Can IC-705 be used on Green Cube satellite?

A subscriber asked. Recently he bought 705 (not from me!) and he is considering 9700.

The short answer is yes. The 705 has dual USB virtual port so setting up Doppler frequency control and digital modem is the same as on 9700. However, IC-705 is only a 5W radio (10W with external power supply). Five watts is not really enough for Green Cube. The pass through rate would be 20% at the best. You will be missing a lot of contacts, and be frustrated with your inability to complete them. Most importantly, you will be missing all those low elevation passes where all the juicy DX ‘reside’. Like ZS, LU and North America. This is why 9700’s 50W output just shines.

Again, I am sure that someone would reply with “Oh but I am getting through with just 1W”. Yes, that is true, but your real pass-through rate with 1W drops to less than 5% and under such a low rate, making a contact is more a matter of luck than utilising the satellite efficiently.

How much power is optimal? From my experience, 30-40W into a 14dBi antenna is what it takes for a true sat experience.