The W4KSY Show on Ham Radio Satellite Tevel 5 and Contact with W3ZM at Dayton Ham Vention!

Welcome Back!
Join me for the W4KSY show on Tevel 5! Terry (W4KSY) shows us how it's done on a super busy pass with his BEAUTIFUL Sounding Satellite Rig. I make a few contacts including W3ZM at the Dayton Ham Vention, but mainly kick back and enjoy the show. This was a fun one for all it seemed, with quite a few not so regular stations on.
Thanks for the contacts, 73!
Equipment used
Icom IC-9700
CSN Technologies S.A.T. Controller
WiMo X-Quads
SHF Elektronik Mini 70 Preamp
Yaesu G-5500 Rotor

[@terryadams8012]

Aw shucks. Thank you Rob. That was a fun pass and I did not step on anyone. Using an Icom 2730A radio at 5 watts, Arrow antenna mounted at 20' with the antenna fixed at a 22° angle for EL and using a Channel Master rotator for AZ. Low cost operation with good results. Satellites are fun, if you have not tried them please do.

[@W0CYC-HamRadioEndeavors]

Thanks for the description of your station Terry! You always have a rock solid signal my friend. Definitely an inspiration for others to do the same. You deserved the attention on this pass!! Catch you on another one, 73!

[@NC0Q]

I wouldn’t even bother with 23 degree max el pass at my place unless I was already set up for a higher pass . Nice work! Thanks for posting, it keeps me inspired to get my butt in gear.

[@W0CYC-HamRadioEndeavors]

I was hitting the Tevel's at 4 degrees this last weekend even. The Mini 70 Preamp does the heavy lifting. Getting a mast mounted preamp is like opening your eyes to the world for the very first time. Words cannot describe the difference they make on these low power satellites. In fact, it makes you realize how bad reception is without them and you hear how bad other stations receive is because you hear EVERYTHING and can hear them not hearing themselves. You should get a Mini 70 and mount it on your tripod Tim. You don't need anything extra other than a coax jumper from the preamp to the antenna.

[@NC0Q]

I always assumed a preamp would be overkill with such a short run of coax but now you got me thinking!

[@W0CYC-HamRadioEndeavors]

That’s the beauty of the Mini 70. You can adjust the db gain so you can tune it to your setup. With a short run you could probably turn it down to 5 ish db and start there. That would offset your coax loss and double the incoming signal with very little noise increase. Mine are set at factory. The UHF is absolutely perfect for satellites. I need to turn the VHF down some because I have a higher noise level and it really increases the noise to a level I don’t like. Slightly less gain would increase my signal to noise ration and actually make the signal clearer.

[@NC0Q]

Wow, good to know! Thanks Rob

[@AndyKdq]

Hi, just in the process of setting up a station, got the G-5500 last week and the Wimo 2-70 X beams arrived today, can i ask if you know how long your boom pole is ? Thanks in advance Andy G1KDQ

[@W0CYC-HamRadioEndeavors]

Hello Andy!! That’s fantastic news good for you Sir. Here is a link to my cross boom. I use the 46.5” version. Thanks for watching 73! mgs4u.com/product/1-12-od-fiberglass-round-solid-rod/