Re: [amsat-bb] Apartment Dwellers

["Howard Long" <howard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Margaret,

I get a workable downlink on RS12/13 from a _basement_ apartment. I have a
wire 10m dipole at two feet agl (just above my window) for RX and a 2m half
wave mobile vertical which I have managed to get on the roof at 100'.
Although I have to run about 100-200W in the shack to get an SSB downlink
(there's about 6db loss in the coax to the roof).

Howard G6LVB

----- Original Message -----
From: Margaret Leber <maggie@voicenet.com>
To: <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2000 5:13 PM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Apartment Dwellers


 > Laura Haliday wrote:
 >
 > >Barriers to entry aren't just financial. Consider an
 > >apartment dweller who couldn't possibly put up a Mode-B
 > >steered array, but who would be delighted to C-clamp a
 > >Texas Potato Masher (or a small dish once P3D is doing
 > >its thing) to the balcony.
 >
 > This is a subject dear to my heart--especially now that I find myself
itching
 > to get involved in digital modes and what Laura delightfully refers to as
"being
 > seduced by centimeter waves". It's likely to be at least a little while
until
 > I'm able to afford a roof I can put antennas on.
 >
 > Standing in the parking lot dowsing for signal with my Arrow is getting a
little
 > tedious...my neighbors, who are already convinced that the sex-change case
down
 > the hall (me) is bonkers, will be *sure* of it now that there's a
nighttime bird
 > out there.
 > I mean the satellite. <grin>
 >
 > I'm currently living in an apartment one floor above ground level on that
side.
 > A balcony extends from our living room out on to the north side of the
building,
 > which extends upwards for another four stories (and four ferroconcrete
 > balconies), overlooking a driveway. Across the driveway, a stand of leafy
trees
 > (taller than the building) are the major obstructions to the northern
horizon.
 > (To their credit, they provide a place to fling a random-length magnet
wire so I
 > can do HF stuff...and maybe some of the silliness that goes on on 10m
isn't an
 > eye-opener for *this* still relatively new ham)
 >
 > I've occasionally wondered how well a potato-masher or eggbeater would
serve in
 > that environment. The balcony has grown a number of excrescence that we're
 > hoping do not attract the landlord's attention, like my partner's
carefully
 > camouflaged copper-pipe dual-band J-pole, and the occasional appearance of
my
 > Arrow on a photo tripod to connect with the local packet BBS (mercifully
located
 > to our north).
 >
 > So, a few questions...
 >
 > Have I any chance at all of receiving from anything when it's in sky
blocked by
 > the apartment building?
 >
 > Has anybody translated those mocked-up P3D keps to the NORAD TLEs? I
thought I
 > saw them out here once, but can't find them. There's a utility program
around to
 > do that, right? I tried doing it by hand but couldn't get the checksums
right.
 >
 > Anyone have suggestions for what the next easiest thing to tackle might be
in
 > this situation might be after Mode JA on an HT? We have an ICOM 751 HF
 > transceiver, two Yaesu VX-5s, and a 2m/70cm FM mobile transceiver set up
as a
 > base--but I think my partner (it's hers) would be not thrilled to have
monkied
 > with to tap in to the IF for SSB or FSK.
 >
 > I think I may have an outside chance of getting tweaked up to pass the
Extra if
 > I can locate a VE session locally on April 15. It would be a real kick to
show
 > up as a 2-month Tech-plus, present CSECs to become a General, then sit
down and
 > take the Extra written...and only be a General for maybe half an hour or
so. :-)
 >
 > --
 > _________________________________________________________________________
 > -ICQ 7161096-/ __     _) Margaret Stephanie Leber <maggie@voicenet.com>/
 > -AOPA 925383/(, /|  /|    http://www.voicenet.com/~maggie/maggie.html /
 > AMSAT 32844/   / | / |  _   _   _    `  "The art of progress consists/
 > ARRL 39280/ ) /  |/  |_(_(_(_/_(_/__(__(/_ of preserving order amid /
 > EAA 600137 (_/   '        .-/ .-/    change and change amid order."/
 > -KB3DXS-/________________(_/ (_/__________________A.N.Whitehead___/
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