Ken,
I agree with Bryan, for 364 of the days of the year. 5 watts is usually fine and sometimes too much for the linear satellites.
This is really a function of how busy the satellite is, and how much power the other operators are using. On a quiet pass, some operators report success with only 50 milliwatts.
The one day of the year that you may have trouble with is Field Day, with lots of traffic, and a few QRO stations.
I'm not encouraging you to use more power, as that can cause real problems on AO-7 (usually causing it to crash or reset to Mode A) or FO-29 (usually causing severe FM'ing of the entire passband). But be aware that your experience on Field Day may be different than the rest of the year.
I do encourage you to use a good antenna (e.g., Arrow or Elk), a relatively short length of quality coax (6-10 feet of LMR-240 Ultraflex, not RG-8), and no connector adapters.
73, Steve N9IP -- Steve Belter, seb@wintek.com
On 6/20/18, 5:57 PM, "AMSAT-BB on behalf of Bryan KL7CN" <amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org on behalf of bryan@kl7cn.net> wrote:
Five watts is definitely sufficient for the common linear satellites.
There are circumstances when it is nice to have a little more -- maybe 10 watts -- such as on a very low pass from a high location.
But, there are so many who use the 5-watt FT-817ND that you will soon hear a chorus. :)
-- bag
Bryan KL7CN/W6 Location: CM98, usually E-Mail: bryan@KL7CN.net Telephone/SMS: 408-836-7279
> On Jun 20, 2018, at 00:18, Ken M va7kbm@outlook.com wrote: > > Hello AMSATers, > > I’m wondering if 5 watts is generally sufficient RF output to work the common linear satellites using a handheld satellite antenna (Arrow or Elk)? > > For example, would an FT-817ND (or the new FT-818) suffice for the uplink radio, or would you need an amplifier with those 5 (6) watt radios, or just a more powerful radio such as the FT-857D? > > Thanks & 73, > Ken VA7KBM
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