What I did today -instead- of Rocketry.

[Andrew_ASC]

Programmed the VX-6R to NOAA weather radio on 162.550 MHz as a hazardous weather tool.

 

[tim cubbedge]

Programmed the VX-6R to NOAA weather radio on 162.550 MHz as a hazardous weather tool.

I bet that was real hard to do!

 

[Andrew_ASC]

As simple as turn a dial then press and hold the channel button to save as DMR memory mode. The bad news is once you save memory channels you can’t use VFO and manually punch in numbers without a reset or reprogramming software. I’m cool with four different ham bands saved for rocketry. You can still dial a tune and resave frequencies within a range. Two of which are attenuator channels the other two operate a TeleGPS or Telemini seperately. Two weather channels saved launchsite and home. Three spare A.M./FM channels.

With Thunderstorms kicking up this week, I’ll put the weather channel to good use.

 

[Charles_McG]

Analysed juice for Brix, pH, Titratable Acidity, and Total Phenolics.

Top juice is blend of Anglo-Franco true bitter cider apples. Middle is blend of colonial American apple varieties. Bottom is blend of English perry pears.

 

[burkefj]

it's 420 somewhere dude Wait, you said I can't turn $$ into smoke.....well heck....

Ok, Ok, I'm just kidding anyway.......I went to see Renee Fleming sing O Mio Babbino Caro....she was great.....

 

[lakeroadster]

Another awesome hike... saw some Mountain Goats about 4 miles from the trail head... that's a new experience for us.

Just another day in paradise.

 

[Charles_McG]

Never had homemade whiskey, I would love to try some of that whiskey. Is it legal to ship?

This isn’t so much home made, as very, very small commercial. I have a high tolerance for paperwork. I’m afraid it isn’t legal to ship.

 

[MikeyDSlagle]

This isn’t so much home made, as very, very small commercial. I have a high tolerance for paperwork. I’m afraid it isn’t legal to ship.

Yeah I figured as much. I am getting started in homebrewing beer and it isn't legal to ship either.

 

[Charles_McG]

Yeah I figured as much. I am getting started in homebrewing beer and it isn't legal to ship either.

I could ship the low proof stuff if I had the appropriate permits for -each- state.

Shipping motors is easier. Just DOT and maybe ATF. Not 50 liquor control commissions.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Just tuned up the beacon of XW-2A ham satellite by China. Heard it beep as it flew overhead.

https://www.n2yo.com/satellites/?c=18

 

[Andrew_ASC]

I just reconfigured the channels on my VX-6R for XW-2A. It’ll be back at 10:37 AM tomorrow, I’m planning on trying to talk to it with my FCC callsign on the 70 cm band.

Beacon is 145.640 MHz.
Downlink (listen) is 145.665 MHz.
Uplink (talk) is 435.050 MHz.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Talked to XW-2A Chinese Satellite with callsign Bravo Juliet 1 Sierra Bravo from my separate FCC callsign. I said hello from USA. Only got a mic click in return.

 

[Charles_McG]

Talked to XW-2A Chinese Satellite with callsign Bravo Juliet 1 Sierra Bravo from my separate FCC callsign. I said hello from USA. Only got a mic click in return.

What's the ground footprint of that satellite? Is it LEO? So ground footprint of a few hundred miles? I left off at AO-27 (IIRC). I have no idea of what the current Amateur Oscar fleet is like.

73s de N8OKM

 

[Andrew_ASC]

It’s LEO and a fast mover... Only got three beacon beeps last night playing with it when it was nearly over top of us. Couple hundred mile footprint is good guess.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Got the beacon off of UKUBE1 satellite while it was over the Atlantic. Tuned up DX1 a Russian satellite with uplink. Should be here in ten minutes.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

My satellite hunt of the day. Russian DX-1 satellite contact fail. ISS contact fail. UKUBE1 beacon success. XW-2C success. XW-2A success. Hearing static filled Chinese and no speak Engrish. Priceless. First move and Fun cube 1 fail. Eo88 beacon received.

There’s a whole lot of international cubesats with good north south orbits near daily. Some twice daily.

 

[Igotnothing]

Picked half a box of baking apples off of our one pathetic, shaded tree. The most we have had in 17 years.

 

[Charles_McG]

Picked half a box of baking apples off of our one pathetic, shaded tree. The most we have had in 17 years.

We had a really bad year for pears. 3 bushels for 16 trees on one of the picking days. Just two kinds left to pick. Gin and Hendre Huffcap. The Gin is pretty loaded - just slow to ripen.

And 1 cider apple left on the trees - La Bret. It was supposed to be Sweet Alford, but I heard there was a mix up decades ago at the U.K. research center that supplied Scion wood to the US.

 

[FlyBy01]

Totalled my log book with only 8 days left of work. 1,104 hours of flight time in the last 8 months, can't wait to get off work.

 

[Charles_McG]

View attachment 362453 My satellite hunt of the day. Russian DX-1 satellite contact fail. ISS contact fail. UKUBE1 beacon success. XW-2C success. XW-2A success. Hearing static filled Chinese and no speak Engrish. Priceless. First move and Fun cube 1 fail. Eo88 beacon received.

There’s a whole lot of international cubesats with good north south orbits near daily. Some twice daily.

Andrew, a couple of questions for you:
For Camsat-3 aka XW-2A, why do you think you’d hear Chinese from a LEO sat over North America?

Do you realize that it only has a linear transponder - meaning CW/SSB only - and your Yeasu only does FM (or AM on some non-ham band RX)

Are you using your 70cm yagi for TX? Then what are you using for the 2m RX?

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Uplink is 70 cm HAM FM band. Must’ve been a Asian American ham operator because it was really funny joke. I fell over laughing man. The accent was there perfect. Downlink is FM. I’m picking beacons up from Canada and Atlantic sometimes.

 

[Charles_McG]

Uplink is 70 cm HAM FM band. Must’ve been a Asian American ham operator because it was really funny joke. I fell over laughing man. The accent was there perfect. Downlink is FM. I’m picking beacons up from Canada and Atlantic sometimes.

OK, now I'm calling you out. You understand Chinese, now? Since above you state Chinese with no English.
Further, from this page: https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/camsat-xw-2/
"
The CAMSAT orchestrated XW-2 (formerly known as CAS-3) amateur satellite system was successfully launched on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 23:01:14 UT on Beijing’s new Chang Zheng 6 (CZ-6) rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) in Shanxi.

The XW-2 constellation comprises six satellites of different mass, a 20 kg, three 10 kg and two 1 kg. All six satellites are equipped with substantially the same amateur radio payloads, a 435/145 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW communications, a CW telemetry beacon and an AX.25 19.2k/9.6k baud GMSK telemetry downlink. Each set of amateur radio equipment has the same technical characteristics, but operates on different frequencies in the 435 MHz uplink band and 145 MHz downlink band.
"
and also here: https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/xw-2_cas-3_-satellites-frequency-allocation.pdf

It's a 20 kHz inverting linear transponder. FM won't go through it. And the brochure of your HT says it has a 10 kHz bandwidth, so you'll take out half the transponder capacity even trying.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Just picked up beacon off of it XW-2A without the yagi. When I transmit to it I plug my Yagi in on 435.050 MHz.

 

[Charles_McG]

That's the GMSK telemetry beacon, I'm not surprised an FM receiver picks up something. At least at 435.05 you're missing a good chunk of the transponder, so you aren't causing -too- much QRM.

Well, give or take doppler. Which is one reason why so few Oscars carry FM.

 

[hokkyokusei]

11k ft without a motor... [emoji33]

My profile pic was taken at approx 21k ft

 

[lakeroadster]

Master Plumber In Training

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Nice plumbing technique.

 

[Flyfalcons]

Passed my checkride for a type rating in the Bombardier Challenger 350.

 

[Charles_McG]

Awesome. Much better than the end of quarter inventory reconciliation I did.

 

[Charles_McG]

Pressing matters today.