Congratulations John you are doing a great job, and so your movile satellite
station. Say Hi! to your wife for been out with you as a vital part for this expedition. Good luck and keep it going!!!! 73's Larry KI6YAA On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 10:12 PM, John Papay <[email protected]> wrote: > This is our first night in a motel with internet access > since we left Sault Ste Marie, MI 9 days ago. We have > traveled 2300 miles and operated in at least 18 grids and > have made 888 contacts on 65 passes. We have been camping in our tent > for the last 9 nights but tonight it is windy and raining > so the motel was a good choice. Monday we should operate in > EN38 and possibly EN28 late in the day. > > New grids that were not part of the plan were EO20 (today) > and EO31, Red Lake Ontario, as far north as the roads go. We > have operated on two grid lines. There are very few grid > lines that have a good shot at the sky. There are hills and > trees most everywhere. Northwest Ontario is a beautiful and > for the most part unspoiled land. Lakes are everywhere and > usually provide a shot at the sky if you can find a road that > doesn't have a barrier of trees. > > The equipment is working very well. SatPC32 is controlling > the radio and the rotor (with the LVB tracker) and not missing > a beat. The only casualty has been the 5 el 2 meter Mosley beam. > Two of the directors have broken off One was repaired using copper > wire and a inline crimp connector. The other one was replaced with > a brass rod found at a Home Depot in Thunder Bay. We have been down > some really rough dirt roads to get to these grids off the beaten > path and the antenna is constantly vibrating. The UHF 7x7 Arrow > is holding up well. > > Weather has been warm for the most part and not much rain at night. > We have had some rain during our travels but it has not affected > the satellite activity since the only thing you need to do before > each pass is to orient the antenna north. After that you are in > the truck. The antenna setup in the truck is a magnet for questions. > Everyone wants to know what it's for. Tuesday we will camp in EN48. > Wednesday it will be EN58 briefly and EN57 back in the US. This is > subject to change if we see something that we want to take in. > > I am trying to work stations as quickly as possible. The record is > 26 contacts on an AO-51 pass but it is not unusual to work over 20 > stations. AO-27 is not as productive since I can't hear it > when it turns on being so far north. HO-68 netted some nice > contacts including OH8MBN. I have not made any contacts on AO-7. > A few contacts have been made on FO-29 and VO-52. > > Thanks to the AO-51 control team for keeping things running, and > to Alan Kung for scheduling HO68 for central North American passes. > > If you have any special requests, send them to KD8CAO. We have > a daily sked on 40 meters. > > 73, > John K8YSE/VE3 > EN29 > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
