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

South America - Europe contact via AO-07
by Juan Antonio Fernandez 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

This evening I have completed a contact from IM78BW with Mr. Piraja PS8RF at GI84OW Brazil, thorugh AO-07 mode B in the 60446 Orbit at 19.55 GMT. Althoug I have farest contacts with this satellite in this mode this is the first with South America. The Satellite sounded clear without any noisy and distorsion over the Atlantic Ocean. It likes to be a healthy sat. Thanks to the AO07 !!! Juan Antonio EA4CYQ 73s

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Satellite array & tower Up
by Edward Cole 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

Thursday, Dec. 3rd we got the satellite tower tilted back up with antennas for 145, 435, 1268, and 2401. Cables and the electronics enclosure remain to be installed. I do have the 15w 1268 Tx up and tested. I have a 150-foot piece of LMR-400 to run to the 435 x-yagi. I have LMR-400 and N-connectors to make more cables. photos of the array on: http://www.kl7uw.com/sat.htm The dual Lindenblad antennas are still partially done on the workbench. 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com 500-KHz/CW, 144-MHz EME, 1296-MHz EME DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)hotmail.com ======================================

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SO-67 contacts
by Ulip Željko 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

Hello Satellnauts, After a two orbits of listening and following the SO-67 rules, I made few contacts without any problem: 05.12.2009. 08.07 UTC: PE1NIL, ON5UE, SP5MG, F1UGK, IV3RVQ and EA5TT 06.12.2009. 07.47 UTC: SP9FPP, YO9GJX, F6BYJ, I6IBE and SQ7DQX See you on the SO-67! Best regards & 73 Zeljko 9A2EY

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SO-67 0858_07-12-2009
by Mateusz 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

Record from monday morning: http://www.enduro.idl.pl/audio_sat/so67_europe_mess.mp3

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AO-51 - After the Change
by Clint Bradford 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

I thought I read we were supposed to experience degraded performance from AO-51 since last week's re-orientation of the bird. I just worked the 5:04PM Pacific Standard Time / 01:04 GMT pass from DM03. Worked three countries along the West Coast, in addition to working Texas to the East. Elaborate station equipment involved ... -handheld radio at 2.0W -handheld dual-band Yagi Performance seems just fine out here, folks! Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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(no subject)
by Pierre van Deventer 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

I have seen this topic being debated on previous occasions. Each and every time I have used AO51 I experience the same. If one uses a hand held linear polarized Yagi for the down link the signal difference by "twisting" the wrist is enormous. I have not made a point of measuring the difference as such, but the down link signal varies from being full quieting to virtually inaudible. This was so before the flip and still so now after the flip. 73, Pierre ZS6BB -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Clint Bradford Sent: 07 December 2009 05:15 To: Glenn AA5PK Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 - After the Change >> ... I think the handheld ops have less trouble with the polarity switching because tend to compensate more quickly with a twist of the wrist ... That phenomenon is not evident now - nor has it ever been - for me on AO-51. I know the engineers say I am supposed to be increasing or decreasing my signal strength by 22 or 23db by merely twisting my Yagi 90 degrees. But I have hundreds of witnesses during dozens of demonstrations who will tell you that when the Yagi is turned 90 degrees, there's no discernible change in the signal. This is not a scientific approach to the subject, of course. Just what my aging ears can hear. I have heard fellow AMSAT members describe AO-51's "signal fading due to the satellite tumbling in space," too. I am not using elaborate equipment, but have no idea what they are talking about. Just my firsthand observations. Guess I could be wrong ... we are a little different - I am told - out hre on the West Coast of the US. Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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Fade compensation
by Robert Smith 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

Aloha All Just a note on my personal Arrow experience. With many satellites, ie, AO-51, SO-50, Cubesats Prism, SEEDS, etc., I have found that a "twist" of the wrist" can make the difference between a "clean" signal and no signal at all! This is a common phenomena that I experienced less than 2 hours ago on AO-51. The AO-51 pass was noisy at 14 degs max. el. using my Arrow and HT. Antenna "adjustment" helped significantly. Having only been on 51 a handfull of times during the past week I cannot pass any judgment regarding recent downlinks in Hawaii. My impression is that AO-51 is a very dependable, fantastic FM bird. The same goes for it's Operations team and those I regularly hear on the mainland. Tonite's "noise" may be been an anomoly or perhaps the current orientation of AO-51 has shifted some signal strength in favor of the southern hemisphere. I did did have several clear QSOs. I will continue to evaluate AO-51's signal quality. 73 to everybody Respectfully- robert, NH7WN Honolulu, Hawaii

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WD9EWK at the Superstition hamfest (Mesa AZ) and DM32/DM42 on Saturday
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

Hi! More fun on the satellites yesterday. Between the Superstition Amateur Radio Club's annual hamfest and a quick afternoon/evening road trip south of Phoenix to an unusual grid, it was a good day. Lots of interested people at the hamfest, and lots of QSOs for those hoping to work the rarely-heard grid DM32 later in the day. Superstition Amateur Radio Club hamfest, at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona (grid DM43bj) This hamfest is the first one of the Phoenix-area hamfest "season", as the weather turns cooler and the winter visitors - "snowbirds" - from other colder parts of North America make their way back to central and southern Arizona. When I showed up at the hamfest around 0515 local time (1215 UTC), there were already more people setting up than in the past couple of years. Good weather also helps with that, of course. Although cool by local standards (36F/2C at that hour), no rain was seen. I set up my AMSAT table, and prepared for the first of 6 passes I would use for on-air demonstrations. The first two passes of the morning, at 1254 and 1434 UTC, were on AO-51. These were the first passes I worked since the satellite was flipped around and its antennas were not favoring the Northern Hemisphere. Once the satellite was up from the horizon, there was little noticeable difference compared to previous passes. Near the horizon, it was tougher to hear - but not impossible. As usual, there were lots of stations on the pass toward the east. I was able to make 8 contacts with stations across the USA and in southern Mexico. One of those QSOs was with Bob WA7DXZ, who let me know he would be coming to the hamfest in a couple of hours. He showed up as promised, stopping by to say "hello" a couple of hours after we made that QSO. The second pass to the west had fewer stations on, and only 3 QSOs went in the log. The next pass I planned to try for a demonstration was on AO-7. It was in mode B at 1448-1510 UTC, coming almost directly over my head (81 degrees maximum elevation). This was the first time I attempted a demonstration using this satellite. Unfortunately, I had some local QRM to deal with on the SSB downlinks - generators with lots of noise audible on my receiver (one of my FT-817NDs). Thankfully, the noisy generators were north of me, and pointing my antenna away from that direction reduced the noise. Thanks to AA5PK, KC7MG (he was not too far away from me, in Casa Grande south of the hamfest site), WC7V, and XE1AO for the SSB QSOs. In fact, XE1AO said that his QSO with me was his first on AO-7. Maybe we'll hear more activity from Mexico on that satellite in the near future. Later in the morning, I had two VO-52 passes and an SO-50 pass where I had demonstrations. Again, I made contacts with 4 stations on the first VO-52 pass to the east at 1618-1630 UTC, and two on the western pass at 1754-1806 UTC. In between these two passes was the SO-50 pass I worked at 1730-1742 UTC, with 6 QSOs. When I wasn't on the radio, I had a steady stream of traffic around the AMSAT table. All of the demonstrations draw nice crowds, and the AO-7 demonstration in particular brought out the largest crowd. The longer pass time meant people stuck around longer, including many who had been on the satellites in the past. Some of those were active on AO-7 in the 70s and early 80s during its first life. I apologize to those who were waiting for me on passes where I didn't show up until 3 or 4 minutes into the pass, as I was chatting with people around the table and I was not watching the clock closely. This hamfest also turned out to be a nice get-together for satellite operators currently active on satellites. A nice roundup: Bob WA7DXZ Ed N7EDK John N7JK Larry WA6DIR Leo W7JPI Larry drove in from California, Ed and Leo came up from southern Arizona, and Bob and John live in the Phoenix area. A nice get-together for those of us that get on from the southwestern USA. Many others who are occasionally on also stopped by throughout the morning, including a couple from northern Mexico. Thanks to the Superstition Amateur Radio Club for providing me a space for AMSAT at the hamfest, and all of the stations across North America that made contacts with WD9EWK during the demonstrations. But this would not be the end of my day on the satellites... Southeast of Maricopa, Arizona, in Pinal County (grids DM32xx and DM42ax) 32 59.960 N 112 0.000 W A few days before the hamfest, I mentioned I would also make a trip to the rarely-heard grid DM32 in the afternoon after the hamfest. Less than 45 minutes away from the hamfest is the northeast corner of DM32, a grid that has no resident satellite operators and most of it is off-limits due to an Air Force bombing range and several wilderness areas in the grid. The southwest corner of the grid crosses into northern Mexico. I have gone to this area on many occasions in the last couple of years, putting both of these grids on the air for satellite operators. The location on the boundary that I use is very close to where four grids (DM32, DM33, DM42, DM43) converge - in the middle of a farm. I do not go onto that spot, but park on this boundary on the side of a road to work from both DM32 and DM42. I drove here after most people had left the hamfest around 2000 UTC, an hour before the first of two AO-27 passes I hoped to work at this location. I arrived with 10 minutes to spare. I set up my radio, the antenna was already assembled from earlier, and I was ready for the 7 minutes of AO-27 repeater time. In 7 minutes, 12 QSOs were logged with stations all over the USA and Canada - including QSOs with several who had previously told me that they hoped to work DM32. The western AO-27 pass at 2240-2247 UTC had 4 more QSOs, including a QSO with Craig KL4E doing a demonstration for a Boy Scout group in Anchorage, Alaska. Later on, there were two AO-51 passes - 0004-0018 and 0144-0156 UTC. The first pass to the easy was a popular pass, with 14 QSOs from all over the continental USA and Alaska (KL4E was on doing another demonstration for that Boy Scout group in Anchorage). The later pass wasn't as busy, but still put 8 more QSOs in the log with stations along the US west coast and in Alaska (KL4E again; this time he was at home). A total of 38 QSOs were logged on these 4 passes. Compared to many of my other road trips, this one was a very short trip. I drove less than 100 miles/160km for the day. There was no shortage of activity on all of these passes, 10 in total. Anyone who worked WD9EWK yesterday and wants a QSL card only needs to e-mail me the QSO details. If you're in the log, I will mail you the card(s). No SASE required. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Help with SO-67 and Nova
by Gopal Madhavan 07 Dec '09

07 Dec '09

I am unable to see SO-67 listed amongst the satellites for the Nova tracking program. Can anyone help and let me know how I can add this satellite to the list? Gopal VU2GMN Gopal Madhavan "Shreyas Apartments" 128 (old 63) Greenways Road R A Puram Chennai- 600 028, India Tel: +91 44 2493 7724/ 42303129 Mob: +91 94440 18452 E-mail: gopal.madhavan(a)gmail.com

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SO-67 recordings North America 05-06Dec2009
by John Papay 06 Dec '09

06 Dec '09

The SO-67 recordings from 05 and 06 December are on my webserver: http://www.papays.com/SO-67_05Dec2009_125403z.mp3 This pass was only 1 degree so it is short. But you can get an idea of how strong this satellite is, even at low elevations. East is not a good direction for me but SO-67 burns its way through the trees. http://www.papays.com/SO-67_05Dec2009_142508z.mp3 This is a 54 degree pass. The time stamp on the audio files are not necessarily the beginning of the audio clip. That's because my recorder turns on at AOS and SO-67 is not turned on for 1-2 minutes after I can see it. Therefore I have deleted the beginning of the audio file because it only contains noise. http://www.papays.com/SO-67_05Dec2009_155930z.mp3 This was a 10 degree western pass for me. http://www.papays.com/SO-67_06Dec2009_140452z.mp3 This was a 28 degree eastern pass for me. http://www.papays.com/SO-67_06Dec2009_153840z.mp3 This was a 17 degree western pass for me. I was not at home during this pass. SO-67 continues to be difficult to work for some because of not adjusting for the particular operating parameters of this bird, especially the 3 second tail timer. Once you learn to take this into account, the bird is easier to work. Full duplex makes it much easier to work this bird since you can determine when you are in or out. You can hear an example by listening to VE2DWE. He transmits during the tail, but since he is full duplex he knows when the transmitter goes off and he unkeys and then keys and continues with his exchange. SO-67 is in virtually continuous use when over North America. If it is possible to change the way it operates, it would be best for it to have the transmitter on continuously over North America (based on a schedule) with no "tail," similar to how AO-27 operates. It would not stress the transmitter as much since it would not be constantly going on and off. I have included another audio file taken from AO-27, 6December2009 at 2031z. AO-27 is on for 7 minutes over North America with the transmitter on continuously, no CTCSS required for access. If you work this bird it pays to watch the clock to see when the end of the pass is eminent. I use a software timer and start it when the data goes off at the beginning of the pass. If someone calls you at the end of the 7 minute period, you know how long you have to respond. No sense in being surprised. http://www.papays.com/AO-27_06Dec2009_203103z.mp3 73, John K8YSE EN91dh

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