David Bowman

Yes!! New country on satellite.

@KE0PBR Hi Paul. Thanks for the Sat list. AO73 beacon frequency is incorrect. It is 145.935

Just did a quick update to the Freq Cheat Sheet, added AO123. Let me know if I'm missing and other sats. Thanks ke0pbr.wordpress.com/2018/12/31/my-…

Holiday break over, but had some fun. Thanks GU6EFB, IU1OZH, F5RRS, PD1B ON6TM for the SSB QSOs on AO-73. Put up a half wave for 160m + 49:1 transformer with G1YGY. Contributed 4kg of cooked chicken towards the rescue greyhounds Christmas lunch at Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare HNY

@GomSpaceGroup The GomSpace eps with 2 Li-ion cells on the AO-73 CubeSat is still working well after 12 years in Space. 😁👌

Power failures and unstable batteries are still a top reason #smallsat missions fail. #GomSpace #NanoPower BP8 100 Wh gives you a smart, protected, high‑capacity Li-ion #power core, so every orbit is a mission enabler, not a risk. #WEMAKESPACEYOURS

@MARK_G0NMY @AmsatUK Hi Mark. No pass through. Receive only, unless you want to add some relays. Circuit and assembly info is available as a download from A-UK.

@g0mrf @AmsatUK Do they have pass through if you switch to U/V mode, or do you have to remove it from inline?

70cm pre-amplifier kits for mode V/U satellite reception are finally available to members via the @AmsatUK shop. shop.amsat-uk.org/product/70cm-p… Should have some here for direct sales in about a week.

Happy 12th birthday @FUNcubeUK -1 Still going strong in transponder mode! 73 Dave, G4DPZ Hon Sec, @AmsatUK

@W8LR_Jerry Took your advice Jerry. First QSO using the new preamp W8LR on EN70/EN80 a few minutes ago. Range 3700km ele 9 deg. No breakthrough thanks to that notch filter with 50W on 2m. Also worked PD4HDB and N1IPA. Tnx QSO. 5 ele on 2m, 9 ele on 70cm

@g0mrf Make sure to not overload the Rx of your rig when you install it. Turn off rig preamp.

Need a UHF preamp? I've just received these boards from PCBWay. Should be 16dB gain on 435 with a 2m notch filter on the input. N F. Less than 0.7dB with power via the coax. Should have the first one assembled tomorrow.

@jpucheu Yes. The 70cms preamp will be available as a kit in about a month on the AMSAT-UK shop if you are a member, or from me if you are not. There are 3 x 0603 capacitors on the input. I'll solder those on the board as they're a bit on the small size for most people.

@g0mrf Love ir. It's a kit?

70cm Pre-amp update. I have one assembled. Active device is a PGA103 from Mini-Circuits. The 2m notch works very nicely with -36dB at 145M. Gain on 435MHz is a fraction under +16dB. I need to look at the output low pass filter matching to make the response a little smoother.

@N4AKV_ @flo_0_ Yes. Will take about a month to get the parts. Then available via AMSAT UK for members or direct from me.

@g0mrf @flo_0_ Interesting, I've looked at the G4DDK design in the past, seems particularly good for sats given the 2m notch! Do you have any plans to sell these eventually?

@N4AKV_ @flo_0_ Hi Jonathan. After working Jerry, W8LR, on RS-44, I realsied I needed a masthead preamp. Sam G4DDK gave permission to use / modify his 'PGA432' 2016 design for A-UK. g4ddk.com/Products.html He does not produce kits these days, hence the PCBWay order. Looking good so far.

@flo_0_ @g0mrf Is this your design or a published schematic?

It's official ! Given a choice of RG213, Messi & Paoloni, or rotator cable. Squirrels, herons and foxes prefer to eat Messi & Paoloni ultraflex 7. A QSO with FP5KE will be left for another day. :(

Arrived in Bochum for the FutureGEO workshop. On the way we managed to visit our old friends at Isispace and collect some flight hardware for our next satellite mission.

On my way to the ESA GEO satellite workshop in Bochum. Hope this gets us a GEO that covers Europe and The USA

FP5KE - Arrived yesterday evening on ile aux marins. However, 11 pieces of luggage including all antennas and amplifiers were left behind in Canada. They do not know yet when the situation will be resolved and consequently when operations will be able to start.

Destined for the 6U Jovian-1 satellite, this mode U/V FM transponder had its first on-air test yesterday. 20W ERP on 70cm over a distance of 59km and a path loss of -150dB was received on a QFH antenna and retransmitted on 145.895MHz. Thanks to G0MJW and G3VZV for its first QSO.

Oman FM was granted exclusive access behind the scenes at Etlaq Spaceport in Duqm. There, we were introduced to the Genesis Program—an initiative designed to launch suborbital and experimental rockets. @EtlaqSpace

Etlaq Spaceport: Ever heard of that? This week, this up and coming spaceport in Southern Oman will host a sub orbital launch to 500km. The 12m Kia-1 rocket from @stellarkinetics will carry a UK student 6U payload called Jovian-O, including 70cm hardware supplied by @AmsatUK