Vic, there was an article in QST a few years back on an automatic antenna tuner that used steppers. The feedback control used a basic stamp as I recall. It was adaptable, if you want to write/modify code.
You may want to think about the rotary inductor. A school of thought has it that they are slow beasts to turn. Switching inductance in and out seems to be faster and easier to control. If you're primarily a CW op, switching is probably the simplest route to go. On the other hand, if you do say CW/SSB/MARS a rotary inductor makes more sense. Thanks for the update! Julius n2wn --- Vic Rosenthal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > J F wrote: > > > Actually Vic, I think a few folks might be > interested > > in this topic on the reflector (for a while). I, > too, > > have a number of steppers and would like to use > them > > for remote tweaking of a phased array. > > > > I do know there are several controller kits > available > > and easily found. The question seems to be, what > kind > > of stepper do you have and exactly how do you wish > to > > control it? The are two options that seem to be > the > > most flexible, using a "Basic Stamp" or a PIC. > > I've received a great deal of input from folks on > the reflector. What I have is > a unipolar motor, which turns out to have been > manufactured by Panasonic. I > also have since removed various other steppers from > old disk drives. I've > ordered a driver kit from > <http://www.electronickits.com> for $23, and there > is > one offered for $13 at > <http://store.qkits.com/moreinfo.cfm/QK179>. > > I think I am not going to try to control it with a > microprocessor at first. My > L-network tuner will have a rotary inductor and > variable capacitor, and possibly > a relay to switch in a fixed capacitor. I will > first try to set it up so it can > be tuned remotely using switches, buttons, possibly > an encoder, etc. I will > also provide some kind of position feedback to help > me find preset positions > quickly. If I'm successful, then I will think about > automatically finding > presets or even tuning to minimize SWR. > > Controllers are available that interface directly to > a PC. One possible > application would be to completely control a remote > K2 -- including the RF and > AF gain controls -- from a PC. > > -- > 73, > Vic, K2VCO > Fresno CA > http://www.qsl.net/k2vco > > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
