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

FO29
by Hakan Harrysson 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Hello! It looks like i have a good window from 1823z to the east coast and down to FM03 tmrw 20/12. I will give it a try and call CQ in that pass. 73 Merry Christmas Hakan SM7WSJ JO67WI PS: Worked today very fast IW4DVZ , I8CVS, VE2KSV

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Get ready to receive RAFT and ANDE telemetry!
by Robert Bruninga 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

> We are in need of stations around the world to receive > this telemetry and gate it to the APRS-IS... > > An easier option: If you have a TM-D700 radio,... set > [it] to work as a SatGate to help capture these packets. > [by digipeating over to the national network...] Although that is a very clever approach, unfortunately, there are 3 reasons why we do not recommend that except in extremely remote continents where there is no other way to get the packets. 1) The danger of someone missconfiguring their mobile and then digipeating BACK on 145.825, though small, is bad enough to reduce the satellite effectiveness by 50% for each mobile that forgets to properly set their TX frequency. These stations then would be jamming the uplink 50% of the time after each packet heard. This risk, though small, is not the kind of risk we like to take in space stuff where such a problem can block an entire continent. 2) We do not want packets from 145.825 digipeated over to national APRS networks, because once there, the packets cannot be determined to be from the Satellites and do not show up on the PCSAT web pages on FINDU. This causes frustration and confusion and takes time of key players to constantly troubleshoot and comment on. 3) Since anyone that can receive APRS on 144.39 or whatever national frequency can receive the satelltie just as easily themselves, there is little advantage to this process. Now #2 might not be as big a problem as I fear, because presumably if a -real- satgate gets the packet first, then that copy may be the one that FINDU see's and then it will ignore all others [which are delayed by the digipeat (but unmarked as being via the satellite)]. But it seems not worth the risk. But thanks for your enthusiasm! I suggest a parked vehicle with a D700 would be a great candidate for an RS-232 cable from the driveway through a window to a PC running as an Igate would also work when parked at home if one has a clear horizon. The mobile antenna will possibly do better than the base station because it has a shorter less lossy coax run. De WB4APR, Bob > You do not need an Internet connection at all for this setup. > See details here: > > http://aj3u.com/aprs/aj3u-10.php > > Here is the operations website for ANDE and RAFT: > > http://eng.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/ande-raft-ops.html > > Access for digipeating is not granted until their primary mission is > complete. Look for an e-mail from Bob (WB4APR) for a go-ahead to > start digipeating. > > -- > A.J. Farmer, AJ3U > http://www.aj3u.com > > _______________________________________________ > aprssig mailing list > aprssig(a)lists.tapr.org > https://lists.tapr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aprssig >

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Hello all first post
by Stephen Thornber 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Hello everybody. This is my first post and really just testing. Name: Stephen K THORNBER Age: Yes Location: Leicester, England, UK Call: G6SGA Computers: PC dual screens reasonable spec and my new baby a MAC powerbook running OS X Tiger. With a whopping great big screen. I am just getting interested in Satellite and I have decide to equip myself with relevant tools and information over the winter months and to I hope start working something early in the new year. SO I may be looking for lots of assistance. I have an FT817 and I have an IC2410H, that however is not in perfect health at the moment. What I do not have and am not to good with is quality antenna systems, rotors etc. I do not know what to look for really. Having said that I have High Sierra Motorised HF Whip And 10m Center Fed Dipole VHF / UHF Vertical VHF Folded dipole. QUESTION: I have only got about £100 (USD 150+/-) to spend on an aerial specifically for the Satellite work would the [Tonna (20899) 2m/70cm Oscar Special 9/19 el yagi] be a good place to start? I do not have any rotars as of yet so I would appreciate guidance on good, reasonably priced, rotars and more importantly perhaps which bit fits on which bit and in what order to put the mast(pole) Rotar together. This may all be too much for one session but enthusiasm is running high at the moment. HAPPY CHRISTMAS all 73 Stephen PS would love to hear from any UK Satellite enthusiasts.

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Get ready to receive RAFT and ANDE telemetry!
by A.J. Farmer (AJ3U) 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

The RAFT and ANDE satellites are due to be launched from Shuttle Discovery after it undocks from the ISS. Like PCSAT and PCSAT-2, they will be transmitting telemetry and digipeating APRS packets on 145.825. We are in need of stations around the world to receive this telemetry and gate it to the APRS-IS. You do not need a complex station to help out! A 2-meter receiver and omni-directional antenna will work just fine. If we have many stations with omni antennas that participate, it will be just as effective as a smaller number of stations that have full tracking antennas. When you are away from your home 2M station, put it to good use by setting it to 145.825 and gate the packets heard to the APRS-IS using software such as UI-View32 (http://www.ui-view.org). You can also use ALogger which was designed for this purpose. You can download ALogger here: http://www.billdiaz.dynip.com/Alogger204.zip An easier option: If you have a TM-D700 radio, it is very easy to set up your radio to work as a SatGate to help capture these packets. You do not need an Internet connection at all for this setup! See details here: http://aj3u.com/aprs/aj3u-10.php Here is the operations website for ANDE and RAFT: http://eng.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/ande-raft-ops.html Access for digipeating is not granted until their primary mission is complete. Look for an e-mail from Bob (WB4APR) for a go-ahead to start digipeating. -- A.J. Farmer, AJ3U http://www.aj3u.com

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Genesat1 data decoder
by K7MSU - SSEL Earth Station 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Hello all, We have put up a web form which parses and decodes genesat packets from raw tnc output. http://www.ssel.montana.edu/cgi-bin/genesat1.pl Just copy and paste from your terminal output program to decode, and download a csv file to open in your favorite spreadsheet program. Enjoy! ~SSEL Earth Station Operations

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GeneSat-1 Telemetry Decoder
by Mineo Wakita 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Developed by Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN http://www.dk3wn.info/sat/afu/sat_genesat.shtml http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/genesat2.htm --------------------------------------------- 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: Dec 19, 2006 ---------------------------------------------

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GO-32 - Mid atlantic pass.
by Dave Aitch 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Nothing heard on the 435.230 downlink during the last pass, from 1119 to 1132. Seasons Greetings Cheers, Dave.

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ship radar antennas (2/2)
by K & R Yoksh 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Thanks for the many replies. I've got some reading to do now! 73, Kyle Yoksh KØKN Olathe, Kansas Amsat # 35249

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GeneSat-1 Telemetry Meaning
by Eric Christensen 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Anyone know how to decode this telemetry? 73s, Eric KF4OTN AMSAT Member 35360 AMSAT Area Coordinator Please donate to the Eagle project! http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php?donate=eagle

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Satellite information for WSR
by w8iss＠amsat.org 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Can any one help with information about these older satellites that are still in the keplarian elements that I aquired from Celestrak today? OSCAR III [-] AO-5 [-] AO-6 [-] AO-8 [-] FO-12 [-] UO-15 [-] I am trying to update the Weekly Satellite Report and am finding NO information about these satellites on the internet. I would like to at LEAST list them in the Non-operational portion of the WSR as a reference if someone wants to try to listen for them incase they do a "AO-7" event on us. Maybe I just am not looking in the right places or literature for this info. Any help would be appreciated. James French W8ISS Weekly Satellite Report Editor

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