On the subject of mast-mounted preamps, is there a good second-hand recommendation? I've seen some very expensive new ones and looked at building from scratch - just wondering if there's anything old but good on the market that I should be keeping an eye out for?
Thanks,
Dominic G6NQO.
On 24/10/2011 15:00, Mark L. Hammond wrote:
Good points from Steve (and other).
***Don't forget the DREADFUL TS-2000 birdie on the AO-27 and SO-50 downlinks. :( It is the only thing I hate about the radio....
With a good mast-mounted preamp (didn't see you note any??) and some frequency adjusting (up/down to minimize the birdie's effect), and even try FM-N on receive---you can make some contacts. But it's annoying as all get out. And it makes it tough. Did I say that I HATE that birdie? ;)
Basically, I flame up the old TS-790A when I want to work these two---and that's a real shame on the TS-2000.
You might give SatPC32 a shot--it lets you juggle back and forth for both SO-50 tones (one to key it up, another to work through it). It makes it just a mouse click or two...quite nice.
73,
Mark N8MH
On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 9:36 AM, Stephen E. Belter[email protected] wrote:
Richard,
You probably didn't hear AO-27 because it was off on the passes you tried to work. Was the satellite over Canada or was it moving from north to south?
AO-27 isn't difficult to work, except that it is *very* popular (can be hard to get a word in edgewise) and is on a timer. In general, AO-27 is operational over the United States for a period of seven minutes in the afternoon passes when the satellite is traveling from south to north.
Before transmitting, make sure you can hear the satellite. If you don't hear it, it isn't turned on. When AO-27 is on and passing over the middle of the US, it will sound like a DX pile-up. Since you are in Oregon, your least crowded passes will be when AO-27 is off the west coast over the Pacific Ocean. (I've had relaxed conversations on AO-27 from Indiana when it is over the Atlantic Ocean.)
The design/assigned frequency for SO-50 is 436.800, but I've been finding it between 436.791 to 436.794 (before Doppler correction). SO-50 also requires that you transmit a 67 Hz subaudible (CTSS or PL) tone. The SO-50 transmitter is on a ten minute timer that is reset by sending a 74 Hz tone, but don't worry about it until you become familiar with the satellite. Let other stations worry about resetting the timer.
Clint Bradford, K6LCS, has some great information for hams just getting started on satellites. You can find it at www.work-sat.org .
73, Steve N9IP
Steve Belter, Indiana Dataline Corp 427 N 6th Street, Suite C Lafayette, IN 47901-2211 Tel: (765) 269-8521 www.indiana-dataline.net
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Richard Grabotin Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 12:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-27/SO-50
I am new to satellites as of this weekend. I have worked AO-51 three times with much success. SO-50 I can hear off and on, but I am having trouble raising it. As for AO-27, I had a nice daytime direct overhead pass and heard nothing. I am using a yeasu g-5500 rotator with the AMSAT controller and ham radio deluxe. Kenwood ts-2000 for the rig and a 8 element 440 and a 4 element 2 meter antenna. The antennas are currently linear polarized since my phasing cables still have not arrived from the manufacturer.
My questions are, is AO-27 difficult to work? Is it on a schedule? Any ideas why I could not raise or hear it?
As for SO-50: Should I be listening 5khz down? Ham radio deluxe is controlling the radio frequencies and I made a custom entry for 5khz down and corrected for Doppler. This still did not seem to help.
Richard K7LWV
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb