EIDX Network

Please Consider Donating to AMSAT for the FOX Series of Satellites

Everyday LEO Satellite Recordings

Satellite Pass Recordings:

(REVISED 11 February 2020)

Some have asked about the purpose of having these recordings on the web. There are many. Perhaps the most common use is for deciphering callsigns that may have been copied incorrectly. However, the major reason for doing it is to allow everyone to hear what they sound like on the birds. You can hear what you did right and what you did wrong so that you can make changes in the way you operate. Are you being called but not hearing? You may want to work on your receive antenna. Are you calling but can't hear yourself on the recording? Check your transmit antenna, frequency etc. Did you interrupt a qso in progress? Try to determine why that happened so you can avoid doing it again. Is your audio level high enough compared to others on the bird? Look for settings in the menu to adjust mic audio gain. These are just some of the benefits of having access to the recordings. If you need assistance, get in touch with others you hear on the birds that are successful in making contacts. Tjeu are usually happy to help out with any questions you might have. Make sure your email address is correct on QRZ.com so others can contact you. It's better that you can be contacted easily if there is a problem. Lastly, make sure you check the AMSAT Website http://www.amsat.org for the current operating schedule of the birds. Read the AMSAT Bulletin Board . It can be accessed from the website by clicking on "Services" near the top of the main page. Then select "Mailing Lists & Services" on the drop down menu. Then select AMSAT-BB Archives. Or go directly to the page at: http://www.amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/ Doing these things will make it easier for you to operate satellites. Enjoy this very unique facet of ham radio!

NEW TO FM SATELLITES?

If you are new to satellites and want to make your first contact, the best thing to do is to listen to some of these recordings, especially the ones from the satellite you are going to use. Likely that will be SO-50/AO-91/AO-92 (since AO-27 and AO-51 are no longer operational). AO-51, which was the easiest bird to work, became a silent key at the end of 2011. Listen to the protocol, know your grid and the exchange and by all means, keep listening after you make your first contact. Someone else will likely call you immediately if your callsign is unfamiliar. Use a digital voice recorder if you have one so you don't have to write anything down. Or have someone log for you so you can work those who call you. A new callsign on the birds creates interest, especially when the new station is hearing well and responding to calls. Don't get excited; listen to the call and then respond accordingly. If it doesn't go very well for you the first time, regroup, determine how you could do better and then try again. Before you know it you'll be at ease with operating on the birds.

Most importantly, please do not transmit unless you are hearing stations well enough to copy their callsigns. Once you are hearing, call someone you can copy and make your contact. Most SO-50 daylight passes over the United States are very active. SO-50 is difficult to hear due to its 1/4 watt output and its propensity to polarity shifts. If you are not hearing anyone, you are likely not hearing the satellite. Don't call CQ. Don't announce your call and grid if you are not hearing others well enough to copy their callsigns. It is easy to transmit into a bird but much more difficult to hear it. Just because you can't hear a satellite doesn't mean that you are not getting in and possibly interfereing with those running less power. If you can't hear any satellites, ask for help.

Active Voice Satellites

There are severak FM bird operational at this time: SO-50, AO-91, AO-92, PO-101. AO-92 is in the L/V mode on Wednesdays for 24 hours and U/V the rest of the time. PO-101 is usually on Fridays and Sundays over North America. AO-27 failed in October, 2012, and attempts to restore it have failed. . AO-27 was only in the voice repeater mode for exactly 7 minutes during North American daylight passes. The repeater period was preceded by telemetry. Telemetry was also sent after the repeater period expired. This was not interference as some might think. AO-27 turned on around the Miami latitude and turned off around the Canadian border. No PL tone was required. SO-50 requires 67.0 Hz PL (CTCSS) tone. A PL tone of 74.4Hz transmitted for a few seconds will activate the bird if its timer has expired. The timer runs for about 11 minutes. Once activated, use 67.0Hz to make contacts. Keep in mind that SO-50 will likely fade in and out unless you have polarity swtiching or you are rotating (twisting) your handheld antenna for best signal. Adjust your operating accordingly.

(ADDED 5/23/2014)

One thing to keep in mind is that SO-50 is a "PL" access repeater. There is a finite time between pushing your transmit button and the satellite turning on and repeating your audio. If you start talking immediately after pressing the PTT button, the first word or two won't make it through. So if you are sending your callsign first, the first letter or two will likely not be repeated. Push the button and say "This is" or just wait a second before giving your callsign. That way others will hear KK4ABC instead of K4ABC or 4ABC.

The working linear birds are AO-7, XW-2A, XW-2B, XW-2F, CAS-4A, CAS-4B. Others may be on intermittently so check the AMSAT Satellite Status Page , amsat.org/status for the latest information reported by satellite operators around the world. AO-7 alternates between Mode A (2m up and 10m down) and Mode B (432up and 145 down) every 24 hours. The exception to this is when the satellite goes into darkness during it's orbit around the earth. When the bird comes out of darkness, the 24 hour timer re-starts and the bird is usually in Mode B when that happens. So at certain times of the year, the bird will be in Mode B continously. This is the case so far in 2020. Use the minimum power necessary to hear yourself on par with others on the bird. If you transmit with high power, all of the satellite output power will be used to relay your signal and others running lower power will not get their share of the satellite power output. CW stations especially should use very low power because a CW tone is much stronger than a SSB signal that varies with speech. High power CW or SSB will cause a "chop" in other signals in the satellite passband. It may cause the satellite to "FM". This is different from FM satellites which run a constant power output regardless of how strong the input signal is. When AO-7 is in low angle sunlight, it is subject to switchiing from Mode B to Mode A or going off completely when a high power station forces the voltage below an operational threshold. So be careful not to run excessive power. See the AMSAT website for more information on these birds.

AO-73 or FUNCUBE was activated in November 2013. Normally it transmited data when in sunlight and switched to a linear transponder (SSB & CW) when in darkness (eclipsed). However the satellite only transmits data now and the transponder is inactive.

A Word about signing "PORTABLE"

You can say and do whatever you want regarding operating "portable" or "handheld" or "on the Arrow" etc., but it doesn't provide much useful information with one exception: When you stated you were operating "portable" under the FCC rules in the 1960's, it meant you were not at your home station location. It had nothing to do with operating with an HT or on emergency battery power. This was an FCC requirement back then but now it is not. When operating today, be sure to say you are /portable when you are not at home and especially when you are operating in a grid different from your home grid. Hearing someone signing "portable" should set off alarm bells that you might want to work this station and may want to give them airtime to work as many stations as they can. After all, they have gone to the trouble to operate away from their "home comfort zone" to possibly give someone a new grid. But if others sign "portable" when they are in their backyard on an HT, this indicator won't mean much. Consider using "portable" only when you are away from home. If the pass is not crowded, have at it. But if it is, you'll have the opportunity to work everyone again later, whereas the "portable" station may only be there for that pass. Give the portable station as much airtime as possible so that everyone can make a contact, possibly for a new grid. Common sense should prevail. Listen, figure out what is going on, and then operate appropriately. But above all, be courteous.

Time stamps on files are not exact on all birds. One minute loss of signal occurs when the antenna hits the stop and must turn around 360 degrees.

Recordings are not made every day and may not be posted for some time after the pass if they are. For now they are posted as often as possible. Currently recordings are being made from Arizona, DM43. You get a different perspective of activity on the West Coast.