In this exercise, your goal is to capture and assess the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of a signal from a geostationary satellite using the GS-SBIC-1M2 ground station. You will select a satellite, determine its frequency, calculate the optimal antenna direction, schedule the ground station, and evaluate the received signal’s SNR. Key considerations include satellite visibility, frequency compatibility, and proper antenna alignment to ensure accurate signal reception and analysis.

Objective

With the ground station (GS-SBIC-1M2) , your task is to capture a signal from a Geostationary satellite of your choosing and assess the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the acquired signal.

Here are your key tasks:

1. Choose a target satellite.
2. Determine the satellite’s frequency.
3. Calculate the optimal pointing direction for the antenna dish.
4. Schedule the satellite pass.
5. Evaluate the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).

Guidelines

1.Choose a target satellite:

• Objective: Select a suitable target satellite
• Hints: Consider the MeteoSat series or Elektro-L series Geostationary satellites.
• Considerations: Geostationary satellites with low elevation angles can be harder to receive

2. Determine the satellite’s frequency:

• Objective: Find the radio frequency of the target satellite
• Hints: See datasheets for MeteoSat series or Elektro-L series for their radio specifications
• Considerations: Check if the satellite frequency is compatible with the ground station frequency reception range stated in the datasheets.

3. Estimate the dish pointing direction:

• Objective: Estimating the Azimuth(Azi) and Elevation (Ele) angles of the target satellite when viewed from the ground station
• Hints: Use the Dashboard to find these values.
• Considerations: Ensure the satellite is visible to the ground station, and consider obstructions to the ground station field of view using the Polar plots in the Ground station datasheets. 

4.Schedule the satellite pass:

• Objective: Book the ground station to point and receive the satellite signal
• Hints: Use the Dashboard and a sample rate of 0.25MSps.
• Considerations: Take into account the motion of the satellite and its position at the booking time.

5. Estimate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR):

• Objective: Estimate Signal-to-Noise-Ratio for the received signal(SNR)
• Hints: Install and use SDR# to view baseband recording, see the support video QuickStart-SDRSharp. See FAQ for guidance on estimatine SNR. 

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