Hi Clayton,
My solution for switching will be three N-Type switches in the shack, one on each antenna cable and one on the SDR. The switches could be relays but good N-Typ3e relays seem to cost a small fortune, so it looks like I'll use switches.
If I use a VHF / UHF TX with only one connected such as the FT-819 or FT-991 then I'll need four switches.
I'm slowly getting the hang of things, just had my first two QSO's on SO-50 so next item to be 'attacked' is AO-73.
Simon Brown G4ELI http://v2.sdr-radio.com
-----Original Message----- From: Clayton Coleman [mailto:kayakfishtx@gmail.com]
Simon,
I agree with your assessment. Using SDR on satellites is a wonderful thing. I have been assessing the value of SDR on satellites for several months and my personal conclusion is that it's benefits far outweigh the negatives. I'll be writing up my notes for a short column soon.
I'm quite spoiled using my FUNcube Dongle Pro+ to receive. It does a great job, allowing me to see the entire passband of all our current satellite fleet. Not only can I visually see the passband, I am recording it in both AF+RF so that I can go back and look for things I might have missed during a previous satellite pass.
My biggest complaint about using the SDR setup is having to switch cables depending on by transmit band. I'm looking for clean solutions to switch between U/V and V/U configurations, giving me the best isolation and protection for my SDR devices from the transmitter.
Some folks don't like the short delay effect using SDR. I find it is manageable and can be "tweaked" for optimum performance.
73 Clayton W5PFG