[amsat-bb] Re: What can I do with just 2 meter FM equipment??

[Michael Tondee]

Thanks Bob and thanks to everyone else who has answered my query as well.
 Actually I plan on keeping my homebrew AZ/EL tracking system that I run 
with SatPC-32. I have a homebrew 4 element vertically polarized yagi on 
the two meter side of it.  I could build one larger if necessary. I've 
never used AGWPE, I just got as far as downloading it. I also downloaded 
and registered UIview awhile back.
 I've built soundcard radio interfaces before as well. Guess I'll start 
snooping around my junk box and see what I can maybe cobble up.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
Robert Bruninga wrote:
>> I'd be leaving the satellite game... but then it occured 
>> to me that maybe I could do something with 2 meter FM.
>> I have a Kenwood TM-241 mobile rig and a Ft11R handheld. 
>> Isn't APRS done on just the two meter band? 
>>     
>
> Yes, there are two APRS satellites on orbit with 1200 baud AX.25
> packet on 2 meters FM.  You only need one radio since it TX's
> and RX's on 145.825.  But they are kinda weak and do need a beam
> to hear them on most of their 6 passes a day.  Right at the
> middle of one pass a day, you might decode them on an omni as
> long as you have a short cable and virtually no cable loss.  You
> can see their activity and user packets on http://pcsat.aprs.org
>
> And  you can send packets to them and they will SPEAK by voice
> using a text-to-speech synthesizer.
>
> RAFT has the easier to use, always-on speech system, but only
> hears users in the dark.  Fortunately over the next several
> weeks we are entering a period of evening passes, so RAFT should
> get back to better use.
>
> ANDE works any time day or night, but needs to be woken up.  It
> only wakes to listen for activity 1 sec out of every 16, so
> someone has to hit it with a packet at the right time to wake it
> u p.  Once awakened, it will stay awake until 1 minute after the
> last packet heard.  For details, see the ANDE RAFT operations
> page:
> http://eng.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/ande-raft-ops.html
>
> And for operations details see:
> http://eng.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/ande/ANDEcontract.txt
>
> And of course, even with out the voice, y ou can make QSO's with
> other users by sending and receiving digipeated packets with
> others.  The VIA path for these satellites is VIA ARISS, the
> same as the ISS uses so that people do not need to change their
> paths for the different satellites.
>
> Bob, WB4APR
> US Naval Academy Satellite Lab
>
>
>