[amsat-bb] Az-El Rotors

[Greg]

Fred,

In addition to Kevin’s idea, you might want to consider some home-brew “eggbeaters.”  When I first started on the LEO’s, they worked fine to get into the birds, including the ISS.  Won’t outperform a beam many times, but they are efficient for the cost.

Greg
N3MVF

On Jan 25, 2016, at 5:06 AM, A. Kevin Arber <kevin.w3dad at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Fred,
If you're working the current crop of LEO sats, then you don't need an AZ/EL
setup.  Just AZ will do with the Arrow antenna set to about 20 degrees
elevation.  I control my HD-73 with the Easy Rotor Controller (ERC) using
SATPC-32.  Very simple and works well with the  Arrow.  Get you started
without too much invested.
Kevin/W3DAD

On Sun, Jan 24, 2016 at 11:13 PM, Fred Castello <fredcastello at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Please excuse the newbie.  I have been receiving signals on SSB, CW,
> Packet, and FM via just listening for a while now.  I am newly back into
> the satellites as I used to work the high elliptical orbit birds years
> ago.  Let my license lapse and just got it back and upgraded.  Now getting
> the satellite bug again and have really tried researching on the net but am
> a bit frustrated by the paucity of az-el rotors available.  It seems that
> there are primarily the Yeasu G-5500 type at $700 to $800 or more or make
> your own and really no in-between.  I am looking to have a permanent
> installation that could track both az and el and preferably be controlled
> by SatPC32.  I am thinking of starting with a small single antenna with
> both 2m and 70cm on it (i.e. Arrow or other) which would present very low
> windage.  When I initially got re-interested I was imaging a cheap solution
> with TV rotors but I don’t see any folks doing this and I would prefer not
> to have to set my antenna solution up every time I want to work the
> satellites.  Am I missing something or could someone point me to an article
> or reference that I am not aware of?  I really appreciate all of the
> collective experience in this group and thanks for your time!  I am using a
> Kenwood TS 790A without the 1.2 Ghz installed.
> Best,
> Fred Castello, KF4FC
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_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb