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Flying WV
West Virginia University · Radio Astronomy Instrumentation Laboratory DSPIRA

Observing

Setting up the Telescope

Details on setting up the telescope for use

Equipment and preparation
Equipment
The equipment checklist, assembled horn, amplifier, receiver, cables, and computer with telescope software.
Before you start
Review the checklist and setup video. Confirm amplifier power and receiver connections before starting the spectrometer.
Planning your time
Review the tasks before scheduling a class. A classroom duration has not been confirmed for this lesson.

Teaching guidance · Software compatibility

Equipment checklist

  • An assembled horn and feed can.
  • A low-noise amplifier (LNA).
  • A supported software-defined radio (SDR), such as an Airspy, RTL-SDR, LimeSDR, or PlutoSDR.
  • A coaxial cable connecting the LNA to the SDR.
  • A USB cable connecting the SDR to the computer.
  • A computer with GNU Radio and the DSPIRA telescope software installed.

Check the receiver settings for your SDR and amplifier power arrangement.

Setup demonstration

This video covers telescope setup and initial spectrometer settings. Older videos call the program spectrometer_w_cal.grc; the current application is calibrated-spectrometer.grc.

Horn Operation: Setting Up a Horn. Watch on YouTube.

All 8 lessons in Observing Published July 27, 2020