Thanks to the 3 stations I worked today on SO-50. It was quite a different experience for me....

...because I I was using a Kenwood D72A with headset/microphone and "manually controlled" Arrow antenna. I couldn't believe the audio quality difference this time....

...because the last time I made SO-50 QSOs (March 2013, I think), I was just two different HTs, same Arrow antenna, and a speaker mic (but just for transmit). The receive radio was using the HT speaker, and hanging out of my pants' pocket :-) So, yeah, there's a lot I DIDN'T hear the last time I was on the bird.

If anyone has a recording of todays' (Friday) pass, I'd appreciate hearing it. My intent today was to listen, to re-familiarize myself with the protocol, but the satellite was so loud (61 deg pass) and the audio so great, that when a lull occurred, I thought I'd try it anyway. So I didn't have a splitter going to an audio recorder (which I need to do soon, as I plan to (try to) demo SO-50 on loudspeaker at a special event - N4F/ham radio demo at a 10-day Fair in a couple of weeks; see Sept 2015 QST, pgs 65 and 94 for details).

So my apologies if my QSOs weren't valid, if my protocol wasn't right; I was a bit nervous that the set-up worked as well as it did. I am AMAZED at the difference in using a headset! The only station I remember working is KI4RO, but don't know his gridsquare, so no valid QSO's on my end. So I'll be back on, but may be after the Fair ends around Sept 20 - and I plan to use the N4F call from the Fair; does anyone need EM85? :-)

73 de Philip N4HF

(P.S. I have the equipment for linear sats - even HEOs - but let me get comfortable with SO-50 first, okay?)