[amsat-bb] Re: ISS Packet activity? I'm having problems and getting frustrated

[Roger Kolakowski]

Hi Michael...

An easy way to check for QRN or local noise on 145.825 is to just listen to
your speaker output with the squelch open and flip through some channels on
2 meters...if they all sound the same (equal amounts of noise) then you are
probably OK...but if one channel has some quieting exhibited on it then it
might be locally generated interference or a birdie.

If you have one on 145.825, that is a problem (I have one just below
145.800) and you need to find it's source. I'm assuming you are using an FM
radio and not a multi mode rig in SSB or CW. ISS can be heard with a
handheld and a rubber ducky.

Roger
WA1KAT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Tondee" <mat_62 at netcommander.com>
To: "Jewett Hardwick" <bobsbigdoll at yahoo.com>
Cc: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2007 1:39 AM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: ISS Packet activity? I'm having problems and getting
frustrated


> I don't use squelch at all and I've adjusted the audio level to what I
> think is acceptable with the built in sound card tuning utility in
> AGWPE. I can't answer the QRN question completely except to say that
> I've never noticed a problem with terrestrial packet but it has been
> awhile since I've done that. My computer is a Pentium IV 2.4 Ghz.  with
> 1 GB of Ram.
> After I got the small packet that I did decode I haven't heard much else
> so I'll have to check the suggested sites for activity logs.
> BTW, hope this isn't a stupid question but what is this...  0130:32T
> W4HIJ>APU25N Port=1 <UI C LEN=30>  Then I see what appears to be my
> latitude and longtitude afterwards. I t comes up in my UIView terminal
> window on a pretty regular basis.
> Tnx for the help guys and 73,
> Michael, W4HIJ
> Joe Veldhuis wrote:
> > Is your radio's squelch on? If it doesn't open fast enough, the
beginning of the packet will be cut off and thus it won't decode. It's best
to run with open squelch.
> >
> > Is your RX audio level too low or too high? Is there noise or hum in the
audio? Any of these will make decoding any packet signal almost impossible.
> >
> > Is there QRN on the frequency? Noise from faulty power lines, industrial
equipment or consumer electronics, even if unnoticed by ear, can render the
downlink undecodable.
> >
> > -Joe, N8FQ
> >
> > On Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:43:09 -0500
> > Michael Tondee <mat_62 at netcommander.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Since for the moment I am down to just a two meter mobile for ham
> >> equipment, I have been trying to get a setup going for packet and APRS.
> >> At the moment I have only been experimenting with the receive side of
> >> things  but I'm not having much luck.
> >> I'm using  a 4 element beam with Az/El tracking that I used to use when
> >> working the LEO's along with SatPC32 for rotor control.
> >> I'm setup with AGWPE and UIview32 using a soundcard. I've tried several
> >> passes tuned to 145.825 and so far on just one I was able to get one
> >> small packet to decode on the UIView32 terminal screen. I'm not seeing
> >> any APRS stations appear on the map and on the last three good passes
> >> I've tried I've heard little if any packet activity at all. What am I
> >> doing wrong here?
> >> Is it possible there is no activity on some of the passes? Even when
> >> I've heard packets I've only successfully decoded one.
> >> Tnx for any advice or pointers someone could give,
> >> 73,
> >> Michael, W4HIJ
> >> AMSAT # 36017
> >>
>
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