R: [amsat-bb] TR: I8CVS on AO7

["i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs@xxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Jean-L. RAULT <f6agr@wanadoo.fr>
To: amsat-bb <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2002 3:57 PM
Subject: [amsat-bb] TR: I8CVS on AO7


>
> > Olla Domenico
> >
> > Here attached is an audio record for you.
> > You are calling CQ on Oscar 7 ...
> > But you know what ? It was the 17th of november ...1974, that is
> > two days after the launch !
> > I just found yesterday night some antique tapes I recorded when I
> > was 25 years old :o))
> >
> >
> > 73 de Jean-Louis F6AGR
>

Hi Jean F6AGR,

It was very touching to hear my voice after about 28 years from now and
i figure out my situation while speaking from my operating desk in that
moment.

No computer was available at that time to the radio ham and i had over my
knee a  small board with a polar map in it with the acquisition circle
centered on QTC and satellite ground track  set to the longitude of the
ascending node.

One eye had to monitor my watch and mentally add every minute to the elapsed
time from the ascending node,than when OSCAR-7 enters the acquisition circle
read the azimuth on the map and aim the antenna with the right hand while
the left hand was carefully tuning the band around the beacon at AOS and
antenna at zero deg elevation.

The elapsed time from the ascending node had to be mentally added  in order
to select the proper concentric circle on the map and compare its numbar to
the corresponding OSCAR-7  elevation.

Before to start traffic the north bound ascending orbits and the south bound
descending  orbits had to be manually calculated addind the orbital period
and the increment of nodal longitude to that of the daily first nodal
ephemeridis supplyed by Amsat and normally this job was made during dinner
time at work.

As soon the transponder was activated the left  hand had to tune the
receiver and compensate for doppler,the right hand  had to use the pencil
and write on the log while one foot had to switch the 70 cm TX  ON and
OFF while speaking on the microphone.

No hand was available to hold a microphone !

At that 1974  no SSB TX was commercially available and i had to build a 70
cm tube transverter from the ARRL handbook and a power amplifier with a
dual tetrode 829B maximum power 60 W pep

The 2 meter converter also had to be built from the ARRL handbook because no
SSB receiver was available for 2 meters at that epoch 1974 and HF 28-30 MHz
receivers where currently used for IF

Since no PC and programs where available for radio hams it was strictly
necessary to study the orbital mechanics,matematics,and trigonometry to
understand how the satellite was moving in to the space along the orbits
perturbations of  Keplers  law.

The only help for the astronomy comes through  the articles of Peter Greed
on OSCAR News from AMSAT-UK and Ottmat Popp,DL6ZS

But the radio ham discovered at that time that the 50% of  his scientific
task and challenge was coming to him from the astronomy and the other 50%
from radiotecnics and operation.

During operation the radio ham ability was measured on how he was able to do
only using  two hands,two foots,two yes,one brain and two ears,one
mouth and particularly when the right hand was constantly busy on CW

And all of this had to be done six time every day for tree ascendind orbits
and tree descending orbits.

I have many tape in my archive that where recorded beginning from OSCAR-6
but now for OSCAR-7 i desisted  from the temptation to play bach those QSOs
because OSCAR-7 resurrexit while many of us recorded in the tape passed away
for ever.

For this reason i liked to make only two new QSO on this old OSCAR-7 just in
the resurrexed memory of those friends because i think that actually the
bird belong only to the challenge of the new amateur radio entusiasts that
using new technology want to discover what was impossible at that time for
us while it will be impossible for the newcomer to descover what was
possible for us on that fabulous few figure orbit numbars.

73" de i8CVS Domenico

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