[ao16aprs] Re: AO-16/APRS planning

[DHSWANSON@aol.com]

I work ao-16 every night during the winter months using a Yaesu FT-736R and 
an L.L.Grace DSP-12 tnc (the best). I use the Kansas City Tracker and Tuner 
to drive the Yaesu antenna rotor which tracks the sats with a pair of 
Cushcraft multi-element crossed yagis with the pre-amps mounted at the 
antennas. One computer does the tracking and another one runs the 
communication program  PB-PG. All coax is 9913. The tracking program is 
usually RealTrak but InstantTrack will also work in a pinch. For digi work 
Procomm Plus is fine. These are all DOS programs. I've never had any luck 
with the Windows-based programs. The Kansas City Tuner does a decent job of 
following the doppler for unattended passes but there are such orbital 
fluctuations and other phenomena that only half the pass may get copied. For 
really good copy I hand tune with the mike click and get some really good 
downloads. After hundreds of passes your  ear will pick up the subtle 
frequency changes and anticipate upcoming copy problems. One problem is in 
the harmonics. There are several signals that sound good but only one has the 
info you need. This just takes practice.
However, some nights nothing seems to work and no other hams are having 
success either. I have found the polarity switch to be a big help because the 
PACSAT signal can go from right-nand to left-hand polarity in an instant. I 
have had many digi QSOs on Pacsat and Lusat and Italsat but the computers 
must have their time set accurately and up-to-date keplarian elements are a 
must. I also believe that downloading the signal on SSB is a lot easier than 
uploading it on FM to PacSat. I use a vertical antenna for the 0 to 5 degree 
part of a pass and it works well but is useless for an overhead pass. That is 
the only antenna I have working now and I am monitoring PacSat for any APRS 
digis.   Dave. N8ULD  Columbus, Ohio

---
You are currently subscribed to ao16aprs as: lyris.ao16aprs@tapr.org
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-ao16aprs-833L@lists.tapr.org