Hi Patrick,
I think there are several advantages to adding the Panadapter interface.
1.) It uses the common IF of the FT-817, so it works with whatever band/mode you tune with the FT-817 - 160M through 432. The Funcube stays on 68.33 MHz.
2.) It's fully integrated with the FT-817, so no need to worry about accidentally transmitting in to your FunCube. (this was a big one for me!)
3.) It has band pass filtering on the 68.33 MHz common IF feed. Sensitivity is very good.
I use it primarily with HDSDR. Using OmniRig within HDSDR linked to the FunCube creates a very powerful system. You lock the Funcube setting to 68.33 MHz (I actually use 68.32 to get away from the center channel spike). In HDSDR, the display is the actual FT-817 frequency. You now can tune either the FT-817 or HDSDR and they both track - The Funcube stays on 68.32 MHz so you always see ± 48 kHz of your center tuning (I use the original Funcube, so 96 kHz). HDSDR has DDE as well.
I'm sure there is more and there are specific benefits for satellite work. Once you start working with a Panadapter on satellite, I don't think you'll ever want to go back to the old way. Seeing the whole transponder at once or the ability to record the full I&Q bandwidth for post processing later is very powerful. (no more "audio recorder" to log qso's)
The choice is really whether to use the FunCube standalone or integrated via the interface. Both of my FT-817's have the Interface!
Mike
On 12/1/2013 9:32 PM, Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) wrote:
To those who suggested I modify one of my FT-817NDs to have a panadapter interface and then use both the 817 and dongle on the downlink, what advantages would I have in doing that, instead of just using the dongle as the downlink receiver? I apologize if this is a silly question, but I'm wanting to learn more about what I can do with this dongle, by itself or alongside my existing gear. I'm looking forward to seeing N1JEZ's article in an upcoming AMSAT Journal, and will look at the link Mike suggested to learn more about this option.--
73, Mike, N1JEZ "A closed mouth gathers no feet"