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2M/70CM Satellite (Page 1 of 2)

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5/4/2026 11:07:38 PM EDT
So I received my Arrow 2M 70CM antenna a week or so ago, joined AMSAT for a year. They do a chart monthly that you can print and laminate with a bunch of amateur sat frequencies. Also got the ISS Detector app on my phone. AO-123 made an almost direct overhead pass earlier and I grabbed a Baofeng and the Arrow and using the app tracked and was able to hear people working the crossband repeater. Looking forward to getting my gear configured and making my first sat contact.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/5/2026 9:36:43 AM EDT
[#1]
Very cool!  It's alot of fun.

Big thrill is, on a clear night, to watch the ISS pass over, while you're talking on their repeater.

I used an app called "look4sat" to track the birds.
5/5/2026 9:55:23 AM EDT
[#2]
Thanks I'll check out that app also, looking forward to an ISS pass that last for a while.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/5/2026 11:35:10 AM EDT
[#3]
I listen in on the ISS repeater from time to time with my Baofeng and Nagoya antenna. Don't expect more than about 4-5 minutes of duration. It moves at about 17.5k mph.
"Never assume malice when stupidity will suffice" - Hanlon's Razor
5/5/2026 11:49:27 AM EDT
[#4]
Yes I watched the ISS pass over here and it moves quickly. At some point I'll head up the BRP for some very unobstructed passes. The AO-123 pass last night was nearly ten minutes and was almost directly overhead but the time shown I assume is horizon to horizon which here in the mountains is much shorter but I could hear at least 6 minutes or so.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/8/2026 2:36:08 PM EDT
[#5]
Attached File

ISS made a pass almost directly overhead, heard probably 6 or 7 contacts made, looking forward to making my first.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/11/2026 11:08:37 AM EDT
[#6]
Was out burning trash the other night, saw the ISS passing over, ran and grabbed the handheld, listened to the repeater traffic.

Wasn't quick enough to go grab the directional though.
5/11/2026 12:35:17 PM EDT
[#7]
Yep had a pass last night, have also been listening to AO-123, but without a full duplex radio I can't tell if I'm making it into the repeater. I will say I'm pleased with the Arrow antenna, I have the 2M only before and it worked really well for terrestrial repeaters.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/16/2026 1:32:35 AM EDT
[Last Edit: JoeDevola][Edited] [#8]
I can tell I'm making it in by someone responding to me.  I should try with two radios, haven't done that yet.

It's been a while, so I grabbed the antenna I made (3 element directional for 2m), the UV82hp, and made a contact with a guy in ND (from WA) on a nice overhead pass of the ISS.

Always amazing to do this with a cheap HT.
5/16/2026 6:38:37 AM EDT
[#9]
It is another part if the hobby I find really interesting.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/21/2026 5:32:38 AM EDT
[Last Edit: JoeDevola][Edited] [#10]
Been getting into the ISS repeater alot lately, fun stuff.  Hearing people from all over.

Tonight a milestone was reached, made contacts on the ISS repeater with this antenna, instead of my yagi:

https://www.amazon.com/TWAYRDIO-Handheld-Extendable-Telescopic-Antenna/dp/B0753G6P29

Worked well with the UV82hp.  Pretty cool for a more easily packable option.

I got the antenna recently, and it has gotten me into repeaters I'd normally have to use the rollup slim jim for, so I figured I'd try it with sats. So far so good!
5/21/2026 10:53:18 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote History
Originally Posted By oldcatawba:
.....without a full duplex radio I can't tell if I'm making it into the repeater. ...
View Quote


Not to bust anybody's chops, but... It's poor operating practice to not be able to hear your downlink.

When I was a Earth Station Engineer in the Intelsat systemn it was a requirement that we not only monitored the downlink, but we had to calculate our uplink power to be within 1 decibel of the correct link budget when we transmitted.

Predicting the link budget on a ISS pass is not possible due to the transmitter on board the station not sending a fixed signal in any direction. But you should endeavor to at least hear your DL.

Good luck, My first AMSAT qso was on RS-6 :)

Rege
5/21/2026 11:13:09 AM EDT
[#12]
I disagree that it's "poor operating practice".  Never seen anyone anywhere make that claim before in these discussions.

Hearing your own signal on an ameteur satellite w/ 5 watts is a matter of convenience, certainly not any kind of requirement.

We do what we do with what we have.
5/21/2026 12:27:19 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Gamma762][Edited] [#13]
Keep in mind when listening to the 70cm downlink that doppler shift at 70cm can be enough to take the signal completely out of the passband at the beginning and end of passes - can be as much as +/- 15kHz. Doppler at 2m is 1/3 as much.

One nice feature of at least some of the Baofeng models is that you can put in crossband memory channels, not all dual band radios will let you do that. I put in a few in sequence with doppler correction... high 70cm/low 2m, to neutral, to low 70cm/high 2m.

If you're not standing outside somewhere with an HT, there is software that does automatic doppler correction on both uplink and downlink for you.

For folks standing outside with an HT if you're having trouble if the pass isn't overhead and you're not doing doppler correction... you need to do doppler correction.
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
5/21/2026 12:47:39 PM EDT
[#14]
If you use the GD77 firmware on certain radios like the MD9600 mobile it will automatically schedule contracts and adjust for doppler with a small map of the sat position on the display.
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
5/21/2026 2:40:37 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote History
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
I disagree that it's "poor operating practice".  Never seen anyone anywhere make that claim before in these discussions.

Hearing your own signal on an ameteur satellite w/ 5 watts is a matter of convenience, certainly not any kind of requirement.

We do what we do with what we have.
View Quote


I first Joined AMSAT in 1981, it's always been poor practice.

If you cannot hear yourself in the downlink you cannot know if you are jamming other users that can hear themselves.

Rege
5/21/2026 2:43:43 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote History
Originally Posted By Gamma762:
Keep in mind when listening to the 70cm downlink that doppler shift at 70cm can be enough to take the signal completely out of the passband at the beginning and end of passes - can be as much as +/- 15kHz. Doppler at 2m is 1/3 as much.

One nice feature of at least some of the Baofeng models is that you can put in crossband memory channels, not all dual band radios will let you do that. I put in a few in sequence with doppler correction... high 70cm/low 2m, to neutral, to low 70cm/high 2m.

If you're not standing outside somewhere with an HT, there is software that does automatic doppler correction on both uplink and downlink for you.

For folks standing outside with an HT if you're having trouble if the pass isn't overhead and you're not doing doppler correction... you need to do doppler correction.
View Quote


A neat trick for sdr users is to widen the receiver bandwidth to cover any expected doppler.

This will of course lower the s+n/n ratio, so it works best on stations with strong rx setups.

Rege

P.S. This is a technique the Russians used in the early days, the wide bandwidth, not sdr :)

5/21/2026 8:00:20 PM EDT
[Last Edit: JoeDevola][Edited] [#17]
Quote History
Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy:


I first Joined AMSAT in 1981, it's always been poor practice.

If you cannot hear yourself in the downlink you cannot know if you are jamming other users that can hear themselves.

Rege
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History
Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy:
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
I disagree that it's "poor operating practice".  Never seen anyone anywhere make that claim before in these discussions.

Hearing your own signal on an ameteur satellite w/ 5 watts is a matter of convenience, certainly not any kind of requirement.

We do what we do with what we have.


I first Joined AMSAT in 1981, it's always been poor practice.

If you cannot hear yourself in the downlink you cannot know if you are jamming other users that can hear themselves.

Rege


As you listen on the downlink in one VFO, you wait for a pause (like on any other repeater) and transmit (on the other VFO), then listen for response on the downlink VFO.  

Pretty simple, and if we're all polite, nobody's getting jammed.  

Gamma762, that is a neat trick with the whole crossband channel thing.  I may try that.

I just operate the radio in VFO mode, and adjust each frequency according to the tracking app, as it goes.

ETA: UV-82 is here on the table beside me, just tried that trick, yes, you can have a 70cm channel transmit on 2m.  Set to offset "-", offset of 291.815.  Man that's wild, works fine.
5/21/2026 8:04:33 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote History
Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy:


I first Joined AMSAT in 1981, it's always been poor practice.

If you cannot hear yourself in the downlink you cannot know if you are jamming other users that can hear themselves.

Rege
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History
Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy:
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
I disagree that it's "poor operating practice".  Never seen anyone anywhere make that claim before in these discussions.

Hearing your own signal on an ameteur satellite w/ 5 watts is a matter of convenience, certainly not any kind of requirement.

We do what we do with what we have.


I first Joined AMSAT in 1981, it's always been poor practice.

If you cannot hear yourself in the downlink you cannot know if you are jamming other users that can hear themselves.

Rege

That was more a thing with linear transponder satellites, to avoid desensing the entire passband via excessive uplink power. Not really applicable to FM single-channel repeaters.
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
5/21/2026 8:33:26 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Asheville-Hippy][Edited] [#19]
Quote History
Originally Posted By Gamma762:

That was more a thing with linear transponder satellites, to avoid desensing the entire passband via excessive uplink power. Not really applicable to FM single-channel repeaters.
View Quote


You would be incorrect sir.

Again, if you cannot hear your downlink, you have no idea if you are jamming another user.

.....

Users running excessive eirp on some linear transponders are taken care of by automatic "notch" filters in the satellite receiver.

Proper practice on a linear transponder is to listen to the downlink for a clear frequency, then fine tune your tx to the proper frequency for Doppler. You should endeavor to have the initial tx frequency accurate enough that you appear in the downlink passband when you first illuminate the satellite.

Add on edit: Then only move your tx frequency as you adjust for doppler, that way everybody is not bouncing around on the transponder trying to find each other. Remember that each earth station has a different doppler shift at a given instant in time due to their different position relative to the satellite.

Edit end.

Iirc we put the first auto notch on OSCAR 13 to solve the problem OSCAR 10 had with over power stations.

(I  was one of many who donated $ to AMSAT to build 10 and 13, I bought $100 worth of solar cells on each )

Or just crank everything to 11 and go at it...

Rege
5/21/2026 8:41:17 PM EDT
[Last Edit: JoeDevola][Edited] [#20]
Nobody's "cranking" anything, everybody knows 5 watts is good for these FM birds.  

Gamma762, we just had a good overhead pass of the ISS, I tried that crossband trick and it worked stupendously.  I may be programming a few successive channels that way, make things simpler.

Also used that extendable antenna again, the thing works surprisingly well for this.  Made contacts in Montana, Canada, a couple in central CA, fun times.

And nobody got "jammed" in any way.  All good.
5/22/2026 7:04:54 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Asheville-Hippy][Edited] [#21]
Quote History
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
Nobody's "cranking" anything, everybody knows 5 watts is good for these FM birds.  

Gamma762, we just had a good overhead pass of the ISS, I tried that crossband trick and it worked stupendously.  I may be programming a few successive channels that way, make things simpler.

Also used that extendable antenna again, the thing works surprisingly well for this.  Made contacts in Montana, Canada, a couple in central CA, fun times.

And nobody got "jammed" in any way.  All good.
View Quote


Joe, you are replying to a man who has made his living as a engineer in the commercial satellite world.

Do you also close your eyes when you shoot?

Please, stop bragging about poor Sammy hammy operating practices.

The whole idea of 2m up/70cm down (or any other split) is to make it stupid simple for earth stations to full duplex.

We are talking a couple Baofengs and a $20 duplexer.

Anyway, you do you.

Rege

P.S. I just re-red your post, I see you are just learning how to tune your radio, keep up the good work.
5/22/2026 11:21:54 AM EDT
[#22]
Last pass of the night was great, almost directly overhead, and clear, so I could see it and aim right at it, the ISS, that is.

Made contacts in CA, AZ, and in the grid just North of me.

I'd forgotten how much fun this was!

OP, looking forward to hearing of your first satellite contact.
5/26/2026 4:40:42 PM EDT
[Last Edit: oldcatawba][Edited] [#23]
Thanks I'm enjoying listening and bought a Sony recorder that appears to be used by a number of folks who work satellites regularly.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
5/31/2026 2:08:13 AM EDT
[#24]
Just made a couple of contacts on SO-50, hadn't used it in a while, stations in OR & CA.

Used that extendable antenna I linked above, good times.

You have a great idea with the recorder, I'm writing contact info on paper, your way would be far better!
5/31/2026 7:13:01 AM EDT
[#25]
The recorder is a Sony PX370 and for me at least there's no way I could write or remember the call signs as quickly as most of the passes go at my QTH because of terrain.  Also looking pretty hard at ICOM IC2730B for a radio as opposed to strictly a handheld which was my original plan.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
6/13/2026 2:11:15 PM EDT
[#26]
Had some great passes by the ISS, yesterday in one perfectly overhead pass, made contacts in Vancouver & Edmonton Canada, Wyoming, Arizona, Kansas, & central California, all in one pass, using my homemade directional.  Amazing.

Today made a few more, WA, OR, & Utah, using the compact extendable antenna from Amazon.

Good times.
6/13/2026 2:45:03 PM EDT
[Last Edit: limestonecowboy][Edited] [#27]
Quote History
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
I disagree that it's "poor operating practice".  Never seen anyone anywhere make that claim before in these discussions.

Hearing your own signal on an ameteur satellite w/ 5 watts is a matter of convenience, certainly not any kind of requirement.

We do what we do with what we have.
View Quote


You might want to check the third paragraph at https://www.amsat.org/fm-satellites-good-operating-practices-for-beginning-and-experienced-operators/

Half duplex is workable, especially where congestion is low like out west, but it's poor practice for the long term. It's easy, and exceedingly cheap, to add a 2nd radio to receive. UV5R minis are all of $21 on Amazon, and being able to hear when you transmit really ups your game, and makes it a better pass for others as well.
6/13/2026 4:16:05 PM EDT
[Last Edit: JoeDevola][Edited] [#28]
Roger, I see where it says "if at all possible".

I've tried using 2 radios, and it hasn't worked, can't tell why.  I'm assuming that when I transmit with one it's somehow interfering in some way with the receive on the other.

Any technical insight into this?

ETA: a query to the Oracle confirms my suspicions, the radio that's transmitting is desensitizing the front end/receive of the other, so no signal heard.
6/13/2026 5:26:07 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote History
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
Roger, I see where it says "if at all possible".

I've tried using 2 radios, and it hasn't worked, can't tell why.  I'm assuming that when I transmit with one it's somehow interfering in some way with the receive on the other.

Any technical insight into this?

ETA: a query to the Oracle confirms my suspicions, the radio that's transmitting is desensitizing the front end/receive of the other, so no signal heard.
View Quote


You can get desense with cheaper radios, either because of harmonics on the tx side, or poor filtering on the rx side, on V/u satellites. A common fix is to use a diplexer as either a low pass on the transmit side, or a high pass on the receive side. Sometimes swapping your up and down radios can help if they are different designs.
6/13/2026 5:51:32 PM EDT
[#30]
Spent the past week in grid AP96 but didn't attempt to transmit and honestly could not clearly hear to receive. I know they were there but I couldn't make them out clearly even with near 90* pass and enormous horizon to horizon view. If I come back I'll have to modify my Arrow to a split boom, I'm sure it would have worked fantastic in the conditions.
Attached File

We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
6/14/2026 7:02:15 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote History
Originally Posted By JoeDevola:
Roger, I see where it says "if at all possible".

I've tried using 2 radios, and it hasn't worked, can't tell why.  I'm assuming that when I transmit with one it's somehow interfering in some way with the receive on the other.

Any technical insight into this?

ETA: a query to the Oracle confirms my suspicions, the radio that's transmitting is desensitizing the front end/receive of the other, so no signal heard.
View Quote



The 3rd harmonic of your 2 meter uplink is probably the issue.

This is the most common cause.

The solution is adding filtering to both  the uplink and downlink radios.

Usually a simple duplexer will work.

Some radios have this circuitry built in, and will usually advertise as such. (words like crossband duplex capable)

Otherwise you get to add it.

The general idea, is on the 2m uplink you add a low pass filter to eliminate (greatly reduce) the 3rd harmonic, and on the 70cm downlink side you add a high pass filter to prevent "fundamental overload" of the 70 cm rx. (a super strong 2m signal overloads the 70cm receiver "front end" and generates harmonics in the receiver itself)

These duplex filters can sometimes be as simple as coax "stubs", or as fancy as silver plated "cavity" filters.

You do not have to wait for a iss pass to test your duplex, you can tune in a weak terrestrial 70cm signal and tx on 2m, adjust as required untill you can tx without bothering the rx.

Rege

P.S. it is not at all unusual that adding some sort of filter will also improve your terrestrial qso's, when I lived in Pittsburgh (Brighton Heights for those in the know), I had to add bandpass filters to my icom 6m rig, my icom 2m rig, my microwave modules 70cm transverter, and my lts23 1.3ghz transverter.

Without the filters all these rigs suffered various overloads and spurious signals, I was "line of sight" to the old analog tv on ch 2,11,13,16,53 and about a dozen fm stations, and who knows how many public safety stations.


6/14/2026 7:12:47 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Asheville-Hippy][Edited] [#32]
Quote History
Originally Posted By oldcatawba:
Spent the past week in grid AP96 but didn't attempt to transmit and honestly could not clearly hear to receive. I know they were there but I couldn't make them out clearly even with near 90* pass and enormous horizon to horizon view. If I come back I'll have to modify my Arrow to a split boom, I'm sure it would have worked fantastic in the conditions.
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/252051/IMG_7019_jpeg-3778227.JPG
View Quote


Silly question, but did you remember doppler correction on rx?

You need to tune higher in frequency as the satellite approaches, and lower as it moves away from you.

Also, it is absolutely normal that the antenna will not receive (or tx) best when vertical, but instead in some other orientation.

Think about how a simple linear antenna on the spacecraft changes it's angle to you as the spacecraft orbits, and there is a second phenomenon (Faraday rotation) as the signal passes thru the ionosphere.

Rege

P.S. I just looked at your frequency display.

The voice repeater downlink is at 437.800 Mhz

Listen at 437.810 at the start of a pass , as the satellite approaches you the frequency will decrease to 437.800 , as the satellite moves away the frequency will continue to lower, to around 437.790 at the end of the pass.

Rege
6/14/2026 8:28:33 AM EDT
[Last Edit: oldcatawba][Edited] [#33]
Rege yes the app I use actually tracks the shift but at home I can hear the downlink whether it's a 70CM or 2M bird. I'd seen  this antenna suggested for satellite but knew it wouldn't be nearly as effective as my Arrow but didn't think it would be this bad.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
6/14/2026 12:04:35 PM EDT
[Last Edit: JoeDevola][Edited] [#34]
That's strange, while that antenna's certainly not as effective as a directional, in my experience it's very good on receive.

Even just a dual band whip works great on receive for satellites.

As said above, you do have to move it around, and tilt it side to side, etc., to find the "sweet spot", as the polarity of the bird's antenna in relation to your position can vary during the pass.

ETA: make sure you've got squelch turned to 0.

And don't rely on TDR to bump you to the receive VFO, make sure you've selected the receive VFO manually, if that makes sense.
6/15/2026 7:44:31 AM EDT
[#35]
Quote History
Originally Posted By oldcatawba:
Rege yes the app I use actually tracks the shift but at home I can hear the downlink whether it's a 70CM or 2M bird. I'd seen  this antenna suggested for satellite but knew it wouldn't be nearly as effective as my Arrow but didn't think it would be this bad.
View Quote


My experience with a uv5r and a whip is a quarter wave can hear the iss with difficulty and somewhat better with the whip extended to 3/4 wavelength.

In either case Antenna orientation is critical.

Using a circularly polarized antenna will eliminate this effect, you will then only see fading as the spacecraft antenna points in different directions from you.

The vast majority of stations just run linear polarization, high power *, and put up with qsb.

Rege

* By high power I mean far in excess than would be required for a theoretical line of sight path.

If the antenna on the ISS was arranged to always be pointed directly at the earth in such a way that the signal was steady, we could all use 1 watt and a whip to qso.

(I have a SPOT personal beacon, it runs a whopping 200 milliwatts. (1/5 of a watt to a internal antenna, and it communicates with a satellite much farther than the ISS)

Instead you hear guys running a kilowatt EIRP stepping on one another as the signal changes.

Rege




6/18/2026 7:30:27 AM EDT
[#36]
Just to follow up I did in fact try the antenna in various orientations and while it did make some difference I still couldn't hear clearly enough to ID a call sign. I also did manually adjust to account for Doppler shift. Just to clarify there weren't any visual ISS passes while I was there but these were some of the various SO satellites passing.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
6/18/2026 9:19:10 AM EDT
[#37]
Old School sat-gear user here.

FT-726R with HF, 2 and 432MHz modules, Full Duplex module, etc.

Doppler shift has to be manually dealt with by tuning the RX frequency independently during a pass. An FT-736 could automatically compensate via software as can an IC-9700. One or the other may make it onto the bench at some point.

2 up/10 down was fun. As was the RS satellite series on 15M.

Need something with 1.2GHz and to get my antennas back up. Omnis first then I'll look at steerable.
6/18/2026 9:24:37 AM EDT
[#38]
ostagscribe

I worked sats a lot late 90's+

The other day, I got my (the) original Arrow Antenna out and FT-530 so I can
get some bonus Q's on FD (and POTA)
MIA: M/SGT James W. Holt USSF 2-7-68 SVN

"Your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you."
-A. Wilkow
6/18/2026 10:24:49 AM EDT
[#39]
Attached File

Showed up yesterday.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
6/23/2026 1:24:53 PM EDT
[Last Edit: oldcatawba][Edited] [#40]
Attached File

Seems like kind of a rip to have to buy the hardware to mount the head to the radio but I knew going in that was the case. Bought the kit on Amazon for around $20, DX Engineering wanted $ 62.99.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
6/23/2026 1:26:28 PM EDT
[#41]
Attached File
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
7/4/2026 11:43:06 PM EDT
[#42]
Making progress slowly ordered some Eberlestock pieces to hold the 2730 the way Digital Rancher on YouTube has his set up. After fireworks tonight I had multiple passes nearby and wanted make sure I was getting in. No luck until the ISS went over and I was able to hear myself on the 70CM downlink but didn't make a contact.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
7/6/2026 11:25:13 AM EDT
[#43]
That's progress though!  Good job!
7/6/2026 11:01:45 PM EDT
[#44]
Made my first 2 satellite contacts tonight on SO50. First one in Virginia and second one in Florida. Guess that makes sense as I'm in NC. One was a 13 colonies special event station K2B. Used the Sony recorder so I could go back and log the calls and grid squares. The IC2730 is working for me as is the Arrow 136/437 10 element antenna, also using ISS Detector to do the tracking and notifications.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
7/7/2026 10:57:39 AM EDT
[#45]
Congratulations!  That is awesome.
7/7/2026 12:01:14 PM EDT
[#46]
Thanks my QTH is not great between trees and ridges around me but knowing the gear works is encouraging.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
7/11/2026 10:19:22 PM EDT
[#47]
Made 3more contacts tonight, Ohio, NC and Delaware on SO50. Also had a ISS pass but it was barely above the tree line so no luck but I did briefly hear myself on the downlink so I was making the repeater.
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham

PFG # 195
7/12/2026 11:26:10 AM EDT
[#48]
I have a couple dual-band Cushcraft yagis from my old packet node.

Need to come up with a phasing harness that will allow for circular polarization and figure out where to mount a tripod with az/el rotor. Icing on the cake would be something for 1.2GHz and 260MHz RX only for MilSat stuff.
7/12/2026 5:59:15 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote History
Originally Posted By AnalogKid:
I have a couple dual-band Cushcraft yagis from my old packet node.

Need to come up with a phasing harness that will allow for circular polarization
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History
Originally Posted By AnalogKid:
I have a couple dual-band Cushcraft yagis from my old packet node.

Need to come up with a phasing harness that will allow for circular polarization

I've never contemplated that with dual band yagis. I guess if you did the typical 1/4 wave phase offset for 2m you'd have a 3/4 wave phase offset for 70cm which would give you the opposite sense. If you're just pointing at linear polarized sats (most of them are these days) then it wouldn't matter.

and figure out where to mount a tripod with az/el rotor. Icing on the cake would be something for 1.2GHz and 260MHz RX only for MilSat stuff.

It would be pretty straightforward to homebrew a self-phased circular polarized Moxon for 260 RX. 1.2 is not trivial to homebrew for as the wavelength makes dimensional accuracy pretty demanding.

I saw a neat design for a grid slot panel antenna for 1.2 a while back but it's not circular.
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
7/13/2026 6:34:24 PM EDT
[#50]
Couple thoughts about trying to make 2 Yagi-Uda antennas "circular polarized"

It's tough, and almost no ham "circular polarized Antenna" is.

The problem is having to match closely the resistance and reactance of the 2 antennas.

Most of the time one Antenna "hogs" all the power, and you have mostly one linear polarization.

When I bought my cushcraft Oscar package I tested it by listening to a local linearly polarized signal, and rotated the antenna about its boom axis.

It was nowhere near cp.

It is MUCH easier to generate cp with a helix antenna.

Then there is the problem with spacecraft attitude.

What direction is it pointed?
What is the "polarity" you see?
Is the spacecraft tumbling, spinning, or otherwise moving it's Antenna relative to you?

These all cause qsb, earth station antenna orientation can only fix some of the issues.

For example, a linearly polarized satellite will only give a strong steady signal to a linearly polarized earth station if the satellite is pointed at you, the satellite antenna is oriented in the same plane, and the spacecraft is not tumbling.

Otherwise you get qsb.

You can "fix" the orientation and tumbling issue with a circular ground station antenna, assuming the tumbling doesn't make the satellite antenna point in different directions. (It probably does)

Then there is the issue of a cp antennas sidelobes.

A right hand cp antenna has left hand cp for the first set of sidelobes,then back to rhcp for the next, then lhcp and so on.

Again, most stations just use linear polarization, and compensate by runng several hundred times the uplink power necessary

Rege

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