[amsat-bb] N4HF - SO-50, 1659UTC (east coast) pass, Friday

[Philip Jenkins]

Thanks to the 3 stations I worked today on SO-50. It was quite a different
experience for me....

...because I I was using a Kenwood D72A with headset/microphone and
"manually controlled" Arrow antenna. I couldn't believe the audio quality
difference this time....

...because the last time I made SO-50 QSOs (March 2013, I think), I was
just two different HTs, same Arrow antenna, and a speaker mic (but just for
transmit). The receive radio was using the HT speaker, and hanging out of
my pants' pocket :-) So, yeah, there's a lot I DIDN'T hear the last time I
was on the bird.

If anyone has a recording of todays' (Friday) pass, I'd appreciate hearing
it. My intent today was to listen, to re-familiarize myself with the
protocol, but the satellite was so loud (61 deg pass) and the audio so
great, that when a lull occurred, I thought I'd try it anyway. So I didn't
have a splitter going to an audio recorder (which I need to do soon, as I
plan to (try to) demo SO-50 on loudspeaker at a special event - N4F/ham
radio demo at a 10-day Fair in a couple of weeks; see Sept 2015 QST, pgs 65
and 94 for details).

So my apologies if my QSOs weren't valid, if my protocol wasn't right; I
was a bit nervous that the set-up worked as well as it did. I am AMAZED at
the difference in using a headset! The only station I remember working is
KI4RO, but don't know his gridsquare, so no valid QSO's on my end. So I'll
be back on, but may be after the Fair ends around Sept 20 - and I plan to
use the N4F call from the Fair; does anyone need EM85? :-)

73 de Philip N4HF

(P.S. I have the equipment for linear sats - even HEOs - but let me get
comfortable with SO-50 first, okay?)