October 2011 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

ARRISAT and a fun afternoon on AO51
by James Luhn 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

I have been trying to use ARRISAT-1 for the past couple of days. Despite the fact it was almost directly overhead, I could not get my SSB signal through the transponder. I am using an IC-910 and arrow beam. I am fully aware of the antenna issue on the lady. Today I did not hear anything from the satellite. Has anyone been working through the satellite the past couple of day? Perhaps I have something wrong. The same rig and antenna works fine with the other satellites. With AO51, I run it at the minimum power which is probably about 5 watts. I had several pleasant exchanges on AO-51 today. The thrill has not worn off for me and I doubt it ever will. Yep, I have worked several before but it is always nice to say hi to an old or new friend. A big thank you to all involved who keep the old birds working. Most of us do not keep a rig as long as some of the still working birds have been flying. Too bad a service call cannot be made on the dormant ones. 73, -james W5AOO

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See and listen to SRMVU CW telemetry Beacon !
by Nader Omer 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

Hi SRMVU CW Telemetry Beacon vedio clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKtKELEQr2I 73's Nader

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There's no usable satellites
by Bato,Andras 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

Gentlemen, I have spent too much money on an FT-847! I had better to buy a well equipped HF transceiver instead! There is practically no usable satellites -except for AO-7 and VO-52. The problem is that you can find always the same stations on them. F2IL is in my log about 300 times... Spending money on FM satellites were made according to long term plans of IARU, ARRL and AMSAT which had been a dream of handling emergency traffic using hand-held equipment and antenna -as far as I know. Satellite activity is seriously declining! gl de ha6nn Andras

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n3ykf travel plans 10/27-10/30
by normn3ykf＠stny.rr.com 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

Hi all! I'll be helping my wife relocate this week. We'll start in FN22 and drive to EL89 taking three days to do it. Will work all ao-51/so-50 passes. If you're waiting for a card from my previous travels, I'll get them out after the trip. If you need one for an award (sooner!), drop me a note. Norm n3ykf

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Re: There's no usable satellites
by Tony Langdon 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

At 03:21 AM 10/25/2011, Jeff Welsh wrote: >Same here. If I hear a portable station in the FM pileup, most likely that's >the one I'll want to work before the others! Working the LEO portable and >handheld is quite a handful, literally and I admire that! Used to do it all the time, quite a lot of fun, and quite an impressive demonstration for lay people, when they see you pointing an antenna at some "random" part of the sky and can hear all those voices from interstate. :) Probably the most fun I've had working satellites was giving demonstrations at a hamfest. What made this so much fun was it was a team effort by several club members, where we had a couple outside rotating the antennas, while others were inside operating the radio. We did everything manually - antenna pointing, Doppler correction, the works. Worked both FM and SSB/CW birds with that setup, with a lot of success in an environment that turned out to be extremely demanding, from the coordination required, to the high ambient (acoustic) noise level at the operating position. Still, it was a heap of fun. :) 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com

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Time is Running Out
by Martha 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

This is a reminder that 1 week from today, the on-line registration for the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will close. If you are planning to attend the meeting, please register as soon as possible. After Monday, you will need to register at the hotel. -- 73- Martha

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Antennas For AO-7 Mode A
by B J 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

I'm looking for a suitable antenna that I can use to operate over AO-7 in mode A . The main requirement that it be hand-held. I've looked on the Internet and, so far, I haven't found any off-the-shelf antennas. I did, however, find several websites that have instructions for home-brew designs but none were specifically for mode A. One possibility that occurred to me is to combine 2 different types, such as an eggbeater for 2 m and a hand-held HF loop for 10 m. One drawback that I see for this arrangement is that it might be too big or too heavy for it to be practical as a hand-held unit. Does anyone know of a commercially available mode A antenna suitable for hand-held operation or know of a home-brew design for one? Thank you. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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satellite traffic
by jerry keeton 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

I have at times patiently awaited the pass of the ISS to work a different packet station only to miss the opportunity by the repeater being busy the entire pass by trying to deliver BBS mailbox messages to someone and that station never retrieves his mail . It's just one of those things We endure . I have been calling 2 HF traffic nets for several years and have attempted to pass traffic to someone in the same town as the message is to be passed to , only to have that station deny taking that traffic . Why would anyone check in to a" traffic net "and then refuse to handle local traffic ? Sometimes I just don't get it , but We hang in there regardless . 73's Jerry WB5LHD

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No AO-27 on last pass?
by Don Snider 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

Is my rig blown or did AO-27 not show up on the last pass? At 1:26PM Eastern. De N3MK FM27

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Prospero Commanded Pass Today
by Roger Duthie 24 Oct '11

24 Oct '11

AMSAT community - The Mullard team intend to attempt commanding to Prospero during the following pass: (entries are: date; mag; start time; el; az; max el time; max el; az; end time; end el; end az) 24 Oct <http://www.heavens-above.com/Gtrack.aspx?Session=kebgfdalljnnahdmapeidbkh&s…> 7.7 16:54:17 10 SSW 17:00:54 58 WNW 17:08:40 10 N Any listening on the downlink, and feedback on your observations, would be most appreciated. We may also try the later pass: 24 Oct <http://www.heavens-above.com/Gtrack.aspx?Session=kebgfdalljnnahdmapeidbkh&s…> 9.3 18:42:56 10 W 18:47:25 17 NW 18:52:14 10 N **** TIMES ARE IN BST (ie., UTC + 1) **** - Roger PS., I hope the copy-paste from heavens-above works.

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