satellites

[KE7GRM]

Using an HT, has anyone connected to satellites using this procedure in the video below?

http://vimeo.com/6868846

Best regards,

Mike

[KY7K]

Yes with the arrow antenna, but not in a few years.
I have a old Yaesu FT-530 just for satellites, it will work full duplex so you can hear your return signal on the downlink. The hand mic really is a must.
I would make one addition to the video, get a small tape recorder or dictation recorder and use it for logging, as you can see during the pass things can be a bit chaotic, with the recorder you can go back and transcribe your contacts after the pass.

Just checked the Amsat site and it looks like AO-51 is dead now, real shame. After watching the video I got the bug to try it again, guess I'll have to see what other birds this will work on.

[W6DPS]

I have also used a homebrew "Cheap yagi" antenna and two HTs. I use one on the uplink and the other on the downlink so I can hear my signal coming back down. This is very helpful to keep on track and hear if you wander off a bit so you can correct. A speaker mike is a must. A friend to help out is great too. One can listen and steer the antenna and the other can transmit and log.

The current FM sats are AO-27 and SO-50. You can get more info at the AMSAT web page. There are also apps for smart phones that will display the passes and even alert you when one is coming up. I use one called SatTrack for the Droid OS. There are also web pages where you can get the pass info, with the AMSAT page "Passes" calculator being one of the better ones.

It is actually fairly easy if you have an easy to steer antenna. I like the Cheap Yagi antennas from WA5VJB. I have a brief write up on my webpage on the "Ham Projects" link.

Good luck

Dave, W6DPS