Hi John, Are you using this rotor system for an array of antennas or a big dish? If a dish, how large? I noticed their rotors at Visalia last year. But didn't ask the reps their thoughts about turning a 12 to 16 foot dish. I know there are two versions, I think one is heavy duty. Not sure which one you are using. Thank You for any additional info. 73,

de KB8VAO, Steve

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From: John Heath g7hia@btinternet.com Sent: Feb 6, 2010 12:47 PM To: Ryan Caron rcaron@gmail.com Cc: Amsat amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AlfaSpid RAS & Predict

Hi Ryan,

At first I ran my Alfa Spid off the shack 13.8V D.C. supply. I also got flicker plus some anomalous readings. I put this down to voltage drops on my power supply. You might be having a similar experience as under load from the Spid motors your car battery may not be giving 12 volts.

Here is my solution. The Spid will run on AC as well as DC so I got a largeish mains to 24V toroidal transformer. Put it in a box with the usual connectors, fuse, switch etc. With my Spid on a dedicated supply it works perfectly. Didn't cost much and is fully independant of the radio supply.

I think the Spid Alpha system is an excellent piece of kit, mechanically probably overkill for most satellite antenna installation but I expect mine to last many times longer that the alternatives. If you didn't get the "mouse" option its great. A computer mouse internally modified so that you can easily do up/down, left/right right from a mouse right next to you at the operating position

73 John G7HIA

PS - no commercial connection with Spid Alpa, just a satisfied customer.

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From: Ryan Caron rcaron@gmail.com To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Tuesday, 2 February, 2010 19:16:16 Subject: [amsat-bb] AlfaSpid RAS & Predict

Has anyone modified Predict export GS-232 as opposed to EasyComm 2?

I recently purchased an AlfaSpid RAS-1 rotator from Hy-Gain. The controller accepts either GS-232 or AlfaSpid's own protocol.

Additionally, has anyone noticed the digits on the controller display flickering? Its just a nuisance, but surprising since I'm feeding it from a lead acid battery so there can't be any ripple or rectification.

73, Ryan, KB1LKI _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb