[aprssig] APRS Satellite w/ Rubber Duck?

[Stephen H. Smith]

On 4/10/2017 3:49 PM, sergio_101 wrote:
> I have been lurking here and there for awhile, and i'm not sure i have seen 
> this go by..
>
> I am just starting to play with satellites, and I can receive packets from 
> ISS just fine, i just can't hit it.
>
> Are there any other satellites carrying APRS that i might have more luck with?
>
> Every time I start googling around, it seems the information is extremely dated.
>
> thanks!

Very very unlikely!    The ISS is by far the strongest and most easily received 
"satellite".

The rubber duck is an absolutely HORRIBLE antenna  - the thing actually has 
NEGATIVE gain relative to even a simple dipole or quarter-wave whip.   It's 
more like a badly-shielded dummy load than an antenna.   You are reducing the 
already marginal transmit power output of the hand-held by at least 60%-70% 
compared to even a simple 19" quarter-wave whip

At the least, you want a full-size 19" whip, or far better, a light-weight 
hand-holdable 3 element Yagi like an Arrow antenna.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
Skype:        WA8LMF
EchoLink:  Node #  14400  [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]
Home Page:          http://wa8lmf.net

Live Off-The-Air APRS Activity Maps
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Long-Range APRS on 30 Meters HF
    <http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm>

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