March 2008 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Re: QSL CARD EXCHANGE
by Frank A Cahoy 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Hello Wayne and the Group, I too am an avid "paper" QSL collector. Last year, 2007, I sent nearly 2000 QSLs out. It's much too soon to calculate the return results for last year but after 47+ years I'd say that 50% would be a great return. Recently I contacted a fellow in Hungary since I still need satellite confirmation from that entity. I have worked three HAs but many dollars and many attempts direct and via the bureau have netted me zero return.

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VHF WAC WAS WAZ DXCC VUCC
by VE2PIJ FN35 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Please reply to ve2pij(a)hotmail.com Hello, Do you have certificate number +date +locator for VHF VUCC DXCC WAS WAC WAZ Example for DXCC Band # Date Grid Call Name Worked Confirmed SAT#108 24 Aug 1992 EN51 W9HAD Earl 104 104 it's for my web site: VHF-> WAC WAS WAZ DXCC VUCC certificate holder http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2/2mvucc.html Sat+2m+ VUCC http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2/6mvucc.html 6m VUCC http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2/vhfwas.html VHF WAS http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2/vhfwaz.html VHF WAZ http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2/vhfwac.html VHF WAC http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2/vhfdxcc.html VHF DXCC 73 de Pierre VE2PIJ ve2pij(a)hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/vhfdx2 _________________________________________________________________ Pars à la recherche pour gagner une Eclipse Spyder 2008! Cliquez ici pour participer! http://g.msn.ca/ca55/218

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KiwiSAT transponder on air tests
by Trevor 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

>From http://www.kiwisat.org.nz/ The KiwiSAT linear flight transponder is currently transmitting from the Whangaparaoa area with beam antennas pointing South. Transponder is inverting type to compensate for Doppler shift when in orbit. * Transmit Power is 2 Watts PEP. * Beacon frequency is 145.885 MHz * Uplink is from 435.265 to 435.235 MHZ LSB (note the sideband) * Downlink is from 145.850 to 145.880 MHz USB 73 Trevor M5AKA __________________________________________________________ Sent from Yahoo! Mail. More Ways to Keep in Touch. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

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Re: Easy to make, low cost omni-directional antennae
by Bill Dzurilla 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

I have just been involved with the sats since February and also wanted an omni for base station use. I started with a simple 1/4 wave ground plane (19" for 2m, 6 1/2" for 70 cm), later tried homebrewing Jerry's Eggbeater II, and then bought a second-hand M2 eggbeater and the ARR preamp. I noticed little or no difference between the 3 antennas, certainly not enough to justify the relatively high price of a new M2 eggbeater. The preamp helps a lot but, as Jeff says, SO-50 is still quite weak. Have not tried the Lindenblad. Not many are using it or talking about it, so I doubt it is all that great. Same for the turnstile. I do far better with a 5w HT and a handheld Arrow than I do with an IC-7000, ARR preamp, and any of the omnis I have tried. However, unlike some people, I don't really enjoy standing in the yard holding the Arrow antenna for 15 minutes. So I usually work from inside. If you do go omni, get it high enough to be in the clear. And unless you get a preamp, use very good coax and keep the line as short as possible. You can get a 70cm receive-only preamp from Ramsey Electronics for $17, but with that you'll need a separate coax line for the 2m uplink, or a duplexer. The ARR is the cheapest RF switching preamp and it's over $125. I also homebrewed one of Kent's dual band LEO cheap yagis, see http://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf. It can be built for $10 and it works as good or better than the far more expensive expensive Arrow, although it's not quite as portable. As Jeff mentioned, the Arrow unscrews into very small pieces and fits in a suitcase, very nice for air travel. The cheap yagi elements are glued to the wood boom, will fit into a car trunk but is not suitable for air travel, unless someone comes up with a different way to attach the elements to the boom that allows easy removal. Have not tried this, but I'm almost certain that a cheap yagi mounted at a fixed 20-30 degree elevation and rotated with an old TV rotator will be less expensive and give substantially better results than any omni, even an omni with a preamp. Good luck and 73, Bill NZ5N ********************************** Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:37:20 -0700 From: Jeff Mock <jeff(a)mock.com> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Easy to make, low cost omni-directional antennae To: Graeme Nelson <zl2gdn(a)gmail.com>, "'AMSAT-BB'" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <47EBB120.30806(a)mock.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Hi, I'm new to satellite stuff and I had essentially the same requirements as you. I live in a dense urban environment so I have more QRM problems than most, limited roof space, and I try to keep a low profile and not get the neighbors too excited. I wound up purchasing two eggbeaters from M2, one for 70cm and one for 2m: http://www.m2inc.com/products/vhf/2m/eb144.html They work well, they are well-built, and are great for AO-51, ISS-digital, and GO-32. I also wound up getting an ARR masthead preamp for the 70cm eggbeater to compensate for my long feedline to the roof http://www.advancedreceiver.com/page10.html To tell you the truth, the two eggbeaters are marginal for me working SO-50. It is just above the noise and I don't feel like I hear it well enough to transmit. If you want to listen for weak signals you might go straight to a directional setup with more gain. I feel a rotator in my not-too-distant future... Eggbeaters aren't terribly portable. The copperweld loop is going to spring loose when you take it apart and poke someone in the eye, so I don't move them. For portable I got and Arrow-II handheld 70cm/2m yagi. It's great fun and seems to be popular. I used it with an old Icom-W32A HT on vacation and used it to work AO-51. It breaks down really small, fits in a little bag, and I can put it together in less than 5-minutes: http://www.arrowantennas.com/146-437.html jeff AD6EO Graeme Nelson wrote: > Hi all, > > I'm wanting to make an antenna for "talking with the birds", mainly ISS and > LEOs. Thank you to Don ZL1THO and John KB2HSH for the suggestions and > encouragement they have already e-mailed me. > > I have done some more thinking since then and come up with the following list > of criteria for the first antenna I make for satellite work: > * easy to make > * lost cost > * omni-directional > * good performance, especially for satellite work, without moving it > * portable enough that I can pack it into the van when I go on holiday and it > won't take up much space (it needs to share the space with all the stuff for > my wife and 3 children, as well as me). It would also be nice to be able to > store it in the corner of my office at work if I so desire. > > When I started looking in earnest last Friday, a ham colleague of mine did a > Google search an came across a turnstile antenna that looked promising > (http://www.wb8erj.com/turnstile_antenna.htm). That evening, I noticed the > eggbeater on the web site of John KB2HSH (http://kb2hsh.blogspot.com/), which > looks nice and easy to build. I then did some searching and came upon the > Eggbeater II by Jerry K5OE (http://members.aol.com/k5oejerry/eggbeater2.htm), > arguably a better fixed antenna for satellite use than the original eggbeater. > A while later, I also found the EZ-Lindenblad by Tony AA2TX > (http://www.arrl.org/qst/2007/08/monteiro.pdf). > > I am currently leaning towards the EZ-Lindenblad (for 2m) and a parasitic > Lindenblad (for 70cm ... when I get hold of the design; I intend to e-mail > Tony about it if/when I go ahead with the EZ-Lindenblad). > > How do these antennae compare performance-wise? Am I leaning in the right > direction (EZ-Lindenblad), or should I be looking at something else? Your > input would be much appreciated. > > TTFN., > Graeme > ZL2GDN ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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Re: Easy to make, low cost omni-directional antennae
by Bill Dzurilla 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

With the receive-only preamp at $17 and the switching preamp at $125, you could blow up six of the receive onlies and still be ahead on cost. I use a switching preamp because I use the same 70 cm antenna to work VO-52, AO-7 and the local repeaters. Would have been cheaper to use a receive-only preamp with one antenna dedicated to the FM LEOs and put up a seperate 70 cm transmit antenna for the other purposes. But probably the piece of mind is worth the extra money. 73, Bill NZ5N At 09:43 AM 3/28/2008, Jeff Mock wrote: >I like having a switching preamp because I'm an idiot. I'm always >moving stuff around, I'll get a crazy idea to work a local 70cm repeater >or whatever. I would have certainly blown up a receive-only preamp >5-times over by now, even though I rarely use the switching part. For idiot proofing, the switching preamp is a good idea. :) 73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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UT1FG/mm still in the Algerian port of Annaba
by Robert Turlington 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

Hi All Since my last report a few days ago I have had one or two QSO's on AO16/AO27 withYuri UT1FG/mm and he is still in the Algerian Port of Annaba JM36VVRegards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ Amazing prizes every hour with Live Search Big Snap http://www.bigsnapsearch.com

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Programming software for TH-D7AG
by Jeff Yanko 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

Hi all, I noticed on the Kenwood site that they offer free programming software for all of their HT's. I was very surprised to read in fine print that the software may not work under the Windows NT 4.0 or XP platforms. Has anybody tried this software under XP. How did it function? Any problems? 73, Jeff WB3JFS

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Time is Running Out
by Martha 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

A reminder that time is running out. Over half the AMSAT room block for Dayton has been reserved. If you are interested in a room, please give me a call at 301-589-6062 between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM (EDT), Monday-Friday. -- 73- Martha

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Re: AO-51 2nd repeater EMPTY!
by Wayne Estes 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

I never heard anybody but myself on the AO51 2nd repeater, even after announcing on the congested primary channel that the 2nd channel is completely empty. SatPC32 users with CAT control can switch channels with 3 mouse clicks. Here's the entry for your Doppler.SQF file. AO-51,435300,145920,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,Voice V/U AO-51,435150,145880,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,Voice V/U Wayne Estes Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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[amsat-bb] Brazillian hams, especially near São Paulo
by Andrew Glasbrenner 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

I have been contacted by some university students at University of São Paulo who are interested in an amateur satellite communications project. Would any interested hams in the area please contact me, and I'll forward their information to you. Thanks in advance. 73, Drew KO4MA

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