RE: [amsat-bb] TrakBox Help Needed or advise on USB Sat Controller

["Don Ferguson" <kd6ire@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jip,

I can only offer one other view to the Trakbox vs PC tracking idea. My
Trakbox runs 24/7 for the last 10 years and uses a few ma's on 12vdc and has
no moving parts. This means, no fans, no hard drives, no noise. It sits
above my radio and a Green LED starts flashing whenever one of my preferred
satellites is in view. 

You are certainly correct that the PC can do many other tasks, and that
could be a good reason to go that way. 

Don
Kd6ire   

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-AMSAT-BB@amsat.org [mailto:owner-AMSAT-BB@amsat.org] On Behalf
> Of James H. Jipping
> Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 1:17 PM
> To: amsat bb
> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] TrakBox Help Needed or advise on USB Sat
Controller
> 
> AMSAT'ers:
> 
> I heartily 2nd this idea.  As those "old, obsolete, slow" (it seems that
> anything less than 1ghz and XP falls into this catagory) get dumped, a
> lot of computing power goes , too.  Yep, it's gotta have a ISA
> motherboard, not all that tough to find.  I put together a great
> tracking setup using two boxes with 128 megs and 256 megs of memory,
> pentium 266mhz and 450 mhz, W98se, 19 " monitors for nothing (including
> network cards for internet access and sharing files with another faster
> computer)  This also includes lots of capacity to to do sound card stuff
> with weather sats, SSTV, Packet, Aprs, telemetry and on and on. Like
> George says "be a scavenger" and you'll even impress yourself what can
> be don with "old stuff" My only cost was for the KCT and the neat
> software we can pick up from AMSAT and other sources and a 9600 modem
> and , of course my 4 port router/hub I needed anyway.
> 
> Jip,  W8MRR
> Amsat 5512,  low numbers translate to old geezers.
> 
> 
> 
> George Henry wrote:
> 
> > Why not build a dedicated tracking PC with an ISA motherboard?
> > They're a dime a dozen on E-Bay (heck, I have at least 3 laying around
> > at the office...), and don't even have to be anything spectacular:  I
> > still use a Pentium 266 I whipped up for our club's tracking computer
> > (with a KCT). Cost:  zero.  All parts were scavenged from upgrades or
> > obsolete trashed PC's at work, even the monitor (a 13-inch VGA that I
> > couldn't even GIVE away).  The only reason I can think of not to is if
> > space is too limited.
> >
> > George, KA3HSW
> ----
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