Documents
Documentation is key. When the current earth station leader graduates, who is going to know what is going on? Here you will find some of the documentation we keep for our two earth stations. We suggest that you keep a binder of all your physical documents (instruction manuals, pictures, schematics, etc), and create a folder on a computer where all the digital copies of these documents are. Scanning documents takes a lot of time but is well worth it in the long run. Make sure to regularly back up the folder to a CD or server.All of the documents here are in Adobe PDF format. You can get Adobe Reader free at the Adobe website.
Cal Poly Documents
Here are some of the documents we created here at Cal Poly to keep ourselves sane. Feel free to copy and redistribute these documents.- Earth Station Checklist(68kB) - This checklist was designed to jumpstart the bilding of your earth station. It mainly discusses the initial building of the earth station and includes helpful hints to make life easier. It is not ment for universities with existing earth stations.
- Hertz(12kB) and Marconi(13kB) block diagrams. These are a pdf versions of the block diagrams for our two stations. We believe that making a block diagram of your system (and posting it prominently) is invaluable for new people trying to learn how to operate the equipment. We used Visio to create these, but any simple graphical program will work. Make sure to keep it updated; and old version is sometimes worse than no diagram at all!
- Custom Cables(284kB) - Block diagrams, pinouts, and pictures of all of the custom cables we use here at the earthstation. Mostly deals with interfacing to the mac "serial" port to various equipment.
- First antenna permit(420kB) - Compiled by Trent. This is a useful template for any other schools that must submit a form to get a structure on the roof.
- Second antenna permit(1.2MB) - A permit for Marconi's antennas, compiled by Bryan. Also includes the work permit for the mat that protects the roof.
- Power output(80kB) - Power output of our two earth station radios, tested into a dummy load.
- Earth Station Presentation(587kB) - A general earth station presentation we did at Huntington Beach on 11 November 2004. A good breakdown of the different components of our earth station.
- Building 7(50kB) - Room diagram of our building. Very helpful to figure out where true north is (to align antennas). We are in the Mechatronics room.
Manuals
Here is all of the manuals for our earth station in PDF form. We recommend that you keep a digital copy as well as a paper copy available.- Radios:
- Yeasu FT-847(8.7MB) - Instruction manual for the Yeasu FT-847 satellite radio.
- Yeasu FT-847(2.0MB) - Schematic for the Yeasu FT-847 satellite radio.
- Icom IC-910H(3.2MB) - Instruction manual for the Icom IC-910H radio.
- Icom IC-910H(12.6MB) - Service manual for the Icom IC-910H radio.
- Kenwood TH-D7A(2.4MB) - Instruction manual for the Kenwood TH-D7A handheld radio.
- Kenwood TH-D7A(G)(425kB) - Enhanced features of the Kenwood TH-D7A handheld radio.
- Antennas:
- 2MCP22(1.2MB) - Assembly manual for our 2-meter satellite antenna.
- 436CP30(1.1MB) - Assembly manual for our M-squared satellite antenna. This is our "shorter" low gain 436MHz satellite antenna.
- 436CP42(1.1MB) - Assembly manual for our "longer" high gain 436MHz satellite antenna. Optional polarity switcher.
- 436 Polarity Switch Update(473kB) - Installation instructions for the polarity switcher on our 436CP42 antenna.
- Comet DS-15(231kB) - Manual for the discone antenna we have on the roof.
- JRM23810(222kB) - Measurements of our JRM23810 non-penetrating roof mount.
- SP-7000(770kB) - Manual for our SSB Electronics SP-7000 mast-mounted preamplifier.
- Accessories:
- G-5500(608kB) - Manual for the Yaesu G-5500 rotors and controller.
- GS-232A(292kB) - Manual for the Yaesu GS-232A computer rotor controller.
- GS-232B(4.0MB) - Manual for the new Yaesu GS-232B computer rotor controller.
- RigBlaster Plus(286kB) - Manual for the RigBlaster Plus from West Mountain Radio. Be careful of the page count.
- RigRunner 4008(72kB) - Manual for the RigRunner 4008 from West Mountain Radio.
- Delta 2N - Information sheet for the Delta 2N two-port antenna switch. Same spec sheet as the Delta 4N.
- CI-V(2.7MB) - Refrence Manual for the Icom CI-V radio-control system.
- CT-17(1.4MB) - Manual for the Icom CT-17 level converter.
Other Documents
Here are some other documents we find helpful around the earth station. Print them out and post them prominantly, as they are excellent reference guides!- Resonant Quadrifilar Helix Design(1.1MB) - By C.C. Kilgus. This Technical Feature from the December 1970 edition of Microwave Journal talks about designing helix antennas. Different feed methods are discussed, as well as dual-frequency operation. Radiation patterns are shown.
- Models for Propogation of NORAD Element Sets(1.1MB) - By Felix Hoots and Ronald Roehrich. Equations for the different orbit propogation models. Highly technical with lots of math. Includes FORTRAN code.
- Bandplans:
- ARRL Bandplan(148kB) - A color version of the ARRL bandplan found in most books. From the ARRL.
- VHF/UHF Bandplan(70kB) - A clear and colorful representation of all the amateur bands from 6m to 1.2GHz. From Icom.
- HF Bandplan(70kB) - Band Plan for the HF bands, from 160m to 10m. From Icom.
- Kenwood Bandplan(195kB) - Band plan from Kenwood showing all the bands up to 24 GHz.
- NITA Bandplan(94kB) - The entire electromagnetic spectrum from 3kHz to 300GHz, courtesy of the Office of Spectrum Management at NTIA.
- ICOM America Gridsquare(901kB) - A maidenhead gridsqare map for satellite contacts and contests. Know where you are! From Icom.
Updated 21 May 2006