Artists impression of OSCAR 7 in Space

On September 5, 2015 Dave Swanson KG5CCI completed a contact with Manuel EA5TT over a record breaking distance of 7947 km via the OSCAR 7 satellite operating in mode B (432/145 MHz).

On the AMSAT Bulletin Board Dave KG5CCI writes:

On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 1812 UTC I made a scheduled contact with Manuel, EA5TT, using AO-7 Mode B, from the old US Forest Service Fire Tower on top of ‘Rich Mountain’ here in extreme western Arkansas. My 10 digit grid locator was EM24UQ01MU while Manuel is located in IM99SL48CX, in Valencia, Spain. Using the http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html website for reference, this equates to 7947.381 km which we believe to be a new record for AO-7 Mode B.

Like several of my extreme low elevation passes I’ve worked recently, I captured my side of the QSO on video. The bad news is that the wind on top of the tower, and limited room to operate meant a noisy audio feed and a rather awkward camera angle, the good news is our callsign, grid, and signal exchange was captured and clear. I have trimmed down the video to just the 70 seconds or so (to expedite the rural upload) of the contact and posted it to YouTube here:

Watch EA5TT Contact from Rich Mountain – Raw Footage

I fully plan on writing a more extensive post when I return from the holiday weekend, and I will likely make a proper video with commentary and data as well. I’ve made some really interesting observations when it comes to Satellite operating from places with great ‘Height Above Average Terrain’ and look forward to sharing this analysis with everyone.

Until then, catch you all on the birds, 73!

Dave, KG5CCI/P

Oscar 7 Information https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/oscar-7/

A previous OSCAR-7 DX Record https://amsat-uk.org/2012/07/04/oscar-7-dx-record-broken-again/

Video of 2E0HTS Working the OSCAR-7 Satellite
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/01/26/2e0hts-working-the-oscar-7-satellite/

OSCAR 7 in Space

Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK/VA7EWK has secured the special call sign W7O (Whiskey Seven Oscar) for use in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 7 on November 15, 1974.

OSCAR 7 in anechoic chamber with Perry Klein K3JTE and Jan King K8VTR/W3GEY – Credit Dick Daniels W4PUJ

On the AMSAT Bulletin Board he writes:

I plan on having this call on the air between November 15-24 2014, working satellites and possibly other bands.  I will work satellite passes from Arizona, including AO-7 passes, and hope to recruit a small group of operators who can work other passes that cover eastern North America along with other places I can’t work from here (Europe, North Africa, South America).  I may also try to get some operators working HF with this call.

I will handle the QSL requests for W7O during this period. I am thinking of incorporating the original QSL card design AMSAT used to confirm AO-7 reception reports from the 1970s in the W7O card.

The QSL cards will be printed after the W7O activity wraps up.  I will also upload W7O QSOs to ARRL’s Logbook of the World system.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions related to this operation, or if you are willing to operate on satellites and/or HF as W7O during this 10-day period.

Thanks in advance, and 73!

Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

OSCAR 7 with Dick Daniels W4PUJ, Jan King K8VTR-W3GEY, Marie Marr and Perry Klein K3JTE

The amateur radio satellite AMSAT-OSCAR 7 was launched by a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on November 15, 1974 and provided many years of service until it went silent from battery failure in mid 1981.

For 21 years nothing more was heard until June 21, 2002 when Pat Gowen G3IOR came across a beacon sending slow 8 -10 wpm CW on 145.973.8 MHz. It sounded like old OSCAR satellite telemetry, it had the familiar HI HI followed by a string of numbers in groups of three. After monitoring by many radio amateurs it turned out to be OSCAR-7, and it seemed to have come back from the dead.

Pat’s email to the AMSAT Bulletin Board announcing his discovery can be seen at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200206/msg00525.html

It is believed that in 1981 the batteries failed short-circuit, however, in 2002 they became open-circuit enabling the satellite to run again from the solar panels. Since that day OSCAR 7 has been operational when in sunlight and provided radio amateurs with many long distance (DX) SSB/CW contacts.

Remember when working OSCAR 7 use the least uplink power possible to minimize your downlink power usage, and maximize the number of simultaneous contacts supported in the passband.

A BBC News report Radio ham finds lost satellite about the reception of OSCAR 7 by Dave Rowan G4CUO can be seen at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2149381.stm

A collection of photos by Dick Daniels W4PUJ taken during the construction, test and launch of the AMSAT-OSCAR 7 spacecraft in 1973 and 1974 can be viewed at http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT/AMSAT-Oscar-7

Oscar 7 Information http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1031

Video of 2E0HTS Working the OSCAR-7 Satellite https://amsat-uk.org/2012/01/26/2e0hts-working-the-oscar-7-satellite/

2010 video of the then AO-7 distance record http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2010/new_ao7_record.htm

‘Getting started on amateur radio satellites’ by G7HIA published in the March 2007 RadCom. Download the article at https://amsat-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/satellites_radcom_mar07.pdf
Copyright 2007 Radio Society of Great Britain. For personal use only – no copying, reprinting or distribution without written permission from the RSGB.

Join the AMSAT Bulletin Board AMSAT-BB http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo

OSCAR 7 in Space

On the AMSAT bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) Paul Stoetzer, N8HM reminds us that November 15 is the 39th birthday of the AMSAT-OSCAR-7 (AO-7) satellite which incredibly is still operational after so many years in space. A tribute to the engineering abilities of radio amateurs.

Happy Birthday to AO-7! Launched on 11/15/1974 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Continued congratulations to all those involved in the design, building, launch, and operations of this satellite. It’s an amazing achievement that, other than the batteries, most of the circuitry continues to function normally 39 years after launch. Here’s to
hopefully many more years of service to the amateur community!

For more information about the lead-up to and the launch of AO-7, as well as the first years of operation, see the 1974-1981 AMSAT
Newsletters on KA9Q’s website:

http://www.ka9q.net/AMSAT-Newsletter-1974.pdf

http://www.ka9q.net/newsletters.html

N4HY has a wonderful gallery of photos from the construction and launch of AO-7 on his Smugmug page:

http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT/AMSAT-Oscar-7

73,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
Washington, DC (FM18)

Pat Gowen G3IOR in radio shack circa 1975

The amateur radio satellite AMSAT-OSCAR 7 was launched by a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on November 15, 1974 and provided many years of service until it went silent from battery failure in mid 1981.

For 21 years nothing more was heard until June 21, 2002 when Pat Gowen G3IOR came across a beacon sending slow 8 -10 wpm CW on 145.973.8 MHz. It sounded like old OSCAR satellite telemetry, it had the familiar HI HI followed by a string of numbers in groups of three. After monitoring by many radio amateurs it turned out to be OSCAR-7, and it seemed to have come back from the dead.

Pat’s email to the AMSAT Bulletin Board announcing his discovery can be seen at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200206/msg00525.html

It is believed that in 1981 the batteries failed short-circuit, however, in 2002 they became open-circuit enabling the satellite to run again from the solar panels. Since that day OSCAR 7 has been operational when in sunlight and provided radio amateurs with many long distance (DX) SSB/CW contacts.

Remember when working OSCAR 7 use the least uplink power possible to minimize your downlink power usage, and maximize the number of simultaneous contacts supported in the passband.

A BBC News report Radio ham finds lost satellite about the reception of OSCAR 7 by Dave Rowan G4CUO can be seen at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2149381.stm

Video of 2E0HTS Working the OSCAR-7 Satellite https://amsat-uk.org/2012/01/26/2e0hts-working-the-oscar-7-satellite/

OSCAR-7 http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1031

AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/