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

RAFT / ANDE over Europe 23 Dec 1940 UTC
by W.J. Ubbels 23 Dec '06

23 Dec '06

Hi all, good pass of RAFT and ANDE over Europe today, I captured the following packets using our Delfi-C3 groundstation: RAFT/SGATE>BEACON>UI,?,F0: T#699,086,002,036,035,085,10000000,999 RAFT/SGATE>BEACON>UI,?,F0: T#700,086,002,036,035,085,10000000,999 RAFT/SGATE>BEACON>UI,?,F0: T#701,085,002,036,035,084,10000000,999 PA3GUO-8/RAFT>APRS>UI,R,F0: ANDE-1>BEACON>UI,?,F0: >Satellite 145.825mhz US Naval Academy ON4CHP/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: =5109.59N/00449.15E-73 to all ANDE/RAFT fans,Willy -5W- on4chp(a)uba.be {UISS50} ANDE-1/SGATE>APRS1>UI,?,F0: :BLN1ANDE :ANDE-1 only wakes up 1 of evry 15s for users. Pse conserve. SP7THR-6/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: =5034.00N/02204.44E`73' Via Satellite {UISS50} MM0EFJ/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: =5736.14N/00426.08W-Mike in Dingwall, 10W, 5 El Quad {UISS50} ANDE-1>BEACON>UI,?,F0: T#008,136,051,053,050,214,11100001,000 SP7THR-6/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: =5034.00N/02204.44E`73' Via Satellite {UISS50} DD6UBW/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: 73 de Bernd 20 W +5/8 ANDE-1>BEACON>UI,?,F0: T#009,092,086,081,081,080,10000000,000 ANDE-1/SGATE>APRS2>UI,?,F0: :BLN2ANDE :ANDE stays awake for 30 secs after last pkt heard. PE1ITR/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: =5126.73N/00524.04E- www.pe1itr.com ON4CHP/ANDE-1*>APRS>UI,?,F0: :DD6UBW :Hi Bernd congratulations to Bob and his team for these nice new satellites! Seasons greetings and 73, Wouter Jan Ubbels PE4WJ

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FCAL over West Malaysia
by Sion Chow Q. C. (9W2QC) 23 Dec '06

23 Dec '06

Hello All, Finally I managed to capture some telemetry from FCAL over West Malaysia during today's 1827 UTC pass. Maximum elevation was 43 degrees. Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=55 >[02:32:20] 0002A7BFFEFFF8FFFF0230FFFE0138FFFE0090FFFE0238FFFF01B0 Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=56 >[02:32:28] Analog 000B001C001900DB00A7002F00DE000F N 00000078 The two packets were gated into the APRS-IS via UI-View32. May I also take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 73, Sion Chow Q. C., 9W2QC. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.26/597 - Release Date: 12/21/2006

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ANDE Deploy Anomoly
by Bob Bruninga 23 Dec '06

23 Dec '06

> I don't understand how it could have been allowed to stay > hung in the can. Oh, sorry. I assume that everyone had seen the video, but of course they probably havent. The can was also deployed. So the Shuttle was free to go. > I cannot even begin to imagine a NASA manager signing off > on anything remaining in the can "half cocked". Yes, very true. What we meant was that the cans and their satellites were all deployed and all separated. But ANDE just didnt make it out of its can. It was presumably just floating there inside it.... probably the O-ring, which was the only thing holding the satellite got a little sticky and reduced the separation velocity to near 0. But all of this was well away from the shuttle. > There is something missing from this story. Yes. It all becomes clear when you look at the video on the web page, and then also look at the link showing the CAPE/ICU deployment system. To find the web page, GOOGLE for ANDE OPS, and take the first one. Below the picture of the deploy, click on the movie. To see the design of the CAPE/ICU system, see this link: http://web.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/ande/ANDE-RAFT-CAPE-ICU.JPG > Isn't it more likely that it was actually released > on time and just came alive later when charging was > sufficient? Do we know for a fact that it was not > released? If so, what was the later release mechanism? ANDE runs on 112 "D" cell Lithium primary cells, so she was ready to go as soon as the lid came off. She was "released" also as soon as the lid came off, so best theory is that the o-ring just got sticky and it took some thermal cycling to overcome the stiction. They have been mated under hundreds of lbs pressure since June. To the media and most viewers, it looked like a nominal deploy. But we should have seen 5 pieces (three shell pieces and two satellites), but only 4 were visible. And FCAL came out very slowly, and ANDE had an additional thingy, a small detent on one side, to cause it to spin slightly as it came out. This detent couild also have absrobed almost all of the initial velocity leaving it just floating inside. Eventualy gravity gradient and drag on the shell would hopefully let ANDE drift out. I'm sure there will be a study. Bob, WB4APR

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Raft TLM
by dcowden＠nc.rr.com 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

Heard digitalker briefly on 0436 pass. Only able to copy one TLM packet. 04:41 RAFT/SGATE>BEACON>UI,?,F0 (1199 baud): T#801,083,002,056,055,079,10000000,999... 04:42 RAFT>W3ADO-15>UA,? Don, N8DDK

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Wecome back Shuttle!
by Joe Leikhim 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

As I was preparing to go to an early dinner at around 5:30 EDT the house (here in Oviedo FL) shook with two distict sonic booms. I wasn't expecting the shuttle to arrive in FL and when I turned the TV on to the news was surprised the landing was still in progress. -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "The RFI-EMI-GUY"© "Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason." "Follow The Money" ;-P

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RAFT ANDE-1 FCAL
by Hakan Harrysson 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

Hello! 3 of the 4 satellites received and it feelt like FCAL was stronger tonight compared to yesterday. I have also been listening for NMARS but sorry to report nothing heard. 73 Merry Christmas Hakan SM7WSJ PS: times in packets is one hour ahead UTC 21/12 1:Fm RAFT To BEACON Via SGATE <UI pid=F0 Len=39 >[18:35:41] T#695,085,002,036,035,090,10000000,000 21/12 FCAL 1:Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=56 >[20:12:45] 00000B8CFFFFC10FFFEFB80FFFEF830FFFEF7F8FFFEFAC0FFFEFA50 22/12 Fm ANDE-1 To APRS1 Via SGATE <UI pid=F0 Len=72 >[17:15:27] :BLN1ANDE :ANDE-1 only wakes up 1 of evry 15s for users. Pse conserve. Fm ANDE-1 To BEACON <UI pid=F0 Len=39 >[17:16:51] T#002,004,008,008,005,005,01000000,000 22/12 FCAL 1:Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=56 >[22:01:24] 000177F1FFF05A0FFFF0538FFFE01C8FFFE0220FFFE04A8FFFF0260 2:Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=56 >[22:01:24] 000177F1FFF05A0FFFF0538FFFE01C8FFFE0220FFFE04A8FFFF0260 1:Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=56 >[22:01:31] Analog 000C001B001B00DB00AB001E00DD0012 N 00000078 2:Fm KD4HBO To TELEM Via TELEM <UI pid=F0 Len=56 >[22:01:31] Analog 000C001B001B00DB00AB001E00DD0012 N 00000078

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FW: TV antenna rotators
by Jerry Ehlers 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

Hi: The Channel Masters that have owned have all gone 360 degrees. I have some TR -2 rotors for TV and they rotate 360 too. I think you must have a rotor with a problem. Jerry w0sat -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tim Tapio Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 9:01 AM To: 'amsat bb' Subject: [amsat-bb] TV antenna rotators Do any of them offer full 360 degree rotation. I picked up a channel master, it only travels 180.. 73 de Tim, K4SHF _______________________________________________ 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 -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.26/598 - Release Date: 12/22/2006 3:22 PM -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.26/598 - Release Date: 12/22/2006 3:22 PM

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ANDE-1 and FCAL beacons
by Mike Rupprecht 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

Hi, last pass over Europe (1610UTC) 2006-Dez-22 16:16:51 ANDE-1>BEACON,DK3WN-1,I: T#002,004,008,008,005,005,01000000,000 fm KD4HBO to TELEM via TELEM ctl UI^ pid F0 000135700180508FFFF016800400840FFFE0440000005C0FFFF0698 fm KD4HBO to TELEM via TELEM ctl UI^ pid F0 Analog 000F0013000D00DA00A8002700DE000B N 00000078 73, Mike DK3WN

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RAFT and ANDE telemetry?
by Robert Bruninga 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

> could you explain the 8 status bits, please? > And the meaning of the last 3 digits? > > T#529,083,002,036,035,071,10000000,000 > ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ This is the standard APRS telemetry frame which can report up to 5 analog inputs, and 8 digital discretes. In the original 1995 APRS Mic-E MIM module they were a fully independent 8 bit I/O port. Useful for discrete status bits. In the Kantronics 9612+ TNC, they are also a separate 8 bit I/O port (as used on PCSAT-1 and PCSAT-2) good for both inputs and commanding. But on the KPC-3+ TNC, they are mostly the same port as the analog telemetry pins. We find these Kantronics TNC's to be very powerful. That is why we now have a total of 8 of them in space oas the primary command/control system for several satelites, and use another few dozen in out LAB satellites for the students to learn elements of satellite comms. Actually the KPC-3+ has 8 A/D inputs, but only 2 are brought to the connectors. We bring out 3 more for a total of 5. But 3 are used internally and so that is why we only have 5 channels of telemetry. The first two bits are used for RS-232 handshaking inputs, DTR and RTS. On RAFT we actually use the DTR line (the first "1" above") as the SIGN bit for the battery current sensor. If it is 1, then the current into the battery is negative. In this case, 002 shows no input current from the sun, so the 036 current is out of the battery. On ANDE, we use both the DTR and RTS pins as a 2 bit counter to indicate which of the four sets of telemetry are being transmitted. We call those the FRAME counter bits. So here is the definition of those 8 bits on any KPC-3+ TNC: DR5I3210 Where D and R are the DTS and RTS inputs I is used internally? 5,3,2,1,0 are the 5 analong inputs which show in the telemetry frame as T#SSS,000,111,222,333,555 But we have always called them 1,2,3,4,5 in our documents for simplicity. So in the 8 discrete bits, the "1"'s and "0"'s besides the first two and the internal one, are simply a binary reflection of the same 5 channels of telemetry as the actual 5 analog inputs. If they are above the digital threshold, they show as a "1" and if below the threshold, they show as a "0". Since the "I" pin is used internally (something to do with the optional real-time clock chip, it is not invovlved in the TELEMETRY command. However, you can see it's value and might be able to still use it as a on/off discrete indicator I guess. Anyway, with the inputs, and outputs, and password protected logon built into every TNC, we find them a powerful tool for all kinds of applications, not just APRS... OH! And the last 3 digits on the end are a memory wash counter. We are looking for SEU hits on the RAM chip. All unused RAM is painted with a bit pattern, and periodically, the TNC checks for bit errors. It acumulates a total until the next reset. This was custom code we asked Kantronices to add for this mission to give us some "science" data. But there was never enough time to test it completely and we noticed on the ground that it would often jump to 999 on its own even on boot up. So we will probably ignore it... Bob, WB4APR > > Here is the RAFT tlm. I heard some packet signals but I > > only decoded one packet. > > > > RAFT>BEACON,SGATE [21-Dec-06 14:49:40] <UI>: > > T#529,083,002,036,035,071,10000000,000 > > This is GOOD NEWS! > > It shows that RAFT is now charged up enough to make it through > eclipse. Notice that the telemetry serial number is up to #529 > which means it has now been running for 529 minutes since it > last booted up. This is good news, because on the first few > orbits, it was going to low-power shutdown towards the end of > eclipse. > > Thanks! > Bob, WB4APR > USNA Satellite Lab > > _______________________________________________ > 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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FCAL received
by Mineo Wakita 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

437.385 MHz +/- doppler AX.25 1200bps AFSK Dec 22, 22:26-22:35 JST, 2006 JST = UTC + 9 KD4HBO>TELEM,TELEM [12/22/06 22:33:09] <UI C>: 00010E79FFE02F0FFFE0338FFFE0138FFFE00D8FFFE02E8FFFF01B8 KD4HBO>TELEM,TELEM [12/22/06 22:33:16] <UI C>: Analog 0005001F000C00D900AB001A00DD000E N 00000078 --------------------------------------------- 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 22, 2006 ---------------------------------------------

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