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49 Confirmed DXCC
158 Confirmed Squares - VUCC

QO-100 Ground Station

In 2023, my first station to access QO-100 was based on the ADALM Pluto, however this failed over the winter and therefore I had to decide if I was to buy another Pluto, or change the station build. I have now had two Pluto units which have failed for different reasons and therefore decided to go another route.

2023 Ground Station Page

The 2024 station is based on the DX Patrol QO-100 Upconverter MK4, retaining the Pluto for RX with SDR console for the time but this will move to an SDRPlay RSP1B at some point. The exciter radio will be my Yaesu FT-857D, which is a portable radio used previously when I took part in SOTA.

For antennas, I already have the POTY which has worked ok, but compromises receive somewhat so I started to build a DC6YCL YATT Helix, however I don't have that much spare time, so have purchased an Icecream Cone v2.1 antenna to get back on the air. I will continue to make the YATT and see how it performs.

In 2023, I used SSTV, FT4 & FT8, 300 baud Packet and SSB, I had a number of contacts which has been very enjoyable thus far so I want to get back on the satellite as soon as I am able to re-build.

QO-100 DX Club Bronze Award - 50 Entities (Oct 2023)

The operators on QO-100 have been very helpful and courteous, some sending me received SSTV pictures for analysis, and SSB QSO's are always an interesting discussion on the station builds and related radio subjects. With a less congested band, there is always time for a qso !

First QSO's per mode on QO-100

Station build in progress, but this is how it will be configured ;

Station Schematic diagram

The Upconverter is located in the cabinet, behind the dish along with the SG-Labs PA and power supplies. The IF (144Mhz) Coax is fed from the shack along pre-routed buried conduit.

The SDR is located in the shack directly connected to the Sat PC, along with the Yaesu FT-857D via CAT.  The PC uses SDR Console to track the RX and TX frequencies.

Dish and Garden Cabinet - (2023 install)

The dish is located alongside my other Satellite dishes and antennas.

**PIC

Dish, amongst Friends

Parts List

Project Total : £ 749.00

Monthly and Yearly Detailed Climate Reports

Yearly Data

2024

2023

DL6YCL - Yet Another Twin-Turn - Helix antenna for QO-100

I started using QO-100 in RX mode, with just the Bullseye LNB and 80cm dish and had good results pulling in signals from the Geostationary Satellite, however when I then added the POTY, and the LNB adaptor, etc the signal dropped off, especially on heavy cloud days. Clear skies were passable, but with a number of changes made and measurements taken, there was only so much I could do to get a signal that was workable, especially on SSB.

I had thought about the various Helix options from speaking to a number of stations who had a helix (from 2 turns to 3.5 turns) and how their signal presented to the satellite. Then came a chance google search which brought me to the extensive QRZ page of DL6YCL

Initially, this is being built for a Triax TDS80 dish (80cm, steel off-set) but could be moved on to the 1.2m Andrews Polar Mounted dish should I need the increased signal level. The 1.2m dish, however is used for International TV/Radio reception and therefore only a temporary measure unless I can find another larger dish !

Build

I started by collecting and printing the parts needed for the helix. I needed to order the Nylon bolts, Brass Plate and an N-Type connector. I already had in-stock what I thought would be good enamel coated copper wire.

Assembly

Calibration

Results