Posted on by John Aboud KK6ZVQ

February 2024 Meeting: Working Satellites with Clint Bradford, K6LCS

Our February 2024 meeting was held via Zoom and featured Clint Bradford, K6LCS presenting “How to Work Amateur Satellites with Your HT.” Clint has been a ham since 1994. His niche in the hobby is working amateur satellites with minimal equipment and spreading the word on how to do it. He has served as a liaison between NASA, the ARISS team, and schools coordinating amateur radio contacts between the International Space Station and students. Clint has created a support Web site at work-sat.com that’s a one-stop source for all the citations, equipment recommendations, and software suggestions made in his presentation. He also maintains a Groups.io list at work-sat.groups.io. He resides in Jurupa Valley, California, with his wife Karen, who expertly handled Zoom duties during the meeting.

Some notable Clint quotes:

  • Why work satellites? It’s just another cool thing we can do in this wonderful hobby of amateur radio. 
  • Tips to improve your HT’s battery life: Cut your output power in half, improve your antenna, use an earpiece. 
  • It’s rocket science… but it ain’t rocket science.
Photo from Clint’s QSL card. He’s seen here at the LA County Fair, where he worked three countries using only 2W of power.

Some slides from the presentation:

There have been over 125 OSCARs (orbital satellites carrying amateur radio)
Cliff’s portable station in an Igloo cooler.
At a Santa Barbara hamfest.
Clint’s HT of choice for working the birds
Facilitating an ISS contact for high school students in Rancho Cucamonga

Other useful links besides work-sat.com:

Software recommendations:

SPARC thanks Cliff and Karen for an informative (and funny!) evening.

OTHER CLUB BUSINESS

  • Join our Groups.io list and become a member! 
  • Our simplex net returns next week on 2/14. Chris KM6OUK is compiling signal reports from the simplex nets so we can map propagation behavior in our area.
  • The Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) will hold a special event station on February 22 from 1600 to 2400 UTC. Try contacting this unique radio station to our south in San Pedro.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

  • March 6 at 7:30 p.m. — We’re back at the Eddie Park House where we will be joined by Joe Fakete, an active member of the Southern California Antique Radio Society. Joe will speak on vintage and antique radio restoration. Bring an old ham rig or vintage consumer radio, and Joe will walk you through the steps to put it back in working order. Email us if you would like to bring some equipment but need help transporting it. Related: Jim Fisher, the president of SCARS, invites everyone to learn more about the group, become a member, and participate in SCARS’s annual auction. It takes place on 2/17 in Tustin. 

  • April 3 at 7:30 p.m. — Also back at Eddie Park House, our guest will be Diana Feinberg, AI6DF. Diana is section manager for the ARRL LAX section. Her visits to SPARC to update us on League business and the state of amateur radio are an annual tradition.

73!