Glad to Hear Many Stations on LAPAN A2 Satellite, Including DX!

Last year when I started amateur radio Low Earth Orbit satellite operations, the general notion among us was that IO-86 or LAPAN A2 was not accessible to us because of the trans-equatorial orbit and activation mostly when the satellite enters its parent country of Indonesia. Things changed recently when VU3CDK started listening to the satellite from central India and found that even with limited setup, it is possible to hear the satellite for short periods. Later messages sent to radio amateurs in Indonesia resulted in earlier activation of the satellite for the benefit of VU, 4S7 and other Island Nations of the Indian Ocean, though there are only few LEO satellite operators there. A record contact from Mauritius to South India also occurred after that. I have also been trying to access LAPAN A2 with my limited setup and could get a few local contacts. Today afternoon there was an excellent pass and I could work local stations and even heard DX stations calling me back on LAPAN A2!

What you heard just now is the audio recording of the pass taken by keeping my mobile phone over my IC 2730 radio during the pass of IO-86 satellite in my region at 2.01 pm IST (UTC+5.30). There are also some other stations which I have not marked because I could not hear the callsign in full, including DX stations. I had pointed my Moxon Yagi South East so as to get maximum part of the transequatorial pass of the satellite. Activation was at the time of closest approach in my region and it was a pass with about 28 degree maximum elevation here. I used the Argentinian Amsat satellite pass page displayed on my mobile phone for manual Doppler tuning in the radio during the satellite pass. LAPAN A2 needs 88.5 Hz CTCSS tone on the nominal uplink frequency 145.880 MHz. Nominal downlink frequency is 435.880 MHz. Both need Doppler correction as the satellite is initially moving towards you and later away from you, at a fast speed.