Weekly Newsletter - March 9, 2025

Highlights

General

• Mark asked about a way to hide the ground station on the publicly accessible map. 🔗
• Notsure7 commented that users can (and should) give only an approximate location, and that some countries already make ham addresses public. 🔗
• Seismet wondered if anyone has experienced differences in reception between morning and afternoon, noting that more packets seem to be received in the morning. This observation was accompanied by a photo of the setup. Seismet added that there appears to be a pattern of arcs from the satellites in the heat map window, which seems less prevalent in the afternoon. 🔗
  
• Stefan/OE6ISP explained that the uneven distribution of satellites on their sun-synchronous orbit trajectories causes satellites to appear at the same times and suggested filling the gaps with own satellites. Stefan/OE6ISP agreed there may not be much to do about the reception differences. 🔗
• dj9fba_saar asked Stefan/OE6ISP how to create a dual-receiver system using two LILYGO T-Beam Meshtastic LORA32 devices. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP provided a diagram (available on their QRZ page) and instructions for creating a dual-receiver system, recommending an LNA and a splitter (or a T adapter as an alternative) and mentioned the possibility of combining different antennas on a single coax, then splitting the signal using diplexers and filters. 🔗
• Helmi explained that while the same login credentials can be used, the station names must be different. 🔗
• G4lile0 explained that the decoding is automatic and provided a video link for manual decoding using the “Raw parser view”. 🔗
• Snibler requested a feature to export all data from the server into an Excel table for their station to conduct statistical research. G4lile0 responded that this feature is not available yet but could be in the future with community support. 🔗
• Juan Pablo compared the performance of Heltec (SX1272) and Lilygo (SX1278) boards with a 433 MHz turnstile antenna, noting that the Heltec board received 37% more packets in a 24-hour test, although TinyGS doesn’t support the Heltec model’s screen. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP commented on a comparison between SX1272 and SX1278 boards, suggesting that the observed performance difference might stem from setup variations rather than inherent chip superiority. He also mentioned that a TXCO is a goodie. 🔗
• G4lile0 reminded users that the new BETA requires unique station names for correct algorithm function and that the system will automatically rename stations if needed and provided a link to a previous message. 🔗
• Chris_DL7AG asked how to edit console pages to replace or extend the image, linking to his station page. Stefan/OE6ISP responded with instructions to log in via the personal bot’s /weblogin link to access the EDIT button, and Chris_DL7AG confirmed that it worked. 🔗

Technical Problems

• Pauly P asked about the best size (low loss) coax to use for the antenna. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP recommended using M&P Hyperflex5 or AIRCELL7 with M&P connectors. 🔗
• Dominic asked if the decoders are available online to understand the tianqi-xx packets. 🔗
• Notsure7 suggested that the best size for something is none, advising direct antenna-to-module connection, while also mentioning potential noise issues. Further, they recommends an LNA close to the antenna to boost reception and compensate for cable losses, followed by a biasT and filter. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP confirmed that placing an LNA close to a T-BEAM can degrade reception due to its own noise. 🔗
• Jean-Marie shared their station’s status after a 3-month hiatus and inquired about its offline status and potential solutions, providing an image of their setup. 🔗
  
• Helmi advised Jean-Marie to check the connection using the local IP, obtain MQTT credentials from @tinygs_personal_bot, and reconfigure the station with the new data. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP inquired about missing HYPE-packets from a specific pass, checking MQTT connection and test mode status, and later provided additional information about the timing (UTC) and packet count. Stefan then assisted Larry_N8NJ, explaining how to edit antenna information on the dashboard by logging into tinygs.com via the personal bot and using the /weblogin command to access the edit button. 🔗
  
  
  
  
• G4lile0 mentioned activating autotune for many Tianqi satellites for firmware testing, which initially worked well with 50,000 frames per hour. 🔗
  
• dj9fba_saar reported being blocked by IP after using the API in Node-RED. G4lile0 shared a link to a previous discussion that might help. 🔗
• G4lile0 suggested using 255 or -1 for UNUSED values and advised that a 2.5V TCXO should be okay if the datasheet specifies it. 🔗

Antenna Building

• Juan Pablo shared a Lilygo ESP32 LoRa433 setup with rabbit ears and an ion-Li battery. 🔗
  
• gavarres mentioned recognizing the boxes used in a setup and wondered if they were from Leroy Merlin or Bauhaus, noting their practicality. 🔗
• Helmi shared that in Germany, these boxes are called “Verteilerdosen” and are used for electrical installations, easily found in hardware stores. 🔗

Share your setup

• SkyScream111 mentioned that they have the same antenna and consider it the best one used so far, shared a picture of their setup and celebrated surpassing 100,000 packets in less than 6 months. 🔗
  
  
• Pauly P asked about coax cable recommendations for a setup that isn’t picking up signals, and Notsure7 mentioned the stock cable might not be ideal. Stefan/OE6ISP added that the included RG-58 cable can cause significant loss and suggested M&P Hyperflex and AIRCELL cables, recommending keeping the cable length under 2m. 🔗

New Satellites

• xu_wu asked how a satellite with LoRa telemetry could join TinyGS. 🔗
• Helmi suggested asking @G4lile0 or looking into the TinyGS Wiki. 🔗
• G4lile0 detailed the requirements for adding a satellite to TinyGS, including a description, photos (using the Norby page as an example), communication details (frequency, timings, payload type, uploads), and a kaitai decoder for the payloads. G4lile0 also mentioned the possibility of POSTing received frames to the satellite’s servers via an endpoint in real-time, but only for packets with public known payloads according to the TinyGS manifest. 🔗

Beta Firmware Testing

• G4lile0 is seeking feedback on the new beta firmware, particularly results showing stable and low frequency error throughout satellite passes, aiming to achieve similar results to the provided image. The development roadmap includes applying dynamic offset to each board, identifying satellites with stable frequencies, and implementing dynamic offset for satellites exhibiting frequency drift. 🔗
  
• Stefan/OE6ISP explained that the main reasons for choosing the 400MHz band are the good bandwidth and link-budget for supporting simple ground stations. The link-budget rapidly decreases with increasing frequency, making “tiny” ground stations less effective at 900MHz and 2.4GHz. 🔗
• G4lile0 announced a new beta with Doppler compensation and requested feedback from users with TCXO boards to help adjust satellite frequencies. They also noted that unique station names are now required to avoid interference with the board offset correction algorithm. 🔗
• Notsure7 asked if S3+sx1278 and other custom boards should be compiled and flashed. He mentioned his TCXO modules are on the way and suggested feeding the clock from a GPSDO for even better performance than a TCXO. He also mentioned having leftover sx1278 once the 1262 arrives. 🔗
• Notsure7 mentioned thinking about RF for the last 30 years and always messing with RF (Rx only). They later reported an update error: ‘Could Not Activate The Firmware’. 🔗
• IV3IHD asked where to set the offset after measuring the frequency offset. 🔗
• G4lile0 said that currently the value can be checked on the local console and shared an image. Also, they mentioned that they will add it to the TinyGS site in the next release, with plans to automatically change it as the offset changes with temperature. Additionally, they posted that, to display the calculation of predictions/offsets in the log, modify the debug level in the advanced options to {“dmode”:3} 🔗
  
  
• Juan Pablo reported that the ESP32.bin doesn’t work with Lilygo LILYGO® LoRa32 V2.1_1.6 ESP32 433, also reported issues with the new firmware: no AP start for setup, and “OK with IP but not OK with web”. He further inquired if beta mode needed to be turned off and mentioned comparing legacy and beta versions on two TinyGS setups with the same antenna and RDP32 LoRa board. 🔗
  
• G4lile0 requested additional info about the ESP32.bin issue with Lilygo boards and mentioned that the easiest way to try the new firmware is via ‘Upload new version’ from the local console, including a photo. 🔗
  
• G4lile0 mentioned that the reported issue should now be fixed. 🔗

Featured Conversations

• The TinyGS community discussed the privacy aspects of ground station locations on public maps, with suggestions to provide approximate locations.
• Enthusiasts shared their antenna setups and celebrated milestones in packet reception, showcasing the performance of their equipment.
• Community members exchanged advice on selecting the best coax size for antennas to minimize signal loss, enhancing overall system performance.
• The community is actively testing the new beta firmware with Doppler compensation, focusing on achieving stable and low frequency error during satellite passes. G4lile0 is leading the effort, outlining the next steps in development.
• Guidance was provided on how to edit antenna information on the TinyGS dashboard, emphasizing the need to log in via the personal bot and use the /weblogin command. This streamlined process improves user experience by making essential station management features more accessible.

What’s next

Join the TinyGS community to share your experiences, seek advice, and contribute to the growth of this collaborative project!