u/Upset_Ant2834

Welcome to r/TitanObservatory!

This is the community subreddit for Titan Astronomical Observatory, a Florida-based nonprofit working to acquire, modernize, and operate a 10-meter radio telescope for remote public access, STEM education, and radio astronomy outreach.

This subreddit is for:

  • Project updates from Titan Astronomical Observatory
  • Questions about the telescope, radio astronomy, and related engineering
  • Discussion of astronomy, STEM education, RF, instrumentation, and outreach
  • Volunteer opportunities and ways to support the project
  • Relevant resources, articles, papers, tools, and community projects

You do not need to be an astronomer, engineer, or expert to participate. Beginner questions are welcome!

Helpful links and resources:

Official website: https://titanobservatory.org

Community forum: https://community.titanobservatory.org

Visit our friends at r/radioastronomy

Rules

1. Just be a good person, I will be sad if I have to elaborate

2. Stay on topic

Posts should be related to Titan Observatory, astronomy, RF, or a closely related subject.

3. Keep claims grounded

Speculation is allowed when clearly labeled, but do not present misinformation, pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, or unsupported technical/scientific claims as fact.

4. Add context when sharing links

Direct links should include a short explanation of why they are relevant. Link-only posts may be removed if they do not start a useful discussion.

5. No unrelated self-promotion or spam

Relevant projects, tools, articles, and resources are welcome when shared with context.

6. Use clear titles

Post titles should describe what the post is actually about. Avoid clickbait, vague titles, or self-deprecating “dumb question” framing. Beginner questions are fine.

7. Moderator discretion applies

Posts or comments may be removed if they violate the rules, Reddit’s sitewide policies, or the general purpose of the community.

Thanks for being here and helping make radio astronomy more accessible!

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u/Upset_Ant2834 — 2 days ago
▲ 3.1k r/TitanObservatory+2 crossposts

Web interface demo

Quick progress update on the proof of concept for online observations. I've got the telescope movable, but I'm waiting on a new sdr to get here from china before I can work on the actual telescope part of the telescope. The rtl-sdr I was using before was the casualty of a rogue 12v wire taking out my pi 5 :( barely had it a year so now it's running on a 3B

u/Upset_Ant2834 — 5 days ago

I'm making a proof of concept of an online radio telescope for the nonprofit observatory I started late last year. When I got this dish, it came with the original bracket which had a pivot for switching between geostationary sattelites. That was easy enough to convert to an elevation axis, but the trouble was getting it to rotate on its azimuth. Two weeks of prototyping and a spool of ASA later, and it works! The weight of the dish sits on a thrust bearing, with tightly toleranced printed spacers with low friction tape to keep it concentric while easing rotation. I'm not sure how well it will hold up, but through the magic of CAD, I'm just a couple clicks away from getting these made in a more durable material.

Here's a link to it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9q0Fyj6Wk4

u/Upset_Ant2834 — 17 days ago