I think I'm using the same pre-amps that you are, but a different radio (Yaesu FT-736). The pre-amps are used almost exclusively on satellite. I completely manually control the pre-amps from a box I built with controls for the two pre-amps and polarity switching relays. I have separate power lines to the pre-amps.
I'm with Andrew in that you should mount them at the antenna. Mine are also pretty short coax runs. There is a photo on my website that shows the NEMA box with the two pre-amps mounted just below the rotors. It's a little hard to tell that it's two pre-amps, but there really are two stacked one in front of the other. The page is: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/k6ccc/Photo/Pics/SatAnt2.html
Jim Walls K6CCC
-------- Original Message --------
From: "hdskullfire2 ." hdskullfire2@gmail.com Sent: Tuesday, April 4, 2017 7:23 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Using AR Preamps with Icom IC-9100 in Satellite mode
I have two Advance Research Pre-amps on order. Both a MSP144VDG-160 & MSP432VDG-160 which are going to be installed local in the shack. The reason being is that I have 2 switchable array's. One is my M2 2M/70cm satellite array and the other is my 2M/70cm LFA array. I generally only
use
one array or the other.
My coax runs are short and I want to keep the pre-amp inside out of the weather.
Here is my question. I can either feed 12V to each preamp and have a
on-off
switch to manually select the one I want, or I can feed power to them
via
coax that the 9100 supplies by turning on the 144 and 432 pre-amp On-Off selections in the 9100 menu. I would rather go with the 9100 supplying
the
pre-amp relay power instead manually supplying separate power.
Here is what I need to know, in single band operation I know that each pre-amp relay would activate when on a particular band either 144 or
432.
But what happens in satellite mode? Are they both active at the same
time?
I'm concerned about relay activations. I keep hearing about sequencers,
is
this required?
Let me know.
Steve NS3L Nazareth, Pa. _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
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