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DVB-S/2/X Transmission Methods

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Abstract

For the 2023-2024 Eclipse, a 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi link was proposed to live stream video from a high-altitude balloon. However, challenges were faced with this system that resulted in inferior performance than expected. A new system was then explored to create a more reliable digital video transmission system. This system would use the existing Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) standard and specifically the DVB-S (Satellite) standard, of which there are now three generations including DVB-S2 and DVB-S2X. Project Heimdall seeks to challenge the 5.8 GHz video transmission system by utilizing these standards of amateur television transmission via a 1.2 GHz band using  DVB-S, of which there are several generations to work with, i.e. DVB-S2 and DVB-S2X. In this paper, we will explore how this system works and the benefits and expected improvements. We will also discuss what testing we have done and our plans to implement this system in a high-altitude balloon. The Project Heimdall implementation process will utilize software-defined radio (SDR) boards as hardware transceiver devices, such as Analog Devices’ PlutoSDR or Great Scott Gadgets’ HackRF SDR programmable via GNURadio, a free software using user-defined code blocks, and a receiving software such as SDRangel as user-friendly tools with minimal learning curves to ensure easy accessibility. 

Keywords: Software defined radio, DVB-S, video transmission

How to Cite:

Beaver, B. M., (2024) “DVB-S/2/X Transmission Methods”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2024(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.18003