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

WD9EWK AO-51 V/S, Sunday 3 Sept.
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Hi again! Another day, another chance (or two) to make more V/S QSOs via AO-51 before the mode change. I woke up a little early this morning, so I decided to combine a quick shopping trip with a trip to a nearby city park that sits on the DM33/DM43 boundary. I was on the AO-51 pass around 1550-1600 UTC from the park with my portable V/S setup, and made 7 QSOs. The most activity I've heard in the 5 AO-51 passes I've tried since Friday. I worked W0LMD (CO), KU7Z (UT), N8BBQ (OH), W2NBJ (MD), KB0JQO (IA), WA4SCA (TN), and AI7W (OR). On the next pass, around 1730 UTC, I was back home and worked W0LMD and KU7Z again - the only ones on there with me. I was in the driveway in front of my house, using the car as my base of operations again. For much of the pass, I left the 2m Yagi laying on the car's roof and took the downconverter in one hand to point and twist it. AO-51's 145.920 MHz receiver is very sensitive, even when my Yagi was pointing parallel to the ground and the satellite was up at 20-30 degrees elevation. Assuming the mode change happens tonight (early Monday, UTC time), this will be the last chance to try V/S for a little while. I made 14 contacts on 5 different passes. I worked two stations on each of 3 passes (W0LMD, KU7Z), and those stations were in 10 different states. When I grow up :-) I would like to set up a proper satellite station at home. Until then, I am happy to be able to set up portable stations and do this stuff. Fun stuff, even if it is 95F/35C outside at the moment. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Phoenix, Arizona USA http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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WD9EWK and AO-51 V/S, Saturday (2 Sep) morning
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Hi! I took a short drive to a nearby park that straddles 112 degrees West longitude (the DM33/DM43 boundary), and set up for a low western pass for AO-51 around 1808-1818 UTC. Maximum elevation was only 10 degrees, but I wanted to give it a try with my portable V/S setup I've started using. No contacts, but I know I could hear the S-band downlink from about 4 or 5 degrees elevation from that location. I had a lot of time to talk to myself. :-) An impressive thing, the AO-51 S-band downlink. Very easy to hear even at low elevation, and I'm hoping to try at least one pass tonight and one Sunday morning before the mode change. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Phoenix, Arizona USA http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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I: ionic propulsion motor
by Francesco Grappi 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

HI Luc, Very interesting animation and explanation ... Thank you 73" Francesco IW4DVZ -----Messaggio originale----- Da: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org]Per conto di Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Inviato: sabato 2 settembre 2006 9.27 A: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Oggetto: [amsat-bb] ionic propulsion motor HI Here is a link explaining the ionic motor propulsion system with a nice animation (in French) the SMART-1 first lunar European space probe will crash on the moon on September 3 at 0541 UTC. Could be usable for our HEO fleet? It seems pretty simple at the first look. http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/AFPanimation/SmartFR3008/ "-" The medium is the message...The content is the audience...;) Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe _______________________________________________ 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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Icom 910 Aux Switching
by Bruce 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Keith With the help of K5VH I was already working on your question of aux switching the 910. I'am working towards using my 70 watt amp for TX L-band. Per Toms help I am using a reed relay from radio shack & perf board. I was successful in using the ACC socket, pin 2 & 3 to switch the relay on & off, controlling 12V to my 1270 Mhz amp PTT. Works great when you key the mike & with Wisp it correctly TX's my TNC & 1270 amp automatically. 73 Bruce KG4YEV

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Mode V/S across the pond ?
by Dave G1OCN 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Anybody going to be around for the mid Atlantic pass of AO-51 later today at 2245 through to 2252 UTC ? Cheers. Dave. Portland. Dorset. IO80SM

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Rotators
by Luciano G. Nachif 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Hello folks! I'm on the market for a new rotor that will take care of my HF beam and satellite antennas. I have seen the Yaesu and Hy-Gain ones. Some people say since a new company took Hy-Gain over, quality has been a major problem. I would like to hear from you. Could you respond off the list to nachif(a)terra.com.br please? Best regards, Luciano Gasparini PT9KK nachif(a)terra.com.br

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Graphical satellite calendar
by John Mock 02 Sep '06

02 Sep '06

Here's a work in progress: http://www.qsl.net/kd6pag/Sep2006.gif This shows graphically when passes for SO-50 and AO-51 occur at my QTH for the month of September. Each row corresponds to a day, each square is an hour, and the colored rectangles inside a square (or two) represent a given pass, with the color corresponding to the satellite listed in the legend. The height of the rectangle corresponds to the maximum elevation of the pass. If a rectangle is at the top of a square, then it's largely an eastern pass, and if at the bottom of a square, then it's a western pass. If it's not quite at the top or bottom, then the maximum elevation is not exactly in the east or west; for example, if AOS is in the north and LOS is in the east (instead of the south). So one can quickly glance at the graphical calendar and see which are good passes to try to work in the next few days. It may also be helpful for rovers when planning trips, to maximize the number of passes while in a given area. Spouses who might not be able to read satellite predictions could look at the graph and have an idea of when you might want to be busy. So far, the predictions are generated using LINUX SatTrack (perhaps edited by hand, for example, to account for AO-51's schedule) and fed into a Perl program which produces the .gif files. Eventually, i'll probably make it CGI accessible if folks find it useful. Let me know what you think. 73's and good luck. -- KD6PAG (Networking Old-Timer, Satellite QRPer)

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Satellite on the Moon
by Mike Hooles 02 Sep '06

02 Sep '06

Hi Folks, I understand that a European satellite that was circling the moon is scheduled to be crashed onto the moon at 0543 UTC tomorrow morning (3 Sept in the UK). It is claimed that the impact and cloud of debris thrown up from the moon should be visible through a small telescope or binoculars, if anyones interested, Regards Mike G3LGR

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FO-29 over South America
by gcarpi＠alternativagratis.com 02 Sep '06

02 Sep '06

Hi, the following datas are CW telemetry from FO-29. I caught it this evening 09/02/06 at 21:10 UTC when the satellite is over Argentina. For decode the telemetry strings I used JE9PEL's software, (excelent). 73 Gustavo, LW2DTZ --------- Data 1 --------- Main Relay ON : DCM ON SRAM ON : Packet OFF JTA ON : JTD OFF GAS ON : SAS ON : UVC ON UVC Level 1 : PCU Mode AUTO PCU level 1 : Battery Mode FULL Battery Logic FULL : Digitalker Mode OFF : UVC ACT/PAS PAS CPU RUN/RESET RUN : Spin Period 8356,0 [msec] Sun Angle 72,5 [deg] GAS-Z 60784,3 [nT] GAS-X 70098,0 [nT] Solar Panel Current 833,3 [mA] Battery Current -275,2 [mA] Battery Voltage 15,8 [V] Battery Middle Voltage 6,8 [V] Bus Voltage 15,2 [V] Analog Tx Power 629,9 [mW] Structure Temp. 1 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 2 28,3 [C] Structure Temp. 3 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 4 26,7 [C] Battery Cell Temp. 30,6 [C] --------- Data 2 --------- Main Relay ON : DCM ON SRAM ON : Packet OFF JTA ON : JTD OFF GAS ON : SAS ON : UVC ON UVC Level 1 : PCU Mode AUTO PCU level 1 : Battery Mode FULL Battery Logic FULL : Digitalker Mode OFF : UVC ACT/PAS PAS CPU RUN/RESET RUN : Spin Period 8356,0 [msec] Sun Angle 72,5 [deg] GAS-Z 61764,7 [nT] GAS-X 69117,6 [nT] Solar Panel Current 813,7 [mA] Battery Current -275,2 [mA] Battery Voltage 15,7 [V] Battery Middle Voltage 6,8 [V] Bus Voltage 15,2 [V] Analog Tx Power 779,4 [mW] Structure Temp. 1 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 2 28,3 [C] Structure Temp. 3 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 4 26,7 [C] Battery Cell Temp. 30,6 [C] --------- Data 3 --------- Main Relay ON : DCM ON SRAM ON : Packet OFF JTA ON : JTD OFF GAS ON : SAS ON : UVC ON UVC Level 1 : PCU Mode AUTO PCU level 1 : Battery Mode FULL Battery Logic FULL : Digitalker Mode OFF : UVC ACT/PAS PAS CPU RUN/RESET RUN : Spin Period 8356,0 [msec] Sun Angle 72,5 [deg] GAS-Z 62745,1 [nT] GAS-X 67647,0 [nT] Solar Panel Current 833,3 [mA] Battery Current -275,2 [mA] Battery Voltage 15,7 [V] Battery Middle Voltage 6,8 [V] Bus Voltage 15,2 [V] Analog Tx Power 597,4 [mW] Structure Temp. 1 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 2 28,3 [C] Structure Temp. 3 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 4 26,7 [C] Battery Cell Temp. 30,6 [C] --------- Data 4 --------- Main Relay ON : DCM ON SRAM ON : Packet OFF JTA ON : JTD OFF GAS ON : SAS ON : UVC ON UVC Level 1 : PCU Mode AUTO PCU level 1 : Battery Mode FULL Battery Logic FULL : Digitalker Mode OFF : UVC ACT/PAS PAS CPU RUN/RESET RUN : Spin Period 2570,0 [msec] Sun Angle 128,5 [deg] GAS-Z 11764,7 [nT] GAS-X 65196,1 [nT] Solar Panel Current 833,3 [mA] Battery Current -294,8 [mA] Battery Voltage 15,8 [V] Battery Middle Voltage 6,8 [V] Bus Voltage 15,2 [V] Analog Tx Power 688,4 [mW] Structure Temp. 1 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 2 28,3 [C] Structure Temp. 3 27,1 [C] Structure Temp. 4 26,7 [C] Battery Cell Temp. 30,6 [C] -- Con Netfono, mientras navegas, podes hablar por telefono, de PC a PC... GRATIS! Bajate tu Netfono en http://www.netfono.com Verificado por AG: Este mensaje este libre de virus.

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ionic propulsion motor
by Luc Leblanc VE2DWE 02 Sep '06

02 Sep '06

HI Here is a link explaining the ionic motor propulsion system with a nice animation (in French) the SMART-1 first lunar European space probe will crash on the moon on September 3 at 0541 UTC. Could be usable for our HEO fleet? It seems pretty simple at the first look. http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/AFPanimation/SmartFR3008/ "-" The medium is the message...The content is the audience...;) Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe

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