[amsat-bb] Using AR Preamps with Icom IC-9100 in Satellite mode

[Jim Walls]

I think I'm using the same pre-amps that you are, but a different radio 
(Yaesu FT-736).  The pre-amps are used almost exclusively on satellite.  I 
completely manually control the pre-amps from a box I built with controls 
for the two pre-amps and polarity switching relays.  I have separate power 
lines to the pre-amps.
  
 I'm with Andrew in that you should mount them at the antenna.  Mine are 
also pretty short coax runs.  There is a photo on my website that shows the 
NEMA box with the two pre-amps mounted just below the rotors.  It's a 
little hard to tell that it's two pre-amps, but there really are two 
stacked one in front of the other.  The page is:  
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/k6ccc/Photo/Pics/SatAnt2.html
  
 Jim Walls
 K6CCC
  
  
 -------- Original Message --------
> From: "hdskullfire2 ." <hdskullfire2 at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 4, 2017 7:23 AM
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Using AR Preamps with Icom IC-9100 in Satellite mode
>
> I have two Advance Research Pre-amps on order. Both a MSP144VDG-160 &
> MSP432VDG-160 which are going to be installed local in the shack. The
> reason being is that I have 2 switchable array's. One is my M2 2M/70cm
> satellite array and the other is my 2M/70cm LFA array. I generally only 
use
> one array or the other.
>
> My coax runs are short and I want to keep the pre-amp inside out of the
> weather.
>
> Here is my question. I can either feed 12V to each preamp and have a 
on-off
> switch to manually select the one I want, or I can feed power to them 
via
> coax that the 9100 supplies by turning on the 144 and 432 pre-amp On-Off
> selections in the 9100 menu. I would rather go with the 9100 supplying 
the
> pre-amp relay power instead manually supplying separate power.
>
> Here is what I need to know, in single band operation I know that each
> pre-amp relay would activate when on a particular band either 144 or 
432.
> But what happens in satellite mode? Are they both active at the same 
time?
> I'm concerned about relay activations. I keep hearing about sequencers, 
is
> this required?
>
> Let me know.
>
> Steve NS3L
> Nazareth, Pa.
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