Hello Larry,
Any terrestrial beacons on 432 MHz to listen to ?
The + vs. X configuration, no real advantages in satellite comms except rain will wash off better with the X config. X pol is X pol, no matter how you rotate the boom.
If you are planning terrestrial comms, consider the The + config since most terrestrial comms are H polarization.
Have you got your pointing accuracy correct to true north ? Any way to verify pointing accuracy, like with a terrestrial beacon ? Have a friend go out with his TX and verify pointing accuracy.
On a rare occasion coax wears out intermittently, center pins can get pulled back making poor contact. Listening to a /B, wiggle the antenna and look for intermittent signals.
Are all coaxial connectors sealed from the weather ?
The VSWR at 1.5:1 is good, but not spectacular. What did you get before ?
Does the VSWR change as you wiggle the antenna ? Should be steady, no matter where you look.
Does the az/el positioner work ? does it move ?
Stan, W1LE Cape Cod FN41sr
On 11/29/2010 8:14 PM, larry wrote:
Good evening,
Name here is Larry, N1MIW. I recently moved to a better (higher) QTH andfinally got around to setting up the satellite station "almost" like it used to be, but am experiencing some reception difficulties on UHF. I'm hoping someone out here can help me diagnose what I'm doing wrong, or what the problem is. I am using a Yaesu FT-847 which is computer controlled, as well as the Yaesu G-5400 rotator. The antennas are mounted on a solid fiberglass mast only ~17 feet off the ground, and fed with LMR-400. The frequencies are correct for the satellite I want to use.
My problem is with the 436CP30 antenna. I cannot seem to find goodresults with it since my move - terrestrial or sat related. My SWR is around 1.5:1 at 435MHz, and the polarity switch is working. I tried changing feedlines and removing the pre-amp, but I still cannot seem to make it work correctly. I am trying to receive SO-50 D/L, and VO-52 U/L, but both are just not working like I remember it being before the move. I don't have any broken or mis-aligned elements (that I noticed - I'll look again). The only thing I was looking into was instead of having it placed on the boom in a "+" pattern was making it an "x" pattern - would that make a difference? I don't remember hearing or reading about that anywhere, so I was looking for your opinion.
On a side note, what's your opinion of this antenna? Like I said, I usedto have good luck with it, but I'm not sure what's different, except the new home. Should I get "horizon" to "horizon" coverage (plus or minus a few degrees)? Oh, I also looped the coax off the back like the manual states, but the improvement is very minimal. I checked the "jumpers" at the tuning box, and they seem OK too.
I'm running out of ideas, and any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks&looking forward to working the birds again!
73's... Larry N1MIW
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