NA1DB NA1DB's Ham Radio Page

Misc. Ham Radio Software

n1owu_ant.zip: This is a collection of (mostly) Unix C and Tcl/Tk programs to control radio stuff over a network.
antpic.asm: A 16F84 program to control an antenna rotator via an Icom CI-V serial port. This controls the rotors based on timing, and does not need any position sensors and related wiring. I have used it with Radio Shack rotators.
kenciv.asm: A 16F84 program to control a Kenwood radio via an Icom CI-V serial port. Lets you control a mix of Kenwood and Icom radios from the same serial port!
antciv.asm: A 16F876 program to control antenna rotators with position-sensing potentiometers (e.g. Yaesu) via an Icom CIV- serial port. Has nice features like an interface to a LCD module, and jammed motor detection. This is what I am currently using.
New! Some photos of my rotor controller hardware. You can see the the microcontroller motherboard and the relay board (both from Dontronics ), the LCD display board (from Scott Edwards Electronics ), the 12-volt power supply transformer, the 30-volt transformer taken from the Radio Shack rotor controller box, and a 12-volt regulated power-supply board.
Adding a position sensor to a Radio Shack antenna rotator.

	Here is my antenna system for AO-40. It consists of: Radio Shack Azimuth Rotor Yaesu G500 elevation rotor Homebrew 2 foot dish for S-band with helix feed DJ9BV S-band preamp on dish feed (in the mayonnaise jar!) Arrow yagi for 2 meters and 70 cm. (Since this photo was taken, the Arrow was replaced with a KLM 435-18C.)
	The latest setup with a KLM 435-18C for 70cm, and a Diamond 7-element beam for 2 meters.
	The 2-foot dish I built. It's made from 12 one-foot-long 1/4" steel rods welded to a central hub, with a ring to stiffen it. It is covered with expanded metal mesh. Unfortunately, due to its all-steel construction, it weighs a ton.
	A close-up of the helix feed. There is a quarter-turn matching strip at the base of the helix, which you can't really see. Also note the rain shield for the matching strip. The plastic mayonnaise jar protects the preamp from the weather.
	A shot that shows some more detail of the rugged all-steel construction :-) The RG-142 feedline runs through the feed support tube so as not to block any of the dish aperture.