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Blog - Homework -- Working Amateur Satellites 101

Links and homework for part 1 Amateur Satellites – What to listen for, when and where.
For the week following this net, try sometime to listen to the AMSAT satellite Fox1A (AO-85) on 145.98 Mhz FM.
The chart below shows passes for the next week that have decently high elevations. Times are in UTC so remember that with the end of DST, we are -6 hours behind GMT so that means 6P our time is 00:00 UTC and Noon our time is 18:00 UTC. The “Period” parameter is the amount of time in the pass the satellite is above 15 degrees. “MaxEl” is how high it will be above the horizon at it’s peak. “ AZ” indicates the Azimuth range from start to end.
WinAos QTH: -97.0/32.8 T#: 14191 Sat.: 1 [Standard]
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Day Object AOS (U) LOS Period maxEl AZ
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08.11.2016 AO-85 01:52 01:57 05 35 303 - 185
08.11.2016 AO-85 14:23 14:26 03 17 128 - 082
08.11.2016 AO-85 16:01 16:08 07 46 232 - 014

09.11.2016 AO-85 00:38 00:43 05 39 002 - 128
09.11.2016 AO-85 14:47 14:53 06 44 176 - 043
09.11.2016 AO-85 16:29 16:32 03 19 282 - 339

10.11.2016 AO-85 01:03 01:08 05 55 318 - 166
10.11.2016 AO-85 15:12 15:18 06 67 219 - 021
10.11.2016 AO-85 23:49 23:52 03 24 023 - 103

11.11.2016 AO-85 01:30 01:32 02 18 260 - 210
11.11.2016 AO-85 13:58 14:04 06 30 157 - 054
11.11.2016 AO-85 15:38 15:44 06 28 256 - 360

12.11.2016 AO-85 00:13 00:19 06 79 336 - 149
12.11.2016 AO-85 14:22 14:29 07 78 202 - 031
12.11.2016 AO-85 23:00 23:01 01 16 039 - 074

13.11.2016 AO-85 00:39 00:43 04 29 296 - 193
13.11.2016 AO-85 13:09 13:13 04 20 141 - 073
13.11.2016 AO-85 14:48 14:54 06 39 240 - 010
13.11.2016 AO-85 23:24 23:29 05 44 354 - 132

14.11.2016 AO-85 13:33 13:39 06 50 183 - 041
14.11.2016 AO-85 15:16 15:18 02 17 293 - 335
14.11.2016 AO-85 23:49 23:54 05 49 315 – 173

You might listen a few minutes before the scheduled time as these predictions are based on 15 degrees elevation for a start point.

These links are for pages that have frequencies of active satellites.
www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=29535 Has gaps
www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/satslist.htm
The JE9EPL page shows every satellite ever launched with Amateur radio as a usable frequency. Ones with shaded lines are currently active in some form or another.

Pass prediction online tools.
www.amsat.org/track/index.php Enter your 4 or 6 digit Grid Square and press “Calculate” (Most of us are EM12 with our northern counties in EM13), or manually enter a valid Latitude and Longitude, select your satellite and number of passes to predict and press “Predict.
amsat.org.ar/pass.htm Change the Grid locator at the bottom of the list and pres the “Recalculate button to see 6 hours of upcoming passes of most active satellites from yur home location. May need to allow for tracking cookies on this site to make it work.
www.n2yo.com/satellites/?c=18 has interesting tools.
www.heavens-above.com

A listing of various satellite tracking programs for Windows and Macintosh computers. Linux is supported by some apps as well
www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/satellite/sat-information/tracking
www.dxzone.com/catalog/Software/Satellite_tracking

Articles on getting started.
www.amsat.org/?page_id=1869
www.work-sat.com/Home.html
www.k6ria.net/PDF/satbr5.pdf

Best book out there.
Getting started with Amateur Radio Satellites by AMSAT store.amsat.org/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=125
Enjoy!