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

Antenna Wind Load calculations
by Gary "Joe" Mayfield 07 Aug '07

07 Aug '07

Work is progressing on my new satellite antenna set up. I have a couple of questions for the group. 1. What would be the effective wind area for a 2 foot by 3 foot grid (BBQ) dish? 2. I have a WIMO helix for L Band (Model 23-2). The info says a wind load of 200 Newtons. Does anyone know under what conditions it is 200 Newtons so I could calculate the area of it? Thanks and 73, Gary "Joe" Mayfield kk0sd

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M. Davidoff's book
by ke5eup＠ke5eup.com 07 Aug '07

07 Aug '07

What is the name of the book? I am new to this and am trying to squeeze some time into my schedule to get started, I have a rotor, feed line, and maybe the antennas, if not I will build them (tight budget). I am always looking for a good reference book. Thanks in advance. 73 -- Thanks, Al KE5EUP BCARN,KCARC,ARRL,TAPR,AMSAT,HPSDR ARRL WTX ARES EC Callahan County Races CLO ALT 42-059-D Callahan County ARRL WTX Affiliated Club Coordinator EM02fj 32*24'57"N 99*30'9"W

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Re: RS-22 valid launch date
by Mineo Wakita 07 Aug '07

07 Aug '07

Hello, I confirmed RS-22 database. Thank you. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/history.php http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=76&retURL=satel… de JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Re: AMSAT Awards
by Rob Rousseau 07 Aug '07

07 Aug '07

Hello Folks, I would like to say thank you very much for acknowledgment. I would also like to thank Richard Crow, N2SPI for his "Cheap and Easy Satellite Antenna" articles posted on amsat.org. Without them and his friendly help over e-mail, I would not have been able to work the birdies. Thank you again and 73, -Rob de KI4BKE amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:25:27 -0500 > From: Bruce <kk5do(a)arrl.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Awards > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <46B872C7.7050702(a)arrl.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Awards this week are: > > We would like to welcome the following to the satellite community. > They have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the > AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club. > Jeffrey Thomas, K7WIN > Robert Rousseau, KI4BKE >

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AMSAT Awards
by Bruce 07 Aug '07

07 Aug '07

Awards this week are: We would like to welcome the following to the satellite community. They have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club. Jeffrey Thomas, K7WIN Robert Rousseau, KI4BKE AMSAT Communication Achievement Award Michael, Shaffer, KB3P, #452 John Sagi, N3YZ, #453 South Africa AMSAT Communication Achievement Award Rafael Valdez, Jr, XE2RV, #US110 John Sagi, N3YZ, #US111 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on W0KIE Intelsat Americas, T1, 6.8Mhz Also streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com

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Re: [eu-amsat] Re: Re: AO-7 report.- Band switching
by John Hackett 06 Aug '07

06 Aug '07

Hello Mak, I appreciate your support and am very glad somebody else noticed the discrepancy ... and while I have the pen ... (keyboard) ... congratuations on your fine signal on the old girl yesterday, the first time we've worked on AO-7. Since we're both completely blocked by mountains in our respective take-off directions we did OK Makis. I told !!! you the EU-Amsat reflector would be a success didn't I ... we did good Mak. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> AO-7 Resource Page Admin: .......................................................................................................... >From: SV1BSX <sv1bsx(a)yahoo.gr> >Reply-To: eu-amsat(a)yahoogroups.com >To: eu-amsat(a)yahoogroups.com >Subject: Re: [eu-amsat] Re: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-7 report.- Band switching >Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 12:03:43 -0700 (PDT) > > Hi John & group, > >personally I agree 100% with you John. AO-7 this >summer working like a "single" Mode-B Satellite ! >This is very unusual comparing with previous years, >where during the summer-months it was mainly "ON" in >Mode-A. And I know that very well, as a "fan" of >Mode-A. But definitely, this summer-period something is >different on satellite's behavior . > >I wondering before several weeks, why the Satellite >was not "ON" on Mode-A, but nothing more. >John LA2QAA has an "eagle eye", so not just he noticed >that but he wrote it, wondering also about the >possible ralationship with "Timer's" operation , when >the AO-7 will going out of eclipse the next months. >Good one John. > > So, I can't understand why all this >"noise" from some others friends. If somebody watching >the "old grand lady", it's obvious that something is >changed. > > >73, Mak SV1BSX > > > > >--- John Hackett <archie.hackett(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > > Hello Roger, > > Here's a link to the estimated > > eclipse times through to > > 2008. > > > > <http://www.planetemily.com/ao7/Eclipse.php> > > > > Also, the seasonal statistics of AO-7. > > > > <http://www.planetemily.com/ao7/stats2.php> > > > > If you backpeddle you'll see that mode-B becomes > > more predominet as the > > years go by ... the main parameter being sunlight. > > > > checkig this against the estimated eclipse times > > will land you in the same > > part of the ballpark I took my original estimations > > from ... but please do > > !!! remember, it's all "logical' speculation. > > > > There are so many variables. Even some clown with > > too much power could upset > > the voltage threshhold ... they might even succeed > > in turning the old girl > > off altogether !!! ... hence the enforced > > tight-lippedness re: power and > > commands etc. > > > > I can tell you though, I know what you mean about > > mode-A. > > > > Though I'm a so-called "experienced" ... (note the > > hyphens !!!) ...operator, > > I truly miss the challenge of chasing RS-10 across > > the sky while manually > > adjusting for doppler. It had an excellent !! > > receiver, > > an acceptible transmitter, the Robot was novel and > > there was plenty of SSB > > and plenty of SSB and plenty of CW to keep everybody > > happy. > > > > It rather surprised me that after P3D Amsat chose to > > promote an FM satellite > > in LEO, thereby limiting the the number of users per > > pass dramatically ... > > but that debate has been driven into the ground > > already. > > > > The Europeans and Americans have differing views on > > this as seen by the mass > > exodus of members from Amsat-UK when it became known > > that Amsat-UK would > > provide substantial funding for an FM satellite. > > > > Many years ago, when my good friend Russel Tillman > > was editor of The Amsat > > Journal he explained the policy making ... "we have > > to keep the constructors > > happy" etc ... so as a mere operator, whether you > > help to fund things or > > not, you get what you are given, take it or leave > > it. > > > > You may ... (or may not) ... find this link amusing > > ... > > > > ><http://www.observations.biz/Joint_Observations/the_thirteen_commandments.htm > > > > 73 John. > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >____________________________________________________________________________________ >Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car >Finder tool. >http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

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Re: AO-7 report.- Band switching
by Reicher, James 06 Aug '07

06 Aug '07

Yo, people!!! You're all missing out on history! In the past, when AO7 has gone out of eclipse, the timer has functioned almost exactly to specs. If the timer has performed as designed over the past 36 years, why should it suddenly fail? Here's an email copy from Emily, ex W0EEC (sorry, Emily, can't remember your new call :) ) regarding AO-7's schedule I pulled this from the archives. The URL is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200601/msg00343.html 73 de N8AU, Jim in Raymore, MO Light travels faster than sound... This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-7 on a 24 hour schedule? From: Emily Clarke <w0eec@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 11:32:14 -0800 I've been going over the AO-7 logbook and it appears that AO-7 is being "controlled" by a timer that toggles between Mode A and Mode B every 24 hours. This timer was probably reset when the satellite went into eclipse, however since the AO-7 is not going into eclipse at the moment this bit of programming onboard AO-7 seems to be in control. The exact time when the mode change takes place is not known for sure (at least by me - perhaps a control station knows the answer) but from the log it seems to happen sometime between 0830 and 0930 UTC. There is no long time data on the stability of the timer at this time, so the estimated time at which changes occur is no guarantee. AO-7 will not enter eclipse until 14 March 2007. To view the AO-7 Logbook go to (simplified URL): http://www.planetemily.com/ao7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 07:23:46 -0300 From: "Roger Kolakowski" <rogerkola(a)aol.com> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-7 report.- Band switching To: <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>, <wa6fwf(a)sbcglobal.net> Cc: allan_gm1sxx(a)hotmail.com, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org, Eu-amsat(a)yahoogroups.com Message-ID: <004001c7d813$e2c3a7c0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hi John... Thank you for answering my questions, I now have an understanding of your basis for believing that the timer no longer functions or is random at best. I am now willing to wait quietly for the Eclipse-free date. Has it been estimated or calculated? Many thanks! Roger WA1KAT ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Hackett" <archie.hackett(a)hotmail.com> To: <wa6fwf(a)sbcglobal.net> Cc: <rogerkola(a)aol.com>; <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>; <allan_gm1sxx(a)hotmail.com>; <Eu-amsat(a)yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 5:36 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-7 report.- Band switching > Hello Kevin, Roger, > Kevin, I'm glad you dug out one of my earlier > posts re: the timer issue. > > (Roger, I'm the chappie the >>>>'s are referring to in the following post). > > <http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200601/msg00455.html> > > Like I already mentioned ... and Kevin repeats ... it's no big deal, lets > just wait and see. > > If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, no harm done. Lets not waste anymore bandwidth on > it ok? ... > however, Roger, it would be impolite of me not to answer you questions. > > >I would love to hear your version of what will happen when there is a lack > >of eclipse for the satellite > > As I previously mentioned, I would expect the satellite to remain in the > mode it was in as it came out of eclipse. As I also mentioned, I would stand > corrected if that doesn't happen ... ie ... it is > not !!! a big deal and if I'm wrong ... I'm wrong ... no harm done. > > Please note that I am *NOT* the first AO-7 operator to come to this > conclusion. > > >Are you saying AO-7 went up without a timer? > > No ... I'm not saying that, I am saying that the designer and constructor of > the apparatus in question told me that the components used were not as > stated in the 1974 newsletter. > > <Are you saying the timer is no longer functioning? > > I have said earlier and am saying now !!! ... that the timer functions > PERIODICALLY ... as can be seen by the entries in the log for the last 3 > years ... (monitored by myself). > > Perhaps a re-read of my original mail might be of value here?. > > The intent ... to make a simple observation for the benefit of those who > don't necessarily follow the daily "doings" of AO-7 like I do. > > Nothing more - nothing less. No form of criticism to anybody or anything > offered or implied. > > >how is it you determined that the timer is no longer "in the mix?" > > By monitoring the satellite daily for the last 3 years. > > >If AO-7 comes out it's "final" eclipse in Mode A, will it stay there?. > > Who knows !!! ... I certainly don't. I think the real experts all agree ... > it *random* ... the reasons are many and varied ... *NOT* just temerature > and age. > > CC'd to interested parties. > > 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> AO-7 Resource Page Admin: > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 2, Issue 493 ****************************************

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AO-7 report.
by John Hackett 06 Aug '07

06 Aug '07

A study of the AO-7 eclipse charts for the last 3 years shows a progression toward non-elipse orbits in late 2007 - 2008. In effect, this means that AO-7 in all probability will not change mode unless anything untoward happens. It also means that we appear to have a permanent mode-B LEO linear transponder for the forseeable future ... providing operators follow the recommended operating proceedure. Please *do* decrease your power as the satellite approaches TCA to avaoid FM'ing. This not only helps the satellite, it helps the other operators in the passband. Don't be fooled by propagation anomolies. The mode-B transponder is working well and will continue to do so providing the alligators go and play somewhere else. Under normal circumstances you do NOT !! need a lot of power. Please use only the necessary to maintain adequate communications. If you can't copy people adequately, you should improve your receiving capabilities rather than increasing your uplink power ... remember, aluminium is cheap and it's a lot more user friendly to everyone concerned .... with perhaps the exception of your neighbours. For all intents and purposes, AO-7 is a QRP satellite. Please treat it as such. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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The timers they are a' changing.
by John Hackett 06 Aug '07

06 Aug '07

(with the appropriate apologies to Robert Zimmerman). Hopefully, my last words on the subject. Periodic? ... random? ... that just about sums it up. There are a lot !!! of variables. For those interested, references are available on this bb to check what I originally said. For those not intersted ... please IGNORE !!!. My profound apologies for the bandwith my posts have caused. Had !!!!! the AO-7 telemetery been at least 80% useful, 2C would have revealed all. (2c or not 2c .....William Shakespeare). 73 John ... <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> AO-7 log Admin:

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Computer controll for older Icom radios?
by david bird 05 Aug '07

05 Aug '07

HI ALL, I have two older Icom radios the IC-290A and IC-490A.I would like to modify them for CPU control of the frequency and Doppler tuning.?? THANKS ALL DE KC7USS ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433

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