Experiments

The dish doesn’t care about wavelength.

Birdcage gives you a motorized AZ/EL positioner with sub-degree pointing accuracy, automated sweeps, and a built-in Ku-band radiometer (the BCM4515 DVB tuner). That’s enough hardware to do real RF science — no modifications required for the DVB experiments, and a feed swap plus SDR for everything else.

This section documents 14 experiments across two categories: things you can do today with the on-board DVB tuner, and things that become possible when you attach an external SDR with a different feed.

On-board DVB experiments

These use the Carryout G2’s built-in BCM4515 tuner and Ku-band LNB. No hardware modifications — just firmware commands you already have access to.

Solar Radio Monitoring

Detect the Sun as a broadband Ku-band noise source using drift scans and RSSI measurements. Read more →

Rain Fade Radiometry

Measure atmospheric attenuation by tracking RSSI on a geostationary beacon through weather events. Read more →

Geostationary Arc Census

Map every detectable satellite across the full 360-degree azimuth arc using azscanwxp. Read more →

RFI Mapping

Survey terrestrial interference sources at low elevation angles. Read more →

Antenna Pattern Measurement

Characterize the dish’s beam width and sidelobe structure using a known satellite as a point source. Read more →

DVB Signal Intelligence

Identify active transponders, modulation schemes, and carrier parameters through blind scanning. Read more →

Differential Radiometry

Correlate RSSI measurements between two dishes to separate sky signals from receiver noise. Read more →

External SDR experiments

These require replacing the Ku-band LNB with an appropriate feed and connecting an external SDR (BladeRF, RTL-SDR, etc.). The positioner handles pointing; the SDR handles the signal.

Planned — not yet validated

The SDR experiments describe established amateur radio techniques adapted for the Birdcage positioner. The hardware chain and procedures are proposed but not yet tested on this specific platform. Expect iteration.

Hydrogen Line (1420 MHz)

Map galactic hydrogen emission at 21 cm — the most accessible radio astronomy target. Read more →

NOAA HRPT (1.7 GHz)

Receive high-resolution weather satellite imagery during LEO passes. Read more →

EME Monitoring (1296 MHz)

Listen for moonbounce signals on the 23 cm amateur band. Read more →

GPS/GNSS (1575 MHz)

Capture GPS L1 signals for timing, positioning experiments, or constellation surveys. Read more →

Iridium (1626 MHz)

Capture Iridium downlink bursts during LEO passes. Read more →

Directional ADS-B (1090 MHz)

Use dish gain to extend ADS-B reception range in a specific direction. Read more →

Inmarsat L-Band (~1.5 GHz)

Receive Inmarsat geostationary L-band signals for AERO, SafetyNET, and EGC decoding. Read more →

Status

#	Experiment	Band	Hardware	Status
1	Solar Radio	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB	Ready to test
2	Rain Fade	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB	Ready to test
3	Geostationary Census	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB	Ready to test
4	RFI Mapping	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB	Ready to test
5	Antenna Pattern	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB	Ready to test
6	DVB SIGINT	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB	Ready to test
7	Differential Radiometry	Ku (10-12 GHz)	On-board DVB × 2	Ready to test
8	Hydrogen Line	L (1420 MHz)	External SDR	Planned
9	NOAA HRPT	L (1.7 GHz)	External SDR	Planned
10	EME Monitoring	L (1296 MHz)	External SDR	Planned
11	GPS/GNSS	L (1575 MHz)	External SDR	Planned
12	Iridium	L (1626 MHz)	External SDR	Planned
13	ADS-B Directional	L (1090 MHz)	External SDR	Planned
14	Inmarsat L-Band	L (~1.5 GHz)	External SDR	Planned

Shared resources

SDR Hardware Setup Feed options, LNA selection, bias tee bypass, BladeRF configuration, and software stack for all external SDR experiments.

Radio Telescope Guide The existing azscanwxp guide — the foundation that several DVB experiments build on.

Console Command Reference Full firmware command inventory across all 12 submenus.