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CX2SA > SATDIG 02.06.09 01:24l 888 Lines 31619 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: true duplex radios (RFI-EMI-GUY)
2. Re: true duplex radios (OZ1MY)
3. Re: true duplex radios (RFI-EMI-GUY)
4. Re: true duplex radios (Larry Gerhardstein)
5. AMSAT-India VO-52 Award (n3tl@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
6. Re: eggbeater rx performance (Mobile Operation) (Bruce Robertson)
7. WD9EWK from DM34/DM35/DM36 on 30 May - report (long)
(Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK))
8. Re: WD9EWK from DM34/DM35/DM36 on 30 May - report (long)
(n3tl@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:36:15 -0400
From: RFI-EMI-GUY <Rhyolite@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Message-ID: <4A23D94F.8070406@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Craig;
I have added a couple ICOM radios (IC-Delta-100 and IC-970)to the list below:
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 15:42:12 -0700
From: "D. Craig Fox" <DFox@xxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] true duplex radios
To: "Amsat \(E-mail\)" <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Message-ID:
<A8E6E57AFA652D419A823F42AD6ACBDE028AA504@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
At the request of several following my late night post, set forth below is the
list I copied off this or the VX-8 listserv. I have added the new Alinco. I
do not think this list is complete so others please feel free to add to it.
73s
Craig
N6RSX
HTs -
Icom IC-W2A
Icom IC-W31A
Icom IC-W32
Yaesu FT-470
Yaesu FT-530
Yaesu FT-50R
Yaesu FR-51R
Kenwood TH-D7
Kenwood TH-77
Kenwood TH-78
Alinco DJ-G5T
Alinco DJ-580T
Alinco DJ-G7
Mobile rigs -
Kenwood TM741
Kenwood TM742
Kenwood TM941
Kenwood TM942
Kenwood TM732
Kenwood TM-D700/710
Yaesu FT-5100
Yaesu FT-5200
Yaesu FT-8800
Yaesu FT-8900
Icom 2728H
Icom IC2800
*Icom IC-Delta-100*
Base rigs -
Yaesu FT-736
Yaesu FT-847
Kenwood TS-2000
Icom 820
Icom 821
Icom IC-910H
*Icom IC-970*
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.
--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"?
"Use only Genuine Interocitor Parts" Tom Servo ;-P
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 15:51:58 +0200
From: "OZ1MY" <oz1my@xxxxxx.xx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
To: <Rhyolite@xxxxxxxx.xxx>, <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Message-ID: <000801c9e2c0$26632600$6401a8c0@xxxxxx.xx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi,
I do not see the Kenwood TS-790 base station ?
73 OZ1MY
Ib
----- Original Message -----
From: "RFI-EMI-GUY" <Rhyolite@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 3:36 PM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
Craig;
I have added a couple ICOM radios (IC-Delta-100 and IC-970)to the list
below:
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 15:42:12 -0700
From: "D. Craig Fox" <DFox@xxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] true duplex radios
To: "Amsat \(E-mail\)" <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Message-ID:
<A8E6E57AFA652D419A823F42AD6ACBDE028AA504@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
At the request of several following my late night post, set forth below is
the list I copied off this or the VX-8 listserv. I have added the new
Alinco. I do not think this list is complete so others please feel free to
add to it.
73s
Craig
N6RSX
HTs -
Icom IC-W2A
Icom IC-W31A
Icom IC-W32
Yaesu FT-470
Yaesu FT-530
Yaesu FT-50R
Yaesu FR-51R
Kenwood TH-D7
Kenwood TH-77
Kenwood TH-78
Alinco DJ-G5T
Alinco DJ-580T
Alinco DJ-G7
Mobile rigs -
Kenwood TM741
Kenwood TM742
Kenwood TM941
Kenwood TM942
Kenwood TM732
Kenwood TM-D700/710
Yaesu FT-5100
Yaesu FT-5200
Yaesu FT-8800
Yaesu FT-8900
Icom 2728H
Icom IC2800
*Icom IC-Delta-100*
Base rigs -
Yaesu FT-736
Yaesu FT-847
Kenwood TS-2000
Icom 820
Icom 821
Icom IC-910H
*Icom IC-970*
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.
--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"?
"Use only Genuine Interocitor Parts" Tom Servo ;-P
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. 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
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:57:06 -0400
From: RFI-EMI-GUY <Rhyolite@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
To: OZ1MY <oz1my@xxxxxx.xx>
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Message-ID: <4A23EC42.4030207@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
True; This list would be a good start. I suggest a table with mode
capabilities and frequency bands, both standard and optional.
OZ1MY wrote:
> Hi,
> I do not see the Kenwood TS-790 base station ?
> 73 OZ1MY
> Ib
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "RFI-EMI-GUY" <Rhyolite@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
> To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
> Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 3:36 PM
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
>
>
> Craig;
>
> I have added a couple ICOM radios (IC-Delta-100 and IC-970)to the list
> below:
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 15:42:12 -0700
> From: "D. Craig Fox" <DFox@xxxxxx.xxx>
> Subject: [amsat-bb] true duplex radios
> To: "Amsat \(E-mail\)" <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
> Message-ID:
> <A8E6E57AFA652D419A823F42AD6ACBDE028AA504@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> At the request of several following my late night post, set forth below is
> the list I copied off this or the VX-8 listserv. I have added the new
> Alinco. I do not think this list is complete so others please feel free to
> add to it.
>
> 73s
>
> Craig
> N6RSX
>
> HTs -
> Icom IC-W2A
> Icom IC-W31A
> Icom IC-W32
> Yaesu FT-470
> Yaesu FT-530
> Yaesu FT-50R
> Yaesu FR-51R
> Kenwood TH-D7
> Kenwood TH-77
> Kenwood TH-78
> Alinco DJ-G5T
> Alinco DJ-580T
> Alinco DJ-G7
>
>
> Mobile rigs -
> Kenwood TM741
> Kenwood TM742
> Kenwood TM941
> Kenwood TM942
> Kenwood TM732
> Kenwood TM-D700/710
> Yaesu FT-5100
> Yaesu FT-5200
> Yaesu FT-8800
> Yaesu FT-8900
> Icom 2728H
> Icom IC2800
> *Icom IC-Delta-100*
>
> Base rigs -
> Yaesu FT-736
> Yaesu FT-847
> Kenwood TS-2000
> Icom 820
> Icom 821
> Icom IC-910H
> *Icom IC-970*
>
> 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.
>
>
--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"?
"Use only Genuine Interocitor Parts" Tom Servo ;-P
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 09:06:13 -0600
From: Larry Gerhardstein <larryg@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Message-ID: <006801c9e2ca$8248a580$0200a8c0@xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
Since some of the radios suggested are 'old', a column about sub-tones
available would be helpful. Also computer interface.
----- Original Message -----
From: "RFI-EMI-GUY" <Rhyolite@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: "OZ1MY" <oz1my@xxxxxx.xx>
Cc: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 8:57 AM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios
True; This list would be a good start. I suggest a table with mode
capabilities and frequency bands, both standard and optional.
OZ1MY wrote:
> Hi,
> I do not see the Kenwood TS-790 base station ?
> 73 OZ1MY
> Ib
/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:12:30 +0000
From: n3tl@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-India VO-52 Award
To: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Message-ID:
<060120091712.6238.4A240BFE0000193A0000185E22228869349B0A02D2089B9A019C0
4040A0DBF049BCC02@xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain
Hey everyone,
My VO-52 Award arrived in today's mail, and it's very, very nice. It's printed
on a very heavy stock and is very attractive. I look forward to getting it in
a frame and on display asap.
My thanks to everyone at AMSAT-India for their efforts to make the award
available, and for providing great operating via VO-52.
73 to all,
Tim - N3TL
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 14:18:42 -0300
From: Bruce Robertson <ve9qrp@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: eggbeater rx performance (Mobile Operation)
To: Bob Bruninga <bruninga@xxxx.xxx>
Cc: Amsat BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>, Gary Joe
<gary_mayfield@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Message-ID:
<49657a760906011018v6a28421ka1bd5be3cbc39b3e@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 12:01 PM, Bob Bruninga <bruninga@xxxx.xxx> wrote:
>> I found a trunk mounted 2 meter half wave
>>(dual bander) to work well when the satellite
>> was behind me, but not at all overhead...
>> I currently have a 2 meter quarter wave
>> (dual bander) mounted... into the center
>> of the roof. It works in all directions...
>
> Any "gain" antenna on a car is not good for satellites. ?Because by
definition, "gain" in a mobile means "gain" on the horizon where mobiles need
it, and this means LOSS everywhere else. ?The better the antenna is for
"mobile" the worse it is for satelliites. ?(basic law of physics)..
>
> Eevn the "dual bander" 2 meter 1/4 wave has a decopuling loop for UHF, to
keep the angle of UHF radition low on the horizon, because without it, the 1/4
2m whip is a 3/4 UHF whip and results in gain ABOVE 25 degrees which is BAD
for terrestrial work (but GOOD by 2 dB or mnore for satellites).
>
> So, when we say a 19.5" 1/4 wave 2m whip for mobile satellite, then that is
all it is. ?No matching, no coils for UHF, no nothing. ?Just a 19.5" vertical
whip. ?BUT for satellites, this 19.5" whip is also a 3/4 wave UHF whip which
has almost 7 dBi of gain ABOVE 25 degrees which is where it really yields
solid performance for LEO satellites when above 25 degrees.
>
> A 5/8 wave 2m whip has a NULL at 15 degrees and so it is useless for
satellites. ?They are too far away below 10 degrees to hear, and then there is
the null up to say 45 degrees. ?And above that the satellite is only in view
for 2 minutes or less! ?AND this antenna cannot be used on UHF at all.
>
> So that is why the 19.5" vertical in the middle of the roof is the best for
mobile satllite (and not all that hot for terrestrial... but useable, since
repeaters are a lot closer).
>
> See details about 75% down this page:
>
> www.aprs.org/astars.html
>
> Good luck.
> Bob, Wb4APR
I'll take this opportunity to expand on Bob's advice. I think it is
spot-on for data reception. I'm using poorly-constructed 1/4 wave
antennas just for fun, and I note that I cannot get good 1200 baud
downlink from them off of cubesats: it seems that there's just not
anywhere where the gain vs. path loss curves match nicely. It's my
guess that by pushing the gain up above 20 degrees, where the pass
loss is diminished, I would have telemetry decoded nicely.
On the other hand, if you want to listen for DX on, say, VO-52 or
FO-29, or download CW telemetry, you might consider a fixed antenna
with a lower azimuth peak gain. With a 1/4 wave antenna and clear view
to most horizons, I can hear some good signals down around 10-20
degrees, and since many passes occur in that range, it is a fun place
to have some gain. (And LEO satellite operations are great for
experiments confirming the 3-d plots of standard antenna designs!)
Survey question: who has been able to download 9600 baud telemetry
with a fixed antenna, and what design was used?
73, Bruce
VE9QRP
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:20:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Patrick STODDARD \(WD9EWK/VA7EWK\)" <amsat-bb@xxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] WD9EWK from DM34/DM35/DM36 on 30 May - report
(long)
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Message-ID: <774904.4688.qm@xxxxxxxx.xxxx.xxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hi!
Saturday was another fun day. A long day, starting out early at
the hamfest in Prescott, Arizona, and ending up at home just
after midnight (0700 UTC) after driving approximately 400 miles
(644km), but a good day.
Prescott Hamfest in Prescott, Arizona (grid DM34sn):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34+34.413+n+112+29
.800+w&sll=37.579413,-
95.712891&sspn=54.973803,78.574219&ie=UTF8&ll=34.070862,-
112.195129&spn=1.829153,2.455444&t=h&z=9
I started out at the hamfest. Officially, it did not open until
0800 local, but I was there when the site was opened for those
setting up in one of the spaces two hours earlier. This let me
get on the air for an AO-51 pass around 1320 UTC. This pass was
more to hand out contacts with the grid for the hamfest (DM34sn)
than a demonstration, but a couple of people stopped by to listen
in while they were setting up their spaces. Thanks for the 16
contacts with stations from across the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
The later AO-51 pass, just after 1500 UTC, added 5 more contacts
with a slightly larger audience - the hamfest officially opened
at the start of this pass.
After a couple of hours where the crowds started building, VO-52
passed by around 1710 UTC. As I've seen at other hamfests, the
VO-52 demonstrations seem to attract the largest crowds. It might
be the later pass time, or that SSB via satellite is more of a
curiosity than FM, but there was a nice crowd. For this pass, Ray
W1OTH - a ham from the Prescott area and AMSAT member - took care
of the antenna while I worked the radio. I forgot to mention in
my e-mail last week where I would camp out on the downlink, but I
started around 145.910 MHz where I made two quick contacts. After
not hearing anyone else after those contacts, I tuned around and
went down a few kHz to work two other stations near the end of the
pass. Four contacts on a VO-52 pass, where I'm not actively tuning
through the passband looking for every possible QSO, is not a bad
thing. The crowd liked it.
Not long after that VO-52 pass, the skies darkened and it started
to rain. I felt, and then saw, hail falling. This did not last
for long, but the hamfest emptied out not long after this quick
burst of bad weather. Even with the storm, this was a good morning.
Lots of people stopped by, and there appeared to be more people
at the hamfest this year compared to last year. Thanks again to
Ray W1OTH for sticking around the AMSAT table for a little while
and helping with the VO-52 pass.
After the hamfest, the Saturday road trip started. I was off to
the first of my two stops for the radio after the hamfest....
near Drake, Arizona, east of AZ-89 at the DM34tx/DM35ta grid
boundary:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=35+N+112+23.132+W&
sll=34.070862,-112.195129&sspn=1.829153,2.455444&ie=UTF8&ll=34.311681,-
112.148437&spn=3.64763,4.910889&t=h&z=8
I stopped at this spot a couple of times in 2008, as a way to
operate from these two grids and not be parked along the nearby
state highway. This is just inside the Prescott National Forest
north of the city of Prescott, and about 15 miles/25km south of
the I-40 freeway and old US-66. Unlike in 2008, AO-27 and SO-50
had overlapping passes in the mid-afternoon from this location.
I decided to work AO-27 when it was on, not using the PL tone
needed for SO-50. After AO-27 shut off at the end of its repeater
time, I would work SO-50 for whatever time was left on each pass.
The first AO-27/SO-50 passes came around 2037 UTC. As usual,
there were many stations out for the pass. In 7 minutes, I logged
15 QSOs before switching to SO-50. In the last few minutes of the
SO-50 pass, 4 more QSOs went in the log. Not a bad effort, other
than dealing with the overlapping footprints for the two satellites.
A little later, the two satellites were passing by to the west of
my location. Again, starting with AO-27 while it was on, I worked
7 stations from central Mexico to western Canada. My time on SO-50
after AO-27's scheduled shutdown was limited by an impending
thunderstorm and a quick visit by a Forest Service ranger. The
ranger asked if I was looking for a missing dog, and I explained
that I was not tracking animals with my setup. I had a chance to
acknowledge 2 stations I heard on SO-50 after that, before I heard
some thunder near me. That was my cue to pack up and move on to my
last stop of the day.
Grand Canyon Village, Arizona - south of the lodges along the South
Rim in Grand Canyon National Park (grid DM36wb):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36+3.195+N+112+8.6
11+W&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=55.279921,78.574219&ie=UTF8&ll=34.741612,-
111.917725&spn=3.62886,4.910889&t=h&z=8
I drove through a hard rain to get from DM34tx/DM35ta up to the
Grand Canyon, but it stopped raining about 20 miles/32km before I
reached the national park entrance. The DM35/DM36 grid boundary
was right at the entrance, but that was not a good place to set
up. No places to park, and the line was right at the booths for
the park rangers to collect the admission fees. I planned to go
into the park and find the best spot I could, which would be
somewhere firmly in grid DM36.
Grand Canyon Village is a small town inside the national park,
along the South Rim. Most of the lodges (hotels) on this side of
the park are here. I took some pictures as I drove from the park
entrance to the parking lot I decided to work from (Parking Lot
"E", south of the lodges at the South Rim), and waited for the
first AO-51 pass around 0028 UTC.
I knew there were some hills that ringed Grand Canyon Village, and
those hills meant I had to wait almost 2 minutes after the predicted
AOS time before I could clearly hear the AO-51 downlink. Once I
heard it, I announced my location. Then the fun began - lots of QSOs
for stations across North America. In the span of 11 minutes, 22
contacts were logged. No Canadians, but many from all over the
continental US and a couple of XE stations went in the log. I guess
DM36 was a rare grid for many on the satellites. :-)
Between that pass and the later AO-51 pass to the west, I did some
sightseeing around the village and along the South Rim. A weird
(at first) sight was seeing some deer grazing in the rail yard at
the Grand Canyon train depot. This is still a working depot, for
the Grand Canyon Railway that runs daily between the Grand Canyon
and the city of Williams about 60 miles/100km to the south, a
favorite for tourists who do not want to drive into the park. Lots
of people were taking pictures as the deer ate some grass and
wandered around the railroad tracks.
I went back to the parking lot after taking lots of photos, and
was ready for the western AO-51 pass that started around 0208 UTC.
I worked 8 stations on this pass - 1 in Alaska (thanks KL7XJ!),
the rest in the continental USA. I made another sightseeing stop
at another point along the South Rim as I left the national park,
to start my almost 4-hour drive back home.
For any contacts made with WD9EWK on Saturday - at the hamfest, or
after the hamfest - I will be happy to send out QSL cards. I have
cards ready for QSOs made at the hamfest, and will have cards for
the other two locations in the next day or two. No need to send
me QSLs or SASEs for Saturday - just e-mail me directly with QSO
details. If you are in my log, you'll get a card (or cards) for
the contact(s). I will also send out cards from my trip to Dayton
two weeks ago with these cards, all going out in the same envelopes.
I was asked on the air if I was using my new Alinco DJ-G7T on any
of the Saturday FM satellite passes. I was not - I was using my
Icom IC-2720H 2m/70cm FM mobile radio. Since I'm still tweaking
that radio, I will leave that to other passes where I am not trying
to demonstrate satellite operation or when I'm parked in unusual
locations.
Including my drive up to Prescott on Friday (29 May) evening, I
drove just under 500 miles/800km for this trip. The hamfest was
fun, the two stops after the hamfest - putting some rare Arizona
grids on the satellites for a few passes - went well. Thanks to
everyone who worked WD9EWK during the hamfest demonstrations, as
those contacts help show off the capabilities of our current
satellites and how it doesn't take lots of fancy (and expensive)
gear to enjoy this part of our hobby.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:25:19 +0000
From: n3tl@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: WD9EWK from DM34/DM35/DM36 on 30 May - report
(long)
To: amsat-bb@xxxxxx.xxxx amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Message-ID:
<060120091725.8245.4A240EFE0009F50A0000203522228869349B0A02D2089B9A019C0
4040A0DBF049BCC02@xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Patrick,
Thanks for your efforts to activate otherwise not-so-active grids in your part
of the world. Many of us who work the satellites regularly appreciate it very
much.
73 to all,
Tim
-------------- Original message from "Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)"
<amsat-bb@xxxxxx.xxx>: --------------
>
> Hi!
>
> Saturday was another fun day. A long day, starting out early at
> the hamfest in Prescott, Arizona, and ending up at home just
> after midnight (0700 UTC) after driving approximately 400 miles
> (644km), but a good day.
>
>
> Prescott Hamfest in Prescott, Arizona (grid DM34sn):
>
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34+34.413+n+112+29
.8 00+w&sll=37.579413,-
95.712891&sspn=54.973803,78.574219&ie=UTF8&ll=34.070862,-112
> .195129&spn=1.829153,2.455444&t=h&z=9
>
> I started out at the hamfest. Officially, it did not open until
> 0800 local, but I was there when the site was opened for those
> setting up in one of the spaces two hours earlier. This let me
> get on the air for an AO-51 pass around 1320 UTC. This pass was
> more to hand out contacts with the grid for the hamfest (DM34sn)
> than a demonstration, but a couple of people stopped by to listen
> in while they were setting up their spaces. Thanks for the 16
> contacts with stations from across the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
> The later AO-51 pass, just after 1500 UTC, added 5 more contacts
> with a slightly larger audience - the hamfest officially opened
> at the start of this pass.
>
> After a couple of hours where the crowds started building, VO-52
> passed by around 1710 UTC. As I've seen at other hamfests, the
> VO-52 demonstrations seem to attract the largest crowds. It might
> be the later pass time, or that SSB via satellite is more of a
> curiosity than FM, but there was a nice crowd. For this pass, Ray
> W1OTH - a ham from the Prescott area and AMSAT member - took care
> of the antenna while I worked the radio. I forgot to mention in
> my e-mail last week where I would camp out on the downlink, but I
> started around 145.910 MHz where I made two quick contacts. After
> not hearing anyone else after those contacts, I tuned around and
> went down a few kHz to work two other stations near the end of the
> pass. Four contacts on a VO-52 pass, where I'm not actively tuning
> through the passband looking for every possible QSO, is not a bad
> thing. The crowd liked it.
>
> Not long after that VO-52 pass, the skies darkened and it started
> to rain. I felt, and then saw, hail falling. This did not last
> for long, but the hamfest emptied out not long after this quick
> burst of bad weather. Even with the storm, this was a good morning.
> Lots of people stopped by, and there appeared to be more people
> at the hamfest this year compared to last year. Thanks again to
> Ray W1OTH for sticking around the AMSAT table for a little while
> and helping with the VO-52 pass.
>
> After the hamfest, the Saturday road trip started. I was off to
> the first of my two stops for the radio after the hamfest....
>
>
> near Drake, Arizona, east of AZ-89 at the DM34tx/DM35ta grid
> boundary:
>
>
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=35+N+112+23.132+W&
sl
> l=34.070862,-112.195129&sspn=1.829153,2.455444&ie=UTF8&ll=34.311681,-
112.148437&
> spn=3.64763,4.910889&t=h&z=8
>
> I stopped at this spot a couple of times in 2008, as a way to
> operate from these two grids and not be parked along the nearby
> state highway. This is just inside the Prescott National Forest
> north of the city of Prescott, and about 15 miles/25km south of
> the I-40 freeway and old US-66. Unlike in 2008, AO-27 and SO-50
> had overlapping passes in the mid-afternoon from this location.
> I decided to work AO-27 when it was on, not using the PL tone
> needed for SO-50. After AO-27 shut off at the end of its repeater
> time, I would work SO-50 for whatever time was left on each pass.
>
> The first AO-27/SO-50 passes came around 2037 UTC. As usual,
> there were many stations out for the pass. In 7 minutes, I logged
> 15 QSOs before switching to SO-50. In the last few minutes of the
> SO-50 pass, 4 more QSOs went in the log. Not a bad effort, other
> than dealing with the overlapping footprints for the two satellites.
>
> A little later, the two satellites were passing by to the west of
> my location. Again, starting with AO-27 while it was on, I worked
> 7 stations from central Mexico to western Canada. My time on SO-50
> after AO-27's scheduled shutdown was limited by an impending
> thunderstorm and a quick visit by a Forest Service ranger. The
> ranger asked if I was looking for a missing dog, and I explained
> that I was not tracking animals with my setup. I had a chance to
> acknowledge 2 stations I heard on SO-50 after that, before I heard
> some thunder near me. That was my cue to pack up and move on to my
> last stop of the day.
>
>
> Grand Canyon Village, Arizona - south of the lodges along the South
> Rim in Grand Canyon National Park (grid DM36wb):
>
>
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36+3.195+N+112+8.6
11
> +W&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=55.279921,78.574219&ie=UTF8&ll=34.741612,-
111.917
> 725&spn=3.62886,4.910889&t=h&z=8
>
> I drove through a hard rain to get from DM34tx/DM35ta up to the
> Grand Canyon, but it stopped raining about 20 miles/32km before I
> reached the national park entrance. The DM35/DM36 grid boundary
> was right at the entrance, but that was not a good place to set
> up. No places to park, and the line was right at the booths for
> the park rangers to collect the admission fees. I planned to go
> into the park and find the best spot I could, which would be
> somewhere firmly in grid DM36.
>
> Grand Canyon Village is a small town inside the national park,
> along the South Rim. Most of the lodges (hotels) on this side of
> the park are here. I took some pictures as I drove from the park
> entrance to the parking lot I decided to work from (Parking Lot
> "E", south of the lodges at the South Rim), and waited for the
> first AO-51 pass around 0028 UTC.
>
> I knew there were some hills that ringed Grand Canyon Village, and
> those hills meant I had to wait almost 2 minutes after the predicted
> AOS time before I could clearly hear the AO-51 downlink. Once I
> heard it, I announced my location. Then the fun began - lots of QSOs
> for stations across North America. In the span of 11 minutes, 22
> contacts were logged. No Canadians, but many from all over the
> continental US and a couple of XE stations went in the log. I guess
> DM36 was a rare grid for many on the satellites. :-)
>
> Between that pass and the later AO-51 pass to the west, I did some
> sightseeing around the village and along the South Rim. A weird
> (at first) sight was seeing some deer grazing in the rail yard at
> the Grand Canyon train depot. This is still a working depot, for
> the Grand Canyon Railway that runs daily between the Grand Canyon
> and the city of Williams about 60 miles/100km to the south, a
> favorite for tourists who do not want to drive into the park. Lots
> of people were taking pictures as the deer ate some grass and
> wandered around the railroad tracks.
>
> I went back to the parking lot after taking lots of photos, and
> was ready for the western AO-51 pass that started around 0208 UTC.
> I worked 8 stations on this pass - 1 in Alaska (thanks KL7XJ!),
> the rest in the continental USA. I made another sightseeing stop
> at another point along the South Rim as I left the national park,
> to start my almost 4-hour drive back home.
>
>
> For any contacts made with WD9EWK on Saturday - at the hamfest, or
> after the hamfest - I will be happy to send out QSL cards. I have
> cards ready for QSOs made at the hamfest, and will have cards for
> the other two locations in the next day or two. No need to send
> me QSLs or SASEs for Saturday - just e-mail me directly with QSO
> details. If you are in my log, you'll get a card (or cards) for
> the contact(s). I will also send out cards from my trip to Dayton
> two weeks ago with these cards, all going out in the same envelopes.
>
> I was asked on the air if I was using my new Alinco DJ-G7T on any
> of the Saturday FM satellite passes. I was not - I was using my
> Icom IC-2720H 2m/70cm FM mobile radio. Since I'm still tweaking
> that radio, I will leave that to other passes where I am not trying
> to demonstrate satellite operation or when I'm parked in unusual
> locations.
>
> Including my drive up to Prescott on Friday (29 May) evening, I
> drove just under 500 miles/800km for this trip. The hamfest was
> fun, the two stops after the hamfest - putting some rare Arizona
> grids on the satellites for a few passes - went well. Thanks to
> everyone who worked WD9EWK during the hamfest demonstrations, as
> those contacts help show off the capabilities of our current
> satellites and how it doesn't take lots of fancy (and expensive)
> gear to enjoy this part of our hobby.
>
> 73!
>
>
>
>
> Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
> http://www.wd9ewk.net/
>
> _______________________________________________
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End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 4, Issue 252
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