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 frequencies
Operating Schedule Oct 26-31 - times GMT
26 Oct 2010
00:05...Turn On--CW/SSB
NA,North Asia,East Asia,
Oceania
00:50...Turn Off
02:04...Turn On--CW/SSB
North Asia, East Asia,South Asia
02:19...Turn Off
10:15...Turn On--CW/SSB
Oceania,Asia,Europe
11:00...Turn Off
12:55...Turn On--CW/SSB
NA, South America
13:40...Turn Off
16:05...Turn On--CW/SSB
India,Middle East,Europe,NA
16:50...Turn Off
18:40...Turn On--CW/SSB
India,Middle East,Europe,NA
19:25...Turn Off
19:35...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Europe,NA
20:15...Turn Off
27 Oct 2010
23:45...Turn On--CW/SSB
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
Oceania
00:30...Turn Off
03:31...Turn On--CW/SSB
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
03:45...Turn Off
14:25...Turn On--CW/SSB
Europe,NA,South America
15:10...Turn Off
17:40...Turn On--CW/SSB
India, Africa,Europe,NA
South America
18:25...Turn Off
19:25...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Middle East,Europe,NA
20:10...Turn Off
20:55...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Middle East,Europe,NA
21:40...Turn Off
28 Oct 2010
23:30...Turn On--CW/SSB
NA,North Asia,East Asia,Oceania
00:15...Turn Off
03:15...Turn On--CW/SSB
Asia,Oceania
03:27...Turn Off
14:10...Turn On--CW/SSB
Europe,NA,South America
14:55...Turn Off
17:20...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,India,Middle East
Europe,NA
18:05...Turn Off
19:10...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Europe,NA
19:55...Turn Off
20:35...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Europe,NA
21:20...Turn Off
29 Oct 2010
23:15...Turn On--CW/SSB
Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA
00:00...Turn Off
02:59...Turn On--CW/SSB
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
03:13...Turn Off
13:50...Turn On--CW/SSB
Europe, NA,South America
14:35...Turn Off
17:05...Turn On--CW/SSB
India,Africa,Europe,NA
17:50...Turn Off
18:55...Turn On--CW/SSB
India,Africa,Europe,NA
19:40...Turn Off
20:20...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Europe,NA
21:05...Turn Off
22:55...Turn On--CW/SSB
South America,NA,North Asia
23:40...Turn Off
30 Oct 2010
02:44...Turn On--FM
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
03:00...Turn Off
13:35...Turn On--CW/SSB
Europe, NA,South America
14:20...Turn Off
16:45...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Europe,NA
17:30...Turn Off
18:35...Turn On--CW/SSB
India,Africa,Europe,NA
19:20...Turn Off
20:00...Turn On--CW/SSB
Africa,Europe,NA
20:45...Turn Off
22:40...Turn On--CW/SSB
North Asia,East Asia,
South Asia,Oceania
23:25...Turn Off
31 Oct 2010
02:26...Turn On--CW/SSB
North Asia,East Asia,South Asia
Oceania
02:42...Turn Off
13:15...Turn On--CW/SSB
Europe,NA,South America
14:00...Turn Off
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