Steve

A good quality digital recorder will (should) allow you to do this. If you get one that has both a mic in and audio out, you just put this in-line between the speaker or audio jack and your headphones, it should record what you hear.

Thus:

1) Plug your audio out from your radio to the digital recorder mic jack 2) plug your headphones or earpiece into the audio out of the digital recorder 3) When you hit record, you should hear the audio from the radio.

This will, of course take a couple of 1/8" to 1/8" audio cables to hook up, well actually just one.

At least that is how my set up works for me. I have a digital recorder I picked up at Fry's for about $60. Make sure you get one that you can download in a compatible format to your PC.

The other method mentioned (Y-adapter) is less expensive, and does not require you to be recording as you listen.

Hope this helps.

73 de Mike, W6GYC

On Sun, 2015-02-15 at 13:52 -0500, Steve Kristoff wrote:

As a newbie, I appreciate the reminders, Clint! I've just started working SO-50 over the last couple of weeks. I don't call "CQ satellite" since I read up a little on protocol before I started. I do hope that I have not stepped on anybody as I learn the techniques. I very much hope that someone will, politely and discreetly, let me know if I screw up! Your post does bring up a question I've been pondering for a while. You mention using an earpiece to monitor the downlink and also mention recording the satellite pass. I have been recording the satellite passes and that works pretty well for sorting out my contacts, but I'm not sure how to record the pass AND use an earpiece at the same time. Using headphones or an earpiece cuts out the speaker, so how do you record and use an earpiece at the same time? I'd really appreciate some help with this. Thank you!

Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof@etczone.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Clint Bradford" clintbradford@mac.com To: "AMSAT BB" amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2015 1:01 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] CQ SATELLITE! CQ SATELLITE!

This post does NOT apply to about 99.4% of the members here ... So if you are a seasoned FM bird operator, just skip reading. BUT if you are new to the FM satellites ...

I have heard a couple hams trying to work SO-50 the past week. They have their sat prediction software all set up properly ... have improved their antennas ... and have the proper set of frequencies programmed ...

But they are not working full duplex (where you can monitor the downlink as you key your mic) and are stepping on other transmissions. AND they are simply declaring, "CQ satellite ... " over and over and over.

That is not how we should be working the FM birds.

Ideally, we should be working the FM voice satellites in full duplex mode, where we can simultaneously listen to the downlink as we are transmitting. This might mean a second radio with an earpiece (to avoid feedback) to make sure you are "making it" and are not stepping on others' contacts. Carefully monitor the downlink, and wait for a break in the conversations to announce yourself. You might find it helpful to record your sessions for later review. Even if you don’t make a contact during a pass, a recording can help you recognize the callsigns and voices of other operators. Pocket recorders or smartphone apps are great for this.

Knowing your grid square - and having a grid square map - is a quick way of identifying locations of what you will hear. There are also fellow satellite operators who are working towards awards based on the number of unique grid squares they contact: that is why you should know yours as you work the birds. The ARRL and Icom have grid square maps: Icom’s is free and available at better ham radio stores.

When you clearly hear others, listen for a break in the action, and use the ITU-approved phonetics to announce your callsign, grid square, and operating mode. I am K6LCS in grid square DM-13, so it becomes ...

"KILO-SIX-LIMA-CHARLIE-SIERRA, DELTA-MIKE - ONE-THREE, handheld."

There's a little "debate" on the necessity of the "operating mode" declaration. If you state, "handheld," it used to tell seasoned satellite operators to let you in and get your contact made - knowing you were working low power. Some might use "demo" as their op mode - as they operate in front of a club or hamfest. It is not "improper" to include an op mode - many do not.

SO ... simply keying up and declaring "CQ satellite" over and over again is simply not the proper protocol to be using. It does not identify neither you nor your location.

More information on working the "easy birds" always at ... http://www.work-sat.com

Clint Bradford K6LCS 909-241-7666 - cell, Pacific coast time _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

Hi Bryan!

Thanks for the contact on Saturday afternoon!

I use a splitter with my Sony recorder, which works like your recorder that shows up like a USB drive when plugged into a computer. If you don't want to use the splitter, you could use the recorder - or recording app on a phone, tablet, etc. - and just record your own voice. Make sure to know when the recording starts, and say the other station's call with each QSO. Then you can play back the recording later and log the contacts. This may not capture the audio from the satellite, but it will certainly capture the information you need to log QSOs. I sometimes go this way, if I'm using a different radio or don't have my splitter with patch cable and earbuds/earpiece handy. The recording app on my phone or iPod is useful as a second audio recorder, like when I am trying to work the ISS or some really rare location, in case something happens to the recorder.

My recorder uses MP3 as its native file format. I don't use the lowest quality for the recordings, in case I want to put them into videos like those I just posted from Saturday. I think I have my recorder set to encode MP3s at 48kbps. The higher quality settings also help when playing back SSTV recordings, to get good pictures from what I recorded. I name the files in a manner like you do - the date and UTC time the recording started, the satellite name, and the grid locator(s) where I operated from. Even though I won't go back to 99.9% of the recordings I have made, I usually keep them all. The more memorable passes or contacts may end up in a slideshow video, or I will keep a copy of those recordings somewhere else for future use.

73!

Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 12:33 PM, Bryan Green bryan@kl7cn.net wrote:

Here's my experience:

I used to juggle a little notebook along with everything else. That was a challenge.

Then I got a little recorder, the Sony ICD-UX70 Voice Recorder. It can be wired inline from the audio output of your radio to your headset as Steve described.

It works well for me. I have it set to UTC and follow a little system to name the files, for example:

20150213T0029Z KL7CN_W6 CM98fn SO-50.mp3

The unit plugs directly into a USB port, and appears as a Flash Drive.

This model is not in production, but there are a few sources online.

It still takes time to review the recordings and log them, but it is a far superior system to the notebook.