Belcom used to make (and might still make) all mode HTs that cover a wide variety of bands. Santec imported one as the LS202 in the 80s, it was an all mode 2 meter HT. I found one at a hamfest with 2 new battery packs a couple of years ago for $80! AEA imported the 10 meter version (and the 6m version but that doesn't help with the satellites) back in the 80s, calling it the "DX Handy". Around 2000 Eagle made the Eagle 454 Spitfire which was a 10 meter all mode HT (mainly aimed at the CB and Freeband crowd), and another company has recently started marketing a 10 meter all mode HT again. Belcom also made a 70cm all mode HT.
So, there are rigs out there in HT format that will work on the linear satellites, now the job is to find them!
I have been waiting to comment on early threads on this post as well. While the linear satellites do hold more possibilities, they are more expensive to get on, and unfortunately in the States, there just isnt' that much activity on VO52 which is unfortunate since it is a such a great satellite. The FM satellites are just cheaper to get started on.
For example: my FM satellite station consists of
Kenwood TM-251A bought used for $99 Arrow Antennas dualband J Pole bought new for $40 50 foot run of 9913 knock off coax bought new for $38 So, for less than $200 I have a good FM setup. I already had the power supply, but if you need to buy a new one, figure $75 or so.
I can do one linear sat right now-AO7 in Mode A-using my Icom 706 original. I bought the rig for $260, got a Mirage B108 amp for $40, and a 2M9SSB for $40 (plus the gas and tolls to pick it up). The light duty rotor was already up but it was about $80 new. The 9913 copy coax was $38. For the 10 meter downlink I already had a dipole up, but that would cost $30 or so to build-including coax. Overall, I got very good prices on this setup, it would usually cost more.
I give both examples just to show the difference in setup costs. With my Icom HF/VHF setup I cannot work Mode B on the satellites, as I don't have a UHF transmitter (as of yet).
73s John AA5JG
On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 10:43 AM, Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) < [email protected]> wrote:
Hi!
Show me an all-mode HT that retails for the same sort of price and is the same sort of size as an FM HT and I might be interested. Otherwise, to get UHF and VHF SSB I'm stuck with an inconveniently large radio which is only really useful for the twenty minutes a day that a satellite is overhead.
An all-mode HT.... doesn't exist at this time. Probably the closest you get in an HT would be a TH-F6/TH-F7 with its all-mode receiver, but still an FM transmitter. You could attempt transmitting CW by keying that transmitter, but it's not ideal with the 5 kHz tuning steps at FM on that radio (SSB tuning steps on a TH-F6/TH-F7 can go as small as 33 Hz) and no provision for computer control. Otherwise, an FT-817 gets close to the HT size, is an all-mode transceiver at HF and 6m as well as 2m and 70cm, and would qualify as a radio that can be used more than "twenty minutes a day that a satellite is overhead." It does cost more than an FM HT, but FT-817s should be available on the secondhand market as they have been in production for a decade. Even two FT-817s as a portable all-mode full-duplex satellite station are not what I - or many - would consider "inconveniently large". If you prefer computer control, the 817s have Yaesu's CAT port to allow for that.
Not to mention the difficulty involved in tuning the radio and aiming the antenna. Doesn't the Doppler shift mean you need to constantly retune? How do you manage to do that, key the mike and point the aerial, *and* have enough brainpower left to make a contact?
You are having to make minor adjustments to your frequency - or frequencies - when working SSB or CW via satellite. If you follow the so-called One True Rule, you're making the adjustments to one of the two frequencies (usually the higher of the two frequencies). Everyone had to work SSB/CW via satellite this way in the past, before the advent of computer-controlled stations, and it is still an option today even if some (many?) discourage it.
If you've worked FM satellites, you already know about the "key the mike and point the aerial" part. Then just focus on the QSO in progress. Don't try to remember everyone you worked - leave that on an audio recorder, or recorder app for a mobile phone or iPod type of device or laptop/netbook, and play it back later to update your log.
Pedro EB4DKA has posted a lot of useful information for working SSB via satellite. I read the writeups and watched the videos as I started out on the SSB birds. I don't operate using a mobile setup like Pedro does, but with one directional antenna (an Elk 2m/70cm log periodic) through a diplexer to my two-radio setup. I've uploaded some videos working those satellites at:
I used both of my FT-817NDs on the SSB passes shown in these videos, but on occasion swap out the 817 I use as the receiver and put my TH-F6A in its place.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb