[amsat-bb] Fox Telemetry antenna?

[Burns Fisher]

Interesting....I use a Lindenblad on one receiver and a J-pole on
another, both with a wide-band preamp.  They are both good enough to get me
in the top 20 on the leaderboard, I suspect partly because I can just leave
them without thinking about them.  Certainly I get more packets when I
throw the switches and use my LEO-pack and G5500, but still not bad.  And I
don't have to worry about physical wear and tear on anything.

One thing is that I have very little QRM around here, so more direction and
more filtering might be far better for some.  But feel free to compare
WB1FJ* vs say N8MH on the leaderboard.  Mark certainly has a lot more, but
I don't think the omni is horrible!

73

Burns WB1FJ

On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 6:48 PM Mark L. Hammond via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:

> Hi Bob, I have found that a parked yagi yields more telemetry than an
> omini.   And for a Fox satellite, pointing N or S works pretty well; pick
> the better horizon/less obstruction view!
>
> Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
> AMSAT Director and Command Station
>
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 5:39 PM Bob Hammond via AMSAT-BB <
> amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> wrote:
>
> > 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
> > >     >
> > >     >
> > >     >
> > >
> > >     _______________________________________________
> > >     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
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > 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
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > 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
> >
> _______________________________________________
> 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
>