Matt, I put the "amateur" in amateur radio, but I find that the SDRPlay works great for satellite reception (FM or SSB).
I only have FM transmit capability, but I often monitor the SSB satellite passes and it sure makes it easy to have a visual indication of where the downlink signals are located. I have nothing but the highest admiration for the years that people have spent finding downlink signals with a conventional radio where you can't SEE the signal, but have to hunt for it by tuning around. Just amazing.
Anyway, I don't think I could go back from the ease of use that an SDR display gives you on finding downlink signals. Auto-doppler tracking is an nice bonus, too!
-Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message----- From: Matt Patterson Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2016 11:32 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] SDRPlay and Satellites
Hi All,
I've recently become interested again in working some of the satellites that are still operational. Back when I was active 4-5 years ago I was working FM only and now want to get back into it and try FO-29 and AO-7 as well. I purchased a SDRPlay with the hopes of using it as the downlink receive and already have a Yaesu FT-857 (that I'll set to low power) or a cheap Chinese HT as my uplink depending on the satellite. Are there any others out there who use the SDRPlay for this purpose? I know Patrick (WD9EWK) has used one before and I have been corresponding with him via e-mail but was just curious if there were any others out there that do as well.
73 Matt W5LL EM23DP