[amsat-bb] Re: FP/KV1J 26 Oct 2010 - 2 Nov 2010 FM Sats

[Ian - K8MM]

Eric,

Have fun operating from Miquelon, I was on the birds from there in 2005. 
FP is an awesome place to operate from because of the windows to both EU 
and W/VE. You'll be amazed how close to the ocean's horizon you can work 
either the analog or FM birds, I could hear them even before the would 
reach one degree of elevation. The European passes on FM or SSB can be 
hectic and some stations will keep calling no matter who you come back 
too...there was an IV3 that never made it in my log because all he did 
was QRM the entire pass.  I would start out by calling CQ on CW and then 
work that pile up down to nothing in a couple minutes then switch to 
SSB. If you stay at the Maxhotel you may find my Texas potato masher II 
antennas are still stored in a storage room with a bunch of other 
antenna hardware. They were made of PVC and brass rod and I taped them 
all together in a bundle. Feel free to you them, they worked really well 
and I only had to reposition them twice a pass. I would point them where 
the bird would rise then once it reached its zenith I would run outside 
and point them to where the bird would set. They were only four feet off 
the ground and I didn't bother to elevate them at all, I didn't need 
too. Each antenna was on a seperate mast and spaced about 20 ft apart to 
keep from desense problems. There is the big hill to the west that 
sometimes gets in the way of the path to the western US and the hills to 
the north don't really get in the way of much at all since there's never 
anyone on from Siberia...lol. Operating from GN16 was way more difficult 
than GN17 because my setup was surrounded by buildings and the mountain 
to the west of town. We lucked out on the WX when we were there, it only 
blew and rained one day but when it did, it didn't mess around. I have 
some cool pics of my HF2V antenna bending in a 70 MPH wind!

73,
Ian - K8MM

John Papay wrote:
> (Relayed from KV1J who is having trouble posting)
>
> I will be operating from the island of Miquelon (Grid GN17)
> from October 26 through November 2 as FP/KV1J.  The dates
> may shift a bit depending on the weather and available
> transportation.  This is a French territory (Collective) off
> the coast of Newfoundland.
>
> I will be mostly on the low bands but plan to take
> breaks and work as many of the FM satellite passes
> that I can.  I have AO-51, AO-27, SO-50, SO-67, and
> HO-68 programmed with Doppler shifts in an FT-817.
> I will be doing this outside with an Arrow 146/437-10
> antenna.
>
> The weather can get rough where I am and the winds
> are high so I will do my best under the conditions.
> I have a digital audio recorder tied to both the TX and
> RX audio so I will do the final logging when I return inside.
>
> I was on during from this spot in November 2009 using
> the AO-51 bird with good results.  This trip, I hope to try
> other satellites when they are available.
>
> Once I am on the island it gets busy with setup and the
> low bands so it is not practical to do scheds but I will
> favor the daylight passes since they are easier to operate
> outdoors.
>
> I have a web page at - 
> <http://www.kv1j.com/fp/october10.html>http://www.kv1j.com/fp/october10.html
> for more information and I will try to put some status
> information there when I can.  I do have internet access
> but it is not always available.
>
> I will be traveling via the island of Saint Pierre.  If I get on
> from there, I will be grid GN16.  Still operating as FP/KV1J.
>
> 73,  Eric  KV1J  FP/KV1J
>
>
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