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

ND9M/MM Ops: FO29 & VO52
by Clary, James T, Civilian 23 Feb '11

23 Feb '11

I'm told that AO7 has switched to Mode A, so I'll instead be QRV on FO29 at 23/0255Z (QSX around 435.855) from AM84. Then later on at 23/0619Z, I'll be on VO52 (QSX 145.905 +/-), also from AM84. We'll likely cross into the BM grid field tomorrow. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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Radios in carry on luggage
by John Geiger 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

I am planning a couple of grid expeditions that will involve commercial flights, and wonder what experiences others have had with taking radios in their carry on luggage. Does TSA get very involved in this? Did you have to take it out of the case? Demonstrate it? Was it a bunch of hoops to jump through, or very smooth sailing? 73s John AA5JG

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mast material question
by zach hillerson 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

I am awaiting delivery of a Gulf Alpha dual band antenna that I plan to mount on a single mast for azimuth-only control. I've read various reports of metal masts causing polarity (?) issues and others that say they are ok as long as you don't align the elements with the mast etc... So - what is the real scoop. Should I be concerned with mast material with the above setup or is a traditional metal mast fine? If not, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. The stronger the better IMO. Although I realize there is a pretty minimal wind loan, and it will be mounted in a Glen Martin 4' roof tower, I'd rather not worry about my mast snapping in the wind... Thanks, Zach N4ERZ

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Luggage X Radios on planes
by Kevin Deane 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

I was wondering the same thing. I am going to CA soon and of course want to bring some gear.... I would think this is a pretty common item, but considering the number of hams vs population maybe not??? I am gonna call the airline and see what they say! Kevin KF7MYK P.S. I stopped experimenting with my new antenna, sorry for any interuptions this weekend, I was hearing you guys, and myself. Just not good enough. :(

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Re: Radios in carry on luggage
by Mark L. Hammond 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

Hi John, I've done this a few times with an FT-817 and HTs. Usually I keep the radio(s) in a big ziplock bag or two and pull it out for open viewing as it goes through the x-ray machine. Lay it in it's own plastic tub even, though I usually just lay it on top of the backpack. Another habit I have is putting the big pile of cables/wires into another big ziplock bag and pull it out so they can see it in the plastic tub, too. In essence, I treat like a laptop and assume it's an item of interest to them-so show it to them! They've never asked or given me grief. 73, Mark N8MH At 02:27 PM 2/22/2011 -0600, John Geiger wrote: >I am planning a couple of grid expeditions that will involve commercial >flights, and wonder what experiences others have had with taking radios in >their carry on luggage. Does TSA get very involved in this? Did you have to >take it out of the case? Demonstrate it? Was it a bunch of hoops to jump >through, or very smooth sailing? > >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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KB5WIA/P Mini Grid-Expedition Report (CM89)
by David Palmer 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

Hi Everyone, Yesterday's mini grid-expedition to grid square CM89 was a lot of fun. I live in grid CM88 (between San Francisco and Sacramento), so CM89 was only an hour north of me and easy to get to. We drove up to Colusa in the morning, and I was able to get my QRP-portable equipment (twin FT-817ND's and an Elk antenna) set up at around 11:30am local time, just before the first of six passes. Satellite SO-50 came by first at 19:44z, it was a nice easterly ascending pass and I made around 5 QSO's with good sigs. I then had time for lunch, and the next pass was AO-27 at 20:38z with good signals as well; I made 8 QSO's on that bird. At 21:24z SO-50 came around again, this time to the west, and I was able to get a few more QSO's in. Next it was time for AO-27 to come around again at 22:18z, also to the west, and I made a couple of contacts there. At 22:33z FO-29 came by on a low easterly pass, and I had a super difficult time hearing my downlink on this one! One big problem was a huge "POP" a few times a second, which kept resetting the AGC in both the radio and the one in my ears! I only figured out after the pass that the noise blanker (NB) on the '817 did an awesome job at removing this popping noise. Another issue was my location, next to a local casino, turned out to have a huge amount of RF noise -- guess thousands of "gaming machines" tends to generate some interference! All in all, I made no contacts on FO-29, but heard a number of stations coming back to me faintly ... I just didn't have enough receive sensitivity between the pops and the slot machines to pull them out. Finally at 23:14z AO-51 came by, and I was able to make around 10 nice QSO's on that bird. Yes, AO-51 was crowded, but like others have said recently, no more crowded than many days on HF. With just a bit of patience, it wasn't a problem at all to make contacts yesterday on '51, even on a mid-day easterly pass. Overall, the day went well. It was fun to work the six passes in rather quick succession (about 3.5 hours from beginning to end). The weather was beautiful (sorry Patrick, no earthquakes, power failures, or lightning strikes), and it was a nice day to be sitting in the back of the pickup truck playing with the sats! Lessons learned: 1) Remember to double-check that tracking software is set for new grid square! 2) The noise blanker on the FT-817ND works wonders. 3) Plan to choose a radio-quiet location next time! For anyone that worked me and wants QSL cards, just send me one and I'll send you one right back. I'll head back out that way in another few months in case anyone missed me. 73 de Dave KB5WIA

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Re: Satellite Antennas
by k6yk 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

Another vote for linear antennas: I use a 20 element KLM for 70CM and 14 element Hy-gain for 2 meters. Vertical polarization. Mounted on an aluminum cross-arm with two U-100 rotors. This has been up for about 12 years, worked on every bird that's been up there, and does a fine job. Total expense: $40. 73, John, K6YK On Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:56:34 +0000 Jim Jerzycke <kq6ea(a)verizon.net> writes: > I agree with Mark 100%. > I've been using my 'terrestrial' M2 antennas on the satellites for > years. The GulfAlpha "Easy Satellite" antenna I use for Field day > is > also linearly polarized, and works very well. > Fades? Sure I get them, but most of the time it's only for a few > seconds, and while a bit annoying it's not a show stopper. > 73, Jim KQ6EA > > On 02/22/2011 04:11 PM, Mark L. Hammond wrote: > > Hi Howard, > > > > Lucky you :) > > > > Here is my personal opinion from 20 years of operations--if you > cannot > > change polarity, don't use circular. Linear works wonderfully. > > > > M2 yagis work great no matter what polarity the bird is in...I > have > > installed mine vertically on a metal boom. No regrets. And they > are > > quite a bit cheaper!! > > > > My last setup purchase included three M2 yagis, and I love 'em! > > > > http://www.m2inc.com/products/uhf/70cm/44018.html > > > > http://www.m2inc.com/products/vhf/2m/2m7.html > > > > http://www.m2inc.com/products/uhf/23cm/23cm35ez.html > > > > Price those, and then compare the price to circular ones with > polarity > > switching on the 2M AND 70cm, and you'll see one reason I went > that > > route :) > > > > Other reasons include quality, balance on the rotors, gain, > length > > (around 10'), durability, and simplicity, etc. > > > > Add a 2' dish on a 8' to 10' horizontal metal boom and you're good > for > > four bands, and the standard Yaesu G5500 will do just fine with > the > > whole mess. > > > > Don't get me wrong---circular is more of the ideal, but it gets a > bit > > more complicated with polarity switching (not easily done remotely > for > > example!), not to mention the expense. > > > > > > 73, > > > > Mark N8MH > > > > > > On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:06 AM, Howard Kowall <hkowall(a)shaw.ca> > wrote: > > > >> Good morning to all > >> Well my wife gave me the ok to get some new base satellite > antennas. > >> I could really only find 2 manufactures of theses antennas in > North America > >> M2 and GulfAlpha.Is there any others,and also can anyone > recommend something > >> I would like to be able to use them for the FM sats and > Transponders. > >> I would imagine that circular polarized would be the way to > go(rhcp) > >> Any input would be much appreciated > >> Thanks to all who read and reply > >> Howard > >> VE4ISP > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> 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 > >> > >> > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ____________________________________________________________ $65/Hr Job - 25 Openings Part-Time job ($20-$65/hr). Requirements: Home Internet Access http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d6450d8aac7c3fb2dfst06vuc

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Satellite Antennas
by Howard Kowall 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

Good morning to all Well my wife gave me the ok to get some new base satellite antennas. I could really only find 2 manufactures of theses antennas in North America M2 and GulfAlpha.Is there any others,and also can anyone recommend something I would like to be able to use them for the FM sats and Transponders. I would imagine that circular polarized would be the way to go(rhcp) Any input would be much appreciated Thanks to all who read and reply Howard VE4ISP

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offering M2 42 element CP
by chris pellenz 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

Hi All, I know I offered this a few weeks ago... at this point I think I could get it boxed up and shipped... It will break down to 4 x 5 ft sections. My M2 42 element circular polarized antenna... wired now for RH... does not have the remote switch device but of course that is available from M2. Please make me an offer... these are $400 new... someone will get a bargain here. If someone is interested, let me know and I can send pictures. If no interest due to lack of buyer protection I will let you know when I ebay it Thanks, Chris Pellenz KC2BBU Former AMSAT NA member

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Re: Fwd: 420 - 450 MHz in Jeopardy!
by Tom Schuessler 22 Feb '11

22 Feb '11

This is a very serious threat as the current administration and current majority folks on the FCC are bent on making us all pay for what we get free now, that being broadcast TV and two way communications. I am in the broadcast TV profession and we just went through a transition where most every station in the country had to spend maybe a Million Dollars or more each to convert to digital broadcasting and in most cases change channels due to the spectrum repack. Remember we lost the whole of the 700Mhz UHF band to broadband and homeland security users. Now the FCC is pushing a "Voluntary" relinquishment of an additional 120MHZ of spectrum which would mean in large markets like Dallas, there would no longer be room for all the channels currently on the air. The thing here is that the broadband providers who will take over this additional spectrum will charge you the user for some of the same content that you can now get for free via the broadcast TV spectrum. They also want your money to communicate person to person. Now for 420-450mhz. since this is pretty much right below the 470Mhz start of channel 14. It is not at all inconceivable that in the next 10 years, as the "spectrum crunch" gets worse, that the whole UHF TV spectrum gets lost to broadband concerns. We are next door and don't have all the resources to fight it. So fight it we must. Even if we are secondary users, we are stakeholders and need to make our voice heard. Tom Schuessler 2713 Lake Gardens Drive Irving, Texas 75060 972-986-7456 214-403-1464 (Cell) n5hyp(a)arrl.net

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