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Well, yeah, but what's the fun in that?Cell phone?
Are there any GMRS repeaters up that way? Haven't looked, but you are right, he'd still need a license regardless.
Cell phone?
Would something in the 6m band work? There are some tri-band HTs out there that'll do 6m. I'm not sure if they're SSB or FM on 6m though.
Does anyone dig on 6m up here? I have a vx7r that does 6m, and as soon as I figure out how to use it, I'd like to. I know it is a weird band, and I will need a 6m antenna for it.
I've been interested in it due to its "magic" qualities. The catch is some people run FM, others SSB and then you have the issue of antenna polarization between HTs and base rigs.
I looked at some antenna designs yesterday but I keep coming back to the magnetic loops. The Moxons (not mag loops) seem simple to build and fairly well liked, but they're directional; they seem kind of like a 2-element Yagi.
My 857 will do 6m but my only HF antenna right now doesn't get that high. I should just build a simple dipole and try the damn thing.
for 2m you need line of sight. so bounce the signal off a repeater about 400 miles above ground level. http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=27607
I can hear SO-50 with just a whip but I could not get into it until I got an arrow antenna. But with 4w on an HT I've hit new Jersey and Vermont from Nashua.So this is interesting. Is it as easy as it seems?
I can hear SO-50 with just a whip but I could not get into it until I got an arrow antenna. But with 4w on an HT I've hit new Jersey and Vermont from Nashua.
Sort of. But it's complicated and not practical for regular communications. BUT, if you are a space geek like me, it's the closest I'll get to being in space and actually bouncing a signal off something flying 15,000mph through the vacuum of space is wicked cool.No shit? That is awesome. Treat just like any other repeater?
Sort of. But it's complicated and not practical for regular communications. BUT, if you are a space geek like me, it's the closest I'll get to being in space and actually bouncing a signal off something flying 15,000mph through the vacuum of space is wicked cool.
You program the HT to Tx on 2M and Rx on 70cm (I may have that backwards).
The satellite is on a 90minute low earth orbit, so it will only be above the horizon for about 10 minutes, and a "good pass" only happens about twice a day.
Because the satellite is whipping along at something like 15,000mph you have to deal with Doppler. As it comes at you, you need to Tx on a slightly lower frequency and Rx on a slightly higher frequency. Vise versa for after it passes overhead and is going away from you. You handle this by programming your HT with 5 different set-ups. I just call them SO-50-1, 2, 3, 4, 5. As it comes above the horizon I'm on 1 which has the biggest frequency shifts. 2 has less shift, 3 uses the published frequencies with no shift, then 4 and 5 have the shifts reversed as it goes away from me.
There's also polarization and fading. Some satellites rotate or tumble slowly as they fly. I rotate my hand held yagi back and forth 90 degrees to find the best signal which means I'm matching the satellites antenna angle (polarization), but sometimes the signal just fades and comes back due to rotation.
Lastly, it's one flying repeater with lots of people that want to use it. They get pretty busy and QSOs are usually fast and short info exchanges: call sign, signal report and your grid square location.
EDIT: oh yeah, you need a watch and compass. You need to know when it's scheduled to fly over and you get best results aiming your antenna so you need to know where it comes above and goes below the horizon.
I wish. These little cube sats are somewhere between half and 2 feet across. It takes special conditions to see the International Space Station go by. Basically you want the sun just below the horizon so the craft is in the sun buy you're in the dark. Here's a site that tells you when the ISS will be visible.On a good clear night, can you see the sat you are working as it passes? That would add an other level cool if so.
It'll probably be a few days before I can get things built and set up. Maybe we can shoot for the weekend. This will be my first contact on HF (if you consider 6m to be HF)!
Sorry for this minor thread derailment.
Tomorrow morning the space station will have a visible pass. Visible from 6:06 - 6:09am starting North West, peaking NNE, and setting ENE. Go to the link and click on the pass starting at 6:06:31
Does anyone dig on 6m up here? I have a vx7r that does 6m, and as soon as I figure out how to use it, I'd like to. I know it is a weird band, and I will need a 6m antenna for it.
I've been interested in [6m] due to its "magic" qualities. The catch is some people run FM, others SSB and then you have the issue of antenna polarization between HTs and base rigs. ...