Anderas, I don't dispute the merits of a fully automated station. Your point was made very eloquently! AO-7 is only a couple of years older than me and I love using it.
In the spirit of "Field Day" I do think simple is better. That's just my opinion... 73 Clayton W5PFG On May 28, 2013 7:37 PM, "Andy Kellner" <haw...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Clayton, > > good stuff. You are certainly right, a rotor, PC and computer based > doppler correction are all optional. > There is a certain thrill in working SO 50 with a 10 W HT and a hand held > arrow antenna, and pretty rewarding to. > > But honestly, when you work AO-7 on SSB with your fully automated ground > station - happily correcting your RX/TX frequencies in 10 Hz. intervals > controlled from one laptop, and your fully automated homebrew tracking AZ / > EL rotors clicking away controlled from another laptop, your full duplex > 'Earth Station' FT 847 producing a crystal clear signal from a 40 year old > bird limping along on ancient solar panels and all you have to do is press > the PTT button - that puts a smile on your face, too :) > > Anderas - VK4TH > > > ________________________________ > From: Clayton Coleman <kayakfis...@gmail.com> > To: Bill (W1PA) <w...@hotmail.com> > Cc: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@amsat.org> > Sent: Wednesday, 29 May 2013 9:33 AM > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: a cheap LEO tracker for single op > > > I'm not sure why a rotor or PC is needed. I have made many contacts in the > past two years with an Arrow antenna (hand driven) and an IC-910 (manual > Doppler correction.) With a little practice, it's really not difficult. > The trick is to practice, practice, practice. Y > > Over the weekend I made contacts on all the active satellites with no PC, > no rotor, and no big arrays. Sure, Field Day will be a little more > difficult. Be prepared. Pick your passes wisely. If you're on the East > Coast don't pick a pass centered over North America. Choose one out over > the Atlantic so that less stations will be in the footprint. > > Last year, I snuck onto SO-50 in the middle of the night with nothing but > an Arrow and ten watts. I'm not sure it'll be so easy this year > considering that the recently published QST article will draw some fresh > blood. > > I'm glad this is getting discussed now. Maybe more stations will decide to > dust off the gear and try contacts now rather than "wing it" for their 100 > bonus points. > > I am a firm believer in the KISS principle and also "Train for how you will > operate; operate how you train." > > 73 > Clayton > W5PFG > > > On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 11:57 AM, Bill (W1PA) <w...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > Let me ask this another way... > > > > Assuming minimal setup prior to each pass, can I track a LEO with a > single > > rotor well enough for QSO’s? (single rotor control in one hand, > > VFO/Doppler on my other) > > _______________________________________________ > > Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite > program! > > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
