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Satellites, Transverters, and a Flex

kf7lpu
kf7lpu Member ✭
edited September 2025 in Peripherals & Station Integration
I’ve been combing through many of the community posts and have a decent sense of what’s required for satellite operation. I think I may already know the answer, but I wanted to confirm with the community.

From what I understand, the Flex 8400 has only one XVTR port, which means it can’t operate in full-duplex mode on its own. To achieve true full-duplex cross-band operation, I’d need a Flex 8600 and two separate transverters — one for uplink and one for downlink.

Unfortunately, I overlooked this limitation when I bought my 8400. At this point, it seems like upgrading the Flex and buying transverters might not be the most cost-effective path. I’m starting to think that purchasing a second radio dedicated to satellite operation could be the better option.

I’d really appreciate hearing some thoughts or advice from others who have been down this road.
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Answers

  • Neil D Friedman N3DF
    Neil D Friedman N3DF Member ✭✭✭✭

    My understanding is that, while the 8400 indeed has only one transverter jack , the radio is capable of full duplex operation. The single SCU limitation means it can only receive on one antenna at a time.

  • kf7lpu
    kf7lpu Member ✭
    Hey Neil, thank you for responding, I suppose that would not be a problem to only receive on one antenna at a time since the up and down links are typically on different bands?

    So if I use the below Q5 transverter, the 8400 will still work.


    http://q5signal.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=70&product_id=99
  • Bill_NO4ON
    Bill_NO4ON Member ✭✭

    I believe that there is a way to daisy chain Q5 transverters. You might want to check with them to see if that can solve your problem.

    73

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