Dr. Garlitz has a Yaesu FT-60R Handheld for loan to be used for FM satellite communications.  It is great for AO-51 contacts.  Members should E-mail him at jgarlitz@ufl.edu if they would like to pursue building an antenna described in an article that follows.…that would be become club property for others to use and share…

 

FT-60R Brochure

 

Article - building a dual band Yagi and Mounting the FT-60R for portable operation

 

FT-60R Manual

 

The Yaesu FT-60R can easily be used to work satellite AO-51. It is a great dual-band rig lacking only the duplex feature but having strong construction and belt clip, 1,000 memories, RX 108Mhz to a gig, great RX volume. It has a great battery system where, with our AA battery case, you have FULL TX POWER available if needed.  You do need an improved antenna and the article describes a great approach with lots of gain...and a headset/mic for best portable ops.

The FT-60R can be programmed for "split frequency" (page 28 of the owners manual) - where you can set it up to TX on one band and RX on another in a single memory location. We have the programming software to make for easier entry. For AO-51, program like this...

Ch 100, RX 435.310, TX 145.920

Ch 101, RX 435.305, TX 145.920

Ch 102, RX 435.300, TX 145.920

Ch 103, RX 435,295, TX 145.920

Ch 104, RX 435.290, TX 145.920

Channel 102 is the "center" frequency. As you ACQUIRE the signal, listen slightly ABOVE (ACQUIRE - ABOVE the center frequency to compensate for the doppler effect).

Information source: Clint Bradford, see his tutorial at http://www.k6lcs.com