[amsat-bb] Nayif-1 at 0305Z

[Paul Stoetzer]

Made my first QSOs on the Nayif-1 transponder on the 0305Z pass
covering most of North America. I worked AC0RA in Texas, AA5PK in
Texas, NP4JV in Arizona, W5PFG in Texas, and WN9Q in Wisconsin from my
QTH in southwest Washington, DC. I also heard KO4MA in Florida and
NR0T in Minnesota.

Signals were generally strong, with some fading at points. It seems to
work at least as well as AO-73's transponder. As I was operating
manually, I could not precisely evaluate the frequency stability, but
I had no trouble finding myself very quickly. It was much easier than
finding myself on an equivalent pass of AO-73.

Equipment used:

2 x Yaesu FT-817
High Sierra Microwave LNA146FIL preamp
Microset VUR-30 amplifier (about 22 watts max on 70cm)
Arrow II 146/437-14 Antenna (handheld)

Congratulations to the Nayif-1 team on a successful launch and
activation of the satellite!

73,

Paul, N8HM