Receiving SMOG-P and ATL-1 Nano Satellites with an RTL-SDR

Thank you to Zoltan Doczi (HA7DCD) for submitting his tutorial that shows how to receive signals from the SMOG-P and ATL-1 nano satellites which were launched via Rocket Lab back in late 2019.

SMOG-P is a Hungarian nano satellite developed by BME University. It's payload consists of an on board spectrum analyzer that is designed to measure electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog) from space, and to also monitor the DVB-T spectrum. It currently holds the title of the world's smallest satellite in operation.  ATL-1 is another Hungarian satellite this time developed by ATL Ltd. Its mission is to test a new thermal isolation material in space and to monitor the DVB-T spectrum.

To receive telemetry from these satellites you can use a Raspberry Pi, RTL-SDR, Yagi, and optionally an LNA and filter. In his post Zoltan shows how to install the SMOG-P decoder, and provides a script that automatically decodes, uploads packets to the BME University server, and archives old IQ files and packets.

We note that if you wish to receive these satellites, now is the time to do so as these nano satellites are in a very low orbit and only have an orbital lifespan of only 6-8 months total.

SMOG-P and ATL-1 Satellite Ground Station Receiver Setup
SMOG-P and ATL-1 Satellite Ground Station Receiver Setup
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Zoltan

Dear All,

Here is an update from the end of life of this tiny pocket satellite: https://www.bme.hu/news/20201007/SMOG_P_accomplishes_its_mission?language=en

The upcoming SMOG-1 satellite going to launched around 2021 Q1/Q2 according to the dev team.

73,
Zoltan

Zoltan

For those who interested real “electro smog” spectrum plots starts coming out of the “gnd app” decoder software after recent software upgrade, I made an update at the end of my post with the pictures: http://rfsparkling.com/blog/2020/04/01/rtl-sdr-v3-based-basic-receiver-station-for-smog-p-and-atl-1-nano-satellites/
73,
Zoltan