Hi Joel,
Welcome back..
I don't know much, but I do know that the 847 and SATPC32 seems to work well as a combo based on the comments here.
On the antenna issue, I suspect the 'turnstiles' may not do what you want. In a separate post, I have asked Bob Bruninga to comment on the fixed el issue when using an Elk dual band beam.( I have some pictures of my Elk on a Rat Shack rotor setup using parts from Home Depot that I can send). This is a way to turn the Elk manually and at a low cost. (stay tuned for Bob's reply)
GL and 73,
Ted K7TRK
Ted
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Joel Black Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 3:50 PM To: Amsat BB Subject: [amsat-bb] Returning Satellite User
For whatever reason, I have gotten interested in amateur satellites again after being away for almost 10 years.
I've gone through the last two months in the archives and I have a couple of things:
1. I saw some questions about the the K3. I have the K3 and the KX3 and do not know of a satellite app that will "talk" to them. Both use "a Kenwood" command set, but I do not know which. Thus far, I have not been able to get either SatPC32 or MacDoppler to talk to my K3.
2. I have access to an FT-847 I sold my father several years ago. This is the radio I used on the satellites when I was active. I had initially thought about buying the 2m transverter for the K3, but after talking to many users of that transverter and explaining what I wanted to and that I had access to the FT-847, it was advised that I go with the FT-847.
3. I have a 2m / 70cm QHTenna turnstile pair. I *also* have an Arrow 144/432 antenna. I think either pair will work well from my plywood-decked, shingle roof. I would like to use the Arrow, but (a) I don't have a good way to point it, and (b) I cannot find the gain. If memory serves, it has a fairly good gain around 4dB for 2m and 6 dB for 70cm. I don't know that there's any gain to the turnstiles, but at least I won't need a rotor for those. Any other advice here?
4. I also have the AG-25 2m preamp. I know the FT-847 will power this preamp. It is not quite as good as the DEM preamps, but it's what I have. Any suggestions here?
I am really not interested in the FM satellites. I am very interested in the linear transponders - especially CW. Any CW ops out there? I'm still slow (13 - 15WPM), but I'm working on my speed. From what I've read, the linear transponders are on AO-7, FO-29 (I cut my teeth on FO-20), VO-52, and AO-73. It looks like AO-7 is both mode A and mode B, FO-29 is mode J, and both VO-52 and AO-73 are mode B. It sounds like there is really a lot to play with up there.
73, Joel - W4JBB
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