[Icom] IC-910H
Barry Landson
[email protected]
Sun, 13 Jul 2003 09:13:38 -0700
Hi again,
Thanks for the message.
As of the moment, there are several different satellites available,
although there was trouble with one of the modes in the latest satellite =
put
up by AMSAT.=20
In general, one group of satellite capability requires sophisticated
equipment either because receiving and transmitting are on different =
bands,
Doppler has to be taken into account, or gain antennas are a must along =
with
tracking capability: hence, the development of the ICOM 910H and its
predecessors.
The other satellite capability can be reached with much simpler
equipment including handheld antennas and low power. In many cases even =
a
simple eggbeater antenna will work. One can also use FM in some cases.
In any event it is possible to have a lot of fun and work on most HF
awards, but by satellite. There are also a lot of interesting folks to =
talk
with. With equipment like the ICOM 910 the whole process is much easier =
than
it was for the earlier pioneers, but there is still, at least for me, =
the
excitement of working satellites.
You mentioned Hy-Gain antennas. Today, there are a number of good
choices for antennas depending on what you want to do. CQ-VHF (see =
below)
usually contains articles or advertisers regarding this aspect of =
SATCOM.
You mentioned that you were at sea level and I presume from the call
sign that you are on the east coast. The key with satellites is radio
visibility which usually means that transmitting and receiving antennas =
can
'see' each other. As various satellites are involved in different =
orbits,
the question is which satellites can you 'see' from your location. I =
would
think that you would have very good radio visibility. However, I would
encourage you to talk with east coast satellite people who have a lot =
more
information than I do on the west coast. You can find help through AMSAT
(see below).
As an additional note, AMSAT has fallen on tough times because so
many amateurs have gotten out of sitcom for one reason or another.
Membership is about half what it used to be and the drop in funds has =
slowed
up development and deployment on new birds. Echo is scheduled to be up =
this
year if AMSAT can find a launching platform. But worldwide, launching =
are
down and AMSAT can't afford to be a primary payload.=20
Other countries or country groups also have developed satellite
capability and we hope some of those birds will be up shortly.
If you do decide to get back into satellites, may I suggest some
sources of additional information?=20
1. AMSAT web site http://amsat.org/ or just put amsat.org into
the URL finder. This is the best source of overall information.
2. CQ-VHF CQ restarted their VHF magazine about a year ago and
it comes out quarterly.(It was greatly missed and we are happy that it =
is
back!) I don't think that charter subscriptions are available any =
longer,
but they have some great subscription rates for longer term =
subscriptions.
You will find advertisers that specialist in VHF and above and =
particularly
satellite gear. The articles are mostly on the practical side. They also
provide updates on SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) if =
that
is of interest.
3. The Radio Amateur's Satellite Handbook available from ARRL. This
is an excellent reference to the whole field.
On a concluding thought, I think that there is a lot of interesting
stuff going on in VHF and above including satellites. Besides matters of
technical and operating interest, there are some real legal battles =
going as
well. ARRL is in the forefront of these.
If you do return to this field, I would also encourage you to
support AMSAT. We need the help more than ever and there are exciting =
design
ideas that could come into play with more money.
PS: I don't know how much latitude we have to discuss these matters
on the ICOM BB, so if we get shut down, please feel free to contact me
directly at=20
[email protected]
73=20
Barry=20
=09
=09
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf of Dave Edwards
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 5:58 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Icom] IC-910H
Barry... I was wondering about the 910 myself. I used to have Icom =
IC275H,
475H, and 575H.
They were nice, but I ran out of room and never put my VHF, UHF antennas
back up.
I am at sea level, so never thought a huge effort was worth it for
terrestrial work...but, I'd like to fool around with satellites again. I
used to play with Oscar 13, and the Russian RS satellites.
Would the 910 with the HyGain satellite antenna (if it is still sold??)
offer a lot of usage? In other words...are there many satellites still =
up
there?? I'm not interested in sending digital stuff to the sats.
Still have my Command Technologies KW amp for 2. Been sitting on a =
shelf
for 3 years now!!!
....Dave
----- Original Message -----=20
From: "Barry Landson" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 10:53 PM
Subject: RE: [Icom] IC-910H
Hi,
I have the 706, 746 PRO and the 910.
I think the question of what to put on 2 meters SSB really depends on =
what
you want to do with that capability Vs the money outlay. If you want the
very best single integrated package, then the 910 is hard to beat. But =
you
are paying for a lot of capability that apparently won't be used. My 910 =
is
targeted to satcom.
The 746 Pro is an excellent radio. I have used it on VHF and have no
complaints. But again, you are paying a lot for what won't be used since =
it
duplicates what you already have.
The 706 is a very good radio for what it is designed to be. It is not a =
high
end 2 meter SSB rig and again you would be duplicating existing =
capability.
If all you want is 2 meter SSB from home, you might want to talk with =
some
of the VHF SSB experts to see if a transverter setup based on the 756 =
might
not be the way to go. You could use say 10 meters as the base band and =
then
up and down convert to and from 2 meters. Amplification can be dealt =
with
separately.
73
Barry
K6IXF
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of William Lambing
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 9:23 AM
To: Icom Reflector
Subject: [Icom] IC-910H
Would like pros/cons regarding this unit. Have 756 Pro and looking to =
put
something on 2SSB. Either the 910 or another 706IIg. The other 706 is
mobile.
Anyone that has used one let me know. Either here or direct to:
[email protected]
73
Bill, W=D8LPQ
--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
text/plain (text body -- kept)
text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed. To learn how
to post in Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html ---
----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD, [email protected]
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.315 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD, [email protected]
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.315 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD, [email protected]
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.315 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/