Saw him on 10m PSK31 this morning. He was weak and gone b4 I could work him.
Gonna keep an eye out for him there as well.
73 Rick K7TEJ
On March 15, 2015, at 13:44, Jeff Moore tnetcenter@gmail.com wrote:
Uri is heading for Longview, Washington (there is no Longview, Oregon TIKO). Longview, Washington sits on the Washington side of the Columbia River (the North side). There is nothing on the Oregon side except a road and the closest Oregon town is Ranier to the East towards Portland. If you Google Longview, Oregon - you will get Longview, Washington - they are NOT the same place. Longview, Washington is one of the larger ports on the West Coast.
7 3 Jeff Moore -- KE7ACY Bend, Oregon
On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 12:31 PM, John Papay john@papays.com wrote:
Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently in EK42 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guatemala. He expects to be in EK42 through Sunday evening March 15th. He is going to be drifting for the next few days, likely to the northwest. His next port is Longview, Oregon, but he cannot arrive at the port until 1 April. Therefore he is waiting a bit where the weather is good before heading up the coast.
His course up the coast will be fruitfull in terms of new grids. Amongst those that are highly sought after are DM02 and CM79 which are both part of the Continental US and required for those trying to work all 488 Continental USA grids. His time in DM02 may be very limited and passes may not correspond to his track across the grid. But Yuri knows that this grid is rare and sought after and will do what he can to be there during workable passes. His time in CM79 will be much longer and it should be possible to work him in that grid.
In addition Yuri will go through the middle of CN70 through CN76 which all have land on their eastern edge. These grids are normally hard to work but should be relatively easy due to the low horizon that he has on the ship. His speed is normally around 11-14 knots so you can judge how long he will be in a grid. Each of these grids is about 70 miles from south to north.
His next port after Oregon is unknown but if he picks up cargo destined for ports in the east, he will likely come back down the coast to the Panama Canal and give everyone another shot at working grids that they missed when he was northbound.
Yuri is a very patient operator and skilled at operating with just one IC706 tuned manually. Remember that he has to find those calling him. If you give your call just once he will not likely get it. Give it twice at a reasonable pace, with phonetics, and you will increase your chances of a qso. Call and then listen for a bit to see if he calls someone. Yuri is very good at recognizing callsigns that he has worked before, even if he just gets a few letters. But that doesn't mean you can rattle off your call without phonetics and expect him to get it right. Phoentics might seem like a waste of precious satellite time but if he doesn't get it the first time, the extra time it takes to correct it will be worse. Yuri's English is very good but remember it is not his first language.
Yuri uses an ELK antenna mounted on a PVC mast that runs from the deck of the Bridge up to the Flying Bridge. The Flying Bridge appurtenances can block the sky from the port to stern. For example, if the ship is traveling due north, his signal at lower elevations will be blocked from 270 to 180 degrees. See where the satellite is with respect to his course and you will be able to predict when he may not be able to hear very well. If he is in range of an AIS station you can get his speed and course on marinetraffic.com. Search for the "Greenwing." The ELK antenna is pointed up at 15 degrees and can be rotated by the crew. Sometimes you can hear Yuri requesting that they turn the antenna for him (not in English). The ELK is a few years old now and has been blown down before. He takes it apart and greases the connections to prevent the salt from destroying it. Based on what I see the salt do to antennas here in Florida, it is amazing that he has been able to keep this antenna in working condition.
Yuri has been working on QSL card requests from last season as well as this season. My guess is that he will mail some from Oregon where they will be sure to go out without problems. So be patient. Yuri has a manager, Eugene, UX0FY, however he does not have the logs for the last part of the previous season. Yuri does prefer to do the cards himself even if it takes a little longer.
We have many new operators on the birds and they don't always understand what it means to have a rare grid on a pass. Many don't know country prefixes to know where a station is, or what grid is rare. Those who have been around for a while can mentor others and give the rover station a chance to make more contacts. Things have changed now that Yuri is on the west coast. Suddenly the east coast operators who normally have a big advantage with Yuri are now at a disadvantage since he is in the Pacific. So if you are on the west coast and will have a footprint with Yuri for a long time or have a shot at a pass that doesn't cover the east coast, hold off so that Yuri can work those who have a very short opening. Yuri gets on most every visible pass while he is on the move, day or night, so passes out over the Pacific will work fine for west coasters. And if the situation is reversed, hopefully, east coasters will reciprocate. It should be noted, however, that there is much more interest in working DX by those in the east compared to those in the west.
Yuri is an amazing operator and has likely operated in more grids than anyone. He is a very experienced Captain and you can see how his crew respects him for that. We are fortunate to have him on the birds. Have fun working him.
73, John K8YSE
John Papay john@papays.com
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_______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb