WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:06.019 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:12.960 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:17.640 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:22.879 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:31.870 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:31.870 --> 00:00:37.810 we go, welcome to Amtoc Live Call in, let's talk, 00:00:38.030 --> 00:01:00.700 Neil's your guy Amtoc Live Good evening, everyone. 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:06.819 It's ham talk live episode number 146 making 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:10.439 the most of satellite time recorded live on Thursday, 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:16.480 December 27 2018 I'm your host Neil rap WB 9 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.359 VPG Thanks for tuning in to this episode of ham 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:24.359 talk live tonight We're joined by drew glass 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:29.019 Brenner ko4 ma and we'll take your calls live 00:01:29.019 --> 00:01:33.840 in just a few minutes. Last week Josh Ward, W3ARD, 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:37.500 was here to talk about high -altitude ballooning 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.700 and if you missed that show you can listen anytime 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:45.980 at HamTalkLive .com or your favorite podcast 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:50.299 app or YouTube. So get your questions ready to 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.540 go. After the interview, you can give Drew and 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:59.120 I a call. The telephone number will be 812 -NET 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:07.099 -HAM -1, 812 -638 -4261. It's not time to call 00:02:07.099 --> 00:02:11.419 yet, but when we announce that later on in the... 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:15.159 Third segment here will give you that number 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:18.300 again, but so you have that ready. It's eight 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:23.000 one two six three eight four two six one You 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:26.020 can also tweet us. We're at ham talk live on 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:28.460 Twitter So we'll be checking that throughout 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.500 the night as well I'll be back with drew right 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:34.979 after this word from icon America right here 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:38.599 on ham talk live For the love of the holidays, 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:41.460 surprise your favorite ham this season with the 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:44.099 gift that's on their hot list. The holidays are 00:02:44.099 --> 00:02:46.860 just around the corner and ICOM has plenty of 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:51.780 cheer for everyone. The IC7610, the SDR every 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:54.479 ham wants and just in time for the holidays. 00:02:54.680 --> 00:02:57.539 This high performance SDR has the ability to 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:00.639 pick out the faintest of signals even in the 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.680 presence of stronger adjacent ones. The ICOM 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:07.509 IC7610 is a direct sampling. software -defined 00:03:07.509 --> 00:03:09.849 radio that will change the world's definition 00:03:09.849 --> 00:03:13.449 of an SDR transceiver. It has RF direct sampling, 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:19.009 110 dB RMDR, and dual -digit cell. The IC7300 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:21.969 is changing the way entry -level HF is designed. 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:24.810 This high -performance innovative HF transceiver 00:03:24.810 --> 00:03:28.710 with a compact design will far exceed your expectations. 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:33.169 It includes RF direct sampling, 15 discrete bandpass 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:36.080 filters, a large 4 .3 -inch color touch screen, 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:39.199 real -time spectrum scope, and SD memory card 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:43.919 slot. The ICR30 is raising the bar on DC to daylight 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.560 receivers. Powerful yet easy to use, the ICR30 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:50.259 is packed full of features you have come to expect 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:53.419 from ICOM. The perfect stocking stuffer, the 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:56.719 ID51A Plus 2 provides new modes for extended 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:00.139 D -Star coverage. Enjoy integrated GPS, independent 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:03.680 AM FM receiver, and free Android apps. For all 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.580 of these products and For more ICOM radios, visit 00:04:06.580 --> 00:04:10.620 icomamerica .com slash amateur for more information. 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:13.800 Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.019 got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:19.800 reception was excellent. You're listening to 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:35.329 HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. Thanks to Icom America 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:38.350 for sponsoring the show again tonight. They help 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:43.269 bring you ham talk live Check them out at icomamerica 00:04:43.269 --> 00:04:47.649 .com slash amateur all kinds of good stuff on 00:04:47.649 --> 00:04:51.269 there and Another new rig coming out soon. So 00:04:51.269 --> 00:04:55.579 you got to check that out Tonight, Drew, if I 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:59.839 can talk, Drew Glassbrenner, KO4MA, is here. 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:05.199 He's the Vice President of Operations for AMSAT 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.720 and a board member of AMSAT. That's the Radio 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:13.019 Amateur Satellite Corporation. Drew is a geologist 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:15.759 in the greater Tampa, Florida area, now working 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.519 for his own company, Karst Evaluations, where 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:23.459 he studies karst formations and investigates 00:05:23.459 --> 00:05:27.860 sinkholes. Drew works a lot of FT8 in addition 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:31.680 to all of the satellites. So we're glad that 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:35.379 Drew is back with us again tonight. So Drew, 00:05:35.379 --> 00:05:38.519 welcome back. Thanks, Neil. Glad to be back with 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:41.600 you guys tonight. Now, you know, I didn't even 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.439 think of this but but whenever I read your bio 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.240 here I'm not sure if if you were on before or 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:52.360 after my trip to Florida this summer when the 00:05:52.360 --> 00:06:00.620 the Disney ears van Ended up in a sinkhole. I 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:03.980 Know if you heard about that one If I did, I 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:06.620 don't remember it, but it doesn't surprise me 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.339 Yeah, somebody was drilling a little too close 00:06:10.339 --> 00:06:15.480 to the ham shack and the front tire of the van 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:19.259 ended up in a sinkhole that magically appeared. 00:06:19.939 --> 00:06:22.860 I don't think that's the magic they quite plan 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:26.139 on at Disney World. I'm sure it was all fixed 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:29.879 before the sun went down. But yes, it was fixed 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:34.379 pretty quickly and luckily the damage was minimal. 00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:39.230 Thank goodness for that. Well, we're not talking 00:06:39.230 --> 00:06:41.930 geology tonight. Although you and I could probably 00:06:41.930 --> 00:06:44.990 talk science here for a while but we're here 00:06:44.990 --> 00:06:47.629 to talk about some of the satellite stuff and 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:50.709 when we're talking tonight about making the most 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:57.029 of satellite time being efficient and Using, 00:06:57.029 --> 00:07:00.790 you know some etiquette and protocols and stuff 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:04.310 not that we're on some power trip trying to tell 00:07:04.310 --> 00:07:06.209 everybody what to say and that kind of thing. 00:07:06.850 --> 00:07:12.750 But to allow for some more efficient use of this 00:07:12.750 --> 00:07:17.949 limited supply of time that we have on the satellites, 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:21.149 you know, it's just so critical when you have, 00:07:21.149 --> 00:07:26.470 you know, seven to 15 minutes and that's it. 00:07:26.470 --> 00:07:30.569 That's all you have. And you're all trying to 00:07:30.569 --> 00:07:34.680 use the same frequency. There's some strategies 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:38.680 that you can use to make some contacts while 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:43.100 leaving time for others to do the same. And we've 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:47.220 got a handout that was brilliantly written by 00:07:47.220 --> 00:07:52.480 Sean Kutzko, KX9X, that just was sent out on 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:57.800 Facebook and Twitter and is also in the show 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:02.300 description here. on the audio feed. If you look 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:04.639 at the description, the link is there. So if 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:09.019 you want to read along on some of that, it's 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:11.519 a short three page document that was written 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.579 that does a good job of summarizing some of this 00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:16.459 stuff that we're going to talk about tonight. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.019 But let's talk about some etiquette and strategies 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:26.899 and protocol to try to help make the most out 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:30.149 of this. limited supply of satellite time we 00:08:30.149 --> 00:08:34.169 have? Well one of the things that I want to point 00:08:34.169 --> 00:08:38.450 out is that while we're discussing this, keep 00:08:38.450 --> 00:08:41.169 in mind this is about the FM repeater satellites 00:08:41.169 --> 00:08:46.429 and their single channel, single frequency, everybody 00:08:46.429 --> 00:08:49.389 shares the same input and output and only one 00:08:49.389 --> 00:08:52.509 person gets through at a time. That's about a 00:08:52.509 --> 00:08:55.559 quarter of the fleet that is up there. And the 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:58.600 rest of them are digital and transponder satellites 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:02.500 that use digital modes or sideband or CW where 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:07.620 there's a passband that multiple conversations, 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:09.919 QSOs, can happen at one time. So everything we're 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.879 going to be talking about tonight is with regard 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:19.000 to FM satellites. Some of the most important 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:23.470 things to making FM satellites work is that it's 00:09:23.470 --> 00:09:27.029 a shared resource and people have to understand 00:09:27.029 --> 00:09:31.970 that everyone needs to get a chance and you have 00:09:31.970 --> 00:09:36.009 to share the past with others. So operating styles 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:40.730 like you would see on HF parking on one frequency 00:09:40.730 --> 00:09:43.269 and calling CQ and letting people come to you, 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:46.230 those generally don't work out well on a shared 00:09:46.230 --> 00:09:51.629 resource like an FM repeater. You'll see different 00:09:52.780 --> 00:09:55.460 recommendations on how to operate through the 00:09:55.460 --> 00:09:58.480 past but the ones that that share the past with 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.360 everyone and are the most efficient are the ones 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:03.519 that are going to get the most contacts for everybody 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:08.700 in the law, yourself included. One good example 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:12.299 of that and it just popped up on the MSAP bulletin 00:10:12.299 --> 00:10:16.740 board tonight is someone asked if it was okay 00:10:17.660 --> 00:10:20.840 To basically just say your call sign in your 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:23.019 grid square when you were looking for a contact 00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:28.659 and that works a lot of people do that But it's 00:10:28.659 --> 00:10:32.419 not the best method by far What happens especially 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:35.419 on SO 50 which is the probably the hardest of 00:10:35.419 --> 00:10:38.840 the FM satellites to hear is It you'll see people 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:40.919 doing this just repeating their call sign and 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.539 maybe their grid square over and over fishing 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:47.990 for a contact That's also what happens when people 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:50.190 can't hear the satellite as they repeat their 00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:53.169 call sign again and again. So if you want to 00:10:53.169 --> 00:10:56.509 rise above that and actually make some contacts 00:10:56.509 --> 00:11:00.850 in a quick fashion, listen. Listen to who's making 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:05.909 contacts on the pass. If you hear someone that 00:11:05.909 --> 00:11:09.009 is answering calls and making calls and making 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:13.470 QSOS, pick that call sign out and give them a 00:11:13.470 --> 00:11:18.519 call. If I hear W5PFG making lots of contacts 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:21.899 and I'm trying to make my first contact or I'm 00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:25.139 not really up to speed and I'm kind of a newbie 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:28.360 on it, pick his call sign out and give him a 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:33.740 call. W5PFG from KO4MA, EL88. Bang. What happens 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:37.039 is that he knows that you can hear and he's going 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.600 to invest his time to make the call back and 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.850 make the cue so with you. And that is so much 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:44.230 more productive than just repeating a call sign 00:11:44.230 --> 00:11:49.509 over and over. One of the things I do is I will 00:11:49.509 --> 00:11:54.529 do that one time. I'll say, you know, here I 00:11:54.529 --> 00:11:58.269 am in this grid square, you know, but then that's 00:11:58.269 --> 00:12:01.350 it. I don't keep doing that over and over again 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:04.389 because, you know, I want people to know, hey, 00:12:04.389 --> 00:12:07.570 I'm here if you need this grid square, but I'm 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:09.769 not going to tie everything up doing that, you 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:13.460 know. Ten times during pass right certain once 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:15.519 or twice certainly isn't a bad thing and it's 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.159 a way to to put it out there that you're there 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:21.899 and if the other operators know that you're a 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:24.360 Capable operator and you can hear the satellite 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:27.100 they'll call you if they want to make a contact 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:30.340 But first getting started a lot of a lot of guys 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.159 get into that habit and they never They never 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:36.600 grow past it. So it it it's kind of funny. Sometimes 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.779 you'll hear Four or five people on a pass and 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:43.279 they just kind of round robin Announcing themselves. 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:46.039 Well, if you're gonna be on a pass to talk to 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.539 somebody call somebody it works a lot better 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:54.039 that way Yeah, couldn't agree more and One of 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:56.299 the things that I've heard and and I just went 00:12:56.299 --> 00:12:58.779 through this because I really just got started 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:02.940 in this a year or two ago and I've been trying 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:07.769 to help some others along the way and It's like 00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:10.970 okay. I've got my antenna. I've got everything. 00:13:11.309 --> 00:13:15.009 You know, I've listened to a few passes It's 00:13:15.009 --> 00:13:20.289 really busy. It goes really fast. So When do 00:13:20.289 --> 00:13:24.330 I you know, when do I jump in when should I jump 00:13:24.330 --> 00:13:29.870 in because if you do like you do on a on a normal 00:13:29.870 --> 00:13:35.210 terrestrial repeater or an HF frequency and weight 00:13:35.450 --> 00:13:39.909 until there's this, you know, 30 -second opening, 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:45.210 you'll never get a contact because it's just 00:13:45.210 --> 00:13:49.309 not going to happen. It's a limited, shared resource. 00:13:49.950 --> 00:13:54.049 And so you're not going to find a 30 -second 00:13:54.049 --> 00:13:58.610 window of dead air. Most of the time unless you 00:13:58.610 --> 00:14:00.350 operate, you know in the middle of the night 00:14:00.350 --> 00:14:04.970 or something So when do you call a station and 00:14:04.970 --> 00:14:09.389 and when do you? You know kind of give up on 00:14:09.389 --> 00:14:13.210 the on the person who didn't get a response Right 00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:17.669 away and go ahead and and make another call Well, 00:14:17.669 --> 00:14:20.789 it's it's really fast -paced. It's kind of like 00:14:20.789 --> 00:14:23.710 contesting in that regard or DXing in that regard 00:14:25.889 --> 00:14:31.250 you'll hear the passes that go really well. There's 00:14:31.250 --> 00:14:34.570 usually only a one or two count sort of beat 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:39.289 before the next call or QSO starts. So bump, 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:43.309 bump, and then the next one's going. And that's 00:14:43.309 --> 00:14:48.070 okay on FM satellite. Now some of the things 00:14:48.070 --> 00:14:50.450 you have to watch out for, just like on a terrestrial 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:53.500 repeater, and anybody who's tried to check into 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:57.320 the Wednesday night AresNet knows this, is sometimes 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.480 two people will key up at the same time. If they're 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.779 half duplex, that means not being able to hear 00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:08.740 their own downlink, they will know that they're 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:12.559 interfering with each other. So one of the things 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:16.200 that's very important to make FM satellite passes 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:21.289 flow and not be full of log jams and QRM each 00:15:21.289 --> 00:15:25.049 other is to use full duplex. Now, that doesn't 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:28.210 mean you have to go out and buy the latest full 00:15:28.210 --> 00:15:33.110 duplex radio or, you know, you can do full duplex 00:15:33.110 --> 00:15:37.009 with two Balfangs most of the time. Oh, wait 00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:42.370 a minute. He said the word Balfang. Or Wushan 00:15:42.370 --> 00:15:46.570 or whatever the... No, I had to play the Balfang 00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:50.440 song there. We got it in. All right. It's true, 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.080 you know, that it doesn't take a fortune to get 00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:58.220 full duplex on the FM satellites. You can use 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:01.320 whatever 2 meter or 70 centimeter transmitter 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.980 you can find that has PL tone on it. And you 00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:08.779 can use a $5 scanner for the receiver off of 00:16:08.779 --> 00:16:12.580 the table at the Hamfest. And I've done it. You 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:16.600 know, you can go to a Hamfest with $40 and likely 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:19.730 come out with two radios that wouldn't allow 00:16:19.730 --> 00:16:21.889 you to work full duplex. So it's not hard and 00:16:21.889 --> 00:16:24.649 it's not expensive. What it does allow you to 00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:28.970 do is make sure you're not QRMing somebody else 00:16:28.970 --> 00:16:32.649 by doubling and it also allows you to adjust 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:37.429 your antenna for both pointing and polarity while 00:16:37.429 --> 00:16:40.269 you're transmitting. If you key up and you hear 00:16:40.269 --> 00:16:42.809 yourself back but you're a little ratty, you 00:16:42.809 --> 00:16:45.110 know, you're not quite full quieting into the 00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:48.210 satellite. You can twist that arrow or elk or 00:16:48.210 --> 00:16:51.710 you can point it around, swing it around a little 00:16:51.710 --> 00:16:54.309 bit, try to get it right on the satellite and 00:16:54.309 --> 00:16:57.149 peak that signal up. Those are some of the tricks 00:16:57.149 --> 00:17:00.990 you can do with full duplex. And it's very important 00:17:00.990 --> 00:17:03.210 that people strive to that. I'm not saying if 00:17:03.210 --> 00:17:05.730 you're half duplex, stay off the satellite. I'm 00:17:05.730 --> 00:17:09.069 saying recognize that it's a limitation that 00:17:09.069 --> 00:17:11.890 affects you making QSOs and will also affect 00:17:11.890 --> 00:17:16.930 other people making QSOs. All right now to emphasize 00:17:16.930 --> 00:17:19.549 this little bit being being the teacher that 00:17:19.549 --> 00:17:24.150 I am I went out there in search of some examples 00:17:24.150 --> 00:17:28.490 of You know really good passes and really bad 00:17:28.490 --> 00:17:33.029 passes and thanks to Patrick wd9 ewk for allowing 00:17:33.029 --> 00:17:39.660 me to use his vast supply in the dropbox of of 00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:44.259 all of his contacts to try to find some. So I 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:47.160 picked out a couple here. We're going to listen 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:49.039 to a couple of them and then we're going to talk 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.599 about them a little bit. So first of all we're 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:54.740 going to listen to a pretty clean pass. This 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:57.940 one's a pretty good pass where people wait for 00:17:57.940 --> 00:18:01.339 others to finish and are pretty efficient with 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:04.440 the use of their time. So we're going to listen 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:32.880 to that right now. ATX, Alpha, India, Six Delta, 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:45.990 Oscar, Delta, Mike zero three. okay so that was 00:18:45.990 --> 00:18:48.690 a pretty efficient pass not a lot of dead air 00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:54.829 not a lot of extra banter or anybody stepping 00:18:54.829 --> 00:19:01.869 on anybody but but that's that's fast that's 00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:05.740 very fast and efficient And you can hear that 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:10.240 sort of one, two beat in between contacts. Everybody 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.220 was using phonetics in their full call sign and 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:15.779 their grid squares. And it was just very efficient, 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:19.619 very good pass. And if I had to guess, it probably 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:23.000 was a pass that was a little further out west 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:26.980 where there's fewer people on. And that's one 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:29.119 thing that can make a big difference on a pass. 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:31.960 The East Coast has got a lot of people trying 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.450 to use the satellites. it gets a little less 00:19:34.450 --> 00:19:37.410 out towards the west coast. So things are a little 00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:40.250 bit easier sometimes. Same thing with time of 00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:45.890 day. If you're trying to work a pass at noon 00:19:45.890 --> 00:19:49.150 on Saturday, it's going to be busy. Everybody's 00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:52.329 home, everybody's out. If you're trying to work 00:19:52.329 --> 00:19:55.769 a pass at 3 a .m. on a Tuesday, you might even 00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:57.670 have a hard time finding somebody to talk to. 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:03.700 So the off schedule sort of passes and the passes 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:06.160 that don't have a lot of land or a lot of population 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:08.640 in the footprint are really good ones to get 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:10.460 started on and kind of cut your teeth and get 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:14.640 the swing of things. Okay, now we're going to 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:18.960 listen to what can happen when you don't follow 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.519 those things. So we're going to listen to a clip 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:31.279 of AO91 and It starts off with my friend Kevin 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:40.579 KK4YEL talking to K2BSA slash 5 and then after 00:20:40.579 --> 00:20:45.440 they finish their QSO, well, yeah, you can tell 00:20:45.440 --> 00:21:24.170 what happens next. Okay, that was just painful. 00:21:25.329 --> 00:21:31.529 Yeah, what a mess. I mean, you had people trampling 00:21:31.529 --> 00:21:34.250 on top of each other. You had people getting 00:21:34.250 --> 00:21:39.089 cut off. You had people jumping in. You know 00:21:39.089 --> 00:21:41.329 didn't give time for the other person to even 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:45.950 try And all it ended up was one big jumbled mess 00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:48.829 that nobody got anything out of it at all Yeah, 00:21:48.829 --> 00:21:51.809 one big heterodyne and bits and pieces of syllables 00:21:51.809 --> 00:21:55.450 in there. So One of the things that that jumps 00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:58.710 out at me about this clip is that it's K2 BSA 00:21:58.710 --> 00:22:02.190 stroke 5 and that's the Boy Scouts of America 00:22:02.190 --> 00:22:06.630 during Jimbery on the air, I think so There's 00:22:06.630 --> 00:22:08.430 a station a lot of people would like to make 00:22:08.430 --> 00:22:15.009 contact with. So one of the guidelines in the 00:22:15.009 --> 00:22:18.509 article, Sean's article that you sent out earlier, 00:22:19.329 --> 00:22:22.829 is that rare and portable stations take priority. 00:22:23.589 --> 00:22:27.490 So if you're on a pass and you hear K2BSA trying 00:22:27.490 --> 00:22:31.410 to make contacts for the scouts, perhaps that's 00:22:31.410 --> 00:22:35.700 not the time to call. Joe ham the next town over 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:40.099 on the satellite 800 kilometers away and to make 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:44.380 your 520 second contact And yes, there's a little 00:22:44.380 --> 00:22:46.519 bit of sarcasm in there, but you hear it all 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:51.859 the time if A good operator will have some situational 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:54.660 awareness about what's going on during the pass 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:58.160 and that comes from hearing Hearing all the other 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:02.779 stations Realizing which ones might be rare or 00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:07.279 have some sort of assumed priority that you might 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.400 want to lend a little time to and a Boy Scout 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:13.859 station would certainly qualify for that. One 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:18.019 of the other things that that clip emphasizes 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:23.259 is the need to be able to hear when you're transmitting 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:25.539 along with somebody else and neither one of you 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:30.230 are getting in. again falls back to having a 00:23:30.230 --> 00:23:32.309 good antenna system that allows you to hear the 00:23:32.309 --> 00:23:35.789 satellite and operating with full duplex so you 00:23:35.789 --> 00:23:39.809 can hear that as it happens instead of hearing 00:23:39.809 --> 00:23:42.170 the recording from somebody else later and thinking 00:23:42.170 --> 00:23:45.309 hey I was transmitting that whole time oh wow 00:23:45.309 --> 00:23:47.789 maybe me and the other guy were the reason nobody 00:23:47.789 --> 00:23:49.930 was getting through because neither one of us 00:23:49.930 --> 00:23:53.470 knew to to lay off the hammer for a minute so 00:23:53.470 --> 00:23:55.910 again it comes back to having a station that 00:23:56.140 --> 00:23:59.019 that you can hear the satellite reliably with 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:02.460 and having full duplex so you can hear yourself 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:05.539 and hear whether you're getting in or not and 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:10.279 having the situational awareness to be able to 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:12.680 know why everybody's trying to call this one 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:16.319 particular station. Sometimes you hear that with 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:19.299 grid operations, you know, satellite operators 00:24:19.299 --> 00:24:22.759 go a little bit crazy for grid squares for their 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:27.099 VUCC awards. And when somebody is out and has 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.740 made the effort to go to a rare grid square to 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:33.519 activate it for people, again, it's not the time 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:38.079 for a lot of redundant QSOs that you could have 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:41.759 any other day. Maybe consider making one or two, 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:44.859 maybe one with the rare station or the roving 00:24:44.859 --> 00:24:47.720 station it's on, and then letting other people 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:51.839 make some contacts. The FM satellites are a shared 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:56.769 resource. Only so much air time and so many people 00:24:56.769 --> 00:24:57.970 that are going to be able to get through and 00:24:57.970 --> 00:25:01.269 make a contact. So on those busy passes, make 00:25:01.269 --> 00:25:05.089 one or two contacts unless you're the guy out 00:25:05.089 --> 00:25:08.130 out roving around at the special event and save 00:25:08.130 --> 00:25:11.349 some some more for the next day. And if that 00:25:11.349 --> 00:25:15.289 doesn't doesn't feed your satellite hunger enough, 00:25:15.710 --> 00:25:17.789 then it's time to move up to the transponders 00:25:17.789 --> 00:25:21.990 and you can chat pretty much all day long every 00:25:21.990 --> 00:25:27.890 15 minutes or so. Well, that's kind of what we 00:25:27.890 --> 00:25:31.650 were wanting to address tonight was these things 00:25:31.650 --> 00:25:36.990 that really make operation on the FM satellites 00:25:36.990 --> 00:25:41.109 a little frustrating sometimes because this doesn't 00:25:41.109 --> 00:25:43.690 happen all the time. And I did a show with Ward 00:25:43.690 --> 00:25:48.119 Silver in 0AX. a few months ago here on ham talk 00:25:48.119 --> 00:25:51.660 live talking about efficient operators for Contesting 00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:54.460 and you know saying things like please copy and 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:56.160 that kind of thing and then you can say whatever 00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:59.640 you want you can do whatever you want, but You 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:03.559 also have to take into account that there's a 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:06.319 limited amount of time There's a limited amount 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:10.579 of resources and I made a comparison between 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:15.119 operating satellites and contesting and you know 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.220 In contesting you're trying to run up the score 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:22.119 you're trying to you know get as many contacts 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:26.700 as you possibly can and wasted words just kind 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:30.059 of getting your way and if you're not doing that 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:32.500 then yeah, let's say whatever you want, you know, 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:37.809 whatever but on satellite there's only a small 00:26:37.809 --> 00:26:42.369 window of time and it's not just you know not 00:26:42.369 --> 00:26:45.049 running your score up it's you're not going to 00:26:45.049 --> 00:26:48.390 make the contact and other people aren't going 00:26:48.390 --> 00:26:52.930 to be able to make any contacts either and that's 00:26:52.930 --> 00:26:56.730 true and it's not a it's not a hard and fast 00:26:56.730 --> 00:26:59.930 rule again it goes back to situational awareness 00:26:59.930 --> 00:27:05.470 if I'm on you know I'm down in Florida I'm as 00:27:05.470 --> 00:27:08.329 far south as just about any satellite operator 00:27:08.329 --> 00:27:13.869 in the U .S. and pretty far east among those 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:17.369 two. So I get a lot of passes around over the 00:27:17.369 --> 00:27:20.150 Atlantic Ocean that might only be five degrees 00:27:20.150 --> 00:27:24.150 or so along the East Coast. And, you know, that's 00:27:24.150 --> 00:27:26.650 one thing because there may only be two or three 00:27:26.650 --> 00:27:29.470 people on that type of pass. So if you want to 00:27:29.470 --> 00:27:31.789 say hi and, hey, good to hear you again, whatever, 00:27:31.890 --> 00:27:34.279 you've got time for it. because you're aware 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:38.119 that there's not this throbbing mass of hams 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:39.779 out there trying to get their first satellite 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:43.519 contact or their 100 satellite contact, you know, 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:48.279 on an FM station or FM satellite. Now, if that 00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:51.220 passes, say, one straight up, you know, through 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:54.400 Texas and leaving out through the Dakotas in 00:27:54.400 --> 00:27:57.259 the north and the whole country's in the footprint, 00:27:57.900 --> 00:28:01.200 that's the time to really understand, okay, hey, 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:04.019 this is going to be busy, it's going to be fast 00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:06.660 -paced, I need to pick out a call sign of somebody 00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:09.880 that I want to talk to, I need to call them directly, 00:28:10.539 --> 00:28:14.200 I need to answer them directly, you know, keep 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:17.019 the chit -chat down, and you know, that contact 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:19.920 shouldn't take any longer than 15 seconds. You 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:22.900 know, it's a call sign, a grid square, a call 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:24.619 sign, a grid square, and an acknowledgement. 00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:29.440 And that's all it takes. So, you know, it's not, 00:28:29.500 --> 00:28:32.960 we're not telling people to To you know be regimented 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:35.799 and fast and no chit chat. Just be aware of the 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:42.000 type of pass you're on and adjust for it Well 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:44.319 said and we're going to leave it there we're 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:47.319 going to take a break and When we come back, 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:49.059 we're going to take some questions. We already 00:28:49.059 --> 00:28:52.119 have a couple of them coming in on the chat here. 00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:56.720 So We'll take a look at those and talk more about 00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:00.599 making the most of satellite time With Drew ko4 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:03.079 ma right after this word from tower electronics 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:08.680 right here on ham talk live I'm sorry to bother 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:11.019 you, but I'm having an antenna party and I ran 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:15.299 out of PL 259s. Oh come in Thank you would silver 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:19.380 -plated PL 259s from tower electronics be too 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:21.960 good for your guests. Those will be fine. Thank 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:26.039 you You saved my life the other night. Oh, the 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:29.740 PL -259s from Tower Electronics? Yes, they were 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:32.619 very successful at the antenna party. My antenna 00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:35.779 works like a charm. Then how can you ever thank 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:38.539 me? I'll try to think of something. Don't be 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:41.940 caught without PL -259s. Visit Tower Electronics 00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:44.480 at a ham fest near you, or visit them online 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:50.670 anytime at PL -259 .com. or call 920 -435 -2973. 00:29:51.190 --> 00:29:54.130 They have adapters, cables, antennas, soldering 00:29:54.130 --> 00:29:57.130 supplies, and meters too. The National Voice 00:29:57.130 --> 00:30:00.089 of America Museum of Broadcasting, located in 00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:02.730 Westchester, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, 00:30:03.230 --> 00:30:07.230 is only two minutes off I -75. The museum is 00:30:07.230 --> 00:30:09.849 the former home of the Voice of America Bethany 00:30:09.849 --> 00:30:13.230 Relay Station. Tours are now available every 00:30:13.230 --> 00:30:15.849 Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p .m. Eastern 00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:19.930 Time. You can see the control room, a 200 ,000 00:30:19.930 --> 00:30:22.869 watt transmitter, and the most comprehensive 00:30:22.869 --> 00:30:26.029 collection of inventions by the iconic Powell 00:30:26.029 --> 00:30:30.170 -Crosley Jr. Also on display is a huge antique 00:30:30.170 --> 00:30:33.910 radio exhibit and R .L. Drake's personal collection 00:30:33.910 --> 00:30:37.960 of most every Drake amateur rig ever made. This 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:41.220 is a unique opportunity to see amateur radio 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:43.880 in action and have a chance to get on the air 00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:50.319 from WC8VOA. Admission is only $5 a person. The 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:54.259 museum is located close to historic WLWAM and 00:30:54.259 --> 00:30:57.380 tons of shopping and restaurants. Take a trip 00:30:57.380 --> 00:31:02.299 to the VOA museum or visit us online at voamuseum 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:06.990 .org. Join the conversation. Give us a call at 00:31:06.990 --> 00:31:13.769 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. Now, 00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:23.200 here's more HamTalk Live! Here's the snap, Rapp 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:25.700 takes the rig, he breaks through the pile up, 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:31.759 he's on 80, now 40, now 20, 15, 10, 2 meters, 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:56.359 touchdown Hamtok Live! Thanks to Tower Electronics 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:59.299 for sponsoring the show if they have done each 00:31:59.299 --> 00:32:03.180 and every episode. Allowing you to hear HamTalk 00:32:03.180 --> 00:32:06.000 Live at 9 p .m. Eastern right here at HamTalkLive 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:08.599 .com and be sure to check us out on Facebook, 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:13.480 Twitter, and Instagram. Their HamFest schedule 00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:17.720 coming up January 5th, Waukesha, Wisconsin, January 00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:22.279 18th and 19th, Fort Myers, Florida. January 19th, 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:25.619 St. Charles, Illinois. January 26th, they'll 00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:28.720 be in Collinsville, Illinois and Arcadia, Florida, 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:34.700 but you can visit them anytime at PL -259 .com. 00:32:35.059 --> 00:32:37.279 Well, it's time for your calls now. If you have 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:40.579 a question for Drew, give us a call. The number 00:32:40.579 --> 00:32:49.619 is 812 -NET. ham1 that's 812 -638 -4261 or you 00:32:49.619 --> 00:32:53.400 can tweet us we're at ham talk live on twitter 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:57.000 and if you're on spreeker you can also type a 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:01.240 comment which uh blake uh let me get his call 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:06.680 n4bwr uh did that and wrote in and asked what 00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:11.500 is the maximum accepted power level I often feel 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:16.619 like my 5 watt signal is just getting overwhelmed. 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:22.680 Well this is a question we hear a lot and 5 watts 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:27.359 is kind of an easy number and it's about the 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:30.980 power output of an HT but let's dig into that 00:33:30.980 --> 00:33:34.960 a little bit and try to explain where the problem 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:37.579 is coming from or where it may be coming from. 00:33:38.849 --> 00:33:43.069 If you're operating a satellite with With just 00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:46.089 a whip antenna a quarter wave whip and a 5 watt 00:33:46.089 --> 00:33:50.650 HT You're under gunned to begin with so that 00:33:50.650 --> 00:33:56.009 5 watts into a 0 DB antenna is 5 watts e IRP 00:33:56.009 --> 00:34:01.410 or ERP So let's add an arrow antenna to that 00:34:01.410 --> 00:34:03.430 just because that's the one I'm most familiar 00:34:03.430 --> 00:34:10.090 with an arrow antenna is About 8 DB on two meters. 00:34:10.090 --> 00:34:14.610 I would say maybe 10 on on UHF somewhere around 00:34:14.610 --> 00:34:17.010 there Let's say 10 just to make the numbers easy. 00:34:17.230 --> 00:34:21.610 So now you've got a 5 watt HT into a 10 DB gain 00:34:21.610 --> 00:34:26.889 antenna 10 DB is 10 times the power. So now your 00:34:26.889 --> 00:34:32.389 5 watts is 50 watts ERP So now you're you're 00:34:32.389 --> 00:34:35.639 getting a lot Lot easier to get into the satellite 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:38.900 a lot easier to get over any sort of QRM or interference 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:41.860 or anything like that Let's take that one step 00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:46.340 further There's always an ongoing argument between 00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:52.420 Experienced ops in new ops and that's about tripods 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:55.960 Tripods a lot of operators use them and don't 00:34:55.960 --> 00:34:58.949 get me wrong if you're incapable Or it makes 00:34:58.949 --> 00:35:01.510 you uncomfortable to hold the antenna by hand. 00:35:01.849 --> 00:35:04.389 I fully understand and approve of the use of 00:35:04.389 --> 00:35:07.469 a tripod. But you have to understand the disadvantage 00:35:07.469 --> 00:35:13.570 you might be getting into with that. The antennas 00:35:13.570 --> 00:35:16.289 on most of the satellites are literally polarized. 00:35:16.409 --> 00:35:20.590 They're just whips. Your aero antenna is literally 00:35:20.590 --> 00:35:25.710 polarized. If you have a mismatch between those, 00:35:25.809 --> 00:35:28.469 if the satellite antenna is going up up and down, 00:35:28.650 --> 00:35:31.449 your antenna is side to side, that's going to 00:35:31.449 --> 00:35:36.150 be up to about 20 dB of difference, 20 dB of 00:35:36.150 --> 00:35:41.190 loss between the two. So your 5 watt signal, 00:35:42.150 --> 00:35:47.369 50 watts out of the arrow ERP divided by 100 00:35:47.369 --> 00:35:52.730 is back down to half a watt. So polarity is really, 00:35:52.730 --> 00:35:56.510 really important. Twisting your wrist to match 00:35:56.699 --> 00:35:59.900 to peak the signal strength on the the downlink 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:02.400 to peak the signal strength while you're transmitting 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:04.980 listening back through the Downlinks because 00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:09.179 you're full duplex that has way way way way more 00:36:09.179 --> 00:36:11.760 to do with how well you get into the satellite 00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:14.260 Over whether you're running five watts out of 00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:18.719 your HT or 50 watts out of your mobile It's all 00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:21.300 in the antenna work. It's all in the polarity 00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:24.559 matching And that's why you hear experienced 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:28.630 ops That can work a pass from horizon to horizon 00:36:28.630 --> 00:36:32.210 with a 5 watt HT and an arrow Because they know 00:36:32.210 --> 00:36:34.610 how to twist and get that signal peaked They 00:36:34.610 --> 00:36:36.630 know how to listen while they're transmitting 00:36:36.630 --> 00:36:39.670 and get pointed right on the satellite and they've 00:36:39.670 --> 00:36:44.150 got the timing down path so You know not not 00:36:44.150 --> 00:36:47.289 to make Light of the question because it's a 00:36:47.289 --> 00:36:50.090 common question, but it's more about the antenna 00:36:50.090 --> 00:36:53.340 and more about the pointing More about the polarity 00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:57.920 matching than it ever is about power So this 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:03.320 this makes me start thinking back to HF Where 00:37:03.320 --> 00:37:06.820 you know crank up the 1500 watts to bust the 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:13.360 pileups If you do that on satellite water the 00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:16.960 implications Well, people are going to realize 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:19.599 that you're just stomping on folks and they're 00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:21.719 going to complain about you and they're going 00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:24.079 to quit talking to you. And they'll probably 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:27.300 send me a nasty email asking me as VP of operations 00:37:27.300 --> 00:37:30.280 to do something about it. So, you know, you have 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:34.119 to be polite. You shouldn't be transmitting on 00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:39.619 top of anyone on purpose unless it's, you know, 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:45.480 QRM or somebody's DMR repeater, QRM in the uplink 00:37:45.480 --> 00:37:48.559 or somebody... I'm not saying the guy that's 00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:50.860 CQing from Horizon to Horizon that you shouldn't 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:52.860 go ahead and make contacts over top of them, 00:37:53.260 --> 00:37:55.679 but send them an email when you're done telling 00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:57.320 them that we heard you, but you weren't hearing 00:37:57.320 --> 00:38:01.360 us. You really shouldn't be trying to step on 00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:06.239 top of anybody to begin with. Step back, let 00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:10.179 somebody else make the contact, try again. That's 00:38:10.179 --> 00:38:13.239 much more productive and makes for a lot lower 00:38:13.239 --> 00:38:18.420 blood pressure when the pass is over. All right, 00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:21.880 well we have another question on the texting 00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:28.800 here from this one is from Chris AA4CB and Chris 00:38:28.800 --> 00:38:34.219 wants to know can you use a VUHF all -mode portable 00:38:34.219 --> 00:38:43.239 like a Yezu FT -991? Oh sure. Now the 991 will 00:38:43.239 --> 00:38:47.079 transmit both transmit and receive both FM or 00:38:47.079 --> 00:38:49.840 CW and sideband. So you could use it on both 00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:53.139 the linear or the FM repeater satellites. The 00:38:53.139 --> 00:38:57.000 problem is it's half duplex. So it would be one 00:38:57.000 --> 00:39:01.960 half of an effective ground station. Use the 00:39:01.960 --> 00:39:08.699 991 as a transmitter. Use something like a RTL 00:39:08.699 --> 00:39:11.880 SDR dongle for a receiver or a funcube dongle 00:39:11.880 --> 00:39:15.920 for a receiver or you know you quite often can 00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:20.559 find 817s with burnout finals pretty cheap a 00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:22.400 couple hundred dollars for something like that 00:39:22.400 --> 00:39:26.000 or an r20 scanner with sideband you know you 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:29.320 need it with the 991 it's half of the equation 00:39:29.320 --> 00:39:31.239 you're going to use it either as a transmitter 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:33.500 or receiver and then you're going to need something 00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:35.960 else as a transmitter or receiver maybe an old 00:39:35.960 --> 00:39:38.739 ft290 or something old two meter almost that 00:39:38.739 --> 00:39:41.119 you can find for about a hundred hundred fifty 00:39:41.119 --> 00:39:46.840 bucks at hamfest now So you can but you know 00:39:46.840 --> 00:39:50.420 something full duplex would Would work out a 00:39:50.420 --> 00:39:53.440 lot better or or like you said, you know two 00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:58.619 rigs But yeah, that'll work. Okay. Well, we've 00:39:58.619 --> 00:40:01.260 caught up on the question. So if you have a question 00:40:01.260 --> 00:40:07.599 give us a call phone number 812 -638 -4261 again, 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:14.039 that's 812 -638 -4261 or you can tweet us. We're 00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:17.380 at HamTalk Live on Twitter and these questions 00:40:17.380 --> 00:40:21.760 are coming in on Spreaker on the comments on 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:25.539 the live feed tonight. So if you're on the live 00:40:25.539 --> 00:40:28.260 feed and you're logged in, you can just post 00:40:28.260 --> 00:40:31.699 it there too. pop up here on the screen, but 00:40:31.699 --> 00:40:38.380 the phone number is 812 -638 -4261 if you have 00:40:38.380 --> 00:40:41.599 some questions for Drew here while we have him 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:45.820 on the line for a few minutes longer. While we're 00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:47.980 waiting, see if we get some more questions, Drew, 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:52.860 can you give us an update on some of those interference 00:40:52.860 --> 00:40:55.519 issues that we've mentioned here on the show? 00:40:56.360 --> 00:40:59.699 some uh... some hot spots perhaps uh... that 00:40:59.699 --> 00:41:01.880 that were causing some problems on a o ninety 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:06.139 two yes so uh... earlier this year uh... we were 00:41:06.139 --> 00:41:09.880 having lots of problems with uh... d m r which 00:41:09.880 --> 00:41:13.420 has a very distinctive pulsing sound to it when 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:17.159 you're listening on analog f m uh... interference 00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:20.559 on a o ninety two on the uplink uh... we put 00:41:20.559 --> 00:41:23.179 out some messages the a double r l repeated it 00:41:23.340 --> 00:41:28.719 We looked some stations up online through the 00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:32.400 Brandmeister network and emailed them and asked 00:41:32.400 --> 00:41:36.420 them to move out of the satellite subband and 00:41:36.420 --> 00:41:40.199 most of those complied. We had some manufacturers 00:41:40.199 --> 00:41:47.960 that inserted code into their hotspots that excluded 00:41:47.960 --> 00:41:50.480 those frequencies or suggested that they shouldn't 00:41:50.480 --> 00:41:53.150 be used in those frequencies. So that was very 00:41:53.150 --> 00:41:56.530 helpful. It's not went away completely. It's 00:41:56.530 --> 00:41:59.869 still there. We get DMR once in a while through 00:41:59.869 --> 00:42:05.489 AO -92. We also hear radar through 91 and 92. 00:42:05.650 --> 00:42:07.590 And there's not much we can do about that. That 00:42:07.590 --> 00:42:10.829 has a different kind of musical sweeping tone 00:42:10.829 --> 00:42:13.909 sound to it. And that's the military. It's their 00:42:13.909 --> 00:42:17.869 primary band. So, you know, we're secondary users 00:42:17.869 --> 00:42:21.590 and there's not much we can do about that. If 00:42:21.590 --> 00:42:26.849 you've got a hotspot or a DMR system or Echolink 00:42:26.849 --> 00:42:31.210 or any of these sort of auxiliary connections 00:42:31.210 --> 00:42:35.230 to the digital modes, they shouldn't be in 435 00:42:35.230 --> 00:42:41.449 to 438 or 1458 to 146. Look in your local band 00:42:41.449 --> 00:42:46.269 plan or an ARRL band plan and please move those 00:42:46.269 --> 00:42:49.369 out because you can cause interference. both 00:42:49.369 --> 00:42:53.690 on uplinks and downlinks of satellites. Alright, 00:42:53.730 --> 00:42:57.250 we've got another question here on Spreaker and 00:42:57.250 --> 00:43:03.010 Rich in for ESS actually stole my next question. 00:43:03.670 --> 00:43:08.289 How about an update on AO95? What's the latest 00:43:08.289 --> 00:43:12.929 word on AO95? Well, nothing has really changed 00:43:12.929 --> 00:43:18.329 on it. We're continuing to try different things 00:43:18.329 --> 00:43:22.469 to get it to hear us. We're working on lining 00:43:22.469 --> 00:43:28.230 up some really strong EME type stations to uplink 00:43:28.230 --> 00:43:32.110 to it to see if we can wiggle the S meter on 00:43:32.110 --> 00:43:35.369 the satellite. We've got good feedback. We have 00:43:35.369 --> 00:43:39.730 one of the telemetry lines is the RSSI, the Received 00:43:39.730 --> 00:43:44.789 Signal Strength Indicator on the satellite. On 00:43:44.789 --> 00:43:47.670 all the other Fox satellites, even AO -85, that's 00:43:47.670 --> 00:43:51.190 kind of hard of hearing, you see that occasionally 00:43:51.190 --> 00:43:57.030 go from minus 130 to minus 60 dBm. Or dB, I forget 00:43:57.030 --> 00:44:01.550 which one it is. We don't see that on, and that's 00:44:01.550 --> 00:44:03.650 from radar pulses, like I was mentioning, these 00:44:03.650 --> 00:44:06.210 big radar systems that are in the 70 centimeter 00:44:06.210 --> 00:44:11.760 band. We're not seeing that on AO -95, so. We 00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:15.480 continue to monitor it watch the telemetry You 00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:18.519 know, maybe some thermal cycling will fix whatever 00:44:18.519 --> 00:44:22.780 the problem is But you know it is what it is. 00:44:23.179 --> 00:44:26.519 It's It's a sad thing and we're we're three out 00:44:26.519 --> 00:44:28.900 of four on small satellites, which is still are 00:44:28.900 --> 00:44:32.780 on CubeSats which is still pretty good and We'll 00:44:32.780 --> 00:44:35.219 continue to try to work and try to make the best 00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:38.320 out of it. And in the meantime the engineering 00:44:38.320 --> 00:44:42.090 team is Moving forward on the golf project, which 00:44:42.090 --> 00:44:45.989 are three you satellites You know three times 00:44:45.989 --> 00:44:48.809 as big as the Fox satellites with three times 00:44:48.809 --> 00:44:51.230 the amount of stuff and three times the complexity 00:44:51.230 --> 00:44:55.050 in them, so We'll we'll take these lessons and 00:44:55.050 --> 00:44:59.829 carry them forward with us 8 1 2 6 3 8 4 2 6 00:44:59.829 --> 00:45:03.349 1 is the phone number and thanks for the questions 00:45:03.349 --> 00:45:06.940 coming in here on Spreaker tonight and also You 00:45:06.940 --> 00:45:11.980 can tweet us, we're at HamTalk Live. And oh, 00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:18.440 we've got a question here from KD8VRX and says, 00:45:18.679 --> 00:45:21.840 great show, thanks for the tips. And then, build 00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:26.119 or buy? Any good resource for building your own 00:45:26.119 --> 00:45:31.519 antenna? Oh yeah, we've got, you know, I wish 00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:34.280 I could figure out how to make it more front 00:45:34.280 --> 00:45:37.179 and center. But if you go to the AMSAT webpage 00:45:37.179 --> 00:45:40.039 and then right in the middle of the menu bar 00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:45.119 it says satellite info. You can scroll down that 00:45:45.119 --> 00:45:48.739 to station and operating hints. And that's a 00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:52.840 whole list of all sorts of resources for satellites. 00:45:53.440 --> 00:45:56.800 And there are lots of antennas in there. Off 00:45:56.800 --> 00:45:59.880 the top of my head some of the best ones are 00:45:59.880 --> 00:46:06.219 the WA5VJB Cheap Yagi for satellite. the ioio 00:46:06.219 --> 00:46:13.079 the CJU AA2TX has two different parasitic Lindenblads 00:46:13.079 --> 00:46:16.019 for Omnis. I'm normally not a big fan of Omnis 00:46:16.019 --> 00:46:19.639 except for telemetry collection, but those are 00:46:19.639 --> 00:46:22.380 probably the best of those. So there's a lot 00:46:22.380 --> 00:46:25.920 of links in there and have fun building an antenna. 00:46:25.940 --> 00:46:29.099 You can build one of Kent's cheap Yagis for you 00:46:29.099 --> 00:46:31.079 know the cost of a couple of connectors and a 00:46:31.079 --> 00:46:33.139 couple of feet of coax and some coat hangers. 00:46:33.320 --> 00:46:35.340 And they work just as good as an arrow. They 00:46:35.340 --> 00:46:37.360 don't fold up or come apart quite as nicely, 00:46:38.420 --> 00:46:43.199 but they're there and they're easy to make. All 00:46:43.199 --> 00:46:45.000 right. So some good resources. Thanks for the 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.400 question, Jocelyn. And actually was working a 00:46:49.400 --> 00:46:53.099 pass with Jocelyn yesterday over the Voice of 00:46:53.099 --> 00:46:56.360 America Museum of Broadcasting for a little bit 00:46:56.360 --> 00:46:59.139 and then also on HF. So good to catch up with 00:46:59.139 --> 00:47:03.090 you there and thanks for. The question on Twitter, 00:47:03.570 --> 00:47:06.570 so we're just about out of time here, but if 00:47:06.570 --> 00:47:09.889 you have a question send it our way. It's at 00:47:09.889 --> 00:47:13.889 HamTalk Live on Twitter or you can comment on 00:47:13.889 --> 00:47:19.050 the Spreaker system if you're on that. Some reason 00:47:19.050 --> 00:47:22.969 the software just locked up and the sound card 00:47:22.969 --> 00:47:27.070 just wasn't talking to the software, so we did 00:47:27.070 --> 00:47:33.940 a restart here. let's see we will go back we 00:47:33.940 --> 00:47:40.360 were talking about power and then we also got 00:47:40.360 --> 00:47:45.039 another question that came in so why don't we 00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:48.179 pick up with this other question and my apologies 00:47:48.179 --> 00:47:51.460 because I can't see who sent it right now but 00:47:51.460 --> 00:47:57.380 the question was What about geostationary? Do 00:47:57.380 --> 00:48:00.719 we have anything geostationary coming up? And 00:48:00.719 --> 00:48:03.800 so I think that's kind of where we were actually 00:48:03.800 --> 00:48:08.400 headed right before things crashed. So Drew, 00:48:08.400 --> 00:48:15.579 you want to comment on that? Sure. Earlier last 00:48:15.579 --> 00:48:21.059 year, we had a opportunity that we were pursuing 00:48:21.059 --> 00:48:28.539 with Virginia Tech as the primary primary contact, 00:48:28.940 --> 00:48:34.699 primary investigator, to put a package on a geosynchronous 00:48:34.699 --> 00:48:38.880 satellite. It would be a Virginia Tech project 00:48:38.880 --> 00:48:45.900 with AMSAT supporting it through building the 00:48:45.900 --> 00:48:49.800 ground end of it and also operating it for Virginia 00:48:49.800 --> 00:48:56.739 Tech. satellite project has been put on hold 00:48:56.739 --> 00:49:00.659 the primary project uh... is not moving toward 00:49:00.659 --> 00:49:05.539 uh... as it originally was and uh... from what 00:49:05.539 --> 00:49:08.639 i have been told by virginia check that we could 00:49:08.639 --> 00:49:13.199 not they they wanted uh... a large sum of money 00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:16.019 uh... and they could not guarantee that they 00:49:16.019 --> 00:49:19.300 would even ever turned the payload on or how 00:49:19.300 --> 00:49:23.030 long it would be in orbit uh... so it turned 00:49:23.030 --> 00:49:30.710 out to be a non -viable host for an AMSAT or 00:49:30.710 --> 00:49:36.090 Virginia Tech ham radio payload. I have not heard 00:49:36.090 --> 00:49:38.969 any new information on that for a while, so I 00:49:38.969 --> 00:49:44.130 assume that is all still valid. On the other 00:49:44.130 --> 00:49:46.789 hand, we are continuing to look for opportunities 00:49:46.789 --> 00:49:50.170 to go to higher orbits. It is not something that 00:49:50.170 --> 00:49:54.710 comes easily or cheaply. Part of the idea of 00:49:54.710 --> 00:50:00.329 the golf program is to get technologies that 00:50:00.329 --> 00:50:03.889 are required for higher orbits for independent 00:50:03.889 --> 00:50:08.130 satellites working in lower orbits before we 00:50:08.130 --> 00:50:14.409 spend six or seven digits of money to get to 00:50:14.409 --> 00:50:21.960 a higher orbit. It's a disappointment that Phase 00:50:21.960 --> 00:50:25.099 four hasn't moved any further than it has the 00:50:25.099 --> 00:50:30.159 Europeans have a phase 4a in orbit and Go undergoing 00:50:30.159 --> 00:50:33.300 commissioning right now. So it's gonna be more 00:50:33.300 --> 00:50:35.400 and more pressure for us to get something up 00:50:35.400 --> 00:50:38.719 and All I can say is that we're working on it 00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:43.099 and we need your support now Not after it's launched 00:50:43.099 --> 00:50:48.619 It's expensive to do these sort of things We 00:50:48.619 --> 00:50:52.710 paid a hundred thousand dollars for a payload 00:50:52.710 --> 00:50:58.329 suitability study to get on that previous mission. 00:50:59.489 --> 00:51:04.090 That's the sort of money that we need just to 00:51:04.090 --> 00:51:09.210 have an opportunity to play in the game and get 00:51:09.210 --> 00:51:11.349 one of these sort of launches. So we're still 00:51:11.349 --> 00:51:16.469 working on it and we hope to make progress both 00:51:16.469 --> 00:51:20.610 with the golf satellites and our own independent 00:51:20.610 --> 00:51:24.489 satellites in higher orbits as well as a hosted 00:51:24.489 --> 00:51:28.670 payload on somebody else's satellite. Alright, 00:51:28.989 --> 00:51:33.849 well thanks for the update on that. And we are 00:51:33.849 --> 00:51:37.909 over time here and part of that was the sound 00:51:37.909 --> 00:51:42.480 card crash. We'll go ahead and let you get on 00:51:42.480 --> 00:51:44.960 your way Drew, but thanks so much for coming 00:51:44.960 --> 00:51:48.119 on and remind everybody how they can support 00:51:48.119 --> 00:51:53.400 AMSAT and all of those endeavors. Well, I'm glad 00:51:53.400 --> 00:51:57.260 to be here, Neil, any time. And if you want to 00:51:57.260 --> 00:52:01.039 support AMSAT, modeon over to amsat .org and 00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:04.940 we have memberships available in the store, recurring 00:52:04.940 --> 00:52:08.360 donations, one -time donations. And for a little 00:52:08.360 --> 00:52:11.300 while still, if you join AMSAT, you will get 00:52:11.300 --> 00:52:14.619 a free PDF of our Getting Started Guide, which 00:52:14.619 --> 00:52:19.179 is 170 -something pages of satellite happiness 00:52:19.179 --> 00:52:24.699 for you. All right, very good. Well, thanks so 00:52:24.699 --> 00:52:28.360 much for everybody listening out there and for 00:52:28.360 --> 00:52:31.360 writing in tonight. And that's going to do it 00:52:31.360 --> 00:52:35.309 for this episode. So that is a wrap. for this 00:52:35.309 --> 00:52:38.809 week's HamTalk Live. Thanks to Drew Glasbrenner, 00:52:38.909 --> 00:52:42.070 KO4MA, and everybody out there in cyberspace 00:52:42.070 --> 00:52:44.869 for listening and writing in. And next Thursday 00:52:44.869 --> 00:52:51.070 night at 9 p .m. Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, Endoff 00:52:51.070 --> 00:52:56.590 Buckley, N6UTC, and David Aikens, N6HHR will 00:52:56.590 --> 00:52:59.929 be here to talk about special events on board 00:52:59.929 --> 00:53:06.119 the Queen Mary W6RO. Be sure to check that out, 00:53:06.280 --> 00:53:08.400 and for a list of all of our upcoming guests, 00:53:08.900 --> 00:53:12.380 visit HamTalkLive .com. And if you like HamTalk 00:53:12.380 --> 00:53:15.360 Live, please consider leaving us a review on 00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:17.699 iTunes or wherever you listen. It helps others 00:53:17.699 --> 00:53:21.400 find us a little faster. So for now, this is 00:53:21.400 --> 00:53:27.059 Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the good 00:53:27.059 --> 00:53:30.860 DX be yours. Thank you.