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

Call for Papers--2007 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
by Ford, Steve, WB8IMY 16 Jul '12

16 Jul '12

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 26th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 28-30, 2007 in Hartford, Connecticut. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31, 2007. Please send papers to: Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111 or you can make your submission via e-mail to: maty(a)arrl.org Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights. 73 . . . Steve, WB8IMY ARRL

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ISS Packet 13.44utc UK Pass
by David Barber 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

Accessible again this pass (1200bps) but something up there has changed. Very quiet today (few stations) and very difficult to get through in comparison to recent days. David G8OQW

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Old AMSAT Satellite Report and ARRL Gateway newsletters online
by Bob DeVarney W1ICW 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

Phil, thanks for the treasures and a great trip down memory lane. I have a couple old copies of the Orbit magazine from 1982, if I scan them can you find a home for them on your hosting I am limited to only 10 megs hosting on my ISP. I find one thing amazing. 2008 we are talking about operation AO-7. 1982 they were talking about operating AO-7. I doubt many commercial satellites can say the same thing regarding lifespans. We owe a lot to the pioneers among us who blazed the trail for us. Now it's up to us follow their lead and continue to make amateur satellite operating a viable and vibrant mode of communication. "We all need to hang together, or we shall surely hang separately". Bob W1ICW

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Re: LOTW &/or eQSL ?
by John W Lee 07 Jan '09

07 Jan '09

Alan, There is no reason you can't upload to both E-QSL and LOTW. I send in my logs monthly to both. E-QSL's really don't count for any of the major awards. LOTW confirmations count for DXCC and WAS. 73, John K6YK On Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:56:30 -0600 (CST) "Alan Sieg WB5RMG" <wb5rmg(a)somenet.net> writes: > I started using eQSL a year or so back, and have only recently seen > enough > action in my log to warrant uploading new contacts. I've been trying > to > go back thru old logs, and get caught up on returning some QSLs... > > Seems what I'm hearing is that some do eQSL, some LOTW, others only > paper... > Reckon is there any harm in also doing LOTW ? How many do both > ? > I'm sure that there are some that don't do either - no great loss I > guess. > /;^) > -- > <- 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' -> > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > ____________________________________________________________ Free information - Learn about Hardwood Floors. Click now! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw2eFAMyHTHPsePZzlZDxnTfb4p…

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KC0TOH
by Andrew Glasbrenner 03 Jan '09

03 Jan '09

Are you on this list, or does someone have a working email for him? 73, Drew KO4MA

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An Off-Topic Question
by D. Mynatt 02 Jan '09

02 Jan '09

I asked sometime ago in the group, but sometimes things change and stuff comes along so I thought I'd ask again and see if any one had a mini-computer like a PdP-11 with tapes drives and the large external disk drives in the floor boxes. As I mentioned before, just trying to find a unit to show students the older technologies as well as how to program with Cobol/Fortran. Using PCs is the best way to do a lot of stuff, but a mini-mainframe is the visually appealing idea. Just thought I'd ask in case things changed out there! Dave // DM78qd // KA0SWT

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AO-16 back on and very strong
by w4upd 02 Jan '09

02 Jan '09

Thanks to the control station turning AO-16 back on. Heard the sequence and then the bird was really kicking butt on its signal. I lowered my power to 5 watts and was still banging in and this with some very "bad" verticals that I have difficulty with on the other birds. Heard to satellite quit during the pass and then obviously, control station came back and turned it on again. Other then some "junk" only a couple of stations were on. I had a choice of AO-16 or SO-50. No brainer, stuck with AO-16. Good work fellows, 73, Reid, W4UPD

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USB to serial converters
by Mark Spencer 02 Jan '09

02 Jan '09

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a USB to serial convereter that works well with SAT32PC and an ICOM 706 or a FT 736. Conversely if anyone has had bad experiences that would be usefull to hear about as well. I've heard that some USB to serial converters work better than others. Many thanks Mark VE7AFZ __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.

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Re: FM receiver filters
by Bob Bruninga 01 Jan '09

01 Jan '09

> I suggest you consider AFC. > Not enough demand for that wide a filter. Won't work for packets, or at least would require a long TXD making packet communicatiosn inefficient. As to rarity, only one filter in the whole world is needed and that is on the uplink receiver. This lets eveyrone on the ground use conventional rigs without mods, and with minimal doppler uplink tracking. Too many simple satellites are being built without considering the need for a wider bandwidth receiver on the uplink. The difficulties of such an approach for users is very obvious on the ISS cross band repeater, which is using a stock amateur transceiver with a 12 KHz wide receiver on the uplink, which makes even 5 KHz step tuning on the uplink be out-of-bandwidth splatter half the time. This is not a complaint at all. The ISS team is to be congratulated for making the most of what they were able to get up there. It just takes more skill by users on the ground... It is good to see this new UK project planning on a wider uplink RX filter. Bob, Wb4APR

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817 and satpc32 problem solved!
by Tim Goodrich 01 Jan '09

01 Jan '09

Hi all, A few days ago I posted the problem I was having with my new 817 and satpc32. After emailing with the very kind Erich (creator of the software), we were able to find the source of the problem in the CAT delay setting (standard value was 110, but mine needed to be higher for some reason). Below is my email to him with observations for any who might be experiencing similar difficulties. The strangest thing..... I came home and changed the CAT delay from 110 to 200. It worked! Both the mode and frequencies were changed for vfoa and vfob and everything was good. Out of curiosity (and thinking it might help with any troubleshooting you may need to do), I changed the CAT delay to 150. My observations were that both the mode and freq. would change for vfoa and vfob, but the interval settings did not work. What I mean by this is the radio would switch between both vfo's on a very rapid basis, basically whenever there was the slightest Doppler change, it would retune. Obviously, this would make the receive audio extremely choppy. To sum it up: 110-change downlink freq. and mode, change uplink mode only, rapid toggling 150- change downlink freq. and mode, change uplink freq. and mode, rapid toggling 200- perfect Tim KC2DDS/AG

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Doppler correction too choppy on HRD?
by Mike Ryan 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

I'm using the beta HRD (rev 4.1 build 2055) that offers the new Sat module. This was very handy in the ISS SSTV passes of late but I'm having some difficulties with FM and SSB birds with Doppler. I run a pair of Yaesu FT-857Ds and It corrects very quickly, several times per second, interrupting audio with each correction. This makes for near impossible copy on the downlink, often causing me to disable correction and follow manually. SATPC32 corrects less frequently and is easier to copy with, but I'd really like to get HRD working right with the integrated logging and all. I've been unable to locate any settings to adjust the frequency of correction and I seem to recall the "old" Sat module could do this. Has anyone else encountered and resolved this challenge? I have posted on the HRD forum with no responses. BTW, thanks to all for posting the manual process for following Doppler. Being new to SSB sats, this is very handy to have. I was wondering why I would hear a quick whistle noise as folks locked in! Regards, Mike WB1AAT

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Re: FM receiver filters
by Bob Bruninga 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

>> We did that on the uplink receivers >> for PCSAT-1 and -2 ... to make the >> receiver about 30 KHz wide. > > Yes, this is a similar venture. > We did buy a Hamtronics RX ... but > decided we could reduce the size > significantly. Yes, its size is very wasteful. But we were surprised that we could hack-saw off one edge of the board and make it fit inside a 4" cubesat and only have to move the first coil a little bit. Though we have since found a smaller receiver, though not crystal controlled... Even with the hamtronics and modern APRS pic processors, we could easily fit a full 5 Watt APRS digipeater into HALF of a cubesat, leaving the other half for other experiments.

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Congrats on ISS contact
by Rick - WA4NVM 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Hi Alan and fellow AMSAT, I just heard your contact with Drew on the ISS. (WA4SCA - KO4MA) Happpy New Year to all, Rick - WA4NVM

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Mode L/V
by Scott Schmautz 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

WA4SCA with KO4MA via L/S with good signals at 1443 UTC Scott/WB2UZR --

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LOTW &/or eQSL ?
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

I started using eQSL a year or so back, and have only recently seen enough action in my log to warrant uploading new contacts. I've been trying to go back thru old logs, and get caught up on returning some QSLs... Seems what I'm hearing is that some do eQSL, some LOTW, others only paper... Reckon is there any harm in also doing LOTW ? How many do both ? I'm sure that there are some that don't do either - no great loss I guess. /;^) -- <- 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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Brazil and Mexico on AO-7
by Luciano G Nachif 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

To those who won't go after a satellite mode B contact on AO-7, I just talked to Alvaro, XE2AT, on that bird using a three elements 2 meters yagi with no preamp at all. Get a chance, give yourself a new excitement, put some life into your life, go for satellites! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 73, Luciano PT9KK

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Station Heard on ISS
by Peter Gibson 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Hi Heard the downlink this morning at 8.30 local time in SW UK Heard IW4DVZ Very strong audio Tried to uplink but had no luck. 73 Pete

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ARISS Antenna Specifics
by Frank H. Bauer 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

All, The ARISS L-band/S-band antenna systems are Left Hand Circularly Polarized. There are some good details of the antenna systems in this paper: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Papers/Phase%202%20AGM03Final.pdf And this presentation: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Presentations/AMSAT%20Symposiums/AMSAT03.pd f Chart 25 of the above presentation shows the antenna locations looking down the axis of the Service Module. In this picture, the ISS velocity vector is either in or out of the page and Earth is towards the bottom of the page. This assumes they are in the normal Earth pointing mode (which is not always a given). We have some good on-orbit views of the antennas in this set of charts too. Enjoy! I hope this helps. And thanks for all the interest in ARISS. 73, Frank, KA3HDO

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ISS Repeater
by n1jez＠burlingtontelecom.net 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Got on the ISS Repeater this morning during the 1127 UTC pass here in Vermont FN34im. No one else heard. I took the opportunity to play with doppler/power/antenna alignment/modulation etc. As suspected, everything needs to be pretty much right on for good access. By paying close attention to AZ/El and Doppler, I was able to hold the repeater down to less than 5 degree El. Even at my power level, 2-3 kHz seemed to be the maximum error on doppler. Power here was set at ~ 5 kW EIRP. I did drop 10 dB and still got in as the ISS passed overhead. (33 degrees El). Unfortunately that was the last pass I can get on... Did I read there was the possibility of 2.4 GHz operation? I have a transverter and 60 watts that I can use. That would be fun!! 73, Mike, N1JEZ AMSAT 29649 "A closed mouth gathers no feet"

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Re: FM receiver filters
by G0MRF＠aol.com 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Many thanks to Tony, Drew, Bob and Art. Mouser appear to be the source of choice for 30kHz 10.7M filters HNY David G0MRF

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I: ISS L / v Repeater 08.27utc UK / Europe Pass
by Francesco Grappi 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Hi David, G8OQW Thank you it was fun !! For me is the first time that I'm able to success ISS repeater L/V. !!!! I had a nice qso with my friend Ferruccio IW1DTU (Thank's Fer !!) My set-up Tx FT 736R + PA output 40 watts FM-Narrow Feed coaxial line 35 mt. of 50/20 Antennas 2x35 elements linear polarization manual doppler compensation (it was moving very fast hi.. !!) Rx TS 790E (I used it to read the right frequency for Doppler Correction with SatPc32 and to set FT 736R TX) Antenna 2x11 elements cross yagi rhcp with SP-2000 preamp. The signal was very strong 9+++ !!! Congratulations David also for your qso and all orbit access to ISS repeater, I hope to hear you. Thank you to ARISS TEAM for this nice experience ! Happy New Year 2009 to EveryBody !! Frank IW4DVZ -----Messaggio originale----- Da: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] Per conto di David Barber Inviato: mercoledì 31 dicembre 2008 9.41 A: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org; sarex(a)amsat.org Oggetto: [amsat-bb] ISS L / v Repeater 08.27utc UK / Europe Pass ISS L / v Repeater 08.27utc UK / Europe Pass. Too low for my Tx antenna this pass but heard my first stations via the repeater. Congratulations to IW4DVZ and IW1DTU both good signals. I have a recording. If either station wants a copy please let me know. David G8OQW _______________________________________________ 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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ISS L / V Repeater 08.30z Europe Pass
by Fer IW1DTU 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Nice and exciting QSO with Francesco IW4DVZ via ISS mode L/V . Good signal but sometime deep QSB, frequent chance of polarization in DL VHF, seems to need more doppler correction in UL than ao-51. TS790 / yagi 55 elements H 1296Mhz 60 W / 7+7 elements VHF Thanks to David G8OQW and JJ from Spain for the nice report Cheers Fer IW1DTU , Torino

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ISS L / v Repeater 08.27utc UK / Europe Pass
by David Barber 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

ISS L / v Repeater 08.27utc UK / Europe Pass. Too low for my Tx antenna this pass but heard my first stations via the repeater. Congratulations to IW4DVZ and IW1DTU both good signals. I have a recording. If either station wants a copy please let me know. David G8OQW

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Re: ISS L / v Repeater 06.56utc UK / Europe Pass and ThankYou
by Henk, PA3GUO 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Hi David ! > My last viable pass of the day and year! Grrr - I missed it totally due to family visits away from home, so I didn't even hear ISS :-( > > No other stations heard. Yes, I realized I missed the opportunity. Must have been weird: a quiet ISS over Europe (normally I cannot even get a single 1k2 APRS packet in ...) Would have been interesting to learn myself what the real challenge was for the 1,2GHZ uplink: - ERP (as some US reports suggest) - Correct doppler handling (as some others suggest) What RF power did you use David ? (just your plain IC910?) > David > G8OQW. Henk, PA3GUO

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Re: "Newbie" Need's Help working AO-07
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

N0FJP said: > I am new to working the Sats so if I am in need of "directions" > please feel free to set me in the right direction. > > With that said, I am having problems working AO-07 and the other SSB sats. > >I can copy stations vary well but I can't seem to keep on track with them. Marv, I can provide some direction ... - whether it is considered the 'right direction' remains to be seen. I was brought up in the 'old school' before CAT and HRD assisted tuning, so I'll describe the manual tuning mode I've used since way back. A couple of starting points to keep in mind: 1. doppler affects both uplink and downlink, moreso the higher freq. 2. you need hear yourself, anyone calling you back will be on your downlink. 3. It is not considerate to 'sweep' your Tx around the band looking for yourself - better to sweep your receiver. I'll have a table of 'un-doppler-d' transponder freqs, like this for VU-52: up (LSB) dn (USB) ... ... 435.260 145.290 435.250 145.900 435.240 145.910 ... ... As the pass starts, lets say I'll set Tx for 435.240 (LSB)... then I'll set the Tx to CW and send a string of dits with the keyer. I'll tune around with the Rx until I hear my dits, and zero beat them. In otherwords, tune Rx until the pitch goes down to nothing. Then I'll switch Tx back to LSB and whistle, and slightly adjust Rx to perfectly match the pitch of my whistle in the headset. Now as I call CQ, I can gradually tweak the Tx freq to keep the pitch normal so that I don't need to adj the Rx. I try to keep the Rx coming out in the same place, so I'm only trying to keep up with one knob (Tx)... When someone comes back, they may drift across the band a bit, and I follow them (Rx) - assuming they are also following themself. Then when it is my turn to Tx, I first whistle and tweak my Tx for that zero-beat of the pitch, and start talking... I guess I've had plenty of practice, as it comes easy for me. If the other station is adjusting their Tx to keep a steady Rx freq, then each of us only needs adjust the Tx freq along the way... At least that's the way I learnt it, you know - back in the day. Sometimes good practice for 'newbies' is to whistle to themselves, and get some practice finding their downlink and matching the tone. This method works with manual tuning, others may have additional suggestions. Probably the guys using CAT have methods that better suit their needs. The FM satellites obviously don't have the passband to waller'round in. My radio is a Yaesu FT-736 and has the ability to lock the two VFOs once you hit that zero-beat, but as short as the LEO passes are, I hardly ever do that. Back in the day of AO-13, it was common to lock them and run up and down the passband looking for other stations. Find one, unlock for a quick zero-beat whistle, and lock it back... I do miss that bird... I don't get on a lot, and may only get one or two contacts per pass, but I prefer linear transponders over FM, so listen for me... I'll be the one whistling alot. Looks like VO-52 is coming up AOS about 0340z for me. 73 for now, let us know how it goes. /;^) -- <- 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: ISS Repeater
by Bob Bruninga 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

> The ISS radio system currently supports > only one mode at a time. The current > L/v configuration is scheduled to be > active until Saturday, Jan 3. > > And I don't think you can't get into > the 1.2 GHz uplink without a yagi ;) The most important thing is proper Doppler compensation. At 1.2 ghz the Doppler is from -25 KHz to plus 25 KHz or so, and you have to be within a few KHz, or your splatter will not open the squelch of the repeater. With 11 full Doppler steps during a pass, you have to nail it exactly or you dont get through he 12.5 KHz filter. Plus I bet even being 2.5 KHz off between each step and speaking fully, will splatter so much as to keep the squelch closed. So in that case, there are 22 discrete windows of opportunity, only half of which are useable, so it takes real care to get through. Of course, I am only kibitzing, since I have not tried it, but all the signals I have heard do NOT seem to be suffering power limitation, but all seem to be suffering off-frequency splatter and therefore squelch unreliability. Maybe setting narrow band deviation (as used in europe) will reduce the spaltter and keep the squelch open better. Good luck! Bob, WB4APR I'd suggest setting narroband deviation too, to help prevent

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Fwd: Re: lindenblad observations
by Edward Cole 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

> >I am considering building a pair of the AA2TX Lindenblad antennas, >but cannot remember what issue of the Amsat Journal published the >design. I went thru all of them from mid-2006 to current and somehow >miss the article. > >73, Ed KL7UW > Thanks to Dave, Sven and Joseph. The article was in August 2007 QST! Oh well --> HNY 73, Ed - KL7UW

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ISS L / v Repeater 06.56utc UK / Europe Pass and Thank You.
by David Barber 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

My last viable pass of the day and year! Not able to access the repeater this time over. Elevation and direction were marginal for me anyway. No other stations heard. Good luck to all, have a happy New Years Eve, peaceful New Year and thanks to all those who have passed on information over the last year. And finally, a special thanks to Kenneth, Frank and all the ARISS team, not forgetting the Astronauts, for making the end of 2008 one to remember. It has been much enjoyed and appreciated. Long may it continue. Best regards. David G8OQW.

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ISS L/V 0640 UTC pass - repeater active
by Mark Lunday, WD4ELG 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Directly overhead. Unable to transmit on uplink, so I listened for activity only. I did hear someone key the repeater and blow into a microphone, and someone else said "HELLO"twice. Finally as the ISS was near LOS, I copied partial calls of VE3? and K3NC? The repeater did not allow the complete callsigns to get through. Mark Lunday WD4ELG wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.net

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FM receiver filters
by G0MRF＠aol.com 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Hi all. I'm trying to find some 455kHz filters suitable for FM +/- some doppler. Ideally, 30kHz wide and fairly small I have some by Murata. Types BLFYM-455C and BLFCM-455C but these are +/- 12.5k. Any ideas? I've checked Digikey, but they only seem to list narrow band FM or AM filters. Is there a Murata or Toko distributor that I've missed? Thanks David G0MRF

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ISS L / v Repeater 05.16utc UK / Europe Pass
by David Barber 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Repeater active for 05.16utc UK / Europe Pass. A better pass for me this time, directly overhead and consequently a little longer access time. Downlink recorded. No other stations heard. David G8OQW.

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Re: lindenblad observations
by Joe Krepps 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Thank you, Frank! :) I do have an Arrow antenna but I never seem to have time to wave it in the air. However, I do spend a lot of time driving so an antenna solution which could be used mobile is appealing. I've seen one or two other Lindenblad designs but the AA2TX "EZ-Lindenblad" looks strong enough for mobile use. 73! Joe WB3CFN FM20

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ISS L / v Repeater 03.41utc UK / Europe Pass
by David Barber 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Repeater active for 03.41utc UK / Europe Pass. At 60dg elevation 180dg az. I just made it in but very briefly and with a very scratchy signal. Downlink recorded. Equipment: Icom 910, horizontal 19el yagi on a tripod mount on my patio. David G8OQW.

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Re: FM receiver filters
by Bob Bruninga 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

>> I'm trying to find some 455kHz >> filters suitable for FM +/- some >> doppler. Ideally, 30kHz wide >> and fairly small We did that on the uplink receivers for PCSAT-1 and -2 so that uplink doppler on UHF was pretty liberal. We used the old xtal controlled HAMTRONICS receivers, with the "wideband" and "9600 baud" options to make the receiver about 30 KHz wide. This of course suffered about 4 dB performance loss, but with a 25W uplink, the 4 dB was an insignificant loss compared to the ablity to hear a signal with +/- 6 KHz or more Doppler without splatter. Bob, WB4APR

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ISS Repeater
by Ron Miles 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

Called the ISS L / V repeater two separate passes this morning...15:39UTC and 17:14UTC. At LOS on the first pass I heard a call ending in "HH". At the end of the second pass I heard Jeff, K7WIN. It was too late for a contact with Jeff by then, I was already below my tree line. These were 20 and 40 degree passes for me. 40W out to the antenna seems to hold the repeater. Sorry to report no contacts again today. Hope the L / V mode stays up a few more days. I would like to claim victory in this mode. 73, Ron n6paa

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"Newbie" Need's Help working AO-07
by racer5039 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

I am new to working the Sats so if I am in need of "directions" please feel free to set me in the right direction. With that said, I am having problems working AO-07 and the other SSB sats. I can copy stations vary well but I can't seem to keep on track with them. I am using HRD and a TS-2000. The antennas are a KLM on the 2m side without the phase switch hooked up(got cold on me too soon) On the 432 side I am using a home brew Yaga that I found on KC4UMO's web page. It seems to be working OK. I really think it me and the tuning. Can anyone point me in the right direction on these birds? On the 2230 pass for AO-07 I called K3SZH and I think he was calling me back but I couldn't keep up with the tuning. Later when I found him again, he was in a QSO with another station and I thought I better not interrupt. Sorry Joe. I did hear you talking about me. Any information would be a great help. Marv. N0FJP EN34

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Need some help working AO-07
by racer5039 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

I am new to working the Sats so if I am in need of "directions" please feel free to set me in the right direction. With that said, I am having problems working AO-07 and the other SSB sats. I can copy stations vary well but I can't seem to keep on track with them. I am using HRD and a TS-2000. The antennas are a KLM on the 2m side without the phase switch hooked up(got cold on me too soon) On the 432 side I am using a home brew Yaga that I found on KC4UMO's web page. It seems to be working OK. I really think it me and the tuning. Can anyone point me in the right direction on these birds? On the 2230 pass for AO-07 I called K3SZH and I think he was calling me back but I couldn't keep up with the tuning. Later when I found him again, he was in a QSO with another station and I thought I better not interrupt. Sorry Joe. I did hear you talking about me. Any information would be a great help. Marv. N0FJP EN34

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Playing/Converting IC-R20 Audio Files
by Pughkeithd＠cs.com 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

I have the IC-R20 Reciever and the CS-R20 Cloning Software. Does anyone out there know of a good software package to play or convert the ICOM .icw audio files on a Windows PC? 73 - Keith, W5IU

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Re: LOTW and Logging Info
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

KK0SD said: > If anyone is interested it is possible (fairly easy in hind sight) to make > AC Log from N3FJP properly report OSCAR contacts in LOTW automatically. I'm currently using ACLog with eQSL, and only needed to change two of the "Other" fields, to do what I wanted. The ADIF export 'does the right thing'. The eQSL 'one-shot' method does not pick up these two "Other" fields. I changed "Other" to "Prop_Mode" and "Other2" to "QSO_Comment"... In the Prop_Mode field I indicate "SAT", and manually indicate which satellite and additional comment in the other. I have not done LOTW, but if it wants ADIF, ACLog should work as above. > If you have worked me as kk0sd or ks5z via satellite those contacts should > be in LOTW except for contacts made from my home of the last 2 years. They > will go in next. After that I will go after my ka0yos logs. I would not have recognized you as KK0SD, but I do remember you as KA0YOS !! We worked a time or two on RS10/11 when I was in Tennessee. I have your card... Did I ever send you one ? 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: ARISS antennae
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

>> they are considered to be on the earth-facing surface... > Actually, an "earth facing" antenna can be confusing to some. Roger that. A narrow-beamwidth directly under ISS would not serve well. I was (in)effectively paraphrasing the cited reports, that observe that the primary antennas are mounted on the (earth-facing) Nadir side, as opposed to the (space-facing) Zenith side. For a simple single vertical element, pointing directly toward earth gives a good view either side, and front/back. Not so sure what pattern or beamwidth to expect from the patches. As I read it, both WA1 and WA2 have capability to Tx and Rx at the same time, but "the space station ham shack will install a dual-band, 2 meter/70 cm radio and a 70 cm radio that will use the downward/Earth-facing WA1 and WA2 antennas" I would suspect that the cross-band setup uses one to Rx, and the other to Tx. Which might yield a 'deaf-zone' for each, but not in the same place. Possibly if we dig around the ARISS info, more detail has been provided. (I see that KA3HDO has just posted some new links...) Thanks /;^) -- <- 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: ARISS antennae
by Bob Bruninga 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

>> Still haven't found what beam width >> and direction the antennas view >> from the ISS WRT its direction of flight. > ...In either case, they are considered > to be on the earth-facing surface... Actually, an "earth facing" antenna can be confusing to some. Because only about 5% or less of the earth bound users that are in view are "under" the ISS. Whereas 95% of them are to the side in all directinos most of the time. In fact, almost 70% of them are within just 20 degrees of horizontal in all directions from the ISS. So, a "down" antenna with any gain, is not the ideal spacecraft antenna. See the plot of elevation angle versus distance and time in view on this web page: www.aprs.org/rotator1.html That sketch is shown from the perspective of the ground station, but just turn it upside down, and you see that almost all communications to the ISS are "from the side"... Good luck! Bob, Wb4APR

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ARISS antennae
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

WA4SCA asked : > Still haven't found what beam width and direction the antennas view > from the ISS WRT its direction of flight. >> > I know this is out there, but does anybody have off the top of their head > a reference on the ISS antenna orientation, and what its view is WRT the > direction of flight? Which sent me on a brief scavenger hunt ... with these quick results. Description (new one is probably available somewhere) of ARISS antenna (2002): http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/antennas.html (You can click on the pictures for hi-rez views) The WA1 and WA2 antennae are reportedly on the perimeter of the Zvezda module, on the nadir (earth-facing) side, near the Soyuz docking port.?. These appear to be of the flexible spring element type for VHF & UHF, with a patch-type for L & S band. These also support Russian spacewalk video. The WA4 antenna reportedly has an element for 10 meters instead of VHF. A very detailed description of antenna development effort for Columbus Lab : http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm I don't now if these recent tests are with these new Columbus antennae or the existing elements on the Russian segment. I'm guessing the originals. In either case, they are considered to be on the earth-facing surface... Perhaps ARISS team personnel can enlighten us further, with links... Thanks /;^) -- <- 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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ISS Repeater
by n1jez＠burlingtontelecom.net 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

Just got on the ISS repeater - L band up and V band down from FN34 here in Vermont. I used full power here. 80 watts in the shack to a 55 el 1269 Directive Systems loop yagi. Transmission line is 75' of 7/8" hardline. Results were mixed. The pass was 25 degrees max here. I had little to no success as the ISS was ascending. I opened the repeater a couple of times. I'm not sure if this was because other stations were trying and we were clobbering each other or not. As the ISS was going overhead, it appeared that the polarity was shifting rapidly as I would open the repeater for just a word or two. I did hear Clare, VE3NPC briefly. As the ISS was descending, things got better and I was able to consistently open the repeater, but nobody came back.... I could not access the repeater below 10 degrees.... If anyone else was on and trying, can you let me know? I'd like to see if that was the reason I couldn't access the repeater as it was ascending. One other observation, I found the doppler correction to be pretty critical. I've seen this when running low power into AO-51 for tests. I hope to try a few more passes this week. 73, Mike, N1JEZ AMSAT 29649 "A closed mouth gathers no feet"

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help with 817 and satpc32
by Tim Goodrich 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

Hi all, I just finally upgraded to general over the weekend, so I went out and got a Yeasu 817. However, I'm having problems with using it for Doppler tracking in SatPC32. Here's what it's doing. When I turn the control on, the radio will track the frequencies that are showing in SatPC32 for both the uplink and the downlink. It switches between the uplink and downlink frequencies quite often- about once per second. The radio will also switch to the correct mode (FM, etc). However, when I hit PTT, it transmits on the previously stored VFOb frequency. So, for example.... 1) I tune vfoa to 50.1Mhz, AM and vfob to 50.5Mhz, AM 2) I turn CAT control on from SatPC32 3) The radio starts switching between the vhf downlink frequency in USB and the uhf uplink frequency in USB about once per second to correct for Doppler 4) When I press transmit, it transmits at 50.1Mhz, but in LSB Obviously, it should be flipping between the VFOs (instead of 2 freq's in one VFO). So it seems like its flipping frequencies in one VFO and then trying to transmit in another VFO, where it changes the mode for transmit, but not the frequency that was originally stored. Any help please? Tim KC2DDS/AG

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LOTW and Logging Info
by Gary "Joe" Mayfield 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

If anyone is interested it is possible (fairly easy in hind sight) to make AC Log from N3FJP properly report OSCAR contacts in LOTW automatically. If you have worked me as kk0sd or ks5z via satellite those contacts should be in LOTW except for contacts made from my home of the last 2 years. They will go in next. After that I will go after my ka0yos logs. Speaking of older logs, has anyone entered QSOs from RS 10/11 in LOTW? My logs show it as RS 10/11, is there anyway now to determine if it was RS-10 or RS-11? Thanks and 73, Joe kk0sd

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ISS Repeater
by n1jez＠burlingtontelecom.net 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

Had a nice QSO with Clare, VE3NPC via the ISS repeater this morning during the 1235 pass over Vermont, FN34im. We were alone. I held the repeater longer today. Doppler tuning seems pretty critical. Clare was computer controlled. I was using manual tuning (OK, call me old school...) One of these days I'll hook up the radios for computer tuning. I got a copy of SatPC32 so maybe it's time. 73, Mike, N1JEZ AMSAT 29649 "A closed mouth gathers no feet"

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FT817 issues SATPC32
by Dr. Jay Garlitz 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

Tim, I have an FT817 as well and have had the same problem as described. I hope others can offer suggestions as I had the same experience in searching the online suggestions and none had it working properly. There were only a few settings to try to change and none were a solution for me. The difference here is that is an extra rig for me and not the one I usually use for satellites. Jay, AA4FL Message: 9 Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:51:29 -0800 From: "Tim Goodrich" <tim(a)timgoodrich.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] help with 817 and satpc32 To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <000001c96a31$e6ad0410$b4070c30$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi all, I just finally upgraded to general over the weekend, so I went out and got a Yeasu 817. However, I'm having problems with using it for Doppler tracking in SatPC32. Here's what it's doing. When I turn the control on, the radio will track the frequencies that are showing in SatPC32 for both the uplink and the downlink. It switches between the uplink and downlink frequencies quite often- about once per second. The radio will also switch to the correct mode (FM, etc). However, when I hit PTT, it transmits on the previously stored VFOb frequency. So, for example.... 1) I tune vfoa to 50.1Mhz, AM and vfob to 50.5Mhz, AM 2) I turn CAT control on from SatPC32 3) The radio starts switching between the vhf downlink frequency in USB and the uhf uplink frequency in USB about once per second to correct for Doppler 4) When I press transmit, it transmits at 50.1Mhz, but in LSB Obviously, it should be flipping between the VFOs (instead of 2 freq's in one VFO). So it seems like its flipping frequencies in one VFO and then trying to transmit in another VFO, where it changes the mode for transmit, but not the frequency that was originally stored. Any help please? Tim KC2DDS/AG

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Mesh Diosh and GS-5500
by D. Mynatt 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

I have been given a 7ft mesh dish from a local college but without a rotor or Az/El mechanism. I might be able to find a GS-5500 and was wondering what the group thought of using it as an Az/El system for the mesh. A commercial system would cost more than three times the price of a GS-5500. Any thoughts from the group? Dave // DM78qd // KA0SWT

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lindenblad observations
by francesco messineo 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

Good morning all, even if this setup probably won't be used by anyone I thought I'd share my findings. I've built a couple of lindenblads following the AA2TX articles. The EZ-lindenblad for 2m and the parasitic lindenblad for 70cm. This is for a 2 week temporary location in IS0 (JM49MG). Both antennas have been made with locally available hardware, not very far from original design anyway. The biggest difference is perhaps the parasitic elements for the 70 cm one which have a 4mm diameter instead of approximately the 3mm of original design. Both antennas are on the same pole, 1.5 meters apart and not very far from the roof (< 1m the 2m one), they have however a clear sky view. Cable runs are quite long, 20m of rg-213 on both bands and no preamps. Only RHCP versions made. Rig is ft-847 with internal preamps on. In 4 days I have tried almost all LEOs (but AO-16 and AO-27 which are non operational afaik). DO-64: never heard anything (is it operational?) AO-51: 435.300 output can be heard at times, some callsing can be undestood, never quieting the receiver. FM uplink in europe is too crowded to attempt any try at txing. 435.150 output is much lower than the 435.300 one, only rarely it can be heard but when it's heard I can hear myself briefly from the USB uplink. Obviously no contact is possible. SO-50: usually can't be heard, sometimes during a pass on positive QSBs the downlink can be heard very noisy and for a short time (so far only copied a full callsign). AO-07: downlink on mode B can be heard quite easily down to 3 degrees, uplink is next to impossible (50W out of the rig, CW only of course) but probably depends on the high level of power used in europe as during a pass over the atlantic and part of brazil I could hear my own signal down to 3 degrees and I couldn't hear any other signal. No contacts have been made, so far only heard my own signal a few times and very low (maybe the 432 MHz uplink is too far out of the optimal passband of the 435 MHz lindy?) FO-29: downlink can be heard, not very strong but workable, uplink is sometimes difficult but a lot easier than AO-07. No contacts made so far, have been calling CQ in CW for a few passes. VO-52: downlink easy to copy as on AO-07, quite easy to hear my own CW peaking at S3 during all passes over 5 degrees, no contacts made, heard only a lot of SSB stations, this is the easier sat with this setup. ISS: never heard any signal so far. I think I'll go back to the homemade V/U yagi "arrow" like on next travels, that's a real performer on LEOs. PS: the NB on FT-847 (first time using this rig) is quite uneffective, motors on the street still make an audible signal when passing by, it's attenuated but not like on all other rigs I know. Is there any fix for it? 73 Frank IS0/IZ8DWF

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I: I: ISS L / v Transponder 09.05 utc ITALY / Europe Pass
by Francesco Grappi 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

...sorry 08.05 utc Frank IW4DVZ -----Messaggio originale----- Da: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] Per conto di Francesco Grappi Inviato: martedì 30 dicembre 2008 9.22 A: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Oggetto: [amsat-bb] I: ISS L / v Transponder 09.05 utc ITALY / Europe Pass Priorità: Alta 09.05 utc ITALY /Europe Pass Hi All I tried ISS transponder L/V this morning..... TX FT 736R FM-Narrow + PA Output power 70 Watts 2x35 elements antennas linear pol. RX 2x11 elements cross yagi Also here nothing heard and unable to access L/V Transponder... Frank IW4DVZ -----Messaggio originale----- Da: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] Per conto di David Barber Inviato: martedì 30 dicembre 2008 6.09 A: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org; sarex(a)amsat.org Cc: 'Frank H. Bauer' Oggetto: [amsat-bb] ISS L / v Repeater 04.49utc UK / Europe Pass 04.49utc UK / Europe pass. Nothing heard and unable to access L / v repeater. David G8OQW _______________________________________________ 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

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