New Satellite Antennas!

Now that the weather has started to turn wet here in Northern California, operating with the portable satellite rig in my backyard is getting more difficult. Not to mention, the Twin FT-817's don't like being in the rain any more than I do!





I've just finished putting together my outdoor satellite antenna installation. Since the radios are indoors (to keep them and me dry), and the antennas are outdoors, they need to be steered via an azimuth / elevation control rotator. Here is a detailed description of the installation:



Antennas:
UHF Ant: Diamond 15-Element UHF Yagi (model A430S15, 85", 14.8dBi)
VHF Ant: Arrow II 2m 4-Element VHF Yagi (model 146-4 with MB/II bracket)(48", 8.7dBi)

Rotor:
Yaesu G5500 Az/El Rotator (450 deg Az / 180 deg El)

Mast:
5-foot steel mast on 3' tripod base.

Cables from Antenna to Premap box:
VHF: 6-foot RG-58/C patch cable with BNC connections from Palomar
UHF: 10-foot RG-8/U with silver/teflon PL-259 connections

Preamp Box:
B&W Systems weatherproof plastic box, #10.

Preamps:
Advanced Receiver Research 70cm GAsFET 25W RF-sensing preamp (SP432VDG)
Advanced Receiver Research 2m GAsFET 25W RF-sensing preamp (SP144VDG)

Cables from Preamp Box to Shack:
Rotator Control: 2 x Wireman #302 40' 2-16/6-18 rotor cable
(12VDC power carried on the 2x16 spare lines in rotor cable to preamps)
VHF Feedline: 25' RG-8/U with standard nickel PL-259 connections
UHF Feedline: 25' RG-8/U with silver/teflon PL-259 connections



Rotor Controller:
Yaesu G5500 Az/El dual Rotator Controller

Rotor Controller Controller:
LVB Tracker (from AMSAT, on order)



Transceivers:
VHF: Yaesu FT-817ND
UHF: Yaesu FT-817ND

CAT Interface:
2 x Yaesu CT-62 CAT cables (either USB<->CAT or USB<->Serial Convertor<->CAT)




Controlling Software:
SatPC32

Computer:
Samsung Netbook N150S