HADES-D (SO-121): Time is Running Out!

Many of us in this region have been trying to access the QRP satellite or PocketQube HADES-D (SO-121) without a full success. Sometimes some stations were heard by others, but could not establish two way contacts. I have also tried listening several times, with only faint signals being received. Yet several overseas operators have reported success with SO-121 even with relatively simple setup. One of the most important inconveniences in this region is that most of the good elevation passes come either near noon or near mignight, both being times when the number of operators who are trying to access is likely to be very limited. Add to, there is news that SO-121 is going to reenter Earth’s atmosphere on 7th November 2024 according to LU7AA website.

Even today, I tried one pass of SO-121 with about 37 degrees maximum elevation, on the Eastern side, hoping to have some contacts or at least to hear someone clearly. No luck this time as well. This time I had set my IC 2730 radio to Narrow Band FM as the Argentinian Amsat satellite pass prediction page mentions NFM. Soon after the unsuccessful attempt, I changed the mode in my radio back to usual FM mode which is wide band FM. Otherwise it might prevent my radio from accessing other satellites due to a wrong setting. CELESTRAK website shows a gradual descend of SO-121. While it was at an altitude above 500 km in January 2024, it is around 450 km now.