[PCR-1000] Using the PCR-1000 for Satellite

[machine1]

>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 19:12:33 -0400
> From: "Mike Curtis" <mcurtis at nc.rr.com>
> Subject: [PCR-1000] Using the PCR-1000 for Satellite
> To: "'Discussion of PCR-1000 by Icom'" <pcr-1000 at mailman.qth.net>
> Message-ID: <000801c78d0f$5de4cc90$6e01a8c0 at AMD64x2>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> I am glad to see the list getting some activity.
> I have a question for the group.
> Is anyone out there using the PCR for Satellite reception?
> I have just built a quadrifilar helix antenna, and I have been playing
> around with receiving some of the pictures coming down from the NOAA 
> birds.
> I am getting pictures, but the quality is poor.
> Is anyone out there using the PCR-1000, and if you are do you have any 
> tips
> for doing it.
> I have been using wxtrack to track the NOAA satellites, and recording 
> using
> TalkPCR to a .wav file.  Then I am importing the wav file into wxtoimg.
> Wxtoimg maskes a picture out of the recording and can understand the pass
> signature in the file fine, but as I said the quality is pretty poor.  I
> have the receiver set to NBFM and 50kHz filter, and I have tried recording
> from both the speaker output and the packet output.  From everything I 
> have
> read this should be the correct settings.
> If anyone out there is using their PCR-1000 for Satellite reception I 
> would
> love to hear from you.
> Thanks!
>
> http://www.wxtoimg.com/
> http://www.david-taylor.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/software/wxtrack.htm
>

The only hateful problem with the PCR-1000 is the front end is easily
overloaded by strong signals, even those signals many MHz away from
the one you're wanting. It needed a better preselector, but I guess they
ran out of room in the box..

I tried Sat reception with a turnstile antenna I bought on eBay.
I've got a precision filter trap for 104-105 MHz in front of my
PCR-1000 as there's a 16 kW FM broadcast station one block away.
(The radio station Engineer very graciously provided me three of these
90 dB traps the week after they came on the air, as it killed reception
in both my PCR-1000s, and also made life miserable on my R-8500!)

My First look at the sky with the turnstile, I immediately ran in to 
problems
with a paging tower a half mile away. It was swamping the PCR-1000
front end. Ths "S" meter was hovering around 4 but all I could see was 
static.
 There was a signal, but it was buried in the noise floor. I dug around in
my junk pile and came up with a VHF duplexer out of an
old  Vacuum Tube and Vibrators IMTS car phone. (My age is showing..)
Great, because the paging tower was on an old IMTS frequency.

After a little tuning, the 'filter' notched out the paging tower noise.
The "S" meter was still reading 4, but there was almost no static or noise
and I was getting good images.
There are several places on the internet that sell tunable traps and 
filters.
google 'rf filters' or 'rf traps'. A $30 investment might cure your problem.
BTW: Don't forget good grounding and shielded cables on everything.

Good luck!