[amsat-bb] M-2 SAT Pack #1

[Hasan al-Basri]

Hi Jerry,
I have a pair of the M2 EggBeaters in the back yard at a height of 7'.
If they have a clear view of the horizon (esp the 70cm uplink), they can do
pretty well, but you are much better off with a pair of small yagis.

For any antenna on 70cm, if you have to shoot through houses or even worse,
vegetation, your signal will just get destroyed. The difference here
between summer and winter is gigantic.

However, even with no foliage, they can never rival a small yagi.

If you are serious about working satellites, I would recommend a pair of
small yagis and a cheap TV rotor. Don't worry about Elevation rotors, they
are completely unnecessary for the current batch of LEO (Low-Earth-Orbit)
birds like AO-91/92, AO-73, CAS-4A/4B and XW-2A/2B/2D,2F (the last two
being linear birds for SSB and CW)

Mount your two small yagis at a fixed elevation of 15 degrees (per WB4APR's
superb recommendation). Then just control your azimuth. If you want to get
fancy, then get a rotor that can be controlled by computer.

I am using an EAntenna which is an interlaced yagi (two yagis on the same
boom, elements in the same plane), fed with one coax. It is 5 EL on 2m and
8 EL on 70cm. Gain is about 10 dBi on both bands, which is more than
sufficient.
Do not get large antennas, they will not be easily pointed and you will
have too narrow a pattern to drop not need the elevation rotor. My EAntenna
is only about 4.5 feet long! No real load on a rotor.

For the amount of money you are going to have to pay for a pair of M2
Eggbeaters, you can get the yagi I mentioned (DXEngineering carries them)
AND a rotator, and you will have a much better signal.

The M2 EB's that I have are useful for polarity changes (instantaneous) in
the winter. In the summer they are only useful at high Elevations and even
then for a very brief time. They work, they are decent, but they are not
anywhere nearly as good as a pair of small yagis....and, if purchased new,
they are very expensive for their performance level.

If you do go the yagi route, it makes no difference whether you mount the
antennas vertically polarized or horizontally polarized. If you intend to
use them for local FM repeater use, the mount them vertically (or for APRS
on 2m for example). If you are going to use them for SSB work on 2 and 70
cm, then mount them horizontally polarized.

73, N0AN
Hasan


On Wed, Apr 1, 2020 at 12:15 PM George Henry via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:

> I've made many contacts on the LEO birds with one, but it can be quite a
> struggle.  I do much better with an Elk log-periodic or with the Gulf-Alpha
> circularly-polarized antennas that I use for Field Day and other demos.
>
>
>
> George, KA3HSW
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of Gerald
> Witalec via AMSAT-BB
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2020 11:59 AM
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: [amsat-bb] M-2 SAT Pack #1
>
> Has anyone used this eggbeater antenna from M-2 company with great results
> to track the SATS?
>
> Jerry...W8RQM
>
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