WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:06.059 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:13.000 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.679 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:22.899 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:22.899 --> 00:00:31.969 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:31.969 --> 00:01:06.519 we go, welcome to Amtok Fly. Hey, good evening, 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:10.040 everyone. It's time for HamTalk Live. It's episode 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:15.980 number 218. Satellite etiquette and hosting special 00:01:15.980 --> 00:01:19.840 events recorded live on Thursday, June 25th, 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:24.540 2020. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9 VPG. Thanks 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:27.200 for tuning in to this episode of HamTalk Live. 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:31.959 Tonight we're joined by Kevin Zari KK4 YEL and 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:35.700 Robert Bankston KE4AL and we'll take your calls 00:01:35.700 --> 00:01:39.239 live in a few minutes. Last week Paul Bork was 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:42.870 here in 1SFE. To talk about field day, and that's 00:01:42.870 --> 00:01:45.230 coming up this weekend, so if you missed that 00:01:45.230 --> 00:01:49.069 show, you can listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:52.489 or your favorite podcast app or YouTube. Because 00:01:52.489 --> 00:01:55.790 of the rule changes, there were some interesting 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:59.629 questions last week and some interesting discussions 00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:04.049 on what class to run. uh... how the club scoring 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:06.510 works and everything so if you missed that i 00:02:06.510 --> 00:02:09.270 i'd encourage you to to go back and listen to 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:12.150 that when we did it a week early because of uh... 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:14.710 all the questions and some scheduling issues 00:02:14.710 --> 00:02:17.490 uh... as well actually but it worked out well 00:02:17.490 --> 00:02:20.750 uh... that we did it a little bit early so uh... 00:02:20.750 --> 00:02:23.270 check that out hope to hear you on the field 00:02:23.270 --> 00:02:27.599 day this weekend and uh... will talk uh... a 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:30.460 little bit more about that tonight actually with 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:33.099 the satellite contact because there is a bonus 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:35.960 for that so we'll talk a little bit about that 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:38.900 so if you missed it go back and catch that on 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:42.759 hamtalklive .com and don't forget we're rebroadcast 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:48.759 on WTWW that's 50 85 a .m saturday afternoons 00:02:49.050 --> 00:02:52.189 And that's about 3 .30 p .m. Eastern Time when 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:56.009 we're on for that. So get your questions ready 00:02:56.009 --> 00:02:59.849 to go here for Kevin and for Robert. If you're 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:02.710 listening to us live on Thursday night, you can 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:06.069 call after the interview. I'll go ahead and give 00:03:06.069 --> 00:03:08.650 you the number so you have it and write it down. 00:03:08.889 --> 00:03:11.490 Punch it into your phone. Don't call it just 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:13.909 yet though, because we're going to talk first. 00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:17.150 and get some of the obvious stuff out of the 00:03:17.150 --> 00:03:23.289 way. But that phone number to call is 859 -982 00:03:23.289 --> 00:03:32.030 -7373. Again, 859 -982 -7373. You can also tweet 00:03:32.030 --> 00:03:34.710 us. It's at HamTalk Live on Twitter. Some people 00:03:34.710 --> 00:03:37.169 actually already sent in some tweets, so we already 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:40.270 have a couple. So you can do that whenever you 00:03:40.270 --> 00:03:44.400 like and we'll check that as we go out. throughout 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:48.639 the evening, I should say, and I'll check those 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:50.879 and the comments on Spreaker as well. And I'll 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.439 be back with Kevin and Robert right after this 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.740 word from Tower Electronics right here on HamTalk 00:03:56.740 --> 00:04:02.300 Live. Jerry, what's up, man? I haven't seen you 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:05.199 at Sunbucks in a while. I used to see you every 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:08.719 morning getting coffee. What's up? Well, I can't 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:11.810 afford Sunbucks five days a week anymore. I had 00:04:11.810 --> 00:04:15.530 to spend my money on PL -259s. You know, those 00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:18.250 antenna projects I've been meaning to do. I had 00:04:18.250 --> 00:04:21.550 to do them before my HOA finds out I have antennas. 00:04:22.430 --> 00:04:24.910 That's too bad, Jerry. I miss seeing you and 00:04:24.910 --> 00:04:27.310 catching up over coffee. You should get your 00:04:27.310 --> 00:04:30.769 PL -259s from Tower Electronics. They have great 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:39.259 stuff. Jerry, you're back! Oh! QRM Heterodyne 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:42.339 Frappuccino. That's a good choice. How's it going? 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:44.819 Did you get all those antennas up before the 00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:48.579 HOA police showed up? Yeah, I got them all done. 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:51.100 Thanks for telling me about tower electronics. 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:54.329 Now I can have my coffee. I just saved a bunch 00:04:54.329 --> 00:04:58.430 of money on my PL259s by switching to Tower Electronics. 00:04:58.850 --> 00:05:01.910 Don't get caught without PL259s. Visit Tower 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:06.629 Electronics online at PL -259 .com or at a ham 00:05:06.629 --> 00:05:10.649 fest near you or give them a call at 920 -435 00:05:10.649 --> 00:05:14.209 -2973 and be sure to pick up some power poles, 00:05:14.389 --> 00:05:18.329 adapters and cables too. We're not sure what's 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.730 up with the fifth dentist. but four out of five 00:05:20.730 --> 00:05:23.769 dentists recommend listening to HamTalk Live. 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:45.009 Welcome back to HamTalk Live thanks to Scott 00:05:45.009 --> 00:05:47.689 and Jill at Tower Electronics for sponsoring 00:05:47.689 --> 00:05:50.939 the show tonight. To help bring you HamTalk live, 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:53.660 they'll be back on the HamFest trail as soon 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:56.000 as all this pandemic stuff settles down, but 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:03.579 you can reach them online anytime at PL -259 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:10.300 .com. My guest tonight, Kevin Zari, KK4YEL, was 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:13.759 licensed in 2014 and went from nothing to extra 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:17.029 all in that same year. He is the president. of 00:06:17.029 --> 00:06:19.290 the Kennedy Space Center Amateur Radio Club, 00:06:19.410 --> 00:06:23.329 N1KSC. He revived the club after it had been 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:26.170 idle for a number of years. He is a graduate 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:29.310 of Florida Tech and spent 17 years as a payload 00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:32.410 test engineer with NASA. Especially for the Space 00:06:32.410 --> 00:06:34.850 Shuttle program, he is now the International 00:06:34.850 --> 00:06:37.870 Space Station Integration Manager and Acting 00:06:37.870 --> 00:06:41.189 Chief of the Strategic Implementation Office 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:44.889 at Kennedy Space Center. Kevin enjoys operating 00:06:44.889 --> 00:06:47.389 satellites and Whisper and has built his own 00:06:47.389 --> 00:06:51.279 kit just for Whisper. Robert Bankston, KE4AL, 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:54.459 is from Dothan, Alabama and is the vice president 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:58.819 of user services and the treasurer of AMSAT. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:02.220 He is a certified public accountant and a principal 00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:04.899 in the accounting advisory tax and assurance 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:07.860 services group of an accounting firm. And he 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:11.180 reserved his BBA and MBA in accounting, graduating 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:14.740 with honors from Troy University. And he enjoys 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:18.779 operating satellites, QRP, and portable. So Robert, 00:07:18.860 --> 00:07:21.000 welcome to the show. And Kevin, welcome back. 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.540 Thank you very much. Thanks so much. Yeah, it 00:07:25.540 --> 00:07:28.379 was good to catch up with you a little bit before 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:33.899 the show and just You know all kinds of things 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:39.079 going on this weekend I was in another meeting 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.980 right before this and we had a great virtual 00:07:41.980 --> 00:07:44.519 Yoda day yesterday and now we've got field day 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:47.899 coming up and it's all kind of Kind of piling 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:49.819 up here. So we're going to talk a little bit 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:52.019 about field day tonight, but also we want to 00:07:52.019 --> 00:07:55.560 look at Some special events that have happened 00:07:55.560 --> 00:08:00.579 in the past and also we want to talk about some 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:02.899 satellite operation and we know that a lot of 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.779 people are going to try for that bonus this weekend. 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:09.639 That's a field day thing that a lot of people 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:12.939 who normally aren't on satellites will you know 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:15.480 give it a shot and so you know you want to prepare 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:17.839 for that and so tonight we're going to we're 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:20.060 going to talk a little bit about satellite etiquette 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:25.540 and you know aside from field day because field 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:29.509 day just kind of turns into a big mess but But 00:08:29.509 --> 00:08:31.850 we want to talk a little bit about satellite 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:35.230 etiquette because it seems like, and we were 00:08:35.230 --> 00:08:38.750 even talking about this before the show, it seems 00:08:38.750 --> 00:08:45.110 like the operating etiquette on especially some 00:08:45.110 --> 00:08:48.470 of the FM birds, it's kind of like it used to 00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:54.100 be on weekends. It's jam -packed. people are 00:08:54.100 --> 00:08:57.960 kind of getting cut off and some things are happening 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:02.200 that there's just only room for so many people. 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:04.580 And so we want to talk about some things that 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:09.440 can help with satellite operation tonight. So, 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.080 you know, we've talked a few times about it on 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:14.419 the show. There's still a lot of opportunities 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:16.580 for learning out there and we don't want people, 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:19.539 you know, getting bent out of shape, you know. 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:23.129 No, we're not telling you what to say and what 00:09:23.129 --> 00:09:27.129 to do and what you have to do But we do have 00:09:27.129 --> 00:09:30.809 some ideas about how you can make the most of 00:09:30.809 --> 00:09:35.330 that very limited amount of time and on Satellites 00:09:35.330 --> 00:09:37.970 you don't have courtesy tones, you know on repeaters 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:41.490 people kind of get Spaced out a little bit from 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:43.610 the courtesy tone You wait for the courtesy tone 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:45.570 and you know that gives a chance for somebody 00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:49.049 to pop in there if if they need to and they wait 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:53.440 And we don't have that on satellites. And there's 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:59.360 a lot of competition for that limited amount 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:01.419 of time. And, you know, a repeater, it's there 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:04.820 24 -7. A satellite, you get, you know, 10 minutes 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:10.039 at a time, pretty much, and that's it. And it's 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:13.860 an exercise in making things concise and really 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:17.299 making things quick. and and get your contact 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:21.299 and get out and let somebody else in and We've 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:24.379 all done stupid things on the air and and ham 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:27.000 badges does a great job of reminding us about 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:30.639 those in a fun way We're all guilty of doing 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.480 things that you know may have kept somebody off 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:37.019 or may have kept somebody else from being able 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:40.220 to make a contact too, but Hopefully we learn 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:42.539 from it. So that's kind of what tonight is about 00:10:42.889 --> 00:10:45.570 So let's talk about some of the things that we 00:10:45.570 --> 00:10:51.250 should set as our ideal so that we can get the 00:10:51.250 --> 00:10:53.850 most contacts but other people can too and make 00:10:53.850 --> 00:10:58.389 the most out of this very limited time. So, Kevin? 00:10:59.990 --> 00:11:05.350 Yeah, great point, Neil. First off, you're correct, 00:11:05.409 --> 00:11:07.950 right? We've all made mistakes and I think this 00:11:07.950 --> 00:11:11.370 is really kind of... trying to help folks get 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:16.690 a good idea of best practices. While the operating 00:11:16.690 --> 00:11:19.429 on satellites does add some unique aspects, like 00:11:19.429 --> 00:11:22.269 you mentioned, I think really the most important 00:11:22.269 --> 00:11:25.330 thing with satellite operation is no different 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:28.230 than when you operate on an FM repeater or even 00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:32.350 maybe during an HF contest. It's like the number 00:11:32.350 --> 00:11:36.230 one rule. You should listen first. Listen before 00:11:36.230 --> 00:11:41.980 you talk. I think it's something that is a courtesy, 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:45.399 and of course you don't want to cause undesired 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:48.759 interference because there might be another transmission, 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:52.720 another QSO happening at the same time. So along 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.419 those lines of listening first, I think one of 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:57.440 the first things I've learned, the most important 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.200 things I've learned from seasoned satellite operators 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:05.399 like Patrick, WD9EWK, He mentions in a lot of 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:07.840 his articles that you really need to operate 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.740 in full duplex. And full duplex is important 00:12:11.740 --> 00:12:15.340 because you actually hear the downlink of the 00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:18.240 satellite even while you're transmitting up to 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:22.779 the satellite. And there are some full duplex 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:25.240 radios out there. For example, Kenwood has a 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:29.399 model, the THD72A. But you can even do it with 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:33.659 two simplex radios hooked up. At the same time, 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:37.139 but you really do need to operate in full duplex 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:40.460 Because it's all about being able to listen you 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:43.539 need to listen first and if you if you can't 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:46.879 hear the downlink of the satellite While you're 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:49.740 transmitting up to it you wouldn't be able to 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:52.360 stop transmitting if by accident you were causing 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:55.740 some doubling right and Another thing with the 00:12:55.740 --> 00:12:58.659 full duplex is you can easily know that you're 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:01.639 getting into the bird And if you're able to hear 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:05.639 yourself in the downlink as you're transmitting, 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:08.639 you can be rest assured everyone else can hear 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.220 you, everyone that's in that footprint of the 00:13:11.220 --> 00:13:15.259 satellite. So I think listening first is definitely 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:18.139 one of the most important ideals, if you will. 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:23.039 Also, that relies on having a good antenna set 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:26.259 up that can hear. And just because you look at 00:13:26.259 --> 00:13:29.159 YouTube and you see somebody being able to get 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:33.559 on satellites using an HT with its rubber duck 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:36.580 antenna, you probably shouldn't do that, right? 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:40.779 And there's some other aspects of equipment that 00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:43.159 I think Robert might be talking, so we'll let 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:48.179 him talk on that in a bit. One other thing, Neil, 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:52.879 I think is just about courtesy. If the satellite, 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:56.740 for example, is quiet and you don't hear anything 00:13:56.740 --> 00:14:00.759 on it, you probably should call your call sign 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:04.799 in your grid. And if nobody answers, and you 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:06.659 should know because you've heard yourself in 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.299 the downlink since you're operating in full duplex, 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:11.940 if nobody answers you, there's really no need 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:14.700 to call out your call sign again every five seconds, 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:18.139 every 10 seconds. Stand by, wait a little bit. 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:21.090 Perhaps give the satellite a chance to move over 00:14:21.090 --> 00:14:24.309 to a different footprint over some new territory, 00:14:24.549 --> 00:14:28.970 and then try it again. But that's pretty important, 00:14:28.970 --> 00:14:33.990 I think, as far as operating. If there is activity 00:14:33.990 --> 00:14:36.649 on it, again, be courteous. Wait until people 00:14:36.649 --> 00:14:40.090 finish their QSO before you try to call a station. 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:43.480 So you don't wait until you hear silence because 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:45.679 the silence might be the person waiting for the 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:48.639 other person to come back to them. It means wait 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:53.840 until the QSO is complete. So please don't call 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:56.379 the Robert if you know Robert's trying to call 00:14:56.379 --> 00:14:59.740 Neil. Let there be a chance for the exchange 00:14:59.740 --> 00:15:03.000 of their call signs and their grids. And when 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.639 that's over, then go ahead and call Robert or 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:08.700 Neil or whoever you want. I think it's important. 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:12.940 It's also important to know how folks are using 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:15.480 satellites. And one of the fun things about satellites 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.039 is being able to collect the maidenhead grids 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:23.340 that folks are in. And as part of that, sometimes 00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:27.460 people, they travel, they take long trips and 00:15:27.460 --> 00:15:29.940 they'll go to a grid that's kind of rare where 00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:32.080 maybe there's not a lot of satellite operators. 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:36.399 We call that roving, Neil. And that roving is 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:40.600 like kind of a very coveted thing that you might 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:45.019 want or you might need that rare grid. So having 00:15:45.019 --> 00:15:47.899 situational awareness of knowing who's on the 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:50.899 satellite and from where they're operating is 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:54.820 probably another one of the etiquette scenarios 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:58.299 that we should point out. And I'll just mention 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:01.500 there's various tools to kind of know when these 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:04.840 roves are occurring. We've got online presence 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:08.580 in things like Twitter or the AMSAT webpage. 00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:12.159 has a page that lists when folks are going to 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:15.500 be operating from different grids. And even on 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:18.519 DMR, we've got a weekly net that's run on Wednesday 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:23.460 evenings on our AMSAT talk group on DMR where 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:26.299 you can learn about who's roving and when. So 00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:29.799 to kind of summarize, I think listening first, 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.460 operating in full duplex, and maintaining that 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:36.799 situational awareness are all ideals that we 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.690 should try to strive for. Yeah, you know just 00:16:40.690 --> 00:16:45.669 was on yesterday and and I remember you know 00:16:45.669 --> 00:16:51.549 I made a call and You know immediately somebody 00:16:51.549 --> 00:16:53.929 called me and it's like wait a minute I was trying 00:16:53.929 --> 00:16:57.250 to call this other person and you know and that 00:16:57.250 --> 00:16:59.590 happens and you know like I said We've all done 00:16:59.590 --> 00:17:02.370 that and and you know part of my transmission 00:17:02.370 --> 00:17:06.660 was cut off so you know They probably weren't 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:09.380 sure who I was calling. So yeah, that's gonna 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:13.140 happen, you know sometimes but but the ideal 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:17.819 is You know wait until you're called or you call 00:17:17.819 --> 00:17:24.319 someone Filling up time with your call sign and 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:26.559 grid over and over and over again when other 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:31.069 people are trying to Actually call somebody kind 00:17:31.069 --> 00:17:34.970 of gets in the way a little bit. So Robert, what 00:17:34.970 --> 00:17:39.130 do you have to add here on this? Listening is 00:17:39.130 --> 00:17:42.450 absolutely the best thing to do. Not only do 00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:44.490 you know what's going on, but you kind of get 00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:48.990 a rhythm of how it's working. It's really no 00:17:48.990 --> 00:17:53.990 different than for guys on HF that chase DX expeditions. 00:17:54.250 --> 00:17:57.569 So you hear P5 comes up on the air, it is going 00:17:57.569 --> 00:18:02.160 to be a big dog pile. And listening, finding 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:05.099 out how they're operating and how you can slip 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:08.019 in there and make your contacts is the best advice 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:11.480 I can give to you. And then remember that everybody 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.019 is on the satellites for a different reason. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:17.720 And so you have to respect those. So if you think 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:21.559 somebody step on you, we waste so much time contradicting 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:25.299 each other on the satellites. So just know. Try 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:27.839 to be a little courteous, a little understanding 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.519 of what's going on. Maybe somebody's new. Maybe 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:35.920 it's a new ham, a young ham. And they're just 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.579 learning. So take the time and put aside your 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:42.700 own personal ambitions for that pass and help 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:45.779 them out. And then we all become better for it. 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:52.640 It's just always good to listen. And, you know, 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:57.859 my mentor, my Elmer, said, you know, he was one 00:18:57.859 --> 00:19:00.339 of his favorite sayings was they shouldn't call 00:19:00.339 --> 00:19:03.440 it a PTT, a push to talk button. It should be 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:11.140 the RLL or the RTL, release to listen. And, you 00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:13.299 know, the more I think about it, the more that's 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:16.720 true, because You know, if I hear a satellite 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:19.799 fading out and, you know, and I know it's going 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:22.960 to come back in a minute or so, I'm not getting 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.339 on there and calling because I'm just going to 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:27.019 eat up bandwidth and I'm not going to get anything 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:31.059 out of it. And I'm going to mess up somebody 00:19:31.059 --> 00:19:34.680 else's call. And so, you know, if you can't hear 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:38.140 it, then don't, don't transmit. And that's where 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:41.809 that full duplex comes into was. If you can hear 00:19:41.809 --> 00:19:43.849 whether you're getting there or not, and if you're 00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:47.009 interfering or not, that just makes things a 00:19:47.009 --> 00:19:52.410 whole lot easier. Go ahead, Kevin. No, I'm sorry, 00:19:52.509 --> 00:19:54.410 Neil. I just wanted to say one additional thing, 00:19:54.450 --> 00:19:56.910 which I think is kind of obvious, but it's probably 00:19:56.910 --> 00:19:59.950 important to know. When you are new and you're 00:19:59.950 --> 00:20:03.190 listening, sometimes you're going to get examples 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:07.349 of what to do, and other times what you're listening 00:20:07.349 --> 00:20:12.019 to. will be examples of how not to act. And so 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:15.539 with a lot of new folks, you can imagine they 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:18.059 might listen for a day. We're given great advice, 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:21.099 right? Listen first. Spend a couple of passes 00:20:21.099 --> 00:20:24.220 listening, maybe a couple of days on different 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:26.119 times of the day, understanding when it might 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:29.599 be busy, when it's not busy. And sometimes you 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:32.319 might hear the very things that we're suggesting 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:35.059 not to do. Sometimes you might hear a station 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:37.480 that's calling over and over and over again. 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:41.039 or stepping on top of somebody. So I just want 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:45.420 to say, when we mention listen, listening and 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:49.359 also being self -aware and trying to understand 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.299 that what you're hearing is like what Robert 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:54.940 and Kevin were mentioning or hey, that's exactly 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:58.440 what they're saying not to do. So just kind of 00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:02.279 get that situational awareness and listen and 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:05.500 say to yourself, geez, does that sound like that 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:08.759 operator did what? What made the most sense on 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:11.660 this pass and it's a tool for you to learn what 00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:15.200 to do also and sometimes what not to do That's 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:20.400 kind of what I wanted to add And I think it even 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.299 in net situations sometimes in net situations 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:26.759 There's there's a time that you can get on and 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:31.059 you know talk and converse and but then you know 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:33.819 if there's an emergency then you got to keep 00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:37.589 everything concise and and I think That's a balance 00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:41.230 that a lot of people have trouble finding is, 00:21:41.230 --> 00:21:44.529 you know, sure, on a satellite when there's nobody 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.869 around and you're trying to drum up business, 00:21:47.869 --> 00:21:50.170 you know, you're trying to get some activity 00:21:50.170 --> 00:21:52.670 going, yeah, you may throw your call sign and 00:21:52.670 --> 00:21:57.470 your grid out there a few times on a pass. But 00:21:57.470 --> 00:22:01.069 when it's busy, you know, just throwing your 00:22:01.069 --> 00:22:04.430 call sign out there is just, it's just eating 00:22:04.430 --> 00:22:08.460 up time. and it doesn't serve a purpose and when 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:11.299 you have such limited time that's what makes 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:14.339 this different is when you have such limited 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:17.599 time there's only 10 minutes and everybody's 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:21.799 got to get in there it just becomes really important 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:28.259 so again we're all making mistakes okay it it's 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:31.039 just you know These are the ideals. These are 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.259 what we're striving for. Well Robert Let's talk 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:36.480 a little bit about field day because field day 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:40.380 is a time when The FM satellites are jam -packed 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:44.109 even more than they are on weekends And by the 00:22:44.109 --> 00:22:47.150 way, Sean Kutsko, KX9X, wrote a great article 00:22:47.150 --> 00:22:50.849 back in 2008 in QST in the Field Day edition 00:22:50.849 --> 00:22:54.109 about working satellites on Field Day that has 00:22:54.109 --> 00:22:57.309 a lot of great suggestions like work a satellite 00:22:57.309 --> 00:23:02.190 contact before the chaos of Field Day. What are 00:23:02.190 --> 00:23:06.710 some things that people should be doing before 00:23:06.710 --> 00:23:10.609 Field Day this weekend for for satellite operation 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:13.529 and then maybe even a little bit about, you know, 00:23:13.609 --> 00:23:18.470 what to do during field day this weekend. Okay. 00:23:18.609 --> 00:23:21.869 Well, anybody that's, uh, listened to a field 00:23:21.869 --> 00:23:26.029 day satellite contacts, you know, pass, uh, it's 00:23:26.029 --> 00:23:29.309 just total chaos. So all the rules go out the 00:23:29.309 --> 00:23:32.089 window. Uh, and it's just everybody fighting 00:23:32.089 --> 00:23:35.369 for themselves. And what that is, is we've got, 00:23:35.410 --> 00:23:37.390 you know, satellite passes are normally busy. 00:23:38.329 --> 00:23:40.849 There's a lot of people, it's not like your local 00:23:40.849 --> 00:23:43.769 repeater that can just talk, collect everybody 00:23:43.769 --> 00:23:45.990 locally. Satellite passes, you can get a pass 00:23:45.990 --> 00:23:48.890 that covers the entire United States at one time. 00:23:49.230 --> 00:23:51.390 So there's a lot of people that can access that. 00:23:52.650 --> 00:23:54.710 So those are your normal satellite operators, 00:23:54.769 --> 00:23:57.549 so it's always busy. And now we're gonna compound 00:23:57.549 --> 00:24:01.529 that with Field Day, where every licensed amateur 00:24:01.529 --> 00:24:04.740 radio operator is gonna try and... get on and 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:07.480 get that 100 points for their club or for their 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:11.500 station. So that puts a little incentive and 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:14.359 it brings in a lot of people that don't normally 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:19.059 work satellites. It gets a little crazy. And 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:22.640 on top, if that's not enough, AMSAT also runs 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:24.680 a satellite field day competition at the same 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:29.339 time on the same satellites. So, you know, AWRL 00:24:29.339 --> 00:24:32.569 gives you 100 points for a single contact. You 00:24:32.569 --> 00:24:33.950 know, you don't get anything extra for making 00:24:33.950 --> 00:24:37.730 two. However, AMSAT's field day awards points 00:24:37.730 --> 00:24:40.230 based on the total number of sack quesos you 00:24:40.230 --> 00:24:44.930 make and also by mode. So the more contacts you 00:24:44.930 --> 00:24:48.670 make, the higher score you occur. So it's really 00:24:48.670 --> 00:24:51.549 just compounding the situation a little bit more. 00:24:53.150 --> 00:24:55.190 So what all this means is that the birds are 00:24:55.190 --> 00:24:59.430 going to get really busy this weekend. And as 00:24:59.430 --> 00:25:04.970 bad as that sounds, There's still hope. So let's 00:25:04.970 --> 00:25:08.210 talk about some stuff that will help increase 00:25:08.210 --> 00:25:12.670 your chances and hopefully make a contact during 00:25:12.670 --> 00:25:16.690 all this mess. So first, unless you do satellite 00:25:16.690 --> 00:25:20.210 passes all the time, I'd highly recommend that 00:25:20.210 --> 00:25:22.769 you do yourself and everyone else a favor by 00:25:22.769 --> 00:25:26.049 getting on and working a few passes before the 00:25:26.049 --> 00:25:32.200 Royal Rumble kicks off. You know, even if I go 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:33.859 a couple weeks without getting on a satellite 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:36.079 pass, I still clunk around there. So we want 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:38.779 to knock those cobwebs off and make sure our 00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:41.099 equipment's working right. So speaking of equipment, 00:25:41.859 --> 00:25:43.299 that's the first thing you need to do is make 00:25:43.299 --> 00:25:46.319 sure you got everything and it's all function 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:49.039 as it's intended to and that your batteries are 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:52.339 fully charged. I remember when I went to hamcation 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:57.950 this last February, I brought all my SAT gear 00:25:57.950 --> 00:26:01.349 with me and I forgot the PTT switch, so I have 00:26:01.349 --> 00:26:03.329 no way to make contact. So number one, make sure 00:26:03.329 --> 00:26:06.349 you got everything, make sure it's working. Next 00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:07.910 thing you want to do is make sure you've got 00:26:07.910 --> 00:26:10.210 some fresh KEPs, the Keplerian elements that 00:26:10.210 --> 00:26:12.210 go in your satellite tracking program, so you 00:26:12.210 --> 00:26:16.369 know exactly what the satellite pass is. You 00:26:16.369 --> 00:26:18.890 could be a couple minutes off and that can make 00:26:18.890 --> 00:26:20.930 the difference between you not making it in a 00:26:20.930 --> 00:26:25.630 pass and do make it on the pass. Next thing is 00:26:25.630 --> 00:26:28.579 to Make sure that you know what satellites are 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:30.799 working. They don't always work. They don't always 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.799 work at the same time each day. Some require 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:36.140 to be in sunlight. Some require not to be in 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:38.500 sunlight. So make sure you're up to date on those 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:40.980 if you haven't been on a while. And you want 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:44.039 to make sure that your frequencies or if you 00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:46.400 store them in memory that they're all set and 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:48.180 or if you use a little handy reference sheet 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:51.319 that you got that handy. And then the last thing 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:53.099 that you want to do is make sure that you still 00:26:53.099 --> 00:26:55.279 remember how to track that satellite. Remember 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:58.160 about the you know, the antenna mismatch that 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:00.380 occurs as the satellite tumbles in space, so 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:03.019 you got to work on that polarization twist. And 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:06.019 then you also want to refresh your memory about 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:09.839 the Doppler shift and how to adjust the frequencies. 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:15.359 All the FM birds are UHF on the uplink, means 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:16.720 you're going to be transmitting on that, you're 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:21.960 going to be adjusting your Doppler shift. on 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:25.720 your uplink and then your VHF. It still has a 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:27.599 little Doppler shift, but it's not near as much, 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:30.339 so you don't really need to shift your frequency. 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.920 Over on the linear satellites, most of those 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:37.680 are UHF uplink and a VHF downlink, but there 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.039 are some that are VHF uplink, so it's a completely 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:43.519 different scenario. So just refresh your memory 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.920 before you go jumping on a satellite and make 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:47.599 sure you're turning that dial the correct way. 00:27:49.869 --> 00:27:52.410 So, all those things I just talked about, those 00:27:52.410 --> 00:27:55.450 are the critical things that you need to do to 00:27:55.450 --> 00:27:58.329 get ready for this satellite battle that's fixing 00:27:58.329 --> 00:28:07.690 to start. I like that, the Royal Rumble. But 00:28:07.690 --> 00:28:11.049 not only is knowing what to do and making sure 00:28:11.049 --> 00:28:13.089 you know how to do it, you also got to think 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:15.319 of a strategy. that's going to help you make 00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:17.079 that contact. Because if you just think, OK, 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:21.160 I'm just going to jump on AO 91 or 92 and get 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:23.339 my contact, get my 100 points, and call it a 00:28:23.339 --> 00:28:26.980 weekend, then it's going to work out that way. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:29.380 So the first thing that I always recommend is 00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:31.539 pick the right satellite and the right satellite 00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:36.500 pass. So right now, if my numbers are correct, 00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:39.680 I think we've got four FM satellites that work. 00:28:41.619 --> 00:28:45.039 We've got 12 linear satellites. And we've got 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:47.660 a couple of digital satellites. So that's a whole 00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:49.720 lot you can choose from depending on what type 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:52.859 of equipment you have. So the FM birds are AO 00:28:52.859 --> 00:28:58.119 -91, AO -92, SO -50, and PO -101. And they're 00:28:58.119 --> 00:29:00.299 going to be jam -packed, no matter what you do. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.380 So if you can, if you've got a new ICOM 9700 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:10.779 or a pair of FT -817s, or you're using an all 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:14.710 -band mode and an SDR, I'd highly encourage you 00:29:14.710 --> 00:29:17.430 to get on the linears. It's a lot different scenario 00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:20.130 during field day on the linears. It's almost 00:29:20.130 --> 00:29:22.970 just kind of like a contest weekend as opposed 00:29:22.970 --> 00:29:29.130 to Armageddon. If you are on FM only, then you 00:29:29.130 --> 00:29:32.849 might want to look at SO50 and PO101. They're 00:29:32.849 --> 00:29:35.430 a little bit harder to work. Some people, they 00:29:35.430 --> 00:29:36.730 don't like them because they're a little bit 00:29:36.730 --> 00:29:38.670 hard to work. And so there's going to be less 00:29:38.670 --> 00:29:42.539 competition on those passes. Now, I'm not saying 00:29:42.539 --> 00:29:45.220 don't try and work AO -91 and AO -92. They're 00:29:45.220 --> 00:29:48.599 both great birds, but unfortunately, everyone 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:50.960 knows they're great birds, and so that's where 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:54.960 the mob's going to be at. So find a little bit 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:59.819 quieter path or satellite. Another trick, as 00:29:59.819 --> 00:30:03.279 Sean relates in that great article that he did 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:12.490 in 2018, in the June issue of QSD, is to... pick 00:30:12.490 --> 00:30:15.450 a pass that's, you know, not straight overhead. 00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:18.670 So what you want to do is you want to work what 00:30:18.670 --> 00:30:23.549 we call the fringes. So a satellite pass, you 00:30:23.549 --> 00:30:25.950 know, if you're on the East Coast, that may be 00:30:25.950 --> 00:30:29.430 one that's out over there on the Atlantic Ocean 00:30:29.430 --> 00:30:33.910 going by that you can reach to. Those passes 00:30:33.910 --> 00:30:36.069 that are going from north to south or south to 00:30:36.069 --> 00:30:39.210 north, catch it early or late in the pass and, 00:30:39.349 --> 00:30:41.480 you know, They call, when it's over to Canada, 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.960 they call that polar bear country. And on a trip 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:49.000 up to Minnesota, I've experienced that. You're 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:52.319 the only one on. Even AO 9192, you're the only 00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:56.279 one there, except for the polar bears. Sometimes 00:30:56.279 --> 00:30:59.039 down there when it's down south, flying over 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:02.259 there, soaking up some Caribbean sunshine, you 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:05.720 can be the only one on there as well. So look 00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:10.599 for a satellite pass that's not Over the entire 00:31:10.599 --> 00:31:15.940 amateur population that could help you out There's 00:31:15.940 --> 00:31:20.400 surprisingly a lot of ops that think that anything 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:25.480 less than 30 are Less than 30 degrees is unworkable 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:29.700 I've even seen some that they set up their satellite 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:32.819 Tracking program on their phone that not to look 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:36.079 at anything below 30 degrees. So look for those 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:39.000 opportunities at those lower elevations. Maybe 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:41.980 you pick a different spot to operate from or 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:43.859 instead of being on the north side of the building, 00:31:43.940 --> 00:31:45.539 you move to the south side. That way you can 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:47.579 work down there to a one or two or three degree 00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:52.940 pass. Use that to your advantage and look for 00:31:52.940 --> 00:31:54.759 those passes that are just scraping the earth. 00:31:55.299 --> 00:32:01.160 So that's a good tip to making a contact. Second 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:03.039 is, you know, part of that listening part is 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:06.710 there You getting on and just blurting out your 00:32:06.710 --> 00:32:09.589 calls not going to make you a bad get your contact 00:32:09.589 --> 00:32:12.809 so what I would say is listen to somebody and 00:32:12.809 --> 00:32:15.849 you know listen for a call hear their report 00:32:15.849 --> 00:32:19.109 and So that you know who you're going to call 00:32:19.109 --> 00:32:21.190 and what the report is before you even open up 00:32:21.190 --> 00:32:25.710 your mouth So that in effect you're just going 00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:28.289 through the motions in the contact you call him 00:32:28.289 --> 00:32:31.289 back He'll call you you extend your report and 00:32:31.289 --> 00:32:38.289 you're moving on And then finally, I guess a 00:32:38.289 --> 00:32:42.029 great tip is to never give up. So the last two 00:32:42.029 --> 00:32:45.470 field days, two years in a row, I made a contact 00:32:45.470 --> 00:32:48.609 when I thought the pass was done. I mean, my 00:32:48.609 --> 00:32:50.849 antenna was already pointing at the dirt. So 00:32:50.849 --> 00:32:52.670 you never know when the RF gods are going to 00:32:52.670 --> 00:32:55.470 smile on you and let a contact slip through. 00:32:55.809 --> 00:32:58.630 So don't give up, hang in there, and you can 00:32:58.630 --> 00:33:01.619 do it. Other than that, I wish everybody good 00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:04.200 luck this weekend. It's going to be fun. Be patient. 00:33:04.779 --> 00:33:07.279 Let's not have any arrows flying across the field 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:11.339 as we invent our frustration. And just remember, 00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:16.119 let's have fun. Absolutely. All right. Well, 00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:18.339 we have already gone over and we haven't even 00:33:18.339 --> 00:33:20.920 got to the demonstration yet and we haven't got 00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:22.980 to the special events yet. So we're going to 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:25.259 take a break. When we come back, we will do those 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:28.440 two things and we will take Your questions after 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:31.319 this word from ICOM America right here on HamTalk 00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:35.970 Live. 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Give 00:34:56.400 --> 00:35:02.659 us a call at 859 -982 -7373. Again, the number 00:35:02.659 --> 00:35:08.940 to call is 859 -982 -7373. Or, if you'd rather 00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:12.699 type than talk, tweet us at HamTalk Live. Now, 00:35:12.780 --> 00:35:22.099 here's Neil Rapp with more HamTalk Live. You're 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:46.559 listening to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp. Welcome 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:50.900 back to HamTalk Live, thanks to Icom America 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:56.280 for sponsoring the show and hopefully you're 00:35:56.280 --> 00:35:59.159 taking advantage of some of Icom's great gear 00:35:59.159 --> 00:36:02.539 this weekend for field day. Visit them at icomamerica 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:06.840 .com slash amateur. HamTalk Live is on the air 00:36:06.840 --> 00:36:09.659 every Thursday night, 9 p .m. Eastern time, right 00:36:09.659 --> 00:36:12.039 here at hamtalklive .com. Be sure to check us 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:16.030 out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And 00:36:16.030 --> 00:36:18.849 we didn't get to everything, so we're going to 00:36:18.849 --> 00:36:22.010 kind of get through this. And then we want to 00:36:22.010 --> 00:36:24.489 get to your calls. But I want to take a chance 00:36:24.489 --> 00:36:27.369 to kind of demonstrate what happens when there 00:36:27.369 --> 00:36:31.849 is a pile up on the satellites. So I had some 00:36:31.849 --> 00:36:34.349 members of the Southern Indiana Amateur Radio 00:36:34.349 --> 00:36:39.269 Association do an experiment. We were in one 00:36:39.269 --> 00:36:44.179 of our virtual club meetings. a lot of times 00:36:44.179 --> 00:36:46.920 we will do those on the repeater, but we'll do 00:36:46.920 --> 00:36:50.219 the video on Zoom. And so I thought, oh, this 00:36:50.219 --> 00:36:53.260 is a great chance to do a little experiment. 00:36:53.420 --> 00:36:57.079 So what I did was I had everybody pick up their 00:36:57.079 --> 00:37:01.000 handheld and I had everybody call all at the 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:05.360 same time. So I recorded that on Zoom and I recorded 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:08.900 that on the repeater. So you're gonna hear first, 00:37:09.340 --> 00:37:11.940 what it sounded like on zoom where everything 00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:14.940 mixes together and you can hear all of those 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:36.059 voices so let's take a listen to that okay so 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:40.429 you could hear Two or three different call signs 00:37:40.429 --> 00:37:42.789 in that if you're listening and you you know 00:37:42.789 --> 00:37:47.230 you practice you can pick out several call signs 00:37:47.230 --> 00:37:51.150 Through all of that and and so you can you can 00:37:51.150 --> 00:37:54.429 kind of hear what's going on. This is the exact 00:37:54.429 --> 00:38:26.500 same thing but on the repeater So if you're listening 00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:31.380 you can hear in the background there's this going 00:38:31.380 --> 00:38:39.119 on but you only heard one station. Now that station 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:42.920 was pretty close to the repeater and so even 00:38:42.920 --> 00:38:44.880 though he wasn't running a whole lot of power 00:38:45.230 --> 00:38:48.429 He was kind of obliterating everybody else, but 00:38:48.429 --> 00:38:52.869 you heard that in the background now That was 00:38:52.869 --> 00:38:55.909 probably the best case scenario when there's 00:38:55.909 --> 00:38:59.289 multiple people on because you could at least 00:38:59.289 --> 00:39:03.989 hear one and So, you know the loudest one, but 00:39:03.989 --> 00:39:09.199 it doesn't always go that way. So here's an example 00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:14.619 of a satellite pass and Patrick, WD9EWK, allowed 00:39:14.619 --> 00:39:19.460 me use of a bunch of his recordings and this 00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:21.559 is actually one we've used on the show before. 00:39:21.860 --> 00:39:24.219 I trimmed it down a little bit but take a listen 00:39:24.219 --> 00:39:42.119 to this and listen to the mix on this one. Okay, 00:39:42.119 --> 00:39:45.460 I got a grid square and one letter out of that 00:39:45.460 --> 00:39:52.300 Guys thoughts on on you know what happens when 00:39:52.300 --> 00:39:58.059 everybody transmits at the same time See we're 00:39:58.059 --> 00:40:00.199 being polite and listening first to make sure 00:40:00.199 --> 00:40:06.639 the other person wasn't going to talk first So 00:40:06.639 --> 00:40:11.599 I'll start with saying that It's really chaos, 00:40:12.219 --> 00:40:16.360 and so nobody wins if a repeater that just happens 00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:20.599 to be orbiting around the earth is... receiving 00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:23.460 the signal on its input frequency, it's going 00:40:23.460 --> 00:40:26.920 to be transmitting that signal on its downlink 00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:31.579 frequency. And so if all those signals are coming 00:40:31.579 --> 00:40:34.420 in on that frequency, guess what? Everybody hears 00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:37.599 noise. Everybody hears like you heard in that 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:41.599 clip, and nobody makes a contact. So I think 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:45.320 it's important that folks listen first, again, 00:40:45.679 --> 00:40:49.489 and then realize when it's appropriate to talk 00:40:49.489 --> 00:40:54.730 into the satellite. It will do its best to solve 00:40:54.730 --> 00:40:57.369 that problem if everybody would first listen 00:40:57.369 --> 00:41:01.909 and then operate full duplex. Let me just add 00:41:01.909 --> 00:41:06.050 to that that I've been on satellite passes and 00:41:06.050 --> 00:41:08.150 everybody trying to talk at the same time and 00:41:08.150 --> 00:41:10.670 you may end up getting in that 10 or 12 minute 00:41:10.670 --> 00:41:12.909 pass two or three people that actually get a 00:41:12.909 --> 00:41:17.409 real QSO and everybody else is shut out. On the 00:41:17.409 --> 00:41:19.869 flip side of that, when people are well behaved 00:41:19.869 --> 00:41:22.150 and they're listening and stuff, I've heard, 00:41:23.090 --> 00:41:26.670 as an example, Mitch, 80 -0 -HJ, working, you 00:41:26.670 --> 00:41:29.389 know, he's out roving, and it's nothing to hear 00:41:29.389 --> 00:41:34.769 him make 20 -30 QSOS in one satellite pass. I've 00:41:34.769 --> 00:41:40.070 been out roving at the same time that KZERO PBR 00:41:40.070 --> 00:41:44.860 Paul was on, and I think we each got 20. So if 00:41:44.860 --> 00:41:46.960 you work together, you listen to the rhythm, 00:41:47.380 --> 00:41:50.280 and you know when to speak and when not to, and 00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:52.639 you know your equipment and how to operate the 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:54.920 satellites, you can do some great things with 00:41:54.920 --> 00:41:56.500 there. If you just want to get in there and try 00:41:56.500 --> 00:41:58.539 and use brute force, then nobody's going to be 00:41:58.539 --> 00:42:03.539 able to enjoy it. Yeah. On sideband, that works. 00:42:03.860 --> 00:42:06.400 I mean, it's harder, but it works because you 00:42:06.400 --> 00:42:09.579 can start picking out some of those calls because 00:42:09.579 --> 00:42:13.000 you're going to get that mix. On FM, not going 00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:16.860 to happen. Just not going to happen. And so again, 00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:20.460 it's situational awareness. It's being aware 00:42:20.460 --> 00:42:24.519 of what's going on and listening is a big thing 00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:28.619 there. Well, Kevin, let's finish up with this 00:42:28.619 --> 00:42:31.039 real quick and then I want to get to some questions 00:42:31.039 --> 00:42:38.019 and phone calls at 859 -982 -7373. You've been 00:42:38.019 --> 00:42:41.260 involved a lot with NASA on the air there were 00:42:41.260 --> 00:42:44.679 all those special events that took place in the 00:42:44.679 --> 00:42:48.219 past year or two and then recently the 50th anniversary 00:42:48.219 --> 00:42:53.300 of Apollo 13 and You know and and I love the 00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:56.420 the the Quindar tones on the on your passes. 00:42:56.420 --> 00:43:00.119 That was great But talk a little bit about how 00:43:00.119 --> 00:43:03.280 this operator etiquette affects running a special 00:43:03.280 --> 00:43:06.960 event station like that Yeah, Neil, that's really 00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:10.800 a great question. So operator etiquette for Special 00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:14.320 Event Station really has an impact on the success 00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:17.219 of the event. Not only the operator who's running 00:43:17.219 --> 00:43:19.860 this special event, but also for the other operators 00:43:19.860 --> 00:43:24.039 and folks trying to reach them. Like we mentioned 00:43:24.039 --> 00:43:26.199 before, like a rover, you're really the station 00:43:26.199 --> 00:43:28.519 that everybody's trying to get when you're running 00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:31.820 a special event. And so with that in mind, the 00:43:31.820 --> 00:43:34.719 success still kind of lies in your ability to 00:43:34.719 --> 00:43:39.699 listen. It's really the key. And you've got to 00:43:39.699 --> 00:43:43.219 be able to hear folks call signs out of pileups 00:43:43.219 --> 00:43:45.980 if you happen to be on a linear bird, for example. 00:43:48.010 --> 00:43:50.949 typically I do things like either write down 00:43:50.949 --> 00:43:52.889 the call signs that I've heard so folks know 00:43:52.889 --> 00:43:56.110 that you're listening and if somebody calls out 00:43:56.110 --> 00:43:58.530 of line I might not necessarily come back to 00:43:58.530 --> 00:44:02.070 them to kind of discourage that kind of behavior. 00:44:02.510 --> 00:44:06.030 But I will say if things get out of hand I'm 00:44:06.030 --> 00:44:08.889 an engineer so I'll kind of break things down 00:44:08.889 --> 00:44:11.469 systematically and maybe I'll start calling stations 00:44:11.469 --> 00:44:14.730 that only have a zero in their call sign or maybe 00:44:14.730 --> 00:44:18.960 later on ones or twos or threes. and I even give 00:44:18.960 --> 00:44:23.360 time for QRP stations only, and so it's important 00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:27.099 to work in a systematic way. If the special event 00:44:27.099 --> 00:44:29.639 station happens also to be on a satellite, like 00:44:29.639 --> 00:44:32.840 you mentioned we did for the Apollo 50th anniversary 00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:35.260 events, we had to be a little bit creative, and 00:44:35.260 --> 00:44:37.159 I think you've mentioned it, right? We built 00:44:37.159 --> 00:44:40.980 a Quintar tone generator that... It's a shock, 00:44:41.099 --> 00:44:43.159 right? All of a sudden, you hear that beep that 00:44:43.159 --> 00:44:47.000 you'd hear from air to ground, or from ground 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:49.860 to air, depending on how you're hearing it. And 00:44:49.860 --> 00:44:52.900 it really helped get folks' attention and provide 00:44:52.900 --> 00:44:55.099 a little bit of a shock factor, like, what was 00:44:55.099 --> 00:44:57.940 it that I just heard? And so it gave us the chance 00:44:57.940 --> 00:45:01.460 to kind of have folks stop for a moment, recognize 00:45:01.460 --> 00:45:03.920 what it was we were really celebrating with the 00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:09.300 accomplishment of Apollo 13's 50th. So it's just 00:45:09.300 --> 00:45:12.420 really important for folks to maintain that situational 00:45:12.420 --> 00:45:15.380 awareness. If there is a special event station 00:45:15.380 --> 00:45:18.199 on a satellite, maybe you could hold off on having 00:45:18.199 --> 00:45:20.639 that weather report that you have with your good 00:45:20.639 --> 00:45:23.539 friend every day on the satellites. And let's 00:45:23.539 --> 00:45:26.599 let the stations that are wanting to make a QSO 00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:30.539 with the special event station work them. Again, 00:45:30.940 --> 00:45:33.420 situational awareness, couple it with kindness 00:45:33.420 --> 00:45:35.980 and courtesy, and I think you've got win -win, 00:45:36.119 --> 00:45:43.690 Neil. Yeah, I totally totally agree And there's 00:45:43.690 --> 00:45:46.269 been times when I've you know, well, I really 00:45:46.269 --> 00:45:49.809 want this grid but I know somebody's out there 00:45:49.809 --> 00:45:52.570 roving and and I've been in that spot I've been 00:45:52.570 --> 00:45:55.110 out and I've been roving and could not get a 00:45:55.110 --> 00:45:59.289 single contact because it was just too busy and 00:45:59.289 --> 00:46:01.670 So I'm like, okay, I drove all the way out here 00:46:01.670 --> 00:46:08.260 for this and and it can be discouraging but So 00:46:08.260 --> 00:46:10.980 sometimes I just back off and I'm like, okay, 00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:13.579 there's two people roving here at the same time. 00:46:14.039 --> 00:46:19.199 I'm out. I'm getting them and I'm out. Because 00:46:19.199 --> 00:46:23.960 it's just courtesy, I'm going to get one or two 00:46:23.960 --> 00:46:26.719 contacts and then let's let everybody else get 00:46:26.719 --> 00:46:33.360 their one or two. And again, we've all made mistakes 00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:40.659 or not. We're not perfect by any means, but that's 00:46:40.659 --> 00:46:44.239 what we're trying to strive for. Well, let's 00:46:44.239 --> 00:46:46.760 open up the phone lines. It's time for your calls. 00:46:46.880 --> 00:46:48.980 If you have a question, give us a call and we're 00:46:48.980 --> 00:46:54.260 going over a little over time tonight. 859 -982 00:46:54.260 --> 00:47:00.570 -7373. 859 -982. 73 73 if you want to call in 00:47:00.570 --> 00:47:03.070 or tweet us at ham talk live if you're listening 00:47:03.070 --> 00:47:07.150 to us on WTWW or on the podcast edition you won't 00:47:07.150 --> 00:47:10.449 be able to reach us live Since it's Thursday 00:47:10.449 --> 00:47:13.650 night when we are recording this and and we do 00:47:13.650 --> 00:47:16.989 have a few here So let's run through some of 00:47:16.989 --> 00:47:26.909 these Let's see Don KB2YSI says, too bad I didn't 00:47:26.909 --> 00:47:35.269 get a recording of Ke -4AL and I both roving 00:47:35.269 --> 00:47:39.050 on the same pass. We managed to interweave stations 00:47:39.050 --> 00:47:42.610 and the entire pass was so orderly. Probably 00:47:42.610 --> 00:47:47.130 is the best one ever. And number one pass was 00:47:47.130 --> 00:47:50.369 getting number 488 for a station in California 00:47:50.369 --> 00:47:56.269 from FN 53. If you don't know, there's 488 grids 00:47:56.269 --> 00:48:01.289 in the continental US. So yeah, that would be 00:48:01.289 --> 00:48:04.789 a great one. Let's see. We had another one here 00:48:04.789 --> 00:48:09.190 that came in early, actually. Let me scroll down 00:48:09.190 --> 00:48:19.199 to this. N6AJ wants to know the best way to adjust 00:48:19.199 --> 00:48:23.000 for Doppler. He's using SAT PC32 with linears 00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:26.199 and he's just having a hard time adjusting for 00:48:26.199 --> 00:48:28.920 Doppler. He's looking for a video or somebody 00:48:28.920 --> 00:48:33.699 to kind of help him out on that. Guys, any advice 00:48:33.699 --> 00:48:40.539 here on Doppler shift? Well, I think Kevin and 00:48:40.539 --> 00:48:42.920 I are both Mac Doppler guys, so that's not going 00:48:42.920 --> 00:48:45.739 to really help him. But what I would encourage 00:48:45.739 --> 00:48:48.860 you to do is you have two choices. Either number 00:48:48.860 --> 00:48:53.019 one, you post your question on the AMSAT bulletin 00:48:53.019 --> 00:48:56.019 board. I know there's a lot of SAT PC 32 users, 00:48:56.019 --> 00:48:58.699 and that's what that forum is for, is to allow 00:48:58.699 --> 00:49:03.380 people to ask questions and seek advice. And 00:49:03.380 --> 00:49:06.719 then your next choice would be to send an email 00:49:06.719 --> 00:49:11.510 to ambassadors. at Yahoo, I'm sorry, ambassadors 00:49:11.510 --> 00:49:16.429 at AMSAT .org. So AMSAT has, AMSAT ambassadors 00:49:16.429 --> 00:49:20.849 are there to help mentor people, mentor people. 00:49:21.010 --> 00:49:24.389 And so we'll find, you know, somebody locally, 00:49:24.650 --> 00:49:28.309 hopefully for you, if not locally, close by and 00:49:28.309 --> 00:49:29.809 can walk you through those steps, get you on 00:49:29.809 --> 00:49:35.869 the birds. Doppler is tough. I mean and depends 00:49:35.869 --> 00:49:40.510 too on whether the uplink is VHF or UHF and you 00:49:40.510 --> 00:49:44.809 know trying to trying to hear that I I guess 00:49:44.809 --> 00:49:51.489 my ear has this really strange audio detection 00:49:51.489 --> 00:49:54.070 and and so I can tell when somebody's just barely 00:49:54.070 --> 00:49:57.269 off frequency and so when I hear that I know 00:49:57.269 --> 00:50:02.639 it's time to change but But yeah, if you can 00:50:02.639 --> 00:50:05.159 automate that process, it definitely makes it 00:50:05.159 --> 00:50:12.579 a whole lot easier so email email them or Or 00:50:12.579 --> 00:50:15.000 post there on the bulletin board and I know there's 00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:18.099 a lot of people using set PC 32 and I'm a PC 00:50:18.099 --> 00:50:21.840 guy But I I don't use that I use my phone. So 00:50:21.840 --> 00:50:26.800 I Can't help on that Let's see. What else do 00:50:26.800 --> 00:50:36.400 we have here? Let's see We have John W4USF listening 00:50:36.400 --> 00:50:39.320 just says hello. So thank you for listening John. 00:50:39.320 --> 00:50:42.900 Thank you for being there and Chris AA4CB Thank 00:50:42.900 --> 00:50:47.239 you for being there as well. And I think Chris 00:50:47.239 --> 00:50:53.119 was on Twitter also. Let me Run over there. I 00:50:53.119 --> 00:51:01.429 think I saw something here Maybe I need to check 00:51:01.429 --> 00:51:04.570 on my phone, because I think that's where I saw 00:51:04.570 --> 00:51:11.070 it. But something about a couple of great satellite 00:51:11.070 --> 00:51:15.349 operators. So there you go. We've got a couple 00:51:15.349 --> 00:51:24.690 of good ones here. And then there's me. Oh my 00:51:24.690 --> 00:51:30.980 goodness. Yeah, I met him muscle and hamcation 00:51:30.980 --> 00:51:34.840 good people Yeah, no, you know something that 00:51:34.840 --> 00:51:37.119 we kid about but the the satellite community 00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:39.679 is actually a great It's a great bunch of folks 00:51:39.679 --> 00:51:42.639 that you you feel like you've known people and 00:51:42.639 --> 00:51:44.659 then you actually get the opportunity Maybe at 00:51:44.659 --> 00:51:48.420 a hamcation or some other event to to meet face 00:51:48.420 --> 00:51:50.699 to face. It might really be the first time you've 00:51:50.699 --> 00:51:53.739 met But it sure feels like you've had a friendship 00:51:53.739 --> 00:51:56.840 for a while. So it's a nice hobby. It's a nice 00:51:56.840 --> 00:51:59.099 part of the amateur radio hobby to get into. 00:51:59.619 --> 00:52:02.139 And don't be discouraged. If your first time 00:52:02.139 --> 00:52:04.719 you try and you're not able to get things right, 00:52:05.360 --> 00:52:07.500 reach out to some of the folks that we mentioned. 00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:11.920 And I think you'll find it to be a really enjoyable 00:52:11.920 --> 00:52:16.599 part of your amateur radio experience. Yeah, 00:52:16.599 --> 00:52:19.119 I found it. It says two good sat ops. I've listened 00:52:19.119 --> 00:52:21.980 and learned from them both and need I need to 00:52:21.980 --> 00:52:24.320 get back on the satellites That was Chris a for 00:52:24.320 --> 00:52:27.320 CB and said met that Robert at Huntsville a while 00:52:27.320 --> 00:52:31.139 back. So there we go Robert you you had it down 00:52:31.139 --> 00:52:34.800 and I met you down at Huntsville and then actually 00:52:34.800 --> 00:52:38.099 on on social media set out a picture of Kevin 00:52:38.099 --> 00:52:41.380 and I at the Kennedy Space Center Amateur radio 00:52:41.380 --> 00:52:44.449 club. That was when I first met Kevin. So There 00:52:44.449 --> 00:52:47.010 we go. All right, well, we've got a call on the 00:52:47.010 --> 00:52:49.489 line. So let's take the call. Welcome to HamTalk 00:52:49.489 --> 00:52:53.929 Live. Hey, this is Michael N4DCW. I just wanted 00:52:53.929 --> 00:52:57.130 to call in and say thanks, Robert and Kevin, 00:52:57.309 --> 00:52:59.630 for everything that you've done for the AmSat 00:52:59.630 --> 00:53:03.769 community. Just wanted to give them a chance 00:53:03.769 --> 00:53:08.489 for them to talk about new operators, a source 00:53:08.489 --> 00:53:10.829 for them to get started in our little hobby here. 00:53:12.130 --> 00:53:14.449 All right, Michael, thank you for calling in 00:53:14.449 --> 00:53:19.809 guys any any suggestions here What was the last 00:53:19.809 --> 00:53:24.110 part of that question resources for new operas, 00:53:24.110 --> 00:53:30.130 okay, so the best Working with somebody is always 00:53:30.130 --> 00:53:32.730 the best It's it's it's better best to get that 00:53:32.730 --> 00:53:34.449 immediate feedback if you're working on your 00:53:34.449 --> 00:53:37.969 own Then I would start with the the getting started 00:53:37.969 --> 00:53:41.980 guide It's real in -depth. It will cover everything 00:53:41.980 --> 00:53:44.139 that a beginner needs to know for all the different 00:53:44.139 --> 00:53:46.539 modes and different types of satellites, and 00:53:46.539 --> 00:53:51.820 even helps out the experienced ops. He may be 00:53:51.820 --> 00:53:55.139 going to a new venture. But you can do those. 00:53:55.699 --> 00:54:01.079 And then there's the AMSAT bulletin board. There 00:54:01.079 --> 00:54:06.670 is the ambassador program, demos. ham fest when 00:54:06.670 --> 00:54:10.369 those finally get to start back up. The key thing 00:54:10.369 --> 00:54:14.590 is is just get on and try and somebody is going 00:54:14.590 --> 00:54:20.010 to surely step up and help you out. And we all 00:54:20.010 --> 00:54:23.610 love to share this part of the amateur radio 00:54:23.610 --> 00:54:29.389 community. Well, Michael, thank you so much for 00:54:29.389 --> 00:54:31.880 calling in. Oh, go ahead, Kevin. No, I've got 00:54:31.880 --> 00:54:34.760 to agree with what Robert said. I think finding 00:54:34.760 --> 00:54:39.440 a mentor is fantastic. In lieu of doing that, 00:54:39.579 --> 00:54:43.739 I would caution folks, try to join an organization 00:54:43.739 --> 00:54:46.300 like AMSAT. There's a lot of great folks. They 00:54:46.300 --> 00:54:50.780 do a lot of great work. They have books and articles 00:54:50.780 --> 00:54:54.280 that are available to the memberships that are 00:54:54.280 --> 00:54:59.809 very helpful. joining the community, not only 00:54:59.809 --> 00:55:04.150 in the social media aspect, but supporting folks 00:55:04.150 --> 00:55:07.449 like the AMSAT community, helps get additional 00:55:07.449 --> 00:55:11.150 satellites up in the air and helps us to avoid 00:55:11.150 --> 00:55:13.369 some of the crowding that we talked about this 00:55:13.369 --> 00:55:16.170 evening. So I think it's also a way to learn 00:55:16.170 --> 00:55:23.510 and join a community like AMSAT. All right, there 00:55:23.510 --> 00:55:27.309 you go, Michael. I'm going to get it right. It's 00:55:27.309 --> 00:55:32.889 in for DCW, not CDW. It's a common mistake. I 00:55:32.889 --> 00:55:34.869 appreciate everything Robert, you're doing for 00:55:34.869 --> 00:55:38.329 the MSAT community. Also, Kevin, being my first 00:55:38.329 --> 00:55:41.510 MSAT contact back about a year and a half ago. 00:55:41.730 --> 00:55:43.489 Thanks to the two of you for everything you've 00:55:43.489 --> 00:55:44.909 taught me. I appreciate it. So you all have a 00:55:44.909 --> 00:55:47.110 great night. Take care, Michael. Appreciate it. 00:55:47.110 --> 00:55:50.949 Thanks, Michael. All right. Thanks, Michael. 00:55:51.090 --> 00:55:56.079 Appreciate it. Yeah, I don't know how many times 00:55:56.079 --> 00:56:00.159 I've done that it's that it's that CDW the computer 00:56:00.159 --> 00:56:02.820 discount warehouse commercial I guess I don't 00:56:02.820 --> 00:56:07.539 know An LOTW catches it for you real quick. Yes, 00:56:07.539 --> 00:56:10.059 it does and it did and that's where that's how 00:56:10.059 --> 00:56:14.059 I found out Michael's like I thought I worked 00:56:14.059 --> 00:56:18.579 you and I'm like, yeah, you're in the oh Yeah, 00:56:19.239 --> 00:56:22.860 that's exactly what happened All right, well 00:56:22.860 --> 00:56:27.199 we are way over time here So we're gonna finish 00:56:27.199 --> 00:56:31.199 things up here, but guys some great stuff and 00:56:31.199 --> 00:56:34.039 and again I hope people listening or you know, 00:56:34.380 --> 00:56:37.380 yeah, you've probably heard us, you know make 00:56:37.380 --> 00:56:43.480 mistakes That's because we have You know, I've 00:56:43.480 --> 00:56:46.460 only been on satellites last two or three years 00:56:47.620 --> 00:56:53.300 and we all started someplace and you know these 00:56:53.300 --> 00:56:57.820 are some ideas to try to make life better on 00:56:57.820 --> 00:57:01.000 the satellites and I appreciate you two coming 00:57:01.000 --> 00:57:04.639 on to talk about it tonight so final thoughts 00:57:04.639 --> 00:57:08.840 Kevin? No I just I think you mentioned it right 00:57:08.840 --> 00:57:11.699 we all make mistakes and I'm sure people could 00:57:11.699 --> 00:57:14.380 find recordings of me and they'll say, hey, look, 00:57:14.460 --> 00:57:16.400 Kevin, you did this and this and you said not 00:57:16.400 --> 00:57:19.559 to do it. We learn from the mistakes. I think 00:57:19.559 --> 00:57:23.199 it's important, though, to recognize. that amateur 00:57:23.199 --> 00:57:27.639 radio is a hobby where we learn, right? We're 00:57:27.639 --> 00:57:30.340 experimenting. We're learning all the time. The 00:57:30.340 --> 00:57:33.400 satellite aspect of amateur radio is super fun, 00:57:33.400 --> 00:57:36.719 and you can do it with a technician class license. 00:57:37.420 --> 00:57:40.960 So it's enjoyable right from the very first moment 00:57:40.960 --> 00:57:44.550 that you pass your technician license. Yeah, 00:57:44.630 --> 00:57:48.150 try your best to follow these best practices. 00:57:48.329 --> 00:57:50.670 It will make it enjoyable for you. It will make 00:57:50.670 --> 00:57:54.190 it enjoyable for everyone else. And if you've 00:57:54.190 --> 00:57:57.210 got questions, just ask. There are a lot of friendly 00:57:57.210 --> 00:57:59.150 folks out there that would be willing to step 00:57:59.150 --> 00:58:05.610 in and help mentor you. And Robert, I want to 00:58:05.610 --> 00:58:08.389 give you a chance to do this and to have your 00:58:08.389 --> 00:58:11.880 final thoughts. Also, the thing you're in charge 00:58:11.880 --> 00:58:15.059 of basically for AMSAT, besides the accounting 00:58:15.059 --> 00:58:20.500 bit, is the user service department. There are 00:58:20.500 --> 00:58:24.860 ways that you can find out about Rovers, so make 00:58:24.860 --> 00:58:27.539 sure you tell people about that and then your 00:58:27.539 --> 00:58:32.260 final comments. Absolutely. First, thanks for 00:58:32.260 --> 00:58:35.400 having me on tonight. I had a great time. I've 00:58:35.400 --> 00:58:37.320 always been a long -time listener and now I got 00:58:37.320 --> 00:58:41.000 to be on it. I'll have to check that box there 00:58:41.000 --> 00:58:43.719 off on my bucket list. You get a new hand badge. 00:58:44.639 --> 00:58:49.119 Yeah, there you go. So, you know, user services, 00:58:49.159 --> 00:58:53.460 I always wondered what was user services. And 00:58:53.460 --> 00:58:56.659 Joe Spire, K6WAO, the president then asked me 00:58:56.659 --> 00:59:01.340 to assume this position. And so I said, sure. 00:59:01.800 --> 00:59:05.900 And then I found out what it all entails. But 00:59:05.900 --> 00:59:09.610 it has to do with membership. has to do with 00:59:09.610 --> 00:59:12.289 people that use satellites, all sorts of stuff. 00:59:13.329 --> 00:59:17.130 But one of the first things that I did was we 00:59:17.130 --> 00:59:21.929 have on the AMSAT website, it's called upcoming 00:59:21.929 --> 00:59:26.690 satellite operations page. So if you go to AMSAT 00:59:26.690 --> 00:59:29.909 .org and on the navigation bar across the top, 00:59:30.110 --> 00:59:33.130 if you put your mouse over satellites, the drop 00:59:33.130 --> 00:59:35.070 bar will come down there, and then you click 00:59:35.070 --> 00:59:38.219 on the AMSAT. upcoming satellite operations page. 00:59:39.619 --> 00:59:43.179 But people, you know, they will email stuff into 00:59:43.179 --> 00:59:46.500 us. We find stuff, you know, announcements on 00:59:46.500 --> 00:59:50.980 Twitter. We see stuff on the DX news. And so 00:59:50.980 --> 00:59:54.260 it's just a collection point that lets you know 00:59:54.260 --> 00:59:56.460 everything that's coming up. You know, some is 00:59:56.460 --> 00:59:58.940 just Somebody's on vacation and they're going 00:59:58.940 --> 01:00:02.079 to be on every once in a while. Others, there's 01:00:02.079 --> 01:00:04.559 major trips where they're going to go across 01:00:04.559 --> 01:00:10.360 10 states and 30 grids, all sorts of stuff. So 01:00:10.360 --> 01:00:13.440 it's on there. That's a great source. And they 01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:16.559 collect those from all sources. So that would 01:00:16.559 --> 01:00:18.619 be a good starting point to find out what's going 01:00:18.619 --> 01:00:25.000 on where. And then in addition to that, if you 01:00:25.000 --> 01:00:27.530 were planning a trip, then please let them know. 01:00:27.869 --> 01:00:31.110 That way it helps when you go someplace, if you 01:00:31.110 --> 01:00:33.849 never announce it, then you get on, then you 01:00:33.849 --> 01:00:36.250 could be in a really rare place, but if nobody 01:00:36.250 --> 01:00:38.769 knows you're there, then you may just be talking 01:00:38.769 --> 01:00:43.409 to yourself or listening on the satellite. But 01:00:43.409 --> 01:00:47.590 roving is such a... There's so many aspects of 01:00:47.590 --> 01:00:51.389 satellites, from chasing grids to roving, where 01:00:51.389 --> 01:00:54.190 you get to be the DX guy that everybody wants 01:00:54.190 --> 01:00:57.599 to talk to. So everybody gets something out of 01:00:57.599 --> 01:01:00.440 it and when you get tired of one thing you can 01:01:00.440 --> 01:01:03.639 move into another little facet of this hobby 01:01:03.639 --> 01:01:08.719 and have a great time. But that's about all I 01:01:08.719 --> 01:01:12.239 got. Okay and then also this isn't an official 01:01:12.239 --> 01:01:16.760 AMSAT thing but there's actually this Twitter 01:01:16.760 --> 01:01:21.260 bot kind of thing going on that will... kind 01:01:21.260 --> 01:01:24.900 of get some of that so the grid life is on twitter 01:01:24.900 --> 01:01:28.179 uh... you know does a lot of those announcements 01:01:28.179 --> 01:01:31.440 and then if you want to know what grid squares 01:01:31.440 --> 01:01:35.199 are in high demand there's the grid master heat 01:01:35.199 --> 01:01:40.610 map and uh... It shows, you know, in color, you 01:01:40.610 --> 01:01:43.190 know, the easy ones to get and the harder ones 01:01:43.190 --> 01:01:45.110 to get and the ones that are near impossible. 01:01:46.210 --> 01:01:48.949 And so Gridmaster Heat is always a great place 01:01:48.949 --> 01:01:51.250 to look and see, you know, what's rare. And you 01:01:51.250 --> 01:01:54.190 may have a rare grid in your area and not even 01:01:54.190 --> 01:01:57.130 know it. So make sure you check that out, too. 01:01:58.090 --> 01:02:01.070 Let me add to that real quick that they will 01:02:01.070 --> 01:02:03.389 often work in concert. So somebody will announce 01:02:03.389 --> 01:02:05.980 that they're going to go. Activate a grid and 01:02:05.980 --> 01:02:09.039 grid life will pick that up and and and publicize 01:02:09.039 --> 01:02:12.880 that for you And then grid master heat map, which 01:02:12.880 --> 01:02:15.460 is somebody that's collected basically you can 01:02:15.460 --> 01:02:18.039 send your all the grids you've worked to him 01:02:18.039 --> 01:02:21.900 and he will add your data to the map and then 01:02:21.900 --> 01:02:25.280 when grid life announces one grid master heat 01:02:25.280 --> 01:02:29.199 map will Put out a posting of all the people 01:02:29.199 --> 01:02:32.920 that need that grid And if you're on twitter, 01:02:33.059 --> 01:02:38.099 then he tags you so That's an added step to help 01:02:38.099 --> 01:02:40.320 you catch those ribs that you're looking for. 01:02:40.960 --> 01:02:43.480 And that just shows you, you know, these are 01:02:43.480 --> 01:02:45.980 just people that are volunteering on their own 01:02:45.980 --> 01:02:50.519 with no official, you know, direction, and they're 01:02:50.519 --> 01:02:52.659 doing great things for the AMCET community. And 01:02:52.659 --> 01:02:56.889 that's what it's all about. Yeah, and that's 01:02:56.889 --> 01:02:59.909 very I'm very thankful for that. It's a great 01:02:59.909 --> 01:03:04.050 thing and I send mine in often and whenever I'm 01:03:04.050 --> 01:03:08.630 headed to some odd grids I usually post it to 01:03:08.630 --> 01:03:11.989 you and grid life and grid master heat so that 01:03:11.989 --> 01:03:15.329 way people know that That I'm out there. So that 01:03:15.329 --> 01:03:19.190 that's a good place to well guys lots of good 01:03:19.190 --> 01:03:23.309 stuff. We could go on all night And we've already 01:03:23.309 --> 01:03:26.550 gone 20 minutes over, so I'm going to finish 01:03:26.550 --> 01:03:29.190 it up. But thanks so much for being here. I appreciate 01:03:29.190 --> 01:03:34.309 it and hope to hear you on this weekend and see 01:03:34.309 --> 01:03:38.369 you both soon. Thank you so much, Neil, for having 01:03:38.369 --> 01:03:42.460 us. Thank you, Neil. Have a good night. All right, 01:03:42.579 --> 01:03:45.820 that is a wrap for this week's edition of HamTalk 01:03:45.820 --> 01:03:50.239 Live. Thanks to Kevin Zari, KK4YEL and Robert 01:03:50.239 --> 01:03:53.619 Bankston, KE4AL and everybody out there in cyberspace 01:03:53.619 --> 01:03:56.860 for listening and calling in. and typing in and 01:03:56.860 --> 01:03:59.139 i invite you back next thursday night at nine 01:03:59.139 --> 01:04:02.980 p m eastern time and to see our upcoming guess 01:04:02.980 --> 01:04:06.099 of visit ham talk live dot com you can click 01:04:06.099 --> 01:04:09.360 on the schedule link there and if you like the 01:04:09.360 --> 01:04:11.480 show please just leave us a review that's all 01:04:11.480 --> 01:04:14.300 we ask uh... leaves a review uh... programming 01:04:14.300 --> 01:04:17.500 note uh... there will be a show next week however 01:04:18.000 --> 01:04:20.719 I'm gonna be away from the mic for a couple of 01:04:20.719 --> 01:04:23.920 weeks There's this wedding coming up that that 01:04:23.920 --> 01:04:27.579 I happen to be the groom and so July 9th and 01:04:27.579 --> 01:04:31.519 July 16th There won't be a new live show I may 01:04:31.519 --> 01:04:35.099 pop on for a few minutes, but there won't be 01:04:35.099 --> 01:04:39.320 a whole show on July 9th and July 16th so be 01:04:39.320 --> 01:04:43.789 aware of that there'll be a An encore presentation 01:04:43.789 --> 01:04:48.510 on WTWW those two weeks. And I will be back on 01:04:48.510 --> 01:04:55.010 July 23rd with Eric Guth, 4Z1UG. He's getting 01:04:55.010 --> 01:04:57.989 up in the wee hours of the morning over in Israel 01:04:57.989 --> 01:05:01.050 to be on the show. And we're going to talk about 01:05:01.050 --> 01:05:06.449 the QSO Today Podcast Virtual Ham Expo that he's 01:05:06.449 --> 01:05:08.869 putting together. That will be August 8th and 01:05:08.869 --> 01:05:13.769 9th. But Eric will be live on the show from Israel 01:05:13.769 --> 01:05:18.989 on July 23rd. I'm talking about his QSO Today 01:05:18.989 --> 01:05:23.929 podcast and the Virtual Ham Expo. So hope to 01:05:23.929 --> 01:05:25.750 hear you on the bands this weekend for field 01:05:25.750 --> 01:05:28.630 day and a reminder to hams25 and under if you 01:05:28.630 --> 01:05:30.710 don't have a club that you're contributing your 01:05:30.710 --> 01:05:34.429 score to. Put youth on the air in your club name, 01:05:34.929 --> 01:05:37.469 and we just want to see what the youth out there 01:05:37.469 --> 01:05:40.909 can do. So don't forget to do that. Alright, 01:05:41.030 --> 01:05:44.050 so for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 01:05:44.050 --> 01:05:49.010 7 -3, 7 -5, and may the good DX be yours.