hi i am looking to make an rv roof mounted antenna that will be raised by motor and rotated by motor in a 360 degree circle .made to rotate 180 degrees west then can turn 180 degrees east by remote control then to a part/homing postion.then lower antenna in stored/parked position.what i need is what would work for me to have it go to a set position and be relay operated to lower antenna in that position each time i activate control to park antenna for motor home travel.

 

Welcome and good luck with that antenna thingy

 

Do you want the antenna control system to be aware of what direction you are facing?

This would be a microcontroller project with steppers and position feedback, as well as an electronic compass for direction input.

It can be done, but if you are not intimately familiar with programming microcontrollers, the mechanics of the antenna (unless they are built in), and creating a driver PCB for the power components, you may have a hard time of it.

There is currently another thread that is working to have a stationary antenna point to preset directions with an LCD display, have a look at that thread for a concept of the "things to know".

Is this for HAM? Satellite systems often have this feature, but typically do not point West, always generally southern (in northern Hemisphere) to point at the geo-sync satellites.