[aprssig] APRN status?

[Jason KG4WSV]

On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 6:03 PM, Scott Miller <scott at opentrac.org> wrote:

> If no one's listening, can someone suggest a good Az/El rotor and antenna
> setup with RS-232 control and a documented interface protocol?

Our students (UAHuntsville Space Hardware Club) resurrected an old
ground station with a Yaesu az/el rotator that has an RS232 interface.
 I think they've put together some software to point the array at an
APRS station - useful when a balloon is in the air.  We got the old
(damaged) antennas replaced yesterday, and hope to have some decent
ATV from a future flight.

While working on this I stumbled across hamlib, which contains an
abstraction layer for rotator control called rotctl (there's also
rigctl, for controlling radios, etc).  The developers were quite
helpful in assisting me getting the rather old Yaesu interface
supported so that we could easily control the array automatically for
satellite ops with gpredict.

The students are also working on an az/el rig for  a mobile 900MHz
yagi. It is designed for mobile use and has a GPS and tilt-compensated
compass, and will keep the antenna pointed at the balloon while both
the balloon and the chase vehicle are in motion.  With luck we will
use it on a flight this weekend.

-Jason
kg4wsv