DATV equipment capability

This page attempts to document the capabilities of common DATV transmit and receive equipment. It will be continually updated as improvements are made to equipment and software.

Portsdown DATV system (transmit and receive)

The following describes the system capability but will require the correct level of Portsdown software and SDR firmware.

Portsdown 4

Portsdown system hosted on Raspberry Pi4 running xxxx OS

https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Portsdown_4

Lime Mini SDR

• Frequency coverage 30 and 3500 MHz.

• Output level with standard Lime 1.30 Firmware: 71 – 1300 MHz adjustable around +10 dBm. 2400 MHz +4 dBm, 3400 MHz -11 dBm.

• Output level with 1.30 and the LimeDVB overlay is -6dB but allows higher SRs and also has a much cleaner output spectrum.

• DVB-S and DVB-S2 (MPEG-2 and H264) only.

Note - Watch for high power calibration spike at start of transmissions. More info at https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Using_LimeSDR_with_Portsdown

Pluto SDR

• Frequency coverage 70 MHz > 4100 MHz (for DATV – will work up to 6 GHz for narrowband and SigGen).

• DVB-S and DVB-S2 plus DVB-T

• Expected Output levels for DVB-S2 = 71 MHz -3 dBm. 146 MHz 0 dBm. 437 MHz +3 dBm. 1255 MHz +2 dBm. 2400 MHz 0 dBm. 3400 MHz -1 dBm.

Firmware notes:

• Requires range extension and dual core hack before use. https://wiki.analog.com/university/tools/pluto/users/customizing also https://www.ph4x.com/pluto-sdr-hack-2nd-cpu-core/

• Analog Devices firmware version V31 or V32 are OK for narrowband and DVB-T: https://github.com/analogdevicesinc/plutosdr-fw/releases/tag/v0.32

• For DVB-S and DVB-S2, specific firmware is required (F5OEO’s FIRM2101RC of 5 February 2020: https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Portsdown_4_Pluto#Suitable_Pluto_Firmware ). This also works for DVB-T.

DATVexpress hardware

• DVB - S only, frequency coverage 70 MHz to 2450 MHz. More info here https://www.datv-express.com/

• Output level approx +10 dBm over full frequency range.

Receive capability

• DVB-S and DVB-S2 (MPEG-2, H264 and H265) signals down to 125ks when Minituner Mk2 hardware with SERIT NIM plugged into USB port - tunes between 143 MHz to 2450 MHz.

https://wiki.batc.org.uk/MiniTioune

• DVB-T (not DVB-T2) down to bandwidth of 125 KHz when Knucker PCB with SERIT 4762NIM plugged into USB port - tunes between 44 and 1002 MHz.

https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Knucker

Portsdown 2020

Portsdown 2020 system hosted on Raspberry Pi3 and running on the Buster OS.

https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Portsdown_2020

Lime Mini SDR

• Frequency coverage 30 > 3500 MHz.

• Output level with standard Lime 1.30 Firmware: 71 – 1300 MHz adjustable around +10 dBm. 2400 MHz +4 dBm, 3400 MHz -11 dBm.

• Output level with 1.30 and the LimeDVB overlay is -6dB but allows higher SRs and also has a much cleaner output spectrum.

• DVB-S, DVB-S2 (MPEG-2 and H264) and DVB-T.

Note - Watch for high power calibration spike at start of transmissions. More info at https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Using_LimeSDR_with_Portsdown

Receive capability

• DVB-S and DVB-S2 (MPEG-2, H264 and H265) signals down to 125ks when Minituner Mk2 with SERIT NIM plugged into USB port - tunes between 143 MHz to 2450 MHz.

https://wiki.batc.org.uk/MiniTioune

• DVB-T (not DVB-T2) down to bandwidth of 125 KHz when Knucker PCB with SERIT 4762NIM plugged in to USB port - tunes between 44 and 1002 MHz.

https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Knucker

F5OEO Pluto firmware

The F5OEO DATV firmware enables the Pluto to become a standalone DATV transmit system.

• Frequency coverage 70 MHz > 4100 MHz

• DVB-S and DVB-S2 plus DVB-T

• Expected Output levels for DVB-S2 = 71 MHz -3 dBm. 146 MHz 0 dBm. 437 MHz +3 dBm. 1255 MHz +2 dBm. 2400 MHz 0 dBm. 3400 MHz -1 dBm.

Firmware notes:

• Requires range extension and dual core hack before use. https://wiki.analog.com/university/tools/pluto/users/customizing also https://www.ph4x.com/pluto-sdr-hack-2nd-cpu-core/

• For DVB-S and DVB-S2, specific firmware is required (F5OEO’s FIRM2101RC of 5 February 2020: https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Portsdown_4_Pluto#Suitable_Pluto_Firmware ). This

DATVExpress project

For more details on the DATVExpress project: https://www.datv-express.com/

DATVExpress FPGA based hardware

No longer available.

DATVExpress Windows DATV transmit sofware

• Works with DATVExpress hardware, Lime SDRmini and Pluto

• Generates DVB-S, DVB-S2 and DVB-T

DATV receive hardware

MiniTiouner

DVB-S and DVB-S2 (MPEG-2, H264 and H265) - receives signals down to 35Ks when used with F6DZP MiniTiouner PC software - tunes between 143 MHz to 2450 MHz. https://wiki.batc.org.uk/MiniTioune

Knucker

DVB-T (not DVB-T2) down to bandwidth of 125 KHz - tunes between 44 and 1002 MHz. https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Knucker