This is really cool! For anyone looking to do a similar project, it's worth noting that HackRFs are pretty low-spec SDRs by current standards: a number of more recent models, such as the XRTX-CS, based on the Lime LMS7002M front-end, achieve far greater tuning bandwidth - you wouldn't have to build a cluster of them, and could get the same throughout for a lower price and complexity!
It is humbling to look at the pictures and read it carefully then don't even understand what the heck he accomplished by doing the bizarre contraption.
Outrageously off-topic... but I bet if SpaceX put a camera under the satellite, customers would love getting real-time imagery of their house from the exact satellite listening to their Dishy McD.<p>I gather you need a license to collect satellite imagery, which is weird. Or to broadcast it, or something. (But what if it is narrowcast, instead?) SpaceX could totally afford such a license.<p>Speaking of broadcast, the Starlink terminals could be equipped to pick up and cache packets broadcast from a satellite, with a proxy server inside that can deliver cached content. That way, the satellite only needs to send one copy of its Earth View, or the running World Cup, or the new Marvel release, and everybody in the reception cone gets it from the one broadcast, saving bandwidth and system load all around.<p>(Of course, something in the customer's player would need to know to use the proxy server to get video frames. But that is just software, therefore easy. Ish.)
The linked article is fairly light on details and doesn't quite emphasize the interestingness of some of the inline links.<p><a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/qtofau/starlink_satellites_beacons/" rel="nofollow">https://old.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/qtofau/starlink_sat...</a> is particularly interesting and also contains a couple more links (scroll down)<p>Also <a href="https://twitter.com/olegkutkov/status/1411124689414541313" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/olegkutkov/status/1411124689414541313</a><p>The author's blog <a href="https://olegkutkov.me/" rel="nofollow">https://olegkutkov.me/</a> definitely looks interesting as well (I don't see an article specifically about the OP topic yet, but there's a lot of other stuff)
I don't believe that the HackRF cluster is required for receiving the beacons. After the 11 GHz signal is down converted by the LNB, an RTLSDR should be fine for reception. happysat77 on Reddit used a PlutoSDR, but an RTLSDR should be ok, since the down converted signal is around 1600 MHz. The bandwidth of the beacon is only 1 kHz or so.<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/qtofau/comment/hkq24tx/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/qtofau/comment/hkq2...</a>