[amsat-bb] Sat688 or LVB tracker?

[Stargate]

Hi all,
	OK, unless some other option comes up, or there is an incompatibility
problem that I am aware of, I have narrowed
my list of rotor interfaces down to the following 2....

The LVB at....
http://www.g6lvb.com//Articles/LVBTracker/index.htm

The Sat688 at....
http://www2.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/ariss-kits/

	I have a Yaesu G-5500 and a FT-847 for the rotor and radio respectively.
I intend to use Orbitron for my tracking and radio control software if the
above interfaces are compatible.
The computer is a PIII 650mhz with 1 serial and 1 USB port. I was thinking
of using the serial port for radio control
and the USB port for the rotor interface.

	I am leaning toward the LVB since the PIC can be programmed and
re-programmed onboard, and it can be made into the LVB 2 for stand alone
operation without the computer control, although it will be a little more
expensive to construct.

	On the other hand the Satt688 is less expensive, and should suffice as
well. How important is it to be able
to re-program the pic?

All comments appreciated,

Thanks,
RoD
KD0XX


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