October 2006 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

A Reply to Mr. McGwier
by Dean Shutt 08 Oct '06

08 Oct '06

Fellow Amsat members and satellite enthusiasts, I have been a member of AMSAT-NA and Amsat-UK since 1993 and have for the most part greatly enjoyed the amateur satellite hobby. I have been around long enough to have suffered through (if one can suffer for a hobby) Mr. McGwier once before in regards his participation in the DSP 2232. I was frankly extremely disappointed to see him become heavily involved in a major AMSAT satellite project. Based on his public statements concerning the DSP 2232, I fully expected him to be very opinionated, intolerant of criticism, and quick to place blame on others when challenged concerning any aspect of his work. I also expected, and still expect, that he will quit claiming he is unappreciated and that the project can succeed only if his advice is followed. I formed this opinion of Mr. McGwier through reading his many long posts concerning his involvement in the DSP 2232 project and by daily using the device both as it was shipped and as others later made it fully usable for satellite work. You may wish to Goggle up the archives from that time and read them. I think you will find many similarities between their tone and content and that of his recent post to this board. I will not comment on the many inappropriate statements in Mr. McGwier's post save the following: "I am really personally disappointed in the level of discourse in the AMSAT BB. It is extremely harmful, possibly beyond repair, to our organization. We are seeking serious external funding, and we need to make a significant investment in many areas to get this spacecraft built. I have never been prouder of where the AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL engineers are going on your behalf than I am right now. I am very disappointed in the members of this forum. It is so damaging to our public image that if this does not improve and significantly, I will have to recommend that we end its current form. You are hurting your fellow satellite users and the VERY small number of volunteers who make serious personal sacrifices to build these things, and much larger number of volunteers who daily make quiet personal efforts in near silence on all our behalf. In my opinion, there is not a single member of the included thread who can hold their heads high and be proud of it." It appears Mr. McGwier is fearful that continued discussion of what the designers wish to build may negatively effect the "serious external funding" required to build it. This to me fully supports the view that the designers wish to be funded to build what they wish and not what the amateur satellite community wish to operate. I do not believe attempting to squelch the free exchange of views is helpful. I suggest that better and more timely communication is appropriate including opinions incongruent with those of Mr. McGwier. The current debate started as a result of a lack of communication from the designers. There will certainly be more if the situation does not improve. The designers must realize that communication with the folks from whom they expect support is as much a part of assuring a successful project as the hardware design. Working as a volunteer, for however many hours, does not excuse being intolerant of the views of other members of the organization nor by itself does it support the validity of one's own views. Perhaps Mr. McGwier will learn to hit the delete button before dispatching more of these all to familiar abrasive, unprofessional, and intolerant commentaries. History offers little hope this will occur. If you think this opinion harsh then read again the last sentence in the above quote: "In my opinion, there is not a single member of the included thread who can hold their heads high and be proud of it." The AMSAT VP of Engineering states that no one participating in a thread critical of his views on a single subject can be proud of themselves ... I believe the exact opposite.

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Instant Trak and Windows XP
by W4UPD 08 Oct '06

08 Oct '06

I believe that has been asked in the past but I do not remember the answer or fix if there was one. The characters in the map section of Instant Trak are all garbage characters in map mode. The rest of the characters in other modes appear to be fine. Does any know if there is a fix for this? I have tried various screen setting changes including fonts, but to no avail. Regards, Reid Bristor, W4UPD

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Sudan Active next 3 weeks ¡¡
by Radioaficionats 08 Oct '06

08 Oct '06

Hello to all ¡¡ During the three next weeks, Sudan will be active in all satellites. They themselves has requested to me that publishes it. st2nh - hz1nh Salut i bonsat Carles Roy eb3fym(a)urcat.org eb3fym(a)radioaficionats.cat www.radioaficionats.cat/eb3fym

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HITSAT FM Oct 8
by Mineo Wakita 08 Oct '06

08 Oct '06

2006.10.8 JE9PEL/1 received, and decoded with MixW2: JR8YJT CA5020001021,0924164132,1EC,1F0,1B2,2,2,0,0~ JR8YJT CA502NNNNNNN,MMddhhmmss,AAA,BBB,CCC,DDD,EEE,FFF,GGGH Sensors Data of the Attitude Control System (FM) NNNNNNN: data number ---> 0001021 MM: Month ---> Sep. dd: day ---> 24 hh: hour ---> 16 mm: minute ---> 41 ss: second ---> 32 AAA: magnetic flux density along - z_B axis ---> 1EC(h) ---> 492(d) BBB: magnetic flux density along - y_B axis ---> 1F0(h) ---> 496(d) CCC: magnetic flux density along - x_B axis ---> 1B2(h) ---> 434(d) DDD: angular velocity around - y_B axis ---> 2(h) ---> 2(d) EEE: sun angle ---> 2(h) ---> 2(d) FFF: sun pulse ---> 0(h) ---> 0(d) GGG: sun presence ---> 0(h) ---> 0(d) H: parity ---> ? http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/61008hit.wav (4MB) --------------------------------------------- Name: Mineo Wakita / JE9PEL, JAMSAT member Mail: ei7m-wkt(a)asahi-net.or.jp URL : http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ QTH : Yokohama Japan, GL:pm95tj Date: Oct 8, 2006 ---------------------------------------------

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Eagle Ground Station Pak
by sco＠sco-inc.com 08 Oct '06

08 Oct '06

Does anyone have any idea what will be in the proposed Eagle Ground Station package that has been proposed to be provided from Amsat? I assume this is for the digital transponder, correct? Might it be a patch antenna combo for S/C that would attach to a dish antenna? Would it include the upconverter and downconverter required to work S/C digital? Depending on what is included I might be interested in building such a kit/package for users. Les W4SCO

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Re: Old SATV Dish --pitch or sell?
by Bob Bruninga 08 Oct '06

08 Oct '06

>our school has an old five to seven foot SATV dish. >Question: is there a market for it? otherwise, it is >dumpster bound. I just found a bashed up 3 meter dish and only 1/4th of it, or one quadrant was still in good shape. I then realized that being only 4 feet across, it would make a much more manageable 802.11 "S" band dish for terrestrial work.! Keep the feed point at the same place, but you can still throw away 1/4th, 1/2 or 3/4ths of the original dish and only use what is convenient. In this case, only the 1/4th quadrant. Put your "S" band feed at the same old focal point but pointed at the center of what's left and now you have a perfectly good 4 foot or so OFFSET FEED large "S" band dish. And a cute thing is that it LOOKS like it is looking up at satellites (because of the top mounted offset feed) when in fact, it is now looking horizontal. So the fu ll size dish is nice, but usually too big to be manageable. But 1/4th of it still makes a great "S" band system... de WB4APR, Bob

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Microsat Telemetry data archive
by W4UPD 07 Oct '06

07 Oct '06

For those that maybe interest (and even if you're not), that URL below points to a group of directories containing telemetry data collected by those whose calls you see listed. This data was at the beginning of the life of the various Microsats (AO-16, LU-19, etc.) and even include AO013 and a couple of Fuji satellites. This data was collected and sent to me to allow for access later by the command stations and even some schools for review. I thought that some may be interested in reviewing the data contents and comparing with the more recent satellites now in use. ftp://bristor-assoc.com/pub/Amateur/Microsat/ This next URL contains some of the programs that were used to collect and/or review the captured telemetry data. The data is in the form of raw, ascii and WOD (Whole Orbit Data). Some of these programs and others are probably available at the AMSAT.ORG site as well. The data file names are basically date.type. Hopefully this will be useful to someone. This data will remain at this site for some time, so there is no hurry for it access to be removed. ftp://bristor-assoc.com/pub/Amateur/Satellite/ Regards, Reid Bristor, W4UPD

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Old SATV Dish --pitch or sell?
by Wade Grimes 07 Oct '06

07 Oct '06

our school has an old five to seven foot SATV dish....it is the metal mesh type. purchased in 1991 ??? Question: is there a market for it? otherwise, it is dumpster bound. we could use the money for our school ham radio club -- unless there is a mod we could do, and make use of it. and is the rotor of any value? (no longer controlled by the recvr) reply direct to k0mhp(a)arrl.net thanks, Wade

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Re: check out the amsat web site.
by John Champa 07 Oct '06

07 Oct '06

Alan, "Interesting..."! You are so modest, sir. This could change Amateur Radio forever! Eagle will be a communications resources like none other in the history of the service. 73, John Champa - K8OCL & AAR5AH/T (MARS) AMSAT Life Member 1069 >From: "Alan P. Biddle" <APBIDDLE(a)mailaps.org> >Reply-To: APBIDDLE(a)mailaps.org >To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: check out the amsat web site. >Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2006 22:04:37 -0000 > >Interesting list of transmitters. > >============================ > > >AMSAT Board of Directors Approves Eagle Communications Payloads > >AMSAT's Board of Directors met on 5 October in San Francisco, CA and >approved the following Eagle communications payloads: > > * A SSB/CW (etc.) transponder with uplink on U-band and downlink on >V-band. System design has a goal that it be usable over 75% of the orbit by >an AO-13 or AO-40 capable ground station. > * A SSB/CW (etc.) transponder with uplink on L-band and downlink on >S1-band (2.4 Ghz). An AO-13 or AO-40 capable ground station will be able to >use this payload. > * A low rate text message system, like SMS. It will operate on >U/V-bands >and be usable over 75% of the orbit by a small terminal on the ground. > * These transponders will be implemented using Software Defined >Transponders (SDX). > >Eagle will also carry an advanced communications payload (ACP). Using >advanced signal processing and RF techniques, the ACP will allow: > > * Voice communications on S2-band (3.4 Ghz) uplink and C-band (5.8 >Ghz) >downlink using a single 60cm dish. The satellite antennas will be >electrically steered to reduce spin modulation and allow use over 75% of >the >orbit. > * An additional, fix-pointed, uplink will be available at L-band. This >L-band uplink will require a separate uplink antenna at the ground station. > * High rate data communications, such as streaming video, using a 2m >dish on S2/C bands. > * AMSAT will develop and make available an affordable ground segment >for >the ACP System. > >Additional information will be posted here in the near future. > >_______________________________________________ >Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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HITSAT Oct 7
by Mike Rupprecht 07 Oct '06

07 Oct '06

AOS 0503 UTC Oct 07 (JN49lr) Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a071402362e Hit3 de494e4b4e49484b Hit4 c1d7d1e1 Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a0714062837 Hit3 384a50494d4a4b4a LOS 0511 UTC AOS 0636 UTC Oct 07 (JN49lr) Hit4 c1d7d2b8 Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a0715360929 Hit3 0d4c4e4b4e4..84b Hit4 c1d7d2e1 Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a071540032f Hit3 304d4e4b4e4b4a4d Hit4 c1d7.... LOS 0644 UTC AOS 1543 UTC Oct 07 (JN49lr) Hit2 a080041124a Hit3 4a4c50494e4b484c Hit4 c1d9d1e2 Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a0800450739 Hit3 394a4c4b4d49484a LOS 1549 UTC AOS 1715 UTC Oct 07 (JN49lr) Hit4 c1dad1e2 Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a080215202b Hit3 2c4950494e4b474a Hit4 c1dad1e2 Hit1 jr8yjt Hit2 a0802191625 Hit3 254c4f494.4c4a49 LOS 1723 UTC 73, Mike DK3WN

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