GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad
I have used this one for many years. As long as there is some antenna separation, I wouldnt expect much if any desense.
Ron
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 2:11 PM, Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com wrote:
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ 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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Good evening Lee, I've used my TH-F7E ( Europe version without 220) now on several occasions for receiving, for me it worked perfect, but as i do rx only (so far) i can't tell you how it will react on a 20w signal. the only con i have is that the tune knob is quit small, and if you use small tuning steps like me you will have to turn a lot ;-) but this is more a comfort issue than a real problem. Good luck, '73 LennartPD5LKM/MM
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 14:27:27 -0600 From: ron.nutter@networkref.com To: lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com CC: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] TH-F6A
I have used this one for many years. As long as there is some antenna separation, I wouldnt expect much if any desense.
Ron
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 2:11 PM, Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com wrote:
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ 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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Lee,
I have one and use it almost daily. It is a great little handheld, however it is not full duplex, meaning you can not simultaneously transmit and receive. When you key up and transmit, the receiver cuts out. To simultaneously transmit and receive you will need an additional rig.
Joe
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 3:11 PM, Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com wrote:
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ 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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Lee,
If you are looking for an inexpensive solution for full-duplex satellite operations, a FUNcube Dongle Pro+ (about $200 shipped) and an inexpensive Windows 8.1 tablet (which can be had for as little as $59) will provide better performance, though you do need a bit of computer savvy to get it working properly.
The TH-F6A receiver is OK, but the filtering is nonexistent (about 12 kHz wide).
The best option may be to find a used FT-817.
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 3:11 PM, Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com wrote:
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ 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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Hi Lee,
As others have said, the F6A can definitely be used as the receive side of your satellite station. I have one, and find it's an interesting radio, with many uses. But I also find that there are a lot of compromises in its design. The "B" side of the radio, especially, has relatively poor filtering in support of its "DC-to-Daylight" capability, and it's a little bit deaf. You will definitely need an external antenna to receive FO-29; nothing massive, but a small beam of the Elk / Arrow variety should be ok.
With FO-29 being Mode-J, the 3rd harmonic from your transmitter may work in a negative way with that lack of filtering, causing some desense. I have't tried it, but that's definitely a risk. I've also noticed that the space below the receive upper sideband does bleed through a little, so a strong station right below where you are receiving will be heard (distortedly) as well. It's not horrible, but might make a difference in an otherwise very marginal situation.
If you' re interested in receiving HF on the rig, be aware that an external antenna is required there too. Even local AM radio is kind of marginal, unless they're really strong.
I also have a TH-D7, and find I use that most of the time when I need to be hand-held mobile. But it doesn't do SSB, where the F6 is uniquely capable. If you don't need the super (handy!) small form factor of the F6, you might want to go with the 817 variety of radio instead.
Good luck,
Greg KO6TH
Lee Ernstrom wrote:
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ 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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
participants (6)
-
Greg D -
Joseph Armbruster -
Lee Ernstrom -
Lennart Kieft -
Paul Stoetzer -
Ronald Nutter