:Moon bounce receive, Weather imaging, Microwave (Score:2)
I recall seeing some use of those style dishes for directional wavelan antennae, you could try stringing a transcontinental wavelan backbone. (http://www.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/WirelessL
Just a few thoughts.
Re:Moon bounce receive, Weather imaging, Microwave (Score:1)
As several posters in the know have pointed out, I don't really have the equipment (or the know-how) to do SETI, but thought I might be able to do a bit of amateur radio astronomy (with research and help). We do have a few large dishes (about 5 meters in diameter). I did some google and other search engine searches before turning to
sensor integration (Score:2)
Hasas [freshmeat.net]
It's for sonar, but the beamforming technique is applicable to phased arrays.
AIPS++ (Score:1)
http://aips2.nrao.edu/docs/aips++.html
Radio Telescope Array in Concord, CA (Score:2)
I'm pulling this from deep in my memory, so I may be completely off here, but I seem to recall that the University of Califoria, Berkeley had a large array of radio telescopes in Concord, CA - I saw a picture once and they didn't look to be that big - maybe 1 meter radius tops, but the picture wasn't that good so my sense of scale could have been completely off. In any case, it's probably worth digging around the department of astronomy pages at Berkeley and see what you can dig up - chances are that it's affiliated with SETI.
Good luck & have fun!
-"Zow"
802.11b (Score:2)
Re:802.11b (Score:1)
Even if all I can do is poor-man's doppler radar, survey the moon, or look at stuff in orbit the project will be enough to keep me occupied in my "spare time".
Thanks, fellow slashdotters, for the valuable advice and for pointing me in the right direction. I'll set up a web site about this project once we get off the ground and keep y'all posted.