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Author Topic: What is the easiest satellite to hit mobile with a  (Read 4083 times)

AA8RF

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What is the easiest satellite to hit mobile with a
« on: April 20, 2003, 11:50:45 PM »

I do most of my hamming mobile. I am running a screwdriver on 40-6m. I can get a 1/4 wave for 2M/440MHz (I hear 1/4 wave is good for hitting all angles in the sky).

What would be a good bird for me to work, and what would I need to get started assuming I know *nothing* about satellite work?

-Jim
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KG4NEL

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What is the easiest satellite to hit mobile with a
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2003, 10:11:24 AM »

Go to http://www.amsat.org for more info - it'll tell you a lot of what you need to know to get started.

The two easiest satellites to work with FM gear are AO-27 and UO-14. They're both low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that provide several passes per day, but are usually packed with stations trying to get into the same transponder. Also, since the satellite is low in orbit and moves quickly, the pass is over in 10 or 15 minutes.

To work it, you'll need either a "true" dual band radio with two VFOs, or two radios, because you need to be able to listen to your signal on one frequency while transmitting on the other. Your uplink is going to be on 2 meters, so you can use your 1/4-wave antenna. The downlink is going to be on UHF. However, you'll need a small yagi to get a good signal from the satellite.

If you don't mind spending an extra $70 or so, get something called an "Arrow Antenna". This is a portable yagi antenna with 3 elements on 2 meters and 7 (?) elements on 440 mHz. Most ham places (AES, Universal, HRO) stock them. That's all you'll need for both the uplink antenna and the downlink antenna to the satellite.

Hope this helps you get started - most of all, read the stuff on AMSAT's page. There's a lot of good background material there for someone who's just getting their feet wet in this.

73,

Jim
KG4NEL
FM06



 
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KA8VIT

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What is the easiest satellite to hit mobile with a
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2003, 03:12:52 PM »

I know the ISS is not on the air these days.  Haven't heard anything since March 1st, except for a couple of pre-arranged SAREX contacts, but I worked the ISS in August of 2002, using a Radio Shack HTX-202 HT putting 7 watts into a quarter-wave mag-mount on the car.

You can see the QSL card I got at http://www.qsl.net/ka8vit/iss/iss.htm

Click the link at the bottom of the page.

73,

Bill  KA8VIT
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N6AJR

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What is the easiest satellite to hit mobile with a
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2003, 08:54:47 PM »

uo-14 is good , and W6FZOG.com is a good site, and a hand held arrow antenna helps,
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N6AJR

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What is the easiest satellite to hit mobile with a
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2003, 09:04:25 PM »

that would be W6FOG.com , sorry about the typo
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