Alan Kung, BA1DU has released this week's operating schedule for the amateur radio satellite HO-68.
The communication payload includes a CW beacon and transponders for SSB/CW, FM and digital AX.25 packet operation. The linear transponder, used for SSB and CW working, has a bandwidth of 50 kHz which allows about 10-15 simultaneous contacts to take place and can sound like the 20 metre band.
Due to Doppler shift the CW beacon can appear to be up to +/- 9 kHz from its nominal frequency of 435.790 MHz and you need to tune your receiver to follow it during the pass. The beacon has been received on simple antennas such as a ¼ wave ground plane but for best results try a small Yagi with about 8 elements.
To reduce the effects of Doppler the SSB transponder is inverting. This means that a LSB signal on the uplink becomes a USB signal on the downlink. You don’t need much power to work through the satellite, many contacts have been made using 5 watts output. Always use the lowest power possible and ensure your downlink signal is never stronger than the beacon.
Mode
Uplink MHz
Downlink MHz
CW Beacon
435.790
SSB / CW
145.925 - 145.975
435.765 - 435.715
FM (67.0 Hz CTCSS)
145.825
435.675
AX.25 1200 bps AFSK
145.825
435.675
HO-68 video by PA3GUO
Operating Schedule May 24-30
24 May 2010
03:25...Turn On--FM
South America,NA,North Asia
04:10...Turn Off
12:51...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
13:05...Turn Off
18:20...Turn On--FM
Africa,Europe,NA
19:05...Turn Off
25 May 2010
23:45...Turn On--FM
South America,NA,North Asia
00:30...Turn Off
01:15...Turn On--FM
South America,NA,North Asia
02:00...Turn Off
10:25...Turn On--FM
Oceania,Asia,Europe
11:10...Turn Off
14:22...Turn On--FM
North Asia, East Asia, South Asia
14:37...Turn Off
16:20...Turn On--FM
India,Middle East,Europe,NA
17:05...Turn Off
18:05...Turn On--FM
Africa,Europe,NA
18:50...Turn Off
26 May 2010
10:05...Turn On--FM
Oceania,East Asia,North Asia,Europe
10:50...Turn Off
12:15...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
12:29...Turn Off
17:50...Turn On--FM
Africa,Europe,NA
18:35...Turn Off
21:50...Turn On--FM
NA,North Asia,East Asia,Oceania
22:36...Turn Off
27 May 2010
05:05...Turn On--FM
NA,North Asia,Middle East,
Europe,Africa
05:50...Turn Off
09:50...Turn On--FM
Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA
10:35...Turn Off
13:43...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
13:59...Turn Off
17:30...Turn On--FM
Africa,India,Middle East,Europe,NA
18:15...Turn Off
19:00...Turn On--FM
Africa,Europe,NA
19:45...Turn Off
28 May 2010
23:25...Turn On--FM
South America,NA,North Asia
00:10...Turn Off
13:31...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
13:47...Turn Off
14:00...Turn On--FM
Europe,NA,South America
14:45...Turn Off
17:15...Turn On--FM
India,Africa,Europe,NA
18:00...Turn Off
23:05...Turn On--FM
South America,Africa,NA,
Europe,North Asia,East Asia
23:50...Turn Off
29 May 2010
00:25...Turn On--FM
South America,NA,North Asia
01:10...Turn Off
13:11...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
13:26...Turn Off
13:45...Turn On--FM
Europe,NA,South America
14:30...Turn Off
17:00...Turn On--FM
Africa,Europe,NA
17:45...Turn Off
30 May 2010
00:05...Turn On--FM
South America,NA,North Asia
00:50...Turn Off
06:05...Turn On--FM
North Asia,Europe,Africa
06:50...Turn Off
13:00...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
13:15...Turn Off
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