On 03/06/2021 19:39, Robert Bruninga wrote:
In my opinion, you dont need elevation for any existing AMSAT nor do you need an OSCAR array since we have no HEO birds and LEO's are so close, there is 6 to 10 dB right there. And with nmodest beams, the beamwidth is wider than the inaccuracy in the rotator. My design simply used the 1 RPM rotatino of the motor to keep track of position and after each pass, or on edmand, it woiuld drive CW (or CCW) into the stops, zero the counter and then consider that zero and count from there. Tilt the beams up modestly to 15 degrees and you have plenty of gain. When the LEO satellite is above that it is 6 to 10 dB closer and plenty strong enough. And when it is below 15 degrees it is far away on the horizon and still totally within the main beam of the modest beam.
Low tech, but I'm NOT taking down my AO-10 class antennas just so I can use a low tech rotor controller.. Very happy with my FoxDelta ST2. Now to get the radio working and actually get back on the birds...