[amsat-bb] Cheap rotator setup

[Scott]

Hey Eli!

I followed the same URL and had the AZ-only setup described for a long time
- works great!  You can work any satellite in the sky with ease.

As for the mount, I used a standard "tee" setup as you would expect were it
an AZ/EL install.  Location prevented a fixed EL of 15 deg. from being
useful to me, so my antennas were set at 45 deg. in the summer and 30 deg.
in the winter.

Should anyone wonder about PVC supporting the weight of X-Quads so far out
from the center support, those pipe sections had a wood rod glued inside.
So, they flexed a little but not much.

Here's a pic:

https://www.qsl.net/k/k4kdr//images/2016-05-14--xquads.jpg

Good luck!

-Scott,  K4KDR

=============================

On Wed, Dec 19, 2018 at 9:45 AM Eli Caul <eli.caul at sonic.com> wrote:

> Hi folks -
>
> In my ongoing effort to figure out how to use the SSB satellites, I
> duplicated this setup over the weekend:
>
>
> http://k3rrr.com/cheap-computer-controlled-tv-rotor-for-amsat-satellites-and-includes-free-satellite-tracking-with-pstrotator-and-the-usb-uirt/
>
> I bought a list of materials based on the photograph, and it didn’t occur
> to me that the PVC parts pictured put the antennas at approximately 45
> degrees and not the recommended 15 degrees.
>
> Has anyone done this setup? If so, how did you assemble it so that the
> antennas ended up at the recommended angle?
>
> There were a couple of higher angle passes yesterday (one was at 50
> degrees) but so far I haven’t been able to 'loop' the satellite. I'm using
> a Yaesu FT-991A for uplink and an Airspy SDR on the downlink.
>
> Advice appreciated. So far I've gotten some excellent advice from AMSAT
> members and I really appreciate the groups level of expertise and patience
> with my fundamental questions.
>
> 73 de KK6ZHZ,
>
> - Eli Caul
>
> Director of Customer Care
> Sonic
> 707-237-6201 Direct
> 707-521-0131 Faxline