Alternet

I’ve decided to move spectrum analyzer posts onto their own page.  I’ve been getting complaints from approx. 25% of my readership (hi, Katie) that I’m crossing the line to “too nerdy”.  So, I’ll let you opt-in to hearing about it.  The page is available under the title banner, near the “about” and “thesis” page.  I’ll write sub pages for each module.  Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a way to make an RSS feed of changes to this page, so if you’re interested you’ll just have to check in occasionally.  I’ll also post when it’s all done, so there is that to look forward to.  Anyway, that’s all.  :)

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IF Amplifier cooling down

I’ve decided to hold off posting spectrum analyzer modules until they’re complete.  I’ve been collecting tons of pictures along the way, so hopefully the post for each module will be interesting and visually appealing.  With that in mind, I can’t post about any of the modules with the exception of this one.   Read more…

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Mixer 2 completed and verified against schematic

I’ve verified each of the 3 mixers that I need for the spectrum analyzer.  The one above is mixer 2.  The schematic for this mixer is available from Scotty’s site. Read more…

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Comparing antennas

I’ve finished building the first (and my first) Yagi antenna for the Kadet video downlink.  I mentioned in the first video post that a new, and better, antenna would help greatly. Read more…

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The weather sucked, but I was able to get out the the field this morning. I recorded about 17 minutes of video in total.  In the embedded clip, I edited out the majority of the static.  I’m a little disappointed that the signal quality is so poor.  I found a site that has some cheap Yagi antenna designs in 50 and 75 ohms.  I’ll probably try to build one this week and see how it goes.

More information about the camera is available in these posts, if you haven’t already seen them.

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Painted to match

Taking advantage of the crummy weather, I decided to paint the camera module to match my plane.  I didn’t just do it for the aesthetics, no really, I swear.  Actually, the real reason I painted it was to prevent stray light from making annoying reflections on the inside of the window.

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Camera installed with Transmitter

I’ve just finished building a camera module for my Kadet.  When I was building the plane I knew that I was going to try and put a camera and transmitter approximately where the pilot’s head would be in a real plane.   Read more…

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I’ve been developing a RF transceiver for use with my Kadet.  I really like these Micrel RadioWire modules, but they basically must be reflow soldered.  They’re also about $16/ea. in single unit quantities, so I want to make sure that the carrier PCB works before I solder on the module (I’ve made that mistake already!).  With that in mind, I had to figure out how to solder the module on after all the other components were installed.  This means hand soldering.  Looking on the datasheet, they say that it can be done, using solder paste.  So, here’s documentation of my attempt.

PCB ready for module

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I’ve finally gotten my home weather station online!  I’m using a Oregon Scientific WMR918 system with anemometer (wind speed), wind direction, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure sensors.  Click here to access the current and recent readings, or the beta version of an integrated page (also available in the navigation bar below the blog title) and “read more” to find out how it works.

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