[amsat-bb] Re: Echo totally unuesable on an Arrow

[Cliff Buttschardt <cbuttsch@xxxxxxxx>]

Keith.  No time for blame here as there was such a confused set of directions
during the time you had the helm.  The technical people were patently asked to
step down.  If it were not for a newer set of board members we would be facing
the same situation with CUBESAT.  Cooler heads prevail now!
     On ECHO, I was most pleased to hear three of the "big guns" simply list
call signs of stations heard and then announce they were ending transmissions!
     Try and pick a time when most others are occupied obviously minimizing 
contention.  Then move your ARROW such the the RECEIVED signal is maximized.
Immediately rotate the Arrow 90 degrees either way, and start transmitting.
Obviously a repeat of this procedure is necessary at intervals as the satellite
rotates.  Short calls are a practical necessity usually to specific stations.
     At noon/midnight passes, I've had the best luck with a 146 MHz Lindenblad
omnidirectional antenna and 15 watts out.  It is my theory that the directional
30 element CP yagi might be producing multipath and hindering operation rather
than helping!!  As with AO-27, being "talented" far exceeds being powerful!!
Cliff  K7RR
 

"Keith Baker, KB1SF / VA3KSF" wrote:
> 
> Greetings again, All!
> 
> Well, I guess there's nobody to blame but ME, Cliff, as I was one of those
> BOD members present around the table when we signed the contract with
> SpaceQuest to build Echo in the first place.
> 
> In fact, now that I think back on it, I recall that when AO-27's FM
> transponders were first turned on for "free" Ham use, nearly all of us (me
> included) were working through it "flat out" with our high power Oscar-13
> stations and high gain antennas in order to be heard.  The "Arrow Antenna"
> approach had yet to become popular (if it was even invented yet!), so maybe
> I'm now trying to compare apples with oranges.
> 
> However, it's good to know that I'm not the only one having difficulties
> working thru the new satellite with a low-power setup.  And yes, maybe just
> putting the antenna away for awhile until all the contention dies down is
> the best solution for us QRPers.  It certainly will lead to less
> frustration. Hi!
> 
> And perhaps I'm just now waxing nostalgic about the "good old days" that
> were (AO-10 and AO-13) and what might have been (Phase 3-D) had things gone
> as we all would have hoped.  I know I poured a lot of myself into the latter
> project...probably too much....and am no doubt STILL harboring a lot of
> bitterness about the end result.  I guess that's what happens when one gets
> "too close" to a project, particularly a project in the space biz!
> 
> Anyway, does anyone now know if our German friends have a firm launch
> vehicle and/or launch date for their P3-E satellite?
> 
> Thanks and 73,
> 
> Keith Baker
> VA3KSF / KB1SF
> Immediate Past President
> AMSAT-NA
----
Sent via amsat-bb@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org