Andrew,
Can the FT-530 and/or FT-470 work cross-band in non-duplex mode? I had an IC-W2A (predecessor to the IC-W32A) and it worked great for full duplex sat operation, but only in full duplex. That is, there was no way to turn the 70cm off while transmitting on 2m, so it could only be used with headphones. Granted that this is the best way to operate the sats, but sometimes headphones are unavailable or impractical, so I'd like to at least have the option of working the sats in non-duplex with the speaker.
One thing to look out for if, like me, you are interested in a 5 watt HT. Many HTs that are advertised as "5 watt" will only produce 5 watts if connected to an external 13v p/s or a special battery, with the supplied battery giving much less output.
73, Bill NZ5N --- Andrew Glasbrenner glasbrenner@mindspring.com wrote:
The Kenwood D7 is the only full duplex still sold new AFAIK and it is a fine rig with no desense. If you can find a Yaesu FT-530, it is really good for FM satellite use, especially because of the subband tune function. Never had any desense on the two 530s I've had either. FT-470 ain't half bad either, and I've picked a few up for $100 used in the recent past.
Full duplex is the best way to go, and once you hear the difference, and learn to use it to benefit with an antenna like the arrow, you'll wonder why you ever doubted needing it.
73, Drew KO4MA
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ronald Nutter" rnutter@networkref.com To: "Bill Dzurilla" billdz.geo@yahoo.com Cc: fm-satellite@yahoogroups.com; amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 8:58 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Best HT's for sats?
I dont know of any handheld that is full duplex.
You might have to use
2 handhelds and a filter on the uhf downlink to
cut down the desensing
depending on how close the antennas are.
Ron KA4KYI
Bill Dzurilla wrote:
I've made many sat contacts with my VX-2R but am thinking about upgrading to something with 5
watts
output. I used a borrowed IC-W32A and Swan
Island and
it worked fine, although I could not hear my
downlink
in full duplex mode, too much desensing. Not
sure
full duplex is even worth the extra money, as it
seems
that most duplex HTs have a similar desensing
problem.
I was thinking about trading in the VX-2R for an
FT-60
or a VX-6R, any comments on these or other sat-friendly HTs?
73, Bill NZ5N
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