Posts by KJ7NOY

Thank you so much, Guntram, for your quick and knowledgeable response. The documentation is very helpful.

Just as a note for anyone else with preamp questions, SSB Electronics has changed its naming conventions for this preamp. You can see a picture of the “Super-Amp 2000” at the top of https://www.ssb.de/en/amplifiers/preamplifier/vox/100w but the brands offered for sale are, for instance, “SP 200.”

I have a few follow-up questions that I hope are of interest. The antenna I have bought has a boom with two antennas attached. I am planning to use a duplexer (such as a Comet Antennas CF-416W) so I only have one coax run. Does this preamp send power down the coax? I’m not seeing this question answered in the documentation provided so I would assume the answer is no. However, if power is sent down the coax, will the duplexer interfere with sending DC over coax? Can I have preamps next to each antenna be fed by just one power supply? I understand from my reading of the “Getting Started” pages that I should choose low-loss coax, but is there a practical limit to that advice? Or should I just get the most expensive coax I can afford?

Many, many thanks,

Marcia KJ7NOY

I have a brand-new General license and while studying for it I got interested in satellite radio communication. I’ve been reading https://www.amsat.org/introduc…rking-amateur-satellites/ and it seems like the right level of challenge for where I am.

I have been involved in Summits on the Air and wanted to buy an antenna for “chasing” from my home station on 2 meters. In order to also pursue my new interest, I got the M2 Antennas Satellite Antenna Packages SATPACK1. Reviews for that antenna (and the third and fourth articles linked in the above-mentioned URL) mention a preamp. The specification sheet for the MHP-145 illustrated in https://www.amsat.org/wordpres…Getting%20Started%204.pdf says that it is a “preamplifier for high power, up into the kilowatt range.”

I wouldn’t mind buying something that would also work when I buy a higher powered transceiver as described by https://www.amsat.org/articles/houston-net/amps.html. For instance, I found the Advanced Receiver Research preamps with 160 watt through power capability (which I’m guessing is different than “power handling capacity” or “operating voltage” times “power consumption”). However, for now what I need is something that would work with my Yaesu FT-60R/E. I’m guessing that what I need is a SSB LNA 200, but I’d like someone with satellite experience to confirm that.

Any suggestions about a suitable mast mounted preamp would be greatly appreciated. And, just to satisfy my curiosity, is there a difference between receive preamps and transmit preamps? It took me a while to realize that my Google searches were yielding preamps used for transmitting.