John,
I was on that pass and had a QSO with you just before Carlos W7QL, at least from my perspective. :-) Unfortunately, I didn't record my downlink audio, just my ambient audio.
I used to have a lot of trouble remembering calls and repeating them back correctly. What I found helped immensely is leaving my writing hand free so I can write down calls, grids, and QSO times in real time. My HT is clipped to my phone pouch on my belt, with the display facing up (toward my face) and the VFO knob readily accessible by my free hand for Doppler corrections. If I need a second HT, it's also on my belt or on a lanyard. My phone, running the ISS Detector tracking app and a voice recorder app, is in an elastic arm band on my antenna arm. When I'm not transmitting, I write down calls and grids on Post-it notes that I've stuck to my cheatsheet. I can press the PTT button on my earpiece or headset while still holding the pen.
Another technique I use that I also found a huge help is an alphabetically arranged list of active satellite operators' calls and home grids. Whenever I hear a new call on the satellites, I add it to the list. This list is particularly helpful when pulling out weak signals out of the noise. I can hold this list, which resides in a plastic sheet protector with a sheet of cardboard for stiffness, with my antenna hand.
Once I started doing these two things, I saw a huge, immediate improvement in my ability to keep up with fast-paced FM satellite operating. Now I rarely have to go back to the recording. I did have one failure of the recording app a week ago, when I was operating in the dark without enough ambient light to read or write. Now I make sure I have enough lighting to read and write, even if it means wearing an LED head lamp.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
73, Ryan AI6DO
On Thursday, July 26, 2018, 6:57:10 AM PDT, johnv@frontier.com johnv@frontier.com wrote:
After that pass of SO-50 and AO-91 over CN87 I found my recorder was malfunctioning. Does anyone have a tape of the AO-91 overpass? I have W7QL at 7/25 @ 2106 UTC. I would really appreciate it.
Thank you, and I will be getting a better recorder with my issues of grabbing the whole callsign in one call. John N7AME Everett.