Made my first QSOs on the Nayif-1 transponder on the 0305Z pass covering most of North America. I worked AC0RA in Texas, AA5PK in Texas, NP4JV in Arizona, W5PFG in Texas, and WN9Q in Wisconsin from my QTH in southwest Washington, DC. I also heard KO4MA in Florida and NR0T in Minnesota.
Signals were generally strong, with some fading at points. It seems to work at least as well as AO-73's transponder. As I was operating manually, I could not precisely evaluate the frequency stability, but I had no trouble finding myself very quickly. It was much easier than finding myself on an equivalent pass of AO-73.
Equipment used:
2 x Yaesu FT-817 High Sierra Microwave LNA146FIL preamp Microset VUR-30 amplifier (about 22 watts max on 70cm) Arrow II 146/437-14 Antenna (handheld)
Congratulations to the Nayif-1 team on a successful launch and activation of the satellite!
73,
Paul, N8HM