[amsat-bb] Az-El Rotors

[Robert Bruninga]

The gain is needed near the horizon, not so much higher up where the
satellite is 6 to 10 dB closer.  Up at 25 degrees you wont have as much
gain on the satellites down at 10 degrees and lower where over 30% of all
passes are below 10 degrees.  We suggest a 15 degree up-tilt:

see http://aprs.org/LEO-tracking.html

Of course, if your antenna cannot see down below 10 degrees due to your
local horizon, then conversly, dont put the gain there, in that case, a
higher angle is OK..

Bob, WB4APR

On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 12:24 PM, Bob- W7LRD <w7lrd at comcast.net> wrote:

> Fred- Get a elchepo rotor, point the antenna up at about 25 degrees, and
> you're good to go. Also check out Norms Rotor Service
> http://www.rotorservice.com/prod1%20rotor%20sales.htm
> Check out hamfests for Alliance U100 rotors. In my opinion stay away from
> egg beaters, they're sort of ok, but many people usually "graduate" to
> yagi's.
> Good luck
> 73 Bob w7LRD
> Seattle
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Fred Castello" <fredcastello at gmail.com>
> To: "AMSAT bbs" <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2016 8:13:57 PM
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Az-El Rotors
>
> 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
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