[amsat-bb] AO-73 1st contact

[Paul Stoetzer]

Great post, Clayton! It really is an easy satellite to hear and work
once you get used to the the tuning quirks. The weekend passes are
generally at a convenient time and the evening passes will be more
convenient for us in the United States after Daylight Saving Time ends
this upcoming weekend.

Here are a couple of YouTube videos of an odd cast of characters all
working AO-73 using simple, QRP equipment as described in the original
post:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKQmilT636A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFSk1D0-d8w

73,

Paul, N8HM

On Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 11:29 AM, Clayton Coleman <kayakfishtx at gmail.com> wrote:
> It was nice to hear K4SQC making his first contact on AO-73 last night
> with AC0RA.
>
> Since the inception of the 73 on 73 award, over 100 unique call signs
> have been copied by AC0RA over North America.  Paulo, PV8DX has been
> the only South American station I have personally heard and worked.
> Others in the US have reported working him.
>
> I've seen several emails implying it is somewhat esoteric to make
> contacts via AO-73.
>
> AO-73 remains the easiest bird to hear after the loss of VO-52.  It
> doesn't not require much power or high gain antennas to use
> effectively.  If you are not hearing it, you should not increase your
> power.  Many stations are successfully using Elk and Arrow-style
> portable antennas with low-power QRP-style transceivers such as the
> Yaesu FT-817.
>
> Pick a clear downlink frequency in the transponder's pass band.
> Adjust your uplink frequency until you hear your own signal.  It's
> that simple.  Make adjustments to the uplink frequency as necessary so
> that you do not "drift" across the pass band.
>
> Manual tuning is probably best for most stations.  Follow the rule of
> tuning/adjusting your higher frequency (the UHF uplink.)   You can you
> use computer control via SatPC32 if you keep your fingers on the +/-
> buttons and pay close attention to the frequency.
>
> It's exciting to see some new stations getting on the SSB birds and
> using AO-73 in their rover plans!!!
>
> 73
> Clayton
> W5PFG
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