I have put together a rig for when I travel and have no room for an Arrow 2 antenna, which consists of a Kenwood TM-D710GA radio and a dual band, Comet, 5/8 wave whip antenna. This allows for a quick setup to work a bird from new grid squares, without disrupting the family. On our recent trip, this worked great for AO-91 and AO-92. However, I can't a signal from SO-50 with this rig, even with a preamp. Does anybody else use this radio on SO-50 and would you have any suggestions? I know it is not an ideal situation, but it may be the "only game in town" for some trips. Brad Smith, KC9UQR
SO-50 has a lower power output than AO-91 and AO-92, and it has a 70cm downlink, so the path loss is higher. You're gonna need a beam or really high elevation passes to work SO-50. If you could get just a 70cm beam and use the whip to transmit on 2m, you might be able to make it work. the 70cm elements might be small enough for travel too.
Personally I have traveled with my backpacker Arrow II on planes without problems. Do you have the backpacker with split boom?
73, John Brier KG4AKV
On Mon, Jul 15, 2019 at 4:41 PM Brad Smith via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I have put together a rig for when I travel and have no room for an Arrow 2 antenna, which consists of a Kenwood TM-D710GA radio and a dual band, Comet, 5/8 wave whip antenna. This allows for a quick setup to work a bird from new grid squares, without disrupting the family. On our recent trip, this worked great for AO-91 and AO-92. However, I can't a signal from SO-50 with this rig, even with a preamp. Does anybody else use this radio on SO-50 and would you have any suggestions? I know it is not an ideal situation, but it may be the "only game in town" for some trips. Brad Smith, KC9UQR _______________________________________________ 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: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Wyatt, AC0RA, has been know to operate with just a mobile on U/v satellites. On V/u satellites (FO-29 and SO-50), he uses a shorty arrow (4 UHF elements only) and a UHF preamplifier for downlink. I have tried operating with a mobile whip, and, yes, I could get into the bird, but not consistently. Having some form of directional antenna is always better. I have used both my shorty Arrow (2-elements on VHF and 4-elements on UHF) as well as my baby Arrow (1-element on VHF and 3-elements on UHF) with my Kenwood TM-D710GA. Aiming/polarization matching is more critical than with a standard Arrow, but it still works a whole lot better than with just a mobile whip. Note: I bump my power up to mid-level. 73, Robert Bankston, KE4ALAMSAT-NA VP of User Services Twitter: @KE4ALabamaWebsite: KE4AL.wordpress.com
On Monday, July 15, 2019, 03:52:16 PM CDT, John Brier via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
SO-50 has a lower power output than AO-91 and AO-92, and it has a 70cm downlink, so the path loss is higher. You're gonna need a beam or really high elevation passes to work SO-50. If you could get just a 70cm beam and use the whip to transmit on 2m, you might be able to make it work. the 70cm elements might be small enough for travel too.
Personally I have traveled with my backpacker Arrow II on planes without problems. Do you have the backpacker with split boom?
73, John Brier KG4AKV
On Mon, Jul 15, 2019 at 4:41 PM Brad Smith via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I have put together a rig for when I travel and have no room for an Arrow 2 antenna, which consists of a Kenwood TM-D710GA radio and a dual band, Comet, 5/8 wave whip antenna. This allows for a quick setup to work a bird from new grid squares, without disrupting the family. On our recent trip, this worked great for AO-91 and AO-92. However, I can't a signal from SO-50 with this rig, even with a preamp. Does anybody else use this radio on SO-50 and would you have any suggestions? I know it is not an ideal situation, but it may be the "only game in town" for some trips. Brad Smith, KC9UQR _______________________________________________ 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: https://www.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: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
I place my Arrow II into a 3" diameter PVC pipe with end caps. I think it's 2 feet long. It stores well in the car trunk and the PVC is strong to protect from bends or punctures. 73 Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License. http://spaceCommunicator.club/igates . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration
On Monday, July 15, 2019, 1:41:55 PM PDT, Brad Smith via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I have put together a rig for when I travel and have no room for an Arrow 2 antenna, which consists of a Kenwood TM-D710GA radio and a dual band, Comet, 5/8 wave whip antenna. This allows for a quick setup to work a bird from new grid squares, without disrupting the family. On our recent trip, this worked great for AO-91 and AO-92. However, I can't a signal from SO-50 with this rig, even with a preamp. Does anybody else use this radio on SO-50 and would you have any suggestions? I know it is not an ideal situation, but it may be the "only game in town" for some trips. Brad Smith, KC9UQR _______________________________________________ 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: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
participants (4)
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Brad Smith -
John Brier -
Robert Bankston -
Robert MacHale