[South Florida DX Association] Working Satellites the Very, Very Easy Way

[Bill Dzurilla]

Folks,

Since our last meeting and the great presentation by Bill Rafus KD4FRB, I've received several questions about how to work the satellites and the equipment needed.

I just wanted to point out that, although Bill set forth the requirements for a good basic station, you can give satellite operation a try with much less.  You do not need a rig or HT that allows full duplex operation, you do not need 2 rigs, you do not need a compass, headphones, yagi antennas, a tracking program, etc.

All you need is a dual band 2 meter/70 cm FM rig or HT and a whip antenna, nothing more.  I use a Yaesu FT-60, but any duo-bander will suffice, as long as it allows you to transmit on one band and receive on another.  I have made satellite contacts even with a rubber duck antenna, but a whip such as a Diamond RH707 works substantially better.  A dual band ground plane or other omni-directional base antenna will do even better.

If you have a dual band rig in your car, that works too, just park somewhere in the clear (driveways are usually not the best).

If you do not have a duo bander, you can use separate rigs and/or antennas, one for 2m and the other for 70cm.

You do not need any tracking software if you are using an omni-directional antenna.  Just go to http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/, enter your grid square (EL96 for Broward), and make a note of when AO-51 will be passing.  Most logging programs, such as Ham Radio Deluxe, now include satellite trackers.  With an omni-directional antenna, the satellite will need to be at an elevation of 20 degrees or higher for you to make contacts.

No PL tone is needed for AO-51 or AO-27.  A 67 hz tone is needed for SO-50.

If you make some contacts and decide the sats are appealing to you, then you can think about add-ons that make satellite operation easier and enable more DX.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

73, Bill NZ5N