Satellite (Bird) antenna setup
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You could spend a few hundred, or thousands to do this.
Less: Handheld dual band radio like Kenwood D72 for FM only birds with an Elk Log periodic or Arrow antenna. Walk outside and aim the antenna along the bird path.
More: Icom 9700 for FM/SSB birds with an azimuth and elevation rotor along with either two single band Yagi antennas, or an array of several antennas. The rotor will need a controller and you will use a computer and software to download the Kepler data and have it auto track the birds when they come by. ( The software on your computer would need to link to the controller and steer it )
There is some room between, but you need to consider how, when and where you will operate. I don't work the amateur satellites that much, so others may have improved information.
Less: Handheld dual band radio like Kenwood D72 for FM only birds with an Elk Log periodic or Arrow antenna. Walk outside and aim the antenna along the bird path.
More: Icom 9700 for FM/SSB birds with an azimuth and elevation rotor along with either two single band Yagi antennas, or an array of several antennas. The rotor will need a controller and you will use a computer and software to download the Kepler data and have it auto track the birds when they come by. ( The software on your computer would need to link to the controller and steer it )
There is some room between, but you need to consider how, when and where you will operate. I don't work the amateur satellites that much, so others may have improved information.
nick59349
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Thanks for the information. I have an FT991a which from what I’ve read will work but not as well as the 9700. I like the idea of having it automated. I’ll see how my budget does, haha.
Nick
From what I have read, the amateur satellite antennas are usually circular polarized. That being noted, my first QSO was via SO-50 using a Baofeng and the regular antenna. I simply angled the antenna/radio broadside to the satellite path. It was reasonably overhead during the pass.
I use the M2 eggbeater antennas at the house, but I sometimes go outside with an Elk log periodic antenna. The eggbeaters work well enough and better with a pre-amplifier for RX. The M2 eggbeaters are an alternative solution at home, but no where near the better options.
This article is a good read. https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/xtra/Getting Started 3.pdf
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If the satellite antenna is circularly polarized, then a linear polarized antenna will have 3dB of loss, but its orientation doesn't matter. An end-firing helical antenna with the correct right / left circular polarization would be what you want.
When I handhold the Elk, a twist back and forth resolves things quickly. A pre-amp on the eggbeater resolves that too. Even if I use a handheld radio with a regular antenna, it needs to be broadside to the satellite and a slight twist also results in improvement.
One needs to consider how, where and when they will operate in order to conclude what will work with their budget. I know a local guy K6MYC that has some pretty good antennas for satellite work.
One needs to consider how, where and when they will operate in order to conclude what will work with their budget. I know a local guy K6MYC that has some pretty good antennas for satellite work.
The Elk or Arrow work well, fairly light they’re easy to twist for polarity changes. Some birds (SO-50 in particular) are tumbling so fading is common and require more effort to match polarity. The ISS repeater (when it’s operational) is not as critical, plus it runs five watts rather than the 1/4 watt of other birds. I worked a guy on AO-27 yesterday from inside my house using an Elk Log. The 9700 takes care of the Doppler shift with AFC.
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