Agreed. Sure your arm gets tired after a long pass from satellites like HO-68, but half the fun is the simplicity and the other half being the challenge. I doubt I would personally get involved with L/U on LEO's like AO-51 because of the cost and complexity of having computer controlled servos to track them just for a 10 - 20 minute window that you only get once or twice a day depending on the LEO. Considering I work satellites mostly on weekends the amount of use it would get wouldn't be worth it for me. I'd be more likely to build a setup for working HEO's like AO-40 before building a setup for L/U work on LEO's due to the simplicity, larger foot print, and longer predictable window.
To be honest I would use FM on AO-51 as that is the most likely usage new comers to satellites will most likely end up using. If you want to demonstrate the raw rag chewing potential of satellites then demo a HEO like AO-40.
~73, KC2WQW
On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 2:30 PM, Gordon JC Pearce gordonjcp@gjcp.net wrote:
On Tue, 2010-05-04 at 07:20 -0500, Alan P. Biddle wrote:
Peter,
From past studies, mode L/U is the place to be if you want to work
someone
on AO-51 without an EME station. ;) While the V/U FM repeater was
choked
on every pass, there were very few stations on L/U. In the four passes I monitored last year, totaling 46 minutes, there were only 21 station
heard.
Half of those were on the first pass, and by the last pass on Sunday,
only
one plaintive station calling.
Alan WA4SCA
Presumably that's because very few people have L- and S-band equipment. I'm guessing that many people are - like me - put off by the prohibitive cost and requirement for overcomplicated tracking systems.
Working V/U with a handheld antenna is much more fun than sitting watching a computer twiddle servos and tune the radio for you.
Gordon MM0YEQ
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