[amsat-bb] Re: Fixed antenna for ISS reception?

[Anthony Monteiro]

At 04:43 AM 10/22/2008, Gordon J. C. Pearce MM3YEQ wrote:
>At the moment I've been receiving the SSTV and voice signals from the
>ISS with a homebrew omni on a pole in my back garden.  I don't really
>have the room to put up a tower, and since the house is rented I suspect
>the landlord would have some pithy words to say about digging up a chunk
>of the garden and pouring a plinth.
>
>How well would an aerial with a cardioid pattern such as an HB9CV work?
>Since the ISS is never much above 30 degrees this far north (IO75) I
>doubt I'd need to worry about elevation.
>
>How well would just adding a 144MHz preamp to the omni work?
>
>How have other people solved this, without recourse to big rotators and
>things?
>
>Gordon

Hi Gordon,

I have used a Lindenblad mounted on a pole just 2 meters high
along with an ARR Mast-mount preamp and this works darn well.

For receiving the ISS and linear mode B satellites, you don't
really need a preamp but it will make a difference receiving
the packet satellites on 145.825 MHz.

It is also a good TX antenna for mode J satellites.

The Lindenblad (from QST) is here:
http://www.arrl.org/qst/2007/08/monteiro.pdf

The ARR Preamp is here:
http://www.advancedreceiver.com/page10.html

Best of luck and 73,
Tony AA2TX