Transmitting DATV DVB-S Video with the HackRF Blue

Simon (G0FCU) has been using his HackRF Blue to transmit DVB-S video captured from his video camcorder. In the ham radio hobby there is something called digital amateur television (DATV) in which amateurs transmit digital video over radio to repeaters. Simon writes that in the UK DATV is usually transmitted at above 1.2 GHz and in the DVB-S format, which is the same format used by some satellite TV services.

Although there are dedicated DATV radios, Simon decided that he wanted to use the HackRF Blue as the radio for transmitting his own DATV signals. To do this he uses the software dvgrab to grab the video stream from the camera, then passes it to ffmpeg to compress the raw video into MPEG-2 and then uses a GNU Radio program called gr-dvbs to use the HackRF to transmit the DVB-S stream at 1000 MHz.

To test that his signal was transmitting correctly, Simon then used a standard DVB-S satellite TV with the LNB bypassed. 

Previously we also posted about using a BladeRF for transmitting DATV DVB-T signals.

What the DVB-S output signal looks like on another HackRF.
What the DATV DVB-S output signal looks like on another HackRF.

5 comments

    • Javier

      Thanks Mark but I want receive video from microwave eng links or video from drones / helicopters that are using DVB-T standard but in 1.9 Ghz, 2.4 and 4.5 Ghz. I need to perform band scans and video decoding. Gr-dvbt is dificult to use for this.
      More ideas?
      Thanks,

  1. Frank

    Ha! He’s actually using a HackRF Blue not a HackRF One. So I guess that project did end up getting off the ground.

  2. Javier

    Hi!
    There is any driver to use HackRF as a receiver with VLC player? It’s needed to receive DVB-t or -s out of the band of the rtl2832…(up of 1.8 ghz)
    Thanks for the info!

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