AO-7 distance record

Joe Spandler K3SZH and Francisco Ramires PY2OV achieved a 7736 km QSO using the 70cm to 2m transponder on the 35 year old Amateur Radio satellite AO-7 believed to be the furthest contact within the Americas but just short of the world record "

During January the distance record for AO-7 has been repeatedly broken.

First, on January 2, Luciano Fabricio PY5LF worked Pierre van Deventer ZS6BB over a distance of 7630 km.

Next on January 8 Luiz Pirajá PS8RF worked Andre van Deventer ZS2BK at 7694 km.

Then on January 18 Pierre van Deventer ZS6BB managed to work Josep Riera EA6SA at a distance of 7766 km.

On Sunday January 24 at 22:52 UTC Joe Spandler K3SZH in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had a short contact with Francisco Ramires PY2OV in São Paulo, Brazil. The distance between the two stations was 7738 km. The contact was made using SSB on the 70cm to 2m linear transponder and is believed to be the furthest contact within the Americas, but falls just short of the ZS6BB-EA6SA contact."

The theoretical maximum range of AO-7 is about 7907 km so there is still scope for the record to be broken yet again.

A video of the latest contact is now available.

Watch Satellite AO-7 7738 Km USA - Brazil

AO7 Log and Resource Site
http://www.planetemily.com/ao7/

Online Satellite Pass Predictions (select AO-7)
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/

Join the AMSAT Bulletin Board AMSAT-BB at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/

Getting started on Amateur Radio Satellites PDF
http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/408/168/

AMSAT-UK publish a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, that is full of Amateur Satellite information.
Join online at https://secure.amsat.org.uk/subs_form/