WEBVTT 00:00:11.389 --> 00:00:14.210 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:14.210 --> 00:00:32.149 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:32.149 --> 00:00:34.909 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:35.130 --> 00:00:47.259 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:51.000 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:54.340 cables, and more, visit them at a hamfest near 00:00:54.340 --> 00:01:02.679 you or call 920 -435 -2973 or online at pl -259 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:37.409 .com. Hey, good evening, everyone. It's time 00:01:37.409 --> 00:01:43.810 for HamTalk Live episode number 108. AMSAT satellite 00:01:43.810 --> 00:01:48.170 operations recorded live on Thursday, March 29, 00:01:49.030 --> 00:01:53.890 2018. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks 00:01:53.890 --> 00:01:56.750 for tuning into this episode of HamTalk Live 00:01:56.750 --> 00:02:02.250 tonight. We're joined by Drew Glassbrenner, KO4MA. 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:06.180 the AMSAT vice president in charge of operations 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:10.580 and we will take your calls live in just a few 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:14.740 minutes. Last week Rob Brownstein K6RB was here 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:18.060 to talk about CW Ops and if you missed that show 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:22.280 or any other show you can listen anytime at HamTalkLive 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:26.659 .com or you can catch our podcast version and 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:30.139 you can find that on just about any podcast app. 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:37.939 We're on iHeart Podcasts and also on TuneIn and 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:41.020 SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, most of 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:44.199 those. We're also over on YouTube if you want 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:48.599 to play it there. So you can find us very easily. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.840 So get your satellite operations questions ready, 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:56.539 and after we talk to Drew for a little bit, we'll 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:01.000 give you a chance to call and chime in. Let me 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:03.360 go ahead and give you the telephone number. It's 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:11.099 812 -638 -4261. That spells out 812 -net -ham 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:15.229 -1. to make it a little easier for you to remember, 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:18.710 hopefully. You can also call us on Skype. We're 00:03:18.710 --> 00:03:22.629 at HamTalk Live on Skype, and we're also at HamTalk 00:03:22.629 --> 00:03:26.500 Live on Twitter, so if you can... Tweet us, that 00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:29.699 works too. So we'd love to hear from you tonight 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:33.419 and answer some of your questions. But first, 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.520 we will talk to Drew and get a little bit of 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.819 background and then we'll open it up. So I'll 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:41.919 be back with Drew right after this word from 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:45.900 Tower Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. 00:03:46.219 --> 00:03:48.500 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:51.810 in part by Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics 00:03:51.810 --> 00:03:55.030 has been the Ham's Dime Store since 1978. When 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:57.750 you need connectors, mobile and handheld antennas, 00:03:58.009 --> 00:04:01.210 cables or adapters, visit Scott or Jill at a 00:04:01.210 --> 00:04:04.610 HamFest near you. Or you can order online at 00:04:04.610 --> 00:04:12.310 PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. Stock up 00:04:12.310 --> 00:04:15.550 on those supplies like PL -259 and end connectors, 00:04:15.969 --> 00:04:19.129 SMA adapters, audio cables, soldering supplies, 00:04:19.370 --> 00:04:22.110 mobile antennas, and hamsticks. Their silver 00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:25.029 plated end connectors are even used on the International 00:04:25.029 --> 00:04:28.350 Space Station. Tower Electronics carries MFJ, 00:04:28.589 --> 00:04:32.689 Comet, Daiwa, OPEC, Workman and HamPro products. 00:04:33.149 --> 00:04:36.509 And don't miss their 0 % off sale going on now. 00:04:36.790 --> 00:04:41.110 Tower Electronics online at PL -259 .com. Proud 00:04:41.110 --> 00:04:45.410 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. Sorry 00:04:45.410 --> 00:04:48.689 for the delay your host Neil rap is reading a 00:04:48.689 --> 00:04:51.769 book on anti -gravity and he just can't put it 00:04:51.769 --> 00:05:10.370 down Now here's more ham talk live Thanks again 00:05:10.370 --> 00:05:13.750 to Scott and Jill at tower electronics for sponsoring 00:05:13.750 --> 00:05:18.800 the show Coming up in the HamFest schedule, April 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:22.040 6th and 7th, they'll be in Belton, Texas. On 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:26.120 April 7th, Stoughton, Wisconsin. April 14th, 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.939 Mobile, Alabama. April 21st, Gainesville, Florida. 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:33.699 April 28th, Calhoun, Georgia. And of course, 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:37.199 in May, they'll be at the Dayton Hamvention. 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:40.180 But you don't have to wait for a HamFest. You 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:47.550 can give them a call. the number 920 -435 -2973 00:05:47.550 --> 00:05:54.389 or visit them online at PL -259 .com Tell them 00:05:54.389 --> 00:05:57.750 you heard it on HamTalk Live. Our guest tonight, 00:05:58.589 --> 00:06:01.949 Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, is the Vice President 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:06.069 for Operations and a board member of AMSAT, the 00:06:06.069 --> 00:06:09.149 United States Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation. 00:06:09.709 --> 00:06:12.569 Drew is a geologist in the greater Tampa, Florida 00:06:12.569 --> 00:06:16.829 area, who is now working for his own company, 00:06:17.209 --> 00:06:19.949 Karst evaluations, where he studies Karst formations 00:06:19.949 --> 00:06:24.170 and investigates sinkholes. And, uh, Drew works 00:06:24.170 --> 00:06:28.329 a lot of FT eight in addition to all of the satellites 00:06:28.329 --> 00:06:32.930 and, uh, Drew, welcome to the show. Thanks, Neil. 00:06:32.949 --> 00:06:35.959 Appreciate you having me on this evening. And 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:39.620 one thing that I left out of the bio in our conversation 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:44.040 before the show, your next satellite, your portable 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:47.240 satellite operation is going to be from the top 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:51.660 of the Skyway Bridge. Is that correct? Not me. 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:58.439 If you don't know, the Skyway Bridge is this 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.899 humongous bridge through part of the bay in Tampa. 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:08.550 It's a little, little scary. It's pretty tall 00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:13.970 and right over the bay and no land in sight for 00:07:13.970 --> 00:07:18.290 a little while. That's about as close as I get 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:21.870 to a roller coaster. In my younger days I used 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:25.250 to try to operate Simplex driving over it. Now 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:27.750 it's eyes forward and ten and two on the steering 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:35.370 wheel. Well, we've had some shows about satellites 00:07:35.370 --> 00:07:38.750 here recently and I've been trying to work some 00:07:38.750 --> 00:07:43.069 satellites recently, both myself, by myself and 00:07:43.069 --> 00:07:47.350 with the kids at the school where I teach and 00:07:47.350 --> 00:07:51.029 just really getting started. And we had Sean 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:54.170 KX9X on the show to kind of talk about how to 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:58.959 get started. And then we had Jerry. Uh, Jerry 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.560 Buxton in zero J Y to talk about all the engineering 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.259 and building everything. And he said, you gotta 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:09.180 have drew on and continue and pick up where he 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:13.139 left off, uh, about how the satellites are used 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:15.579 and maintained and all the operations stuff. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:20.319 So, uh, tell us what you do and your team and 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.139 how you keep these satellites up and running 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:27.959 for all of us to play with. Sure. Well, um, First 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:31.339 thing, we've got a lot more satellites to take 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:35.580 care of these days. Right now, the operations 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:42.559 team is responsible for Oscar 7, Falcon Sat -3, 00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:45.320 which is an Air Force Academy satellite that 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:49.460 they let us use, and then the three Fox satellites, 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:55.500 AO -85, 91, and 92. So each of those are different 00:08:55.500 --> 00:09:00.759 and require different things to be done to keep 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:06.039 them going. In the case of AO7, we keep commandability 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:09.919 available, but we basically let it operate on 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.460 its own since it just runs off the solar panels 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:17.980 now. AO7 was launched in 1974. It's one month 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:21.220 younger than I am, so it's amazing that it's 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:24.200 still operating at all. So we kind of have a 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.490 hands -off approach there. keep an eye on the 00:09:27.490 --> 00:09:30.769 way the orbit changes and when it might be having 00:09:30.769 --> 00:09:33.529 problems and try to get word out to people to 00:09:33.529 --> 00:09:37.049 keep the power low and especially when it's in 00:09:37.049 --> 00:09:40.269 a period of time when the solar illumination 00:09:40.269 --> 00:09:43.950 isn't real good and to keep it from resetting 00:09:43.950 --> 00:09:48.429 when people use too much power. Falcon Sat -3 00:09:48.429 --> 00:09:52.950 is a store and forward packet satellite, 9600 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:59.850 baud BBS in the sky. And it occasionally will 00:09:59.850 --> 00:10:02.570 crash. It's only done it once with us so far. 00:10:03.769 --> 00:10:07.990 So then we have to, some of the software is reloaded 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:10.649 from onboard the satellite automatically. But 00:10:10.649 --> 00:10:14.230 then there's all the updated software in several 00:10:14.230 --> 00:10:17.610 years that it's been in orbit that has been updated. 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:21.750 And then we have to reload that. So that takes 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:25.970 a couple of days to get... To get all that loaded 00:10:25.970 --> 00:10:28.009 and checked out and working and hopefully it 00:10:28.009 --> 00:10:30.210 works when we flip the big switch the first time 00:10:30.210 --> 00:10:33.470 on it If not, we start back over from the beginning 00:10:33.470 --> 00:10:36.710 and do again And then there's some file maintenance 00:10:36.710 --> 00:10:40.730 on board there Where if a file gets corrupted 00:10:40.730 --> 00:10:43.629 or is too big or something we can go in and take 00:10:43.629 --> 00:10:48.129 care of that So that's and we also always have 00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:54.370 to watch the power budgets the orbit the amount 00:10:54.370 --> 00:10:58.730 of time the satellite is illuminated per orbit 00:10:58.730 --> 00:11:03.549 changes and sometimes it gets a little close 00:11:03.549 --> 00:11:06.490 and you know we may in the future have to shut 00:11:06.490 --> 00:11:09.889 it off for a little while to keep the batteries 00:11:09.889 --> 00:11:14.090 in good shape. So then the three Fox satellites 00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:21.049 8085, 91 and 92 each are a little different and 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:27.129 The nice thing is that Jerry and his team did 00:11:27.129 --> 00:11:30.529 a really nice job. Those satellites are very 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:32.789 self -sufficient, I guess would be the word, 00:11:33.490 --> 00:11:36.389 autonomous. They don't need a whole lot of intervention. 00:11:37.590 --> 00:11:42.389 AO -85, we basically don't have to do anything 00:11:42.389 --> 00:11:46.009 with it. It just runs and runs. We don't have 00:11:46.009 --> 00:11:49.570 anything that needs to be commanded in the experiments. 00:11:50.490 --> 00:11:53.820 The experiment runs all the time. that one so 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:56.620 it doesn't really need much intervention we just 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:59.840 check up on it make sure it's it's still working 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:05.960 as much the same way the experiment doesn't require 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:08.360 us to go into high -speed data mode or anything 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:12.720 like that so we just keep an eye on it keep an 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:17.220 eye on the Eclipse links watch reports keep an 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:21.100 eye on the battery voltages via telemetry we 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:25.919 have to go into the database and we have a great 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:30.279 volunteer, WA4SCA. Alan takes care of all that. 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:33.879 Anytime a satellite has a radiation upset, any 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:37.059 of the three FOX satellites, we have to go into 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.620 our database. It collects all of our telemetry 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:43.379 and collates it in one place and set that time 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:45.779 that it happened. There's an internal FOC on 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:48.960 all the satellites. And when the satellite resets, 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:50.980 it goes back to zero. And we just have to go 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:54.879 in and say, OK, zero is this time and date. So 00:12:54.879 --> 00:13:00.019 we can keep track of all of that. AO -92, the 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:04.200 newest of the Fox satellites, has a fair amount 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:10.820 of intervention and mode changes that require 00:13:10.820 --> 00:13:14.980 somebody to do something. We've got the option 00:13:14.980 --> 00:13:21.679 on AO92 to switch from the UHF uplink to a 1 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:27.779 .2 GHz uplink. That has to be done manually and 00:13:27.779 --> 00:13:30.519 we have to schedule, I have to look ahead. As 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:31.960 a matter of fact, earlier before the show, I 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:33.639 made a note that I need to do that tomorrow. 00:13:34.379 --> 00:13:36.919 We have to look at passes and say, okay, at this 00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:41.809 pass. This command station is going to send the 00:13:41.809 --> 00:13:46.070 command to switch the satellite from a 435 uplink 00:13:46.070 --> 00:13:49.149 to a 1 .2 gig uplink. And then that runs for 00:13:49.149 --> 00:13:55.389 24 hours and then switches back to the UHF uplink 00:13:55.389 --> 00:13:59.850 on its own. Another interesting thing with AO92, 00:14:01.590 --> 00:14:04.419 have a camera on board. It's an experiment that 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.820 was provided by Bob McGuire's team at Virginia 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:12.360 Tech. And it's just a small low -resolution camera. 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:17.620 And we can take pictures in the northern hemisphere 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:20.879 as long as it passes by one of our ground stations. 00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:25.299 And then those are transmitted down in a high 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:28.059 -speed data stream. And anyone that's running 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:32.120 FOX to LEM, You can switch that to copy high 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.940 speed or leave it on auto where it copies the 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:41.039 picture data. And that data is sent over the 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:44.340 internet to the central server. And then those 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:47.460 pictures are assembled. You have a good station. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.059 You can see pictures on your own Fox2Lens screen. 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:56.580 But if I miss a frame and somebody in Indiana 00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:59.980 picks that frame up, Well, it stitches it all 00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:04.419 together, so you get pictures on the server. 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:09.059 So that has to be scheduled and turned on. And 00:15:09.059 --> 00:15:15.500 we put notices out on Twitter and on the AMSAT 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:17.960 web page. There's a satellite schedules page. 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:21.559 We also publish it in the AMSAT news service 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:26.950 as long as I make the deadline on Saturday. And 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:29.110 we try to put it out on the MSTB bulletin board 00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:31.570 too. So we've got four or five different places 00:15:31.570 --> 00:15:34.649 where, where there was a mode switches or, or 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:40.330 scheduled mode switches show up. Yeah. And that 00:15:40.330 --> 00:15:42.129 was one of the things that I wanted to ask you 00:15:42.129 --> 00:15:45.429 about was now that you've got this on AO 92 where 00:15:45.429 --> 00:15:49.149 you can switch, uh, for the L band at 1 .2 gigahertz 00:15:49.149 --> 00:15:58.940 or the, um, um, V band on 430. That's kind of 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:03.899 a new thing. And you post that some places, but 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:07.419 you know, the other day I was listening and I 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:09.480 heard, you know, oh, well, you know, the reason 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:12.820 you can't get in is because it's on 1 .2 gigahertz. 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:21.539 What's your advice for people to know which band 00:16:21.539 --> 00:16:26.860 it's on. There's not an indicator over the air, 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:30.379 so you need to check that on the AMSAT website 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:33.559 and Twitter and that kind of thing. What do you 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.120 suggest? Well, a lot of times you'll hear the 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.120 operators will say that they're on L -band if 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:45.639 it's Sunday afternoon and it's not very busy. 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:49.100 That's a good indicator. It's an L band. There's 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:53.299 not as many users on that band. Lately, actually 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:55.840 since we, a week or two after we started running 00:16:55.840 --> 00:17:00.320 the L mode, I've been trying to contain it to 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:05.460 Sundays. Now sometimes we, you know, us command 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:11.960 stations have lives too. So we, sometimes we 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:17.319 switch it. to UTC Saturday night local. And sometimes 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:22.819 it doesn't happen until the following morning 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:24.920 on Sunday morning, just depending on command 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:28.400 station availability. But usually it's on Sunday. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:32.400 And again, we put it out, if you follow AMSAT, 00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:37.079 at AMSAT on Twitter, we put it there. There is 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:42.470 a schedule page on the AMSAT webpage. that I 00:17:42.470 --> 00:17:45.049 try to update that or I update that every weekend 00:17:45.049 --> 00:17:48.309 before we make any changes for the following 00:17:48.309 --> 00:17:55.829 week. It's usually in ANS. It's AMSAT News Service, 00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:58.549 which comes out every weekend. It's published 00:17:58.549 --> 00:18:01.609 in the AMSAT BB email list. And if you're running 00:18:01.609 --> 00:18:06.210 Fox Telem, it'll actually, you can look on the 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:08.589 telemetry program and it'll tell you that it's 00:18:08.589 --> 00:18:12.569 in the L -band uplink mode. So lots of different 00:18:12.569 --> 00:18:15.410 places to look. Oh, and one other place, we have 00:18:15.410 --> 00:18:20.390 a status page where users can go in and say, 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:22.710 hey, I heard this satellite, and it was in this 00:18:22.710 --> 00:18:28.230 mode. So you can go to that. If you go to amsat 00:18:28.230 --> 00:18:31.970 .org, it's satellite status, and it will take 00:18:31.970 --> 00:18:33.509 you to that. You can check that, and it will 00:18:33.509 --> 00:18:36.269 tell you. So lots of different places to find 00:18:36.269 --> 00:18:39.920 out, but it's generally on a Sunday. okay very 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:46.680 good any any reason for the switches other than 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.539 to just try different band and and get you know 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:53.299 and see how it does with that or is there more 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:58.380 to it well there's no requirement to switch it 00:18:58.380 --> 00:19:04.980 the L band uplink was something that we came 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:08.279 up with as a means to promote activity on some 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:13.460 of these higher bands. 1 .2 GHz doesn't get a 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:16.480 whole lot of use and there's a lot of encroachment 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:19.500 onto that band by other services. We're secondary 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:23.880 or tertiary there. Some European operators have 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:26.619 already lost the band due to it being shared 00:19:26.619 --> 00:19:30.859 with their version of GPS. So it's kind of a 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:36.579 use it or lose it thing. and one day a week you 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:39.099 can get on L -band and do something a little 00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:44.599 different. The requirements for the uplink are 00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:47.799 a lot lower than we expected them to be. The 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:52.720 L -band uplink uses the same antenna as the UHF 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:57.339 uplink, so it's not an ideal antenna, but it 00:19:57.339 --> 00:20:00.660 seems to work really well and the receiver is 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:03.990 very sensitive. And there's some AFC action on 00:20:03.990 --> 00:20:06.369 there. So you don't have to be exactly on frequency. 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:11.349 And we've had guys get in with 1 watt HTs and 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:15.829 whip antennas. That's kind of a rarity. But there's 00:20:15.829 --> 00:20:19.269 a lot of operators that are using short Yagis, 00:20:19.529 --> 00:20:23.589 5, 10, 12 element Yagis with 1 watt HTs and making 00:20:23.589 --> 00:20:26.490 the upload. So it's a good way to experiment 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:29.490 and keep some of our higher bands active. And 00:20:29.490 --> 00:20:34.400 if you've got something for 1 .2 gigahertz available. 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:38.059 It's a lot easier to get in on those days too. 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:43.559 Okay, very good. Well, last thing here before 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:47.259 we take a break. What are some of your biggest 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:49.960 challenges in keeping all these things usable? 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:59.359 I would say that our challenges Are not so much 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:03.579 keeping them usable. It's working or getting 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:09.039 word out and working around Schedules individual 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:15.559 schedules It's difficult sometimes to be to be 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:17.839 there when you need to make a mode change or 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:20.799 something like that I'm looking forward to some 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:25.970 of the future satellites Being capable of doing 00:21:25.970 --> 00:21:29.549 some pre -scheduled mode changes if we need to. 00:21:29.849 --> 00:21:32.509 We had that back with AO51 towards the end of 00:21:32.509 --> 00:21:36.549 its life, where I could upload a scheduled mode 00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:39.190 change and tell it what time to execute. And 00:21:39.190 --> 00:21:42.829 that was real nice. But we're learning how to 00:21:42.829 --> 00:21:46.710 do things in smaller packages and with less with 00:21:46.710 --> 00:21:51.150 the CubeSats. And I think engineering and Uh, 00:21:51.269 --> 00:21:53.710 my operations team, both have really learned 00:21:53.710 --> 00:21:58.829 a lot and, uh, uh, the next round of satellites 00:21:58.829 --> 00:22:02.750 with golf are going to be even better. All right. 00:22:02.750 --> 00:22:07.049 Very good. Well, um, we look forward to that 00:22:07.049 --> 00:22:11.089 and we can talk a little bit about, um, what 00:22:11.089 --> 00:22:14.670 is coming up in the future here, uh, after the 00:22:14.670 --> 00:22:19.740 break and, um, uh, Kind of sprung this on on 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:22.160 drew today that he didn't realize that he was 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:25.740 on the on the show right before April Fool's 00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:28.960 Day and so he gets the the honor and privilege 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:33.579 of being on when When our new sponsor appears 00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:39.819 and so We have a new sponsor tonight and we usually 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:43.599 do right before April Fool's Day so we'll hear 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.660 from them and we'll be back with Drew and we'll 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:48.940 take your calls and your questions. We've already 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:53.380 got some tweets going so we'll get those in and 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:56.980 talk a little bit about AMSAT and satellites 00:22:56.980 --> 00:23:00.640 right after this word from QRM Labs right here 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:10.279 on HamTalk Live. Hello, Willie Mays from QRM 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.140 Labs, back again to help you make your ham radio 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:16.559 experience better. Are you tired of all the work 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.980 of having to find sounds to use to create QRM? 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:23.180 You hear that annoying guy on 80 meters, and 00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:26.460 you feel this uncontrollable urge to illegally 00:23:26.460 --> 00:23:28.900 jam his signal. But you don't have the right 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:32.759 sounds to use? Well, QRM Labs has the perfect 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:37.299 app for you. It's the Jammer Generator. Jammer 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:40.400 Generator is an app for both iPhone and Android 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:43.940 that has all you need to illegally transmit over 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:47.559 the top of anyone. Just hold the phone up to 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:50.640 the mic and tap the sound you want. There's the 00:23:50.640 --> 00:24:04.039 famous number station generator. Some music like 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:11.829 one of Michael Jackson's songs. The Russian woodpecker. 00:24:16.990 --> 00:24:20.470 Just acting stupid. Pay your friggin' fine, Brian. 00:24:20.769 --> 00:24:25.589 Pay your fine, you psychopath. I'm just fine, 00:24:25.829 --> 00:24:29.230 doing what I love to do. I ain't paying no fine. 00:24:29.470 --> 00:24:32.990 I take a poo on you. Tuning the rig with your 00:24:32.990 --> 00:24:48.539 mic. or the classic tune -up tone. It's so good 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:51.440 you'll get your license taken away and find both 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.559 sooner and more often. But wait, there's more! 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:58.920 Order now and we'll add a quick tune button that 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:02.440 will tune any radio within one square mile immediately 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:06.839 to 7200 kilohertz. The Jammer Generator, available 00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:10.549 for just $49 .99 from the App Store. And for 00:25:10.549 --> 00:25:15.289 technical support, call 985 -655 -2500. That's 00:25:15.289 --> 00:25:20.009 985 -655 -2500. And don't forget to speak as 00:25:20.009 --> 00:25:23.829 loudly as you can. QRM Labs looks forward to 00:25:23.829 --> 00:25:26.349 hearing your complaints, but we probably won't 00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:28.970 hear a thing because there's too much noise on 00:25:28.970 --> 00:25:32.589 the line. The Jammer Generator. Download your 00:25:32.589 --> 00:25:42.609 copy today. Oh yeah, you're talking ham radio, 00:25:42.910 --> 00:25:47.089 baby. You're listening to Ham Talk Live with 00:25:47.089 --> 00:25:52.309 Neil Rapp. Join the conversation. Call us on 00:25:52.309 --> 00:25:55.309 voice with Skype at Ham Talk Live or give us 00:25:55.309 --> 00:26:02.009 a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. 00:26:02.309 --> 00:26:23.579 Now, here's more Ham Talk Live. HamTalk Live 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:26.519 is on the air every Thursday night at 9 p .m. 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:31.900 Eastern Time right here at HamTalkLive .com and 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:34.059 be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:37.299 and Instagram. We post some stuff there, links 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:40.640 to the show, and some notes after the show, and 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:43.880 a few fun things in between. So check us out 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:48.819 there. Just look for HamTalk Live. Well, now 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:52.599 it's time for your questions and comments. It's 00:26:52.599 --> 00:26:55.160 time to take some calls. If you have a question 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:57.599 for Drew, give us a call. The phone number is 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:06.619 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. Or you 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:11.440 can Skype us at HamTalk Live or tweet us at HamTalk 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.299 Live. And we do already have one tweet here. 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:19.480 From Bob McGuire n4hy said that a07 was launched 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:22.519 two years after he graduated from high school 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:28.359 and We love the camera on Fox and and and drew 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:33.920 I remember It still etched in my mind the front 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:40.000 page of Q Street With the picture of a07 before 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:47.809 it was launched. I was Eight years old And it 00:27:47.809 --> 00:27:52.289 just amazes me that this thing is back Yeah, 00:27:52.289 --> 00:27:55.789 it's it's really a quite an amazing story and 00:27:55.789 --> 00:27:59.809 it just it just falls into You know, there's 00:27:59.809 --> 00:28:02.750 only a few Amsat spacecraft that could do what 00:28:02.750 --> 00:28:05.970 it did because of the way it was designed. There's 00:28:05.970 --> 00:28:12.940 there's no no computer no CPU no IHU in AO7, 00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:16.180 it's all logic, you know, straight -wired logic. 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:21.079 And any other satellite, most other satellites 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:25.299 past that, once AMSAT started putting computers 00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:29.240 into control things, you wouldn't even have that 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:34.140 opportunity. There's a few that have been revived 00:28:34.140 --> 00:28:39.200 a little bit long after the fact, but that's 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:42.829 amazing. I guess I should tell the story real 00:28:42.829 --> 00:28:46.730 quick. In the early 80s, the batteries on AO7 00:28:46.730 --> 00:28:50.029 failed. And like most NICADs, when they failed, 00:28:50.089 --> 00:28:54.690 they failed as a short. So the satellite quit 00:28:54.690 --> 00:29:00.549 working because all of the power that was generated 00:29:00.549 --> 00:29:04.410 by the solar arrays was shunning right to the 00:29:04.410 --> 00:29:12.380 batteries and to a dead short. Early 2003 I think 00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:15.279 it was forgive me if I'm a year or two off here 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:20.440 And I think it was G3 IOR Posted that he had 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:24.740 heard a CW ID and something that repeated hi 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:31.420 -hi, which was a oh seven So we figured out that 00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:34.000 it evidently one of the batteries had opened 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:37.359 up and Now it was running off solar panels because 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:40.359 that short wasn't there And it is really funny 00:29:40.359 --> 00:29:45.119 because the downlink for the beacon on AO7 was 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:51.180 the same as the uplink for another satellite 00:29:51.180 --> 00:29:54.779 called UO14 that had an FM repeater on it. And 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:59.119 we had been hearing CW interference intermittently 00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:03.259 through UO14 for months and hadn't figured it 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:05.680 out because it's, you know, CW to FM is hard 00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:09.099 to copy through users and things like that. So 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:13.140 really quite amazing that after all that time 00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:17.759 She still responds to commands We tend to take 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:23.440 a hands -off approach with it it When it's continuously 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.720 illuminated when when there's no eclipses in 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:31.119 the orbit the 24 -hour timer works and it switches 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:36.180 from mode a to mode B every 24 hours when it's 00:30:36.180 --> 00:30:39.339 in When there's an eclipse, it basically resets 00:30:39.339 --> 00:30:41.460 when it goes into eclipse. So it tends to come 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:47.539 up in the mode B. Now, sometimes either due to 00:30:47.539 --> 00:30:50.140 poor illumination when the sun's shining on the 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:52.519 end of the satellite where there's no solar arrays, 00:30:53.059 --> 00:30:58.579 or because a user puts too much power up to it. 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:02.220 Generally, that happens on CW because of the 00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:06.029 100 % duty cycle nature of CW. the satellite 00:31:06.029 --> 00:31:10.309 will reset and when it resets, it usually goes 00:31:10.309 --> 00:31:16.009 to mode A or to a beacon only mode. So if you're 00:31:16.009 --> 00:31:19.950 active on AO7 or you want to try AO7, five watts 00:31:19.950 --> 00:31:23.710 is more than enough and to just about any sort 00:31:23.710 --> 00:31:28.390 of gain antenna. So please be careful with her. 00:31:28.509 --> 00:31:30.569 She's old and we'd like to keep her around for 00:31:30.569 --> 00:31:34.400 a little bit longer. All right, very good. Well 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.720 if you have a question or a comment give us a 00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:40.920 call eight one two six three eight four two six 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:44.799 one eight one two net ham one or We're at ham 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:49.539 talk live on Skype and Twitter. So give us a 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:52.759 shout and we'll get those questions answered 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:56.140 hopefully. And again, if you have comments too, 00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:58.920 that's just fine. We'd love to hear from you. 00:31:59.420 --> 00:32:04.400 We were talking a little bit about AO85 and perusing 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:07.779 Twitter and trying to learn about some of the 00:32:07.779 --> 00:32:11.460 stuff. I've seen some people commenting that 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:15.839 AO85 has some problems going on right now. And 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:18.799 so can you tell us what's going on with that 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:23.799 on AO85? Sure, there's two different issues with 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:27.220 AO -85. One of them has been there since launch. 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:33.519 The antenna, receive antenna for AO -85 was damaged 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:39.740 at the last minute and the repair had to take 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:41.799 place or we weren't going to make the launch. 00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:48.460 So the repair was not perfect and detuned the 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:52.519 antenna. And as a result of that, AO85 is a little 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:55.700 hard of hearing. It takes a pretty good signal 00:32:55.700 --> 00:33:00.819 to get into it. That being said, there's no reason 00:33:00.819 --> 00:33:04.160 with some skill that you can't use 5 watts and 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:08.579 an arrow on AO85, especially on higher passives. 00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:13.079 Lots of people doing that. It just takes a little 00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:17.839 finesse with the polarity and a little experience. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:21.299 So that's the issue that's been there since launch. 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.980 There's another, it's not really an issue, it's 00:33:24.980 --> 00:33:30.380 doing what it's designed to do. AO85 is going 00:33:30.380 --> 00:33:36.740 into safe mode at the end of eclipses here in 00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:41.720 the last month or so. The orbit on AO85 changes, 00:33:41.940 --> 00:33:44.420 the orbit doesn't change, but the illumination 00:33:44.420 --> 00:33:49.279 period of the orbit. changes quite rapidly and 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:52.640 sometimes you know some months it's in Sun for 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:55.019 most of the orbit and that's great because we 00:33:55.019 --> 00:34:01.880 make a lot of power and we can run the repeater 00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:04.940 runs constantly and everything's good. It gets 00:34:04.940 --> 00:34:08.159 a little warm and it spins up quite a bit but 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:11.920 that's all good we can deal with that. We're 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:14.619 just coming out of a period where the eclipses 00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:17.559 were rather long. I think they were 33 or 35 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:23.860 minutes and AO85 has a protection system built 00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:26.679 into it that when the battery gets down to a 00:34:26.679 --> 00:34:30.900 certain level, it will shut the repeater off 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:35.360 and go into an auto safe mode where it just makes 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:37.800 an announcement every two minutes. When it comes 00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:40.300 out of eclipse and the battery voltage comes 00:34:40.300 --> 00:34:44.539 back up, It puts itself back into the normal 00:34:44.539 --> 00:34:47.980 mode where the repeater is functional and we 00:34:47.980 --> 00:34:53.400 just move on down the road. That's important 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:57.099 because we're still using NICAD batteries. The 00:34:57.099 --> 00:35:02.059 NICADs will last a lot longer than some of the 00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:06.719 other types of batteries that you can use in 00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:11.449 spacecraft, but we have to keep them from over 00:35:11.449 --> 00:35:15.730 discharging so they don't feel short like AO7 00:35:15.730 --> 00:35:21.230 did back in the 80s. So when it gets to be a 00:35:21.230 --> 00:35:25.909 problem where it's not usable at any point or 00:35:25.909 --> 00:35:29.789 at some point greater than now, we can shut that 00:35:29.789 --> 00:35:36.010 protection off. But there's no reason to worry 00:35:36.010 --> 00:35:39.070 about it right now. If you're working it early 00:35:39.070 --> 00:35:41.809 in the morning, or late at night and it's just 00:35:41.809 --> 00:35:43.650 coming out of eclipse or about to come out of 00:35:43.650 --> 00:35:47.570 eclipse and you hear it say in safe mode wait 00:35:47.570 --> 00:35:50.449 till it hits till the footprint hits where the 00:35:50.449 --> 00:35:53.630 sun's shining on the earth and um it'll be back 00:35:53.630 --> 00:35:57.769 up right away all right good information there 00:35:57.769 --> 00:36:01.309 and if you have a question give us a call 812 00:36:01.309 --> 00:36:07.090 -638 -4261 812 net ham one or skype us or tweet 00:36:07.090 --> 00:36:11.480 us we're at ham talk live Let me flip over here 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:18.159 and make sure we didn't miss anybody. So let's 00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:23.179 talk a little bit about what's coming ahead. 00:36:23.980 --> 00:36:26.139 Jerry told us a little bit about it when he was 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:29.760 on the show that we're looking at maybe some 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:33.500 geosynchronous satellites coming up. So what 00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:37.480 can you tell us about that? Well, that's in the 00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:42.309 works. We've got an agreement with Virginia Tech 00:36:42.309 --> 00:36:47.809 that they've proposed a geosynchronous payload 00:36:47.809 --> 00:36:52.610 on a satellite, not the entire satellite. They 00:36:52.610 --> 00:36:57.110 would just have a small payload on it. And if 00:36:57.110 --> 00:37:01.690 that works out, AMSAT will take care of the ground 00:37:01.690 --> 00:37:08.280 end of things as well as the operations. Project 00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:14.599 has hit some snags. We're unsure of. When if 00:37:14.599 --> 00:37:18.500 and when the primary payload will go the main 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:22.000 satellite so it's kind of on a back burner and 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:26.139 at the same time we're investigating other opportunities 00:37:26.139 --> 00:37:30.559 to fly some sort of high orbit payload. You know, 00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:33.300 we're always we've got multiple irons in the 00:37:33.300 --> 00:37:41.130 fire. We had a. an entry into a contest that 00:37:41.130 --> 00:37:46.809 NASA was holding for a large CubeSat to go to 00:37:46.809 --> 00:37:52.769 the moon on the launch of the SLS. That didn't 00:37:52.769 --> 00:37:55.090 work out, but we're taking a lot of the technology 00:37:55.090 --> 00:38:01.130 from that and applying it to golf. Golf is our 00:38:01.130 --> 00:38:04.849 next project that we'll be working on. And that'll 00:38:04.849 --> 00:38:10.630 start off with Golf T, which will be a kind of 00:38:10.630 --> 00:38:13.030 a test bed for a lot of these different technologies, 00:38:13.650 --> 00:38:17.530 including five gigahertz uplink, 10 gigahertz 00:38:17.530 --> 00:38:19.769 downlink, which we're calling five and dime. 00:38:20.610 --> 00:38:25.030 It'll also have a VU two meter up, 70 centimeter 00:38:25.030 --> 00:38:28.510 down transponder on it. And we're looking at 00:38:28.510 --> 00:38:31.369 doing lots of other things that we need to fly 00:38:31.369 --> 00:38:37.329 to higher orbits like attitude control, deployable 00:38:37.329 --> 00:38:44.170 solar panels to generate more power. And we're 00:38:44.170 --> 00:38:48.809 also looking at things like how to meet orbital 00:38:48.809 --> 00:38:54.949 debris requirements. The FCC says that your satellite 00:38:54.949 --> 00:38:59.329 must either be re -entered or in a disposal orbit. 00:39:00.200 --> 00:39:05.400 within 25 years of the end of your mission. So 00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:08.599 right now as it is with the technology that AMSAT 00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:12.760 is comfortable with, we couldn't launch to like 00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:17.079 an AO7 orbit because that's like a thousand year 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:21.219 orbit. It would take a long time for that to 00:39:21.219 --> 00:39:25.159 decay and as much as we'd like to think that 00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:27.519 our satellite might last that long electrically, 00:39:27.619 --> 00:39:31.539 it probably won't. So that's why you see a lot 00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:34.739 of the newer satellites going to lower orbits 00:39:34.739 --> 00:39:38.539 is to meet that orbital three requirement. So 00:39:38.539 --> 00:39:41.280 we want to go higher with golf. So with Golf 00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:44.360 T, we'll test some of the technologies that we 00:39:44.360 --> 00:39:48.719 need to operate at those higher orbits and also 00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:51.519 to make sure that we can get out of those higher 00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:55.800 orbits at the end of the mission so I don't get 00:39:55.800 --> 00:40:00.469 in trouble with the FCC. That's a that's a good 00:40:00.469 --> 00:40:05.969 thing now apparently I I guess I Need to apologize 00:40:05.969 --> 00:40:09.829 There's a couple things on Twitter just came 00:40:09.829 --> 00:40:15.090 up ke8f ZT says that it was the first time he 00:40:15.090 --> 00:40:19.949 heard himself on a o 92 by himself and Robert 00:40:19.949 --> 00:40:23.550 ke4al says that's because everyone was listening 00:40:23.550 --> 00:40:32.219 to Drew glass printer on ham talk live so So 00:40:32.219 --> 00:40:34.739 if you want to work a o 92 now that was your 00:40:34.739 --> 00:40:39.980 chance Eric buddinger into koj wrote in and says 00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:42.940 what's the easiest satellite to work with a simple 00:40:42.940 --> 00:40:46.659 handheld and Can you suggest a good guide or 00:40:46.659 --> 00:40:49.059 primer to teach a youngster like my young daughters? 00:40:49.539 --> 00:40:52.420 How satellites work and how we can work them? 00:40:54.510 --> 00:40:58.769 So it's really easy to hear any of the Fox satellites 00:40:58.769 --> 00:41:04.030 with a handheld radio even with the stock antenna 00:41:04.030 --> 00:41:09.710 If you pick a good high pass with the stock antenna 00:41:09.710 --> 00:41:12.409 open the squelch up where you hear the background 00:41:12.409 --> 00:41:15.969 noise before the pass and Be sure to move it 00:41:15.969 --> 00:41:20.250 around During the pass so you can line your HD 00:41:20.250 --> 00:41:22.429 antenna up with the antenna on the satellite 00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:27.019 It's easy to hear them. You can hear the Fox 00:41:27.019 --> 00:41:30.900 satellites, bits and pieces of them, even in 00:41:30.900 --> 00:41:35.340 a mobile situation. I have them set up in a Scanna 00:41:35.340 --> 00:41:39.940 in my truck, and going down the road at 65 miles 00:41:39.940 --> 00:41:42.460 an hour, when one of them comes up, it'll stop 00:41:42.460 --> 00:41:46.300 on it a lot of times. Hearing it's the easy part 00:41:46.300 --> 00:41:49.340 with those satellites, you want to be able to 00:41:49.340 --> 00:41:54.760 hear it. large amount of the pass so that you're 00:41:54.760 --> 00:42:00.119 not you know cutting in and out and it's really 00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:03.960 busy so having a good receive system is important 00:42:03.960 --> 00:42:07.139 so as a demonstration you can listen to it on 00:42:07.139 --> 00:42:12.699 a simple HT the next step I would recommend if 00:42:12.699 --> 00:42:15.659 you go to the AMSAT website and go to the store 00:42:15.659 --> 00:42:18.119 we have a book called getting started with the 00:42:18.119 --> 00:42:21.869 amateur satellites And that is, I think it's 00:42:21.869 --> 00:42:25.010 like 180 pages. We update it every year right 00:42:25.010 --> 00:42:29.750 before Dayton. It's kept current. And it is an 00:42:29.750 --> 00:42:33.010 excellent primer on all things satellite. If 00:42:33.010 --> 00:42:37.550 you read that book, you will be ready to get 00:42:37.550 --> 00:42:41.110 on the air and make contacts. The next step would 00:42:41.110 --> 00:42:43.409 be to get a little bit better of an antenna than 00:42:43.409 --> 00:42:47.550 that rubber duck or quarter wave whip. And there's 00:42:47.550 --> 00:42:52.030 lots of plans. on our website and lots of other 00:42:52.030 --> 00:42:56.050 websites. If you go to amsat .org and click satellite 00:42:56.050 --> 00:42:59.969 info and then go down that menu column to station 00:42:59.969 --> 00:43:05.170 and operating hints. There's lots of antenna 00:43:05.170 --> 00:43:09.989 construction guides in there. Some of my favorites 00:43:09.989 --> 00:43:15.429 are the WA5 BJB Cheap Yagi and the IOIO antenna. 00:43:15.579 --> 00:43:17.940 Both of those are excellent antennas to pair 00:43:17.940 --> 00:43:22.679 with a handheld. You can also buy something like 00:43:22.679 --> 00:43:27.019 an Aero antenna, a commercial dual band antenna 00:43:27.019 --> 00:43:30.739 designed for handheld satellite use. Those are 00:43:30.739 --> 00:43:33.219 available through the AMSAT store. There's another 00:43:33.219 --> 00:43:35.380 antenna that a lot of people use called the ELK. 00:43:35.960 --> 00:43:38.380 We'll have those at Dayton at the AMSAT booth. 00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:43.190 ELK's a big supporter of AMSAT. So there's lots 00:43:43.190 --> 00:43:45.130 of different ways you can get that antenna to 00:43:45.130 --> 00:43:47.570 give you a little bit of extra gain to make the 00:43:47.570 --> 00:43:51.869 contact And then we provide a past prediction 00:43:51.869 --> 00:43:54.289 service on the website You can go and see when 00:43:54.289 --> 00:43:57.050 the satellites going to be overhead Get the frequencies 00:43:57.050 --> 00:44:00.030 out of the book or off the website and and you're 00:44:00.030 --> 00:44:04.809 ready to go now one thing One we're gonna have 00:44:04.809 --> 00:44:09.139 to hurry Drew. Okay It's fine to try out with 00:44:09.139 --> 00:44:12.139 whatever HT you've got, if it's a dual bander. 00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:15.380 We appreciate if people can work full duplex, 00:44:15.679 --> 00:44:18.599 two HTs or one full duplex HT, where they can 00:44:18.599 --> 00:44:21.199 hear themselves coming down. That keeps the log 00:44:21.199 --> 00:44:25.570 jams from happening. All right, very good. Well, 00:44:25.630 --> 00:44:28.909 we are out of time. So Thanks Drew for coming 00:44:28.909 --> 00:44:31.309 on the show and thanks to everybody out there 00:44:31.309 --> 00:44:34.269 for listening and Next Thursday night at 9 p 00:44:34.269 --> 00:44:36.349 .m. We're going to start our Dayton Hamvention 00:44:36.349 --> 00:44:42.489 preview and the first one is norm wa for Zed 00:44:43.429 --> 00:44:46.630 And he's going to talk about four days in May 00:44:46.630 --> 00:44:49.550 sponsored by the QRP Amateur Radio Club International 00:44:49.550 --> 00:44:52.010 and their Build -A -Thon. So tune in for that 00:44:52.010 --> 00:44:55.389 at HamTalkLive .com. This is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, 00:44:55.510 --> 00:45:00.289 saying 7375, and may the good DX be yours.