Due to age and physical limitations I have not been able to keep up to date with the maintenance requirements on my satellite antennas and rotators. As a result I have given the roof top equipment to another future satellite user. My rotators were an Emotator EV-800DX AZ/El unit. The El Rotor has a problem in need of parts. The Japanese company doesn't send individual parts it seems and recommends sending the rotor back to them for repair. The guy I gave the unit to is very competent with mechanical repairs. He is wanting to find someone with a similar rotor which is only good for parts that he can scavenge. If anyone knows of a source of parts for this rotator, please let me know so I can help him repair it. The motor is OK. The problem is in the gear train.
I have missed being able to be on the satellites the past couple of years but climbing on the roof at age 88 has been put to an end. And to think I got within six contacts of getting that satellite DXCC certificate many years ago. Best wishes to all the guys I used to hangout with on AO6, AO7, AO10 and the UO22 Satgate gang.
73, Roy -- W0SL (ex W5SLL)
Sent from my iPad R/D/Gd/Ggd
Roy, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed our many contacts on the various birds over the years! I was an avid user of your HP-41C card reader program!
I just got back into sats after a multi-year absence and in that time, mice chewed thru my az/el rotor cables, so since I already had an M2 Eggbeater for 2m on the ground level cross bar (only up 7'), I added a 70cm Eggbeater.
If you still want to work the birds, all the following are very easy 70cm up 2m down birds:
CAS-4A (linear) CAS-4B (linear) XW-2A, 2B, 2C, (Linear) I don't use 2D or 2F as I have found them to be poor performers)
...and unlike the early days of sats where he had to use cavity and high/low pass filters that were not available, now it is a simple matter of using a pair of 2m/70cm duplexers, which do a GREAT job of isolating the 2m and 70mc downlink/uplink. No desense at all, no intermod at all.
If the antennas are in the clear 20w its good. If there are obstructions then an amp helps a LOT. I use an amp of about 70 w because I have the house and lots of vegetation losses, which as you are well aware just kills 70cm uplink.
If I had to climb a tower, I'd be off sats, but with these simple eggbeaters and a solid state amp, all the above birds are easy with nothing more than a short step ladder, if even that.
73, N0AN Hasan
On Mon, Jan 21, 2019 at 6:47 PM Roy rdwelch@swbell.net wrote:
Due to age and physical limitations I have not been able to keep up to date with the maintenance requirements on my satellite antennas and rotators. As a result I have given the roof top equipment to another future satellite user. My rotators were an Emotator EV-800DX AZ/El unit. The El Rotor has a problem in need of parts. The Japanese company doesn't send individual parts it seems and recommends sending the rotor back to them for repair. The guy I gave the unit to is very competent with mechanical repairs. He is wanting to find someone with a similar rotor which is only good for parts that he can scavenge. If anyone knows of a source of parts for this rotator, please let me know so I can help him repair it. The motor is OK. The problem is in the gear train.
I have missed being able to be on the satellites the past couple of years but climbing on the roof at age 88 has been put to an end. And to think I got within six contacts of getting that satellite DXCC certificate many years ago. Best wishes to all the guys I used to hangout with on AO6, AO7, AO10 and the UO22 Satgate gang.
73, Roy -- W0SL (ex W5SLL)
Sent from my iPad R/D/Gd/Ggd
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
participants (2)
-
Hasan al-Basri -
Roy