[amsat-bb] PSK on NO-84, no joy

[Scott]

Keep trying, George!

On this last pass, I saw another station pop up for a second but didn't
decode the call cleanly - bet that was you.

20 watts will definitely work depending on the characteristics of your
antenna.  I experimented w/ 5 watts on my long wire and got into the
transponder just fine.  However, to get a bit more range I run 35 or so
generally.  I'm guessing that it helps that my antenna is so low to the
ground (~15 ft on average).

I know zero about the 10 meter band, but it never ceases to amaze me that a
long wire  stretched across a heavily wooded yard can be heard by a
satellite only 10-15 degrees above the horizon.  I'll bet your antenna &
power output will do fine depending on what direction the satellite is
coming from.

If I might add, I closely monitor the 'ALC' level on my FT-857d throughout
the pass.  As the radio heats up, I have to make small adjustments to the
TX audio level from the Signalink to keep a bar or two showing on the ALC
meter.  That's my feedback of what audio level I'm sending out, and there
is a CLEAR difference in my PSK31 signal on the downlink when I adjust the
TX audio to maintain an appropriate level.

-Scott,  K4KDR

=======================

On Mon, Mar 23, 2020 at 4:19 PM George Henry via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:

> Not seeming to have any luck with PSK31 on NO-84...  I am seeing and
> decoding the beacon and other stations okay, but don't see my signal in the
> waterfall.  Using DopplerPSK for the uplink and FLdigi for the downlink.
>
> I suspect that my meager 20 watts to a dipole isn't cutting it...
>
> George, KA3HSW
>