[amsat-bb] Mode B equipment for eagle

McGrane tmcgrane at suffolk.lib.ny.us
Sat Sep 9 04:46:45 PDT 2006


Greetings

In the past couple of years, I have set up a very cheap satellite station
for mode B. I had a 2 meter all-mode mobile rig (FT480R) I paid 50 dollars
for connected to a cushcraft 4 element Yagi beam. I purchased a 70
centimeter FT790RII for $125 and made a homebrew 8 element Yagi. 
Antennas are monted on single azimuth rotator mast and angled up about 10
degrees. This setup works extremely well for hamsat (VO-52).

Now, going from LEO hamsat to HEO Eagle, I will probably have to make a
longer UHF yagi and add an amplifier, Also a longer VHF beam. I already
have a mirage 2 meter amp with built in preamp. If the coax is short as it
is now, I can use the amp's preamp.

I saw a reference in one of the flurry of emails mentioning a 1KW ERP SSB
station for eagle. Right now, for UHF, I'm at about 250 watts ERP. Either
adding an amp or making a new antenna will bring me up to 1KW ERP or more.

Am I on the right path?

Will I be able to add to this equipment to work Eagle or will something
totally new be required for mode B ?

Thanks for ideas, Patrick N2OEQ




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