73 on 73 Award #9 – Abdel Mesbah M0NPT

AMSAT-UK congratulates Abdel Mesbah M0NPT on becoming the first UK recipient of the 73 on 73 Award.

Paul Stoetzer N8HM sponsors the award which is issued for making 73 contacts with different stations since September 1, 2014 via the amateur radio satellite AO-73 (FUNcube-1).

On January 27, 2015 Abdel worked Jean-Marie Lenglet F2IL for his seventy third contact. He submitted his claim to Paul who checked it and sent the award certificate the following day.

Abdel was first licenced as M3IAK in 2003 and received his Intermediate call sign 2E0KAR in 2007 but it wasn’t until June 2013 that he was able to get on-the-air. He got his Full call sign M0NPT on March 11, 2014.

When Abdel first took an interest in satellites Lenny Brown 2E0LFK let him use his station and he had two contacts, with 9A3ST and R1AO, via the FM satellite SO-50.

Abdel then set up his own satellite station which comprises a Yaesu FT-847 with a 5 element horizontal polarised Yagi on 144 MHz, a 6 element vertically polarised Yagi on 430 MHz and a Yaesu G-5500 Azimuth-Elevation rotator. His first SSB contact via AO-73 (FUNcube-1) was with Manuel D. Ruiz Carrasco EA5TT on December 3, 2014.

Congratulations to all these operators who have so far earned the award:

#1 – Wyatt Dirks, AC0RA
#2 – Željko Ulip, 9A2EY
#3 – Bernhard Klink, DG1EA
#4 – Manuel D. Ruiz Carrasco, EA5TT
#5 – Jose Luis Peña Sanchez, EC4TR
#6 – Dariusz Dabek, SP9TTX
#7 – Jorge Gallardo Sanchez, EA4AYW,
#8 – Jari Ahdenkari, OH2FQV
#9 – Abdel Mesbah, M0NPT
#10 – Glenn Miller, AA5PK

Details on how you can earn the 73 on 73 Award are at https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/

AO-73 was launched on November 21, 2013 and is the first spacecraft to have a primary mission of educational outreach to schools and the smallest ever satellite to carry a linear (SSB/CW) transponder for radio amateurs.