Hi folks -
In my ongoing effort to figure out how to use the SSB satellites, I duplicated this setup over the weekend:
http://k3rrr.com/cheap-computer-controlled-tv-rotor-for-amsat-satellites-and...
I bought a list of materials based on the photograph, and it didn’t occur to me that the PVC parts pictured put the antennas at approximately 45 degrees and not the recommended 15 degrees.
Has anyone done this setup? If so, how did you assemble it so that the antennas ended up at the recommended angle?
There were a couple of higher angle passes yesterday (one was at 50 degrees) but so far I haven’t been able to 'loop' the satellite. I'm using a Yaesu FT-991A for uplink and an Airspy SDR on the downlink.
Advice appreciated. So far I've gotten some excellent advice from AMSAT members and I really appreciate the groups level of expertise and patience with my fundamental questions.
73 de KK6ZHZ,
- Eli Caul
Director of Customer Care
Sonic
707-237-6201 Direct
707-521-0131 Faxline
- Eli Caul
Director of Customer Care Sonic 707-237-6201 Direct 707-521-0131 Faxline
Hey Eli!
I followed the same URL and had the AZ-only setup described for a long time - works great! You can work any satellite in the sky with ease.
As for the mount, I used a standard "tee" setup as you would expect were it an AZ/EL install. Location prevented a fixed EL of 15 deg. from being useful to me, so my antennas were set at 45 deg. in the summer and 30 deg. in the winter.
Should anyone wonder about PVC supporting the weight of X-Quads so far out from the center support, those pipe sections had a wood rod glued inside. So, they flexed a little but not much.
Here's a pic:
https://www.qsl.net/k/k4kdr//images/2016-05-14--xquads.jpg
Good luck!
-Scott, K4KDR
=============================
On Wed, Dec 19, 2018 at 9:45 AM Eli Caul [email protected] wrote:
Hi folks -
In my ongoing effort to figure out how to use the SSB satellites, I duplicated this setup over the weekend:
http://k3rrr.com/cheap-computer-controlled-tv-rotor-for-amsat-satellites-and...
I bought a list of materials based on the photograph, and it didn’t occur to me that the PVC parts pictured put the antennas at approximately 45 degrees and not the recommended 15 degrees.
Has anyone done this setup? If so, how did you assemble it so that the antennas ended up at the recommended angle?
There were a couple of higher angle passes yesterday (one was at 50 degrees) but so far I haven’t been able to 'loop' the satellite. I'm using a Yaesu FT-991A for uplink and an Airspy SDR on the downlink.
Advice appreciated. So far I've gotten some excellent advice from AMSAT members and I really appreciate the groups level of expertise and patience with my fundamental questions.
73 de KK6ZHZ,
- Eli Caul
Director of Customer Care Sonic 707-237-6201 Direct 707-521-0131 Faxline
On 12/19/18 10:11 AM, Scott wrote:
Here's a pic:
Excellent back yard!
--- Zach N0ZGO
To achieve 15°, or any other fixed angle you can purchase 90° sweeps and cut them to your required angle. --- Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side. GEO
Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
From: Zach Metzinger [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2018 8:41 AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Cheap rotator setup
On 12/19/18 10:11 AM, Scott wrote:
Here's a pic:
Excellent back yard!
--- Zach N0ZGO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. 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
In that picture it looks like the antenna polarization is at 45 degrees, not the elevation. But the elbows on the cross boom can be set at any angle you want. I could believe they're at something like 15 degrees, since the photo was taken from an elevated position. One could also attach the antenna booms to those 45 degree pipe sections at an angle other than parallel to the ground. Either or both of those approaches can be taken to get any elevation angle you need.
73, Ryan AI6DO
On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, 6:45:10 AM PST, Eli Caul [email protected] wrote:
Hi folks -
In my ongoing effort to figure out how to use the SSB satellites, I duplicated this setup over the weekend:
http://k3rrr.com/cheap-computer-controlled-tv-rotor-for-amsat-satellites-and...
I bought a list of materials based on the photograph, and it didn’t occur to me that the PVC parts pictured put the antennas at approximately 45 degrees and not the recommended 15 degrees.
Has anyone done this setup? If so, how did you assemble it so that the antennas ended up at the recommended angle?
There were a couple of higher angle passes yesterday (one was at 50 degrees) but so far I haven’t been able to 'loop' the satellite. I'm using a Yaesu FT-991A for uplink and an Airspy SDR on the downlink.
Advice appreciated. So far I've gotten some excellent advice from AMSAT members and I really appreciate the groups level of expertise and patience with my fundamental questions.
73 de KK6ZHZ,
participants (5)
-
Eli Caul -
GEO Badger -
Ryan Noguchi -
Scott -
Zach Metzinger