DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A FULL-DUPLEX GROUND STATION FOR THE QO-100 SATELLITE SYSTEM BASED ON SDR AND RASPBERRY PI

Abstract

Abstract: This paper proposes an approach based on the Adalm-Pluto SDR and Raspberry PI to design a ground station for geostationary satellite communications. The system is designed from modules to be versatile, agile, and scalable. In this case, the usage of modules is mandatory due to the complexity of the communications system, which simultaneously operates two radio channels at 2.4 GHz for uplink and 10 GHz for downlink. Such a combination with SDR (Software Defined Radio) and classic down and up converters benefits from using a Raspberry PI 4 with a powerful processor running under Linux. The proposed system allows the usage of GNU Radio with its powerful graphical interface written in Python. User interface UI has been undertaken by the Raspberry PI’s most versatile display with a touch screen of 7 inches. Another topic the paper addresses is using the helical antenna in front of the Horn antenna at the same focus point established by the dish reflector. The ground station proposed here has been successfully tested to transmit short radio packages containing data about temperature, atmospheric conditions, and voice.