Cheap Ham Radio Satellite Antenna Rotator! SARCTRAC Portable Satellite Operations.

[@wa0jtw]

…aannnd now there’s something ELSE I have to buy! Looks like a great piece of kit, and you did a great video - thanks!!

[@wildbill1]

Finally they got some stock in. Ordered mine on Friday. Can’t wait to get it. I would like to add a DC motor to be able to switch from vertical to horizontal polarization. I’ll make a video when I’m done. Thanks 73

[@timothyboyd5669]

Liked the steel mill background

[@thuff3207]

This is exactly what hams should be building to get young people interested in the hobby. What you are interested in does not matter its what they are interested in to get them. Once they are available again I will get one for the club to show new people what we can do.

[@RookieLock]

Wow, really great project ! I'd love to do this eventually. Thanks for sharing !

[@valdesc36]

I would like to buy one, please if you know where I can buy it I would appreciate it. I have been interested in buying one for several months. 73.

[@kevinbrouelette6361]

Very cool. Do you have a way to auto adjust your radio for Doppler or are you adjusting manually? Thanks for the explanation.

[@terrynichols3040]

Website says no longer available because of parts shortage...great system but another video on equipment that is not available

[@graywolf1911]

Very well done! Price is reasonable and won't break the bank.

[@KC9RXP]

Would love to have one of these. Almost seems like science fiction

[@larrywells7767]

I filled out the on-line form. Please notify me as soon as you will take my order. So excited.

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

Glad you filled out the form. I'm not the seller of this rotator, I just did a review. Refer back to the SARCNET site for ordering. Thanks and good luck!

[@errolhenriksen3600]

great and nice enclosure. i hope they are making a lot of them.... :-)

[@W9HJBill]

Tempted to get one ... when they start selling them again (they don't have any because of parts shortages).

[@JimLathan]

Sad to see the kit is no longer available. I asked about parts and am not getting a response. :(

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

😮 Oh no! I was just about to order a second one! The one I have is still going strong. So sad. 😩

[@Aussie3rdgeneration]

thanks for the video would there be any chance you could explain how to setup on the comm port in the rotor settings as iam struggling i have the sarctrac and the same satellite software cheers greg

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

On the main menu of SATPC32, select "SETUP". In the sub menu, select the rotor setup option, and select "SAEBRTrackBox" as the rotator. When you open the SATPC32 software, it also opens a separate little box labled "ServerEasy". It may be minimized and found on the bar at the bottom of the PC window. Click "Setup" on that box and ensure the com port in there is the com port for your WiFi dongle. The dongle is the SARCTRAC connection. If you don't know the com port for your WiFi dongle, you can open the PC's device manager and look for it in the com ports section. It's com port 3 on my computer, but is likely to be something different on yours. Good luck!

[@shellylewis6335]

The antenna has to often be rotated for tuning purposes. (Some Sats. more than others). Have you noticed not being able to hear satellites based on the flat plain and not being able to rotate laterally? Im considering the rotator but I'm concerned I wont be able to dial in those difficult birds. Ron L. KN4ZUJ

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

You do get nulls by not twisting the antenna for polarity correction, but I find it fairly easy to work around the nulls. They don't last that long.

[@stevebrockwell65]

I bought one and am learning how to use it. Has anyone used the Issdector to control it . Also trying to use an Elk antenna on it.

[@ericchristian2243]

Hello from ERIC/KB3DTQ. Will this work with a Arduino Mega 2560 with DFRobot Motorshield? Meaning the SARCTRAC Software? Many Thanks for your reply...73's KB3DTQ

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

No idea, but it sounds interesting. If you test it out, post a reply with your results. Thanks!

[@wildbill1]

Nice video! I have been looking for something like this. I have an elk log periodic beam. What do you do for cross polarization due to the satellite tumbling in space. I typically have to rotate my beam from vertical to horizontal as I follow the satellites track. Thanks Bill K8ob

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

That's the only shortcoming of this setup, you get polarization fade if you are working a spinning satellite. Not so with the ISS, since it does not spin, tumble or rotate (thankfully). I just wait out the fade, it's not too onerous.

[@williamokrasinski9840]

Well let me be the first to comment. Thanks for taking the time to post this video. Well done. You mention you prefer the Arrow over the Elk. I already have the Elk. Would you care to share your reasons. To me it may be issue with coax possibly getting in the way. Bill AF7ZA

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

Thanks for the comment, Bill. I don’t necessarily like the arrow better, it just fits this configuration better. If you look at my “satellite ops with the IC-705” video, I use my elk. I do like that the elk doesn’t require a duplexer for two bands, and also that it is all in one plane making it easier to handle. The arrow does have more elements for 70 cm, so there’s pros and cons for each antenna. 73!

[@christopherb.9307]

Where can I buy one?

[@robertkeller9828]

I'm a technical person BUT my eyes glassed over when you started to talk about melting lead, scuba weights, epoxying pellets, run-away-lanyards, issues with com ports, yadda yadda...Too much "Rube Goldberg'ing"to do WHAT?. $290 bux for WHAT?!? The "kids" who think they invented something need to get outside in the fresh air and GET...A....LIFE! As far as ham operators? #JustLearnCode 😅

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

To each his own! For many ham radio operators much of the fun is in building their station. That's why kits are popular. For those that aren't into kits, there's the G5500. In the end it's about having fun! 😃

[@bonpas4]

Hi, may i ask you what would be the maximal size (weight & diameter) of a dish antenna used with this rotator please ? Thank you , have a great day !

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

It is a light duty rotator. Really only intended to handle single antennas like the Arrow 2 or the Elk log periodic. I’m guessing dishes would be heavier than that. You can check on the sarcnet.org site; they may have an official answer.

[@calarfe]

Nice video, thx. 😊 could you confirm it works with ham radio deluxe ? Or maybee make a vidéo using this software ? That would be great.

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

As far as I know, it does not work with ham radio deluxe. I use HRD, but had to install SATPC32 to work with this rotator.

[@calarfe]

@@tekspeditionplanet9109 oh.. ok, thx

[@speedymartin2]

I am wondering if it works with macdoppler as well.

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

I use MacDoppler with other setups, but I doubt it will work with this rotator unless someone does a lot of re-coding.

[@EricThompsonN6SPP]

Nice video. If there was a way to add phase/tilt adjustment, the user would benefit from an additional improvement in the snr value..Perhaps a slight physical twist of the boom itself during a pass would work. 73,n6spp-cm98

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

It's a very simple rotator, which keeps the cost down. Perhaps someone will figure out a mechanism to adjust for polarity, but then the cost would go up. For the price it's pretty decent. 73!

[@EA7LAF]

You could use a cross antenna and a polarity switch from mini kits ..

[@oldjarhead386]

Discontinued.

[@mreza84]

Where are you standing, are you in a kind of spaceship?

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

Yes! Orbiting your planet…. 😄

[@mreza84]

@@tekspeditionplanet9109 ☺️, Ja I thought so... By the way, do you know where I can purchase such a tracker? I very much like to have one like this.

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

@@mreza84 the website for this tracker is sarcnet.org/products.html, but it says it is out of stock until December 2023. That's a long wait!

[@AliReza-zx8km]

❤️

[@MemesandRadio4]

isnt that an analog tv antenna that youre using

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

It is an Arrow II 2 mtr / 70 cm satellite antenna.

[@MemesandRadio4]

does it work for a baofeng radio, Im planing to buy one of thoose anyennas that you have for my baofeng gt-5 tp

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

@@MemesandRadio4 it will work with any radio capable of transmitting to and receiving from satellites in the appropriate amateur radio bands.

[@MemesandRadio4]

ok sounds good, have a great day, 73

[@skankhunt9078]

Hi by any chance do you know what kind of power is required to transmit to geostationary sats?

[@dannelson8556]

I wish I understood why amateur radio operators are always so far behind the curve on technology, at one time ham radio was at the leading cutting edge of Technology. I feel like me can't figure out why this rotator is designed the way it is, it be child's play to use and esp32 and two stepper motors and 3D print pulleys for 6mm gt2 cogged belts You've got 15 year old kids designing fully autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners, and ham radio operators who can't even design a halfway decent azimuth and elevation control system..

[@grampsradio]

As of February, 2024, they no longer sell this.

[@JeffHochberg]

Oh that’s terrible! I’ve had some challenges with mine but they’re still wonderful for the price!

[@JohnDuncan0347]

Thank you for sharing! Those trees don't interfere? WA5ZVE

[@tekspeditionplanet9109]

Well, ya gotta make do with what ya got. Actually, it's hard to tell. I'm getting two way connections, so it can't be too bad.