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

NEW DXPEDITION on Namibia
by Dimitrios Pallis 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Hello Oms i would like to inform you for a new DXpedition on NamibiaDates of operation will be from moonrise on 7th to moonset on 16th January 2009. QTH will be in Luderitz Namibia, grid locator JG73NI. Their main target is to activate Namibia on 50, 144, 432 and 1296 MHz EME. At the same time they will be QRV for transatlantic Tropo on 144 and 432 and on satellite (AO-7, FO-29 and AO-51). The operators will be ZS6WB Hal, ZS6OB Pine, ZS6BUG Dick, ZS6AC Sarel, N7BHC Dave, HB9CRQ Dan. A good oportunity for a New One for a lot of us Read more:http://hb9q.ch/joomla/index.php Dimitrios Pallis (JIMMY)73 de SW1JGWwww.sw1jgw.com _________________________________________________________________ Send e-mail faster without improving your typing skills. http://windowslive.com/Explore/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_speed_…

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IC-910H data port receiving
by Peter 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Happy Holidays, I am trying to receive packet from my data port to the audio in of the computer, unfortunately I have not been successful. I have a 6 pin mini din connector with bare wires at one end, I buzzed out the data out, ground is the shell, and made the connection to the stereo plug, no sound. I'm missing something, any help from someone with the Icom would be appreciated. 73, Pete, WB2OQQ

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IC-910H data port receiving, fixed
by Peter 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Hello, Once again this is a BB with a high electronics IQ! I want to thank all who responded, the problem was related to the receiving software that was looking at the wrong sound card, thank you and have a very Healthy and Happy Holiday Season! 73, Pete, WB2OQQ

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data engine
by Peter Gibson 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Help Please I have a Kantronics data engine 19k2/9k6 The battery was missing from the battery back. Anyone know what type it is 73's Peter G7LJA

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is it really QRP making the difference
by Jim Danehy 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

After 4 months of working the satellites I have the following observation . . . . I have QSLed close to 300 stations with great response (thanks for confirming close to 200 Grid Squares) . . . most but not all of those QSOs were North American stations . . . . many (but not all) QSLs indicate the type of antenna that was used . . . my statistics show that about 2 out of 3 are using some compromise antenna . . . definition of compromise antenna : Elk, Arrow, Eggbeater, Vertical. They are compromised compared to a Yagi or Helix antenna. Some of the compromised antennas are further impaired by being used indoors. I have often worked K9CIS on either FO 29 or AO 7 when Frank was running milliwatts and I had an armchair copy on CW. He was not running compromised antennas. FM mode is the mode of choice for most. Those using FM must realize that there is a difference on how FM receivers work. The strongest signal captures the discriminator and comes out on top compared to a competing signal. That does not occur on SSB or CW. Frank, K9CIS and Mike, K9QHO further assisted me when I got on in August with my use of a dual polarity yagi. . .this type of antenna mitigates the constantly changing polarity heard by those using linear (vertical or horizontal) polarity. . . Many of those compromised antenna users also use QRP power levels ( 5 watts or less). . . . when I got back into satellite operating from a 30 year hiatus, I noted the advertising for the Arrow and its use with an HT (QRP) rig. That was certainly novel and interesting from my 56 years of operating sometimes with stacked yagis on HF and VHF. . . My receiving antenna for satellites has 14 db of gain and dual polarity . . . well 13 db of gain is equivalent to a multiplier factor of 10 for 10 db and double that to 20 for the extra 3 db. A friend of mine has used the Elk and the Arrow. He could not carry on a cross town QSO on 435 mhz using the Elk so he sent it back. I often make QSOs into France, UK, Netherlands and Belgium on AO 7 using my antennas at an elevation of 1 or 2 degrees. I can hear very well with these antennas. Something that a compromised antenna can not do. [ transponder satellites] AO7 , FO29, VO52. . . turn on a preamp and it gets even better for the transponder operator . . . you do not use a preamp on an HT . . . With 5 watts (QRP) on FM and a 10 db transmitting antenna my ERP is 50 watts . . . . and an HT @ 2 or 3 maybe 5 watts to a compromised antenna maybe is lucky to get 6 db gain (a factor of 4) . . . for an ERP of 8 to 10 watts and linear polarity (another compromise) which can reduce the ERP during a pass by a factor of 3 db (half) . . . cutting the HT's operator's power to 4 or 5 watts . . . compare that to my 50 watts ERP ( 5 watt station ) with no compromise antennas used both on FM and Transponder satellites to the HT operator . . you will see that it is not QRP levels but antenna efficiency and effectiveness that is the BIG difference . . . QRP operating refers to the power not to the antennas being used . . . I think folks need to reflect on what QRP operating is compared to QRP and compromised antennas . . . Using an HT is OK but do not expect it to compare to the same 5 watt power level and a set of yagis . . . 5 watts is still 5 watts for either station . . . the difference is the antennas. . . . . yes it is novel and good PR to see HT users use the satellites . . . . . reality is something else . . . A pair of yagis with dual polarity (not linear polarity) and ACCURATE TRACKING is still another advantage that is compromised by the hand held antenna . . . I have seen operators wave the antenna and twist it around . . . well it works . . . the yagi operator using elevation and azimuth rotors can set his antennas to the correct positions within a couple of degrees . . . . that is another advantage over a compromised antenna . . . . yes there is a lot of passion by the Davids out there who want to outdo the Goliaths . . . that is human nature . . . if both are running 5 watts ; the increased gain , tracking and superior polarity all add up to grabbing the FM receiver in the satellite and shutting out the less advantaged station running the same power but with inferior antennas . . .it is the antennas not the 5 watt QRP that makes the difference . . . Probably 20 % of the FM users have the superior antennas compared to those with compromised antennas . . . . so often the compromised antenna user feels good and being able to compete (against other compromised antenna users) for QSOs . . . in the situations where they run into a user who does not have a compromised antennas they should understand the situation for what it is . . . it is not QRP against non QRP it can be the antenna hearing is another issue . . . i call stations that I want to add to my Grid Square or country total like every one else . . . others do not hear the DX stations i call . . .i can get multiple stations replying to my call . . . others get upset . . . . remember what compromise means = PATIENCE and UNDERSTANDING. . . . thanks for reading , I hope this helps some understand the reality of the situation . . . Jim W9VNE

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Re: Programming language recommendation?
by Alan P. Biddle 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Several weeks back, I asked for some recommendations on a programming language. I came across this "helpful" article recently: http://www.aegisub.net/2008/12/if-programming-languages-were-religions.html Mostly humorous, with a bit of fortune cookie profundity, and it tracks with many of the recommendations and accompanying comments. Really OT, but enjoy anyway! Alan WA4SCA

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KX4Y via email
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Some of you may have recently received an email notification from KX4Y regarding the upcoming ARISS contact. I received this with great joy, as Dieter has recently been out of circulation with some medical issues, and this tells me that he is at least connecting to the keyboard some. I send this for those who know Dieter, but may not be on that email list, in case they might wish to send him some holiday greetings by email... Thanks Dieter for everything you do !!! 73 for now /;^) -- <- Licensed in 1976, WB5RMG = Alan Sieg * AMSAT#20554 -> <- http://www.somenet.net * http://wb5rmg.somenet.net -> <- http://www.linkedin.com/in/alansieg * My 'Day Job' ->

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Re: IC-910H data port receiving
by nader omer 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

HI, Peter The draw of the data socket on Icom 910 manual is for the female socket (on the radio) . The male socket is a mirror of this draw check up this first.!! Pins are:- Pin 4 for 9k6 Pin 5 for 1k2 Pin 2 grounds Pin 1 data in Pin 3 PTT Ground connect to the base of the audio plug and data out to the tip of the plug. On the back of the radio there were two mini sockets one for main band and other for sub make sure you select the right one. The ACC pins configuration can be programmed through setup mode. Make sure the correct baud selected. Checkup and test your PC soundcard input and out put. I hope this will help! seasons greating. Nader , st2nh www.st2nh.com

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AO-7 historic orbit approaching
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Hey everyone, Based on the AO-7 Log Web page, AO-7 is about to begin its 56,000th orbit! The next pass over the USA, which begins for me in Northeast Georgia at roughly 01:12 UTC (8:12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) will be part of that orbit. I hope somebody might come up and hear a CW signal around 29.445 (the Grand Old Girl is in Mode A). I think it would be awesome to have a contact on orbit 56k! 73 to all, Tim - N3TL

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Re: very light traffic on AO-51 this morning
by David 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

I wonder just how the QRP repeater is regulated so to speak. I gave up on the regular repeater as 5w in is just a waste of time but this evenings pass on the QRP repeater was just as bad with stations clearly running well in excess of QRP levels. Thankfully the later pass of SO-50 was far better for QRP stations! Sent from my iPod On Dec 16, 2008, at 22:20, "Tim Goodrich" <tim(a)timgoodrich.net> wrote: I agree. It is quite frustrating to be stonewalled by high power stations for an entire pass when you're only running 5 watts. Tim KC2DDS -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:00 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 3, Issue 655 Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to amsat-bb(a)amsat.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org You can reach the person managing the list at amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." _______________________________________________ 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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