That’s been a goal of mine for quite a while, Robert. It’s a long-shot, but that’s what makes it a nice challenge.
My technique is to always transmit using the digipeater path “ARISS, ARISS”.
Please note the result of that when digipeated via the ISS, for example:
--------------------------- 20190703145345 : K4KDR-6]CQ,RS0ISS*,ARISS,qAR,KK4NAM::N1RCN :Heard you via ISS in Montpelier, VA FM17es ---------------------------
... the ISS accepts "ARISS" as a valid path and digipeats it back down as evidenced by the "RS0ISS*" address. But you'll notice that my second "ARISS" stays on the packet. So, if ANOTHER satellite hears that transmission from the ISS and sees "ARISS" in the path, it should happily digipeat it as well.
So, I have no idea if I'll ever get a double-hop, but at least with more APRS-capable satellites going into orbit, the odds improve bit-by-bit.
-Scott, K4KDR
============================
From: Robert MacHale Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2019 11:50 PM To: [email protected] ; Scott Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Turned the corner on AISAT-1 APRS digipeats
Random Though -- when two satellites are in range, can you bounce your APRS packet from Sat1 to Sat2 then finally to an iGate?
KE6BLR>APRS,AISAT-1,ARISS:HELLO WORLD!
Could this produce:
KE6BLR>APRS,AISAT-1*,ARISS:HELLO WORLD!
Then:
KE6BLR>APRS,AISAT-1*,ARISS*:HELLO WORLD!
Next:
KE6BLR>APRS,AISAT-1*,ARISS*,qAR,N6DAN-1:HELLO WORLD!
73
Robert MacHale . KE6BLR Ham Radio License . http://spaceCommunicator.club/igates . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration
On Wednesday, July 3, 2019, 8:27:20 PM PDT, Scott via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
Greetings!
Being smart would be cool, but sometimes it's just easier to be lucky.
Since the launch of AISAT-1, I have really struggled to get digipeated thru that satellite. At best, I could get in a single digipeat but only at the exact moment of closest approach on a high pass. Armed with seeing that repeatedly, I thought doppler tracking the 145.825 FM uplink might help, but it did not.
So tonight (4-July UTC), by pure coincidence, there was a high pass of AISAT-1 immediately following a pass of PSAT-2. Following Bob's (WB4APR) recommendation to use NARROW-FM on PSAT-2 (worked well), I thought "what the heck", I'll leave my radio set on NARROW-FM for the pass of AISAT-1 as well. I'll even doppler track the AISAT-1 uplink while I'm at it.
Boom. Got digipeated left and right. Well before and after closest approach, I got digipeated. I didn't go crazy since I'm always so afraid of blocking out other people on a simplex satellite, but I hit it enough to see the night & day difference from what I'd been experiencing since deployment.
If it's in the docs somewhere I missed it, but is sure seems to me that, like PSAT-2, AISAT-1 might very well be equipped with a NARROW-FM radio.
It would be great to see if others find as much improvement as I did, so I hope some folks will try AISAT-1 using NARROW-FM on the 145.825 APRS digipeater.
73,
-Scott, K4KDR