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

Re: Full Duplex HT's (Howard Kowall)
by Clint Bradford 10 Jun '09

10 Jun '09

Howard - Tell "your friend" to stay away from Chinese crap and purchase products approved by the governing boards of his own country. Sorry for the attitude ... But China owns way to much of my country, and all they produce is inferior crap that U.S. citizens eat up at Wal- Mart and similar retailers. There are plenty of amateur radio manufacturers who follow my country's rules from whom I choose to purchase. Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

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Hudson Valley Satcom Group Net Tomorrow June 11 At 8PM EDT
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 10 Jun '09

10 Jun '09

It's time again for The Hudson Valley Satcom Group Net tomorrow night June11 at 8PM EDT. Please come and join us on Echolink node n2eyh-L or on the Mt. Beacon repeater 146.970 PL 100. Share your satellite knowledge with the group. Hope to hear you there. 73 Gary WA2AQH **************Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop: Now in 6 vibrant colors! Shop Dell’s full line of laptops. (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222008777x1201444407/aol?redir=htt… 8%3Bv)

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Re: SO50 problems and questions
by Andrew Koenig 10 Jun '09

10 Jun '09

I would try taking the antenna off of the tripod for a little while. The polarization of the satellites changes constantly, and with the antenna on the tripod, it's difficult to compensate for those changes. Also, AO-51 is a much stronger bird than SO-50, but AO-27 is the strongest at the moment. AO-27 has the same frequencies as SO-50, but there is no tone, and it's got a timer on it that turns it on when it reaches (about) the Gulf Coast line (for the purposes of maintaining battery power). You'll have time to get your antenna in the right place with the 20 seconds of telemetry it starts with (see http://www.ao27.org/AO27/index.shtml for a schedule). For your situation, I would recommend trying AO-27 until you are familiar with the satellites. AO-27 isn't as crowded as AO-51, but it's also not as quiet (both in traffic and output) as SO-50. Don't quote me on it, but I think AO-51 has less than 500mW output right now, AO-27 is 500mW and SO-50 is 250mW. Good luck! Once you get the hang of it, it's easy enoguh that a teenager can do it (I'd know..) 73 de KE5GDB On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 9:18 PM, LeRoy Miller <kd8bxp(a)sprint.blackberry.net>wrote: > Hello > > I am relatively new (- I have been tring on my own to get the hang of > working the satellites) with little or no luck. > > I have been posting my failed results to twitter and getting over > frustrated in my attempts - luckly there have been a few who have given me > pointers. And one very nice person kl7cn let me call him and he talked me > though a few things during the call he said maybe I should try the SO50. So > today I did try it > And much to my surprise and happiness it was easy enough to pickup and find > and things seemed to working for me (He told me that is was a quite machine > and that I might have to look for it a bit) > The pass I tried was at 1710 UTC (110 pm local est) and the sat was moving > from the southwest to the northeast from my previous trys on the AO51 I knew > that I would probably not get it while it was still low (less then about 20 > degrees - also because of where I was pointing the antenna that low I was > pointing right at a building) I reasoned that if I started looking at about > 24 degrees I would being doing much better (so that is what I did) at about > 1714 or 1715 UTC I had heard the SO51 for the first time, still a bit rough > and probably still a little low by the time it was up around the 40 degree > mark I thought > What the heck I am here, people are talking why not try to make a contact - > so that is what I did > I think I waited just a little longer got a nice strong signal and put my > call out > > KD8BXP em79 -- > What I heard on the downlink really surprised me - it was this horrable > noise (it almost sounded like when 2 people double) I don't know what I did > but thought ok maybe feedback from the microphone so I unpluged the external > and tried again > I got the same horrable sound > > Now I am sorry up front for this noise I am sure people heard it - so if > you were on around 1717 - 1720 I am so sorry upfront > > But that leads me to my question - what did I do wrong? > And how can I correct the problem and try again > > I have been really frustrated with the AO51 so much so that I almost put my > rig antenna and what not on ebay 3 days ago - I cooled off but I really want > to work this bird > It seemed (at least to a newbie) an easy one to find and maybe make > contacts on. > > You will need to know the setup: > TH-D7 A (not the G model I have a G but didn't use it this time) > Arrow (2 meter/440) mounted to a telescope tripod > Eeepc running ubuntu linux a gpredict > External mic for the radio > I was on 145.850 pl 67hz for the uplink > And 436.800 for the downlink > Radio was in duplex mode and sql was turned off (or open if you prefer) > And the balance on the speaker was set for only the 440 side > I was at 40 - 50 degrees when I first keyed up and the second time would > have been when it was at its highest point of between 64 and 74 degrees > I was on the high power setting > I have used this radio for both local repeater work and aprs and no one has > ever told me that it was making horrable noises > And I think if it was making horrable noises while transmitting aprs the > data would be corrpted > > I hope I have given enough information. I hope someone can help I don't > want to make horrable noises again > > One other thing but I am sure it is my problem not one that someone fix so > to speak > Once the satellite reached its max and started back down - I lost it > completely couldn't find it again > I think it was me one leg on the tripod is bent and started to collaspe > while I was turning the antenna to start it pointing in a north east direct > > Thanks for the help in advance I write a lot to ask something simple sorry > about that > > LeRoy, KD8BXP > Sent on the Now Network™ from my Sprint® BlackBerry > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > -- Andrew Koenig

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Full Duplex Radios - A Complete List
by Andrew Koenig 10 Jun '09

10 Jun '09

After a couple of hours of surfing around on Universal Radio and other radios sites that keep a good archive, I've completed the list of full duplex radios. Use it however you want; print it out before a hamfest, post it in your shack. All that I ask is that you let me know if there are any errors on the list. Full URL: <http://thathamkid.com/website/ham-radio/full-duplex-radios> Shortend URL: <http://bit.ly/JclIa> Also, up in the top right-hand corner of the article is a little icon of a printer. For a printable version (without all of the template junk), click that icon. -- Andrew Koenig 73 de KE5GDB

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Re: Full Duplex HT's
by Howard Kowall 10 Jun '09

10 Jun '09

Sorry here is the Link http://www.wouxun.com/Two-Way-Radio/KG-UVD1.htm Howard From: Howard Kowall To: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 9:58 PM Subject: Full Duplex HT's Hello to all Just a follow up to the posting of full duplex handhelds Came across this ht,that a local ham ordered He was not sure if it was full duplex or not I will see if I can download a manual to see Just for a point of interest. I once had a VHF of a similar ht didn't work to good in the ham band And not sure if theses are type approved or FCC approved just a little head scratched for all of you out there Howard VE4ISP

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FS: Icom IC-W32A complete handheld satellite station
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 09 Jun '09

09 Jun '09

I have for sale a complete, full-duplex-capable handheld FM satellite station, including: - Icom IC-W32A HT, with manual and OEM duck antenna - Icom BP-170 battery case, holds 4 AA alkalines - Batteries America BP-173X, 9.6V 1450 mAh pack - Batteries America BP 171XH, 4.8V 2700 mAh pack - MFJ Speaker mic for the W32A. - Maldol stubby (2.5-inch) duck antenna with BNC connector - MFJ-1717 duck antenna with BNC connector - Pryme AL-800 telescoping whip antenna with BNC connector - Batteries America Cigarette plug for W32A I am not the first owner of the radio. I bought it from a commercial vendor last August at the Huntsville hamfest. That vendor provided a 30-day, no-questions-asked guarantee. The radio did and does work as new, with one exception. When I operate it full duplex and use a Y adapter plug at the earphone jack so I can hear myself and record the pass, I sometimes get audio break up that suggests a loose connection or aged plug. This doesn’t occur if I use the speaker mic, which has a headphone jack on the bottom that I can plug the Y adapter into. Otherwise, the radio performs as new. Cosmetically, it looks as close to NIB as I’ve ever seen in a used radio. I cannot see even minor surface scratches in the display face, and there are no scuffs or marks of any kind on the radio body or the battery packs. I’ll provide digital photos upon request. I picked up the battery packs, cigarette plug and speaker mic at Huntsville last August, too. The original Icom NiCad battery pack wasn’t in great shape, so I retired/recycled it. I bought the AL-800 antenna before I picked up the Icom, and have used it for multiple handheld satellite contacts. Allen, N5AFV, literally has made thousands of handheld satellite contacts using this antenna. The MFJ duck is capable of making satellite contacts, but it’s not as good as the AL-800. I have more than $450 – not retail, but what I actually paid – invested in this gear. Full retail price on the packs and other accessories would bring it close to $500. I am asking $300 (certified check or money order) for the entire package ($310 if you want to use PayPal because of its fees), with an additional $10 to cover USPS Priority Mail shipping and insurance. I am not interested in breaking the package up. Why am I selling? After last weekend’s testing, I want to get a Kenwood TH-F6A because of its versatility. With my other HT and my Diamond duplexer, I’ll still be able to operate the FM satellites full duplex. I am still unemployed (since late December), so something has to go if I want to pick up another radio. That’s also the reason for the extra $10 for PayPal. NOTE – I am listing this gear exclusively here on the AMSAT-BB for 24 hours. I’ll post to some other online sites if it’s not sold by 7 p.m., EDT (23:00 UTC) on June 10th. Please contact me off the AMSAT-BB with any questions. Thanks, and 73 to all, Tim – N3TL

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DJ-G7T - new manual and firmware
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 09 Jun '09

09 Jun '09

Hi! Alinco appears to be addressing some of the concerns those of us who bought the new DJ-G7T HT had. Last week, a new manual was made available through the Alinco web site: http://www.alinco.com/Products/DJ-G7/djg7insweb.zip There is a mention on the Alinco site on how owners who bought the DJ-G7T with the original version of the instruction manual can get a printed version of the new manual for free. It is near the middle of the page: http://www.alinco.com/Products/DJ-G7/ Before Dayton, Alinco had released new firmware for the Japanese version of this HT, addressing issues with Chinese fonts on the LCD display. That was a good sign for the T version, that Alinco was allowing the firmware to be updated. Now there is a new firmware update available for the DJ-G7T at: http://www.alinco.com/Products/DJ-G7/firmdown.html One of the items that the new version of the firmware is supposed to address is "Operation of Cross-band repeat function reviewed". Maybe whatever was done will help those of us who are not as interested in using this HT as a cross-band repeater, but want to use it for cross-band full-duplex operation with the FM satellites. I plan on downloading the new firmware and putting it on my DJ-G7Ts tonight. This weekend, I will once again try the DJ-G7T on FM satellites to see if the performance has improved with the new firmware. Hopefully others will try the same thing, and post their observations to the -BB. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: Another satellite-receiver option
by Jerry Clement 09 Jun '09

09 Jun '09

The QFH antenna that I use is the answer for good copy of the weather birds, along with a preamp. I get a full quieting signal from within a few degrees of AOS of weather sat NOAA 18. The preamp that I am using is also a Hamtronics unit. It is partially visible in the photo. Plans for my QFH are on my website under: 'Quadrifilar Helix Antenna' Jerry VE6AB

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Re: CW is still alive and well
by John W Lee 09 Jun '09

09 Jun '09

Right on, Gary ! And in case nobody on the AMSAT-BB knows it, there was a record number of CW logs submitted for the CQ World Wide DX contest in 2008. Over 10,000 logs submitted. 73, John K6YK ____________________________________________________________ Find the perfect shutters to update your home. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/BLSrjpTGBBA0e02hqEehpsgE95Ox7ze…

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wispdde to VB.NET?
by john＠newnorth.ca 09 Jun '09

09 Jun '09

Has anyone successfully converted wispdde to Visual Basic 2008 Express? I need to make some code changes to drive my antenna rotors but I don't have access to VB6. Modifying the software for the newer version looks like a major undertaking... 73 John - VE8EV

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