[amsat-bb] BY70-1 Observation & Question

[Mike Diehl]

Ted,

I worked the last pass over SoCal from my driveway with 500mW. I had little trouble getting in once it cleared the local obstructions. 

Hand guided Elk with VFO Doppler tuning. I think most people have outdated keps so they're way off. I've worked this bird a couple times now and never over 2.5W with 817 as an uplink. As usual, QRO isn't the answer. 

73's

Mike Diehl
AI6GS 

> On Jan 2, 2017, at 8:42 PM, Ted <k7trkradio at charter.net> wrote:
> 
> Scott, John, K8YSE is the Gold Standard, so I'm looking forward to his reply to your question. (I'm waiting before dabbling with BY70-1, but we better be quick !)
> 
> HNY and 73, Ted
> K7TRK
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of Scott
> Sent: Monday, January 2, 2017 8:13 PM
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: [amsat-bb] BY70-1 Observation & Question
> 
> Happy New Year to everyone.
> 
> So for the second evening in a row, as I monitored BY70-1 for telemetry packets, I noticed performance on the FM voice transponder that prompts me to ask a question.
> 
> Specifically, I hear K8YSE getting into the satellite with a crystal clearness that you would expect from a simplex QSO with someone in your front yard.  Unfortunately, he’s been by himself for the most part... a station or two might try to get in but you just get fragments or a lot of static.
> 
> As a novice, should that make me think that this satellite requires a lot of ERP to get into cleanly?  Or maybe with the TLE’s changing so rapidly, is this sat just more difficult to track than the others?
> 
> One other variable tonight is the weather; I suppose anyone using a hand-held antenna who normally works outside might be off the air because of all the rain in parts of the country right now.  Maybe it’s just a lot of football on TV!
> 
> I know that any answer might be speculation, but when I hear something happen on the air repeatedly it makes me want to see if I can learn the cause (or possible causes).   
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -Scott,  K4KDR
> Montpelier, VA
> twitter:  @scott23192
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> _______________________________________________
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