On the last pass of AO-7, I was trying out various power levels as it was a nearly overhead pass of a maximum elevation of 81 degrees. With just 20 degrees of elevation, I heard my downlink at S8 while running 500 mW to my Elk. With about 7 dBd of gain at 432 MHz, I estimate my EIRP to have been around 4 watts.
With a feedline of 8 feet of LMR-240, my losses at 432 MHz are very low, but it shows you how little power it takes to get a good signal from the transponders. Thanks to KC7MG and W4VAS for the QSOs on AO-7 at 500 mW PEP. 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Washington, DC (FM18lv) _______________________________________________ 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
