Yes, By all means they work. Just don't go buy an FM 1.25M (220Mhz) Ham rig and expect it to do rocket hunter or walston tracking at range. They use different modulation and you won't be able to tune any run of the mill ham rig to their frequencies. Trust me, I made that very mistake in the beginning. A TH-F6A may be workable but the best receiver for those devices are likely the pricey ones provided by the manufacturer. Kurt
-------------------------------------------- On Tue, 6/2/15, Kevin Trojanowski <[email protected]> wrote: Subject: Re: [altusmetrum] DF with Yaesu VX-6R To: "Altus Metrum" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 8:13 AM You can do RDF with any 70cm handheld with a Tele* product. You don't need to decode the packers for RDF -Kevin > On Jun 2, 2015, at 7:44 AM, Kurt <[email protected]> wrote: > > The ham stuff is only good with FM trackers only. Walston/Comspec use SSB or CW modes that > perhaps a Kenwood F6A might be workable with. I've ground tested but not done any range checking. > Arrow sells an offset attenuator and so does Marvin West: http://www.west.net/~marvin/k0ov.htm > I've also have one of his 2 Meter beacons for fun: http://www.west.net/~marvin/microhnt.htm > I thought Keith was using a VX-8GR and then went with an FT1DR for APRS tracking. The -6R doesn't do APRS but could be used for FM RDF. Loop antenna might not be as sensitive at range than a yagi. > A good offset attenuator like Marvin's helps very close so I don't think you have to invest in a loop. > I've never seen anyone use a loop in six Midwest Powers I've attended. Granted a loop is smaller and easier to carry. If you can get close enough with a Yagi/attenuator, you should be able to find it. > > Kurt KC9LDH > ------------------------------------------- > On Mon, 6/1/15, Max McHatton <[email protected]> wrote: > > Subject: Re: [altusmetrum] DF with Yaesu VX-6R > To: [email protected] > Date: Monday, June 1, 2015, 9:48 PM > > Rob, Kevin stated correctly, that > you will need a directional antenna and attenuators or a > variable attenuator. An in-line analogue signal > strength meter is also very usefull. I used my VX-6R > last year, during my successful L-2 flight. I had a 3 > element arrow yaggi antenna. I didn’t yet have > an attenuator. So I utilized a trick I learned when > DFing ELT’s. When I got close, I disconnected > the antenna. WARNING: Do Not Transmit without an > antenna. A loop antenna is more directional than a > yaggi; so I plan to buy one, and a set of in-line > attenuators. There are some other helpful tricks, like > body shadowing to determine if the signal is in front or > behind. Another trick I tried with limited success was > utilizing the top null of a whip. Most whip antennas > have a radiation pattern like a doughnut, with a null on > top. So theoretically, if you pan the HT horizontally, > you should have a null, when pointing the whip antenna > directly at the RF source. Max Mc in Medford > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > altusmetrum mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.gag.com/mailman/listinfo/altusmetrum > > _______________________________________________ > altusmetrum mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.gag.com/mailman/listinfo/altusmetrum _______________________________________________ altusmetrum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gag.com/mailman/listinfo/altusmetrum _______________________________________________ altusmetrum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gag.com/mailman/listinfo/altusmetrum
