Worked through AO-7 this morning...
Hey all...I noticed on my tracking app this morning that AO-7 was making a 40° pass, so I figured I'd give it a try...I set up my radio with the frequencies...And, lo-and-behold, I was hearing my downlinked signals...Right where it was supposed to be...I first sent some CW...Then went to voice...I did hear a station call, but it was near los..So I don't copy them...Last time I sent any signals through ao-7 was over 40 years ago...I made over 600 contacts through AO-7 & AO-8...I had an old KLM MULTI-2000, put out about 10 watts...I used home-made 10m, 2m, & 70 cm turnstiles...I had a 70cm down converter, with preamps for all three...I currently have a TS-2000x...My antenna is a 2m eggbeater....I'm using an mfj duplexer, for both uplink & downlink...It works well on both the analog and fm birds...I plan on getting a 70cm eggbeater soon...But it seems to be working fine with the single antenna...
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I'm curious about how successful people have been with EggBeaters. I have the pair hooked to my new IC-9700. So far the few signals I hear are very weak. Both fed through separate 25' lines of LMR400. Has anyone had to tune them? Mine have resonant frequencies that are far off (E-B144 = 155Mhz. EB-430 = 432Mhz). I bought these back in the 90's and was able to work many of the then current birds using an Icom IC-820H.
Thanks for any insights.
Doug -- KJ0F -- DN60ms
On 5/25/2019 5:08 PM, William Herzberg via AMSAT-BB wrote:
Hey all...I noticed on my tracking app this morning that AO-7 was making a 40° pass, so I figured I'd give it a try...I set up my radio with the frequencies...And, lo-and-behold, I was hearing my downlinked signals...Right where it was supposed to be...I first sent some CW...Then went to voice...I did hear a station call, but it was near los..So I don't copy them...Last time I sent any signals through ao-7 was over 40 years ago...I made over 600 contacts through AO-7 & AO-8...I had an old KLM MULTI-2000, put out about 10 watts...I used home-made 10m, 2m, & 70 cm turnstiles...I had a 70cm down converter, with preamps for all three...I currently have a TS-2000x...My antenna is a 2m eggbeater....I'm using an mfj duplexer, for both uplink & downlink...It works well on both the analog and fm birds...I plan on getting a 70cm eggbeater soon...But it seems to be working fine with the single antenna...
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android _______________________________________________ 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 had a pair of Eggbeaters almost 20 years ago. Took me almost another 20 years to get over that "wonderful" experience.
John
AE5B
On 5/26/2019 3:38 PM, Doug Person via AMSAT-BB wrote:
I'm curious about how successful people have been with EggBeaters. I have the pair hooked to my new IC-9700. So far the few signals I hear are very weak. Both fed through separate 25' lines of LMR400. Has anyone had to tune them? Mine have resonant frequencies that are far off (E-B144 = 155Mhz. EB-430 = 432Mhz). I bought these back in the 90's and was able to work many of the then current birds using an Icom IC-820H.
Thanks for any insights.
Doug -- KJ0F -- DN60ms
On 5/25/2019 5:08 PM, William Herzberg via AMSAT-BB wrote:
Hey all...I noticed on my tracking app this morning that AO-7 was making a 40° pass, so I figured I'd give it a try...I set up my radio with the frequencies...And, lo-and-behold, I was hearing my downlinked signals...Right where it was supposed to be...I first sent some CW...Then went to voice...I did hear a station call, but it was near los..So I don't copy them...Last time I sent any signals through ao-7 was over 40 years ago...I made over 600 contacts through AO-7 & AO-8...I had an old KLM MULTI-2000, put out about 10 watts...I used home-made 10m, 2m, & 70 cm turnstiles...I had a 70cm down converter, with preamps for all three...I currently have a TS-2000x...My antenna is a 2m eggbeater....I'm using an mfj duplexer, for both uplink & downlink...It works well on both the analog and fm birds...I plan on getting a 70cm eggbeater soon...But it seems to be working fine with the single antenna...
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android _______________________________________________ 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 never went down that route, even when I had a fixed base station. I chose to listen to those who had tried them then got rid of them. I’ve been on the BB off and on for about 20 years and the same topics always seem to rehash themselves with eggbeaters being one of the most popular.
All I can say is that friends don’t let friends use eggbeaters for any serious satellite work. I’ll put my handheld Arrow controlled by my licensed 12 year-old daughter up against any set of eggbeaters any day of the week. Best of luck to all and 73!
Jeff WE4B
On May 27, 2019, at 1:38 AM, AE5B via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I had a pair of Eggbeaters almost 20 years ago. Took me almost another 20 years to get over that "wonderful" experience.
John
AE5B
On 5/26/2019 3:38 PM, Doug Person via AMSAT-BB wrote: I'm curious about how successful people have been with EggBeaters. I have the pair hooked to my new IC-9700. So far the few signals I hear are very weak. Both fed through separate 25' lines of LMR400. Has anyone had to tune them? Mine have resonant frequencies that are far off (E-B144 = 155Mhz. EB-430 = 432Mhz). I bought these back in the 90's and was able to work many of the then current birds using an Icom IC-820H.
Thanks for any insights.
Doug -- KJ0F -- DN60ms
On 5/25/2019 5:08 PM, William Herzberg via AMSAT-BB wrote: Hey all...I noticed on my tracking app this morning that AO-7 was making a 40° pass, so I figured I'd give it a try...I set up my radio with the frequencies...And, lo-and-behold, I was hearing my downlinked signals...Right where it was supposed to be...I first sent some CW...Then went to voice...I did hear a station call, but it was near los..So I don't copy them...Last time I sent any signals through ao-7 was over 40 years ago...I made over 600 contacts through AO-7 & AO-8...I had an old KLM MULTI-2000, put out about 10 watts...I used home-made 10m, 2m, & 70 cm turnstiles...I had a 70cm down converter, with preamps for all three...I currently have a TS-2000x...My antenna is a 2m eggbeater....I'm using an mfj duplexer, for both uplink & downlink...It works well on both the analog and fm birds...I plan on getting a 70cm eggbeater soon...But it seems to be working fine with the single antenna...
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android _______________________________________________ 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
-- West Texas Affiliated Club Coordinator West Gulf Assistant Director West Texas Section Manager, retired ARRL WAS/VUCC Card Checker ARRL Life Member
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What Jeff said.
I did go down this path and still have a pair in the attic with my homebrew beams that are about equivalent to a LEO Pack.
If you look on the M2 site at the gain plots for a 4 element CP yagi and compare it to the Eggbeater plot you’ll see why this provokes so many enthusiastic responses. At 30 degrees you have about 15 dB less gain with the Eggbeater than the yagi. And it deteriorates quickly from there as you go lower.
The original poster noted a 40 degree pass, and they work ok there. You’re only about 4 dB down from the yagi. But above 30 degrees is a much too small patch of sky to live with for a lot of people. You’ll find people using them successfully lower than that, but with good preamps and higher power, which won’t help you make a lot of friends if you don’t crank the power down as the sats get closer.
73 Scott ka9p
Make something good happen!
On May 27, 2019, at 2:11 AM, Jeff Johns via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I never went down that route, even when I had a fixed base station. I chose to listen to those who had tried them then got rid of them. I’ve been on the BB off and on for about 20 years and the same topics always seem to rehash themselves with eggbeaters being one of the most popular.
All I can say is that friends don’t let friends use eggbeaters for any serious satellite work. I’ll put my handheld Arrow controlled by my licensed 12 year-old daughter up against any set of eggbeaters any day of the week. Best of luck to all and 73!
Jeff WE4B
On May 27, 2019, at 1:38 AM, AE5B via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I had a pair of Eggbeaters almost 20 years ago. Took me almost another 20 years to get over that "wonderful" experience.
John
AE5B
On 5/26/2019 3:38 PM, Doug Person via AMSAT-BB wrote: I'm curious about how successful people have been with EggBeaters. I have the pair hooked to my new IC-9700. So far the few signals I hear are very weak. Both fed through separate 25' lines of LMR400. Has anyone had to tune them? Mine have resonant frequencies that are far off (E-B144 = 155Mhz. EB-430 = 432Mhz). I bought these back in the 90's and was able to work many of the then current birds using an Icom IC-820H.
Thanks for any insights.
Doug -- KJ0F -- DN60ms
On 5/25/2019 5:08 PM, William Herzberg via AMSAT-BB wrote: Hey all...I noticed on my tracking app this morning that AO-7 was making a 40° pass, so I figured I'd give it a try...I set up my radio with the frequencies...And, lo-and-behold, I was hearing my downlinked signals...Right where it was supposed to be...I first sent some CW...Then went to voice...I did hear a station call, but it was near los..So I don't copy them...Last time I sent any signals through ao-7 was over 40 years ago...I made over 600 contacts through AO-7 & AO-8...I had an old KLM MULTI-2000, put out about 10 watts...I used home-made 10m, 2m, & 70 cm turnstiles...I had a 70cm down converter, with preamps for all three...I currently have a TS-2000x...My antenna is a 2m eggbeater....I'm using an mfj duplexer, for both uplink & downlink...It works well on both the analog and fm birds...I plan on getting a 70cm eggbeater soon...But it seems to be working fine with the single antenna...
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android _______________________________________________ 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
-- West Texas Affiliated Club Coordinator West Gulf Assistant Director West Texas Section Manager, retired ARRL WAS/VUCC Card Checker ARRL Life Member
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
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Per original post, AO 7 is amazing. It was my first satellite contact way back in 1974 (I had listened to AO-6). It suffers from a lack of use, but is a great bird for CW. But it does flip modes if people hit it with too much RF.
As for Doug's egg-beater question, I've been using mine at home since 1998. Sadly my feedlines are longer (50' on 2m and 75' on 70cm) and much higher loss Belden 9914. At least I have mast mounted preamps; both SSB Electronics that are powered via the coax.
Egg-beaters are not great antennas close to the horizon, as they change from RHP to horizontal, plus they are omni, so no gain and the increased path loss to a low-elevation bird makes that an issue. That said I can ALWAYS work several stations on any pass that is above 20 degrees, in what is a 5-7 minute window (so I don't get the full 10-11 minutes). In the first 5 months of this year I've made over 300 contacts with them.
I will replace both egg beaters with new ones, along with new preamps (NF is much improved in 20 years) and heliax feedline at some point in the future. Trying to maintain rotors and fragile CP beams isn't something that I would attempt in icy New England. I do use a pair of simple beams when I am operating in the field and even though they are not CP, I really like doing that (and can usually work horizon to horizon with S9 signals).
73, Bob, WB4SON
On Mon, May 27, 2019 at 3:50 AM SCOTT MCDONALD via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb@amsat.org> wrote:
What Jeff said.
I did go down this path and still have a pair in the attic with my homebrew beams that are about equivalent to a LEO Pack.
If you look on the M2 site at the gain plots for a 4 element CP yagi and compare it to the Eggbeater plot you’ll see why this provokes so many enthusiastic responses. At 30 degrees you have about 15 dB less gain with the Eggbeater than the yagi. And it deteriorates quickly from there as you go lower.
The original poster noted a 40 degree pass, and they work ok there. You’re only about 4 dB down from the yagi. But above 30 degrees is a much too small patch of sky to live with for a lot of people. You’ll find people using them successfully lower than that, but with good preamps and higher power, which won’t help you make a lot of friends if you don’t crank the power down as the sats get closer.
73 Scott ka9p
Make something good happen!
On May 27, 2019, at 2:11 AM, Jeff Johns via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org
wrote:
I never went down that route, even when I had a fixed base station. I
chose to listen to those who had tried them then got rid of them. I’ve been on the BB off and on for about 20 years and the same topics always seem to rehash themselves with eggbeaters being one of the most popular.
All I can say is that friends don’t let friends use eggbeaters for any
serious satellite work. I’ll put my handheld Arrow controlled by my licensed 12 year-old daughter up against any set of eggbeaters any day of the week. Best of luck to all and 73!
Jeff WE4B
On May 27, 2019, at 1:38 AM, AE5B via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org
wrote:
I had a pair of Eggbeaters almost 20 years ago. Took me almost another
20 years to get over that "wonderful" experience.
John
AE5B
On 5/26/2019 3:38 PM, Doug Person via AMSAT-BB wrote: I'm curious about how successful people have been with EggBeaters. I
have the pair hooked to my new IC-9700. So far the few signals I hear are very weak. Both fed through separate 25' lines of LMR400. Has anyone had to tune them? Mine have resonant frequencies that are far off (E-B144 = 155Mhz. EB-430 = 432Mhz). I bought these back in the 90's and was able to work many of the then current birds using an Icom IC-820H.
Thanks for any insights.
Doug -- KJ0F -- DN60ms
On 5/25/2019 5:08 PM, William Herzberg via AMSAT-BB wrote: Hey all...I noticed on my tracking app this morning that AO-7 was
making a 40° pass, so I figured I'd give it a try...I set up my radio with the frequencies...And, lo-and-behold, I was hearing my downlinked signals...Right where it was supposed to be...I first sent some CW...Then went to voice...I did hear a station call, but it was near los..So I don't copy them...Last time I sent any signals through ao-7 was over 40 years ago...I made over 600 contacts through AO-7 & AO-8...I had an old KLM MULTI-2000, put out about 10 watts...I used home-made 10m, 2m, & 70 cm turnstiles...I had a 70cm down converter, with preamps for all three...I currently have a TS-2000x...My antenna is a 2m eggbeater....I'm using an mfj duplexer, for both uplink & downlink...It works well on both the analog and fm birds...I plan on getting a 70cm eggbeater soon...But it seems to be working fine with the single antenna...
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android _______________________________________________ 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
-- West Texas Affiliated Club Coordinator West Gulf Assistant Director West Texas Section Manager, retired ARRL WAS/VUCC Card Checker ARRL Life Member
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
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 (6)
-
AE5B -
Bob -
Doug Person -
Jeff Johns -
SCOTT MCDONALD -
William Herzberg