[amsat-bb] Re: XW-1 QSO and packet attempt

[Sebastian]

I think Drew (KO4MA) and I had the pleasure of completing the first QSO on the FM repeater of XW-1 tonight from North America.  Signals were extremely strong, yet unfortunately very few stations were heard on the downlink.

Just seconds after Drew and I chatted, we heard/worked Jay (AA4FL), Rick (WA4NVM) and John (K8YSE).  Luc (VE2DWE) has some magic in his antennas, as I consistently heard him pretty much all through the pass.

I heard Drew mention that perhaps due to the PL tone and the large number of stations trying to use the repeater, very few stations were able to make a QSO. 

The satellite rose from the south, and since I'm probably the southernmost USA fixed station active on the birds, I had the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time I guess.

All in all, XW-1 is a great addition to the ever growing fleet of ham radio satellites, and I offer my thanks to all the hams in China who made it possible.
 
73 de W4AS, EL95
Sebastian


On Dec 20, 2009, at 9:36 PM, Mark L. Hammond wrote:

> I was happy to make a QSO on the FM repeater of XW-1 tonight during the 0210utc 21 Dec 2009 pass, and tried some packet too.
> 
> Signals were S9 or better (didn't really look carefully).  Audio was loud and clear on all stations I heard.
> 
> I was able to get connected to the BBS, but unable to upload a small file.  A directory request was given a -2 error a few times, too.  So, it will take some tweaking, but it's working!
> 
> Bravo,
> 
> Mark L. Hammond  [N8MH]