[amsat-bb] Can't digipeat APRS thru satellites

[Robert Bruninga]

NO-44 PCSAT is usually only capable of about one good packet per pass.  If
the batteries can get one long 1 second packet out, then it uses up the
batteries for the rest of the pass.  (Very frustrating for control ops when
a user hits it while we are trying to command)...

Bob, Wb4APR

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Johns [mailto:mjohns166 at yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 11:30 AM
To: Robert Bruninga; amsat-bb at amsat.org
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Can't digipeat APRS thru satellites




Thanks for the many replies. I suspect that not using W3ADO-1 may be the
problem.

Listening to the monitor on my IC-9100 my packets sound just fine -- I can
hear no difference between the monitor and ISS downlink so far as quality
and level of the tones are concerned. I've also listened on another nearby
radio and the packets sound right to me. I'd like to be able to look at them
on a scope, but I don't have that capability.


Hearing NO-44 is not the issue. I hear it fine. It just ignores me.

 -- Mark D. Johns, KØMDJ
Decorah, Iowa USA EN43
-----------------------------------------------
"Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out
and your dog would go in."     ---Mark Twain


________________________________
From: Robert Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu>
To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Can't digipeat APRS thru satellites


How are your tones?  About 90% of the packets on the air are overdeviated,
distorted, skewed, unbalanced, not properly emphasized or demphaasized or
neither.  These work "fine" terrestrially when weak signals are not involved
but may be 20 dB or more away from good performance with weak signals or
picky receivers.  I can decode PSAT with 5 bars on the Kenwood TH-D72, but
have no other experience to compare.  I remember good balanced tones did 3
bars on a D700, but typical bad terrestrial signals would not decode
sometimes with all 9 bars!

The ear can tell between good tones (listen to ISS) and bad tones (listen to
144.39!)

We have a bgighawatt experimental air defense radar near Wash DC on tethered
balloon blasting out power at 143 and 149 mHz and all over the place.  I
wonder if PSAT gets overloaded by that?  PSAT does not listen to carrier
detect, so when it has a packet to send, it sends it.

Bob, WB4APR

-----Original Message-----
From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of Mark Johns
via AMSAT-BB
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 9:23 AM
To: AMSAT BB
Subject: [amsat-bb] Can't digipeat APRS thru satellites

My packet setup gets digipeated instantly on terrestrial APRS networks, and
works fine with ARISS, but even with overhead passes on NO-44 and NO-84,
when I copy the birds well, I can't manage to get an APRS packet digipeated.
Even if I crank the power up to 50 watts, using the M2 LEOpack antennas,
those birds simply are deaf to me. I'm sending to CQ via ARISS, as my
reading of the online docs seems to indicate that is appropriate. I've also
tried CQ via PCSAT-1 and CQ via PSAT (for NO-84) but still no joy. I've also
played with TX delay. Nothing works. What am I doing wrong? -- Mark D.
Johns, KØMDJDecorah, Iowa USA
EN43----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor;
if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go
     ---Mark Twain _______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb