Outernet goal is to bring knowledge and/or emergency info to places without Internet either to remote places, or where Internet has been temporary shutdown due to natural disasters or political reasons through a satellite feed. In some ways, it works like a typical FM radio, but instead of receiving audio, you’ll get data. The first hardware was based on WeTek Play TV box, and called Lighthouse, but they now have a DIY kit that will work with Next Thing C.H.I.P, Raspberry Pi, or Laptops running Windows 7/10 or Linux, as well as a standalone Outernet Satellite kit including C.H.I.P Allwinner R8 development board.
Let’s first check out “Basic Outernet DIY Kit” comprised of three items:
- L-Band Antenna
- Frequency: 1525 – 1559 MHz (Center frequency: 1542 MHz)
- 8dbi
- 4″ SMA Male connector
- Dimensions – 12 cm x 12 cm x 1.5 cm
- Weight – ~100 grams
- RTL-SDR Blog Software Defined Radio/Tuner USB dongle
- Ultra-low phase noise 0.5PPM TCXO
- RF-suitable voltage regulator and custom heatsink
- SMA female connector
- SDR frequency range of approximately 25MHz – 1700MHz
- Bias tee (software enabled)
- Outernet/Inmarsat Amplifier (LNA) board
- Frequency: 1525 – 1559 MHz (Center Frequency: 1542 MHz)
- Gain – 34 dB
- Voltage – 3.0V – 5.5V
- Current Draw – 25 mA
- Dimensions – 6.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 2.5 cm
- Weight – 8.5 grams
The kit costs $69, but it’s not usable standalone, and you’ll need to connect the USB dongle your own C.H.I.P or Raspberry Pi 3 board running rxOS operating system, or laptop and configure them as explained in the documentation to configure and run the system in order to access Outernet Library through your satellite (DVB-S). It should be possible to use other boards too, but you’d have to handle the software part yourself. It should not be too complicated since the only hardware interface is a USB port.
However, if you want something that mostly works out of the box, you should consider “Deluxe Outnert DIY receiver kit” with included all items from the basic kit, plus a pre-configured C.H.I.P board, and a battery pack for $99.
Once you’ve assembled the kit, pointed the L-band antenna to the right satellite, and completed the configuration through the web browser of a WiFi enabled device such as a smartphone. Outernet kit will freely download data (textbooks, health guides, courseware, weekly news, emergency info, disaster alerts, crop prices…) depending on your selected satellite, and anybody with a smartphone or computer will be able to access the data updated weekly/daily.
You’ll find the some details explaining how Outernet works and available data on my first post about Outernet, or for the complete details, visit directly Outernet.is.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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i’ll have it. oh you have by your own oh shucks
Do you know if it will work with any of the cheap (<£8) RTL2832U based dongles, and compatible for those who have the far better Mirics based 'SDR-Play RSP' receivers ?
@Paul
Not entirely sure, but the exact dongle they use might be found in the doc.
One of the requirements is “Bias Tee” support -> http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-bias-tee-hack/
I already have all these components and I can’t seem to get a clean signal anywhere. I live in northern NH in the states. At first I tried at my house but the foliage was too dense. Not a problem since I work over nights at a place with a great wide open sky. But even then the signal was crap. I was getting 8-9dbm of signal strength and I still was only receiving roughly 10% of the packets. Any one have any tips? I’m using outernet-in-a-box currently.
Is the idea that anyone can push data to the satellite, or just the company?
On the receiving side, can anyone with a satellite receiver (1.5Ghz) and SDR equipment view the data? I’d like to buy the Outernet amplifier LNA, but use it with a bias tee enabled LimeSDR.
@ben
If anyone could push data, that would be a killer feature 🙂
So there isn’t much Internet in all of this.
A Bias-T is a device that lets you add a DC voltage to an RF signal. They’re used to powering devices upstream of the ‘T’. In this case, it’s to power the LNA.
Did they quote a ‘noise figure’ for the LNA?
I have an RTL-SDR board and I could whip up a high gain antenna pretty easily. I’m curious if that’ll be enough to make up for not having an LNA. The other funciton of that LNA board is to act as a bandpass filter. A good high gain antenna will perform that function for free. 😉
@ben
You can submit content (up to 10KB) via Filecast center -> https://outernet.is/filecast-center/
But the company then decides if they include it or not. It will depend how useful it is to the community.
I guess it should work with your setup. The data is encrypted, so you’d have to look how to handle that part. The tutorial @ http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-receiving-and-decoding-data-from-the-outernet/ might help.
@jack324
just put your antenna into something like a dish…likely “kuali”….its improve RX and TX quality for 3 or 4 dBI
@Paul Technically speaking, the cheap DVB-T dongles will work, but it really depends on the type of oscillator they include. For tv use, the stability requirement is not very high, so they typically have a 20PPM XTAL. For receiving the satellite signal, you’ll need a 1PPM TCXO. We may have a software update in the next few months that will support the cheap dongles, but as of now, the only ones that will work for Outernet are the specialized, purpose-built radios (RTL-SDR Blog, NooElec, ThumbNet, etc). We will eventually support Mirics, but there is no timeline set
@cnxsoft What is more important than a bias-tee, is an amplifier. An externally powered amp can be used. Our own amplifier can be be powered by external 5V. If you are using another amplifier, you’ll need 30dB of gain with a noise figure of less than 1dB.
@jack324
High SNR and low packets is generally related to local interference. I mean really local, as in a power cable being too close to the radio. Can you post your problem on the Outernet forum?
@zoobab
Anyone can push a 10kB file for free. Larger files require payment.
30% discount on Deluxe Outernet DIY Receiver Kit with 30OFF coupon.
where & how attena wiil be set? plz tell me detail……………..
How can i buy it?
@Ken
The purchase links are in the post…
Where or How can I get the Deluxe Outnert DIY receiver kit?
It looks to be phased out. They now have something called morpheus. Maybe ask on their forums if they still have some stocks of the DIY kit