[amsat-bb] Re: TH-F6A tip request
On Wed, 2011-02-02 at 16:29 -0500, Scott Richardson wrote: I got a surprise gift of a Kenwood TH-F6A and look forward to giving it a try on the satellites. I know there are a few owners on the list -- Drew, Patrick, others -- and wonder if folks have any tips to share (I've read through the eham reviews). I'm especially interested in experiences with speaker/mics and headsets, headphones with 2.5mm plugs, quality of after-market programming cables, etc. I'll typically be using the F6A as one of two radios -- the receiver for the easy sats -- and want to record passes while listening or operating. Thanks in advance for any ideas that will make its use more effective and enjoyable. 73, Scott N1AIA When the Wouxuns came out and had no accessories I used to tell people to just pick up Kenwood ones. Now that Wouxun ones are cheap on eBay, I'd say get those - the programming leads are identical and the only difference between headsets/RSMs etc is that the real Kenwood amateur ones have an extra ring for the remote control pin - which I never use anyway. Kenwood PMR stuff uses the same kind of plugs with the same spacing, so if you can program a TK-3160 with your cable you can program your TH-F7E/F6A. It's a great rig for the FM sats. Some would say its lack of true duplex operation is a problem, but I don't. Just set the transmit side to the frequency and tone you want, then set the receive side 10kHz high until you find the bird - maybe even 15kHz, check your prediction software for the Doppler shift. Remember to flip between the A and B VFO when you tune, and back when you transmit. You don't have small enough steps to tune the VHF side to match. Make sure you can hear the downlink before you transmit - you can't hear yourself, so you've no idea if you'll hear *anything*. If you can hear the downlink, then if you transmit they'll hear you. Buy, borrow or make an Arrow-type antenna. I used a crossed pair of WA5VJB Cheap Yagi designs on a wooden boom with a homebrew diplexer, and it worked just great. Bit hard to fold up and put in the car, though. The one I built was 5 elements on 70cm and 3 on 2m, and provided more than enough gain to hear AO-51 from horizon to horizon. This is a great setup for portable operation, or if you don't want all the hassle of a computer-controlled rotator and CAT cable and all that push-button-go-chat stuff that people get into. I wonder if they're the same crowd that only ever use macros on PSK31 - YOUR RST 599 599 HOW COPY? MNY THX FER QSO - you may as well use Skype... Gordon MM0YEQ ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: Rideshare missions to GTO, only $14 million for Eagle, $800K for 3U Cubesat
On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Alexandru Csete oz9...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 7:33 PM, Daniel Schultz n8...@usa.net wrote: Spaceflight Services Announces Lunar and GTO Mission Pricing Prague, CZ - September 30, 2010: Spaceflight Services (Spaceflight) announced today pricing for small payloads to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and Low Lunar Orbit (LLO). Spaceflight, as part of the Rocket City Space Pioneer Google Lunar X-Prize Team, is responsible for mission integration and providing space transportation services to Low Lunar Orbit. Spaceflight is providing flight opportunities for ESPA class spacecraft (spacecraft weighing less than 180 kg) interested in launch services to GTO and Low Lunar Orbit. The proposed mission, which is slated for Q4 2013 or Q1 2014, will deploy three ESPA payloads into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and two additional payloads in a Low Lunar Orbit. The mission is also open to smaller spacecraft looking for a low cost ride to either of these destinations. Mission pricing for small payloads to GTO begins at $795,000 for a 3U CubeSat and up to $13,950,000 for a full ESPA spacecraft. This is considered a Low Cost Ride in the commercial world. This is the free market value of the launch that we are hoping to get for significantly less. Wish us luck... I certainly wish the best of luck with finding a cheap ride! Aside from being GTO, I do not consider their offer to be a good deal at all, since: (1) Their prices are set so that they can finance their own lunar mission (2) The price for a whole Falcon 1 is $11M, which will take 1 metric ton to LEO. (3) Even for a Falcon 9, the price seems to be less than $10M for 1,600 kg to GTO, see http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php#pricing_and_performance 73 Alex OZ9AEC Alex -- Think of these prices as 'retail' costs. Spaceflight Services aims to provide their customers with a guaranteed ride, and deal with dividing up the payload space, weight, etc. As such, they will certainly be more expensive than the 'wholesale' costs you list above. While this service might not ever be right for Amsat, it does, I think, show that Amsat's current focus on Cubesat-level miniaturization through the Fox platform (and AMSAT-UK's work with FUNcube) is the path forward for both LEO *and* HEO. Here is a GTO opportunity that is an order of magnitude less costly than others we have recently been aware of, and at retail costs. Obviously there are a whole host of challenges that would need to be met, but if GTO is opening up to 3U and similar configurations, and at a price that we could even imagine being able to fund, then it's great we're moving aggressively into that platform. 73, Bruce VE9QRP -- http://ve9qrp.blogspot.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: TH-F6A tip request
Hello Scott and all, I've used my TH-F7E (european version of the TH-F6A) to work satellites in many ways: -As a portable HT station for the FM birds using either an AL-800 telecoping whip or a dual-band beam antenna (Arrow, IOio...). Although full-duplex is the best way to go, You can work fine using half-duplex. See video for details: http://eb4dka.laserenadigital.com/Videos%20AMSAT/VIDEO_EB4DKA%20portable%20via%20AO27.html -As the receiver side of my mobile station using a CJU antenna to work FM and SSB birds (FO-29, HO-68). I use an old Kenwood TM-255 all mode VHF transceiver and a 1/4 wave mag mount VHF whip for the uplink. This setup allows me to work full-duplex. See video for details: http://eb4dka.laserenadigital.com/Videos%20AMSAT/VIDEO_EB4DKA%20via%20FO29%20desde%20movil.html -As IF receiver for my AO-40 base (and mobile!) station: http://eb4dka.laserenadigital.com/Videos%20AMSAT/VIDEO_Kenwood%20THF7%20recibiendo%20el%20AO40.html http://eb4dka.laserenadigital.com/Imagenes/EB4DKA_AO40_MOBILE.jpg I found the B receiver as sensitive as A receiver in FM. In SSB I've compared it with a TS-790 and a PCR-1000 and the sensitivity is almost equal. The big downside is the bandwith filters in SSB (they're pretty wide), but you can work quite well if you stay away strong adjacent stations. Just my two cents... 73 de Pedro EB4DKA http://eb4dka.laserenadigital.com - Original Message - From: Greg D. ko6th_g...@hotmail.com To: scott@gmail.com; amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 7:17 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: TH-F6A tip request Hi Scott, I haven't used my F6 much for satellites (my D7 is better, but mostly I use my FT-736r. Warm, in side the shack. The F6 is an interesting beast. I have used it with an after-market speaker mike, the kind that clips over your ear and has a short boom for mike pickup. It works ok, I suppose. The audio volume (from the mike pickup) wasn't all that good. It's kind of short, and as I don't like talking loudly into thin air, I kind of cup my hand over the boom and mouth, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of it. Also the VOX didn't work, and I think one of the PTT buttons (the one on the speaker mike cord, or maybe the one on the rig itself, would key up the rig but no audio would come through. I just use the other one. The volume in the ear piece itself is fine. You're going to ask me what the make/model is, and I really don't recall. It was from one of those vendors you see at swap mets year after year. Nothing is written on the unit itself. Fortunately, one of the wires got run over by something and it's in need of repair. Instead of doing that, I picked up a Pryme SPM-301B at a recent club white elephant sale. Seems to work in a quick smoke test, but I don't have any on-air results yet. The ear bud doesn't clip over the ear like the other one does, so I'm concerned it might keep falling out, but the price was right. The F6 itself, at least mine, is somewhat deaf on the B side. If you're on an FM bird, use A for receive, and if you want to transmit, do that on B. For SSB/CW, you will have to use the B side, of course. Note that it is a half-duplex rig, so you will not be able to hear yourself without a second radio. Also, the B side is pretty wide banded and weakly filtered, so you're going to get some imaging effects and intermod in high RF areas. If you haven't yet, do invest in some sort of protective cover for the keys. The lettering on mine is almost totally gone, just from sitting in the side pocket of my backpack/laptop case. If you find, one day, that the rig doesn't power up, take the battery off and give the two spring power clips a little tug. Mine seem to not make good contact sometimes. That's all I can think of, off the top of my head. Definitely a cute little rig, with lots of uses. The B side's wide range and SSB/CW capability makes it a portable instrument, an IF receiver (for on-roof tuneup of my AO-40 downlink), and the AM/FM radio comes in handy from time to time. Once I even checked into the regional SSB Net on 2 meters, receiving SSB on B, and using the PTT on A for crude CW. (Hey, it worked!) Pity we can't listen to TV-audio anymore. The Li-Ion battery has very little self-discharge, so it's always ready to go. Enjoy, Greg KO6TH Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 16:29:24 -0500 From: scott@gmail.com To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] TH-F6A tip request I got a surprise gift of a Kenwood TH-F6A and look forward to giving it a try on the satellites. I know there are a few owners on the list -- Drew, Patrick, others -- and wonder if folks have any tips to share (I've read through the eham reviews). I'm especially interested in experiences with speaker/mics and headsets, headphones with 2.5mm plugs, quality of after-market programming cables, etc. I'll typically be using the
[amsat-bb] Re: SSB
Why not go to the AMSAT website and read all about what is on the bird-FM as well as SSB. I've said this many times, The AMSAT people always puts enough information on the site to do just about anything on satellites... Look there for info that has taken many hours of volunteer time to assemble for YOUR use 73, Dee, NB2F -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Kevin Deane Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 10:54 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] SSB ARRISat Its too bad this is a SSB sat. I suppose it will be great for those who have SSB capability, less traffic and all. I guess I have to spend more money. Sigh Kevin KF7MYK ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: SSB
Kevin, ARRISat Its too bad this is a SSB sat. I suppose it will be great for those who have SSB capability, less traffic and all. I guess I have to spend more money. But it won't take a lot of money, at least to get started with SSB via satellite. I'm working SSB with two FT-817NDs, or occasionally substituting a TH-F6A in place of the second FT-817ND. That HT has an all-mode receiver that is OK for SSB satellite work. Yes, additional money - but not huge sums. Both the FT-817 (all variants) and the TH-F6A (TH-F7, outside the Americas) have been on the market for around 10 years, and can be found on the used market as well as the radio stores. And I've not even started to mention older satellite- ready transceivers or other all-mode transceivers that could be pressed into service like the IC-706 series, FT-857, etc. If you have a setup like those mentioned above, you can always use that on the FM birds as well. I've worked those satellites with two radios - and no computer control - for over 2 years now. Not as many QSOs in SSB as on the FM satellites, but just as fun. I've posted some videos of working SSB satellites (VO-52, FO-29, AO-7) at: http://www.youtube.com/va7ewk if you'd like to see my setup. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: SSB
Follow up --FM downlink Only... This will be filled with Greetings and SSTV as well... Should be fun for all! Dee -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Dee Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:32 AM To: 'Kevin Deane'; amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: SSB Why not go to the AMSAT website and read all about what is on the bird-FM as well as SSB. I've said this many times, The AMSAT people always puts enough information on the site to do just about anything on satellites... Look there for info that has taken many hours of volunteer time to assemble for YOUR use 73, Dee, NB2F -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Kevin Deane Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 10:54 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] SSB ARRISat Its too bad this is a SSB sat. I suppose it will be great for those who have SSB capability, less traffic and all. I guess I have to spend more money. Sigh Kevin KF7MYK ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: FM birds
On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 12:31 PM, i8cvs domenico.i8...@tin.it wrote: - Original Message - From: Joe n...@mwt.net To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 7:25 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FM birds I agree, With the money spent on all those birds, and launch costs, they by now could have made at least one nice linear transponder bird. I'd love to see an old 2 meter up 10 meter down bird again! The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com Hi Joe, I agree with you. Yes a lot of money spent on all those FM birds for very small in satellite communications with a lot of QRM ! Dom -- I'm fond of linear transponder birds, too, and nobody likes hearing bad operating habits, either on a linear or FM bird. However, I think the comments above misunderstand the process by which satellites are funded and constructed. Would you begrudge the builders of SO-67 the opportunity to take part in their government's initiative? If you were able to, there's still no reason to believe that the funds and efforts expended to produce that bird could be pooled with other national groups'. I like OSCAR-7, VO-52 , and FO-29 and I hope and pull for P3-E The first three of these were built by a national group that considered its own interests and opportunities, just as the groups today that have recently built FM birds. Of course, there are others that are making linear birds. Let's not forget that one such has been delivered to the ISS and will be hand-launched for us. For all that, it should be said that the the difficulty of 'getting into' AO-51, for example, indicates that it is a constantly popular mode of satellite operation. Given that we are struggling to expand our ranks, I feel compelled to say that my abiding interest in satellite communications was kindled by AO-51. For me, and I suspect many who are worried about being branded glorified CB'ers, the FM birds provided a lower-expense means of entering what I consider the most interesting aspect of ham radio today. 73 de i8CVS Domenico 73, Bruce VE9QRP -- http://ve9qrp.blogspot.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: FM birds
Bruce makes a very good point about the popularity of the FM birds. Many hams already have the equipment to get on the FM satellites but may not realize it. This is where a club presentation can be very useful in making them aware of this fact. Once they try out the FM sats and get hooked, then they can invest in the equipment for the linear sats. Very few people are going to drop the funds necessary for getting into SSB/CW sats without trying out the sats first. Another group to target is the VHF/UHF weak signal crowd. Many of them have the necessary equipment to get on AO7, FO29, and VO52, but might not know it, or know how to proceed. These birds will give them a chance to use their multimode rigs between band openings. 73s John AA5JG On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 11:06 AM, Bruce Robertson ve9...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 12:31 PM, i8cvs domenico.i8...@tin.it wrote: - Original Message - From: Joe n...@mwt.net To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 7:25 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FM birds I agree, With the money spent on all those birds, and launch costs, they by now could have made at least one nice linear transponder bird. I'd love to see an old 2 meter up 10 meter down bird again! The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com Hi Joe, I agree with you. Yes a lot of money spent on all those FM birds for very small in satellite communications with a lot of QRM ! Dom -- I'm fond of linear transponder birds, too, and nobody likes hearing bad operating habits, either on a linear or FM bird. However, I think the comments above misunderstand the process by which satellites are funded and constructed. Would you begrudge the builders of SO-67 the opportunity to take part in their government's initiative? If you were able to, there's still no reason to believe that the funds and efforts expended to produce that bird could be pooled with other national groups'. I like OSCAR-7, VO-52 , and FO-29 and I hope and pull for P3-E The first three of these were built by a national group that considered its own interests and opportunities, just as the groups today that have recently built FM birds. Of course, there are others that are making linear birds. Let's not forget that one such has been delivered to the ISS and will be hand-launched for us. For all that, it should be said that the the difficulty of 'getting into' AO-51, for example, indicates that it is a constantly popular mode of satellite operation. Given that we are struggling to expand our ranks, I feel compelled to say that my abiding interest in satellite communications was kindled by AO-51. For me, and I suspect many who are worried about being branded glorified CB'ers, the FM birds provided a lower-expense means of entering what I consider the most interesting aspect of ham radio today. 73 de i8CVS Domenico 73, Bruce VE9QRP -- http://ve9qrp.blogspot.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] SO-67 Schedule
The SO-67 for North America has been updated to show passes through 6Feb2011 at 1655z on their website: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ 73, John K8YSE ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] AO40 contacts
Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I believe I did- What dates and times are you looking for? 73 Bob W7LRD - Original Message - From: Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:04:06 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: you may as well use Skype...
On Thu, Feb 03, 2011 at 04:10:12AM -0500, Luc Leblanc wrote: On 3 Feb 2011 at 7:53, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: ... same crowd that only ever use macros on PSK31 - YOUR RST 599 599 HOW COPY? MNY THX FER QSO - you may as well use Skype... Gordon MM0YEQ you may as well use Skype... You can add also MSN chat, Twitter, Face Book all are related to the internet and many Hams leave amateur radio and they are now on the internet. ... The focus put on KISS station in a way to recruit new satellite operator is not bad if this new operator goes beyond his KISS station IMHO. Yes, but when I innocently asked if anyone had done a survey to see if this was happening, I was flamed unmercifully on amsat-bb. The answer I did get was of course it does!. It would be nice to see a proper survey proving this is happening. What is the motivation for some to operate on LEO satellite? The exotic mode and bands? The pleasure to achieve an OSCAR class station? My initial motivation to getting on satellite was AO-40. That was exciting, very neat and a fun technical challenge. I did make it on AO-40 btw, I think I made at least one cw QSO before you folks broke it. ;-) There is new modes actually growing DSTAR, DRM, DIGITAL VOICE (FDMDV) is this can be an alternative to those who wants something else? or will we be facing with this alternative, overcrowded single channel satellite pass? Where is the place for experimenting on the actual LEO fleet? Our licence was not created for experimenting? The reality is, LEO is all we are going to be able to afford. I do not see the thousands upon thousands of amateurs willing to put up the $$ to put another HEO like AO-40, in the near future anyway. And yes AO-7 is still going, but is really sick sounding. The only short term realistic answer is more LEOs as I see it. But please, not another FM bird please. There is absolutely no reason we couldnt put a simple linear translator up and allow FM on one frequency, such as India does. - 73 Diane VA3DB -- - d...@freebsd.org d...@db.net http://www.db.net/~db ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
according to my log the last qso's were 1/24/04 W3STW 1/23/04 W7TYN 1/19/04 VA7MM and to make us all dream again in Oct/Nov of 03 F/HB9RM, DL8IL,OK1DX, DL8YS, ON6AA (rip),DC3ZB, DK1KQ, LY3BH, VK5AKJ there's gotta be a way folks, there's gotta be a way!! 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle - Original Message - From: Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:04:06 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
At 02:04 PM 2/3/2011 -0600, kc5...@swbell.net wrote: Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? Yes, And DX too! It was a fun bird, but I hated Leila. :-) KB7ADL ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: FM birds
At 04:47 AM 2/4/2011, John Geiger wrote: Another group to target is the VHF/UHF weak signal crowd. Many of them have the necessary equipment to get on AO7, FO29, and VO52, but might not know it, or know how to proceed. These birds will give them a chance to use their multimode rigs between band openings. With the advent of the new all band, all mode radios such as the FT-817, IC-706IIG, IC-7000, TS-2000, etc, etc, combined with many of us having an older 2m SSB transceiver kicking around, it would be surprising how many of us have the capability to work these birds. I know I do, just have to get around to giving it a try. I have worked the SSB birds before, mostly Mode A (RS-10, RS-12/13, etc), but did work the Fujis at hamfests. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: Rideshare missions to GTO, $800K for 3U Cubesat
The interesting question is is how much will AMSAT members be willing to invest in ground stations. A 3U cubesat could provide a HEO satellite similar to Arsene (AO-24). 73, John KD6OZH ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I was on AO-40 from its launch, initially running mode US, then mode LS (I bought one of the few DEMI 1268/144 Tx converters that were made). I made several contacts after I got my s-band downlink working. Initially, I was using too small an antenna and did not have a decent preamp. Once I graduated to the 85cm (33-inch) offsst feed dish and added a MKU-232 preamp, I was able to hear anyone. I spent a long time collecting telemetry and could do so out to a squint angle of 49-degrees. It really is a shame that there was no workaround for the battery issue or even run on solar panels like AO7. But this was before AO7 reawakened to provide that insight. I lived and waited long years for AO-40 and unfortunately wasted time I could have operated on AO-13. Now I have all the stuff needed to work a Heo and hardly anywhere to use it (I bought one of the early FT-847 just for AO-40). I would say a lot of the operators of the Heo years have gone away from satellite activity (some remain lurking on Amsat-bb wishing upon a star ...or a hope and a prayer). I will return, if Murphy will leave me alone long enough! But I mainly operate Oscar-Zero now days. 73, ED - KL7UW At 11:04 AM 2/3/2011, Floyd Rodgers wrote: Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 == BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 144-1.4kw*, 432-100w*, 1296-testing*, 3400-winter? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubus...@hotmail.com == *temp not in service ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
Yes, a few hundred. It was an awesome satellite!!! I still have my K5GNA downconverter. WB5TUF -Original Message- From: Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net Sent: Feb 3, 2011 2:04 PM To: Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I didn't have a base satellite station when AO-40 was launched, and still don't have one now (really no need). However, it was amazing to copy AO-40's 2 meter telemetry when it was at apogee with just a simple 2 meter all mode rig, a 7 element beam pointed at the right diorection (no elevation control), no pre-amp and 45 feet of lossy RG-58 coax. At times it was a true S-4 on the meter. Since my antenna was linearly polarized, vertical, I could watch the signal dip a little as the bird was spinning. 73, Jeff WB3JFS - Original Message - From: Edward R. Cole kl...@acsalaska.net To: kc5...@swbell.net Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 3:51 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts I was on AO-40 from its launch, initially running mode US, then mode LS (I bought one of the few DEMI 1268/144 Tx converters that were made). I made several contacts after I got my s-band downlink working. Initially, I was using too small an antenna and did not have a decent preamp. Once I graduated to the 85cm (33-inch) offsst feed dish and added a MKU-232 preamp, I was able to hear anyone. I spent a long time collecting telemetry and could do so out to a squint angle of 49-degrees. It really is a shame that there was no workaround for the battery issue or even run on solar panels like AO7. But this was before AO7 reawakened to provide that insight. I lived and waited long years for AO-40 and unfortunately wasted time I could have operated on AO-13. Now I have all the stuff needed to work a Heo and hardly anywhere to use it (I bought one of the early FT-847 just for AO-40). I would say a lot of the operators of the Heo years have gone away from satellite activity (some remain lurking on Amsat-bb wishing upon a star ...or a hope and a prayer). I will return, if Murphy will leave me alone long enough! But I mainly operate Oscar-Zero now days. 73, ED - KL7UW At 11:04 AM 2/3/2011, Floyd Rodgers wrote: Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 == BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 144-1.4kw*, 432-100w*, 1296-testing*, 3400-winter? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubus...@hotmail.com == *temp not in service ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
My last logged contact on AO-41 was 8/13/2004 with W7ARO. My last logged DX contact on AO-41 was 8/12/2003 with FM5CS. I am sure there were other contacts that did not get logged. 73's John On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 3:04 PM, Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net wrote: Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 -- N4QWF Amateur Radio Operator AO-7,AO-27,FO-29,SO-50,AO-51,VO-52,ISS Email n4...@amsat.org Formerly KC4AHW VK3FEZ Amsat Member #27845 DXCC #33,478 VUCC SAT #135 WAS SAT #296 51 on AO-51 #13 LON -79.256 LAT 37.459 Grid FM07il From the Foothills of the Blueridge *Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - WOW, What a ride! ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] AO-69?
Is ARISSat-1/kedr destined to become AO-69? It seems like HO-68 was the last to request an Oscar name... ?? Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
Oh yes, I made a number from VP6DIA and TZ6RD. I sent the gear along to T33C, but that was when the sattelite failed. 73, doug -Original Message- From: Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net Sent: Feb 3, 2011 2:04 PM To: Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Han IV rotor problem- solved
Greeting fellow sat-ops. A few weeks ago I posted about a problem I was having with my Ham IV rotor display not properly functioning, and received a number of very useful responses. I promised to report back. So, as I previously reported, although the rotor turned fine, the controller display was somewhat erratic but completely useless. I did the recommended troubleshooting, first of the controller (it was fine), then measuring resistance across certain rotor terminals. One should read approx 500 ohms across rotor terminals 3 and 7, and the sum of resistance across two other sets of terminals should equal 500. Well, I measured zero ohms for each measurement. To eliminate the cabling, I took the measurements again up on the tower with the rotor in place. Still got zero for all reads. Ok, so then came the heavy work. Got the rotor down, but now I was able to clean the terminals, corroded screws, etc, and got ok readings for everything. Oh well, since I had it down, I took it apart only to find this rotor that had been in the air for 20 yrs (and was used when I got it), looked absolutely pristine inside. The bearings were dry, however, and so repacked them. The infamous resistor was also pristine, and showed very little wear. So after a full clean up of the terminal strip and new screws, back up it went. Oh and perhaps the most important part. This time I ran 16 ga leads, 1 ft long, with round screw connectors stubbed out from the rotor’s terminal strip. This is because installed, it is almost impossible to reconnect all of the rotor cable wires to the strip. This rotor runs a good size 3 el HF yagi and my sat antennas. Unfortunately, the sat antennas made the whole thing top heavy and so had to dissemble the sat array. Anyway, finally got all put back together, powered it up, and …uggg… no display at all now. An hour later after running connectivity tests on the cable I found that a splice in underground conduit had gone bad. That fixed, all worked as it should. Unfortunately, because of the inability to connect all cable wires while the rotor was in place, some amount of up-weighting and lifting of the rotor was required in any case, but thoroughly checking connectivity of the rotor cable as had been suggested would have saved some time. I look back on this, as I tend to my still sore back, as a real learning experience and reminder to always look for the simplest problems first. Again thanks to all who took the time to offer great advice. See you on VO52, AO7, FO29, or …just maybe … one of the FM’ers 73s Craig N6RSX NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this communication to the intended recipient, please advise the sender by reply email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying or disclosing the contents. Thank you. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I had lots of fun on AO-40 from VP2EAG too! 73, Drew KO4MA Oh yes, I made a number from VP6DIA and TZ6RD. I sent the gear along to T33C, but that was when the sattelite failed. 73, doug ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I made over 1300 contacts on AO-40 during its 2 3/4 years of operation. The first QSO was on 05/05/01 at 08:17 with Mike N1JEZ on U/S then at 08:39 worked Dom I8CVS, at 08:52 Fred CU8AO, and at 09:03 Frank DL6DBN. I then fired up my FT-736R on 1.2 GHz and at 09:44 worked Steve KB8VAO with both of us making our 1st L/S QSO on AO-40 and then at 09:55 worked Mike N1JEZ for his first L/S contact. On the 25th and 26th of Jan 2003 an AO-40 QSO party was held. 30 logs were submitted from 14 countries. I made 107 QSO's with 19 DXCC countries. My last contact was on 28/01/04 at 20:39 with DG4DW. My next log entry was at 29/01/04 at 01:35 with Jerry W0SAT and my log note is we talked about AO-40 gone In spite of the fact AO-40 had major problems and never operated near it's original design I think it was a very successful amateur satellite. Bob (W7LRD); I guess all we can do now is remember the good old days and cry on each others shoulders. SOB SOB Clare VE3NPC - Original Message - From: Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 3:04 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: you may as well use Skype...
At 05:49 AM 2/4/2011, Diane Bruce wrote: What is the motivation for some to operate on LEO satellite? The exotic mode and bands? The pleasure to achieve an OSCAR class station? My initial motivation to getting on satellite was AO-40. That was exciting, very neat and a fun technical challenge. I did make it on AO-40 btw, I think I made at least one cw QSO before you folks broke it. ;-) AO-40 was an incentive for me, though I never got beyond monitoring the 2m beacon in the early days after launch and before the incident with the 400N motor. I did collect a lot of good telemetry though There is new modes actually growing DSTAR, DRM, DIGITAL VOICE (FDMDV) is this can be an alternative to those who wants something else? or will we be facing with this alternative, overcrowded single channel satellite pass? Where is the place for experimenting on the actual LEO fleet? Our licence was not created for experimenting? The reality is, LEO is all we are going to be able to afford. I do not see the thousands upon thousands of amateurs willing to put up the $$ to put another HEO like AO-40, in the near future anyway. And yes AO-7 is still going, but is really sick sounding. The only short term realistic answer is more LEOs as I see it. But please, not another FM bird please. There is absolutely no reason we couldnt put a simple linear translator up and allow FM on one frequency, such as India does. I do agree, more linear birds would be a good thing, and the idea of sharing with FM might work well in these parts, where it can be hard to find anyone else on, and FM might be the difference between having someone to talk to, and enjoying a conversation with yourself! :) Traffic density over VK/ZL can get very low at times, so for us, FM is often a plus, although I'm interested in playing around with SSB too. A hand me down and recent upgrades now mean I have more than enough gear for the SSB birds. Unfortunately, LEOs can't solve the problem of vast distances meaning little chance of variety - all I've ever worked on satellite is VK, ZL, P29 and 3D2, but we have to make do with what is practical. :-/ 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I had a couple hundred QSO's on AO-40, some new countries, etc. but the LOTW response on those was awful! Got some of them confirmed with real cards and a FEW on LOTW. Time for another HEO, that's for sure. Once you do that, the other stuff is just filler while waiting. 73, John K6YK On Thu, 3 Feb 2011 21:43:04 + (UTC) Bob- W7LRD w7...@comcast.net writes: according to my log the last qso's were 1/24/04 W3STW 1/23/04 W7TYN 1/19/04 VA7MM and to make us all dream again in Oct/Nov of 03 F/HB9RM, DL8IL,OK1DX, DL8YS, ON6AA (rip),DC3ZB, DK1KQ, LY3BH, VK5AKJ there's gotta be a way folks, there's gotta be a way!! 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle - Original Message - From: Floyd Rodgers kc5...@swbell.net Cc: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:04:06 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 $65/Hr Job - 25 Openings Part-Time job ($20-$65/hr). Requirements: Home Internet Access http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d4b6249dda86c09a8st04vuc ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts and more
I saw a mention of an issue of folks not wanting to make a big investment in satellite stuff to work SSB/CW. ALL of the original ham satellites were SSB/CW birds. No FM. And most hams already had enough equipment to get started. The uplinks were on 2 meters or 70CM (that took a little more doing), the downlinks were on HF or 2 meters. Some of the RS birds where HF up and HF down, and HF up, 2 meters down. Interesting stuff! Most folks had HF gear to start off in ham radio. I did not have an HT until I was a ham for probably 20 years. Nowadays there is a LOT of VHF/UHF multi mode gear floating around the used market for reasonable prices. Also the antennas are available, sometimes for real cheap, or haul it away for free. Keep your eyes and ears open. You don't have to go to AES/HRO/M-squared/HyGain/Cushcraft and buy new stuff to work these birds. There are many old timers who gave up satellite work when AO-10 and AO-13 went away, and their stuff is sitting around gathering dust and rust. Hams are supposed to be resourceful and innovative! And I went and sold my FT-847 which was about the most expensive rig I ever bought! Don't need it for these FM birds, I just use a dual-band mobile rig, works just as well. 73, John K6YK On Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:51:48 -0900 Edward R. Cole kl...@acsalaska.net writes: I was on AO-40 from its launch, initially running mode US, then mode LS (I bought one of the few DEMI 1268/144 Tx converters that were made). I made several contacts after I got my s-band downlink working. Initially, I was using too small an antenna and did not have a decent preamp. Once I graduated to the 85cm (33-inch) offsst feed dish and added a MKU-232 preamp, I was able to hear anyone. I spent a long time collecting telemetry and could do so out to a squint angle of 49-degrees. It really is a shame that there was no workaround for the battery issue or even run on solar panels like AO7. But this was before AO7 reawakened to provide that insight. I lived and waited long years for AO-40 and unfortunately wasted time I could have operated on AO-13. Now I have all the stuff needed to work a Heo and hardly anywhere to use it (I bought one of the early FT-847 just for AO-40). I would say a lot of the operators of the Heo years have gone away from satellite activity (some remain lurking on Amsat-bb wishing upon a star ...or a hope and a prayer). I will return, if Murphy will leave me alone long enough! But I mainly operate Oscar-Zero now days. 73, ED - KL7UW $65/Hr Job - 25 Openings Part-Time job ($20-$65/hr). Requirements: Home Internet Access http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d4b6249d8e291da604st02vuc ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] launch cost
Hello With the cost of a launch bouncing around the bb. You might ask yourself, how much did I c ontribute to AMSAT in 2010? Just did my taxes and though not a huge amount it was deductable. I believe, if you use it, you should help pay for it. This is rocket science and that, ain't cheap! 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I never made any contacts via AO-40. I was still preparing my station... I was busy being happy about my MIR packet contact... (I made the ANS one time) I still have a couple K5GNA downconverters... with the filter kits (as yet uninstalled) If we could get another in orbit I could use this stuff again... Ive been waiting a long time... Im sorta giving up on the project.. .so much $ and no results.. we really could use a HEO sat... I would be back.. I still show the kids the keps and the signs.. but with only 5 minutes to make a contact amongst a crowd im just shoved out of the way.. . Will we ever see another HEO sat?? 73's Chris KC2BBU ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts and more
At 01:18 PM 2/4/2011, k6yk wrote: I saw a mention of an issue of folks not wanting to make a big investment in satellite stuff to work SSB/CW. ALL of the original ham satellites were SSB/CW birds. No FM. And most hams already had enough equipment to get started. The uplinks were on 2 meters or 70CM (that took a little more doing), the downlinks were on HF or 2 meters. Some of the RS birds where HF up and HF down, and HF up, 2 meters down. Interesting stuff! 70cm SSB radios weren't common here, only the serious UHF DXers and satellite operators had one. Thankfully, this situation has changed over the last 10 years, thanks to the all in one radios that are on the market. I myself have gone from no 70cm SSB capability, to no fewer than 3 suitable radios in the last year. 2m SSB was a lot more common here, has been for many years. I've had 2m SSB myself for over 10 years, and have at least 4 radios now that can do it. As you'd expect, HF is common down here, but are VHF/UHF FM only radios, both mobile and HTs, especially near the major cities. Most folks had HF gear to start off in ham radio. I did not have an HT until I was a ham for probably 20 years. I was the opposite. Economics made it easier for me to start with a 2m HT. I didn't have an all band HF transceiver until 2000, when secondhand prices had come down enough, and I had the money to pick one up secondhand. Still got that radio too. :) Nowadays there is a LOT of VHF/UHF multi mode gear floating around the used market for reasonable prices. Also the antennas are available, sometimes for real cheap, or haul it away for free. Keep your eyes and ears open. Many more opportunities now. There has never been a better time to try SSB on the birds. Hams are supposed to be resourceful and innovative! And I went and sold my FT-847 which was about the most expensive rig I ever bought! Don't need it for these FM birds, I just use a dual-band mobile rig, works just as well. I've just upgraded and got radios with VHF/UHF SSB capabilities. This will be used both terrestrially (I have used one to gather telemetry from a balloon launch on 70cm) and hopefully on the sats. These days it's good how a simply HF upgrade can give one so much more. And there's the bonus FT-736 as a hand me down from a ham friend, in appreciation for the help I've given him over the years with antennas and other projects. :) 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Fw: AO40 contacts
by the way... I for one have absolutely no interest in FM... completely misses the challenge IMO... - Forwarded Message From: chris pellenz pelle...@yahoo.com To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thu, February 3, 2011 9:46:26 PM Subject: Re: AO40 contacts I never made any contacts via AO-40. I was still preparing my station... I was busy being happy about my MIR packet contact... (I made the ANS one time) I still have a couple K5GNA downconverters... with the filter kits (as yet uninstalled) If we could get another in orbit I could use this stuff again... Ive been waiting a long time... Im sorta giving up on the project.. .so much $ and no results.. we really could use a HEO sat... I would be back.. I still show the kids the keps and the signs.. but with only 5 minutes to make a contact amongst a crowd im just shoved out of the way.. . Will we ever see another HEO sat?? 73's Chris KC2BBU ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts and more
Yes sir! Lot of used stuff around these days that will work just fine on the current birds as well as terrestrial HF/VHF/UHF work. I have a couple of FT-100D's that are 160 thru 6 meters plus 2 M and 70 CM all mode. I was using them to replace the FT-847, as well as using them for backup HF rigs. Those FT-100's and the IC-706 seem to be available used for reasonable prices if you shop around .. And a few IC-7000's are showing up, too. Nice little all-in-one radios. Folks who have not yet been on HF would be able to get some exposure, and possibly get interested enough to upgrade. Well, 50 years ago, used HF rigs such as Heathkits, WRL, Hallicrafters, etc.could be gotten pretty cheap, even for a 14 year old kid, I think I paid probably $60 or $70 for a transmitter and receiver that worked well enough to get on the air. Made my own antennas. I'm sorry I didn't bite the bullet and get a 70CM rig a long time ago. I bought probably 4 or 5 HF rigs while AO-10 and AO-13 were going strong and never got on AO-10 until it was on it's last legs. Missed AO-13 except for copying the bulletins from the beacon on RTTY! 73, John On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:48:32 +1100 Tony Langdon vk3...@gmail.com writes: At 01:18 PM 2/4/2011, k6yk wrote: I saw a mention of an issue of folks not wanting to make a big investment in satellite stuff to work SSB/CW. ALL of the original ham satellites were SSB/CW birds. No FM. And most hams already had enough equipment to get started. The uplinks were on 2 meters or 70CM (that took a little more doing), the downlinks were on HF or 2 meters. Some of the RS birds where HF up and HF down, and HF up, 2 meters down. Interesting stuff! 70cm SSB radios weren't common here, only the serious UHF DXers and satellite operators had one. Thankfully, this situation has changed over the last 10 years, thanks to the all in one radios that are on the market. I myself have gone from no 70cm SSB capability, to no fewer than 3 suitable radios in the last year. 2m SSB was a lot more common here, has been for many years. I've had 2m SSB myself for over 10 years, and have at least 4 radios now that can do it. As you'd expect, HF is common down here, but are VHF/UHF FM only radios, both mobile and HTs, especially near the major cities. Most folks had HF gear to start off in ham radio. I did not have an HT until I was a ham for probably 20 years. I was the opposite. Economics made it easier for me to start with a 2m HT. I didn't have an all band HF transceiver until 2000, when secondhand prices had come down enough, and I had the money to pick one up secondhand. Still got that radio too. :) Nowadays there is a LOT of VHF/UHF multi mode gear floating around the used market for reasonable prices. Also the antennas are available, sometimes for real cheap, or haul it away for free. Keep your eyes and ears open. Many more opportunities now. There has never been a better time to try SSB on the birds. Hams are supposed to be resourceful and innovative! And I went and sold my FT-847 which was about the most expensive rig I ever bought! Don't need it for these FM birds, I just use a dual-band mobile rig, works just as well. I've just upgraded and got radios with VHF/UHF SSB capabilities. This will be used both terrestrially (I have used one to gather telemetry from a balloon launch on 70cm) and hopefully on the sats. These days it's good how a simply HF upgrade can give one so much more. And there's the bonus FT-736 as a hand me down from a ham friend, in appreciation for the help I've given him over the years with antennas and other projects. :) 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com Dermatologists Hate Her Smart Mom Uses $8 Trick to Erase Wrinkles and Look Younger Instantly http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d4b70b1da13fc31adst04vuc ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 contacts
I had some fun on AO-40, and made some contacts. I hope to get them on LOTW before summer. I had problems getting enough uplink signal. I could hear everyone (including myself) just fine, but a lot of folks had trouble hearing me. Then I would check the telemetry and see the AGC on the bird was driven 10 dB or so!!! They were good days! 73, Joe kk0sd ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Re: you may as well use Skype...
Hm, that sounds as if taking an HT and Arrow/Elk to the postponed DX0DX would be worthwhile (if I go). 73, doug Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2011 10:37:28 +1100 From: Tony Langdon vk3...@gmail.com At 05:49 AM 2/4/2011, Diane Bruce wrote: What is the motivation for some to operate on LEO satellite? The exotic mode and bands? The pleasure to achieve an OSCAR class station? My initial motivation to getting on satellite was AO-40. That was exciting, very neat and a fun technical challenge. I did make it on AO-40 btw, I think I made at least one cw QSO before you folks broke it. ;-) AO-40 was an incentive for me, though I never got beyond monitoring the 2m beacon in the early days after launch and before the incident with the 400N motor. I did collect a lot of good telemetry though There is new modes actually growing DSTAR, DRM, DIGITAL VOICE (FDMDV) is this can be an alternative to those who wants something else? or will we be facing with this alternative, overcrowded single channel satellite pass? Where is the place for experimenting on the actual LEO fleet? Our licence was not created for experimenting? The reality is, LEO is all we are going to be able to afford. I do not see the thousands upon thousands of amateurs willing to put up the $$ to put another HEO like AO-40, in the near future anyway. And yes AO-7 is still going, but is really sick sounding. The only short term realistic answer is more LEOs as I see it. But please, not another FM bird please. There is absolutely no reason we couldnt put a simple linear translator up and allow FM on one frequency, such as India does. I do agree, more linear birds would be a good thing, and the idea of sharing with FM might work well in these parts, where it can be hard to find anyone else on, and FM might be the difference between having someone to talk to, and enjoying a conversation with yourself! :) Traffic density over VK/ZL can get very low at times, so for us, FM is often a plus, although I'm interested in playing around with SSB too. A hand me down and recent upgrades now mean I have more than enough gear for the SSB birds. Unfortunately, LEOs can't solve the problem of vast distances meaning little chance of variety - all I've ever worked on satellite is VK, ZL, P29 and 3D2, but we have to make do with what is practical. :-/ 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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 AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
[amsat-bb] Looking for M Squared 2MCP14
I am looking for an M2 2MCP14. Contact me directly. Thanks -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com jleik...@leikhim.com 407-982-0446 ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
