We recently completed the finishing touches on our new VHF/Satellite Tower. The first step was to install a second set of entry conduits into our shack and a new ground block for our satellite antennas. This involved installing 4″ PVC conduits into our shack. The new entries are very close to the base of our tower and this will allow us to keep our feedlines as short as possible.
We also replaced the section of our feedlines which run down the tower with 7/8″ hardline coax. We installed a total of four runs for 6m, 2m, 70cm, and 23cm. The use of hardline coax will help reduce our feedline losses – especially on 70cm and 23cm.
The new hardlines are connected one of the two entries into our shack. The 6m hardline enters on the side closes to our antenna switching matrix and the 2m, 70cm, and 23 cm hardlines will enter the shack via the newly created entry which will be close to our satellite transceiver.
The next step in our project will be to upgrade our Flex-6700 SDR based Remote Gateway for operation on the satellite bands. You can find other articles about our Satellite Station 4.0 project here:
- Portable Satellite Station Part 7 – Plans for a 4.0 Station
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 1 – New Tower
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 2 – Antennas
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 3 – Antenna Integration and Testing
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 4 – Tower Camera and J Mode Desensitization Filter
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 5 – New IC-9700 Transceiver
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 7 – Flex SDR Satellite Transceiver
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 8 – GPSDO Frequency Locking
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 9 – Upgraded Simple Portable Station
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 10 – Adding 23 cm To Our Satellite SDR
- Satellite Station 4.0 Part 12 – Antenna Upgrades
Fred, AB1OC