Working The Satellite's From The Shack
Over the weekend I worked a few amateur satellites using my Yaesu FT-847 radio and home made IO-10EL Satellite antenna. Satellite & Station worked SO-50 - EA1JM . VO-52 - G0FGX, HB9OAB, G6NQO & SP3GAD . HO-68 - N1AIA & KB1RVT (FM Mode) . AO-51 - LY1R . HO-68 - M0ITF (SSB) . I still prefer working via the SSB transponders rather than the FM birds, however its all extremely good fun with plenty of fellow Satellite ops that are always very friendly and happy to work you. As usual AO-51 was the busiest of the birds with plenty of activity on each pass. I was especially pleased with my QSOs across the pond using FM via HO-68 which is proving to be a fantastic Satellite both on FM and SSB. I cant wait until HO-68 has been fully commissioned and is switched on all of the time. Check out the Oscar Satellite Status to see which Satellites are operational and have been heard recently by fellow Hams and SWLs all over the globe.