[amsat-bb] Fox Telemetry antenna?

[Bob Hammond]

So, can I just park my LEO antennas south just a bit above the horizon for
dedicated telemetry collection when not using them for sat ops?

Bob W7OTJ

On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 1:49 PM Stephen E. Belter via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:

> Kevin,
>
> I'm in West Lafayette, Indiana, so no salt water.  My antennas are
> M-squared medium size antennas, 2MCP14 and 436CP30 with polarity switches,
> so not overloaded.
>
> Mark N8MH, has had similar experience with his Yaesu's.  Since he is a
> dedicated telemetry collector like you, and since he is a control operator
> for the Fox satellites, he replaces his rotors when they fail.  He had a
> volunteer to repair his broken rotors, so I transported 6-8 rotors from his
> garage in North Carolina (not near salt water either) to Indiana.  Half
> were elevation rotors, half were azimuth rotors.  I thought I was just
> having bad luck until Mark shared his experience.
>
> The last time mine failed, it was the azimuth rotor.  Pointing the Yagis
> south just above the horizon worked a little better (long term) than an
> omnidirectional antenna.  Since it failed while I was on a 3 month trip, I
> couldn't replace the rotor.
>
> I still recommend the G5500 rotors for normal operators, but they may not
> be the best choice for 24x7x365 telemetry collection.  (I'm glad they work
> for you in that mode.)  I've since switched to an AlphaSpid rotor with a
> Green Heron controller.  You can buy the AlphaSpid rotors without the
> controller (my recommendation for heavy duty use) and use a Green Heron
> instead.
>
> Still:  YMMV
>
> 73, Steve N9IP
> --
> Steve Belter, seb at wintek.com
>
>
> On 10/6/20, 3:53 PM, "AMSAT-BB on behalf of Kevin via AMSAT-BB" <
> amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org on behalf of amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
>
>     Steve,
>         What are you doing that is wearing it out in 4-8 months?
> overloaded?
>     near the ocean with salt? something has to be wrong as mine go for
> years.
>
>     73 Kevin WA7FWF
>
>     On 10/6/2020 10:21 AM, Stephen E. Belter via AMSAT-BB wrote:
>     > Roy,
>     >
>     > In my experience, using the CP antennas with the G5500 will help you
> collect and decode about 4-6 times more packets than an omnidirectional
> antenna.
>     >
>     > But tracking the Fox satellites using the Yaesu rotors will wear out
> the rotors in 4-8 months. Replacement rotors are about $250 each (you won’t
> need to replace the controller).
>     >
>     > YMMV
>     >
>     > 73, Steve N9IP
>     > --
>     > Steve Belter, seb at wintek.com
>     >
>     >
>     >
>
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