[amsat-bb] AO-40 lite activity

[Keith N6ORS <k2@xxxxxx>]

OK!
 Im finally sick of the whining.  I know all of you that can
hear the bird have heard me
on it. My Total investment in AO-40  was <$100.  (and the
847 which i would have bought anyway).
The Uplink antenna is $10 worth of 1x2 pine and $4 worth of
#10 wire which is shaped into
the form of a 13 turn helix.  It gives me a great signal at
50w out , i normally run only 20.
The Downlink is a 'scrounged'  50" Dish .  FORGET about
using anything below 36" unless
you want to spend a fortune on preamps and converters.  We
all know this now so lets not
pretend we dont. The converter is a TSI 3733 with simple
mods $58.  I usually can find
all kinds of activity on AO-40 , sometimes i have 60 kcs
above the beacon to find a clear spot.
IF it seems like there is no one on then get a bigger
antenna!  BTW i live in a condo and my
antennas have to be small and hidden. The uplink isnt
erected till the bird is up , yet i have
had evenings (11/28) where i operated for 4 1/2 hours on the
bird and made several long
nice 'armchair' QSO's.   Im still hearing many many guys who
cant hear themselves.

Keith N6ORS


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