FW: [amsat-bb] AO40 modes

[Jon Ogden <na9d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----------
From: "Vince R." <vincesr@ij.net>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 13:44:38 -0500
To: "Jon Ogden" <na9d@mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO40 modes

Hello Group,

I was active on KO-23/25 and the PSK 1200 birds for quite a
while a few years ago.  The station got to a point where it could
work passes on all the available birds without intervention. Then
I concentrated on increasing the download and upload efficiency
for a while. A move triggered a temporary "vacation" from sat
work. This may sound silly, but the challenge of "conquering"
the microwave freqs in the hope of working AO-40 has inspired
me to take on the challenge of  working with microwave signals.

I do not have large financial resources, nor am I a microwave
communications engineer. Yet, I believe that my efforts will be
successful if I follow Jon's approach of a small step at a time.

We should not overlook the possibility of  individuals pooling
resources in order to put together a station. In the first days of
"trying to work a sat," I collaborated with a good friend. Together
we were able to piece together a station, simple U/V, bring it to
the county fair and dazzle the visitors with the tracking antenna's.
Our plan was to work AO-13 and the microsats.
The one big "glitch" was the 50kw generator parked right beside
the building. We sure worked a lot of "hash" that week! The irony
was that the "Roving Robot ATV" transmitter drew an unbelievable
positive response from the crowd. Many "to be" Hams gained a twinkle
in their eye. The tracking antenna's lured them into our booth and the
ATV R/C roving robot roamed around and televised them!

Our hobby is full of unexpected twists and turns. Even an occassional
cliff or two.

The point (if any) is a message to the newcomers that have purchased,
scrounged, borrowed gear in anticipation of the U-V modes. Getting to
the microwave modes will not be as trivial as swapping a few parts,
flipping a switch or punching a few keystrokes. The good news is that
we can all share in our experiences and document the "tiny" steps it
takes to get from U/V to what appear (to some) to be "almost light"
modes.

Thanks to everyone in this group for taking the time and effort to
share experience and knowledge with us.
Exiting from "Soap Box - Anecdotal Mode  S/B/A"....

Vince Risalvato
kd7ai@amsat.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Ogden" <na9d@mindspring.com>
To: "Paul" <paul@moonlink.net>
Cc: <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2001 7:36 AM
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO40 modes


> It sounds like you were planning on AO-40 being a digital bird.
>
> No matter.  I understand where you are coming from as do a lot of folks.
> The loss of the V and U transmitters is a big deal.  However, it's not as
> big as you may think.  An S-band receiver set up is not as expensive as
you
> may imagine.
>
> If you buy something like a Drake downconverter and a DSS dish, you can do
> the whole bit for around $100.  The Drakes are hard to come by right now,
> but there are other converters out there as well.  No need to buy an "SSB
> Electronic" unit.  If you can't find a Drake or similar, the next cheapest
> way that I know is the Down East Microwave unit.  I think it is going for
> about $150 unassembled.  Then there is always surplus stuff at hamfests.
>
> I like to just try to cobble stuff together over time.  Sure, a couple
> hundred bucks seems like a lot of money.  However, if you collect the
pieces
> over time, it's not so bad.  My S-band set-up is not together yet and
> probably won't be for some time.  I finally have almost all the parts, but
> my biggest challenge is where to put my antenna (it's a LONG story).
> Anyhow, I first bought the Drake downcoverter a month or two ago when they
> were being imported from Japan (and I can't believe that US amateurs have
> all the Drakes there are in this country - there's got to be more!).  For
> the antenna, I happened to walk into BestBuy and see they were selling the
> RCA DSS dishes with dual LNBs for $50 new and I got lucky and got an open
> box unit for $40.  Now the LNBs themselves sell new at places like Radio
> Shack and BestBuy itself for around $70!  So it is possible that I can
sell
> the Dual LNB on E-bay and nearly get my antenna for free!
>
> So there are all sorts of possibilities if you keep your eyes and ears
open.
> Don't worry about doing it all at once.  Just a tiny step at a time.
>
> 73,
>
> Jon
> NA9D
>
> on 3/19/01 11:48 PM, Paul at paul@moonlink.net wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Hello All,
> >
> > That's me. The beginner who built his station for 2m/70cm 9600/38400
> > operation
> > on AO-40. I got the best advice at the time (before launch), was lucky
> > enough to
> > be able to afford the best equipment. It all works flawlessly.
> >
> > At this point if I can't work AO-40 with what I have, I may just have to
> > watch it fly
> > by for awhile. The well has run quite dry. I have my fingers crossed,
but
> > also realize
> > there will be many more new satellites in my future. I plan to stick
around.
> >
> > UO-22, KO-25, UO-36 and TIUNGSAT-1 are all working here, so I am getting
> > some experience. The 38k4 birds are blazing fast. I could really love
> > working AO-40
> > if the 2m/70cm ever works.
> >
> > My chin is up... ;)
> >
> > Paul Delaney
> > kb2shu.ampr.org [44.16.2.46]
> > paul@moonlink.net
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Margaret Leber (K3XS) <maggie@voicenet.com>
> > To: Dale Wiese <dwiese@lucent.com>
> > Cc: <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
> > Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 12:43 PM
> > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO40 modes
> >
> >
> >> Dale Wiese wrote:
> >>
> >>> I would have to agree.  If the 2m/70cm "beginner" combo does not work
> > (and
> >>> it certainly looks like that part of A0-40 is not coming back), then
it
> >>> would seem like a 70cm uplink with a 13cm downlink would be the next
> > best
> >>> thing.  My reasoning?  For all those who already have or were planning
a
> >>> 2m/70cm system, adding a 13cm antenna and a 13cm->2m transverter is a
> > fairly
> >>> small delta.
> >
> >>> If you are a green field start, I see some advantage to going direct
to
> > 23cm
> >>> up and 13cm down.  For one, your rotator and mount can be much less
> > heavy
> >>> duty without a couple 20 ft booms to swing around.  Given this, how
many
> >>> people who plan to work A0-40 might not also want the big booms to
work
> > some
> >>> of the other sats?  Also, how many true greenfield starts are there,
> >>> compared to the current list of Amateurs who have either been working
> > the
> >>> birds for years (and have all this stuff already) or have been buying
> > parts
> >>> and stuffing them in a closet since the launch, waiting for spring to
> > build
> >>> out the station?
> >
> >> That was my strategy...although I'm a little stung hearing mode VU
being
> > called
> >> a "beginner's combo". <grin> Hey, I worked *hard* to get that working
on
> >> RS-12/13, AO-10 and the Fujis . :-) And it was only last October...:-)
> >>
> >> 73 de Maggie K3XS
> >
> >
> >
> > ----
> > Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
> > To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org
>
>
> -------------------------------------
> Jon Ogden
> NA9D (ex: KE9NA)
>
> Member:  ARRL, AMSAT, DXCC, NRA
>
> http://www.qsl.net/ke9na
>
> "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
>
> ----
> Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
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