I'm starting a radio observatory!

[Thomas]

Hello everyone! My name is Thomas, I'm an amateur radio astronomer in Central Florida and a new member of SARA, but a long time fan of RTOP and the other incredible resources SARA posts on YouTube. Thanks in large part to those resources, I was able to learn everything I needed to build my own 2.3m radio telescope out of an old c-band antenna with a DIY VE4MA feed to detect the hydrogen line.

I'm incredibly inspired by this community and the work that goes into making radio astronomy accessible to more people with projects like SuperSID and Ted Cline's ezRA, and I have dreamed of making a similar impact. About a month ago I saw an opportunity when I found this beautiful 10m radio telescope on Facebook marketplace that the owner bought directly from NASA nearly 50 years ago, carefully maintained, and is still in amazing mechanical condition with 10°/sec tracking, zero backlash, and balanced well enough to move by hand. 

I’ve since devoted myself to starting a nonprofit observatory that's currently fundraising to purchase the telescope and relocate it to a remote site, where we will modernize it with digital encoders (currently analog controlled), write control software with data pipeline, and develop a web interface to allow students, hobbyists, or anyone interested to reserve time on the telescope as cheaply as possible while covering our very modest operating costs. My long-term goal for this observatory once the core functionality is solid, is to offer a simplified, beginner-friendly version of the interface alongside educational materials to explain things like RF fundamentals, signal sources, how radio astronomy works, and how to interpret the data to lower the barrier to entry and get more young people/the general public into or at least appreciate radio astronomy. More information about the telescope and our plan are available on our website: https://TitanObservatory.org

I’m a 24-year-old software engineer with a degree in cybersecurity, but space has always been my passion, and I actually plan to pursue a PhD in physics to change careers. With my background and the help of a dozen or so talented volunteer applicants we've received, I'm confident we can write the software and develop the infrastructure that will be needed for this project. However, when it comes to radio astronomy itself, there are people even in this group who have been working with it longer than I've been alive, so if anyone is interested in this project and would like to offer their knowledge, time, or even just follow the project, head over to our website where you can join the community or sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on major milestones. The vast majority of our 400+ members are in our Discord: https://discord.gg/T5F6AG26tE but I'm also trying to establish a more traditional forum: https://community.TitanObservatory.org

I’d also be very grateful if you could share this project with anyone who might help with funding, as the total cost is likely beyond what we can fully crowdfund. We’re in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3), after which large donations will be tax-deductible.

Thanks so much, and clear skies!

Thomas Oglesby

[Dave Typinski]

Hi Thomas,

Where is the observatory to be located?
--
Dave

On 11/13/25 12:51, Thomas wrote:
> Hello everyone! My name is Thomas, I'm an amateur radio astronomer in Central
> Florida and a new member of SARA, but a long time fan of RTOP and the other
> incredible resources SARA posts on YouTube. Thanks in large part to those
> resources, I was able to learn everything I needed to build my own 2.3m radio
> telescope out of an old c-band antenna with a DIY VE4MA feed to detect the
> hydrogen line.
>
> I'm incredibly inspired by this community and the work that goes into making
> radio astronomy accessible to more people with projects like SuperSID and Ted
> Cline's ezRA, and I have dreamed of making a similar impact. About a month ago I
> saw an opportunity when I found this beautiful 10m radio telescope on Facebook
> marketplace that the owner bought directly from NASA nearly 50 years ago,
> carefully maintained, and is still in amazing mechanical condition with 10°/sec
> tracking, zero backlash, and balanced well enough to move by hand.
>

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[Thomas Oglesby]

Angus rd, Florida 33868. It doesnt currently have a street address, but theres a photo of the specific parcel and other info about the site at https://titanobservatory.org/specifications

[Captain Anne Flint]

Hi Thomas, 

Sounds excellent. 

Wende 

> of our 400+ members are in our Discord: https://discord.gg/T5F6AG26tEbut I'm 

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[Dave Typinski]

Thanks Thomas!

Indeed, 15 miles north of Lakeland sure is out in the middle of nowhere, a
possibly very good location for a radio telescope.

Have you done a site survey (to check for RFI)?

Any chance you would like to host a research-grade HF band radio telescope? I'd
be happy to supply and install the whole thing. Our current site north of
Gainesville has become drenched in RFI over the last few years, so I'm looking
for a quieter site.

The instrument needs a secure (against meth-head metal thieves) RFI-quiet site,
about 75' x 200' area for the antenna array, and a secure air conditioned space
with AC power and enough floor space for one or two 19" racks.

I realize this is all very premature and years away. Just planting a seed at
this point.
--
Dave Typinski
AJ4CO Observatory
www.aj4co.org

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[Marcus Fisher]

Keep the annual conference in Green Bank WV in mind, do a presentation on your plans and any observations ... And do an article in journal... Keep it in mind

-- Marcus Fisher

Society for Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA)
vicepresident@radio-astronomy
www.radio-astronomy.org

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[Thomas Oglesby]

We would love to host! There should be plenty of room. We haven't done a full site survey, only identified the nearest transmitting towers which are nearly 4 miles away, but if you could point me in the right direction for how to go about doing that, we'd be happy to have one done!

Our current plan is to be completely isolated from the grid by going solar, and ideally host our server equipment within the base of the telescope itself to avoid the cost of another structure. However, if you'd like to collaborate and help us raise the additional funds that would be needed, we're early enough in the process that we'd likely be able to include your array and any additional accomodations in our initial site planning, permitting, and construction and get set up around the same time as we do.

Of course we'd have no issues if you'd like to instead join us at a later date, but if you'd like to discuss further or have any questions, you can email me directly at Thomas....@TitanObservatory.org

[Marcus D. Leech]

On 2025-11-14 12:03, Thomas Oglesby wrote:

We would love to host! There should be plenty of room. We haven't done a full site survey, only identified the nearest transmitting towers which are nearly 4 miles away, but if you could point me in the right direction for how to go about doing that, we'd be happy to have one done!

Our current plan is to be completely isolated from the grid by going solar, and ideally host our server equipment within the base of the telescope itself to avoid the cost of another structure. However, if you'd like to collaborate and help us raise the additional funds that would be needed, we're early enough in the process that we'd likely be able to include your array and any additional accomodations in our initial site planning, permitting, and construction and get set up around the same time as we do.

Of course we'd have no issues if you'd like to instead join us at a later date, but if you'd like to discuss further or have any questions, you can email me directly at Thomas....@TitanObservatory.org

I'll note that some solar panel inverters are horrific RFI sources at HF.  Just something to keep in mind.

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[Thomas Oglesby]

Yup I read about that. If we do end up going solar, a high quality inverter will be a requirement and we'll put extra care into mitigating any residual RFI. Thanks for the tip!

[Jim Brown]

Just be careful of Solar Panels and the related equipment.  They can be horrible RFI sources.  

Jim
HNRAO Observatory
NJ3B

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[Alex P]

Its not the Inverter that is the problem : its the MPPT or PWM Battery Charger that is the issue ...

Potentially  a hundred amperes being switched  at KHz frequencies means that RFI is even radiated by the panels themselves.

You may need to use a less efficient linear charging system.

Alex

[Dave Typinski]

A site survey involves nothing more than using a smaller, portable radio
telescope at the proposed site to record the RF spectrum across your band of
interest. A solid week's worth of data (i.e., 168 continuous hours) will show
what the RF environment is at the planned site during the day and night on
weekdays and weekends.

Chances are it'll be nice and quiet that far out into the back and beyond.
Nevertheless, one might prefer not to bet $100k on that assumption without first
doing due diligence.
--
Dave

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