Hi All,
Sorry for the super-basic question.
I was hoping for some help with a no rotator setup. I had been following the build wiki which was very helpful. The challenge I am having is finding a Turnstile antenna that would work in UHF band. Any suggestions on where I can purchase one or another antenna type which works in the UHF band?
I did find this yagi antenna but am I correct without a rotator this would not get any signals?
Thanks
Really love what this community does. I am keen to track a satellite I was involved in (ACRUX-1) but would love to add a Melbourne ground station to the network.
Hi,
Yes, without a rotator, a yagi antenna isn’t going to work well.
As for turnstiles, on the SatNOGS wiki page ( https://wiki.satnogs.org/Antennas ) there are a few suggestions for antenna suppliers. Winkler ( http://www.winklerantennenbau.de/kreuz446.htm ) do a 70cm turnstile. There’s also antennas.us, who do a QFH antenna, though it’s a bit pricey: https://www.antennas.us/store/p/229-UC-4364-328-UHF-Amateur-Satellite-Antenna.html
Cheers,
Mark VK5QI
Thanks Mark! Appreciate the help.
A few other ideas if you want to make your own: Cebik (W4RNL, SK) Moxons: QST archives and also http://www.oocities.org/w9bci/VHFUHFSatelite.pdf. “Texas Potato Masher 2” http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Texas_Potato_Masher_2.html and Eggbeater http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Eggbeater_2.html. AA2TX (SK) Parasitic Lindenblad https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/70ParaLindy.pdf
Commercial: Dual-band Arrow J-pole on my station (618), still (oy!) no LNA and neighborhood has some RFI issues. Improving UHF performance is on my “todo” list. I want to get it working for Huskysat telemetry in early 2020.
Re: Yagi. A 2 or 3-element fixed position yagi will have a relatively broad pattern. If your location geography (near coastline of a big ocean) or terrain is blocking one direction, may be more useful than an omni that has no coverage in one direction (terrain) or duplicates other stations (geography). My best direction is to the east over the Atlantic (3-4 hr drive by car), so I’ve thought of doing that myself. WA5VJB “cheap yagi” are a cheap and easily reproduced design.
Thanks, great info that I had been finding difficult to find. I am keen to try and make my own but thinking I need to boost my knowledge up a bit before I can understand the docs enough to be able to do it.
+1 for the winkler turnstile. Cheap as chips a d a reasonable performer. There are a few available on eBay from time to time. I got one from Slovakia. I can dig out the supplier if you want
Also the AMSAT UK vhf is a winkler and not shabby either
Alex
I suspect the Slovakian supplier is ‘Stanislav Palo’ on eBay, which is where I sourced my VHF turnstile from and it certainly outperformed my home built dipole 
That’s the one. I couldn’t remember his name. He seems to do all sorts
That’s the one i ordered as well and quickly received. Need to improve it’s installation and location but being limited to a flat with a balcony i’ll never get an optimal skyview for my antenna.
But first tests show it works at least. Will probably add a little LNA.
Got my groundstation up and running with a winkler turnstile. Really happy with it. Thanks everyone.