[aprssig] Ham uses for a 1.2m Ku-band dish?

[Stephen H. Smith]

Scott Miller wrote:
> We're shutting down an office and there's a surplus 1.2 meter Ku-band 
> HughesNet dish on the roof.  Is there anything interesting that can be 
> done with it in the ham world that'd justify breaking out the rappelling 
> gear to take it down?  Not that I've ever really needed a good reason to 
> acquire radio gear and/or rappel down buildings...
>
> Scott
> N1VG
>   

It would make a seriously long-range WiFi antenna.    Put a waveguide 
"Cantenna" or a *Hawking **HWUG1 USB WiFi* "dongle" at it's focus.  The 
HWUG1  (details at 
<http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=19&FamID=33&ProdID=302 
<http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=19&FamID=33&ProdID=302>> 
is a very useful gadget for these kinds of applications.

1)     It comes with a half-wave "rubber duck" whip that is removable, 
revealing a reverse-polarity SMA jack that lets you easily connect 
external gain antennas.   

2)     Since the device is a USB-connected external radio, you can 
locate the transceiver at the antenna and connect it with just a 
few-inches-long cable pigtail, and run a USB cable back to the PC. Saves 
serious coax loss at 2.4 GHz.

3)     The device is so small and lightweight that you can Velcro it to 
the back of antennas for quick lashups.

4)     The supporting control software produces an actual real-time 
analog RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator - i.e. "S-meter") 
display calibrated in actual dBM received, instead of the usual crude 
cellphone-style 5-bar signal indicator that lags far behind actual 
signal changes.  Makes it a LOT easier to aim, tweak and peak 
directional antennas. 




--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
EchoLink Node:      14400    [Think bottom of the 2M band]
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