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

TS2000 Birdie Follow-Up
by John Papay 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

KC9DOA mentions that he still had the birdie problem with a downconverter and that is understandable. The TS2000 radiates the birdie and if your downconverter is not shielded or the UHF antenna is too close to the radio, you might still pick it up. Simple experimentation will find the right combination to virtually eliminate the birdie. So try a UHF handi or mobile unit and see if it hears the birdie on 436.798. Then move things around to see if you can minimize the effect. I've been able to do that in the sat truck and don't have the problem at the base station. Try a dummy load on the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 as well. Use quality coax with good shielding. Drew posted a link to High Sierra Microwave for a UHF down- converter that is up-to-date in design and performance, all at a reasonable price. The specs call for a 5v supply but Bill N6GHZ advised that the converter will operate fine up to 16vdc input. No special supply required. He also mentioned that the converter will perform well from 432 to 438 MHz. So this is one possible source of a current production downconverter manufactured by someone who knows satellites. The output IF is lower but the TS2000 receiver is continuous so there should be no problem. Instead of a 407MHz offset, use 425MHz and the receiver shifts down to 10MHz for a 435MHz input: doppler.sqf entry: AO-27,436795,145850,FM,FM,NOR,425000,0 I've not seen a whole lot mentioned about the Funcube performance when connected to a big antenna in a crowded RF environment. I've had mine on the KLM's and the performance is poor because of overload. Cavity filters work wonders but not everyone has them. High Sierra also makes front end filters and filter/LNA combinations for the Funcube as well as other products which make the Funcube more versatile. It's worth checking out the webpage to see what is available. 73, John K8YSE

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Re: TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
by K5OE 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

John's solution is also one I have used for years: feeding a separate signal into the receive-only HF input on the TS-2000. I ran this way on AO-40 as well, taking the 2m signal from the atenna-mounted downconverter and running it through a Hamtronics 2m-10m converter to both the TS-2000 and another 10 m rig to independantly monitor the beacon (very handy). Elegant: no relays, and no danger of ever tranmitting into it. I still have the Hamtronics converter, now installed in my truck, so I could work the S-band downink from AO-51 on my FT-100. For the birdie problem, I used to be able to tune around it with the big antennas and Landwehr preamp I had at my old QTH (circa 2000-2003). Seriously--if you have enough signal gain, you can tune above it and then below it and overpower the damn thing. My setup is more modest now, so I simply connect an HT for the ocassional AO-27 pass. For SO-50, I find you can tune below the signal and work most of the pass (except when it is approaching you on a high elevation pass). Obviously, you can't use computer control for the receive signal on these two birds. I have had this rig since November of 2000 and found no other serious complaints (except it only has one PC port--but that is another discussion). 73, Jerry, K5OE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John, K8YSE posted: As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in front of the radio. At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The problem was that those radios were not computer controlled so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, but they evolved into some better designs including their UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand was no longer there, these products were abandoned. I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly better sensitivity than the TS2000! The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 unattended and make all those recordings without any human intervention. A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on UHF, currently not working). Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use a uhf mobile for receive on AO-27 and SO-50 since I'm in front of the radio and don't run it unattended. I have a coax switch to switch the UHF antenna from the TS2000 to the UHF mobile. Now that AO-51 is silent, all of the FM operation is on SO-50 and AO-27. If you have a TS2000, you'll want to investigate the use of a downconverter. 73, John K8YSE

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FO29 status
by John Geiger 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Is there any hope for FO29 to come back to life, or is it dead for good? It was the only linear Mode J, and would be great to come back to life. 73s John AA5JG

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Re: FO29 status
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

It has been revived before, when the solar illumination percentages get better. 73, Drew -----Original Message----- >From: John Geiger <aa5jg(a)fidmail.com> >Sent: Nov 30, 2011 12:10 PM >To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Subject: [amsat-bb] FO29 status > >Is there any hope for FO29 to come back to life, or is it dead for good? >It was the only linear Mode J, and would be great to come back to life. > >73s John AA5JG >_______________________________________________ >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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AO-51 MEMORIES
by Robert Kovacs 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Just to "echo" what others have been saying: AO51, R.I.P. And a hearty thank-you to the Control Team for giving us so many many happy and proud hours! I am a new ham, licensed less than two years, and worked John K8YSE via AO-51 with my little HT and an Arrow maybe six weeks after passing my Tech. A few months later after another test my first QSO signing "slash AG" was again on that bird, with Patrick WD9EWK. Since that time, mostly from my home QTH driveway, but also at club special events, on the beach at Cape May, New Jersey, even the shores of Lake Champlain, I remember working at least some of the other great satellite operators whose posts are seen here from time to time. The furthest DX I worked was Ivan YY6IEA in Venezuela. I frequently tried, but never successfully worked, Drew KO4MA. And I guess it also emphasizes that, not only do we have to continue to hone our technical skills to continue with the fleet that we still do have, but moreover that we really do have to continue to support (i.e., give money to) AMSAT and Fox. Good luck guys! Best wishes to all of the community of amateur satellite operators! 73, Bob. KC2WYH

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Re: TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Hi John, Thanks for writing that up. With a simple diagram, it would make an excellent Journal article (hint hint). I should also point out that High Sierra Microwave makes a UHF to HF converter, the 435M7 near the bottom of the page at http://www.hsmicrowave.com/page12.html . It outputs to 10 to 13 Mhz, but that should be no different than 10m for newer rigs like the TS-2000. The noise figure looks really good, and I expect the quality to be much better than the Hamtronics. The owner is a big AMSAT supporter too. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: John Papay <john(a)papays.com> >Sent: Nov 30, 2011 10:49 AM >To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Subject: [amsat-bb] TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution > >As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. >If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen >many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most >of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in >front of the radio. > >At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The >problem was that those radios were not computer controlled >so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when >I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The >obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie >problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't >have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- >converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of >DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting >in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. > >One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive >downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff >for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, >but they evolved into some better designs including their >UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter >manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using >became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production >devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand >was no longer there, these products were abandoned. > >I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting >from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still >had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver >in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly >better sensitivity than the TS2000! > >The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of >transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 >has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for >a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can >compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler >in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 >unattended and make all those recordings without any human >intervention. > >A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so >that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched >to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack >on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched >to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the >dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on >UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna >back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out >of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter >when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to >normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on >UHF, currently not working). > >Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M >downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. >If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they >might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, >or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on >someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against >the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that >might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the >mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use >a uhf mobile for receive on AO-27 and SO-50 since I'm in front of the >radio and don't run it unattended. I have a coax switch to switch >the UHF antenna from the TS2000 to the UHF mobile. > >Now that AO-51 is silent, all of the FM operation is on SO-50 and AO-27. >If you have a TS2000, you'll want to investigate the use of a downconverter. > >73, >John K8YSE > > >_______________________________________________ >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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It's amazing!
by Thomas Laskowski 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Check this offer, whenever u get a chance http://pandasnap.com/inf.php Hope u like it :)

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TS-2000 birdie
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

>The easiest way to get around it, is to use one of the many inexpensive Chinese handhelds as the UHF receiver. > I know at least one station is using a hamtronics 70cm to 10m converter, and listening via 10m. You can even setup SatPC32 to tune it correctly. 73, Drew KO4MA

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AO27 - Last Man Standing?
by Ted 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

With the demise of AO51, does this mean the only remaining FM sat in operation is AO27? (I thought I remembered seeing something here several months ago to the effect that the SO67 ops were trying to restart that one ??) TK K7TRK

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Re: AO-51 end of mission
by Gail A Mcdaniel 30 Nov '11

30 Nov '11

Made my first satellite contacts to K4DLG (SK), KD8CAO and N3TL in Oct of 2008 on AO-51. I have now logged 6007 contacts with 56.97% on AO-51, 28.9% on AO-27, 10.4% on SO-50.. the balance on HO-68, SO-67 and ISS. What a blast! If you can't find me ... I am probably outside trying to make a contact ... 73 from KC Gail - KB0RZD

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