[amsat-bb] Tripod for Arrow

[John Brier]

Here is a video of John, K8YSE's speaker stand based tripod:

https://youtu.be/OzfX94b1gpE

It is from the 2016 hamvention.

I wil admit half the reason I haven't shared this before is because I was
embarrassed I assumed it had ball bearings in it.

73, John Brier KG4AKV

On Wed, Apr 24, 2019, 10:58 Stephen E. Belter via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:

> Chris,
>
> Four suggestions on your tripod question, probably too much information:
>
> 1.  If you use a tripod, make sure the tripod head allows you to quickly
> and easily twist the antenna 180 degrees around its axis.  Twisting the
> antenna allows you to adjust the polarity of the antenna.  In many cases,
> having the polarity right is more important than having the direction
> exactly right.  And the tripod needs to be able to hold that twist until
> you move it.
>
> 2.  John, K8YSE, has adapted a speaker stand to hold his Arrow.  There is
> a nice picture of John and his speaker stand in recent copies of the
> Getting Started with Amateur Satellites book in Chapter 7, Operating SSB
> and CW Satellites.  (I'd attach the picture, but the BB doesn't pass
> attachments.)  John has incorporated a counterweight, friction clutch, and
> a copper pipe that fits in the handle of the Arrow.  I've used John's setup
> at the Orlando HamCation when John was giving demonstrations.  I was his
> rotor/controller and polarity adjuster, and it worked well.
>
> 3.  I built a nice portable setup with a surveyor's tripod, a Yaesu G-5500
> Az/El rotor, dual Alaska Arrow antennas, switchable polarity, and preamps.
> It looks great, but solution #4 (below) works better and takes much less
> time to setup and pack up.  It is also much less expensive.
>
> 4.  This is what works best for me, Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV):  Don't
> use a tripod.  Hold the Arrow in one hand, twisting your wrist to adjust
> for polarity and aiming in the general direction of the satellite.  If you
> find the antenna to be too heavy and uncomfortable, brace your elbow
> against your body instead of holding your arm out straight.  Adjust your
> pointing and twisting by listening to the received signal while you wave
> the antenna in a sweeping or circular motion towards the general direction
> of the bird.
>
> If the antenna is still too heavy, some hams modify the Arrow to make it
> lighter.  Clayton, W5PFG has modified his Arrow by using a shorter boom
> (24-inches long, 2 elements on 2 m, 4 elements on 70 cm).  It has less
> gain, but is much lighter.  (See a picture of Clayton and his short Arrow
> in Getting Started.)  Mike, W8LID drills lots of holes along the length of
> his Arrow boom, removing lots of the aluminum and weight.  A number of
> pictures of Mike's antennas are on Twitter (@w8lid and @we4bravo), and a
> picture of the antenna will be included in the 2019 edition of Getting
> Started.
>
> If your problem is running out of hands, use a recorder for logging, a
> headset to hold the microphone, and either a footswitch or handswitch for
> PTT.  Use one hand to aim the antenna (either on a tripod or not), and the
> second hand (maybe with PTT handswitch) to tune the radios.  This setup
> works well for a number of people, including me.  There are lots of
> pictures of operators using this setup in Getting Started.
>
> 73, Steve N9IP
>
> P.S.  I'm back to finishing the revisions to the 2019 edition of Getting
> Started with Amateur Radio.  The remaining 2018 edition copies are on sale
> at the AMSAT store or you can get a PDF at the store too.  The 2019 edition
> will be released at the Dayton Hamvention.
> --
> Steve Belter, seb at wintek.com
>
>
>
> On 4/24/19, 9:27 AM, "AMSAT-BB on behalf of Chris Pohlad-Thomas via
> AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org on behalf of amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> wrote:
>
>     Can anyone please provide a recommendation on a tripod to use with an
> Arrow
>     II? I want to make sure I find something that can handle the weight
> and do
>     a 90 degree turn.
>
>     Chris
>     KC1E
>
>     --
>     Chris Pohlad-Thomas
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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: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>