[amsat-bb] Homebrew Up-Dated Eggbeater Antenna

[Paul Stoetzer]

Jim,

The key words here are "noise floor." Omnidirectional antennas can
work for satellites when you have a low noise floor and short runs of
very good coax (and/or a preamp).

As an example, I've listened for SO-50 a couple of times from here in
Washington, DC with my Baofeng UV-3R+ and Nagoya NA-774 telescopic
whip. I can hear the satellite a bit, but still quite nosily, above 45
degrees. Back in August, I was in a field in the middle of nowhere and
heard it very well from 5-7 degrees above the horizon.

Another example is that some people report decent telemetry success
from AO-73 (when in high power mode) using nothing more than 1/4 wave
whip. I've never been able to decode a single packet with that type of
setup here in the city.

Most people live somewhere between the two extremes I've presented
here of "field in the middle of nowhere" and "apartment building in a
major urban center" so your mileage may vary. Just keep in mind that
in any receiving system, you are looking for an optimal signal to
noise ratio. If you have no noise, you don't need much signal and
omnidirectional antennas might work fine. If you have a ton of noise,
you are going to need a lot of signal from the satellite, which means
a beam with decent gain.

73,

Paul, N8HM

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 12:46 PM, Jim Walls <jim at k6ccc.org> wrote:
> I built one about a decade or so ago and was grossly underwhelmed with it.
> I built it to use for a sat igate.  I was able to decode maybe one or two
> packets per day.  Everything else was lost in the noise floor..  Only had
> about 20 feet of RG-214 cable to the receiver.
>
>  Jim - K6CCC
>
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------
>  From: "Joe" <nss at mwt.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 9:37 AM
> To: "amsat-bb at amsat org" <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Homebrew Up-Dated Eggbeater Antenna
> Has anyone built this antenna, and what are your opinions? Meet all the
> claims being made?
>
> http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Eggbeater_2.html
>
> Joe WB9SBD
> --
> Sig
> The Original Rolling Ball Clock
> Idle Tyme
> Idle-Tyme.com
> http://www.idle-tyme.com
> _______________________________________________
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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