SATELLITE BONUS
FOR
FIELD DAY
TIM BUBIER
WT1A
WHY SATELLITE?
• ALL IT TAKES IS 1 QSO FOR
THE 100 POINT BONUS
• OPERATING SATELLITE IS
FUN AND EXCITING
• IT’S A GREAT
DEMONSTRATION MODE –
PEOPLE ARE FASCINATED BY
SATELLITES
• NO REAL FANCY
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
WHAT DO WE NEED?
• NOTHING ELABORATE
• DUAL BAND HT WILL
WORK, IF SET UP RIGHT
• DUAL BAND ANTENNA,
SUCH AS AN “ARROW” OR
SIMILAR YAGI
• PREDICTION SOFTWARE
OR APP
THE RADIO
• FOR THE FM ‘BIRDS’ – DUAL
BAND HT CAPABLE OF
RECEIVING BELOW 432 Mhz.
• PROGRAMMED MEMORIES
TO COMPENSATE FOR
DOPPLER EFFECT
• ACTUAL “SATELLITE RIG”
BETTER FOR OTHER BIRDS
(SSB/CW)
ANTENNA(S)
• BEST – DUAL BAND
VHF/UHF CROSSPOLARIZED YAGI
(SUCH AS THE “ARROW”)
• OMNI-DIRECTIONAL DUAL
BAND GAIN ANTENNA
• SEPARATE VHF AND UHF
ANTENNAS
FM BIRD: Saudi-Sat
SO-50
ONLY REMAINING FM BIRD
Time
AOS (start)
AOS+3 Minutes
Zenith (max.)
Zenith+1 Minute
LOS (end)
Transmit
145.840*
145.845*
145.850*
145.855*
145.860*
Receive
436.805
436.800
436.795
436.790
436.785
* 67 Hz CTCSS tone on the 2 meter uplink
FIELD DAY RULES
• Stations participating in ARRL Field Day
are limited to one (1) QSO on any
“birds” that fall into the single channel
FM classification. (S0-50)
• Allows more groups the opportunity to
experience the thrill of satellite
communications.
• Once you have made one successful FM
Satellite QSO, PLEASE allow other Field
Day groups the same opportunity at
bonus points.
• Now that SO-50 is the only functioning
FM satellite, usage will be exceptionally
high.
SSB/CW SATELLITES
• VUSat-OSCAR 52 or Fuji-OSCAR 29
are prime candidates to work on
2m/432 during FD
• These are excellent SSB/CW birds and
you can work them with a fairly
minimal setup.
• The tricky aspect is that these
satellites have inverting transponders.
If you transmit LSB, the satellite
repeats as USB. If you transmit at the
high end of the passband (see below),
the satellites will repeat your signal at
the low end of the passband.
OSCAR 52
OSCAR 29
Uplink Passband
435.220 – 435.280 MHz
145.900 – 146.000 MHz
Downlink Passband
145.870 – 145.970 MHz
435.800 -- 435.900 MHz
SUMMARY
• IT ONLY TAKES ONE
SATELLITE CONTACT TO
COLLECT THE 100 POINT
BONUS
• IT DOESN’T TAKE AN
ELABLORATE SET-UP OR
EVEN MUCH EFFORT TO
MAKE A SATELLITE CONTACT
ON EITHER FM OR SSB/CW
• ONLY TAKES A LITTLE
PREPARATION AND
PLANNING