FT 9000 D
I have long been a fan of Yaesu equipment. The FT 9000 D is connected to a VL-1000 amplifier. The FT 1000D sits next to the 9000. I particularly enjoy the antenna switching in the 9000 and in the amplifier. The automatic antenna switching and tuning does makes me lazy when operating other rigs that require band and antenna switching. The 9000's antenna switch is incorporate as an element in the computer controlled antenna switching located in the basement.
As you can see in the picture below the 9000 picture it is connected to a computer that has three monitors. While there are four monitors in the line, one is connected directly to the jack in the back of the 9000D. The other monitor on top is the weather station whose output is available on this site.
Once again Logic 8 is running on two monitors the only way to go with this great program! One of the great features of Logic 8 is the ability to network the data. Each of my stations therefore enters the data into the same data base. This allows me to use any machine and have the same list of past contacts. If you have not looked at using this great logging program, take a look. Caution however, it has such flexibility that it is easy to overlook what it can do. I have called Dennis on the phone or E-mailed him several times to suggest he add something only to be told, “Oh, it is there now all you have to do is … “ Working with Dennis W4AZY is really great.
You can see in this picture and close up in the next one the AKG condenser microphone. Probably overkill but the 9000 had phantom power and so I was tempted to try it. I have had great audio quality reports with this microphone.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The picture to the left shows the Flex radio which composes the four monitors in the middle. The satellite station is to the left. There are 11 flat screen monitors and five computers used to operate the system.
Coming Attractions
During this summer we will be remodeling the home and adding a new addition that will have a new 24 by 14 foot ham room overlooking the lake.
I have also added a Kenwood TS 480 HX for remote operations. It works great. I will soon add a page that describes the remote operations. I also have used the Flex in remote operations by using remote desktop in Windows XP. However, the amount of “tweaking” needed to keep it working makes it not as suitable as the TS 480 for remote. With the new Kenwood software to allow the TS 480 to be remote it works great.
I also hope to add a 72 foot crank up with a Monster SeppIR antenna hopefully yet this summer.
This picture is a wide shot of the FT 9000 side of the radio room. You can see the four monitors used to operate the FT 9000. The weather monitor is on top of the computer.
Satellite Communication
The picture to the left shows the satellite radio. The primary radio is the Yaesu 847 which is also used for HF. When used in the HF mode, this radio uses the Alpha 374A amplifier.
The Satellite Antennas are the Hy Gain DB218SAT. These antennas are moved using Yaesu 5500.
This station uses a separate computer with two monitors. I use two different tracking software programs in the satellite operation - SATPC32 and Nova. Satpc32 is used for controlling the radio and antennas because of its superior device interface. Nova is used for the voice announcements of the satellites so I can do other things and hear when they are coming into view. The antennas are controlled from the Primesat unit but the frequency and Doppler are controlled directly from the SATPC32.
Flex Radio
The following are pictures of the K9OQ amateur radio operation. The picture to the left is the Flex Radio system. Because this is basically a black box and software, all you see are the four computer screens. Having four computer screens connected to the same computer allows the logging software (LOGIC 8) to be spread across the first two monitors, the Flex on the next monitor and MixW on the fourth.
The Flex is fun radio to use but does require more TLC than an out of the box radio. It is easily updated by simply uploading new software I have used this radio for remote access over the internet using remote desktop.