[amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Usage - 2012

Tue Aug 28 12:59:10 PDT 2012

Hello, Wouter

I think most American hams associate "cube sat" with "easy sat", which 
equals an FM satellite, like AO-51.

While these have their place, most of us are hoping for an HEO satellite.

73, Jim  KQ6EA

On 08/28/2012 06:53 PM, Wouter Weggelaar wrote:
> Hi List,
>
> If I may add to the conversation about linear birds, that Delfi-C3 (an
> CubeSat!) has had a linear transponder which was used quite a lot.
> Unfortunately, it was a short lived service, but it proves the point.
>
> I'm not sure why people also keep saying that CubeSats are no good,
> since linear transponders are perfectly possible and 6U and 12U
> platforms are seen as the way forward there.
>
> If we can not launch a fully fledged MicroSat or bigger, why not
> launch some useful cubes in the mean time?
>
> Typing this while working on FUNcube...
>
> Wouter PA3WEG
>
> On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 8:01 PM, Bill Ress <bill at hsmicrowave.com> wrote:
>> Nicely put John and thanks for putting the time into composing and posting
>> it.
>>
>> Regards...Bill - N6GHz
>>
>>
>> On 8/28/2012 10:10 AM, John Papay wrote:
>>> The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a
>>> discussion of the current state of affairs with
>>> the satellites that are still working. After reading
>>> about how the activity on the linear birds was down, I
>>> had to wonder a bit. It has not been my experience.
>>>
>>> I really expected the activity on the FM birds to diminish when AO-51
>>> died. We only get 7 minutes of AO-27 and that doesn't make
>>> up for the much longer passes on AO-51. SO-50 has never been
>>> off the air since I started in 2006 but it is the most difficult
>>> to hear throughout the pass. For that reason, activity on SO-50
>>> was fairly low. If you can't hear it, you can't work it. But
>>> to my surprise, SO-50 activity dramatically increased when AO-51
>>> went silent. Those who work the FM birds became determined to
>>> work through this satellite despite the difficulties in hearing it.
>>> Of course, if you are not full duplex, you don't know when you are
>>> hearing the bird and that sometimes results in those who call but
>>> cannot hear the responses. They might assume that there is no activity
>>> on the bird when in fact there are many stations trying to make qso's.
>>>
>>> I started using the ssb birds in late November 2007. There wasn't much
>>> activity on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 at that time. But over the last two
>>> years, activity on the linear birds has steadily increased. Much of the
>>> increase can be attributed to the newer people who started on the FM birds
>>> and quickly decided to get involved with the linear birds. I think the
>>> availability of satellite capable radios has really helped. If you have
>>> a TS2000 you can be on a linear bird without much effort. They are easier
>>> to hear than an FM bird. Some are using a pair of radios to achieve full
>>> duplex with great success. And I highly recommend SatPC32 which I have
>>> used
>>> now since 2006. It runs 24x7 on a Vista Quad machine and doesn't crash.
>>> The
>>> recordings on my website were made possible using the auto multi-satellite
>>> tracking feature of this program. Recordings are made without any outside
>>> intervention.
>>>
>>> One of the things that powers DX on the HF bands are dxpeditions. Groups
>>> spend large amounts of money to travel to destinations all over the world
>>> so that others can put that country in the worked/confirmed column. With
>>> satellites today it's the VUCC award that drives the activity. When
>>> someone
>>> shows up from a rare grid, the birds are sometimes overwhelmed. ND9M has
>>> worked from hundreds of USA grids and has also worked from his ship on the
>>> linear birds. UT1FG/mm has been very active over the past three
>>> years and has created pileups on the ssb birds not unlike those on HF. To
>>> say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply
>>> incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever
>>> before. You work with what you have and make the best of it, fm or linear.
>>>
>>> The future of AMSAT and the satellite phase of our hobby is all about the
>>> new people. When you hear someone new on the bird and it's a noisy signal
>>> with an incomplete callsign, maybe without phonetics, call that station.
>>> Giving out that first contact with a newbie far outweighs 100 contacts
>>> with
>>> those that you have worked many times before. Sometimes the effort doesn't
>>> result in a qso, but maybe there is a possibility to follow up with an
>>> email or postcard with an offer of help. Just remember we all started out
>>> at some point with no experience. Most everyone can remember their first
>>> contact and how important it was in terms of encouraging future operating.
>>>
>>> So if you're reading the AMSAT-bb and are discouraged by the fact that
>>> there
>>> are no High Earth Orbit Satellites, don't be. Times change, technology
>>> changes but we continue by using what we have to the max and working
>>> towards
>>> improving our situation where we can. AMSAT works very hard to explore
>>> every possibility for building and launching new satellites. It's a
>>> tremendous
>>> effort that most of us don't realize is happening day after day. We all
>>> need to support this effort. FOX I and II will be here before we know it.
>>> These birds should give us some room for more qso's and new operators.
>>>
>>> In the meantime, AO-7 continues to work at an altitude of 1450KM. FO-29 is
>>> at 1200 or 1300 KM some of the time. These birds provide an opportunity to
>>> work DX if you can see down to the horizon. If you can't, you can always
>>> go to a location that is better and use your FT817 with an Arrow antenna
>>> and work down to the horizon. There is nothing wrong with using an Arrow
>>> or ELK antenna to work DX. WD9EWK has proven that point time after time.
>>>
>>> A good ham radio operator is one that looks at a problem as a challenge
>>> rather than a show stopper. Ham radio ingenuity over the years has been
>>> amazing. So if you are having trouble and are frustrated, develop an
>>> action plan to move forward. The resources available to us today are
>>> unprecedented. And there are mentors out there that are willing to help.
>>> Above all, stay positive and have some fun!
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> John K8YSE
>>>
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>>>
>> --
>> Regards...Bill Ress
>> High Sierra Microwave
>>
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