Where is everyone on FO-29???
Had a pass in San Diego ~1930z, and found one contact, Jim, W6ASL in Concord CA...
It covered Alaska, a big chunk of the US and Canada, and the NE corner of Russia...
I used about 50 watts EIRP on the uplink...with some polarity fading at times....
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Guimont" [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 11:45 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] FO-29
Where is everyone on FO-29???
Had a pass in San Diego ~1930z, and found one contact, Jim, W6ASL in Concord CA...
It covered Alaska, a big chunk of the US and Canada, and the NE corner of Russia...
I used about 50 watts EIRP on the uplink...with some polarity fading at times....
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected] Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...
Hi Dave, WB6LLO
I agree with you and this is why I work only FO-29 but actually for many reason you are a voice crying in the wilderness.
Pulling for P3E...
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
Where is everyone on FO-29???
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
Hi Dave, WB6LLO
I agree with you and this is why I work only FO-29 but actually for many reason you are a voice crying in the wilderness.
Unfortunate, but true, Dom...AMSAT-NA made such a big promotion of AO-51, supposedly promote interest in hamsats and increase membership, and I think it did just the opposite...
I've asked many times how many members we acquired, never got an answer so assume it was zero, nada, nil.....
And part of the loss was also many former ssb/cw users that just gave up because of lack of bandspread...
I tried to hold a conversation when 51 was first launched, and was berated severely for making a couple of short sentences!!
What good is it if no intelligence is transferred??
One could swap grid squares on a cell phone, if that is the only interest!!
GO P3E!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pulling for P3E...
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
Mr. Guimont,
I take exception to your comments about AO-51 and its relative merits. I am a newcomer to the amateur satellites - having been totally off the air for more than 15 years. I was originally licensed 25 years ago.
I've submitted a paper that will be published as part of the official proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Symposium that discusses how working AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50 with a handheld station specifically addresses the elements of FCC Part 97.1, which lays out the foundation for the amateur radio service. I hope you'll have a chance to read it.
I am in the process of getting a full station together to start working the CW/SSB satellites, but if those satellites and the equipment/investment they require had been where I had to start working satellites, I wouldn't have done it. A newcomer can get everything he/she needs to effectively work the three Mode-J FM satellites for about what it costs to buy an xBox 360 console and 2-3 games for it. It occurs to me that parents just might be more interested in investing that amount of money in amateur radio than in video games. That's one reason why I see these satellites and the concept of working them with handheld stations to be a great recipe for introducing newcomers to amateur radio and all it has to offer.
I see advantages to all of the satellites and all of their various modes of operation. Have you worked AO-16 recently in its "bent pipe" mode? What a hoot! I'm enjoying that a lot, and I look forward to hearing you on FO-29 in the very near future. I hope we'll have a chance to work each other there, and I hope you might reconsider your position on AO-51 and the other two Mode-J FM satellites. As you likely have seen here from posts about it, AO-27 is currently experiencing some problems and is not operating. However, SO-50 is not nearly as busy as AO-51.
One of the main points I make in the paper I've written for the Symposium is that the quick exchanges made necessary by the nature of these satellites provides great chances for operators to hone their skills at providing pertinent information in a short form during what sometimes can be chaotic (or, at least chaotic-sounding) conditions - things that I know from personal experience are very important in emergency-communications.
I suppose the excitement of working AO-51 could fade for me in time, but I doubt it.
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL AMSAT Member No. 36820 Athens, Ga. - EM84ha -------------- Original message from Dave Guimont [email protected]: --------------
Where is everyone on FO-29???
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
Hi Dave, WB6LLO
I agree with you and this is why I work only FO-29 but actually for many reason you are a voice crying in the wilderness.
Unfortunate, but true, Dom...AMSAT-NA made such a big promotion of AO-51, supposedly promote interest in hamsats and increase membership, and I think it did just the opposite...
I've asked many times how many members we acquired, never got an answer so assume it was zero, nada, nil.....
And part of the loss was also many former ssb/cw users that just gave up because of lack of bandspread...
I tried to hold a conversation when 51 was first launched, and was berated severely for making a couple of short sentences!!
What good is it if no intelligence is transferred??
One could swap grid squares on a cell phone, if that is the only interest!!
GO P3E!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pulling for P3E...
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
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
On 25 Sep 2008 at 1:05, [email protected] wrote:
One of the main points I make in the paper I've written for the Symposium is that the quick exchanges made necessary by the nature of these satellites provides great chances for operators to hone their skills at providing pertinent information in a short
form during what sometimes can be chaotic (or, at least chaotic-sounding) conditions - things that I know from personal experience are very important in emergency-communications.
I suppose the excitement of working AO-51 could fade for me in time, but I doubt it.
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL
Hi Tim
In your interlude you missed AO-40 the ultimate goal for a satellite operator. Being able to achieve QSO worldwide is it not why DX stand for? Each satellite type have their own merit and actually there is near an hundred of those cube sat planned in the next years mainly by universities.
Two project are on the working table actually Eagle and P3E but funding resources are one of many issues they are facing. You ask and answer your own question in you text! "provides great chances for operators to hone their skills" " I suppose the excitement of working AO- 51 could fade for me in time" And "If you doubt it" you will be just slower than the others to hone your skills and after that?
Just read back on this BB archives you will see that the debate has been already done and all agree at 90% that the next logical goal is an HEO.
LEO are the first AMSAT'S shot. In the 21st century HEO will probably prevail but a new amateur satellite governing structure will have to be invented and it will be a real international one. The last question is to know when?
In the mean time the LEO fleet still provide a way to maintain our stations alive and it help here to justify the junk in my backyard...just ask my wife?
BTW: There is still some room for experimenting i just come out a session of L/U FM/USB mode on AO-51 and forget the crowd we where 3 to 4 stations and on some pass only 2 stations just like a private satellite!!!
"-"
Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE
Well put Tim but it probably is falling on deaf ears. A lot of us that actually enjoy the FM sats have had this converstion with Dave before. Everyone and I mean everyone, wants an HEO but it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. Why not enjoy every possible bird up there in the meantime? 73, Michael, W4HIJ AMSAT # 36017 "Pulling for any satellite of any type and mode that can increase our operating enjoyment!!" ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: "Dave Guimont" [email protected]; "i8cvs" [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:05 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FO-29
Mr. Guimont,
I take exception to your comments about AO-51 and its relative merits. I am a newcomer to the amateur satellites - having been totally off the air for more than 15 years. I was originally licensed 25 years ago.
I've submitted a paper that will be published as part of the official proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Symposium that discusses how working AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50 with a handheld station specifically addresses the elements of FCC Part 97.1, which lays out the foundation for the amateur radio service. I hope you'll have a chance to read it.
I am in the process of getting a full station together to start working the CW/SSB satellites, but if those satellites and the equipment/investment they require had been where I had to start working satellites, I wouldn't have done it. A newcomer can get everything he/she needs to effectively work the three Mode-J FM satellites for about what it costs to buy an xBox 360 console and 2-3 games for it. It occurs to me that parents just might be more interested in investing that amount of money in amateur radio than in video games. That's one reason why I see these satellites and the concept of working them with handheld stations to be a great recipe for introducing newcomers to amateur radio and all it has to offer.
I see advantages to all of the satellites and all of their various modes of operation. Have you worked AO-16 recently in its "bent pipe" mode? What a hoot! I'm enjoying that a lot, and I look forward to hearing you on FO-29 in the very near future. I hope we'll have a chance to work each other there, and I hope you might reconsider your position on AO-51 and the other two Mode-J FM satellites. As you likely have seen here from posts about it, AO-27 is currently experiencing some problems and is not operating. However, SO-50 is not nearly as busy as AO-51.
One of the main points I make in the paper I've written for the Symposium is that the quick exchanges made necessary by the nature of these satellites provides great chances for operators to hone their skills at providing pertinent information in a short form during what sometimes can be chaotic (or, at least chaotic-sounding) conditions - things that I know from personal experience are very important in emergency-communications.
I suppose the excitement of working AO-51 could fade for me in time, but I doubt it.
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL AMSAT Member No. 36820 Athens, Ga. - EM84ha -------------- Original message from Dave Guimont [email protected]: --------------
Where is everyone on FO-29???
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
Hi Dave, WB6LLO
I agree with you and this is why I work only FO-29 but actually for many reason you are a voice crying in the wilderness.
Unfortunate, but true, Dom...AMSAT-NA made such a big promotion of AO-51, supposedly promote interest in hamsats and increase membership, and I think it did just the opposite...
I've asked many times how many members we acquired, never got an answer so assume it was zero, nada, nil.....
And part of the loss was also many former ssb/cw users that just gave up because of lack of bandspread...
I tried to hold a conversation when 51 was first launched, and was berated severely for making a couple of short sentences!!
What good is it if no intelligence is transferred??
One could swap grid squares on a cell phone, if that is the only interest!!
GO P3E!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pulling for P3E...
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
At 07:43 PM 9/24/2008, you wrote:
Well put Tim but it probably is falling on deaf ears. A lot of us that actually enjoy the FM sats have had this converstion with Dave before. Everyone and I mean everyone, wants an HEO but it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. Why not enjoy every possible bird up there in the meantime? 73, Michael, W4HI
Well put Michael, but please don't misunderstand...One can do anything one likes on anything in ham radio, and I do not discourage anyone from their choice....I'm only attempting to let them see the extreme enjoyment they will get by learning to use the ssb,cw birds..
That's all!!
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
Something must be working, I joined Amsat over two years ago...my number is 35580...
Tim (N3ITL) is 36820 so there apparently have been a few joined Amsat along the way...
Not everyone has the inclination or capability to set up a station for a non-FM mode and operation is a little more demanding.
Yep, Echo can get crowded but so does HF on a contest weekend (much worse).
I expect to have a better station setup shortly, then I'll show up on FO-29 (knock on wood) and hopefully AO-16 as well.
Without something on the lines of AO-51, I never would have gotten back into satellites. My first pass though a bird was back in 1985 when I chased my dits (2 meter up, 10 meter down) using one of those polar orbit things that you used to get to track sats.
One things that really impresses me is the amount of talent and the activity on this bb, it truly amazes me.
73 de Tim, K4SHF 35580
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:06 PM To: Dave Guimont; i8cvs Cc: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FO-29
Mr. Guimont,
I take exception to your comments about AO-51 and its relative merits. I am a newcomer to the amateur satellites - having been totally off the air for more than 15 years. I was originally licensed 25 years ago.
I've submitted a paper that will be published as part of the official proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Symposium that discusses how working AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50 with a handheld station specifically addresses the elements of FCC Part 97.1, which lays out the foundation for the amateur radio service. I hope you'll have a chance to read it.
I am in the process of getting a full station together to start working the CW/SSB satellites, but if those satellites and the equipment/investment they require had been where I had to start working satellites, I wouldn't have done it. A newcomer can get everything he/she needs to effectively work the three Mode-J FM satellites for about what it costs to buy an xBox 360 console and 2-3 games for it. It occurs to me that parents just might be more interested in investing that amount of money in amateur radio than in video games. That's one reason why I see these satellites and the concept of working them with handheld stations to be a great recipe for introducing newcomers to amateur radio and all it has to offer.
I see advantages to all of the satellites and all of their various modes of operation. Have you worked AO-16 recently in its "bent pipe" mode? What a hoot! I'm enjoying that a lot, and I look forward to hearing you on FO-29 in the very near future. I hope we'll have a chance to work each other there, and I hope you might reconsider your position on AO-51 and the other two Mode-J FM satellites. As you likely have seen here from posts about it, AO-27 is currently experiencing some problems and is not operating. However, SO-50 is not nearly as busy as AO-51.
One of the main points I make in the paper I've written for the Symposium is that the quick exchanges made necessary by the nature of these satellites provides great chances for operators to hone their skills at providing pertinent information in a short form during what sometimes can be chaotic (or, at least chaotic-sounding) conditions - things that I know from personal experience are very important in emergency-communications.
I suppose the excitement of working AO-51 could fade for me in time, but I doubt it.
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL AMSAT Member No. 36820 Athens, Ga. - EM84ha -------------- Original message from Dave Guimont [email protected]: --------------
Where is everyone on FO-29???
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
Hi Dave, WB6LLO
I agree with you and this is why I work only FO-29 but actually for many reason you are a voice crying in the wilderness.
Unfortunate, but true, Dom...AMSAT-NA made such a big promotion of AO-51, supposedly promote interest in hamsats and increase membership, and I think it did just the opposite...
I've asked many times how many members we acquired, never got an answer so assume it was zero, nada, nil.....
And part of the loss was also many former ssb/cw users that just gave up because of lack of bandspread...
I tried to hold a conversation when 51 was first launched, and was berated severely for making a couple of short sentences!!
What good is it if no intelligence is transferred??
One could swap grid squares on a cell phone, if that is the only
interest!!
GO P3E!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pulling for P3E...
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
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
Not everybody has the inclination to set up a station at all.
Many don't seem to have the capability of saying anything useful or interesting once they have set up the station.
Tim Tapio wrote:
Not everyone has the inclination or capability to set up a station
Remember "Experimenter's Wednesday" on AO-51 a year or 2 ago?
AO-51 does not have to be 24/7 grid squares.
See the other BB thread on SSTV on ISS. Are you ready and have you tested your equipment and software for what can be an exciting few days? Check it out. What about a proposal to the AO-51 command team to set one of the 2 transponders to FM VHF downlink and UHF uplink ( reverse of what is normal ) to do a ISS/SSTV test? Then instead of capturing grid squares y'all can try to collect QSL cards via SSTV. Okay, that will be almost impossible, but for testing purposes perhaps on a specific pass a designated station can be the TX and everyone else can test their RX capabilities.
Just thinking out load.
73, Alan VE4YZ EN19kw AMSAT LM 2352
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tim Tapio Sent: September 25, 2008 7:29 AM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FO-29
Something must be working, I joined Amsat over two years ago...my number is 35580...
Tim (N3ITL) is 36820 so there apparently have been a few joined Amsat along the way...
Not everyone has the inclination or capability to set up a station for a non-FM mode and operation is a little more demanding.
Yep, Echo can get crowded but so does HF on a contest weekend (much worse).
I expect to have a better station setup shortly, then I'll show up on FO-29 (knock on wood) and hopefully AO-16 as well.
Without something on the lines of AO-51, I never would have gotten back into satellites. My first pass though a bird was back in 1985 when I chased my dits (2 meter up, 10 meter down) using one of those polar orbit things that you used to get to track sats.
One things that really impresses me is the amount of talent and the activity on this bb, it truly amazes me.
73 de Tim, K4SHF 35580
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:06 PM To: Dave Guimont; i8cvs Cc: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FO-29
Mr. Guimont,
I take exception to your comments about AO-51 and its relative merits. I am a newcomer to the amateur satellites - having been totally off the air for more than 15 years. I was originally licensed 25 years ago.
I've submitted a paper that will be published as part of the official proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Symposium that discusses how working AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50 with a handheld station specifically addresses the elements of FCC Part 97.1, which lays out the foundation for the amateur radio service. I hope you'll have a chance to read it.
I am in the process of getting a full station together to start working the CW/SSB satellites, but if those satellites and the equipment/investment they require had been where I had to start working satellites, I wouldn't have done it. A newcomer can get everything he/she needs to effectively work the three Mode-J FM satellites for about what it costs to buy an xBox 360 console and 2-3 games for it. It occurs to me that parents just might be more interested in investing that amount of money in amateur radio than in video games. That's one reason why I see these satellites and the concept of working them with handheld stations to be a great recipe for introducing newcomers to amateur radio and all it has to offer.
I see advantages to all of the satellites and all of their various modes of operation. Have you worked AO-16 recently in its "bent pipe" mode? What a hoot! I'm enjoying that a lot, and I look forward to hearing you on FO-29 in the very near future. I hope we'll have a chance to work each other there, and I hope you might reconsider your position on AO-51 and the other two Mode-J FM satellites. As you likely have seen here from posts about it, AO-27 is currently experiencing some problems and is not operating. However, SO-50 is not nearly as busy as AO-51.
One of the main points I make in the paper I've written for the Symposium is that the quick exchanges made necessary by the nature of these satellites provides great chances for operators to hone their skills at providing pertinent information in a short form during what sometimes can be chaotic (or, at least chaotic-sounding) conditions - things that I know from personal experience are very important in emergency-communications.
I suppose the excitement of working AO-51 could fade for me in time, but I doubt it.
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL AMSAT Member No. 36820 Athens, Ga. - EM84ha -------------- Original message from Dave Guimont [email protected]: --------------
Where is everyone on FO-29???
We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S.
Why fight the mob on AO-51???...
Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure...
A fifth grader could do it easily...
Hi Dave, WB6LLO
I agree with you and this is why I work only FO-29 but actually for many reason you are a voice crying in the wilderness.
Unfortunate, but true, Dom...AMSAT-NA made such a big promotion of AO-51, supposedly promote interest in hamsats and increase membership, and I think it did just the opposite...
I've asked many times how many members we acquired, never got an answer so assume it was zero, nada, nil.....
And part of the loss was also many former ssb/cw users that just gave up because of lack of bandspread...
I tried to hold a conversation when 51 was first launched, and was berated severely for making a couple of short sentences!!
What good is it if no intelligence is transferred??
One could swap grid squares on a cell phone, if that is the only
interest!!
GO P3E!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pulling for P3E...
73" de
i8CVS Domenico
73, Dave, WB6LLO [email protected]
Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...
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
_______________________________________________ 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
"Many don't seem to have the capability of saying anything useful or interesting once they have set up the station."
It occurs to me that "useful or interesting" are in the ears of the beholder. I've hear a lot of both in the middle of all the grid squares on AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50.
-------------- Original message from Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF [email protected]: --------------
Not everybody has the inclination to set up a station at all. Many don't seem to have the capability of saying anything useful or interesting once they have set up the station.
Tim Tapio wrote:
Not everyone has the inclination or capability to set up a station
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
Remember "Experimenter's Wednesday" on AO-51 a year or 2 ago?
We now run the "experimental" modes for a ~week at a time.
What about a proposal to the AO-51 command team to set one of the 2 transponders to FM VHF downlink and UHF uplink ( reverse of what is normal ) to do a ISS/SSTV test?
AO-51 only has 435 and 2401 transmitters.
Okay, that will be almost impossible, but for testing purposes perhaps on a specific pass a designated station can be the TX and everyone else can test their RX capabilities.
We are working on this idea already...more to come soon!
73, Drew KO4MA
Remember the weekly QRP day on ALL the sats until a few years ago?
Alan wrote:
Remember "Experimenter's Wednesday" on AO-51 a year or 2 ago?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1
Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF wrote:
Remember the weekly QRP day on ALL the sats until a few years ago?
I actually like the idea of a QRP day. When Drew started bringing the 2nd V/U transponder online last winter/early spring it was fun to have a (nearly) empty satellite to play on and see "how low I could go" to get in. (5W into a vertical)
Now that I'm testing a more directional antenna, it would be fun to not have to deal with the 50W stations muscling through.
- -- Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA bbj <at> innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/
For what it's worth, guys ... any day can be QRP day.
I'll soon be applying for the AMSAT Achievement Award using confirmed contacts that were all made while I was transmitting 50 milliwatts RF out from my Yaesu VX-7R, on 2 AA Duracells - the same set of AA Duracells, actually. I ended up making 51 contacts at 50 mW RF out, and another 3 at 300 mW RF out, from that one set of Duracells.
Only 4 of the 20 contacts I'll use for the Achievement Award came on AO-51's QRP pair of 145.880 up and 435.300 down. The other 16 contacts included all three Mode-J FM LEO satellites during operation on the standard V/U pairs. It took me six days of operating to wear out the Duracells, and I ended up with 20 states, Ontario, Mexico and Venezuela worked. The highlight for me was state No. 20, thanks to Mark, WA8SME - it was my first-ever contact (any mode, any band) with W1AW. That was cool!
So any time you'd like a QRP day, just reduce the output power and go for it!
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL AMSAT Member No. 36820 Athens, Ga. - EM84ha -------------- Original message from Ben Jackson [email protected]: --------------
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1
Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF wrote:
Remember the weekly QRP day on ALL the sats until a few years ago?
I actually like the idea of a QRP day. When Drew started bringing the 2nd V/U transponder online last winter/early spring it was fun to have a (nearly) empty satellite to play on and see "how low I could go" to get in. (5W into a vertical)
Now that I'm testing a more directional antenna, it would be fun to not have to deal with the 50W stations muscling through.
Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA bbj innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org
iQEVAwUBSNuglwQiWVsfSvVvAQIsYAgAhRjVWgNvET8NcTHhtM4bpJxY8iliWFaZ r/2UlyWyQsfuwpNBK0x6UvzKgORqwjtV/g12TuT31fTpDhahf+h5ogVGs0uzQxjM BYFhAUW10eol8bi5JFtlHN1PCV2wev3vy7frxbyAx5Z5d73S4TLZEUPbNa1dmZ9z q8R13i9nWRxISIDlm/35iCM0xCBuRgVtCi2CRR+BMk4Up/aMDmJU2p7TQyLjrB2r TuBHb/PMjs/PrDA2k2TnhQ+9Qjia+HraMxLNHtESa+pMCaO8vDZeKnlR3mNmA9q9 wm7HmUX/mB8BGe590LJWeN9Fo4gzllgp1dOUITxRIHMxIW5B25GTxA== =eGIs -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ 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
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1
[email protected] wrote:
For what it's worth, guys ... *any* day can be QRP day.
While, yes, you are correct and anyone can run QRP, there's a bit of a difference when *everyone* is running QRP and just you are running QRP. :)
I always try to yield to QRP and Portable stations. <shameless_plug> As I follow the "The Courteous Ham's Guide to AO-51" available at http://is.gd/37Ca </shameless_plug>, however not everyone does. It's a lot easier to work a satellite at 5W or less when everyone else is also only running 5W or less, not that it's impossible to work it when everyone is pumping out enough RF to roast a chicken.
It would be interesting to encourage people who may not realize how easy it is to run QRP into satellites to give it a try.
- -- Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA bbj <at> innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/
It can but, in the days of all the satellites having analogue/linear transponders, where one excessively strong signal would hit the transponder AGC and knock out the weaker stations, we had one day a week (I believe Wednesdays) where all but genuine QRP startions (did we say 10W ERP?) were asked to keep off the birds.
[email protected] wrote:
For what it's worth, guys ... *any* day can be QRP day.
participants (10)
-
Alan -
Andrew Glasbrenner -
Ben Jackson -
Dave Guimont -
i8cvs -
Luc Leblanc -
Michael Tondee -
n3tl＠bellsouth.net -
Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF -
Tim Tapio