March 2007 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

RAFT: North America heared in VOICE mode
by PA3GUO 02 Mar '07

02 Mar '07

North America is heared via RAFT VOICE as well: Matt, KF6RTB, worked RAFT in VOICE using 50W during a 30deg elevation pass. His perfect audio recording & the details on how to join the contest are available at: http://home.vianetworks.nl/users/hamoen/pa3guo/voice.html Who's next to be heared via RAFT VOICE ? Henk, PA3GUO

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I: Re: Spanish Pirates on AO-27
by f.grappi＠tin.it 02 Mar '07

02 Mar '07

Unfortunately there is the same problem (more or less) on Ao-51 .... What we can do ? My Best 73" to everybody Francesco IW4DVZ ---- Messaggio originale---- Da: angelkilroy(a)yahoo.es Data: 2-mar-2007 9.47 AM A: <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Ogg: [amsat-bb] Re: Spanish Pirates on AO-27 Unfortunately our authorities seem to be more concerned about other matters to bother with ham radio. Best 73 EA4DUT, Angel ----- Mensaje original ---- De: Jonny 290 <jonny290(a)gmail.com> Para: AMSAT- BB(a)amsat.org Enviado: viernes, 2 de marzo, 2007 0:20:42 Asunto: [amsat- bb] Re: Spanish Pirates on AO-27 That sounds terrible! What could be done about the situation? On 3/1/07, Paulo Pinto <pspinto(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > Hi, > > > > AO-27 is being continuously jammed by commercial Spanish communications. > On > a pass yesterday I was able to hear the location of one of the person > talking on the uplink. He was near Carmona, Sevilla, Spain. I wonder if > there are any measures being taken by Spanish amateurs in order to stop > this > kind of abuse. > > > > I have uploaded an extract of the recording where one clearly hear the > pirates saying Carmona. > > > > It can be found at http://www. ct1ete.net/tcp/piratasAO27.mp3 > > > > > > 73 CT1ETE, Paulo > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 ______________________________________________ LLama Gratis a cualquier PC del Mundo. Llamadas a fijos y móviles desde 1 céntimo por minuto. http://es.voice.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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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Additional Help For SL Survival (Long)
by Emily Clarke 02 Mar '07

02 Mar '07

Successfully getting around in Second Life can be both frustrating and intimidating. So I thought I would post a few things to know before forming an opinion. The very first is that you will be very confused, but this will pass. The second is that the phenomenal growth of SL has left some holes and there are loopholes that are being exploited by commercial interests. I rarely go into commercial spaces unless I really need something. Here are some other things to know: Popular Places ------------------------ Popular places (listed because more people have come to that location) are not popular. The owners of those places generally pay people to visit there, and also they cross index into subject matter that has nothing to do with them. Sounds like the web? My recommendation to everyone (and most people in SL know this) is never go to a popular place - it's just hype and usually sexually explicit. Use Places instead, but specific. Space is not a good search - Spaceflight or museum are better. University is better than school.... Classifieds ---------------- Classifieds suffer from the same - except it's how willing people are to pay for a ranking when the results are returned. However if you can make your search specific, it generally will give you some good results. Events ---------- Events can be anything, but are mostly yard sales. Refine your search by looking for "Live Music" or "Education". Some education events will cost between 25 to 50 cents but most are free. New Citizens Inc. ------------------------- New Citizens Inc. is set up to help newbies - people in SL up to 60 days. You can shop for free in their stores, and they have free classes on almost everything, most of them live with a real person teaching the class and taking questions. If you search Places for NCI or New Citizens you will find three locations (North, South and International) were these things take place. Skins, Shapes Hair and Clothes ----------------------------------------------- It is hard to explain in a few words, but when you first come into SL you have a default of all of these. The good news is everyone is the same, the bad news is that everyone is the same. You can edit your appearance - some do a good job, others (like was my case for about a week) still end up looking like someone from Planet of the Apes. But here are the basics: Shape - invisible, but is like your skeleton. It defines the curves of how your presentation should appear. Unfortunately there are something like 250 parameters that determine your shape, You can change your appearance and save it, or you can buy a custom shape. Most people eventually do the latter. One note - for (some) men, it will be disappointing because a shape does not (and can't) have your genitals. I don' t know how that works, so don't ask - I'm clueless about it. Skin - it's pretty much the same as in RL with two exceptions. It generally doesn't include hair - that's separate. For woman, if you want new makeup, you have to change change your skin, and it's the same with tatoos for men. You can edit the appearance in Skin, or you can buy a custom skin. Mine is a custom skin that is detailed and contains the freckles I had when I was younger. (My nickname was freckles). Hair - like in real life, the quality of hair depends on the texture, and whether or not it is made from one object or several objects (ie, layers) and whether or not it obeys the laws of physics. The more complex, the more expensive. When you first come into SL you have a one object, non-physical hair, sometimes called "Newbie" hair. Clothes - you get some in your inventory, so you can experiment with your appearance from there. They are basic, but even though I have been shopping (a lot) I still go back to wearing jeans most of the time. Making Friends ----------------------- Newbies tend to want to make friends right away. It's always better to send someone an IM (instant message) before you offer them friendship. Tell them why you want to be their friend. Chat ------- Chat can be confusing if you are in a crowded place because so many people are talking at once. Use IM in crowded places, chat otherwise. Also objects only listen to chat messages. If I want to lock the doors in my house, I say "lock" in chat, but I do it on an alternate channel (like a TCP/IP port) Audio and Video ------------------------ Land owners determine these - if you don't like the music, you don't have any choice other than turning it off. Commercial spaces almost always have blaring rock or hip-hop. My house is classical and jazz. Making Money --------------------- If you want to make money in SL there are a number of ways to do it, but it's mostly a waste of time unless you are actually producing a product. I am actually being paid in SL for work I do, but I'm designing and programming things. Hope this helps, E --------------------------------- N1DID formerly W0EEC - CM87tm Support Project OSCAR - http://www.projectoscar.net

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Re: Spanish Pirates on AO-27
by Angel Peláez, EA4DUT 02 Mar '07

02 Mar '07

Unfortunately our authorities seem to be more concerned about other matters to bother with ham radio. Best 73 EA4DUT, Angel ----- Mensaje original ---- De: Jonny 290 <jonny290(a)gmail.com> Para: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Enviado: viernes, 2 de marzo, 2007 0:20:42 Asunto: [amsat-bb] Re: Spanish Pirates on AO-27 That sounds terrible! What could be done about the situation? On 3/1/07, Paulo Pinto <pspinto(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > Hi, > > > > AO-27 is being continuously jammed by commercial Spanish communications. > On > a pass yesterday I was able to hear the location of one of the person > talking on the uplink. He was near Carmona, Sevilla, Spain. I wonder if > there are any measures being taken by Spanish amateurs in order to stop > this > kind of abuse. > > > > I have uploaded an extract of the recording where one clearly hear the > pirates saying Carmona. > > > > It can be found at http://www.ct1ete.net/tcp/piratasAO27.mp3 > > > > > > 73 CT1ETE, Paulo > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > _______________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________________ LLama Gratis a cualquier PC del Mundo. Llamadas a fijos y móviles desde 1 céntimo por minuto. http://es.voice.yahoo.com

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Re-emerging into First Life
by Emily Clarke 02 Mar '07

02 Mar '07

There were a lot of concerns recently about where I have been, my visible participation in AMSAT, health etc. I should have probably notified the members sooner and I want to take this opportunity to apologize for that. However email being what it is, during and after the Christmas holidays so much email piled up I was overwhelmed and the thought of reading through 100's if not 1000's of emails was a bit intimidating. During January I was not in the best of health which exacerbated the situation and this continued into February. As March is upon us, my health is improving and I should be back to 100% soon. As many of you know, I have not been involved in AMSAT as long as many of you, though once I became involved I devoted much time to it. During that time I've mostly focused on three things - education, training and information dissemination. I have and still feel these are the cornerstones of what we need to keep the organization alive. However one thing that happened shortly after the launch of the redesigned website troubled me, and I'd like to take a moment to share it with you. The AMSAT website is a conventional website, that is, it is built with conventional tools that doesn't stress the average user of the website to upgrade computers,etc. There is a minimal amount of "advanced" technology, and much was done to address browser compatibility issues as they arose. However doing so drained time and effort from development that would otherwise move things forward - it complicates the testing cycle, diverts attention and inhibits our ability to provide new services. Shortly after launch, someone I hold in good counsel took a middle-schooler to the website. The feedback was not good - basically the reaction was along the line of "there's no animation - where are things that will catch the eye" (though some of the criticism I wouldn't even repeat here). What I took away from that conversation was that we aren't reaching outward to a new generation, we are looking inward to an old. No surprise, I'm not young myself. However in the age where something like 85% of kids in the US own or have access to XBox360's and Playstations, it is no surprise to me that they will be looking for far more to stimulate their interest in most any subject than a conventional website can provide. This was certainly troubling and stuck with me for a long time. After chairing the symposium I decided to finally have some long overdue down time to relax and do some research. Beginning around the 15th of December I started to look at this problem - how can we build something that will reach out in the next level of technology to a younger demographic. One answer I found was in something called Second Life. Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is an online 3D virtual reality system. Depending on if you are reading Business Week, the New York Times or other publications, it is described as a chat room, an online social networking environment, a MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) and even the next generation of the worldwide web. I first heard about it on CNN when one of the anchors talked about it, and I decided to investigate it. Probably the best overall independent view of Second Life can be found in the October 2006 Wired Magazine article "Wired Travel Guide: Second Life" (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/sloverview.html) When I first entered Second Life I was not fully prepared for what I was about to experience. Not having ever played video games before, this was an experience like no other I had. Without going into the personal aspects of my experience, I can only say I was immediately overwhelmed at the pace of technology. I immediately understood why the AMSAT website wouldn't appeal to a younger demographic - Second Life is a place that is virtual, 3D, interactive and has much to offer. Universities are building online universities, museums are building online museums, and businesses are building online businesses. This isn't to say it is not without it's drawbacks - it can be disconcerting the first time you go into a store, for example, and the clerk behind the counter is a giant panda. It can be initially shocking when you see some person who is - well, naked and grey - until you realize that the finer points of constitutes their avatar (a person if you will) in SL such as hair, clothing, jewelry etc. hasn't downloaded into your computer yet. Eventually you get used to it and learn how to optimize your video and network settings to minimize this. What is appealing about Second Life is that it has tools for building 3D objects, scripting them for simulation, documenting them and presenting them. One of the first things I decided to try was to build a simple model of OSCAR III - rectangular box, a few solar panels and four antennas. Easy enough, however not so easy. There are obstacles to overcome, new tools to learn, and a scripting engine unique to the environment. However I was successful, and proceeded to successfully build models of OSCAR I, 7 and even though the tools in the environment have some limitations on small objects, a CubeSat. Inside Second Life there is an actual online museum for things like this called "The International Spaceflight Museum" or ISM for short. I have joined the staff of the ISM, where I give tours and answer questions for people from all over the world. I did this because staff members are allowed to also create exhibits, and my goal goal is for AMSAT to have a permanent exhibition there. The hope is to have space for representative models of each type of satellite including audio and motion, and to have a story board that will explain the history of AMSAT and ongoing projects and if possible provide a 3D satellite tracking system. I have begun to build these, and the ISM has agreed in part to provide space to me to build the exhibit, though at some point AMSAT will have to pay a small amount (about $50 US) if they want to make it an official exhibit and partner with the museum. Other participants in the ISM include NASA, NOAA and Scaled Composites. The staff is all volunteer and is as diverse as people like myself, people who work for sponsoring firms as well as staff and students from universities around the world. To give you some perspective of the potential impact of Second Life for AMSAT, Second Life has a population of 3.1 million users, up from 125 thousand a year ago. Of those 3.1 million users, over 2 million have paid memberships. While there are no hard statistics, the demographics of SL is something like 55% in the 18-32 age range, 25% in the 32-45 age range. The ISM receives almost 350 new and unique (first time) visitors per day from everywhere around the globe. I thought it might be helpful to show a bit of what SL looks like from my perspective - I've posted some graphics at http://www.planetemily.com/sl for those of you who might like to see. I wish they could give you the full 3D experience - it is really wonderful to fly around in a world where pass between actual size rockets and other exhibits. Second Life is not for everyone - quite the contrary. It will require a broadband connection, and it will require you to have a good CPU and up to date video card. If you decide you want to investigate Second Life yourself there is no charge. You just signup at http://www.secondlife.com, pick an alias for your avatar (my avatar's name is Emileigh Starbrook) and download the software, which supports PC, Mac and Linux. Once you are logged on (which is called being "in-world") there is an initial training cycle to teach you how to walk, fly, pick up objects and will teach you a little about the SL culture. If you decide to become a builder, there are online classes, tutorials and lectures that will help you learn these skills. Although a Second Life presence will never replace the AMSAT website, I believe it will set the future pace of things we will need to do in the future and the way effective outreach will take place. It has been exciting for me to explore Second Life and I hope that AMSAT will benefit from this soon. 73, Emileigh Starbrook, AKA N1DID --------------------------------- N1DID formerly W0EEC - CM87tm Support Project OSCAR - http://www.projectoscar.net

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ANDE Telemetry Summary since Launch!
by Robert Bruninga 01 Mar '07

01 Mar '07

This web page summarizes all the ANDE telemety trends since launch. http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/andeTemps.html Not only does this reveal neat things about ANDE, but more importantly these plots show how simple it is for just about ANYONE to throw this kind of data together (from ANY device) if the data is transmitted anywhere in the world on APRS. That web page summary took me under 30 minutes to write. Look at the web page SOURCE and you will see that these data plots are simply CALLS to the global APRS data system at Steve Dimse's K4HG's FINDU.COM data base. This data base maintains every APRS packet in the world ever transmitted (I forget how far back it goes). But if you have any application that is transmitting APRS formatted telemety packets (any KPC-3+ TNC), anywhere in the world, the data is not only available in real time, but also is avaliable in PAST time too thanks to the FINDU.COM live database. This means you can throw together a KPC-3+ TNC, a radio, a power source and some 0-5volt sensors, stick it anywhere in reach of the global APRS system, and without lifing a finger, you can monitor it (see above) from anywhere in the world and go back in time to see anything you want. Plug a GPS into it and you can watch it move on APRS too. This is why we made PCSAT1, PCSAT2, ANDE and RAFT as simply flying KPC TNC's with downlink to the APRS linked ground stations. The telemetry then is a done deal because the global infrastructure is already in place, the data base is in place, and the plotting stuff is all in place. As an example, this URL call to FINDU.COM will show the battery voltage of my KPC-3+ digipeater over the last 10 days! http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/tele2.cgi?call=WB4APR-1&last=240 To see the same plots from your KPC-3+ TNC, just put it on the APRS frequency, simply change the CALL to your KPC-3+ and/or change the "last=240" parameter to any time period you want, and you can see your own telemetry, anywhere, anytime. Of course your KPC-3+ TNC has to have been beaconing telemetry (see the TELEMETRY Beacon command). Anyway, I don't think everyone is aware how simple this stuff is. SO I just thought I would share it. Bob, WB4APR US Naval Academy Satellite Lab

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Spanish Pirates on AO-27
by Paulo Pinto 01 Mar '07

01 Mar '07

Hi, AO-27 is being continuously jammed by commercial Spanish communications. On a pass yesterday I was able to hear the location of one of the person talking on the uplink. He was near Carmona, Sevilla, Spain. I wonder if there are any measures being taken by Spanish amateurs in order to stop this kind of abuse. I have uploaded an extract of the recording where one clearly hear the pirates saying Carmona. It can be found at http://www.ct1ete.net/tcp/piratasAO27.mp3 73 CT1ETE, Paulo

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Re: Re-emerging into First Life
by Tony Langdon (ATC) 01 Mar '07

01 Mar '07

> What a step forward! I applaud your determination and will > visit you soon at > the ISM. Watch for me (Hyperion DeCuir aka VE4NSA). You > pointed out that > Second Life (SL) is not for everyone and I totally agree. Interesting move, one which I think is a great idea. I haven't got into Second Life myself, but I can see the benefits of having a presence there. I don't have enough time to spend in the real world, let alone a virtual one as well! :) > Unfortunately, too > many folks escape into virtual reality and get lost. > Ultimately we want them > to come to us in real life, especially amateur radio. It will > be interesting > to discuss how we could accomplish that using a tool like SL. A whole new ball game. One of these days, I might have to get into SL just to see what happens there, like being a virtual tourist visiting a new country. :) > At the same > time, I also agree with the notion on having the website more > interactive > and animated. The danger is that it will require folks like > you to spend so > much time to get it done. To go with your educational and Interactivity is a great thing, but animation can cut both ways. Properly done, it can really enhance the functionality of the site (think orbital projections, being able to examine 3D models of satellites, etc), or tutorials on working the different kinds of satellites. Badly done, animation is something which impedes usage of the site (Hands up who hates those Flash animations on the front page of company sites?). And of course, someone has to maintain it. > training theme, I > have always wondered why we don' t have any online courses > for our members > and non-members that would make the website a great > e-learning portal and > encourage learning and participation. Agreed there.

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Fw: WCVB-TV video of Chronicle from 2/23/07
by Roger Kolakowski 01 Mar '07

01 Mar '07

A little off topic but a nice presentation of the beginnings of ham and commercial radio in New England... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Kelly" <rickkelly(a)gmail.com> To: "Boston Radio Interest" <boston-radio-interest(a)rolinin.bostonradio.org> Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 10:37 PM Subject: WCVB-TV video of Chronicle from 2/23/07 > I'm not sure how this happened, but the WCVB-TV video of Chronicle > from 2/23/07 has appeared on Google Video: > > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4569021939106575335 > > Happy viewing... it certainly is GREAT! > -- > Rick Kelly > www.northeastairchecks.com >

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FS: Kenwood TS790 satellite rig
by John Geiger 28 Feb '07

28 Feb '07

I have a Kenwood TS790A 2m/70cm all mode satellite rig for sale. It comes with the hand mic, power cord, manual and original double boxes, and has the tone encoder installed. It is in good shape, but not mint. There are some scratches on the top, but the face looks really good. This was Kenwood's top of the line VHF rig, and still is considered one of the best VHF/UHF weak signal/contest/satellite rigs. Go read the eham.net reviews or the QST product review to see what a great rig this is. It does 50 watts on 2m and 40 watts on 70cm. Also does satellite tracking and dual receive so you can listen to 2m and 70cm at the same time. You can also install an optional 23cm module for 10 watts on 1.2ghz. I am asking $625 plus shipping. I can take paypal, check, or MO. I would throw in some cash with it towards a Kenwood TS2000. Don't miss out on this Kenwood classic. 73s John W5TD ____________________________________________________________________________________ Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545367

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