Ham Radio Satellite Contacts on my Mini Antenna Array

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ความคิดเห็น • 78

  • @NC0Q
    @NC0Q ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Now I have to put googly-eyes on my VFO knob. Don’t worry, I’ll give you the credit!

    • @W8RIT1
      @W8RIT1 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      First time I've seen someone do something like that...

  • @on4mgy_radioamateur
    @on4mgy_radioamateur 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    What a great project. Looks like you're a very technically skilled person. Enjoyed the 2 videos about this project a lot.

  • @terry5089
    @terry5089 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Alex, congratulations on a great project. The system is working great and I'm sure you will have many great QSO's with it.

  • @RichardTrowbridge-zt5wm
    @RichardTrowbridge-zt5wm 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Fine business, Alex. Keep up the great work. You're inspiring casual viewers to pursue another facet of amateur radio. Congratulations on your wonderful accimplishments. 73 N2YIB

  • @ronconnelly
    @ronconnelly ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Very nice job Alex! Thanks for documenting it all for us with the videos. 73!

  • @TheOpticalFreak
    @TheOpticalFreak 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Congratulations on the first contact! And that ladder trick is actually very nice! 😁👍

  • @joedoe4871
    @joedoe4871 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hi Alex, thank you for sharing your adventures in this fantastic hobby. It's inspiring and so good to see. Keep it up.

  • @TheOpticalFreak
    @TheOpticalFreak 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hi, i would recommend a counter balance weight on the antenna motor shaft! And a slow start stop function on the motor! This will increase the lifespan of the motor and gears a lot!! 😉👍
    And it will also make it go a lot more smoother and more accurate!😁

  • @scottdunbar4898
    @scottdunbar4898 ปีที่แล้ว

    Outstanding brother! Super happy for you.
    73 from K1NEO, Maine.

  • @clems6989
    @clems6989 หลายเดือนก่อน

    More videos would be great. Along with some more technical info..
    Great job !

  • @VP2EIHonAnguillaIsland
    @VP2EIHonAnguillaIsland ปีที่แล้ว

    great job Alex & nice project.. hope to hear you on the birds.. 73

  • @n8sdr473
    @n8sdr473 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Congrats on a very nice design and setup- recently started playing with SATS here extremely minimal setup, you have given me a couple ideals to try with antennas-

  • @EA7LAF
    @EA7LAF 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I desperately need part three 😂 … please

  • @dougtaylor7724
    @dougtaylor7724 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Way to go. Congrats!

  • @thecarys563
    @thecarys563 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great explanation and storytelling and operations example.

  • @w2msa
    @w2msa 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    That's a great station Alex. Congratulations!
    de W2MSA

  • @VE9ASN
    @VE9ASN ปีที่แล้ว

    Watched the 1st and this, beyond excellent! I'm subscribed, 73.

  • @DavidGillooly
    @DavidGillooly ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video and an inspiration to get on the sats.

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks I appreciate it

  • @rjy8960
    @rjy8960 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks Alex, really interesting video. I've dabbled with satellites with a fixed white stick antenna and managed to work a few passes using an FT-847 with Doppler control via the PC. I have an antenna interface for the Yaesu AZ/EZ mount but need to spend a little more time thinking about antennae but I really like what you have set up here with the polarisation options and the harnesses.
    It has been.a slow burner project - it got rudely interrupted by a project to set up for the QO-100 geostationary satellite which has been good fun, but I can feel the LEO satellite itch returning!
    Good luck with the field day, hope you manage to post some footage :) 73 de M0SNR

  • @M0UOO
    @M0UOO ปีที่แล้ว

    Well excellent outcome to all of your hard work, loads of building to make a great station 😊 I am looking at similar project so you have given me some other ideas. 73

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm glad you enjoyed it, best of luck with your project!

  • @KY4K-10
    @KY4K-10 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great work. I will check out your other videos. I would like to do some satellite work but at least for now it would have to be portable work. 73 KY4K

  • @thomasmanson1119
    @thomasmanson1119 ปีที่แล้ว

    Now that I see it again (as you are moving it around), I think I misjudged the sizes and what you have looks right to me now. 73 Tom kC3QAC

  • @BalticLab
    @BalticLab ปีที่แล้ว

    Hey Alex, cool videos so far! Subscribed!

  • @stephanshemenski6348
    @stephanshemenski6348 ปีที่แล้ว

    I use the Fox Delta rotor controller. It works well except that the Yaesu wiring diagram has the wiring on AZis backward

  • @garylanders1470
    @garylanders1470 ปีที่แล้ว

    I will be using a Computerized GOTO Tripod & Mount used for telscopes to achieve what you are working towards.
    With load capacities between 20-45 pounds they are ample for the task.
    And are already computer controlled.

  • @DK5ONV
    @DK5ONV ปีที่แล้ว

    Looks awsome and seems to work as it should. 73 de Uncle Günter 💯👌🙋‍♂

  • @alexjj
    @alexjj ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video and build!

  • @tekspeditionplanet9109
    @tekspeditionplanet9109 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Alex, great job putting this together. I've been wanting to modify Arrow antennas much as you did for a few years. Some questions. 1) does it make any difference whether you drill the holes in front of the existing cross beams or behind? 2) I'm assuming you made a 90 degree phasing harness; any specific plan you used? 3) any unique problems you experienced reconfiguring the Arrow antennas? Thanks & 73! Jeff, WK3U

  • @nerdgizmos
    @nerdgizmos ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Alex, how did you do at Field Day this year with your new setup?

  • @TomTalley
    @TomTalley ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for the video. I'm stumbling along with Arduino and satellite as well. Trying different experiments along the way. Learning a lot about the Arduino IDE? Matlab/simulink with simscape. I have a yaesu rotor head but no control box. So, am planning an h bridge with pwm and driver off a mega. Have some motors that are geared down to 5 rpm. Want to model it in simscape first...then just map the rotor controls and return position signals back into the software as actual azel. Anyway...learning a ton. Love the ladder idea...
    Have a 3 meter dish or two and thinking of eme...but that's down the road. de Tom, W5XTT...73

  • @steveedwards90
    @steveedwards90 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great setup

  • @WA1QHQ
    @WA1QHQ 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hi Alex, Great video, I am considering building a K3NG antenna positioner but instead of using traditional antenna rotators with potentiometer feedback I want to use mems magnetometer and accelerometers for position feedback which the K3NG software does support. I wonder if you have an opinion on the viability of using this type of position feedback, in particular the angular accuracy of these devices.

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hi I'm glad you enjoyed the video. You are correct about K3NG supporting an HMC5883L digital (magnetic) compass and ADXL345 accelerometer for feedback. I have experimented with these sensors a bit and was able to get them working on the bench, though I haven't tried mounting them to antennas for real use. It has been a minute since I looked at the datasheets but I believe they claimed 1-2° accuracy / repeatability (or less). That's more than enough when your typical antenna's radiation pattern is >20° wide. The potentiometer feedback from the G-5500 is very crude and I wouldn't trust it to be accurate or repeatable to less than 5°. It's probably worse than that actually, but still fine for most applications, only becoming an issue with very high gain and narrow beamwidth antennas.
      Keep in mind the sensors (especially the compass) will need to be mounted away from motors and power cables to avoid magnetic interference. This is the main reason I never finished testing them. It's not a big deal, just requires some planning. I hope it works out for you!

  • @Ztnerg
    @Ztnerg ปีที่แล้ว

    Fantastic Man, This is great. 73

  • @NA12495
    @NA12495 ปีที่แล้ว

    How are you balancing the weight of your antennas? Looks like most of the weight is towards the front. I like the use of a ladder as a tripod. Do you think you will build a case for the original rotator equipment and to include all the new stuff?

  • @EvgeniX.
    @EvgeniX. 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    "🚫 no whining" haha like this sign!

  • @robcarnaroli269
    @robcarnaroli269 ปีที่แล้ว

    True about the signal report and there's very little time for that during a pass. Seems like every pass is a pileup. Does the k3ng version give feedback to the satpc32 rotor control daemon? The w9ke code I used does not and required a ton of modding to get started.

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      Some of the passes can get pretty intense, especially on FM birds. Yes the K3NG connects to SatPC32 using the GS-232B protocol. The position feedback and output control works very well in SatPC32 or PstRotator once configured. The hardest part with the K3NG project is enabling which features you need in the code and then getting the feedback calibrated. It isn't very intuitive, but I haven't had to do any real code modifications at least.

  • @terrybondy5458
    @terrybondy5458 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Instructive and entertaining video. I like how you put in your failures as well as your successes. And do the googly eyes on the 9700 tuner knob give you extra 3DB on the signal to noise ratio?😂

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks Terry, glad someone else appreciates the googly eyes!

  • @beak85
    @beak85 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Excellent? Where you using a circular polarization for this contact? I was thinking about building with just a circular polarization rather than switchable or fixed horizontal/vertical with a switch as some do. Have you ended up just using one setting over the others since yours is switchable? is circular the way to go for satellite to avoid switching?

  • @ChristopherShuhart
    @ChristopherShuhart 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Alex! I was skipping around looking at videos about doubling up on Arrows on the same boom, and guess who I heard loud and clear as your first QSO with your X-pol pair? ME!!! I'm gonna email you and get a convo going, I'm setting up a mobile unit somewhat based on AG7NR's outstanding unit, but I have a pair of Arrows I want to mod, so thanks! 73's de Chris W7BMD

  • @jamestudehope8310
    @jamestudehope8310 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice. I'm wondering what preamp model and what else it is you have mounted next to your rotors. 73 KL7QR Jim

  • @rogerp5816
    @rogerp5816 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Would you be willing to to share the 3d printer files for the control box you designed and you configuration files for the K3NG software?

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      Sure I can post stl files for the boxes if you'd like. The K3NG code is pretty much straight from his GitHub repository with only my features enabled. The Nextion display files were downloaded from VK4GHZ's website with no modifications. The more confusing part for me is the settings and calibration which you input through the Serial Monitor after downloading to the Arduino.

  • @rogerp5816
    @rogerp5816 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very nice video. I'm going to go and watch part one now.
    I'm just starting with the K3NG rotator controller software. Would it be possible to create a video showing what you went through to configure and load the software. The Nextion part has got me a bit confused at this point.

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for your feedback! I wasn't sure how much detail to go into with the K3NG controller but sure I'm open to making a video focused on it. One tip is to google VK4GHZ as his website has updated Nextion files and more information on the configuration.

  • @UOttawaScotty
    @UOttawaScotty 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    If I understand this correctly, are you using a satellite as a repeater station ? How far away was your first contact. Dont have my ham licence yet, but currently studying.

  • @christianknight2905
    @christianknight2905 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm putting together a g5500 right now and the EL moves with just finger pressure...is this normal? The az is locked solid but even mild back pressure from the cables causes it to move.

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      No, the internal gears should prevent you from moving the AZ or EL rotors by hand. Make sure the mast is not slipping, it can be hard to clamp securely without crushing it.

  • @kentwinrich6595
    @kentwinrich6595 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You did just what I want to do

  • @ricardoaliasdelatorre6836
    @ricardoaliasdelatorre6836 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    How you modified the arrow antennas?in order to have polarized,.

    • @rogerp5816
      @rogerp5816 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Go back to the previous video, it's all explained there.

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm using a set of polarization switches from a company called Mini-Kits. They seem to be working well. I explain more in my previous video.

    • @ricardoaliasdelatorre6836
      @ricardoaliasdelatorre6836 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@va3ase thank you Alex , my callsign is EA1IFD, usually I work AO-91 & ISS, but it's time to pass to linear sats RS-44...and your sat combo looks & works great. Minikits it's a great hardware from Australia😀😀

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ricardoaliasdelatorre6836 Thank you, I hope to work you on a linear satellite soon! I agree that Mini-Kits makes excellent hardware. I'm very happy to support companies like them.

  • @rolfrobertson6404
    @rolfrobertson6404 ปีที่แล้ว

    Can I use a directional uhf /vhf tv antenna ?

  • @AlGordon
    @AlGordon ปีที่แล้ว

    Hi, Alex. I’m going through some trial and error to build out a portable satellite station. Thanks for posting these videos! I’ve definitely learned a few things, and am excited to make some changes to my station setup that should hopefully make it more viable going forward.
    Quick question for you: With the IC-9700, how crucial are the external LNAs, especially if the feed lines are kept short (10-15 ft. or less)? Do you have any operating experience using the 9700’s pre-amps rather than the external LNAs?

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Glad the videos have been helpful! I need to finish editing the final installment in the series. I do find the external LNAs make a pretty significant difference, especially with these little antennas. If you use larger antennas with higher gain (which I'll recommend) and low-loss feedlines the LNAs are less critical. Put simply, you'll make contacts without them. However the LNAs are indeed a noticeable upgrade, even with short feedlines. I'm fortunate to have these expensive ones from SSB-Electronic, but Mini-Kits offers similar LNA kits at a more reasonable price if you're comfortable soldering / building. That's probably what I'd get if I was starting from scratch. Hope that helps!

  • @ChannelofRichPierik
    @ChannelofRichPierik 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks Alex. Rich VE1RPX

  • @no5x937
    @no5x937 ปีที่แล้ว

    Does the 9700 have 1 or 2 antenna inputs? Is each antenna connected to separate RF connectors?

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It has seperate ports for each band. Each antenna is fully independent with its own feedlines, preamps and polarization switches. The 9700 actually has a third antenna port for the 23cm band I'm not using presently. It's a great radio but pretty specialized.

  • @steveconnaughton-p6i
    @steveconnaughton-p6i ปีที่แล้ว

    What size of the horizontal tub are the antennas mounted on?

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว

      I'd have to measure to be sure but it's around 4-5ft long. There is probably an ideal or minimum seperation distance you can calculate, and I'm guessing mine is technically too short. For my application I was more concerned with keeping the setup compact for easier transport and setup with minimal disassembly.

  • @TerryZW
    @TerryZW 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    keep it up

  • @csntechnologies2296
    @csntechnologies2296 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You need a SAT tracker

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      They do look cool but I've been pretty content with my laptop-based setup. I would still be curious to test a SAT Tracker out and make a video for it (I could return it afterwards). Send me an email if that sounds interesting.

  • @kf4hzu
    @kf4hzu ปีที่แล้ว

    This is awesome! I have antenna envy 😁 Have you thought about selling kits with all the parts needed for this? Looking forward to more videos like this. 73 de kf4hzu

    • @va3ase
      @va3ase  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks! That would be a fun idea, but the Yaesu rotator is the most expensive part which I think is a deal breaker for most people new to satellite. If I was going to sell anything I think it would be better to design lower cost rotators (probably 3d printed).

    • @kf4hzu
      @kf4hzu ปีที่แล้ว

      @@va3ase Makes sense. Well do what you find fun and interesting 😊

  • @thomasmanson1119
    @thomasmanson1119 ปีที่แล้ว

    You know more about this than I do Alex, but to me your 2m elements look reversed. Shouldn’t the reflector be larger than both the director and the driven element? To my eye, your director looks larger. 73 Tom KC3QAC

  • @ВладимирЛукьянов-я5г
    @ВладимирЛукьянов-я5г 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Здорово. Эти приводы дорого стоят

  • @alessandroconcas
    @alessandroconcas 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great build & setup, congratulations, 73 de iz3qvb