November 2009 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Maximum distance for the LEO satellites
by OZ1MY 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

Hi all, Interesting to see the talk about distance records. Just for fun I tried to find the "best case" distance for the different satellites. Conditions for the calculations: Used NOVA for Windows to find the maximum height. Used Jan Kings Spreed Sheet to find Slant Range with an elevation of 0 degrees. Multiplied by 2 to get maximum distance between two stations. Sat. Max. Height Slant Range Max. Distance between stations AO-51 817 km 3300 km 6600 km SO-50 690 km 3046 km 6092 km AO-27 800 km 3293 km 6586 km AO-Ø7 1459 km 4552 km 9104 km FO-29 1322 km 4314 km 8628 km VO-52 643 km 2935 km 5870 km SO-67 506 km 2591 km 5182 km XW-1 1200 km 4092 km 8184 km Hope it is right :-) 73 OZ1MY Ib

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AMSAT at the Tampa Bay Hamfest, Dec 5-6
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

Hi All, This is just a reminder and request for assistance for the AMSAT booth and forum at the Tampa Bay Hamfest this coming weekend, Dec. 5th and 6th, at the Manatee Civic Center in Palmetto, FL. We have a scheduled AMSAT forum at 10:30AM on Saturday, and we will have a booth with AMSAT books, software, and goodies. We are also planning on doing a variety of demonstrations, including AO-27 and SO-67 on FM, VO-52 on SSB, and maybe even listen to some of the more interesting cubesats like CO-66. During the forum we'll talk about the status of current AMSAT projects around the world, and where we are headed. If you are a current AMSAT member, or plan on joining or renewing at the hamfest, we could use some help behind the table throughout the day. Please drop me an email at ko4ma(a)amsat.org if you can help out. You don't have to be a satellite expert, just interested in helping is all. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Icom 910H vs Kenwood TS2000
by Perry Yantis 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

I am always amazed when I hear someone say the TS 2000 does not have a good receiver, mine is great!!! The TS 2000x I have hears all satellites very well. Remember there is an internal preamp on the TS2000. On hf it just seems to amplify the noise level so I leave it off. But I leave it turned on all the time on vhf, uhf and it automatically comes on when you turn on 1.2. The last time I used an external preamp was on the KLM Echo 2 back in the 70's. Since then I have used a Kenwood TS700, TS790, and now the TS2000x. The TS2000x receives (with the internal preamp on for vhf, uhf) about the same as my old TS790 did (it did not have an internal preamp). With M2 antennas, computer tracking and tuning, low loss cable, and cable lengths between 50-70 ft I have never had a problem receiving any amateur radio sats. Perry WB8OTH

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SO-67 Recordings 29Nov2009 USA
by John Papay 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

I have uploaded the three morning passes of SO-67 as follows: http://www.papays.com/SO-67_29Nov2009_132150z.mp3 http://www.papays.com/SO-67_29Nov2009_145433z.mp3 http://www.papays.com/SO-67_29Nov2009_162953z.mp3 If you want to make successful qso's on SO-67, you must change the way you normally operate. The three second tail is different than any other satellite so you must adjust for it. If you don't, you will not have much fun. The first way to make a good contact is to wait 3 seconds after the last station transmits before you transmit. You will then be able to transmit for as long as the qrm will allow. I believe there is a 30 second timer which will come into play if a valid signal with PL is continuous for that period of time. If someone calls you and you can reply in less than three seconds, by all means jump right in and transmit as soon as the other station drops. There is enough time to acknowledge with your grid square and a "qsl." There is normally not enough time to add your callsign. If you have to say more than 3 seconds worth, wait until the tail timer expires (3 seconds) before you start transmitting. If you are full duplex, you can easily transmit on the 3 second tail, hear yourself drop, unkey and then begin transmitting again. That has worked for some. There is a third way to get around the tail timer and that is to start transmitting before the station you are working unkeys. If there is a squelch crash, you missed and the tail timer will get you. If you get your transmitter on before the other station drops, you'll be able to exchange your info without dropping. It's tricky and full duplex helps. There are many other factors which can contribute to a drop including being clobbered by another station. If the clobbering station is not running PL, the three second timer starts and the bird will drop. Again, full duplex helps to hear what is going on when you are transmitting. Running too much deviation can also mute the receiver and start the timer. Turn your mic gain down and your processor off. Use narrow FM on your transmit signal if your radio has it. Incorporating a 3 second waiting period is very difficult because we have been programmed to respond immediately after the station we are working stops transmitting. Failure to begin transmitting immediately usually results in someone else making a call. However, when working SO-67, transmitting immediately will start the 3 second timer. It takes discipline to wait. The last option is to just listen and let the others experience the fun. (smile) 73, John K8YSE

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Re: Interference in Spain
by Clint Bradford 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

>> ... You cannot solve the problem existing as well in Spain shooting down all taxi drivers that are using 2 meters for their communications ... I'll wager that I have more (a) licensed amateurs and (b) unlicensed abusers of ham and commercial bands here in Southern California than you do in your immediate area. The potential for illegal use and abuse is greater here - but (knock on wood) we have very little problems. I feel your frustration ... but I believe it can be solved with a methodical education campaign. I've contacted several illegal dispatch operations personally. I am not one to simply complain to our FCC and think my job is done. I'd rather visit and explain to someone why their ops are illegal, what the potential fines are (they range from US $3,000 to US$10,000 a day, plus confiscation of all equipment), and then show them how to get legal ... sometimes even using the equipment they already own. My methodology has worked on "problems" as large as a large commercial air carrier to small, mom-and-pop dispatchers. I have solved several problems in this manner. >> ... The only cure is to make the LEO satellite receivers less sensitive and use more EIRP at the ground station.........no HT's my friend ! I think you are joking. I HOPE you are joking. One of my favorite ways to get fellow amateurs interested in AMSAT and satellite operations is to show them just how easy it is to work our LEO birds - with equipment most hams already own (dual-band HT and a better antenna). LEOs have a wonderful amateur radio public relations purpose. I am not sure how your country's department of telecommunications respects amateur radio. Contact them at ... http://www.cmt.es/cmt_ptl_ext/SelectOption.do ... and see how they would like you to work on/with illegal operations. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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morning pass AO-51
by Mateusz 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

Hallo Today morning I recorded signals from AO51 downlink with my call and a station in background: www.enduro.idl.pl/audio_sat/AO51_30_11_09_0754UTC.mp3 Elevation was 3 deg and lower. Station heard in background probably doesn't know that transmits within satellite part of 2m band, maybe it is not amateur? Matt SQ7DQX

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Icom 910H vs Kenwood TS2000
by Tom 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

I plan to purchase a new home transceiver in the next few months and I've narrowed my choices between a 910H and a TS2000. Thinking only of satellite operation (ignoring the HF capability of the TS2000), is there a general preference in the Amsat community of one over the other? Reasons? Thanks for your opinions. Tom, KØTW

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Re: Satellite QSO distance record attempt
by Bob- W7LRD 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

This thread brings up a ongoing effort between myself and Eric-PA1TNO. At best we share a 30 second window on AO-7. This equates to a distance of 7837.7Km. Just trying to streeeeeeeeetch the footprint. 73 Bob W7LRD ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Groth" <hislens(a)gmail.com> To: "Daniel Nick Kucij" <dnkucij(a)myfairpoint.net> Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 9:01:48 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite QSO distance record attempt So far, my record is 3019 miles on AO51. I caught KL4E, Craig, up in Alaska. My furthest contact south is 2484 miles to YV5DSL, Jose, in Caracas, Venezuela. I work days so I can't usually get on in the mornings during the week but later in the evenings around 10pm-1am CST, I usually have SO50 all to myself or maybe one other station- which is absolutely no good at all, but I always try to CQ South America in hopes of going further south. This morning, I had a scheduled contact with NH7WN, Robert, in Honolulu- which would have been a 3753.190 mile contact. He was on an HT and an Arrow standing in 40 mph winds and rain at 4:40am his time!! Sawson, KG6NUB, set everything up and did a great job of coordinating the attempted QSO. Thanks Sawson! Apparently we just missed the QSO. Robert heard me but I did not hear him. I believe I waited just a moment too long to transmit and lost the window. Seconds counted there! I also appreciate the courtesy of VE6AB, Jerry, and K6CDW, David, for clearing during the attempt. All in all, it was a great attempt and we plan on trying again as soon as possible. Kevin N9EME -----Original Message----- From: Daniel Nick Kucij [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 9:18 AM To: hislens(a)gmail.com Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite QSO distance records Hi Kevin, I was surprised your post did not attract more discussion than it did, as it seems we all love the DX. I've also searched online before and could not find anything except for the AO-7 references. I've never found the actual footprint dimensions for AO-51/AO-27 either. This summer while on the coast of Maine, I tried some trans-atlantic DX on AO-51 and AO-27 for the first time. I was using a handheld and homebrew yagi (2up, 5down) pictured on my QRZ page. To my amazement, I worked the Canary Is. and Spain on my first try from the top of Cadillac Mt. in Acadia National Park.. Since returning home to Vermont, I've kept at it, sometimes using a small amp and/or preamp. I've been quite successful with confirmed contacts from the Azores, Canary Is, Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland. All of these have been on LEO FM birds ay DX in the +/- 3000 mile range. Some of them were made completely barefoot on the HTs, some were two way HT with no amp either side! I've heard Wales, but he didn't hear me. My best DX QSO on AO-27 is England at 3203 Miles (5155 Km). My best DX contact on AO-51 is the Canary Is at 3339 miles (5374 km) It's always a thrill to do it even when I work the same station over again. My best North American continental DX is Inuvik, NWT at 2674 miles on AO-51. I see you have a great antenna set-up. How far south have you been able to work with it? 73 Nick KB1RVT _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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satellite rig comparison
by Dads 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

Hi; I have owned the Ft-736 R and the Ft-847, which I am using now. No matter which rig you decide to buy the most important thing is the antenna system. I use KLM,s with switchers and pre amps. I switch my pre amps off and on from the shack. My 847 has a pre amp built in too. Nothing is better than MAST MOUNTED PRE AMPS THOUGH. If my 847 goes bad I will replace it with another used 847. I also work a lot of HF too. I run barefoot on HF all the time. I also get through all the pile ups because I have a good antenna with gain. Through the years I have made over 15,000 satellite contacts alone. 73,s Jerry w0sat

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Re: Icom 910H vs Kenwood TS2000
by Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

At 11:30 AM 11/30/2009 -0500, "Mark L. Hammond" <marklhammond(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Hi Tom, > >I own a TS-2000X and thanks to the AMSAT Symposium :) an IC-910. I >do more digital than voice, so my perspective is biased in that >direction. > >Here are some of my thoughts: > >The CAT control of the TS-2000X is amazing. All menu options are >available remotely via CAT. No so with the 910. > >The TS-2000X allows adjustments of modem/TNC levels in/out of the rig, >910 does not. > >The TS-2000X has built-in TXCO and DSP, 910 does not (yes, they are >expen$ive options). > >The TS-2000X lets you work mode A, 910 does not. > >The TS-2000X gives me the full rated power output on both 2M and 70cm, >the 910 does not (same antennas, feedlines, etc.)---does anybody have >the solution to this? Even with flat SWR the 910 cuts back output to >about 70-75W on 2M and 40-50W on 70cm!! Bummer > >The 910 receiver is much better on 2M than my TS-2000X, which is >actually pretty deaf on 2M(even after doing the "resistor mod" to >improve receive). > >The 910 does not have the AO-27/SO-50 birdy, while the TS-2000X >does--this is my single biggest disappointment with this radio!!!! >Tuning the TS-2000X "off frequency" by 5-7kHz above and below the real >frequency helps a bit, but it's still a pain. > >In spite of the short comings of the TS-2000X, I don't think I'd trade >it even up for an IC-910H with a the 1.2 gig module installed... > >73, > >Mark N8MH Mark, Didn't you have a kenwood TS-790 too? I use the TS-790, and a TS-440s HF rig and wondered how the receivers in the TS-2000 compare to the receivers in the TS-790 on 2m and 70cm. I wonder if people like its HF performance, I would be using it on HF in place of my 22 year old TS-440. KB7ADL

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