Hi Kent,

Welcome to the sats. I just started myself a few weeks ago. AO-51 is quite popular and there are usually many stations calling when it is on mode V/U (Friday through Monday UTC). So if you are not hearing anything, even on a high pass, there must be some problem with your receiver/antenna, or you are not tuned to the correct frequency, or your tracking program is off and you are not listening at the correct time, etc. There's a nice AO-51 operating guide at: http://www.g6lvb.com/Articles/operatingAO51.htm

The other sats you can work with FM-only gear are AO-27 (daytime only) SO-50 (a bit weaker than 51 and 27), and the International Space Station (although transponder is often turned off).

73, Bill NZ5N

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Hello all, my name is Kent Frazier, K5KNT. I am

just getting interested in working amateur satellites. I just joined AMSAT on Tuesday, 26 February 2008. My current hardware is an Icom IC2720 dual band in my personal vehicle with a Comet C767 dual band antenna. I also have an Icom IC-T22A 2-meter hand held with a Diamond RH77CA antenna.

I've been trying to listen to passes of AO-51 over the last week. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to hear anything since Monday, 25 February at approx 01:04 UTC (Saturday 24 FEB 19:04 CST). At that time, I thought I heard the call W9CPV.

I'm currently using Satscape as my tracking software. My Gridsquare location is DM91sk.

Are there other satellites I could monitor with the above equipment? Any suggestions for making my first contact?

73,

Kent R. Frazier, K5KNT

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