[amsat-bb] Re: Old FT-847 and doppler control
Hi Bill, As the owner of a Yaesu FT736r (another one-direction CAT rig), I've found it's easiest to let the computer run the antenna rotor, but leave the knobs to my own nimble fingers. For FM, certainly let the computer run the rig. For SSB I make a lot of use of the tracking knob - which links the up and down links inversely to scan the band to find a QSO, then adjust the upper band's frequency for Doppler from there. Finding myself just takes a little practice, and a few dits. As for the software, I use GPredict for pass prediction and "eye candy" during the pass. My rotor controller is home brewed, as is the CAT client, so that's not going to help you, but I believe the recent versions of GPredict / HamLib will drive many radios and commercial rotors. Good luck, Greg. KO6TH On May 5, 2014 11:41:23 AM PDT, "Bill (W1PA)" wrote: >I have one of the older FT-847's that does not have >bidirectional CAT. > >My understanding is that I can still use a PC to >control/adjust doppler, >but that I must tune the radio from the software only. Is >that correct? > >If so, what software would you suggest, Linux-preferred? I >don't need any other control >other than doppler correction on a linear bird pass. Does >gpredict do this? > >Bill W1PA > >(btw, for those of you who I worked /P on SO-50 Friday >mid-day, I was >handheld at NEARfest hamfest (Deerfield, NH --FN43jc) > >___ >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 from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. ___ 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
[amsat-bb] Re: Old FT-847 and doppler control
I did some testing last night. To be clear, I have a FT-847 that has single direction CAT. Rigs with serial numbers later than 8G05 have bi-directional, rigs younger are likely to have single (Yaesu did go back and offer uProc replacements for a time, so if a rig is older, it may still do bi-directional CAT). More here: http://www.supercontrol.de/cat/ft847faq/page4.htm#catcontrol I installed and tried Gpredict on Ubuntu. The software and the rig won't link up for more than a few seconds, so there must be some bi-directional handshaking, and then a timeout. I ruled out my cable, etc, by using the Grig executable that comes with Hamlib. With Grig I can push changes to the rig, but no response to anything I do on the rig. More here: http://www.neodux.com/read/HOWTO:_Configure_Hamlib_for_Linux_Hams_-_Part_2 So then I tried SatPC32 on a WinXP machine. Actually, "out of the box", it works somewhat... changing birds will correctly set up both VFOs and the modes. However, driving the VFO from the software, or letting the doppler correction take over, only effects the main VFO on my rig, not the sub-VFO. Greg suggested that I let the PC control the rotor instead, and manually adjust doppler on the rig. Probably a good suggestion, and something I had no problem doing in the AO-40 days, but I won't have a computer controlled rotator, a different FT847, or the skill to swap out a surface mount quad flatpack (the processor in the FT847 than needs to be swapped to get bidirectional) by FD; I'll take what automation I can get. I'll continue playing. Bill W1PA ___ 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
[amsat-bb] Re: Old FT-847 and doppler control
Bill, As you know, manual Doppler correction is going to be a quite a bit different than on AO-40, but still relatively simple with practice. Always adjust the higher of the two frequencies and leave the lower frequency fixed as far as possible (slight corrections may be needed at times, of course, depending on how the person you are in QSO with is tuning). Be sure to get on the sats and practice before Field Day. This goes for everyone who rarely gets on the satellites at other times! Perhaps the first or second weekend in June should be a practice session for Field Day to make sure that the kinks are worked out before the live event. 73, Paul, N8HM On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 11:40 AM, Bill (W1PA) wrote: > I did some testing last night. To be clear, I have a FT-847 that has single > direction CAT. > Rigs with serial numbers later than 8G05 have bi-directional, rigs > younger are likely > to have single (Yaesu did go back and offer uProc replacements for a time, > so if a rig is > older, it may still do bi-directional CAT). > More here: http://www.supercontrol.de/cat/ft847faq/page4.htm#catcontrol > > I installed and tried Gpredict on Ubuntu. The software and the rig won't > link up for more than a few > seconds, so there must be some bi-directional handshaking, and then a > timeout. I ruled out my > cable, etc, by using the Grig executable that comes with Hamlib. With Grig I > can push changes to the rig, > but no response to anything I do on the rig. More here: > http://www.neodux.com/read/HOWTO:_Configure_Hamlib_for_Linux_Hams_-_Part_2 > > So then I tried SatPC32 on a WinXP machine. Actually, "out of the box", it > works somewhat... > changing birds will correctly set up both VFOs and the modes. However, > driving the VFO from the > software, or letting the doppler correction take over, only effects the main > VFO on my rig, > not the sub-VFO. > > Greg suggested that I let the PC control the rotor instead, and manually > adjust doppler on the rig. > Probably a good suggestion, and something I had no problem doing in the > AO-40 days, > but I won't have a computer controlled rotator, a different FT847, or the > skill to swap out a > surface mount quad flatpack (the processor in the FT847 than needs to be > swapped to get > bidirectional) by FD; I'll take what automation I can get. > > I'll continue playing. > > Bill W1PA > > > > ___ > 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
[amsat-bb] Re: Old FT-847 and doppler control
I just wanted to let everyone know that Erich (DK1TB, re: SatPC32) contacted me off the list and offered to modify and provide me with a SatPC32.exe that would not try to poll the rig, but push only i.e. work with my old, one-way-CAT FT-847. I overlaid the new executable and was able to fully control the rig through the SatPC32 and Wisat32 program UIs. I just wanted to publicly thank Erich for his unsolicited help. Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar! If you are in the same boat, please contact Erich off-list for the executable. Bill W1PA ___ 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
