[amsat-bb] [Video] National Parks on The Air - Satellite Activation - Blue Ridge Parkway

[John Brier]

https://youtu.be/EyXZ59-t8BQ

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Stations contacted:

01) K8II
02) NP4JV
03) W7JSD
04) N6UA
05) KC3FHV
06) NX9B
07) W5CBF
08) KD8ATF
09) KD8VRX
10) K8YSE

This was filmed on Sunday July 17th, 2016 on the Craggy Overlook Trail
on the Blue  North Carolina.

I think this video is pretty fun! This was my first National Parks on
The Air (NPOTA) activation and it couldn't have been more exciting and
beautiful. I made ten contacts, which is the minimum required to get
credit for an NPOTA activation, and half of those contacts were from a
short pileup immediately after I put my call out on the bird, SO-50.

This pass is from Sunday July 17th 2016 but I technically did my first
activation the day before at the same place, and I even made 14
contacts on that near overhead pass, but I had more video sources
(four) from Sunday than Saturday, and I also operated better, with
more efficiency and with less screwups (though not none), than the
Sunday activation.

Saturday felt very hectic as I struggled to operate well while also
tracking the relatively faster moving satellite overhead. If I make a
video of that pass I'm sure it won't seem that bad to others but
that's just how it felt. I probably will make a video of that pass too
but I definitely also want to make more opportunities for me to
experience pileups like this. That's why it was so exciting.

As I said at the end of the video there are three national parks on
the Outer Banks of North Carolina: Cape Lookout, Cape Hatteras and the
 Wright Brothers National Memorial. I'm sure those would be great
places to get some cool video, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to
use my DSLR out in that harsh environment! They'll also just be fun to
visit.

I'm thinking of trying HF operation too as I bet I could get a pileup
there too. Maybe I'll get a Buddipole. That would be a cool addition
to my operating  because over the last year I've done almost
exclusively satellite communications. It would be another opportunity
for a different kind of video too.

Until next time, thanks for watching!

73, John Brier KG4AKV

Links to videos featured at the end:

TOMSK Bandit ISS Repeater:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svnB7h_k7_M

My First Perfect ISS SSTV Image:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7to9uX1sWC4

Equipment I use for ISS Reception:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3JwOwjYIkM

ISS Reception (Kopernik Observatory):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGFEanljOG8