Satellite transverters with 6500 and SSDR v3.1.8 - Ordering/Configuration Advice

Todd Rodgers

John WA7UAR

This is one of my favorite community articles about satellite configurations and it includes helpful links to 3rd party postings from Flex users as well — I include it here for your reference. Hope it is helpful for you Todd.

https://community.flexradio.com/flexr...

Rick N0VT

Todd--before you invest in the transverters, do a test of your rig using full duplex.  For instance, do the exercise on adjusting your audio where you transmit on an XVTR port and listen on a second slice.  The audio delay you hear coming back will also be present when you try to work sats full duplex.  If you want to listen to your downlink you'll have to put up with that.  I just found out a week or so ago--after bringing it up as a "problem"--that's this is an inherent characteristic of using FDX.

KF4HR

Todd Rodgers

Alan

Norm - W7CK

I too went with the 9700.  It works very well and is a simple solution that is all in a single box.  Transverters, amps, and all the cables for 2m, 70cm and 23cm is crazy complicated and just makes it far too easy to have problems with rfi and other failures do to all of the extra hardware, cables, power supplies etc.

K5WH

6600M sensitivity question with Q5 transverters.

I have a 6600M that I am trying to get my Q5 VHF and UHF transverters working with. The interconnecting was quite simple, as I have been using these on my HPSDR Hermes Lite2 systems for more than a year, so the configuration was very much the same, after setting up SatPC32 to control everything.
These are working fine with the local VHF and UHF repeaters, although they are far stronger than any of the satellites of course.
But, I seem to be having a real problem with signal strength from the birds in this configuration.
I have full confidence in the Q5 transverters, as I have been using them just fine in my other environment, so I'm certain I must not have something configured properly on the Flex side.
What are people using for the RX gain setting? When I have it at the default of 0, there is no noise floor at all. If I set it at -5db or even up to -50db, it raises it very nicely, but I still struggle to hear the satellites properly.

Any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated, as I would really like to nail this one down.
many thanks, Walter/K5WH

Alan

Walt

My Flex 6600 / Q5 does a great job on receive.

I have the RF gain for 2M and 70cm, on the Flex, set to zero.

I did follow the Q5 instructions for setting the RF gain on the transverters.

I would first suspect your antenna/pre-amp/feed-line loss as the cause for poor reception, especially on 70cm. In my case, I have antenna gains in the neighborhood of 10db and feed-line loss of 8db (70cm) and 3db (2M).

I have 6db of pre-amp gain at each antenna, which I can switch in / out. I normally use the pre-amp on 70cm but seldom on 2M.

Alan

WA9WUD

K5WH

Many thanks Alan for the reply.
Do you happen to have a link to the Q5 instructions that you mention here?
I used the normal Q5 documentation when setting them up initially, on my previous system, but is there something specific to Flex environments perhaps?
I have used these transverters for more than a year just perfectly on my previous system, so I'm certain the antenna system is ok, as it's only an issue with my current Flex environment, which is why I'm sure I have something not set right somewhere.
Thanks for the tips. When I turn the RF gain down on the Flex, I cannot receive the distant repeaters in the area, so it does appear to drop the sensitivity down quite a bit, of which I need the opposite of that.
thanks, Walter/K5WH

Alan

Page 5 of the manual. Here is a link.

http://q5signal.com/image/catalog/L144-28r1A.pdf

Below, are the instruction to adjust the transverter RF Gain:

Alan

=============

1. On the bottom of the transverter, verify the TXIF and RXIF gain controls in the transverter. Turn the RXIF control fully clockwise and the TXIF control counter-clockwise. This is maximum attenuation on Transmit and minimum attenuation on Receive.
2. Observe the noise level in the transceiver on the “S” meter and by ear. If it is too high, adjust the RXIF gain control in the transverter counter-clockwise until a slight noise increase is heard in the transceiver or just a slight movement in the “S” meter is detected. Power the transverter on and off to verify the change. The RXIF gain may be increased beyond this point, but it will start to degrade the dynamic range of your transceiver. It is all user preference. If you plan to use an external or mast mount LNA, this level will need to be re-adjusted. Find a signal on the band or use a signal generator to determine correct frequency, or minimum signal level.

K5WH

Thanks Alan,

I went through this on my previous radio, so maybe there's a difference in the Flex to require it again.
I'll give that a try.
thanks, Walter/K5WH

K5WH

An update on this.
I finally stumbled onto the root of the problem I was having with this setup.
Watching one of mike's great Flex videos on transverters, there was a very critical requirement mentioned, of having a COMMON IF for the transverter. I have previously been using a SPLIT IF on my HPSDR Hermes environment.
I made the simple modification to the Q5 Signal transverters and everything is working perfect now, and worked a dozen stations across multiple satellites today.
Life is good again, in the satellite world. :)
all the best,
Walter/K5WH