[amsat-bb] Re: SO50 Help Please

[Alexander Sack]

On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 5:24 PM, Douglas Phelps <dphelps1 at ameritech.net> wrote:
> My equipment is an FT-847 feeding a pair of 8 element RHCP antennas with
> Advanced Research Preamps mounted at the antenna.  I use SatPC for the automatic
> tracking.  I am supposedly transmitting a 67 Hz PL on TX.
>
> Ar elevations above 40 degrees, I can hear AO50 full quieting with just a little
> fading.  What I can not sdeem to do is TX through AO50.  I can TX OK through
> AO51 in its current mode (QRP transponder and no PL) but not AO50.  I seemed
> that if TX right when someone ended the TX, I could get in for a fraction of a
> second.  Can anybody tell me what I am doing wrong?  Is their some quirk with PL
> in the Sat Mode on the FT-847?

You are arming SO-50 as per the instructions on the AMSAT page:

"1) Transmit on 145.850 MHz with a tone of 74.4 Hz to arm the 10
minute timer on board the spacecraft."

http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=4&retURL=/satellites/status.php

Once armed, you can transmit using 67Hz PL.  I could misunderstanding
your issue though.

-aps (KC2ZSX)