[MAMS] 5.7 GHz rainscatter question

[Dexter McIntyre W4DEX]

Zack Widup wrote:
> I'd say about 2 watts or more of power and a 2 ft or larger dish will get
> you some RS QSO's.
Yes it will.  I've made no 5.8 ghz rain scatter contacts so far but 
that's only due to the lack of stations to work.  But I have some 
experience by receiving a temporary beacon I can put on.  With the 
beacon running about 5 watts to a small homebrew horn with maybe 15 dbi 
gain I have received rain scatter reflections from storms several 
hundred miles away.  On receive I have used a larger horn, a 3 foot dish 
and a 2 foot wi-fi grid.   A good source for antennas if you can't find 
something surplus to use is 5.8 wi-fi antennas.  A grid works very well 
for portable tripod setups due to being lighter weight and much reduced 
wind load if you happen to be out on a windy day. 

I often buy from Baltic Networks and Streakwave.  Below is a link to a 
26 dbi grid I recently received.  But don't burn out the feed, it's only 
rated for 100 watts :)

http://www.balticnetworks.com/laird-26dbi-5-8ghz-parabolic-grid-nfi.html

Dex