WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:06.679 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.940 --> 00:00:14.759 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:55.899 .com. goodness it's HamTalk Live episode number 00:00:55.899 --> 00:01:00.700 86 getting started with satellites KX9X recorded 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:04.879 live on Thursday October 19th 2017 I'm your host 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.640 Neil Rapp WB9VPG thanks for tuning in to this 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:11.280 episode of HamTalk Live tonight if we can get 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:15.079 a microphone to work we're joined by Sean Kutzko 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:19.239 KX9X and we'll take your calls live in just a 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:22.459 few minutes and last week the show Ken Goodwin 00:01:22.459 --> 00:01:25.780 K5RG was here to talk about the 50th anniversary 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:29.120 of the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center amateur 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:31.980 radio club and their special event station. If 00:01:31.980 --> 00:01:34.060 you missed the show you can listen anytime at 00:01:34.060 --> 00:01:38.280 HamTalkLive .com or on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:41.260 iHeart Podcasts, Google Play, TuneIn, SoundCloud 00:01:41.260 --> 00:01:44.400 or YouTube. Hey get your questions ready to go 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:46.959 about satellites and after we talked to Sean 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:50.069 for a while you can call us. via telephone at 00:01:50.069 --> 00:01:56.170 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261 and I'll 00:01:56.170 --> 00:01:58.049 let you know when it's time to do that or you 00:01:58.049 --> 00:02:02.010 can Skype us at HamTalk Live and you can also 00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:06.670 tweet us at HamTalk Live on Twitter. So make 00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:09.729 sure you do that and participate. We'd love to 00:02:09.729 --> 00:02:12.289 hear from you tonight and we're on the air every 00:02:12.289 --> 00:02:14.689 Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time right 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:19.050 here on HamTalkLive .com. Check us out on Facebook, 00:02:19.210 --> 00:02:22.550 Twitter, and Instagram. And my apologies, I have 00:02:22.550 --> 00:02:25.009 no idea what in the world happened here. As soon 00:02:25.009 --> 00:02:31.030 as we started to go to air, my microphone had 00:02:31.030 --> 00:02:35.189 no audio at all. So I'm just using the laptop 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:38.729 mic tonight, so I'm not sure how good this is 00:02:38.729 --> 00:02:41.430 going to sound. But we're going to get the information 00:02:41.430 --> 00:02:46.789 to you anyway. Hopefully you were able to stick 00:02:46.789 --> 00:02:49.550 around for a couple of minutes and get with us 00:02:49.550 --> 00:02:54.250 here. Well, Sean Kutsko, KX9X, is back with us. 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:58.110 He's the former contest manager and public relations 00:02:58.110 --> 00:03:02.449 manager at ARRL. Sean enjoys portable operations, 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:06.650 satellites, and QRP. He's an avid DXer and has 00:03:06.650 --> 00:03:09.610 had a chance to be the DX several times. He's 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:13.430 been licensed since 1982 and is originally from 00:03:13.430 --> 00:03:17.110 central Illinois and Attended the nearby University 00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:20.069 of Illinois and after being on staff at ARRL 00:03:20.069 --> 00:03:23.229 for 10 years he's now a public relations and 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:26.389 communications consultant and doing something 00:03:26.389 --> 00:03:31.590 he also enjoys which is baking and He's also 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:34.750 the drummer in the world -famous Spurious emissions 00:03:34.750 --> 00:03:39.030 band as heard here on ham talk live so Sean Thank 00:03:39.030 --> 00:03:41.669 you for putting up with all the technical problems 00:03:41.669 --> 00:03:45.289 tonight and welcome back once again. Hey, it 00:03:45.289 --> 00:03:47.810 wouldn't be radio without a couple of electronic 00:03:47.810 --> 00:03:50.689 weasels once in a while, right? Oh, I guess. 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:55.030 This is a new one. I'm used to Skype giving me 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:57.689 trouble, but I'm not used to a microphone giving 00:03:57.689 --> 00:04:00.830 me trouble. I still don't know what's going on. 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:03.969 Drivers? I don't know. We can always, we can 00:04:03.969 --> 00:04:06.930 always switch the show to CW or FTA and we'll 00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:11.289 do okay. Although, I'm not sure how much information 00:04:11.289 --> 00:04:14.629 we're going to get on FT8. We're going to have 00:04:14.629 --> 00:04:18.870 to make a lot of QSOs to get all that in on FT8, 00:04:19.110 --> 00:04:22.709 but oh my goodness. Well, all right. We're already 00:04:22.709 --> 00:04:26.970 late. So let's get talking about some satellites. 00:04:27.269 --> 00:04:30.230 I want you to come on and talk a little bit about 00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:33.329 getting started with satellites and how to get 00:04:33.329 --> 00:04:38.000 into that and what kind of stuff you need. had 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.120 somebody ask me, hey can you ask Sean about the 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.199 the aero antenna. So why don't you tell us a 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.699 little bit about some equipment for working satellites. 00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:53.350 Okay, well gladly. So before I even do that, 00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:56.189 I'd like to make a kind of a sales pitch as to 00:04:56.189 --> 00:04:58.649 why you should get active with satellite operating 00:04:58.649 --> 00:05:01.329 in the first place. And there are a lot of really, 00:05:01.329 --> 00:05:03.290 really great reasons for it. Number one, it's 00:05:03.290 --> 00:05:06.449 an extremely accessible portion of the amateur 00:05:06.449 --> 00:05:09.930 radio hobby. Technician class licensees have 00:05:09.930 --> 00:05:13.050 access to the vast majority of the satellites 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:17.370 that are out there. Satellite passes are also 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:20.290 100 % predictable. You know when a satellite 00:05:20.290 --> 00:05:23.629 is going to be above the horizon weeks in advance. 00:05:23.949 --> 00:05:27.709 It's not dependent on good propagation from the 00:05:27.709 --> 00:05:30.810 ionosphere in order to make contacts by a satellite. 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:34.470 You got a lot of opportunity to get on the satellites. 00:05:34.589 --> 00:05:39.449 There are 14 sideband and CW satellites. There's 00:05:39.449 --> 00:05:42.649 two FM satellites. There's three satellites that 00:05:42.649 --> 00:05:46.350 allow digital modes to be used through them. 00:05:46.509 --> 00:05:49.560 And in addition to that, We just had two Chinese 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:54.939 satellites, had their sideband and CW capabilities 00:05:54.939 --> 00:05:57.360 turned on earlier this week, and we're about 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:00.839 three weeks away from another FM satellite, the 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:03.660 Fox 1B satellite, which is a big AMSAT project. 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:05.699 We'll get to AMSAT in a little bit. And that's 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:08.740 going to be launched up around, it's currently 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.899 scheduled for November 10th. So there could be 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:15.560 as many as 15 satellites that technician class 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:18.720 licensees and up have access in just less than 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:21.720 a month. The gear is extremely portable. You 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:23.879 can set up a big satellite station at home if 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.420 you want, but you can also get by with much smaller 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:29.720 amounts of equipment in order to make it work, 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:33.620 and it's so much fun. If you're interested in 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:36.300 technical challenges, you have access to those 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:39.579 kinds of things. It's extremely enjoyable collecting 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:42.220 maidenhead grid squares, and if you're not familiar 00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:43.839 with a grid square, we'll get to talking about 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.000 those in a little bit as well. There's a huge 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.860 community of helpful people that are willing 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:50.019 to help you learn about getting on satellites. 00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:53.139 The AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:56.600 and all of its members, they have a ton of experience 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.680 on getting people interested in operating satellites 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.699 and helping get them. started. So I would encourage 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:04.939 anybody who is looking for a new challenge or 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:07.959 wants to do something new in the hobby to definitely 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.379 check out satellites. So how's that for a sales 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:13.920 pitch? That's a great sales pitch. Sounds like 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:21.639 it's coming from a PR guy. How about that? So 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:24.399 your initial question before all of that long 00:07:24.910 --> 00:07:27.790 sales pitch was what kind of equipment do you 00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:30.910 need to get started with amateur radio satellites? 00:07:32.209 --> 00:07:36.470 You can get started using the amateur radio satellites 00:07:36.470 --> 00:07:43.449 with a dual band handheld HD. and a small portable 00:07:43.449 --> 00:07:48.569 Yagi on 2 meters and 70 centimeters. You can 00:07:48.569 --> 00:07:51.089 get started with just that little equipment. 00:07:51.949 --> 00:07:55.069 There are certainly some nice bells and whistles 00:07:55.069 --> 00:07:58.889 that better equipment will give you. including 00:07:58.889 --> 00:08:04.089 the ability to transmit and receive simultaneously, 00:08:04.189 --> 00:08:06.990 which becomes very, very important when you go 00:08:06.990 --> 00:08:10.069 from the FM satellites to the sideband and CW 00:08:10.069 --> 00:08:13.269 satellites. But you can get started just using 00:08:13.269 --> 00:08:17.569 a simple dual band handheld HT and a small Yagi 00:08:17.569 --> 00:08:20.269 that you point at the satellite as it flies overhead. 00:08:20.670 --> 00:08:23.949 So that's, you know, you get started for $75 00:08:23.949 --> 00:08:28.019 worth of gear. All right, very good and maybe 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:34.259 even maybe even all those Balfangs Did somebody 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:41.299 say Balfang Now anytime somebody says Balfang 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:47.059 we have to play the the clip The song so right 00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:53.940 I just had to get that in the the best radio 00:08:53.940 --> 00:08:57.000 to use for some of this stuff, but it will certainly 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:59.639 get you by. There have been plenty of operators 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:02.820 that have made lots of satellite QSOs using about 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.500 -fang. So if that's what you got, you can use 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:11.399 it. All right, so how do you find out? Well, 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:13.840 now I'm going to switch these up here for a minute. 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.460 Sure. Let's talk about Doppler shift for a second. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.860 Let's talk about that because because the Doppler 00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:25.500 shift is something that equipment can definitely 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:29.039 help out on. So talk to us about Doppler shift 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:35.590 and how you can solve some of those issues. Okay 00:09:35.590 --> 00:09:39.409 so everybody knows about the Doppler effect from 00:09:39.409 --> 00:09:42.009 from grade school or junior high with you know 00:09:42.009 --> 00:09:43.629 you're standing in one place and the train goes 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:46.350 by and as the train whistle is blowing as it 00:09:46.350 --> 00:09:49.429 goes by the frequency decreases it goes down 00:09:49.429 --> 00:09:54.389 in pitch so because a satellite is a moving target 00:09:54.389 --> 00:09:58.429 it's flying overhead through the sky the received 00:09:58.429 --> 00:10:02.919 frequency or Well, let me clarify that. The frequencies 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:06.559 that are used on satellites are affected by the 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:09.200 fact that the satellite is hurtling through space 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:12.500 as it flies overhead. And as the satellite passes 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:15.960 overhead, you have to adjust your, in some cases, 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:18.639 your receive frequency and in some cases, your 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.159 transmit frequency in order to keep on track 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.639 with being able to communicate through the satellite. 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:30.480 The way the satellites work... You transmit on 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:34.220 one frequency and you receive on a different 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:37.480 band. So most of the satellites in orbit now 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:41.460 you transmit on two meters or 70 centimeters. 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:46.149 And you receive on the opposite band. So if you 00:10:46.149 --> 00:10:48.929 if you transmit up to the satellite on two meters, 00:10:49.269 --> 00:10:52.029 you listen to the satellite on 70 centimeters. 00:10:52.029 --> 00:10:54.769 And in some cases, that's backwards. You would 00:10:54.769 --> 00:10:58.629 transmit on 70 centimeters and listen on two 00:10:58.629 --> 00:11:01.289 meters. It changes from satellite to satellite. 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:05.669 Each satellite is different. So as the satellite 00:11:05.669 --> 00:11:09.690 is passing overhead, the frequencies will shift 00:11:09.690 --> 00:11:13.649 and Doppler affects higher frequencies more. 00:11:13.870 --> 00:11:16.529 So the Doppler effect is more pronounced on 70 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:19.549 centimeters than it is on two meters. What that 00:11:19.549 --> 00:11:24.230 means for an FM satellite user is if you are 00:11:24.230 --> 00:11:27.409 listening to the satellite on 70 centimeters 00:11:27.409 --> 00:11:30.049 you need to adjust your receive frequency as 00:11:30.049 --> 00:11:33.559 the satellite passes overhead if you're transmitting 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:36.220 on 70 centimeters you need to adjust your transmit 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:40.480 frequency as the satellite goes overhead so if 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:44.120 if you if you don't adjust that frequency you 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:46.440 will either not be able to hear the satellite 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:49.240 terribly well or people will not be able to hear 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:51.159 you terribly well because you're not perfect 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:55.480 you're not in sync with the satellites receiver 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:59.100 as it passes overhead. So that becomes very, 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:01.039 very important. And that can be a little daunting 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:04.539 for new satellite operators, but it's not as 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:08.580 bad as it sounds. A little practice using a directional 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:12.100 antenna and your radio's receiver, you can start 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:15.460 getting very good at being able to track the 00:12:15.460 --> 00:12:17.299 Doppler shift as the satellite passes overhead. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:24.769 All right. So some radios will have that. capability 00:12:24.769 --> 00:12:29.889 of kind of doing that automatically and so it's 00:12:29.889 --> 00:12:35.549 a little easier that way. There are some software 00:12:35.549 --> 00:12:38.789 programs that will automatically compensate for 00:12:38.789 --> 00:12:42.950 Doppler for you. If you have a computer interface 00:12:42.950 --> 00:12:45.470 to your radio, there are a couple of software 00:12:45.470 --> 00:12:47.789 packages that will automatically compensate for 00:12:47.789 --> 00:12:50.070 Doppler for you. But that's not an exact science. 00:12:50.149 --> 00:12:52.509 Sometimes it's off just a little bit. So you 00:12:52.509 --> 00:12:54.649 may still need to do some adjustments with your 00:12:54.649 --> 00:12:59.169 VFO as the satellite's passing overhead. For 00:12:59.169 --> 00:13:02.470 portable operators, somebody who uses an HT or 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:07.509 a small all -mode radio like the Yesu 817 or 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:11.850 an ICOM 7000 or something like that, you don't 00:13:11.850 --> 00:13:15.070 necessarily have to have a software program to 00:13:15.070 --> 00:13:17.210 compensate for Doppler. You can do it manually. 00:13:17.529 --> 00:13:20.490 It's just another radio skill that goes in your 00:13:20.490 --> 00:13:24.100 toolbox. That's all. Okay, very good. All right, 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:27.460 well let's talk about how to find those birds 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:31.299 and how to get everything pointed in the right 00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:34.960 direction to make all that work. What are some 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.919 strategies for that? Well, okay, so if you've 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:42.360 got 14 or 15 different satellites that are in 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:45.559 orbit, each one of those satellites passes over 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:49.480 your location. I'm gonna say the United States 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:51.960 just because that's where I'm I'm centered I'm 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:55.580 up here in in Connecticut in grid square Fox 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:59.200 Nancy 31 so each of those satellites will pass 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.539 generally they will pass overhead around five 00:14:02.539 --> 00:14:05.740 or six times a day and all of this is completely 00:14:05.740 --> 00:14:10.120 predictable using one of three major methods 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:15.240 one is on the AMSAT website which is www .amsat 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:20.580 .org and they have a section in there on their 00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:24.259 website of satellite past predictions so you 00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:27.190 can go in there and you can Select the satellite 00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:29.570 that you want to track type in your location 00:14:29.570 --> 00:14:31.509 and it will show you all of the past predictions 00:14:31.509 --> 00:14:36.529 Coming up in the in the near future Another option 00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:39.990 is there are several apps for your smartphone 00:14:39.990 --> 00:14:43.110 that you can use to track the satellites I have 00:14:43.110 --> 00:14:45.269 an iPhone so I'm familiar with iOS products, 00:14:45.269 --> 00:14:48.330 but they have satellite tracker apps for iOS 00:14:48.330 --> 00:14:51.289 and Android devices The one that I use in a most 00:14:51.289 --> 00:14:54.210 comfortable with is a is an app called go sat 00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:57.580 watch It's not a free app, but it is an extremely 00:14:57.580 --> 00:14:59.860 high quality app and I find it to be worth the 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:02.700 money to pay for it. And what that does is that 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:06.049 updates all of the orbital elements that... that 00:15:06.049 --> 00:15:09.990 describes how the satellite is going to be orbiting 00:15:09.990 --> 00:15:12.730 overhead and it condenses all of that information 00:15:12.730 --> 00:15:16.549 into your phone and you can just select any number 00:15:16.549 --> 00:15:19.789 of satellites to track and it will take your 00:15:19.789 --> 00:15:22.470 location from the phone's GPS and it will automatically 00:15:22.470 --> 00:15:24.350 show you when a satellite is going to be overhead. 00:15:25.070 --> 00:15:30.990 The third option is a website n2yo .com November 00:15:30.990 --> 00:15:33.610 2 Yankee Oscar comm and there you can type in 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:35.769 the names of satellites or you can choose from 00:15:35.769 --> 00:15:39.190 a list and it will show you in real time where 00:15:39.190 --> 00:15:42.549 a satellite is is orbiting and you can you can 00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:45.669 zoom in on specific areas of the world map and 00:15:45.669 --> 00:15:47.889 And find where a satellite is going to be overhead 00:15:47.889 --> 00:15:50.370 So you've got a lot of options on how to get 00:15:50.370 --> 00:15:52.610 the information of what satellite is going to 00:15:52.610 --> 00:15:55.940 be overhead when so, you know You need to have 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:57.700 that information in order to be able to communicate 00:15:57.700 --> 00:15:59.620 through the satellite because satellites are 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:02.740 only accessible when they are above your horizon. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.320 So you need to know when the satellites are going 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:07.720 to be above your horizon. All right, very good. 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:10.080 And then let's talk a little bit about a typical 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:14.360 exchange on a satellite QSO because you don't 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:19.779 exactly have time to to carry on along rag to 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:23.799 you and talk about your garden and your ailments 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:30.460 and your weather. So tell us how you get that 00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:34.639 accomplished in brief periods of time so that 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:39.799 you don't get cut off by the past. Right, well 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:42.840 time is a very important factor when communicating 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:45.360 through the amateur radio satellites. The ham 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:47.700 radio satellites are what they call low earth 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:50.659 orbit satellites or LEO satellites and they're 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:53.159 only a few hundred miles above the surface of 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:55.840 the earth. And under the best conditions, if 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:58.720 you have a satellite that is going right overhead, 00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:01.820 you're only looking at a window of opportunity 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:06.559 from horizon to horizon of maybe 15 to 20 minutes. 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:10.700 So you don't have a whole lot of time to have 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:13.519 conversations on the satellite. If there are 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.299 a lot of people that are trying to access the 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:16.960 satellite at any one point in time, you need 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.240 to be able to share that resource. It's kind 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:21.019 of like a shared resource and everybody needs 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:23.579 to make time for everybody else to use a satellite. 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:27.079 So the exchanges on the on satellites are usually 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:30.319 pretty short it's you exchange call signs you 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.740 exchange the maidenhead grid square that you're 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:35.960 in and That's about it. If the if there aren't 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.440 a whole lot of people using a satellite then 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:41.380 that kind of frees things up to have You know 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:44.000 some more casual conversations, you know, you'll 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:46.799 if you use satellites regularly You'll start 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.119 becoming familiar with who the regular operators 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:50.960 are and you know, you can say hi to them and 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:54.299 stuff like that That's no problem But if a satellite 00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:56.480 is particularly crowded, or there are a lot of 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.579 people trying to get on and communicate through 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:01.319 the satellite, then keeping things really short 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:03.420 and being able to share that resource is very 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:08.720 important. OK, very good. And we've even got 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:12.279 some audio from some of your contacts. Yeah. 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:15.460 And would this be a good time to do that, or 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:18.299 you want to hold onto that? Sure. No, that's 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:21.779 fine. There are two basic different kinds of 00:18:21.779 --> 00:18:24.839 satellites. There are FM satellites, which are 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:29.279 basically like an orbiting repeater. So one station 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.240 can access an FM satellite at a time. So if you've 00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:34.640 got a lot of different people that are trying 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:38.279 to use a satellite, an FM satellite, you know, 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.609 only one person can. can communicate through 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:43.029 a repeater at a time, same thing with an FM satellite. 00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:45.650 So you need to be able to share that time. Then 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:49.509 there are another kind of satellite called linear 00:18:49.509 --> 00:18:51.529 satellites. And those are satellites that use 00:18:51.529 --> 00:18:55.589 sideband and CW on them. And those have a device 00:18:55.589 --> 00:18:57.930 on them called a transponder, which provides 00:18:58.549 --> 00:19:02.329 real bandwidth, anywhere from 20 to 100 kilohertz 00:19:02.329 --> 00:19:06.029 worth of bandwidth. So on sideband and CW satellites, 00:19:06.549 --> 00:19:08.529 multiple people can have conversations going 00:19:08.529 --> 00:19:10.769 on at the same time, just as if you were tuning 00:19:10.769 --> 00:19:14.089 up and down on 20 meters, for example. So FM 00:19:14.089 --> 00:19:16.630 satellites, they're like an FM repeater. Sideband 00:19:16.630 --> 00:19:19.369 and CW satellites, it's like being on an HF band 00:19:19.369 --> 00:19:21.390 and you can spread out and multiple people can 00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:25.509 have a conversation. I've got recordings of... 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.640 Two different passes, one is an FM satellite 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:32.019 called SO -50 and then I've got a recording of 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:37.000 a linear satellite called FO -29 and I think 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.799 you've got the FM satellite clip coming up. I've 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:45.039 got it right here. Assuming Murphy doesn't show 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:53.819 up again. This is a recording of me operating 00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:57.559 this past July when I was back home in Illinois 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:02.680 on the line between two different grid squares 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:05.980 in central Illinois. And one of those grid squares 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:08.359 is kind of rare, so I had a few people that were 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:10.500 trying to get in touch with me so they could 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:13.720 talk to somebody in that grid square and confirm 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:16.940 that grid, much like people confirm states and 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:21.869 countries on HF. Alright, well, let's let's go 00:20:21.869 --> 00:20:26.569 to the tape Kilo x -ray 9 x -ray portable 9 echo 00:20:26.569 --> 00:20:38.390 mic 5 9 6 9 grid line Alpha Echo 5 Papa Hotel 00:20:38.390 --> 00:20:49.980 echo mic 5 9 6 9 grid line. We got you 73 Kilo 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:53.680 X -ray, 9X -ray, Portable 9, Echo Mike 5969, 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:58.619 grid line. Echo Mike 5969, Portable 9, this is 00:20:58.619 --> 00:21:03.140 Kilo 5, November Delta, K5ND. K5ND, hey Jim, 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:06.160 Echo Mike 5969, grid line from the Prairie of 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:09.660 Illinois. From the Prairie of Illinois to the 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:13.220 Flatlands of Texas, it's Echo Mike 1 -2, Bankshawn 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:16.960 73. 73, Jim, we'll talk to you soon. KX9X, Portable 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:22.900 9. 8 hotel Mike hey Paul echo Mike five nine 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:30.660 six nine grid line over glad to give you the 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:33.279 last one in the echo Mike field Paul 73 cures 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:44.440 that whiskey five radio kilo Mike echo Mike five 00:21:44.440 --> 00:22:02.680 nine six nine grid line over All right, so there 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:07.740 you go. So there's between EM -59 and EM -69 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:12.859 gridlines on SO -50. That's correct. And that's 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:19.329 just me using Yesu. The x6 dual band handheld 00:22:19.329 --> 00:22:24.230 and a a dual band Yagi antenna that works on 00:22:24.230 --> 00:22:26.609 70 centimeters and two meters called an arrow 00:22:26.609 --> 00:22:31.490 antenna and So that's uh, that's just me. So 00:22:31.490 --> 00:22:35.309 Yeah, very good and Jim Wilson k5 nd says wow 00:22:35.309 --> 00:22:40.839 nice recording. Yeah, Jim He's a heck of a good 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.000 satellite operator and I know that he's extremely 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.200 active with the Boy Scouts of America and with 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.460 this weekend's upcoming Jamboree on the air, 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:50.599 I know that there's going to be some Boy Scout 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:52.720 satellite activity this weekend as well. So you 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:54.359 might want to, you know, if you're interested 00:22:54.359 --> 00:22:56.279 in checking out satellites for the first time, 00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:59.039 this would be a good weekend to do it and get 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.640 some scouts in the log as well. Yeah, so Jim 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:06.119 made the show for a third time, so he didn't 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:09.460 even know it. He's a popular guy. Okay. So now 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:13.240 let's go to fo 29 Let's go to the to the clip 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:16.660 from then so you want to set that up? Yeah, so 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:19.160 this is going to sound very much like listening 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:24.680 to to any HF band and what this is a recording 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:30.619 of is this is so so the satellites you know, 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:33.359 de -expeditions can take satellite gear with 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.759 them as well. And this is a recording of the 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:41.240 2015 NAVASA de -expedition, K1N. in February 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:47.359 of 2015 working the FO -29 sideband and CW satellite 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:50.539 and they are using another one of those handheld 00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:54.440 Yagi antennas called the Aero which is a dual 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:57.619 band handheld Yagi and all they're using for 00:23:57.619 --> 00:24:01.940 a radio is a Yesu 817 QRP rig with 5 watts of 00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:06.940 power. And they're handling a pretty decent pile 00:24:06.940 --> 00:24:10.859 up with very modest equipment. So you don't need 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:13.079 a lot of power in order to get into some of these 00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:16.559 satellites. So this is a recording of the K1ND 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:21.299 expedition from 2015 using the FO29 sideband 00:24:21.299 --> 00:25:03.079 satellite. All right, so there's kilo one November 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:07.819 Major D expedition, you know, they worked 29 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:11.880 qso's on the fo 29 satellite using pretty modest 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:14.339 equipment and it was the first time that Navassa 00:25:14.339 --> 00:25:18.079 Island had been on satellites since I believe 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:22.359 1978 So that was a big deal for the satellite 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:25.039 operators to hear such a rare DXCC country on 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:28.740 satellites. So it's not just working stations 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:31.000 in the United States. You can work some DX on 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:35.480 the satellites, too. All right. Very good. Well, 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:37.160 we're going to take a break and then we're going 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:39.779 to come back and we're going to take your calls. 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:45.380 And the Twitter universe is going nuts over here. 00:25:46.269 --> 00:25:49.509 I'm not sure I can keep up with them, but we'll 00:25:49.509 --> 00:25:52.549 take some of those tweets as well, but get ready 00:25:52.549 --> 00:25:55.930 to give us a call here and in just a moment we'll 00:25:55.930 --> 00:25:58.329 be back and take your calls with Sean Kutzko 00:25:58.329 --> 00:26:02.170 KX9X about satellites right here on HamTalk Live. 00:26:02.490 --> 00:26:04.750 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:26:04.750 --> 00:26:08.079 in part by Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:11.299 has been the Ham's Dime Store since 1978. When 00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:14.019 you need connectors, mobile and handheld antennas, 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:17.480 cables or adapters, visit Scott or Jill at a 00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:20.799 HamFest near you. Or you can order online at 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:28.579 PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. Stock up 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:31.799 on those supplies like PL -259 and end connectors, 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:35.380 SMA adapters, audio cables, soldering supplies, 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:38.400 mobile antennas, and hamsticks. Their silver 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:41.299 -plated end connectors are even used on the International 00:26:41.299 --> 00:26:44.619 Space Station. Tower Electronics carries MFJ, 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:49.000 Comet, Daiwa, OPEC, Workman, and HamPro products. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:52.779 And don't miss their 0 % off sale going on now. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:57.299 Tower Electronics online at PL -259 .com, proud 00:26:57.299 --> 00:27:06.450 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. I'd 00:27:06.450 --> 00:27:11.630 love to be in your grid square. Join the conversation. 00:27:12.029 --> 00:27:15.450 Call us on voice with Skype at HamTalk Live or 00:27:15.450 --> 00:27:19.970 give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:27:19.970 --> 00:27:27.230 -638 -4261. Now, here's more HamTalk Live. All 00:27:27.230 --> 00:27:32.529 right, welcome back to HamTalk Live Tower Electronics. 00:27:33.379 --> 00:27:36.839 Is out on the road once again and thanks to them 00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:39.079 for sponsoring the show. They're at Greenville, 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:43.160 Tennessee This weekend coming up on Saturday, 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:47.420 actually and then Lagrange Georgia of the following 00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:50.599 Saturday October 28th and then November 3rd 4th 00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:53.680 and 5th will be in Lawrenceville, Georgia and 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.240 so if you need some some good connectors for 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.460 your satellite work or whatever give them a Call 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:02.930 or a visit if you can't visit them at one of 00:28:02.930 --> 00:28:08.250 those shows give them a call at 920 -435 -2973 00:28:08.250 --> 00:28:13.589 or you can visit them at PL -259 .com tell them 00:28:13.589 --> 00:28:16.349 you heard it on HamTalk Live and we're gonna 00:28:16.349 --> 00:28:20.569 take some calls here assuming Murphy's keep staying 00:28:20.569 --> 00:28:23.869 away here so if you have a question for Shawn 00:28:23.869 --> 00:28:27.369 now is the time to call and let me give you that 00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:33.680 phone number it's 812 -NET -HAM - That's 812 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:39.700 -638 -4261. Or you can Skype us. We're at HamTalk 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:42.380 Live on Skype. And we'll try to keep up with 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:46.359 the Twitterverse at HamTalk Live on Twitter as 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:50.799 well. And Sean, I've noticed that there's an 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:54.119 awful lot of satellite people on Twitter. And 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:58.259 I always read all this stuff. And I keep seeing 00:28:58.259 --> 00:29:01.799 all this satellite stuff. Had a feeling and this 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:04.759 happened as soon as I say, okay, we're gonna 00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:08.759 do a show about satellites It's like Twitter 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:16.140 just blows up Well Twitter is a fantastic resource 00:29:16.140 --> 00:29:22.079 for people who chase satellite operators who 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:25.279 transmit from multiple grid squares. And it's 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:29.220 a great way to keep track of the community of 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:32.140 portable operators out there who enjoy transmitting 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:34.480 from as many different grid squares as they possibly 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:41.400 can. Just like HF operators try to talk to every 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:43.700 state in the United States or try to get as many 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:47.119 countries on HF as they can. A lot of the satellite 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:49.880 operators chase the Maidenhead grid squares, 00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:53.480 and there are 488 grid squares in the continental 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:55.339 United States. For those of you who don't know 00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:59.039 what a grid square is, they're geographic units. 00:29:59.339 --> 00:30:02.859 They're two degrees of longitude wide by one 00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:08.069 degree of latitude. tall or high and that is 00:30:08.069 --> 00:30:10.849 the the geographic unit that is exchanged on 00:30:10.849 --> 00:30:15.289 the amateur radio VHF and UHF bands and so there 00:30:15.289 --> 00:30:17.009 are a lot of people who try to communicate with 00:30:17.009 --> 00:30:18.950 as many different grid squares as they possibly 00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:21.369 can it's kind of like electronic bingo if you 00:30:21.369 --> 00:30:26.930 think about it and so there are there are a whole 00:30:26.930 --> 00:30:30.210 crew of operators who enjoy taking their satellite 00:30:30.210 --> 00:30:32.869 gear portable and transmitting from as many of 00:30:32.869 --> 00:30:34.789 these different grid squares as possible because 00:30:34.789 --> 00:30:37.390 some of them especially out west are pretty rare 00:30:37.390 --> 00:30:39.269 there aren't a whole lot of satellite operators 00:30:39.269 --> 00:30:42.890 in some of these grid squares so the people who 00:30:42.890 --> 00:30:45.309 try to collect as many as possible they oftentimes 00:30:45.309 --> 00:30:48.329 need stations to go to these grid squares and 00:30:48.329 --> 00:30:50.309 put them on the air on the amateur radio satellites 00:30:50.309 --> 00:30:52.839 so Portable operating becomes very important, 00:30:53.099 --> 00:30:55.420 and Twitter becomes extremely important for keeping 00:30:55.420 --> 00:30:57.460 track of all of these people who go out into 00:30:57.460 --> 00:31:00.140 the field and activate these rare grid squares. 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:03.220 So you'll find a strong satellite contingent 00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:06.880 on Twitter, and it's the top way of keeping track 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:11.500 of who is transmitting when in real time. All 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:14.940 right. Well, let's go to Twitter here and let's 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:19.579 plug the phone number again. It's 812 -638. 4 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:25.039 2 6 1 8 1 2 net ham 1 so give us a call if you 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:29.279 have a Question or something to chime in on about 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:32.059 satellites. We've got about 10 minutes here We're 00:31:32.059 --> 00:31:35.180 gonna be able to go a little bit longer since 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:38.720 we did get cut off with the first attempt at 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:41.980 the show So we've got about 12 minutes left. 00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:47.039 So We'll be able to get the full 45 in here, 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.980 at least, tonight. So did find that. So give 00:31:51.980 --> 00:31:58.720 us a call, 812 -638 -4261, 812 -NATAM1. And while 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:02.160 we're waiting on that, I will run over to the 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:06.079 Twitterverse and see what we've got. I know Vance 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:09.799 had said earlier he wanted to know your opinion 00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:15.619 on your Aero antenna. What you think of that 00:32:15.619 --> 00:32:18.279 compared to some of the others? So let's do that 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:24.160 first while I read here Okay So I am I am one 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:27.039 of the satellite operators that uses an arrow 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:30.460 antenna arrow antenna is manufactured by a company 00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:33.799 arrow antennas out of Wyoming and What an arrow 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:37.700 antenna is is it's a short boom dual band Yagi 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:41.019 and it's got three elements on two meters and 00:32:41.019 --> 00:32:43.460 seven elements on 70 centimeters and they're 00:32:43.460 --> 00:32:46.680 90 degrees out of phase so you can hold that 00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:49.740 antenna and point it at the satellite as as it 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:53.579 passes overhead and it gives you significant 00:32:53.579 --> 00:32:57.299 gain on both of those bands so five watts from 00:32:57.299 --> 00:33:01.170 an HT to a satellite that's passing overhead 00:33:01.170 --> 00:33:04.710 with no obstructions in the way. Five watts is 00:33:04.710 --> 00:33:07.309 a lot of power, and when you amplify it with 00:33:07.309 --> 00:33:10.390 the gain from an aero antenna, you can do very, 00:33:10.390 --> 00:33:12.470 very well getting into the satellites with such 00:33:12.470 --> 00:33:16.609 a small, extremely portable station. I prefer 00:33:16.609 --> 00:33:19.329 the aero antenna. There is another company that 00:33:19.329 --> 00:33:23.990 manufactures satellite antennas called Elk, and 00:33:23.990 --> 00:33:27.769 they, instead of having cross -boom Yagis, they 00:33:27.769 --> 00:33:32.470 use a periodic design so it's it's six of one 00:33:32.470 --> 00:33:34.269 half a dozen of the other there are there are 00:33:34.269 --> 00:33:36.589 some people who prefer the arrow antennas there 00:33:36.589 --> 00:33:40.309 are some people who prefer the elk antennas they're 00:33:40.309 --> 00:33:42.789 in they're in about the same price point there 00:33:42.789 --> 00:33:46.950 you know in the under $200 certainly So both 00:33:46.950 --> 00:33:49.089 of those antennas work very well and those are 00:33:49.089 --> 00:33:51.829 commercially available options. If that's too 00:33:51.829 --> 00:33:55.609 much money for a person or if they are just more 00:33:55.609 --> 00:33:57.670 technically inclined and prefer to build stuff 00:33:57.670 --> 00:34:00.849 themselves, there are plenty of satellite antenna 00:34:00.849 --> 00:34:03.809 plans that are available on the internet, especially 00:34:03.809 --> 00:34:11.210 on the AMSAT website. Again, that's www .amsat 00:34:11.210 --> 00:34:15.070 .org. There's tons of information there. All 00:34:15.070 --> 00:34:19.429 right, and and right on cue Jeff we4b sends us 00:34:19.429 --> 00:34:24.289 a picture of a young lady with her arrow antenna 00:34:24.289 --> 00:34:27.610 So we retweeted that so Twitter verse. There 00:34:27.610 --> 00:34:30.989 you go. There's a picture of the arrow antennas 00:34:30.989 --> 00:34:33.449 It's always a nice little color. I like like 00:34:33.449 --> 00:34:40.139 that. So Give us a call The color on your aero 00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:43.000 antenna fades as you go out into the field more 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:45.000 and more. I've had mine for about five years 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:47.599 and it's not nearly as shiny as it was when I 00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:51.980 first bought it. Yeah, yeah that would happen. 00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:55.280 That's that aren't ultraviolet. It just keeps 00:34:55.280 --> 00:35:01.599 doing that. Well 812 -638 -4261 is the phone 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:04.599 number. Please give us a call and chime in on 00:35:04.599 --> 00:35:08.539 our first satellite show here tonight. And maybe 00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:12.059 we'll get some more of these going on. And speaking 00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:17.420 of being outstanding in your field, I mean outstanding 00:35:17.420 --> 00:35:22.179 in a field with your arrow, I know you wanted 00:35:22.179 --> 00:35:27.179 to talk a little bit about some of the portable 00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:29.639 operations and the de -expeditions. I know a 00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:31.840 while ago you kind of plugged that a little bit. 00:35:32.260 --> 00:35:37.360 Was there anything else that you wanted to? to 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:40.900 mention about going out there and running the 00:35:40.900 --> 00:35:45.260 portable stuff and the expeditions. Well, the 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:48.840 only thing that I can really say is it is so 00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:53.900 much fun to be able to transmit from multiple 00:35:53.900 --> 00:35:56.840 grid squares using really, really modest equipment. 00:35:57.320 --> 00:35:59.780 You have to think about this in terms of scale. 00:36:00.619 --> 00:36:03.760 You're communicating. uh... with uh... a satellite 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:06.500 that's flying overhead and they're only they're 00:36:06.500 --> 00:36:08.559 not transmitting with very much power you're 00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:10.679 talking about anywhere from like two hundred 00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:13.159 fifty milliwatts to five hundred milliwatts in 00:36:13.159 --> 00:36:16.119 most cases for the satellites it's not very much 00:36:16.119 --> 00:36:18.019 power that these things are putting out because 00:36:18.019 --> 00:36:20.639 they've got a clear line of sight directly to 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:25.010 uh... directly to the earth so uh... Using being 00:36:25.010 --> 00:36:27.469 able to receive a signal with that little power 00:36:27.469 --> 00:36:31.449 and transmitting with no more than five watts 00:36:31.449 --> 00:36:35.449 Opens up the the doors for extremely portable 00:36:35.449 --> 00:36:38.630 gear and that means you can take it easily on 00:36:38.630 --> 00:36:41.369 a business trip You can take it easily on vacation 00:36:41.369 --> 00:36:45.050 with you The antenna that I use, the Arrow antenna, 00:36:45.769 --> 00:36:49.289 all of the elements collapse and break down. 00:36:50.349 --> 00:36:53.030 It's an antenna designed for portability. So 00:36:53.030 --> 00:36:55.590 you can collapse the entire antenna and put it 00:36:55.590 --> 00:36:59.110 in your carry -on bag and bring an HT with you. 00:36:59.690 --> 00:37:01.869 And you can, you know, if you're going on vacation, 00:37:01.989 --> 00:37:04.110 you're on a business trip, anywhere you can take... 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:08.039 amateur radio with you and operate from any one 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:11.940 of these grid squares along your journey. I just 00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:15.980 spent about 10 days on the road in August traveling 00:37:15.980 --> 00:37:20.139 all around a couple of the Great Lakes and transmitted 00:37:20.139 --> 00:37:23.960 from 10 different grid squares around Lake Ontario 00:37:23.960 --> 00:37:26.639 and Lake Erie and that was both loads of fun. 00:37:26.909 --> 00:37:30.730 And all I had with me were a couple of Yesu 817 00:37:30.730 --> 00:37:35.210 QRP radios. I had a dual band HT and I had an 00:37:35.210 --> 00:37:38.210 aero antenna. And with that, I was able to transmit 00:37:38.210 --> 00:37:42.909 from 10 different grid squares and make almost, 00:37:43.949 --> 00:37:48.429 I think it was around 150, 175 satellite QSOs 00:37:48.429 --> 00:37:53.929 just in about 10 days time. So it's a hoot. Very 00:37:53.929 --> 00:37:57.239 good. Well, we've got a couple of other things 00:37:57.239 --> 00:38:00.179 here coming out there from the Twitterverse. 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:04.179 Glenn Miller, AA5PK says, you might mention the 00:38:04.179 --> 00:38:08.099 output power of the satellites themselves. So 00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:12.679 let's kind of shift gears and let's go a few 00:38:12.679 --> 00:38:15.280 thousand miles up here and talk about what's 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:20.400 up there. And I'll say this and leave it wherever, 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:25.519 but in the hallway at AR... headquarters I remember 00:38:25.519 --> 00:38:29.699 going down the hallway and I saw what was Oscar 00:38:29.699 --> 00:38:33.780 one I think it was it was this first satellite 00:38:33.780 --> 00:38:38.579 and I saw pictures of satellites on you know 00:38:38.579 --> 00:38:42.300 the cover of QST or you know CQ or something 00:38:42.300 --> 00:38:46.519 and and the first time I saw that I was just 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:52.300 totally taken back by you know all that went 00:38:52.300 --> 00:38:56.489 into to getting that thing going, but the size 00:38:56.489 --> 00:38:59.550 of it and how it works. And then I remember a 00:38:59.550 --> 00:39:03.530 few years ago at Dayton, I was on another show 00:39:03.530 --> 00:39:07.530 and was waiting and the guy from AMSAT was in 00:39:07.530 --> 00:39:11.190 front of me and had a mock -up of the CubeSat 00:39:11.190 --> 00:39:13.530 and I was just amazed that I could hold that 00:39:13.530 --> 00:39:16.269 thing in my hand. So talk a little bit about 00:39:16.269 --> 00:39:21.210 the birds themselves. Well, the satellites themselves, 00:39:21.360 --> 00:39:24.599 They're modern feats of engineering. I mean, 00:39:24.760 --> 00:39:26.960 these things have transmitter receivers built 00:39:26.960 --> 00:39:31.179 into them. They transmit telemetry and data back 00:39:31.179 --> 00:39:35.239 down to the earth. And they're only using milliwatts 00:39:35.239 --> 00:39:37.599 of power in order to accomplish all of this. 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:40.380 So, you know, the amount of technology that's 00:39:40.380 --> 00:39:44.619 packed into a 10 centimeter cube is just staggering. 00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:48.440 And the engineers that design and build and get 00:39:48.440 --> 00:39:51.280 these satellites launched deserve real round 00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:56.239 of applause because they're contributing to the 00:39:56.239 --> 00:40:00.219 education community and they're providing us 00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:03.800 with an incredible playground above the earth 00:40:03.800 --> 00:40:07.119 that brings a lot of enjoyment to a lot of people. 00:40:07.760 --> 00:40:09.820 So hats off to the engineers who designed these 00:40:09.820 --> 00:40:12.900 satellites that can communicate globally well. 00:40:13.079 --> 00:40:16.519 not quite globally, but a pretty far distance 00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:21.699 with just a 10 centimeter cubes worth of electronics 00:40:21.699 --> 00:40:23.800 and components and engineering. It's pretty remarkable. 00:40:24.820 --> 00:40:28.679 And the power output would be typically? 250 00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:32.760 milliwatts, 500 milliwatts. A satellite with 00:40:32.760 --> 00:40:35.739 a watt of power these days, that's a lot of power. 00:40:37.320 --> 00:40:40.079 and something else that's important to note too 00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:43.760 and I've talked about this a little bit but the 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:47.079 amount of power you need to transmit and communicate 00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:49.420 through a satellite you don't need very much 00:40:49.420 --> 00:40:53.900 power five watts of power is plenty under all 00:40:53.900 --> 00:40:56.099 but the most extreme circumstances to be able 00:40:56.099 --> 00:40:58.940 to communicate through a satellite in fact if 00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:02.599 you transmit with more power than that In some 00:41:02.599 --> 00:41:05.420 cases, you can overload the satellite's receiver, 00:41:05.880 --> 00:41:09.199 which renders the satellite pass inoperable for 00:41:09.199 --> 00:41:11.559 everybody who's trying to access it. And in some 00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:15.000 cases, you can actually cause damage to the satellite 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:20.099 itself. We don't want to knock any satellites 00:41:20.099 --> 00:41:23.179 off the air and render them inoperable for anybody. 00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:25.820 So if you're getting interested in satellites, 00:41:26.559 --> 00:41:29.219 keep that power down. Five watts is plenty of 00:41:29.219 --> 00:41:35.110 power. All right, very good. And CarlK89HQT says, 00:41:35.349 --> 00:41:38.210 elk, elk, elk, elk, elk, elk, elk. There you 00:41:38.210 --> 00:41:45.409 go. It's like the pizza debate. Some people like 00:41:45.409 --> 00:41:47.369 thin crust and some people like thick crust. 00:41:47.690 --> 00:41:50.130 But the bottom line is both the Aero antennas 00:41:50.130 --> 00:41:52.809 and the elk antennas and all the designs that 00:41:52.809 --> 00:41:55.570 are available on the AMSAT website, all of those 00:41:55.570 --> 00:41:57.869 are very good antennas and all of those will 00:41:57.869 --> 00:42:01.210 get the job done. Yeah, and you've got some aero 00:42:01.210 --> 00:42:03.230 fans on the Twitter verse here. They're all saying 00:42:03.230 --> 00:42:07.449 arrow arrow arrow. So yeah, you know Kenwood 00:42:07.449 --> 00:42:14.469 icon, you know, yeah All right, well, let's see 00:42:14.469 --> 00:42:17.150 if we've got anything else we're just about out 00:42:17.150 --> 00:42:19.929 of time here We've got two minutes. So yeah, 00:42:20.130 --> 00:42:23.269 actually we better go ahead and and stop but 00:42:23.630 --> 00:42:26.949 Thanks so much for coming on and doing this and 00:42:26.949 --> 00:42:30.789 and wow that the Twitter verse is loving it so 00:42:30.789 --> 00:42:34.369 We'll have to get some more satellite shows on 00:42:34.369 --> 00:42:37.550 we'll mix those in and and Thanks for coming 00:42:37.550 --> 00:42:42.110 on to get us started on everything and Have fun 00:42:42.110 --> 00:42:45.289 out there on the satellites anything else we 00:42:45.289 --> 00:42:49.980 want to throw out here well I'd just like to 00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:52.500 strongly encourage anybody who's listening, who's 00:42:52.500 --> 00:42:55.460 never tried satellite communications, it's not 00:42:55.460 --> 00:42:58.219 that hard, it's a ton of fun, and you've got 00:42:58.219 --> 00:43:01.340 a whole community worth of people through AMSAT 00:43:01.340 --> 00:43:03.320 that are more than willing to share their time 00:43:03.320 --> 00:43:06.320 and expertise to help get you on the air. Again, 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:08.920 here's a couple more plugs for their website, 00:43:09.340 --> 00:43:15.030 www .amsat .com. Go to the area on their website 00:43:15.030 --> 00:43:17.590 called Education, and there's a whole bunch of 00:43:17.590 --> 00:43:20.289 information for newcomers to satellite operations 00:43:20.289 --> 00:43:23.269 to get you started. If anybody wants to ask me 00:43:23.269 --> 00:43:25.289 any questions about satellite, just shoot me 00:43:25.289 --> 00:43:30.150 an email, kx9x at yahoo .com. I'll be happy to 00:43:30.150 --> 00:43:32.730 help you out in any way I can. The more the merrier 00:43:32.730 --> 00:43:34.889 when it comes to satellites. So anything we can 00:43:34.889 --> 00:43:38.409 do to help. Let's get you on the air. All right, 00:43:38.550 --> 00:43:41.849 there he is. It's Shawn KX9X, and that's a wrap 00:43:41.849 --> 00:43:45.250 for this week's HamTalk Live. Thanks, Shawn, 00:43:45.309 --> 00:43:48.050 and everybody out there in the Twitterverse for 00:43:48.050 --> 00:43:50.590 chiming in, and we invite you back next Thursday 00:43:50.590 --> 00:43:54.510 night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time. Another familiar 00:43:54.510 --> 00:43:58.889 voice, Ward Silver in Zero AX will be here, and 00:43:58.889 --> 00:44:04.210 he's going to talk about the new 2018 ARRL handbook. 00:44:04.380 --> 00:44:06.980 And for a list of all of our upcoming guests, 00:44:07.239 --> 00:44:10.500 visit HamTalkLive .com. So for now, this is Neil 00:44:10.500 --> 00:44:16.380 Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the good DX 00:44:16.380 --> 00:44:17.500 be yours.