Spacewalker LNA 434 MHz was developed to combat real-world satellite reception difficulties. In urban environments, it’s often difficult to receive PocketSat and CubeSat signals amidst strong DVB-T, TETRA, FM, and LTE signals from densely packed transmitter towers.

It was inspired by attempts to pick up signals from the MRC-100 pocket satellite. After many experiments and measurements, a novel low-noise amplifier circuit was devised to help city dwellers cut through the RF chatter.

A Proven Design Already in Use

We’ve designed Spacewalker LNA 434 MHz to receive otherwise weak satellite signals in areas with a lot of RF interference. To test our design, we have several SatNOGS stations up and running in Europe. You can see a batch of prototype PCBs being assembled in this video:

These have been running for a few months and are working nicely. Our own SatNOGS station is located in Dány, Hungary. Other SatNOGS stations are also using our prototype LNAs now: Mátra Mountains, Hungary, thanks to András Pál and the Netherlands, thanks to Jan van Gils. Special thanks to Scott Tilley, too, for taking the time to test our LNA comprehensively and for his excellent feedback!

Features & Specifications

• Double-amplified with two state-of-the-art Qorvo QPL9547 LNA ICs with ~0.2 dB NF and 25 dB gain at 434 MHz.
• Triple-filtered using low insertion loss, 434 MHz SAW filters
• VDD bias points have resonant inductive filtering against external noise
• 3x metal cages ensure that each LNA stage is well-isolated
• 4-layer PCB for additional natural shielding of the sensitive VDD lines, etc.
• Short coax pigtail on the antenna input protects against static discharge events to prolong your LNA's lifespan.

Open Source

You can view schematics of Spacewalker LNA 434 MHz on GitHub.

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