Scott, For portable operation I use a large geared RC servo and a small servo tester wired together. It runs off of a tiny 6V LiPo battery. I ordered the geared servo with a 8 inch plastic disc on top. That makes it easy to mount a PVC boom for my antennas. It's on a camera tripod so that I just tilt the tripod to the proper elevation.

Here is the servo. https://www.servocity.com/html/spg805a-bm_standard_rotation.html

Here is the controller. http://www.gravesrc.com/imx10570-imex-servo-tester.html

Michael Vivona Sent from my iPad

On Oct 5, 2015, at 5:36 PM, Scott [email protected] wrote:

Greetings all.

Wondering if anyone could recommend a basic AZ-only rotator that is compatible with Orbitron?

I was hoping to find perhaps a low-cost television antenna rotator (or similar) to give me some automation in the AZ direction without the expense of a full AZ-EL system.

Something that works on 12vDC for portable operation would be a nice bonus, but is certainly not mandatory.

Thanks!

-Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA _______________________________________________ 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

Please refer to:

http://ww2.amsat.org/xtra/Tricked-Out%20WRAPS%20Article.pdf

and the Amsat store:

http://store.amsat.org/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=105

for a "portable rotator system designed for arrow type antennas". It actually does exist and it is a great project!

Hope this helps,

Stefan, VE4NSA

On Tue, Oct 6, 2015 at 5:39 AM, Daniel Cussen [email protected] wrote:

...

Wondering if anyone could recommend a basic AZ-only rotator that is compatible with Orbitron?

I was hoping to find perhaps a low-cost television antenna rotator (or similar) to give me some automation in the AZ direction without the

expense

...

of a full AZ-EL system.

Something that works on 12vDC for portable operation would be a nice

bonus,

...

but is certainly not mandatory.

Orbitron outputs azimuth and elevation normally to a serial port or a USB to serial. Any device/controller would need to accept the commands, and then control the rotator.

Most low cost TV rotators do not have position feedback POT, meaning they are not readily compatible with controllers. They are also generally low voltage AC so not suitable for portable use.

There is no portable rotator system designed for arrow type antennas. Some people make counter weights and tripod based manual adjustments.

In terms of 12VDC light duty rotators SPID's light duty azimuth only rotator may suffice:

http://www.rfhamdesign.com/products/spx-light-antenna-rotator/spx-azimuth-ro...

However there are some drawbacks. It is not exactly light. You would need a heavy duty possibly TV camera rather than photo camera tripod. You would need to manufacture a custom mount. The LED display is impossible to see in strong sunlight. It would need to be oriented North or South using a compass each time. It can run from 12VDC to 18VDC. I am not certain it would work with Orbitron, but you could check directly with SPID in Poland, as it is designed for azimuth only. In terms of Orbitron, I would recommend moving to SATPC32 as it is better supported. Orbitrons TLE download is not working well and no longer seems to be supported. There are work arounds, ask if you need more info. Finally using a laptop and rotator portable normally needs a car to protect the laptop from rain and the cars battery to power the rotator. I power my laptop from a 13.8V to AC inverter.

Any other rotator option would probably need to be home made, as nothing is really available off the shelf. _______________________________________________ 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

OK, what is it?

Michael-KC4ZVA Sent from my iPad

On Oct 6, 2015, at 4:34 PM, Jim Barbre [email protected] wrote:

Hi Daniel,

This might be what you are looking for. It is 12V DC and is designed for portable operation. I own one and I like it very much. It is light duty - not for large antennas. I use a program called PstRotator to interface it with Orbitron.

Hope this helps. 73 Jim Barbre KB7YSY

On 10/6/2015 3:39 AM, Daniel Cussen wrote:

...

Wondering if anyone could recommend a basic AZ-only rotator that is compatible with Orbitron?

I was hoping to find perhaps a low-cost television antenna rotator (or similar) to give me some automation in the AZ direction without the expense of a full AZ-EL system. Something that works on 12vDC for portable operation would be a nice bonus, but is certainly not mandatory.

_______________________________________________ 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