New to Satcom Monitoring

[CSL126]

Hey guys, I've been listening to vhf/uhf and hf for a few years, but I was thinking about getting into satcomms. Can someone please point me in the right direction. I realize that most stuff on satcomm is encrypted. What type of antenna works best? Also, what is the best reciever out there for monitoring uhf satcomm, I have a PRO-2052 and a PRO-96. I have a 40ft mast outside my house that I could mount an antenna on, I suppose at UHF i'm going to need some high-quality coaxial cable as well. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[qc]

Hi, hers some sites that has some information on Satcom http://www.uhf-satcom.com/ and this one sells antennas http://www.time-step.com/products_inmarsat.htm
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[jlh]

csl126, there have been several posts re satcom recently. search in the military monitoring forum here for related posts. a lot of good info.

 

[uhf-satcom.com]

CSL126: Hi, UHF is easiest to get started with. See if you can find a 220MHz antenna from the ham-band. This will be a good start. You can of course build a helical antenna if you want to have the proper polarisation etc. For some ideas, have a look at the gallery at http://www.uhf-satcom.com/rx/

Coax can be double-screened sat-tv coax, it will be fine providing the run isnt 100's of feet. A low noise amplifier certainly helps, you can often find wideband TV mast-head amplifiers cheaply, and these will do the job.

We have an IRC channel for satellite enthusiasts, details at http://www.uhf-satcom.com/irc/

cheers,

Paul
(contributor to uhf-satcom.com)