Ku-band experiments
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       
        So i've got this old directtv dish, I don't even remember where I 
        got it from, but over the years I've been repurposing it for various 
        random radio projects. So I figured it was about time I use it for
        it's intended purpose, and try and get some Ku-band reception out of
        it.
       
        I had picked up one of those Bullseye LNB's from rtl-sdr a while 
        ago. I've got another 'universal' LNB for regular tv stuff which is 
        quite similar, but this one has a slighty wider range.
       
        Unfortunately I'm not within the footprint of QO-100, but I should 
        be able to receive... other stuff! So I did!
       
        The trickiest thing was getting the thing into the focal point of
        the dish. I had previously tried sticking little mirrors on the dish
        and what not, to figure that out, but those have long fallen off, 
        and I didn't have any on hand, so i just kind of watched the signal 
        as I positioned the thing, and stuck it wherever the noise floor was
        highest. 
       
        I pointed the thing out the window and started hunting for signals 
        at where I thought there ought to be satellites. I eventually ended
        up mounting the thing on a (music) tripod so I could have more 
        accurate aiming. Turns out this is kinda needed, because if you're 
        off even a tiny bit, the signal goes away. 
       
 (IMG)  The dish mounted on the tripod pointing out the window.
       
        I also learned that glass completely blocks the signal for me :) 
        So I had to keep the window open whilst it was snowing outside, 
        but hey! Anything for some radio fun!
       
        In the end I did get a (weak) signal, i'd probably have better
        results moving the dish out into the yard a ways, to get it away 
        from other noise sources.
       
 (IMG)  The received signal
       
        I also learned that pointig the thing at my computer shows a lot of
        noise. That's usually to be expected with radio things, but I didn't
        quite expect to see it in the GHz' ranges. But I suppose it makes
        sense. I actually used that phenomenon as a signal source for getting
        my lnb in the focal point better. 
       
        I also noticed while closing the window, at a certain angle, 
        the glass would actually reflect the noise from the computer. Neat! 
        :)