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

TS 790a 70cm. display
by scott smith 18 Sep '07

18 Sep '07

Hi, for some reason (maybe old age) The 70cm display does not work. I have done a full reset but to no availe. Has anyone had this problem happen to them?, is there something i have not checked?, or should i just send it to Kenwood to fix or replace the diplay. Any help appreciated. 73 de ve6itv Scott

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OCTOBER 9th PVRC Central (Washington, DC) Presentation By Jim Brown, K9YC
by Eric Rosenberg - W3DQ 18 Sep '07

18 Sep '07

The Potomac Valley Radio Club is proud to announce that renowned audio and RFI expert Jim Brown, K9YC, will be making a presentation to the PVRC at Capitol College in Laurel Maryland on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007. This a rare opportunity to learn about audio and RFI mitigation from one of amateur radio's most well-respected authorities on audio engineering, and RFI and its mitigation. K9YC is an active contester and DXer from his QTH in Santa Cruz, California, and currently serving on the Board of Directors of NCCC. He became interested in music and radio as a teenager, falling in love with jazz and Bach, and qualifying for an amateur radio license before his 14th birthday. Three years later he received Amateur Extra Class and First Class Radiotelephone licenses, and entered the Electrical Engineering program at the University of Cincinnati. He received the BSEE in 1964 and has worked in broadcasting and professional audio since 1960. Since 1985, his consulting practice has specialized in the design of sound systems for worship, performance, and sports facilities. More recently, his focus has expanded to include research and consulting on EMC issues. Jim is a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and a member of the Acoustical Society of America, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and has presented invited papers to all of those societies. He is a member of the AES Technical Committee on Acoustics and Sound Reinforcement, and the AES Standards Committee's Working Groups on Microphones, Intelligibility, Acoustic and Sound Source Modeling, Digital Audio Transmission, and Audio Connectors, and is Vice-Chair of the Standards Working Group on EMC and Chair of the AES Technical Committee on EMC. K9YC's excellent publications on audio and RFI can be found on his website: http://audiosystemsgroup.com/K9YC/K9YC.htm THIS PRESENTATION IS OPEN TO ALL! ---------------------------------------------- MEETING DETAILS: Date & Time: Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 7:30 PM Location: Avrum Gudelsky Memorial Auditorium Capitol College 11301 Springfield Rd Laurel, MD 20708 301-369-2800 / 800-950-1992 Directions From Washington, DC, and south of Laurel, MD: Take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Exit 22 North off I-95) to the Beltsville/Powder Mill Road exit. Turn left onto Powder Mill Road, then turn right onto Springfield Road. Follow Springfield Road for one mile. Capitol College is on the right. Directions From Baltimore and north of Laurel, MD: Take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Exit 7 South off I-695) to the Beltsville/Powder Mill Road exit. Turn right onto Powder Mill Road, then take the first right onto Springfield Road. Follow Springfield Road for one mile. Capitol College is on the right. Capitol College website: http://www.capitol-college.edu PVRC Contact Information: Eric Rosenberg, W3DQ (w3dq <at> arrl.net)

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Re: Who OWns the Moon?
by Reicher, James 18 Sep '07

18 Sep '07

I thought D.D. Harriman owned it! 73 de N8AU, Jim in Raymore, MO Light travels faster than sound... This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:15:52 -0700 From: Clint Bradford <clintbrad4d(a)earthlink.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Who OWns the Moon? To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <2E047715-5D76-4B31-A571-6C9DCAB35ACE(a)earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Article VI of the 1967 U.N. Outer Space Treaty, which was ratified and is currently in effect, clearly covers this subject: "States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty. The activities of non- governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty." You may read the entire text of the treaty on the United Nations website. Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666

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USB-to-Serial Converters
by Jim Jerzycke 18 Sep '07

18 Sep '07

I've had excellent results using KeySpan units, both the single-port, and four-port units, with both Windows and Linux. When I was using my rotators at Field Day, I used the 4-port unit with my Satellite Tracker Sr and FT-847. Now that I've gone to omnis, I just use a single-port "dongle" to control the '847. Never had a bit of trouble with them, and I've used them with other programs to control my scanners, and program my HT's. 73, Jim KQ6EA

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Re: ISS Doppler with SATPC32ISS
by George Henry 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

The BAFO brand unit that I have seems to work okay. A RTTY list member also indicated that the Conceptronics brand adapter worked for him with Ham Radio Deluxe and an FT-897D. Have you checked whether Flow Control for the adapter's serial port is set to "Hardware"? For RTTY, you can use a program called EXTFSK with adapters that don't support 5-bit Baudot. It's available from the MM-Hamsoft web page. 73, George, KA3HSW ----- Original Message ----- From: <9w2qc(a)9w2qc.net> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 1:15 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: ISS Doppler with SATPC32ISS Dear George, Thank you for the reply. Yes, in fact I face the same problem with RTTY FSK keying with the USB-Serial converters as you have mentioned. I have tried updating all the drivers and also tried a couple of converters that I have to the same effect. Anyhow, I guess I would just have to use a PC with physical serial ports for this operation. Once again, thank you for the kind reply. 73, Sion Chow Q. C., 9W2QC.

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Anyone using a quadrifilar helicoidal antenna on 2m for satellite APRS? How about mobile?
by KEVIN KIBBE 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

Anyone know of a source for a QFH antenna that could be used on 2 meters? Kevin VA3SU

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Re: ISS a Satellite or an airplane?
by Edward Cole 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

At 10:11 AM 9/15/2007, Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] wrote: >We have this sort of discussion every year before field day. ARRL >permits contacts VIA the ISS for credit as a satellite but does not >count contacts TO the ISS crew for credit (though many are made just for fun). > >Since the ISS is a unique situation (currently being the only manned >satellite with amateur radio gear), the ARRL has some conflicting >rules to deal with. It is a satellite so contacts via it should be >legitimate. It is a manned craft not in contact with the Earth so it >does not count for contacts just like an aeronautical mobile contact >does not count. > >I personally do not think having the ISS declared a DXCC entity is a >good idea. The crew would be overwhelmed when on and the ISS is not >a permanent installation. > >On the other hand, what do you think the ARRL will do with manned >amateur radio locations on the moon? > >Kenneth - N5VHO Ken, In my opinion astronaut contacts at ISS should be regarded as satellite contacts. But then ISS and shuttle contacts are so unique they deserve their own recognition and a QSL from them is certainly one. I suppose a WWAS (worked all space shuttles) or WAA (worked all astronauts) might be considered? But we already had a space-race so do not need to repeat that with ham contacts :-) Regarding Moon contacts I would suppose the Moon would be set up with grids like earth, so each grid would suffice (exploration of the lunar landscape will probably dictate some demarcation scheme). I would guess that off-world radio contacts would not be included into the DXCC for the same reason as ISS. But as the Moon and planets are populated an ETDXCC would evolve. Of course this already exists as an award from the SETI-League. 73, Ed - KL7UW ====================================== BP40IQ 50-MHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com 144-EME: FT-847, mgf-1801, 4x-xpol-20, 185w DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)hotmail.com ======================================

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AO-27 Webpage Down?
by Eric Christensen 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

I just checked the AO-27 website (www.ao27.org) and found it down. It looks like the domain registration was changed today (maybe within the last hour?). Didn't know if anyone else was having problems accessing the site or if it was just me. 73s, Eric Christensen, W4OTN AMSAT Area Coordinator - Southeastern Virginia USA AMSAT Member 35360 http://www.ericsatcom.net Donate to the Eagle Fund - http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php?donate=eagle GPG Key Fingerprint: 4675 2BBE 666B 8FF7 A9A1 4D00 67F2 1E7A B685 F578

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New 9600 baud mobile APRS satellite Access
by Bob Bruninga 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

The GO-32 Satellite TECHSAT-1B team has asked me to announce experimental 9600 baud APRS access for mobile and tactical APRS on a not-to-interfere basis with the existing PACSAT BBS. The uplink is possible with 5 Watts on 2 meters, but the downlink is 9 dB worse to an omni antenna on UHF and requires tuning 10 to 20 KHz for Doppler. SO far, we are starting with zero permanent IGates to bring the downlink into the global APRS system, but we hope volunteers will surface with permanent satgates. So initally, do NOT expect to see yourself on FINDU.COM. Enjoy ham radio, Make a contact instead! Experimental testing shows that an APRS HT with a 19.5" whip can get a lucky shot into this satellite (but not when there is congestion on the uplink). With a handheld beam, it should be no problem for an HT, and the beam is needed on reception anyway. Fifty Watt mobiles should have no problem using a stock mobile whip. Due to the absence of APRS signals to date, we do not have good statistics on reception in a mobile yet... Operating on a 9600 baud FULL DUPLEX APRS satellite is MUCH different than ARISS, or any of the other 1200 baud APRS PCSATS, because the turn-around is so fast, that you cannot see your own digipeated packets on the same radio (usually)... Please read and understand this entire email before attempting to operate. The easiest way to get on GO-32 with 9600 baud APRS is to use a Kenwood D7, D700 or D710 radio. These radios since 1998 have been satellite 9600 baud ready, just waiting on a satellite!. Read these notes on how to operate GO-32 with a D7 or D700: Set APRS Baudrate to 9600 baud. Set A band to uplink on 145.93 Set B band to receive 435.225 +/- 10 KHz Set Path to be via 4XTECH Set MYCALL to a unique SSID Set TX method to AUTO Set TX RATE 1 min for HT. 2 min for D700 Put something useful in your STATUS text maybe describing your setup: "50W mobile, 1/4 wave, 2m rate" or "5W HT, long whip, 1m rate" Save in a PM for use anytime you are outside of the terrestrial APRS network. SATELLITE OPERATING NOTES: The GO32 uplinks and downlinks are for the PACSAT store and forward system and users. APRS is on a secondary basis and should not be operated unattended. If you see that the BBS PBLIST is full of other users, do not enable your APRS since the uplink will be busy. RIght now, the PBLIST is not in APRS format so you cannot see it unless you are running normal packet mode. But we will work on that... On the D700 you can press PMON on the front panel and see these packets... but they FLY by... ACCESS TIMES: GO-32 is sun synchronous and so it comes over everywhere three times between about 8 AM to Noon and again between 8 PM to midnight local sun time. During these two windows at least one pass each will be an overhead pass which might also work for an HT. The other passes will be lower to the East or West and will work fine for a 50W mobile. WHAT YOU HEAR: 9600 baud sounds almost exactly like open squelch, though the tuned ear can soon distinguish the difference. Before the pass, set your squelch normally to quiet the speaker. When you hear the satellite, the squelch will open and you may see up to 3 bars on your S meter. Tune to the "best sounding" noise. DOPPLER: Depending on how low to the horizon you can see, the satelite approaches 10 KHz high at 435.235 MHz... But it is maybe 3000 km away. As it gets higher, and 6 dB closer, it will be on 435.230 MHz, passing through 435.225 published center frequency at the middle point, and then drop down through 435.220 and ending at 435.215. But since it is 6 to 10 dB closer (and stronger) towards the center of the pass (800 km overhead), the mobile antenna is probably only going to hear the middle 435.230, .225, .220 portion easily. So I would start my receiption at 435.230... UPLINK CHANNELS: GO-32 allows two APRS uplinks. One is exclusive to D7/D700 tactical position reporting and the other exclusive to messaging. This is in hardware, not policy... 1) All APRS messaging (or fixed station non-Mic-E positions) must use the 145.85 uplink where GO32 only digipeats APRS packets with TOCALLs that begin with the usual "APxxxx". (Even the D7 and D700 use "APKxxx" for messages.) 2) All APRS Mic-E position uplinks (D7, D700 and D710s) must be on 145.93 MHz and they must have the position comment set to "Committed, Special or PRIORITY"... With those comment settings then the TOCALL first LATITUDE digit will be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and only these will be accepted by GO32 for digipeating from 145.93. DATA CARRIER DETECT: The D700 and non(g) model D7's will NOT TX if they are hearing the downlink at the same time due to CARRIER DETECT. The D7(g) model has DCD IGNORE that *will* let it TX anyway. So use separate rigs for TX and for RX if you want to see yourself. Otherwise stick to the receommended TX rates and know that you are getting in if you stick to the protocol. Sticking to the recommended rates also keeps channel loading low, so that everyone gets in with less congestion. PERMANENT SATGATES: Here is a great place to use your D7 HT when you are not using it otherwise. Simply connect it to a 19" whip over a ground plane and to your APRS IGate system. The antenna does not even need to be high, since it cannot hear, nor will it be on frequency for low packets near the horizon 3000 km away. Set it to 9600 baud RX and tune to 435.230 (which is 5 KHz high). This Doppler setting will match the stronger signals. This 19.5" whip (3/4 wave on 435) does not need to see below 25 degrees, since its max gain (almost 7 dB) is between 30 to 70 degrees anwyay. This also protects your HT from lightning, since it can be low, below all of your other antnenas. Yes, your station will only see about 30% of all possible packets and only on the best two passes per day, but combined with dozens of other such unattended SATgates, all packets should be heard somewhere by someone and injected into the APRS Internet system. I hope to have an APRS-via-GO32 web page up in a few weeks, but in the mean time, use this message for deails. Here is a link to AMSAT's description of GO-32: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=14&retURL=/sate… Good luck! Bob, Wb4APR

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Re: GO-32 APRS over Europe
by Henk, PA3GUO 17 Sep '07

17 Sep '07

Hi Chris (and others), Few things to take into account: - D7/D700/TS2000 built in TNC is not full duplex - When you use the TNC, you can't also compensate for doppler. So I could park my TS2000 on the center freq., but that would only work for a small period of time of the pass. Best would be to have a few stations eg +5 kHz and others -5 kHz, until we have enough IGates, and we all park on the center frequency. I will try during the next passes: - my antennas will follow GO-32 - my TS200 will monitor 435.230 MHz - Using Alogger, APRS may show up on findu, but no guarantee. (I can post the log files though) Give it a go, I may see your packet ! ps: there are Gxxxx stations that have their station cfg'ed for GO-32 already, if they read this they may be able to join ! Henk, PA3GUO >I will perhaps contact Henk PA3GUO to see if we can give it a go here in >Europe, although mine will have to be via HT in the garden with a Dual band >beam.. > >What do you say Henk to having a go perhaps over the weekend? > >Let me know, > >Thanks, > >Chris - M0DQO-13 - GO-32 APRS :)

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