[amsat-bb] OSCAR-Locator & Amateur Satellite Report Number 154

[Bob]

Hi Les,

I have my Oscar Locator tucked away in a box from a move -- will need to
dig it out.  I remember being maybe a half hour away from a pass and
fumbling with the locator to get a better estimate of the time.  I finished
with the locator right about when the pass began, so I wasn't the fastest
with it.  If I recall, it required a list of equatorial crossing times (one
per day per satellite) that was published in QST.  Don't recall if they
sent them via bulletin.  But after you saw a list of values, you could
predict future ones fairly well.

Can't imagine using that for 16+ different birds today, but it is fun to
look back when there was only one (or a few).  I think mine was for OSCAR
6, and there were later versions that did additional birds.

I only found one reference to using it:
http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2016-May/058803.html

If you ever come up with instructions, please share!

73, Bob, WB4SON



On Fri, Feb 22, 2019 at 6:44 PM Les Rayburn <les at highnoonfilm.com> wrote:

> Today’s mail brought me a vintage cardboard “OSCAR-Locator” purchased on
> QRZ.com. Also included was a back issue of the Amateur Satellite Report
> newsletter, Number 154 from July 27, 1987.
>
> I love collecting items related to the history of amateur satellites. The
> OSCAR-Locator is really neat—I’m digging through back issues of QST now
> trying to learn how to actually use it. Don’t think I’ll be giving up
> SatPC32 anytime soon however.
>
> Remember back even further when hams plotted satellite passes using a
> string and a globe? Remember watching my elmer, Ron Murray WA4IWN (SK) do
> that back in the day.
>
>
> 73,
>
> Les Rayburn, N1LF
> Maylene, AL
> EM63nf
> AMSAT #38965, ARRL Life Member, CVHS Life Member, SVHF Member
>
>
>
>
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