Hi Art, KC6UQH
You are correct 100% because the HEO AO40 was very easy to work using any old TX capable to run about 50 to 100 watt into 70 cm CW and SSB
A 3 to 4 foot dish with a 2400/144 MHz downconverter in the focal point and connected to any old 144 MHz CW/SSB receiver mounted on the balcony was sufficient to receive a nice downlink from all over the world by many users at the same time for many hours every day.
No complicated TX/RX radios and special software was necessary to compensate for doppler just made by hand.
In my opinion from the operational point of view and communication efficiency the LEO FM satellites belong to the OCEA i.e. the "Office Complicating Easy Affair ".
Unfortunately the young radio hams cannot understand what you writes because they were not fortunate enought to start their satellite experience with OSCAR-10 OSCAR-13 and the beautiful AO40 and this is why they are happy with the existing FM birds.
Pulling for P3E...
http://www.p3e-satellite.org/index.pl?step=pixelliste
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
----- Original Message ----- From: "kc6uqh" kc6uqh@cox.net To: "John Geiger" aa5jg@lcisp.com; amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org; w0dxz@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 7:36 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LEO's
From my perspective HEO's are much easier to work. The doppler and the
antenna pointing go much slower. With a home brew antennas including a 10 turn helix on a 6' stepladder I worked stations from UK to Japan and all parts in between on AO40. I used old radios and homebrew converters including a modified LNB.
A minmal setupI hung a 2M ht on a drop tap to read the signal strength of the beacon. Adjusted the PrimeStar dish for strongest signal and eyeballed the helix to be in line with the dish. I had many QSO's and one of the better signals on the bird.
You can't have a 20 minute QSO on a LEO. Unless you have a computer controled station, you are spending most of
your
time making adjustments. This leaves little time to learn and the best
part
of it is the panic only lasts for 15 minutes. The overhead part of the pass is crazy! FM makes the doppler easy to handle, but any antenna with more than 6 dB
of
gain becomes a pointing nightmere. Art, KC6UQH
----- Original Message ----- From: "John Geiger" aa5jg@lcisp.com To: amsat-bb@amsat.org; w0dxz@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:22 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LEO's
Hi Bob,
I agree completely with what you say. Many people who don't think they have the equipment for the satellites really do-like a dualband FM rig and a small yagi. I wouldn't be on the sats either if I hadn't started on the FM sats and found out how easy using them was. Had a nice AO51 pass a few minutes ago also.
73s John AA5JG
----- Original Message ----- From: w0dxz@aol.com To: amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:32 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] LEO's
RE:? Usefullness of LEO's...
I think there should always be at least one accessable LEO-FM bird...
for
the very reason that some (WB6LLO) think there should not be. It gets
you
started with satellites.
If I had not gone to a hamfest and seen Patrick demo use of the FM
birds,
I would not now be active on not only FM birds, but? the all mode birds
as
well. Without the FM birds, the? imtimidation factor would have been too much, I never would have gotten started.
Every hobby needs an easy entry level possibility... for many it is the
LEO's, FM.
When I bought my first Harley, a Sportster,,, many said oh, a beginners
Harley, yeah, maybe, but I would never have? bought a motorcycle? if I
had
to buy a full dresser as my first bike.? And yes, my first gun was a
.410,
not a 12 gauge.? And I learned to snorkel before I learned to SCUBA.
FM LEO's have a purpose, a use. Not everyone can? chase the other
birds.
Live and let live. That is the fun part of the ham radio hobbyt, there
is
something for everyone.
There may be complaints about LEO-FM birds that are justifiable, but?
the
fact that you can work one with a HT is not one of those arguments.
Bob W0DXZ DM33