November 2008 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

GO-32
by James Denneny 08 Nov '08

08 Nov '08

Sent email to the GO-32 tech team advising that DIR can not be downloaded. We'll see what happens. Jim K7EG

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Re: last pass of AO-51
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 08 Nov '08

08 Nov '08

In fact on AO-7 one will find themselves in a three or four way QSO. You can actually have a conversation! 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle -- "if this were easy, everyone would be doing it" -------------- Original message -------------- From: Dave Guimont <dguimon1(a)san.rr.com> > > >The last was pass to the east of the UK was an > >absolute disgrace to the hobby of amateur radio > >and satellite user/operators. > > > >I would have been ashamed if I had been giving a > >satellite demonstration to non or potential radio > >amateurs, or potential satellite users, to let them > >listen to the cacophony of ignorant operators who > >were on that last pass. > > Yes, Dave we have the same coterie of rude operators in thke US as well... > > But, of course, the mode selected for AO51 (ssb 2-user voice), is the > big contributing factor... > > You will not find that on AO-7, FO-29 or VO52.... > > ...............BANDWIDTH... > > > > 73, Dave, WB6LLO > dguimon1(a)san.rr.com > > Disagree: I learn.... > > Pulling for P3E... > > _______________________________________________ > 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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last pass of AO-51
by Dave Aitch 08 Nov '08

08 Nov '08

The last was pass to the east of the UK was an absolute disgrace to the hobby of amateur radio and satellite user/operators. I would have been ashamed if I had been giving a satellite demonstration to non or potential radio amateurs, or potential satellite users, to let them listen to the cacophony of ignorant operators who were on that last pass. A shame that perhaps, most of those users were not AMSAT members or even subscribe to this list. David. G1OCN. AMSAT UK 5766

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AO 51 dimensions
by Jim Danehy 08 Nov '08

08 Nov '08

AO 51 is approximately 9 inches wide by 9 inches long and 9 inches deep. About a half cubic foot in volume. Something like a 12 pack of beer . . . . The ISS by contrast is 10,000,000 cubic feet or 20 million times bigger than AO51. . . . ISS is only up 200 miles or 1,000,000 feet. I believe that AO51 is up 400 miles which would be 2,000,000 + feet. I can stand to be corrected on the AO51 height. You can see the ISS visually in a clear and dark sky. It is big enough and I encourage you to look for it. It is distinguished from other objects by its speed across the sky. Maybe you have seen it already. Jim W9VNE

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visual satellite obs
by Luc Leblanc 08 Nov '08

08 Nov '08

Here is some link of interest about satellite spotting http://www.heavens-above.com/ http://www.satobs.org/ http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/02/video_satellite_watchers_watch.… http://www.saao.ac.za/~wpk/CoSaTrak/visutrak.html http://www.analemma.de/english/satobs.html "-" Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

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Packet Software
by Mark 08 Nov '08

08 Nov '08

Hi All. I'm hoping somebody may be able to advise me of an alternative "Windows" packet program that I can use on my laptop "with my BayCom modem" that doesn't use the AGW packet engine. My old 266 MHz Dell Latitude doesn't want to know about AGWPE. :-( I use UISS and AGWPE on my other machine an I think that software is great. Regards Mark VK3MJ Geelong, Australia. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hello Ciaran, You can use AGWpe as the soundcard modem. This site has an excellent "How-To": <http://kc2rlm.info/soundcardpacket/> There is another application that works with AGWpe to simplify APRS via ISS and that is UISS. <http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/uiss.htm>

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AO-51 Flatplate area
by Dave Guimont 07 Nov '08

07 Nov '08

Can anyone approximate the flatplate area of AO-51... I see various claims of visibility on the reflector... MIR was pretty big, and as I remember the magnitude was greater than 0 (darker)..........variously, depending on sun angle of course... 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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Viewing Sats with Naked Eye
by Clint Bradford 07 Nov '08

07 Nov '08

>>...impossible to view AO-51... I will stick with the information that NASA offers...and sources like astronomer Dave Kornreich (Dave earned his PhD from Cornell in 2001 and is now an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Physical Science at Humboldt State University in California) - I did, indeed, see the light of the sun reflecting off of AO-51 earlier this week with the naked eye. Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666

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D700 for ISS
by Fred VE3FAL 07 Nov '08

07 Nov '08

Gang: I was trying to leave the D-700 on this morning for the passes of the ISS and seeing if I could make it in as VE3FAL-8...it received ok, but I did not show up on the map. What settings would I need to adjust the rig to for the ISS in the Unproto, digi path etc???I have it set now for regular APRS.. I am trying to get these setting into the Program 1-5 for both Oscar32 and ISS when on the road. I did find some stuff on the usnavy site but some dates and material seem a bit out of time.. Fred VE3FAL

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Neked-eye viewing
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 07 Nov '08

07 Nov '08

Hey everyone, I've followed with interest the recent posts about viewing AO-51 with the naked eye. With all due respect to previous posters, I'd like to offer a couple of thoughts. First and most importantly, the relative magnitude of the celestial body in question - not its size - determines our ability to view it with the naked eye. I'm confident that everyone has, at one time or another, seen a meteor that was smaller than a 25cm cube. This is a case where size doesn't matter. More about that later. Second, the relative darkness of the sky is the next most-affecting factor, I believe. Here in Athens, Ga., we don't have nearly the light pollution that folks who live an hour west of me must endure in the greater Atlanta area. But my skies aren't nearly as dark as those an hour east of me, in the rural areas of east-central Ga. and southwestern S.C. I see more here, routinely, than folks in Atlanta do. But folks another hour east see more, routinely, than I. As was noted in a previous post, Orbitron shows the relative magnitude of satellites users ask it to track. With that in mind, I ran a 2-week prediction schedule for AO-51 to see how bright it would be in the night sky. Neither Orbitron nor any stargazing program takes relative light pollution into account. They provide predictions of magnitude. The more light pollution one has to deal with, the brighter an object will have to be for naked-eye viewing. All of that being said - the brightest magnitude for AO-51 I was able to find for the next 2 weeks is 9.0. I suspect that others who run Orbitron predictions or those provided by other programs will find that a magnitude in the 9.0 range is about the brightest we'll get from the satellite. When reporting magnitude, a lower number means a brighter object. I do not believe it is possible for anyone who lives even on the fringes of a metropolitan area to see (with the naked eye) any celestial body with a 9.0 magnitude. That includes the ISS. Naked-eye seeing in the night skies isn't about the size of the object, it's about its brightness (i.e., level of illumination). I just ran Orbitron's simulation mode and, using Los Angeles as my location, learned that during the 02:05-ish UTC pass of AO-51 (6:05 p.m., in southern California), it's brightest magnitude was 9.1. Based on that, I do not believe Clint saw AO-51. On two occasions in the past year (i.e., since I finally picked up a halfway decent telescope!), I have been lucky enough to be looking at a star or planet when some satellite zoomed by in my field of view. It was pretty cool to see, and I consider myself fortunate. I recently picked up a pair of Nikon zoom binoculars (10x-25x x 50mm) for wide-field viewing, and I'm going to try to "find" our FM LEO satellites in the night sky with them in the coming days and weeks. I will not see them from here with my naked eye. 73 to all, Tim - N3TL AMSAT Member No. 36820 Athens, Ga, - EM84ha

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