[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Hi fellow hams, Some years ago I have made a complete rotating system based on old and due to battery fail her useless small screwdriver machines, there must be ton off loads from these small machines and with a simple mechanics it is quite easy to make uses off these small but very powerful machi

[amsat-bb] Pendulum type elevation measurement

For some time I have wanted a more accurate antenna elevation measurement system. Shaft encoders are beyond my budget. It seems sensible to use a pendulum operated system. Digging through my 'junk' box I find I have a new Spectrol precision potentiometer still sealed in it's package. This p

[amsat-bb] STRaND-1 TLE's

These provisional TLE's have been released for the launch of STRaND-1 currently planned for on Monday, February 25 at 125 UT. 437.568 MHz. STRaND-1 1 44871U 58056A 13056.56026665 . 0-0 +10729-3 0 330 2 44871 98.6073 245.8068 0005347 261.8502 98.1779 14.33079817200821 The Surr

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

I see no problems at all. I have done it with that method in the past. The only thing I noticed that was a problem was if the pendulum is exposed to the elements. As in weather not antenna elements. Gusty winds would move the pendulum and cause a not steady reading.. but not that much of a pr

[amsat-bb] Mars Flyby 2018

Saw the item in ANS about the proposed Mars flyby by the Inspirational Mars Foundation in 2018. Although lots of sites are implying there will be a human onboard the Inspirational Mars Foundation press release does not actually state that: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=40141 Y

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Gus, Check this out. http://www.tomdoyle.org/simplesattracker/SimpleSatTracker.html 73 W9KE tom... On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 8:35 PM, Gus <8p...@anjo.com> wrote: > I think AMSAT-UK even has software available. > > And with the addition of a bit of EEPROM, you could even pre-load the > controller

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Hello Samudra Two years ago, I constructed a rotating system using as main part a blood pump’s motor reducer from a discontinued dialysis machine. The circuit to give feedback to the ground station was based on operational comparators and sensors were 360 degrees potentiometers. It was my first ro

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

I made an El rotor years ago, and used the weighted pendulum method for feedback. Besides the weather pushing the weight around, the other problem was hysteresus. Small changes in reverse position didn't cause any change in indication. If you are looking for improved position accuracy (vs wha

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Thanks, Tom! On 02/24/2013 10:22 AM, Thomas Doyle wrote: Gus, Check this out. http://www.tomdoyle.org/simplesattracker/SimpleSatTracker.html 73 W9KE tom... On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 8:35 PM, Gus <8p...@anjo.com > wrote: I think AMSAT-UK even has software available.

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

On 02/24/2013 07:45 AM, Richard Ferryman wrote: For some time I have wanted a more accurate antenna elevation measurement system. Shaft encoders are beyond my budget. Do mice still have balls? Once upon a time every old mouse had two optical shaft-encoders built right in. And mice can detec

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

My experience with pendulum elevation was the same as Greg's. The hysteresis made it unworkable. No matter how much I increased the weight or pendulum length I could not get acceptable results. I shelved the project for the time being. - Howie AB2S ___

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

These days, hacking an electronic level makes more sense, I think. 73, doug On 24-Feb-13 22:33, Howie DeFelice wrote: My experience with pendulum elevation was the same as Greg's. The hysteresis made it unworkable. No matter how much I increased the weight or pendulum length I could not get

[amsat-bb] K8YSE/MM FL06

Thanks to everyone who worked me today while I was /MM in FL06. We finally had seas that were conducive to operating from a 27' fishing boat. I operated on SO-50 and worked AC0RA and VE3NKL. Later I was on FO-29 and made the first qso with W0DHB. I worked CO6CBF at the end of the pass although

[amsat-bb] Re: K8YSE/MM FL06

I hear the fish are really biting in FL04... 73, Drew KO4MA Sent from my iPhone On Feb 24, 2013, at 7:43 PM, John Papay wrote: > Thanks to everyone who worked me today while I was > /MM in FL06. We finally had seas that were conducive > to operating from a 27' fishing boat. I operated on > S

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

On 02/24/2013 06:45 PM, Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 wrote: These days, hacking an electronic level makes more sense, I think. Come to think of it, if the sensor in a new optical mouse can detect when it moves, even fractionally, over a surface, couldn't the same sensor, mounted close to

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Samudra, Most of us could probably cobble together some sort of one-of-a-kind design using surplus motors and gears from Skycraft or other sources. Making a design that is reproducible and publishable, made from parts and components that will be available in quantity a year or two or three from no

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

I would like to clarify: this antenna project is going to be handled by others ham operators who have contacted me. Where possible, I am contributing some hardware/mechanical parts that I have in stock. The work for the antenna is not for my Ph.D program. As I mentioned, it is for the K3GWU project

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Exactly my point. Lots of people can build a one-of-a-kind design using parts that they pulled out of a university dumpster, especially if they have the machine shop resources of a university department at their disposal. For undergraduate students, there might be some educational value in building

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Gentlemen, Google is your friend here. I can kit a G-5500 class rotator from available shafts, bearings, gears, motors and such for less than $300. That's not accounting for economies of scale. Add some stuff from radio shack and the appropriate length of wire and you have for less than $500 a com

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Norm, I would love to see your design. I admit that the internet has made it much easier to locate and purchase small quantities of mechanical parts from industrial suppliers who are not accustomed to selling to amateurs, but lots of stuff can now be ordered from online websites in small quantity.

[amsat-bb] Re: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems

Hi all, This actually should be reachable by Joe/Jane Average Ham. The software tools at the freely at the disposal of the general public has made incredible things possible. Neat thing is the playing field is flat. There are so many vendors almost giving away development hardware. For example, int

[amsat-bb] Curious Question About Satellite BBS

Hey All, I want to throw out a question about the Bulletin Board Systems that have flown on several amateur radio satellites in the past. A majority of these flew prior to my involvement in ham radio (licensed in 2004) and for many years I haven't had a great setup for satellite work, largely

[amsat-bb] Re: Curious Question About Satellite BBS

Operating the microsats was a completely hands-free procedure. You told your groundstation what sort of files you were interested in, and went out to lunch. While you were away, the bird came up over the hill, rotors rotated, frequencies dopplered, and by the time you got back, the pass was

[amsat-bb] Re: Pendulum type elevation measurement

Panasonic and others offer a single or 3 axis accelerometer for Wi game controllers. They provide outputs in analog, or digital. Sts and others also have these with only digital outputs. The Single axis unit is 0.2 " square by 0.1 " high runs on 5 VDC. Art, KC6UQH -Original Message- From: