RE: [amsat-bb] Q-Par positioner (was Re: Free Microwave Calculator)

["Howard Long" <howard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Phil,

In case you didn't see my experiments with a Meade and an Arrow...

http://www.g6lvb.com/etx125.htm

Unfortunately the gears are plastic and not very good at providing the
larger torque required for big antennas - but they do work with small
antennas - just.

I also never got the Meade Autostar software to track satellites at all
well, even though they are aledgedly specifically supported. Certainly the
Autostar was well off with Nova & Wisp predictions.

The entire cost of my Meade tracking device was about the same as an FT-847.
Now if I could just offload those pesky optics...

73 Howard G6LVB

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-AMSAT-BB@AMSAT.Org [mailto:owner-AMSAT-BB@AMSAT.Org]On
Behalf Of Phil Karn
Sent: 11 January 2001 17:01
To: antonio@qualcomm.com
Cc: amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Q-Par positioner (was Re: Free Microwave
Calculator)


>I asked the price for their "portable antenna positioner", and got the
>following "A ROM cost for the Portable Antenna Positioner is approx US$
>27000 (£18000 sterling) for a standard set up. If you require extra
>software or hardware, ie. special controlling software, antennas, etc these
>will be charged separately."

Just about every telescope in the Meade catalog has computer
controlled pointing, with external RS-232 inputs. And they cost a
*lot* less than $27K.

I wonder if they'd sell us just the tracking mounts...

Phil

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