Yes. The Yaesu G-5500DC absolutely has position feedback, and that’s one of the reasons it is so popular for satellite tracking.
The system consists of:
- An azimuth rotator (G-5500A)
- An elevation rotator (G-5500E)
- The G-5500DC control box
Inside the rotators are position-sensing potentiometers. The controller continuously reads these and displays the current:
- Azimuth angle
- Elevation angle
on its front-panel meters.
Why this matters
Without position feedback, a controller would only know that a motor was running.
With feedback, the controller knows:
Current position:
Azimuth = 123°
Elevation = 37°
and can stop the motors when the requested position is reached.
Computer control
When you add a GS-232B (or a compatible clone), the computer can:
- Ask for the current position.
- Command a new position.
- Continuously update the target position for tracking.
For example:
Computer: Move to Az=180 El=45
GS-232B: Sends command
G-5500DC: Starts moving
Position sensors: Report actual position
G-5500DC: Stops at target
Is the feedback accurate enough for masers?
For a 1–2 m dish at 22 GHz:
- Generally yes.
- The feedback resolution is finer than the mechanical accuracy of the rotor.
- In practice, installation errors and backlash usually dominate.
Typical issues are:
- Mast not perfectly vertical.
- Dish not aligned correctly with the elevation axis.
- Mechanical backlash.
- Wind loading.
These usually contribute more error than the potentiometer feedback itself.
A useful capability
Because the G-5500DC has position feedback, you can perform pointing calibration.
For example, you could:
- Point at the Sun.
- Peak the received signal.
- Record the offset.
- Apply a correction model in software.
This is exactly the sort of technique often used in amateur radio astronomy.
For your intended setup
A complete chain would be:
Maser coordinates
|
Tracking software
|
Hamlib
|
GS-232B (or clone)
|
G-5500DC
|
Az/El position feedback
|
1–2 m dish
The software always knows where the dish is pointing because the G-5500DC provides position feedback through the controller system.
For tracking water masers with a 1–2 m dish, the presence of this feedback is one of the main reasons the G-5500DC is a more straightforward solution than adapting many TV satellite positioners.