Satellite Transceiver

[chrissim]

Hello:

Forgive me if I am posting this in an inappropriate location.

I've been reading through "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites," published by AMSAT. Lots of good information. However, I'd like to begin considering budgeting for an appropriate transceiver. I'd like to avoid an all in one, such as the Yaesu 847 or the Icom 9100. I have the HF realm covered.

My two questions are:

Which radio is recommended for sat work and...
It appears there are something in the neighborhood of five bands to consider: My guess is that 2M and 70cm are the most used. Am I correct?

Hope my questions aren't too pedestrian and do not elicit mockery and finger pointing : )

 

[AK9R]

Unfortunately, the amateur radio manufacturers don't build dedicated satellite rigs any more. Just not enough of a market.

I have an Icom IC-910H which I think was the last satellite-capable radio that Icom produced. It works all modes (CW, SSB, FM) on 2m and 70cm with an option for 23 cm. It has some satellite functions for tracking uplink and downlink frequencies. This radio is no longer in production, but you can find them on the used market along with other older satellite radios.

 

[eorange]

It doesn't take much of a radio to hit an FM sat. I've only used handhelds (FT-60, VX-8R, and almost a VX-1R), all 5W. Your antenna choice will help you more. A beam is the most popular.

A key feature you want is cross-band transmit (Tx on VHF, Rx on UHF), because that's how some sats are configured. A radio like an Icom W-32A is useful when starting out, because it allows you to hear your own downlink as you transmit. This tells you if you are actually hitting the sat.

Built-in APRS is fun if you want to digipeat off the ISS.

Other than that, I'd say pick a quality rig and go for it.

 

[K5MPH]

Just make sure you get a radio that is true cross band,I use a Ft-530 Ht it works very well get you a very good antenna,fox-1 is going up in aug this year and it wll be a true fm repeater it should be fun working this one,good luck........................

 

[N8OHU]

Like W9BU said, the days of the VHF/UHF specific all-mode radios are over, and if you want something like that, you'll need to hunt online for it. Personally, I would grab a used model that did have HF, since some of the SSB ones have VHF/UHF uplinks and HF downlinks.

 

[chrissim]

Thanks for the replies. I'l keep an eye out for something that has the features suggested.

Thanks again.