-
Thoughts About Birds
Satellites, that is. This post is a follow up to my LEO Learning Curve post from earlier this month. I think of this as sharing some notes, providing context, and trying to make them readable for others. One thing you can’t rush is experience. You can prepare, study, make notes, organize information, and so on,…
-
Quick Greencube Activation Video
I’m new to Satellite operations having started just over five months ago, but I’m not new to portable operations. I don’t build fancy rover rigs. I just secure my gear, use a good portable antenna support, and keep things “fast and light”. That means I don’t have much for rainproofing and am turning antennas by…
-
Greencube and You (meaning me)
One thing that long-time satellite ops will tell you is they worked birds that are long out of service, and they had some amazing capabilities. While we can’t bring them back we can try to take full advantage of the sats we have while we have them. Here in the northeastern USA we don’t have…
-
2022 News Flash – Yaesu FT-818ND Discontinued
As 2022 draws to a close the amateur radio community was in a bit of shock as Yaesu announced that production of the FT-818ND will cease as well as the FTM-400XDE. Greater minds than mine have paid homage to a classic: K4SWL at QRPer.com OH8STN recounts his feelings here A thread on the SOTA.uk board…
-
Papa’s Got a Recycled LEO-Bag! It’s In The Bag – Part 2
No apologies to the godfather of soul, James Brown! Maybe my favorite JB quote is about “show business”, and I paraphrase: It isn’t Show Business, Its Show, and Business! So, on with the show… When it comes to portable full-duplex stations for linear LEO satellites there are plenty of examples to show you the way.…
-
LEO Learning Curve
Note: I got caught by COVID and am isolating, so now I’m getting caught up on blogging. Also focusing on keeping my wife safe and healthy while I get through this. It sux. No fun. I’m off the sats for a while while I recover. On with the blog. Recap: My setup is a Yaesu…
-
Full Duplex Satellite, It’s in the Bag – Part 1
Opening Salvo directed at amateur radio transceiver manufacturers: The lack of affordable full-duplex all-mode radios is why I have to write this. You would think the shack in a box (SIAB) market segment would have at least one or two full-duplex-capable radios. You would be wrong. Buying new? You can buy the Icom IC-9700 VHF/UHF…
-
CQ Satellite!
I took the plunge into operating the amateur radio linear satellites a few weeks back and it has been a fantastic experience. My plan here on the blog is to share a few “blow by blow” accounts about what worked and what didn’t, what I have improved and how, and what’s next. Phase One –…
-
Satellite Communications and the Void
I often call Amateur Radio “the void” because it is an almost bottomless pursuit. I’ve been licensed for 30 years now and was lucky enough to fall in with an active ham radio club in Farmington, Connecticut, the Insurance City Repeater Club. They met at the Red Cross offices near UCONN Medical and that meant…
-
The Well Tuned Eggbeater
I’m taking some initial steps toward working satellites this fall, and part of that crossed paths with dialing in my APRS setup, which led to me working the ISS digipeater with my homebrew copper cactus. While that worked, I was having deep fades and dropouts due to the vertical polarization of the J-Pole being incompatible…