Anderas,
I don't dispute the merits of a fully automated station. Your point was made very eloquently! AO-7 is only a couple of years older than me and I love using it.
In the spirit of "Field Day" I do think simple is better. That's just my opinion...
73 Clayton W5PFG On May 28, 2013 7:37 PM, "Andy Kellner" hawat1@yahoo.com wrote:
Clayton,
good stuff. You are certainly right, a rotor, PC and computer based doppler correction are all optional. There is a certain thrill in working SO 50 with a 10 W HT and a hand held arrow antenna, and pretty rewarding to.
But honestly, when you work AO-7 on SSB with your fully automated ground station - happily correcting your RX/TX frequencies in 10 Hz. intervals controlled from one laptop, and your fully automated homebrew tracking AZ / EL rotors clicking away controlled from another laptop, your full duplex 'Earth Station' FT 847 producing a crystal clear signal from a 40 year old bird limping along on ancient solar panels and all you have to do is press the PTT button - that puts a smile on your face, too :)
Anderas - VK4TH
From: Clayton Coleman kayakfishtx@gmail.com To: Bill (W1PA) w1pa@hotmail.com Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, 29 May 2013 9:33 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: a cheap LEO tracker for single op
I'm not sure why a rotor or PC is needed. I have made many contacts in the past two years with an Arrow antenna (hand driven) and an IC-910 (manual Doppler correction.) With a little practice, it's really not difficult. The trick is to practice, practice, practice. Y
Over the weekend I made contacts on all the active satellites with no PC, no rotor, and no big arrays. Sure, Field Day will be a little more difficult. Be prepared. Pick your passes wisely. If you're on the East Coast don't pick a pass centered over North America. Choose one out over the Atlantic so that less stations will be in the footprint.
Last year, I snuck onto SO-50 in the middle of the night with nothing but an Arrow and ten watts. I'm not sure it'll be so easy this year considering that the recently published QST article will draw some fresh blood.
I'm glad this is getting discussed now. Maybe more stations will decide to dust off the gear and try contacts now rather than "wing it" for their 100 bonus points.
I am a firm believer in the KISS principle and also "Train for how you will operate; operate how you train."
73 Clayton W5PFG
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 11:57 AM, Bill (W1PA) w1pa@hotmail.com wrote:
Let me ask this another way...
Assuming minimal setup prior to each pass, can I track a LEO with a
single
rotor well enough for QSO’s? (single rotor control in one hand, VFO/Doppler on my other) _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
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Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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