Buying rotator for ground station

[mfidanoglu]

Hello,
Now we are about to buy a rotator and rotator controller for our ground station. Basic needs will be the ability to control the rotator with PC, and track the low earth orbit satellites (e.g ISS). The cubesat community uses Yaesu rotators generally, but I want to consider different options also. I saw Prosistel rotators, being more specific, PST2051.
In this address index (you have to click antenna rotators, sorry no direct link), in the bottom it says PST2051 az/el with controllers. The price seemed reasonable to me.
Here Choosing a Ham Radio Rotator: AlfaSpid, ProSisTel BigBoy, M2, HyGain, Yaesu n0hr says prosistel is better than others.
But, I found a link Re: Elevation Rotors by Prosistel that talks about "no flip mode" on prosistels, without mentioning a specific model. While tracking a leo satellite, we cannot afford to lose 1 minute. We should see the satellite at all times.
What do you think about these rotators? Should I try this, or buy a Yaesu G5500 and be on the safe side as I know I can track LEO satellites with it already?
Thanks very much

 

[Moleculo]

While tracking a leo satellite, we cannot afford to lose 1 minute. We should see the satellite at all times.

Disclaimer: I don't have a base satellite station; I do everything handheld. However, if you are that serious about working the LEOs where you don't want to loose any time during the pass, then you have to have something that supports Flip Mode. If you're spending the cash to really set up a serious LEO station, get a rotator that does the flip mode thing.

 

[mfidanoglu]

Hello Moleculo,
I'm trying my luck if somebody knows about Prosistel If I can't find info, of course I won't buy it. It is sold under the name BigBoy in US I believe, or some dealers sell it with that name.
Thanks

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Prosistel rotators are good but generally are used for HF or large EME arrays. They are overkill for most satellite arrays. Unless you are going to be using a HUGE array for satellite tracking I would go with the Yaesu G5500.

 

[mfidanoglu]

Hi Captain,
In our previous ground station, azimuth part's motor was broken down. Maybe I was just unlucky, and G5500 rotators are good. However, looking at several websites made an impression on me that G5500 is not the most reliable rotator. Also, both HRD, SatPC32, and DXLabsuite supports Prosistel and AlfaSpid rotators.
After a bit mailing with them, I will write my decision here. Good to have some options
Thanks

 

[mfidanoglu]

Hello everyone
There isn't any flip problem in any of the elevation rotators. They confirmed it, and the guys there are very helpful.
Thanks

 

[W1MSG]

I picked up an older G5400B Yaesu that had never been used. It works perfectly with the ERC-R which is one of the better computer interfaces in my opinion.