2: In trying to make life easier by using the Memories Recall (MR) on the unit. I put in the frequencies of the centerband of each of the satellites. It is easiest to quickly adjust my frequency by just selecting Memory Recall 1, 2, 3, etc. That works fine for the FM satellites, but I am locked into that frequency on the SSB birds and I cannot use the VFO to adjust +/- my frequencies. If I hit VFO I go back to the frequency I was using before I did the Memory Recall. Is there a way to use the Sat Memories yet have the VFO work when you get there without changing the Memory contents as you would if you used the VFO/M button? Any tricks?
Yes, Go into SAT mode REV. Then press MR if not already in that mode and dial the channel number of the frequency pair you wish to use. Then press Fc then VFO. That will load your memory channels into the VFO's and also switch you to VFO mode.
One additional trick: Once you find yourself (and congrats, if you can do that, you've got the hard part done!), stay in (or change to) REV mode and spin the dial around to find a CQ to answer, or a QSO to join. In REV mode, the Rx and Tx VFOs will track each other in the right directions (for our current crop of "Inverting" transponders), so that you will be pretty close to having both sides in sync when you want to step in; otherwise, you'll have to find yourself all over again. Then drop back to Rx (which is usually the higher of the two bands) so that you can track the other station. If you haven't found a place to land for a few minutes, drop back to Rx and find yourself again, then back to REV to continue the hunt. You'll need to do this because Doppler will affect the higher band more than the lower, and you'll be off frequency.
Good luck!
Greg KO6TH