In our third installment of Sean’s video series, he covers the basics of operating linear satellites, including their advantages over FM “birds,” equipment needed for a portable satellite station, a demonstration of how to make adjustments for the Doppler effect on 70cm, and how to find your signal on the downlink.
Want to operate like Sean, KX9X? DX Engineering carries the Yaesu FT-818 HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Portable Transceiver. You’ll see two comparable FT-817 models in the video—one used for receiving and the other for transmitting in Sean’s portable station. In addition, DX Engineering has duplexers (also known as combiners or splitters) needed to prevent your transmitted signal from overloading the receive radio’s front end.
Also available from DX Engineering is the EAntenna 2M/70cm DUOSAT Handheld Antenna, perfect for operating satellites. Weighing only 22 ounces, the antenna has three elements for VHF operating and five for UHF.
Before you make the leap to linear, we recommended watching the first two videos in the series: Learn the Basics of Operating Amateur Radio Satellites and Getting on the FM Satellites.
Coming soon: Look for part 4 of the series, in which Sean demonstrates a complete linear satellite pass.
Editor’s Note: Welcome to OnAllBands’ new video series on the fun and challenges of making contacts through Amateur Radio satellites!Your host is Sean Kutzko, KX9X, OnAllBands blogger, former AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator, and experienced satellite operator.
