Hi Michael, if your scanner is pretty deaf you could use a CJU antenna. It's a small handheld antenna that hears the birds quite well (like a 7 elements UHF yagi) and, best of all, it's a simple homebrewed work. You will need nothing but a piece of plastic boom, a pair of rods and a short coaxial run with a BNC plug. You can see the CJU in action in this video http://rcfo.batcave.net/fo29movil.html and here http://eb4dka.batcave.net/ea4cyq1.html In the first one I'm working the FO-29 using a Kenwood TH-F7E HT as UHF SSB receiver and in the second one Juan Antonio EA4CYQ is using a Kenwood TH-D7 as receiver on the FM birds. The schematics and building instructions for this antenna can be found here http://miguel.servihosting.com/eb4dka/ea4cyq/cju.pdf It is in Spanish languaje, but if you want I could email you (or anybody interested) the English version (I´m working to translate my website to English).
Best 73 to all,
Pedro EB4DKA www.eb4dka.tk http://eb4dka.laserenadigital.com
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Tondee" mat_62@netcommander.com Cc: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 9:41 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Using a scanner to hear the FM sats?
Thanks to everyone who replied to my question. I'm going to give it a shot, I have nothing to lose. I've got a 2 meter mobile for the uplink so hearing the downlink well enough is the issue. Luckily I live out in the "boonies" and it's quiet out here as far as RF. I don't anticipate any intermod issues. My main concerns will be the scanner sensitivity and tuning for doppler it appears. 73, Michael Tony Langdon wrote:
At 10:38 AM 5/31/2007, Michael Tondee wrote:
Due to some money issues, I had to sell all my sat gear including my beloved TS-2000X. I've been going through some of my old gear and rustled up a Radio shack VHF/UHF scanner that covers ham frequencies. Do you think it would be possible to hear the FM sats with it? I have a
Depends on the scanner. You have some possible issues to contend with. Firstly, scanners are likely to be a little deaf, compared to the Kenwood, but with a decent antenna (and possibly preamp) it should have the sensitivity. Secondly, if you're in an RF heavy area, intermods and image responses might cause interference. Suck it and see. :)
homebrew 11 element linearly polarized yagi and I can still track the sats via computer rotator control.
That solves the antenna problem. I'd say your chances are good.
I can make it where I have a short run of cable to the antennas since I don't have preamps anymore. I'm also wondering about using some 75ohm RG6 quad shield satellite TV cable for receiving. Would this be better or worse than 9913 with the scanner? Kind of grabbing at straws here but I'm wondering if anyone thinks it would work before I invest too much time into it.
The 75 ohm cable will probably work fine for receiving. If you already have the cable, suck it and see. The most difficult part will be fitting connectors to it.
Worth a shot I'd say.
73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com
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