Excellent idea and post, Tom. I have posted two YouTube videos of the Baeofeng UV-3R being used for satellite work. I would suspect performance of the UV-X4 to be similar in nature. AC0RA and I have made a few "Baofeng to Baofeng" contacts to test the performance on several of the LEO FM satellites. Timing and antenna orientation is key and I would recommend two the radios be used for full-duplex, as in your suggestion Tom.
Here's a video of receiving AO-27 using the stock rubber duck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYZyC_vkew0 here's a video of receiving AO-51 using an Arrow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRN4uJXvnK0 (I did make a contact on this AO-51 pass, though I wouldn't recommend it because of the semi-duplex limitation) 73, Clayton W5PFG On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Thomas Doyle <[email protected]> wrote: > This may have been discussed previously but just in case it has not. > > I purchased an interesting radio that might be an inexpensive way to > operate full duplex on the FM sats. > The radio cost $65 including shipping and all accessories. It runs 2W on > both 2M and 70cm. It has > almost all the bells and whistles you would expect on a dual band handi. 99 > memories - tone squelch ... > > In addition to the low cost the radio is very small. See pic - I have > fairly normal size hands so you can see how > small it is. > > http://www.tomdoyle.org/UV-X4.jpg > > I purchased it expecting the worst. Much to my surprise it actually works > quite well. The menu system is > the most intuitive I have found on any radio. The only negatives I could > find were > > - no channel lockout when scanning - I put the local weather station in one > of the memories. > Since it is always on you can not use the scan function. > > - I fully expected a radio of such a small size would not have adequate > sound from the speaker. > In fact the sound from the speaker is really loud. Everything is set > using a rotary digital switch > with detents. This works great for selecting channels and using the menu > functions. There are > only 9 detent positions for the volume. The lowest volume setting is > mute, one click up and it is > loud and it keeps getting louder as you go up. There was nothing wrong > with my radio - they > all do it. > > - no DTMF pad > > None of these negatives affect the use of the radio with an FM sat. You > could buy a pair of these > for $130 including shipping. Add a diplexer and Elk/Arrow antenna and I > think you would be good to > go with a very compact low cost full duplex portable FM station. > > I bought mine from http://www.maintradingcompany.com and received excellent > service. In case you > were wondering what the goofy looking LED between the switch and the > antenna is - it is for the > flashlight function the radio offers as a feature. The flashlight feature > is invaluable :-) > > Sent from my computer. > > W9KE Tom Doyle > _______________________________________________ > Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
