April 2020 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Amsat Journal, Digital-only?
by Ronald Parsons 22 Apr '20

22 Apr '20

I was very pleased when ARRL made electronic copies of QST available along with downloadable copies of past issues. I could finally dispose of those magazine boxes stores on the top closet shelf. Doing something similar for The AMSAT Journal would be great. It even would allow color to be used in the articles. I seldom need hard copies of many articles, so printing has not been a problem. PDF would be my format preference. We would get the Journal earlier and wouldn't have to store the old issues. I assume AMSAT would make available an online availability of past issues. Ron W5RKN

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Re: [amsat-bb] Another effect of COVID-19
by Roy Dean 22 Apr '20

22 Apr '20

> > With everybody at home these days every day is like a weekend on the FM > satellites. Good luck if you've got an HT and an Arrow. > Steve AI9IN I've been having surprisingly good luck on SO-50 during the day. --Roy K3RLD

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Another effect of COVID-19
by Steve Kristoff 21 Apr '20

21 Apr '20

With everybody at home these days every day is like a weekend on the FM satellites. Good luck if you've got an HT and an Arrow. Steve AI9IN

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Tt
by PY5LF 21 Apr '20

21 Apr '20

Tem -- *PY5LF * *Luciano Fabricio* *www.falautomation.com.br <http://www.falautomation.com.br>*

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Missing AMSAT Journal
by Kent R Frazier 21 Apr '20

21 Apr '20

I seem to be missing my AMSAT Journal Volume 24, Number 6 (November/December 2019). I checked the web site and I didn't any back issues. If not a copyright violation, would anyone be willing to scan the article "For Beginners Amateur Radio Satellite Primer II" and email it to me? Thanks, Kent -- Kent R Frazier Amateur Radio License K5KNT AMSAT Life Member #2380, ARRL Member Alt. email: k5knt(a)amsat.org or k5knt(a)arrl.net

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Tuning M2 LEO pack antennas
by Carl A Estey 21 Apr '20

21 Apr '20

Recently I bought through AMSAT the LEO pack and assembled and installed it this weekend. The SWR on the 2-meter antenna is 1.4:1 from 144.1 to 146.1 with resistance of 58 ohms and 2.5:1 at 148 MHz. The 70-cm antenna has the best SWR (3.0:1 and resistance of 25 ohms) at 442.6 MHZ. Obviously neither is great. How should I tune the antennas? It appears that the only tuning possible is to adjust the shorting straps for distance from the inside edge of the shorting bar to there boom. ShouldI I be able to achieve 1.1:1 on both antennas? How should the coax be routed from the junction block? I have the LMR-400 feedline zip tied along the boom to the cross bar and then around the rotors. What suggestions do you have? The instructions particularly concerning the location of the 1/4-wave phasing line and the 1/2 wave balun were not very clear. Does anyone have any pictures or illustrations that show placement of the tasing line and balun? 73 Carl WA0CQG

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-04-20 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 21 Apr '20

21 Apr '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-04-20 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Northern Virginia Schools Group, Woodbridge VA, Multi-point telebridge via AB1OC (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Thu 2020-04-30 13:35:00 UTC 62 deg A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. (***) Exp. 60 back on earth (***) Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 back on earth (***) Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir ARISS thanks all 3 for a job well done! (***) ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-04-20 22:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-03-21 00:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 133 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1387. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1320. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 60 back on earth (***) Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 back on earth (***) Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir Exp. 62 now on orbit Welcome aboard! Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] 23cm antenna
by Nick KE8AKW 20 Apr '20

20 Apr '20

Definitely recommend a directional antenna of some kind. Dont get hung up on polarity (Horizontal, Circular) too much. I use a Directive Systems 45 Element Loop Yagi that works nicely. The two best brands if antennas for 23cm base station sat work that are popular today are Directive Systems which makes loop yagis and Wimo which makes 23cm Helix antennas. Both work very well. The most important factor I have found with this band is to keep your horizon as clear as possible. Tree leafs or hills will heavily attenuate your signal on this band more so then 70cm, so elevate your antenna if possible that will help alot. You can get into the bird with as little as 1w if your horizon is completely clear, but if you have big obstructions like massive pine trees like I do, 10w or a bit more may be needed. It's a very fun mode to operate and tinker on. 73 Nick KE8AKW

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QRZ.com
by Bob Keating 20 Apr '20

20 Apr '20

Has anybody found a way to upload satellite contacts to a QRZ log and have them easily be confirmed? The glitch seems to be that QRZ.com wants the transmit and receive frequencies to be the same, it does not seem able to accept QSOs that were made duplex. Thanks! Bob N6REK

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23cm antenna
by ke4kol 20 Apr '20

20 Apr '20

Horizontal or Vertical for Satellite work? Thanks for any replies. Jim, Ke4kol

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W4AMI Award
by Bruce 20 Apr '20

20 Apr '20

I have had a few questions and a bunch of submissions lately. I thought I would clear up some of the questions about this award. I have also updated the web page for the award with submission information. Just a little history, Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI, was a very prolific operator and in his honor this certificate was created and the first certificate was issued to him on June 27, 1994. He has since become an SK and his local club has taken over his call sign. The award was originally the W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award. The local club asked me not to use their call sign for the award. I changed the award to The Robert W. Barbee, Jr. W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award. And here we are today, finally having issued over 100 certificates and over 30 of the 5,000 certificate. This award is for making 1,000 contacts with any station any time. You can say hello to your friend on every satellite on every pass every day and count those contacts. That being said, any contact you log counts. The award has endorsements for making 1,000 more contacts up to 4,000. Another 1,000 contacts will earn a special W4AMI 5,000 certificate. To submit for the award, please email me an extract from your log either in Microsoft Excel XLS(X) format or ADI(F) format. Either will work just fine. Then wait for me to get back to you notifying you to go online and make your payment. I need nothing from LoTW, confirmed contacts are not an issue, this award is for simply making a contact. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Re: [amsat-bb] Amsat Journal, Digital-only
by Mike Hoblinski 20 Apr '20

20 Apr '20

The Amsat-UK membership offers a membership that has both mail and digital opticion for their journal version. I live in the USA and am an Amsat-NA member but I enjoy reading other satellite news and stories. I receive their digital copy as soon as its put out. I can download it and save it for future reading and reference. They do put a water mark or reference on the first page to identify the person and source of the download. Having the Amsat Journal downloadable might be of interest to other people around the world that would like to see some of the fine articles in it. Maybe charge a fee per issue. Another plus for members could be online storage of back issues. I enjoy going back thru my stack of paper copies on a rainy day and always seem to find something I have missed or now want to try. Some members could opt for a digital only Journal maybe saving some costs and paper. Just my thoughts Mike Hoblinski N6IMF

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Re: [amsat-bb] Looking for CAS-4B Pass recording 20:57 UTC pass
by Jeff Johns 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

WH6E was on and he is in FL not HI. The first time I worked him the call surprised me as well. Jeff WE4B > On Apr 18, 2020, at 4:36 PM, Adrian Engele via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >

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Looking for CAS-4B Pass recording 20:57 UTC pass
by Adrian Engele 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

I just worked the AO-7 pass (recording was OK) and the following CAS-4B pass but I forgot to turn on the recorder on the CAS-4B pass I copied a N9??P, W? and a WH6E?? Can someone please send a recording if they have it. Thank you! 73, Adrian AA5UK EN61

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AO-91 and CW
by Russ Kinner 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

Thanks guys, more curious than anything. I scanned thru the list and didn't see Max with 145.96 telemetry. Rusty

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VE8RAC on for WARD 12z-24z
by Ron VE8RT 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

with some breaks for meals and shopping I hope to be active on satellites for World Amateur Radio Day using the call sign VE8RAC. This will be on U/v satellites, linear and FM (making an effort to use best practices to reduce QRM), but not AO7 which is too fragile. QSLing will be through the Radio Amateurs of Canada www.rac.ca as this is there call sign not my own. A note about QSLing, for my own call sign, please keep in mind that US stamps on a SASE will not work here. If sending me a QSL through the mail a self addressed envelope is appreciated, and unless the demand gets too high I don't mind covering return postage. Otherwise unless I forget I'll return the SASE when I mail out my QSL card so that it may be used within the US. 73 Ron VE8RT, and for a few hours today only VE8RAC -- Ron VE8RT <ve8rt(a)yknwt.ca>

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Interesting news about on-orbit geostationary satellite maintenance
by Zach Metzinger 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

"For the first time ever, a robotic spacecraft caught an old satellite and extended its life" https://tinyurl.com/y7ta8qzr --- Zach N0ZGO

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Re: [amsat-bb] PO-101 did not seem to hear me
by Roy Dean 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

> > I just tried to make some QSOs on the PO-101 pass starting around 22:04Z > just a little bit ago. However, even though I could clearly hear the > satellite for nearly it's entire pass, I could not seem to make it in. I'm > not sure what wasn't configured right. This is my very first attempt with > this satellite PO-101 is very stubborn when it comes to uplink power. I've never tried below 10 watts, and even when I'm using 20 watts (which is now my standard with it), it sometimes "cuts out" in the middle of a qso. It may be even more difficult with just an HT and an Elk, which isn't all that great on 70cm to start with. YMMV. --Roy K3RLD

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PO-101 did not seem to hear me
by Loren M. Lang 18 Apr '20

18 Apr '20

I just tried to make some QSOs on the PO-101 pass starting around 22:04Z just a little bit ago. However, even though I could clearly hear the satellite for nearly it's entire pass, I could not seem to make it in. I'm not sure what wasn't configured right. This is my very first attempt with this satellite. I am using a Yaesu FT-3DR with an Elk Antenna. I had very clear audio for much of the pass which is usually the more difficult part from experience. On that pass, I heard: DN17 N6AJ DM05 KA7FVV K8YSE/7 DM43 WJ7WJ CN85 I'm not looking for LoTW confirmations, just if any of them heard me at all. I have five presets, all receive on 145.900 and transmit on 437.490, 437.495, 437.500, 437.505, and 437.510 MHz in that order. When pressing PTT, my radio showed the corresponding TX frequency and also TN 141.3 along with FM in the corner so I can't figure out what I was doing wrong especially during the peak when it should be close to being on frequency. I've been very successful with my set up on AO-91, AO-92, and SO-50 so it leaves me completely befuddled what I did wrong. Confused, Loren K7IW

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Telemetry on 145.96 MHz
by wizardofzid 16 Apr '20

16 Apr '20

I've heard a CW telemetry signal on 145.96 (AO-91 downlink frequency) 5-10 min. before the FM pass. It's a bit hard to copy CW on a FM receiver but I've heard it 3 times in the last 2 days. Seems to fade out prior to the AO-91 pass. I expect it is an analog bird but so far I haven't figured out which. Any guesses?Rusty, WA8ZIDSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

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Wanted: Icom AG25 preamp
by Kyle Y 15 Apr '20

15 Apr '20

Hello all, Anybody have an Icom AG25 preamp that they'd like to sell? Please contact me directly if so. Thanks. 73 Kyle K0KN k0kn(a)amsat.org

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SATpc32 -- Limit satellites to active ones?
by Thomas Schaefer 14 Apr '20

14 Apr '20

A related question…Is there some reason we need to carry old, no longer in-use, satellites in these files? This is not about the DOPPLER.SQL file but more about the lists in general as the elements files are full of objects one can never use for communications. For example, when I open the Satellite dialog, I see 200 available satellites. I have my filters setup but there is a big list of essentially no communication use—unless it comes back from the dead and the AMSAT News will tell me that I have no doubt. I was asking if one could filter the “Available” list but that looks to be just a representation of the files underneath (amateur.txt, cubesat.txt, etc). Just as we have editors for Doppler.SQL, I think one answer might be to create a new file with the active satellites in it (derived from the AMSAT satellites page). I can then use that my “Active sats” Keps file as my input. I can programmatically build the active sats file from the downloaded elements files. That seems like an easy Perl script I can put on a website. As far as a feature request (and this is purely for usability), I would summarize it thusly, add a feature where one can list the name of the satellites one wants to see in the Available file. This would be an Active filter. You can enable that with a checkbox to see active sats or all for historical reference. Then even though the program downloads the latest elements, it would only show the satellites in the active file or all if Active is not checked. Thanks, Tom Schaefer, NY4I Blog: www.ny4i.com Madeira Beach, FL (Grid: EL87ot)

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Cheap 10W solar panels
by GEO Badger 13 Apr '20

13 Apr '20

The link is to ML Solar, local to me in Cali. https://tinyurl.com/txyw2bj --- Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side. GEO http://www.w3ab.org You can say "over", you can say "out", you just can't say "over and out".

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SATpc32 -- doppler.sqf Editor
by Michael Walker 13 Apr '20

13 Apr '20

Hi All For the new operators, you may like this nice piece of code by W9KE Doppler.SQF Edit http://www.tomdoyle.org/dopplersqfeditor/DopplerSqfEditor.html Mike va3mw

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Good Contact???
by Brad Smith 13 Apr '20

13 Apr '20

<2 - A station calls me with My Call and Their Call.3 - I respond to them with Their Call & My Call/Grid> Since I am always operating handheld or portable, whether at my QTH, or roving, I cannot write the call down as it is being said, as both of my hands happen to be employed at the moment. Since a rover usually gives his grid, at least every few calls, I may say "Grid CM94, My Call" for example and the rover usually comes back at me and I appreciate that and I will then give my call and grid. Sometimes that is the best that can be done. I get his call when he comes back to me. I also record every pass on my iPhone. My memory isn't geed enough to remember 5 calls (or more, if I am roving) that I just worked, along with the activities of pointing an antenna and manually adjusting Doppler, so I rely on my recording. I know it is difficult to understand, but working portable is a lot different than sitting in front of an SDR computer screen in one's shack, with a 9700 with a speaker system and elevating and rotating, computer controlled yagi antennas. Some of us are doing this under not-so-ideal conditions. I have worked with my Arrow in the rain and in a snowstorm, several times without gloves, with noisy trucks going by and people asking me what I am doing,while trying to work. I have been asked if I am tracking animals and once as I was setting up, someone threatened to call the police. (I offered to let him use my phone, and I have Amateur Radio plates on my vehicles.) So, please cut some of us a little slack, if we are not operating exactly by "the book." Also, getting stepped on by the rude, big guns will eradicate part of the call. (Big guns are certainly more important than little portables.) If it is his/her call that gets stepped on, I can pick it up as he/she makes more contacts. If it is my call, I will email him/her to verify what my call is and make sure the contact is correct. Many times the person will thank me because he was missing one letter. Brad KC9UQR

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