We are planning to have a Portable Computer-Controlled Satellite Station at Field Day 2021 this year. The station will use an IC-9700 Transceiver controlled by a Mac Computer to enable us to make Satellite Contacts during Field Day.
Portable Satellite Antennas for Field Day
Field Day Rules limit Field Days stations to a single contact on FM “EasySats” such as SO-50, AO-91, and the ISS. The addition of a computer enables us to make contacts using satellites that have Linear Transponders which use SSB. We can make as many contacts on these satellites as we wish.
Field Day 2021 Satellite Passes
We used the MacDoppler Satellite Tracking program to run predictions for the satellite passes that will take place during the Field Day 2021 operating period which is from 2 pm EDT on Saturday, June 26th through 2 pm EDT Sunday, June 27th. The summary above only includes those passes with elevations that exceed 20 degrees. As you can see, there are a lot of great Linear Satellite passes that we can work on Field Day!
Members will be able to sign up to operate our Field Day station in the near future. Watch the Field Day forum here in n1fd.org for sign-up details.
Satellite Station Training at Field Day
We will be offering hands-on Training on our Satellite Station at 12:30 pm EDT on Saturday, June 26th just before Field Day operations begin so come on out and learn about Satellite operations!
On Wednesday, May 25, Jon – AC1EV, Jeff – AC1FX, Jim – K1BRM, and Vince – KD2TMJ met at Fred – AB1OC’s QTH in Hollis, NH to set up and test the satellite antenna, radio, computers and other gear our club, Nashua Area Radio Society will be using this year at Summer Field Day. Here are some pictures of our Field Day Satellite Station test.
Satellite antenna Base
The satellite antenna base is on the lower right of the above picture. The much larger antenna on the left is an EME array and as you might guess, is not very portable.
Preparing the base
We placed the small Glen Martin tower with the AZ-EL rotators installed on the lawn and aligned it using a compass.
Base aligned and leveled
We used doorstops under the tower legs to level it and sandbags to hold it steady. There are bubble levels on the tower to make it easy.
Install the support arms
The support arms will hold the antennas.
Tightening the support arm bolts
All of the bolts need to be tight. The antenna moves quite a bit and needs to maintain its shape.
Installing 70cm antenna
Fred (AB1OC) installing the 70cm antenna and aligning it properly in its brackets.
Tighten bolts on 70cm
Vince (KD2TMJ) and Jeff (AC1FX) tightening the bolts for the 70cm antenna.
Install 2m antenna
Vince (KD2TMJ) and Jeff (AC1FX) prepare to attach the 2m antenna.
Preparing to wire the antenna array
There are many wires that need to be connected to the antenna array: control wires for the AZ-EL rotator, Coax for the antennas, control wires that shift the polarization of the antennas, etc. Every connection outside has a matching connection in the shack. There are some wires already connected to hardware that remains attached to the antenna tower, such as the pre-amplifiers.
Dressing the wires
Since the antenna array can spin horizontally as well as tilt vertically all wires need to be secured so as not to tangle as the antenna moves. In addition, care needs to be taken to make sure each connection is correct to avoid any short circuits or other negative results. There needs to be enough slack to allow free movement for the antenna but not enough to allow any excess to become caught by moving parts.
Plugging in the polarity control line
Jim (K1BRM) and Vince (KD2TMJ) watch as Jeff (AC1FX) connects another control line.
Field Day Satellite Station Test Setup
After the initial successful test of our Field Day Satellite Station, Fred (AB1OC) shows Vince (KD2TMJ) the radio setup and what he will do to make a QSO.
Fine Tuning on Successful Test
After a successful QSO Fred (AB1OC) makes a small adjustment by ear to a beacon from a satellite. On the monitor at the right of the screen, there are circles on the map that represent the locations on the ground that have a clear line of sight to the satellites. There is one red circle and that one indicates the satellite visible to our location and that the radio is tuned into.
ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups, or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. There are many different ways hams participate. Some stay home and operate their normal stations’ others take their radios outside and create a simple temporary station. Small groups of friends can do likewise and take their equipment to an outdoor location and share the experience together. The Nashua Area Radio Society and many other clubs take It in steps beyond that. We have access to the equipment and skills to set up a multi-radio station that is networked together and equipped to allow multiple users to operate simultaneously. We set up towers with beam antennas to get the most out of the radios as possible. One of our primary goals for this event is to provide an opportunity for our members to operate in a sophisticated off-grid ham radio environment and we will have up to 50 different operating slots for our members to sign up to operate in. This way, even newly licensed hams with no equipment can have a chance to operate and join the rest of us in participating in this fun event.
We’ve been busy getting ready for Summer Field Day 2021 at the Nashua Area Radio Society. Our plans include putting up a Tower, a Computer-Controlled Satellite Station, and an upgraded 6m Field Day Station.
6m LFA Yagi
Our 6m Field Day station will be a portable setup and features a new antenna – a 3-Element Loop Fed Array (LFA) Yagi from InnoVAntennas. There are some advantages to LFA Yagi’s for the 6m band and above. In particular, Yagis using an LFA design are less susceptible to noise and interference which is a big advantage for weak-signal work on the 6m Band.
6m LFA Yagi on Mast
Our Yagi is lightweight which makes it ideal for portable applications like Field Day and Mount Topping. Aron, W1AKI, and Jamey, AC1DC helped me to assemble the antenna and put it up on a 25 ft fiberglass mast here at our QTH for testing. The antenna is fed with LMR-400uF coax and rigged with a rotator loop near the top of the mast so that the antenna can be pointed by rotating the mast at the base. The setup is easy to put up – it takes about an hour to do it.
6m Field Day Station
We also use the 6m LFA antenna project as an opportunity to assemble and test our 6m Station for Field Day. The station is an all-mode setup that can do SSB Phone, CW, and WSJT-X Digital (FT8/FT4, Q65, MSK144, etc.). The station will be generator powered at Field Day but it can also be run using a solar/battery setup when Mountain Topping.
The station features an IC-7300 Transceiver (100w), a Winkeyer and Paddles for CW, and a Windows laptop computer running the N1MM+ logger and WSJT-X. The station will also sport a second monitor for Field Day.
N1MM+ Logger on 6m
The N1MM+ Logger works great with the IC-7300 and WSJT-X digital. It supports the all-mode station configuration nicely and it is well integrated with WSJT-X making the logging of FT-8 and other Digital Mode contacts simple. N1MM+ also supports voice recording and keying of the IC-7300 which is a great aid during longer operating events like Field Day.
PSKReporter Test of Portable 6m Station
So how does the upgraded setup play on 6m? Very well! The image above is a snapshot from PSKReporter during our testing session. As you can see, we were using FT8 to test the station and we were heard up and down the eastern U.S. states.
WSJT-X FT8 Decode using 6m Portable Station
Signals were strong in WSJT-X FT8 mode and it was easy to make contacts. We made about 50 contacts during our testing of the 6m Feild Day Station.
The LFA Yagi hears really well making for reliable decodes of signals in the -18 range and often weaker.
6m Meteor Scatter Pings
For fun, I decided to try some 6m Meteor Scatter contacts using the MSK144 mode. This is a challenge with a 100W station as Meteor Scatter general needs a bit of power to work well. As you can see from the image above, we had no problems decoding meteor pings from stations in the midwestern US. I even managed to complete a couple of contacts using Meteor Scatter on the 6m Band.
All in all, we are very pleased with the performance of our upgraded 6m Field Day Station. If we can get a similar Es opening to what we have been seeing here during the last two days, we should have a lot of fun on the Magic Band at Field Day!
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