Anyone hear DO-64 lately? I hear a beacon but the transponder seems to be off. Mike K9QHO AMSAT 33589
I have never heard anything on DO-64 (but I've only had my satellite antennas up for a few months). I was wondering if there was something wrong on my end.
73 de W4AS Sebastian
On Sep 12, 2008, at 10:52 AM, WILLIAMS MICHAEL wrote:
Anyone hear DO-64 lately? I hear a beacon but the transponder seems to be off.
Mike K9QHO AMSAT 33589 _______________________________________________ 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
I was able to copy the Beacon approx one week ago when DO 64 came out of eclipse at the exact time indicated by SAT32PC here in CN89. A few weeks ago I heard some very weak SSB within the passband. My attempts to upliink to DO64 with approx 200W eirp using SSB have not worked. I have made numerous VO52 contacts so I am fairly sure my gear is working okay. I'm going to wait untill I hear an actual VO52 QSO before I spend much more time on the TX side of things. Does any one know if the typical transponder signal levels are comparable to the Beacon ? The beacon is weak but readable for me. If the typical signal levels thru the transponder were say 10 db down from the beacon I'm not sure I could hear a QSO. DO64 might prompt me to upgrade my station somewhat (: Regards Mark VE7AFZ
--- On Fri, 9/12/08, Sebastian [email protected] wrote:
From: Sebastian [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: DO-64 To: "AMSAT BB" [email protected] Received: Friday, September 12, 2008, 11:11 AM
I have never heard anything on DO-64 (but I've only had my satellite antennas up for a few months). I was wondering if there was something wrong on my end.
73 de W4AS Sebastian
On Sep 12, 2008, at 10:52 AM, WILLIAMS MICHAEL wrote:
Anyone hear DO-64 lately? I hear a beacon but the transponder seems to be off.
Mike K9QHO AMSAT 33589 _______________________________________________ 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
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Hi Mark!
My attempts to upliink to DO64 with approx 200W eirp using SSB have not worked. I have made numerous VO52 contacts so I am fairly sure my gear is working okay.
I've also made contacts on VO-52, to confirm my portable setup (two FT-817NDs, TX radio at 5W, Arrow Antennas handheld 2m/70cm Yagi) works OK for U/V operation. For DO-64, I can hear its CW beacon on most visible passes when it is operational. As for the transponder, it is much weaker than VO-52. I can hear my own CW through it on most passes, but for SSB I need to wait until the satellite is above 40 degrees elevation to hear my own voice.
So far, no QSOs on DO-64 yet. Until I get a 2m preamp, I won't have as many opportunities to make QSOs on DO-64 compared to VO-52.
I'm going to wait untill I hear an actual VO52 QSO before I spend much more time on the TX side of things.
Probably a good thing. I did the same thing initially, and then started working on tuning my radios so I could keep hearing myself on the downlink. After that, I worked on keeping up with other stations so I could make some QSOs and have nice conversations. Computer control is right now not a high priority when operating portable, but eventually I will make that happen.
Good luck working on your station. I hope to work you soon on VO-52 or some other satellite - maybe even DO-64.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Phoenix AZ http://www.wd9ewk.net/
Hi all,
Please keep in mind that Delfi-C3 has no active attitude control system and therefore does not have a constant polarization sense as in slowly tumbles trough space. So it is important to switch polarization both on uplink and downlink. The beacon is about 10dB below the transponder PEP, and off course the transponder PEP is shared between transponder users. A 2m pre-amp will be a huge improvement on your station and is well worth considering the expense. The beacon and transponder of Delfi-C3 are switched on together, so once you hear the CW beacon the transponder is also on.
Regards,
Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG Delfi-C3 team member
On Sat, Sep 13, 2008 at 10:16 AM, Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) [email protected] wrote:
Hi Mark!
My attempts to upliink to DO64 with approx 200W eirp using SSB have not worked. I have made numerous VO52 contacts so I am fairly sure my gear is working okay.
I've also made contacts on VO-52, to confirm my portable setup (two FT-817NDs, TX radio at 5W, Arrow Antennas handheld 2m/70cm Yagi) works OK for U/V operation. For DO-64, I can hear its CW beacon on most visible passes when it is operational. As for the transponder, it is much weaker than VO-52. I can hear my own CW through it on most passes, but for SSB I need to wait until the satellite is above 40 degrees elevation to hear my own voice.
So far, no QSOs on DO-64 yet. Until I get a 2m preamp, I won't have as many opportunities to make QSOs on DO-64 compared to VO-52.
I'm going to wait untill I hear an actual VO52 QSO before I spend much more time on the TX side of things.
Probably a good thing. I did the same thing initially, and then started working on tuning my radios so I could keep hearing myself on the downlink. After that, I worked on keeping up with other stations so I could make some QSOs and have nice conversations. Computer control is right now not a high priority when operating portable, but eventually I will make that happen.
Good luck working on your station. I hope to work you soon on VO-52 or some other satellite - maybe even DO-64.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Phoenix AZ http://www.wd9ewk.net/ _______________________________________________ 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
Hi Mike,
I have made a lot of qso'a on do64 and the transponder is working OK when the satellite is in sunlight. Signals are not strong but good to make ssb qso's. Station here is 2x10 element yagi on 2 meter + preamp for downlink and 2x 16 element yagi for the 70cm uplink around 20watts. All linear polarisation
I can heard the transponder noise when its switched on when the sat is coming from eclipse. The satellite always workable but sometimes signals are weak and there is no way to get a signal over the transponder. This is because of the satellite attitude of that pass.
Good luck on DO-64.
73 Rob PE1ITR http://www.pe1itr.com
WILLIAMS MICHAEL schreef:
Anyone hear DO-64 lately? I hear a beacon but the transponder seems to be off. Mike K9QHO AMSAT 33589 _______________________________________________ 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
participants (6)
-
Mark Spencer -
Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) -
Rob Hardenberg PE1ITR -
Sebastian -
WILLIAMS MICHAEL -
wouter weggelaar