I'm getting ready to put a hole in the roof. What method works best, punching or drilling? I'd like a minimum of deburring and clean up if possible.

I might also investigate just removing the factory "sharkfin" antenna and seeing what's underneath. I don't listen to broadcast radio anymore (and don't want Satellite), so I won't miss it.

Glad to hear everything worked out for you. This was a good topic, I got a few tips for future reference.

Back before I upgraded to general I bought an FT-897d for the all mode VHF and UHF, and did a lot of listening to the HF bands and used it as a general coverage receiver. Kind of expensive for SWL when you consider you can get a radio at a drug store for $25, but it did inspire me to upgrade.

What I'd like to see is a companion receiver for split band operation. something the size of an FT-817 that could track the tuning dial on the 897 for use with satellites or contesting. The dual-vfo function on the 897 doesn't really cut it for satellite use because they can't be locked together, and doesn't allow duplex operation.

That's great, Congratulations!

I haven't been able to coordinate a pass and free time to work ISS on APRS, but when I set up my radio I put the frequency and let it in the scan frequencies. When it breaks squelch it still causes me to question who is transmitting packet through the local repeaters until I realize what I'm hearing.   

I've tried a few passes that I'm sure would have worked... but because I get all wound up I forget to change the path, or the TNC frequency, etc I don't get a response. If I'd actually sit down and set up a pass to work I'm sure it would happen. Luckily I'm only using an HT with a compromised antenna, so I don't think I'm QRMing too badly. It's not intentional, I assure you. Maybe a checklist taped to the radio would help...

Most (if not all) of these devices are in-line between a device called an LNB (low noise block downconverter) at the feedhorn and a satellite receiver. The LNB greatly amplifies the satellite signal in order to overcome coax losses and to allow for multiple receivers. They also depend on measuring the total power in the bandwidth of the LNB, often 500MHz or more.

They might be useful as a field strength meter if you were very close to a transmitting antenna, but that's about it.

I guess I don't understand the question. Yes, ch 3's video carrier is at 61.2500 and the allocation is from 60 to 66MHz.

I'd be more concerned with your off-air solution though. You'll be better off demoding (receiving) the off airs and re-moding with ATSC (or QAM) modulators. Not only would this limit the possibility of other undesirable signals getting into your plant, it would also allow you to set up and maintain a consistent signal. If you're planing on installing line amplifiers you'll find that low level off air channels won't survive much amplification due to noise introduced by the amplifiers.

TNCs are considered Data Communications Equipment (DCE), which have 9 or 25 pin female connectors. Computers are Data Terminal Equipment (DTE), which have 9 or 25 pin male connectors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232#Connectors

Straight through, 9 pin to 25 pin cables or adapters will work. A null modem cable is for connecting 2 computers together directly without a modem in between.

The TH-F6a does have a ferrite bar antenna. It can be switched in or out using the menus, if you have a long wire connected to the SMA connector.

However, don't expect a lot of DX listening using the bar antenna.

I bought an Ultratorch UT-100si a few years ago. It hasn't let me down in any of that time (other than not wanting to light on the first click of the igniter at 9000+ feet, but eventually it did go). Kind of pricey though:

http://www.masterappliance.com/heat-tool-products/butane-powered/ultratorches/ultratorch-ut-100si

Good point. I paid a little more for a good one years ago, so I don't think much about it.

If you're looking for HF, I built an Elecraft W1 wattmeter recently. Took a few hours to assemble. It is calibrated using a VOM and a trimpot, using test points on the unit itself. It seems to be accurate, although I've only compared it to the meter on my FT897d. Only downside is that it uses BNC connectors in a strange location, and case options are few and far between.

http://www.elecraft.com/mini_module_kits/mini_modules.htm

I've done some experimenting with telescope Az/El mounts for satellite tracking. They typically have a DC motor attached to a gearbox, that has an encoder/turns counter of some sort. This setup is very accurate (more than necessary for small beams on 2M/70CM), repeatable and predictable.

With good gear reduction you should be able to have a fairly good position repeatability, but you'll need to keep the coils energized to maintain position, and even then if you're running at the high end of recommended voltage. Once the coils are de-energized the motor will turn very freely. Of course, keeping the coils energized will likely limit their life.

I would also recommend using servos instead. More expensive, but easier to interface and they stay put. If you're not set on microcontrollers, there are a lot of Arduino libraries and shields to interface all types of motors, so it shouldn't be too difficult to try different motor types without having to adapt code.

I would guess, just judging by the ham radio operators I've met over the years, that if you were to send them source code and libraries they wouldn't know where to begin. I'm not saying they couldn't figure it out given enough time and study, but the desire would have to be there, and think about their reaction when it doesn't compile correctly.

I do include myself in this group. I've been running Ubuntu Linux for about 5 years now. For the most part I just use the debian packages for software. A few months ago I decided I wanted to get maps working in xastir. The mailing list folks usually recommend compiling from the latest stable builds before checking for other problems. Even following the pre-produced scripts I really wasn't sure what I was doing. It seems to work, but I get a lot of errors on startup and eventually it just crashes. Could be a bug in the software, but more likely there's something wrong with my build. Either way, I have a lot of learning to do to get clean builds.

Compare that to building a circuit. Soldering parts is easy enough and troubleshooting is checking the pads for cold joints, diodes in backwards, etc. Even alignment procedures are usually fairly simple to figure out, just reading values on a VOM, for example.

I have no doubt I could build an Elecraft K2. I'm certain I could interface it to a PC running FLdigi. But I seriously doubt I could build a Hamlib library to get the K2 talking to FLdigi.