Weekly Newsletter - June 8, 2025

Highlights

General

• Luc asked about how to register as a new TinyGS user. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP explained the registration process using the @tinygs_personal_bot, including the /mqtt command for credentials and //weblogin for accessing the web console. 🔗
• Alan said he has programmed a new device and thinks he needs new credentials and thanked Helmi for the support. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP pointed out that the config AP is at 192.168.4.1, not 2. 🔗
• Helmi mentioned to use the same credentials, only a different station name is required. 🔗
• Michael asked how to join this group. After that, asked how to log into the web page and if this is the same as being registered. 🔗
• Chris_DL7AG told to Michael that he’s already in the group. 🔗
• G4lile0 explained to Michael how to obtain the credentials for the station and how to login to the web-console. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP reported a frequency collision between Stratosat-TK1 and amateur-satellite MESAT-1 in SSB-mode, despite both being IARU-coordinated.  🔗
  
• ON3LBU tried to use /weblogin command but he is new to the group and asked how to login. Helmi recommended clicking on @tinygs_personal_bot and then type /mqtt to get credentials or /weblogin to get a login link. 🔗
• Ángel asked about Mqtt login. Helmi pointed him to a previous message. 🔗

Technical Problems

• omuoto asked about the new ‘tle’ inclusion in ‘begine’, questioning its format and usage. Specifically, enquired about the TLE field being Base64 encoded binary data rather than standard text. Further, requested a link to the compression routine and asked if it is in the latest release. 🔗
  https://x.com/G4lile0/status/1891151191091957884?t=tCBJuRjuczQU3oWeHNVqCg&s=19
• G4lile0 shared a link related to the technical question about TLE inclusion. 🔗
  https://x.com/G4lile0/status/1891151191091957884?t=tCBJuRjuczQU3oWeHNVqCg&s=19
• G4lile0 mentioned it’s necessary to compensate for the Doppler effect to receive FSK satellites. 🔗
• Solpiplog reported that the MQTT begin message for FossaSat-2E19 is sending NORAD ID 99991 instead of 62676. 🔗
• omuoto noted that MXFN_26_LITE is continuously receiving a ‘reset’ command and, along with G4lile0, discussed potential causes, such as custom firmware consuming too much memory. omuoto later thanked G4lile0 for the clarification. 🔗
• ciego240 reported issues with reconnecting a station after deleting it and reflashing the firmware, despite using the same MQTT user and password. ciego240 asked for ideas and confirmed that the same station name was being used. omuoto suggested trying a new station name, noting a similar issue was resolved this way. 🔗
• G4lile0 asked if there were leading/trailing spaces or incorrect capitalization in the credentials, suggesting a copy/paste approach. 🔗
• A asked if there is a way to regain access to his account after accidentally wiping his phone and losing his previous Telegram account. 🔗

Antenna Building

• Chris_DL7AG shared progress on building small turnstile antennas, mentioning a change of plans due to rain. [https://tinyurl.com/bdfx3h9u\](https://tinyurl.com/bdfx3h9u) 🔗
  
• Chris_DL7AG wrote a blog post about experiences with the Easy Turnstile antenna from OE1CGS, noting impressive performance after precise tuning, including significantly more satellites and better signal quality, calling it a real quantum leap! Also, told that his previous antenna was a QFH antenna and that the GP is much worse, speaking from his own experience. 🔗
  https://dl7ag.de/easy-turnstile-antenne-von-oe1cgs-ein-quantensprung-fuer-den-tinygs-empfang/
• Stefan/OE6ISP commented on the nice build of the antenna, adding that RHCP polarization can be a disadvantage in some cases, mentioning that beacons from Tianqi are LHCR. Also, asked what antenna was used before and added that the most interesting challenge is to get as many satellites as possible, not the most packets. Also, thinks that turnstile has a lower radiation profile. In addition, said that he cannot confirm that the GP is a bad choice because the profile perfectly matches the requirement for this type of satellites, and that 1000pkt a day isn’t that bad. Finally, clarified that the 4500 packets are Tianqui-spam in non-autotuning mode from 9000mW transmitters, just for checking the limit, and that the 1000 in autotune-mode covers nearly all satellites down to 200mW or lower and gives more information about the real RX-performance. 🔗
• DE1CTL said that 4500 packets /day is wow! Then told that he has a peak of 600 with the qfh antenna and that his groundplane in Romania is doing very poorly 140/day. Finally, didn’t thought it is possible to get 1000…but 4500 is way over his expectations… and asked how many satellites are flying over. 🔗
• DE1CTL expressed interest in building a Turnstile Antenna to compare it with a QFH, with plans to integrate a TTGO board directly underneath. They inquired about the importance of cable length and suggested using short RG316 cables. Later, they mentioned the possibility of 3D printing conductive materials for antenna construction. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP suggested that no cable is needed, except for the WiFi antenna and shared a previous message. AFAIK there are already 3d-printed rocket engines. it’s just a matter of price. https://t.me/c/1448773154/78473/157209 🔗
  https://www.3ds.com/de/make/solutions/blog/4-best-metals-3d-printing#Brick-7bf5fa10-c491-494e-8710-9fb44b970e7f
• Chris_DL7AG stated that antenna comparisons are relevant to his location and technology, and that the experiment and results are more important than comments. 🔗
• K5MPH1 shared a photo of an antenna that works well for 433 MHz and picks up the NOAA weather satellite effectively and said that around 17cm covers the 433 MHz area, but is unsure about the bandwidth. 🔗
  
• Helmi identified the antenna as a “Rabbit Ear” and mentioned using it for 137MHz as well. He asked about the dimensions for 433MHz and the bandwidth to cover 400 to 450MHz. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP shared simulation results on EZNEC regarding the bandwidth of groundplanes, noting that the best bandwidth with good SWR is achieved with an 8mm rod diameter for the 70cm band. Diameters above 10mm degrade the SWR. These dimensions should apply to this antenna, and thicker rods need to be slightly shorter for tuning with a VNA. Adding a gamma-match can improve bandwidth, increasing gain at 400MHz and 440MHz by about 2dB with very good SWR. 🔗

Share your setup

• Solpiplog shared that got one fsk. 🔗
  
• Helmi shared information about a new E22-400 board adapted from an Austrian-German Meshcom group’s design for Ham Radio communications and after boxing the pcb, will make first tests. Later, Helmi added a picture of the board in the box, mentioning the need for another antenna. 🔗
  
  
• Marco_IMT asked if the PCBs are available for purchase and Helmi pointed to the project’s GitHub repository, where all data is published, including information for ordering the PCB at jlcpcb. See [https://github.com/DK9BT/esp32-e22-lora-board\](https://github.com/DK9BT/esp32-e22-lora-board) 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP commented on Helmi’s build, describing it as a ‘Great build!’ and asked how many layers the board has, to which Helmi replied that it’s a two-layer PCB. 🔗

New Satellites

• Luuk shared “/SM5RBJ”. 🔗

Beta Firmware Testing

• Stefan/OE6ISP shared that after unsuccessful testing of FSK-satellites with SX1278, setting up a station with SX1262 yielded amazing performance, receiving about 200 packets in 2 hours. He has set up an autotuned station that only accepts tuning to FSK to maximize pass reception and asked @G4lile0 if there is a specific reason, why AFC is not turned on for FSK, mentioning that the high inter-message-dopplershift near TCA seems to be a problem for the modem and causes many dropouts up to complete blackout at high elevations for narrow FSK-bandwidths, suggesting that turning on AFC might avoid this. 🔗
  https://app.tinygs.com/station/OE6ISP_8@1760298214
  
  
• G4lile0 replied to Stefan/OE6ISP, noting that testing AFC is on the to-do list and that he needs to experiment with it. He believes AFC is only available for direct mode, which means using pin DIO2, which poses a small problem. 🔗
• G4lile0 suggested a user try a new firmware version to solve a problem and mentioned that he sent an update to 24 boards meeting specific criteria related to chip type, status, board configuration, auto-update settings, auto-tune frequency, and firmware version. 🔗
• Helmi asked if the version is also available for non-USB-C-boards. G4lile0 answered that ESP32 and ESP32-S3 need a different compilation and provided the latest version that fits on the old partition table. 🔗
• Solpiplog is tracking data to a local database and using the begin command to get satellite names and NORAD IDs. He noted discrepancies between the satellite names and NORAD IDs in TinyGS TLE data, causing issues with Tianqui not sending lat/lon data to the dashboard. He is using version 2504272 and updating to 2506013. 🔗
• Stefan/OE6ISP noted an ambiguity in satellite assignment.  🔗
  

Featured Conversations

• Community members are actively assisting new users with the TinyGS registration process, providing detailed instructions and support for setting up their stations.
• Technical discussions focus on troubleshooting issues like MQTT ID mismatches, firmware resets, and TLE data discrepancies, with users sharing their expertise and solutions.
• Users are sharing their antenna building projects and experiences, including comparisons between different antenna types and tips for optimizing performance.
• Beta firmware testing is ongoing, with users providing valuable feedback on satellite assignments and compatibility issues across various hardware configurations. The SX1262 for FSK satellites has better performance than SX1278.
• New users are guided by community members. Also, frequency collisions between satellites are being reported.

What’s next

Thank you for being part of the TinyGS community! Share your knowledge, experiments, and antenna setups to contribute to the project’s growth. Join the Telegram channel to participate in discussions and learn from fellow enthusiasts.