Speaker
Description
Working Amateur Radio Satellites (AMSAT) is fun! But there's a lot going on: continuously pointing the antenna in the direction of the satellite, tuning to compensate for the Doppler effect, and listening carefully while making and recording the QSO. If the operator wants to automate antenna tracking, the standard answer is to pick up a Yaesu G-5500 azimuth/elevation rotator for $700+, which is prohibitive if one is just trying to get started with AMSAT.
Can we do better? In this talk we'll explore a couple of different options for az/el rotoators that work with small, lightweight options like the popular Arrow antenna. We'll cover the SATRAN.io project and the author's experience building one, as well as discuss astronomical telescope computerized mounts that can be commandeered for AMSAT use.
