I have had trouble hearing XW satellites lately.I have a Kenwood ts 2000 and for some reason don't hearing much if anything.I used to hear the beacon pretty loud at least for a few moments and most of the pass okay but not as much.I was wondering if other Op's. are having the same problem.Maybe I need to set up my 706 as a receive radio,It worked good.I dont have any problems with the Kenwood working other modes.It would be nice to use one radio.I run a vertical and realize it's not the best set up but again I haven't had this problem in the past.Just looking for some opinions.Thanks a lot73RichKB1FGC [email protected]
On 2020-01-28 18:29, RG via AMSAT-BB wrote:
I have had trouble hearing XW satellites lately.I have a Kenwood ts 2000 and for some reason don't hearing much if anything.I used to hear the beacon pretty loud at least for a few moments and most of the pass okay but not as much.I was wondering if other Op's. are having the same problem.Maybe I need to set up my 706 as a receive radio,It worked good.I dont have any problems with the Kenwood working other modes.It would be nice to use one radio.I run a vertical and realize it's not the best set up but again I haven't had this problem in the past.Just looking for some opinions.Thanks a lot73RichKB1FGC [email protected]
Hello RG,
Having just gotten a 2m antenna set up, which has been sitting in the shed for years, I did hear XW-2E today.
The CW beacon was doing odd things, like stopping mid-key and then returning to transmit with an upward-sweeping constant tone before resuming the CW beacon.
It might be that they're hitting some sort of low-voltage reset condition and coming back online when the load is briefly removed.
All of this was heard with a 2m copper-pipe J-pole at perhaps 15 feet in the attic, attached to ~40 feet of RG-8X. The beacon was easily copyable from 1-2 degrees to 22 degrees (highest elevation for the pass). A small J310 preamp awaits installation on another day.
Ideally, you'll want some sort of directional-gain antenna for receive. Ken Britain has a simple DIY antenna that can be assembled on the cheap:
https://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf
--- Zach N0ZGO
I made a QSO on one of the XW2-F last week.
On Sun, Feb 9, 2020 at 12:51 PM Zach Metzinger via AMSAT-BB < [email protected]> wrote:
On 2020-01-28 18:29, RG via AMSAT-BB wrote:
I have had trouble hearing XW satellites lately.I have a Kenwood ts 2000
and for some reason don't hearing much if anything.I used to hear the beacon pretty loud at least for a few moments and most of the pass okay but not as much.I was wondering if other Op's. are having the same problem.Maybe I need to set up my 706 as a receive radio,It worked good.I dont have any problems with the Kenwood working other modes.It would be nice to use one radio.I run a vertical and realize it's not the best set up but again I haven't had this problem in the past.Just looking for some opinions.Thanks a lot73RichKB1FGC
Hello RG,
Having just gotten a 2m antenna set up, which has been sitting in the shed for years, I did hear XW-2E today.
The CW beacon was doing odd things, like stopping mid-key and then returning to transmit with an upward-sweeping constant tone before resuming the CW beacon.
It might be that they're hitting some sort of low-voltage reset condition and coming back online when the load is briefly removed.
All of this was heard with a 2m copper-pipe J-pole at perhaps 15 feet in the attic, attached to ~40 feet of RG-8X. The beacon was easily copyable from 1-2 degrees to 22 degrees (highest elevation for the pass). A small J310 preamp awaits installation on another day.
Ideally, you'll want some sort of directional-gain antenna for receive. Ken Britain has a simple DIY antenna that can be assembled on the cheap:
https://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf
--- Zach N0ZGO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
On 02/09/20 12:22, Burns Fisher wrote:
I made a QSO on one of the XW2-F last week.
Hello Burns,
I'll look for a pass that has a footprint for both your QTH and mine; perhaps we can work a sked.
I need to get a 70cm antenna up, but a ground plane ought to hit it. Someday, when I'm less busy, I'll get my rotator setup going... :-)
--- Zach N0ZGO
Right now my rotator went feet up (cold overnight?) and I have not had a chance to look at it. So not much Husky data from me for a while either. But when we are both back on the air, that would be fun. I've talked to Jerry on AO-85. I wonder if any of the other FM birds have mutual viewing.
On Sun, Feb 9, 2020 at 1:42 PM Zach Metzinger via AMSAT-BB < [email protected]> wrote:
On 02/09/20 12:22, Burns Fisher wrote:
I made a QSO on one of the XW2-F last week.
Hello Burns,
I'll look for a pass that has a footprint for both your QTH and mine; perhaps we can work a sked.
I need to get a 70cm antenna up, but a ground plane ought to hit it. Someday, when I'm less busy, I'll get my rotator setup going... :-)
--- Zach N0ZGO
Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Hi Zach & Rich,
According to the https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/ communication satellite page, XW-2A, -2B, and -2F are the operable XW sats. The others are inoperable and do odd things, like what Zach reports.
2A, 2B and 2F have been pretty successful for me in the past week, but they aren't always very active.
73, Bob, WB4SON
On Sun, Feb 9, 2020 at 12:51 PM Zach Metzinger via AMSAT-BB < [email protected]> wrote:
On 2020-01-28 18:29, RG via AMSAT-BB wrote:
I have had trouble hearing XW satellites lately.I have a Kenwood ts 2000
and for some reason don't hearing much if anything.I used to hear the beacon pretty loud at least for a few moments and most of the pass okay but not as much.I was wondering if other Op's. are having the same problem.Maybe I need to set up my 706 as a receive radio,It worked good.I dont have any problems with the Kenwood working other modes.It would be nice to use one radio.I run a vertical and realize it's not the best set up but again I haven't had this problem in the past.Just looking for some opinions.Thanks a lot73RichKB1FGC
Hello RG,
Having just gotten a 2m antenna set up, which has been sitting in the shed for years, I did hear XW-2E today.
The CW beacon was doing odd things, like stopping mid-key and then returning to transmit with an upward-sweeping constant tone before resuming the CW beacon.
It might be that they're hitting some sort of low-voltage reset condition and coming back online when the load is briefly removed.
All of this was heard with a 2m copper-pipe J-pole at perhaps 15 feet in the attic, attached to ~40 feet of RG-8X. The beacon was easily copyable from 1-2 degrees to 22 degrees (highest elevation for the pass). A small J310 preamp awaits installation on another day.
Ideally, you'll want some sort of directional-gain antenna for receive. Ken Britain has a simple DIY antenna that can be assembled on the cheap:
https://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf
--- Zach N0ZGO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
On 02/09/20 11:47, Zach Metzinger via AMSAT-BB wrote:
All of this was heard with a 2m copper-pipe J-pole at perhaps 15 feet in the attic, attached to ~40 feet of RG-8X. The beacon was easily copyable from 1-2 degrees to 22 degrees (highest elevation for the pass). A small J310 preamp awaits installation on another day.
As a performance example of this simple setup, here's a 35 degree pass recording:
http://www.n0zgo.net/oscar/ao-91.mp4
I definitely have some pattern issues to the NW, as all other directions hear better. The culprit may be the AC units hanging in the attic, as is custom here for builders to do. The antenna is as far away from these as possible, but something bolted to the wooden chimney would be better.
--- Zach N0ZGO
participants (4)
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Bob -
Burns Fisher -
RG -
Zach Metzinger