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USB extender.
Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 1:40 pm
by i2NDT
hi!
has anyone ever tried to use a USB extender in between a Minitiouner and a PC?
I have some 20 meters cable between the antenna and the Minitiouner and I loose more than 1 dB which is a lot for me, considering I have a 75cm dish. so I was thinking of putting the Minitiouner close to the antenna and use the extender to reach the PC in the shack...
any comment?
best 73
de
i2NDT Claudio
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 3:31 pm
by g0mjw
Surely the loss between the minitiouner and antenna is on the IF and almost entirely insignificant owning to the LNB gain?
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 4:07 pm
by g8gtz
MiniTiouner is very fussy about USB cables and lengths.
So I'd put a satellite line amp between the LNB and MiniTiouner - there'll be no degradation and will easily overcome any cable loss.
Noel
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 2:42 pm
by i2NDT
yes Mike...but when you receive the beacon with an MER 6 (like me!) even a fraction of dB counts!
Noel, I know Minitioune is quite fussy about USB connections! and I have already a line amplifier I installed to compensate the losses of a splitter as I have 2 Minitiouners in parallel...but that increased also the noise!
I know...I know I am trying to draw blood from a stone!
Claudio
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 5:10 pm
by g0mjw
It sounds like you may have an intermod problem. The very strong signals from adjacent satellites may be overwhelming the line amplifier. Try removing it. The LNB should have more than enough gain to support two receivers even after a 20m cable.
Mike
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 7:44 pm
by G8GKQ
Claudio
What RF Power Level is being indicated by MiniTioune? That will tell you if you have a low signal problem. If it is higher than -70 dB (like -60), then you have enough signal for MiniTiouner.
This wiki page explains it:
https://wiki.batc.org.uk/MiniTiouner_Po ... Indication
I use about 20m of cable here, and so does the WebSDR at Goonhilly.
Dave
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Mon May 09, 2022 8:19 am
by g8gtz
Claudio
An alternative approach could be to try Tom ZR6TG's initiative development which runs Longmynd on a Pi which can be placed near your dish and accessed over the network by a Windows client!
https://www.zr6tg.co.za/longmynd-client/
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7889
73
Noel
Re: USB extender.
Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 7:02 pm
by i2NDT
I ended up removing the splitter which was very lossy! so the line amplifier was no longer needed.
I left the LTE filter in place as I have a couple of BTS not far from my site.
the signal as measured by the Minitioune is around -45 dBm-
for the the Longmynd Client by ZR6TG I have to wait: no Raspi available in the shack.
i2NDT Claudio