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

ANS-363 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 28 Dec '08

28 Dec '08

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-363 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org In this edition: * SKN on OSCAR 2009 This Week * AO-51 Schedule to Support SKN and Kids Day * Richard Garriott Interview Available Online * ARISS 25th Commemorative Event to Feature L/V Repeater This Week * ARISS Status - 22 December 2008 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.01 SKN on OSCAR 2009 This Week AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.01 Ray Soifer, W2RS extends the annual cordial invitation to all radio amateurs worldwide to participate in AMSAT's Straight Key Night (SKN) on OSCAR 2009. Participating in SKN on OSCAR 2009 is easy. No rules, no scoring and no need to send in a log. Just operate CW through any OSCAR between 0000 and 2400 UTC on 1 January 2009, using a straight hand key. In keeping with the friendly nature of this event, all participants are encouraged to nominate someone they worked for "Best Fist." Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you heard, just of those you worked. Please send your nomination to w2rs(a)amsat.org. A list of those nominated will appear in ANS and The AMSAT Journal. CU SKN! [ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.02 AO-51 Schedule to Support SKN and Kids Day AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.02 AMSAT VP of Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, reminds everyone that AO-51 will be configured to support two upcoming special events. For the first time AO-51 will be configured to support CW operations during the annual SKN Event. Following SKN the uplink will be reconfigured back to the more traditional FM/FM up and downlinks to support the ARRL's Kids Day event. December 29 - January 2 FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM SSB/FM Repeater, V/U (CW QSOs only on Straight Key Night) Uplink: 145.880 MHz USB Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM January 3 FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM FM Repeater, V/U (ARRL Kid's Day, QSOs between or with kids ONLY) Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.03 Richard Garriott Interview Available Online AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.03 Space traveler Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, ha been interviewed by science fiction writer Tracy Hickman about Garriott's recent visit to the International Space Station. During the session, W5KWQ talked about his experience of operating amateur radio on orbit and conversing with the ham community worldwide. The entire interview is 2 hours and 45 minutes in duration. Its available in 3 installments. You will find it at http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dragonhearth [ANS thanks Newsline for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.04 ARISS 25th Commemorative Event to Feature L/V Repeater This Week AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.04 To date, the ISS crew has configured the radio to support cross-band repeater operations, they have supported some SSTV downlinks and we have had the opportunity to participate in a special test of 9600 baud packet radio operations on the simplex frequency of 145.825 MHz. Specifically, December 28-January 3, we plan to reconfigure the Crossband repeater for a special experiment. This will be a test of our L-Band uplink capability, which, to date, has not been proven out. Plan for an uplink of 1269.65 MHz and and downlink on the standard frequency 145.80 MHz using low power. Given the substantial cable losses of the L-band system, we hope some "big guns" are able to penetrate through, keep up with doppler, and make the connection. We will provide more updates in the near future. We would like to remind everyone that ISS flight requirements related to EVA and vehicle activity may require the radio to be off for some portion of this schedule. And school contacts and general QSO opportunities by the crew will also preempt this schedule for short periods of time. (But remember that if you hear these, you still qualify for a commemorative certificate). Frank concluded, "In the meantime, enjoy the ARISS ops on ISS! And congratulations to Owen Garriott, W5LFL, on the 25th anniversary of his historic flight!!" [ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, AMSAT-NA V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs and ARISS International Chairman for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.05 ARISS Status - 22 December 2008 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.05 1. Upcoming School Contacts An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Technopolis in Mechelen, Belgium on Monday, December 29 at 11:43 UTC via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. The mission of Technopolis is to bring science and technology to the public. The center has permanent and temporary exhibits and organizes workshops, school activities and other outreach activities. The ARISS contact will be open to all school children 6 -18 years of age and will be supported through a workshop, lecture or science show. 2. Canadian School Contact Successful Students from King George Elementary School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada took part in a question and answer session with Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place on Monday, December 15. Ten students were able to ask one question each of the astronaut as an audience of 320 looked on. Ray Boughen, Minister of Education Provincial Parliament, Dale McBain, City of Moose Jaw Mayor (both former educators) and Brenda Edwards, Director of Education for Prairie South School Division attended. Television stations taped the event and interviewed the children. Radio station CHAB interviewed the school coordinator. The Moose Jaw Times Herald printed an article covering the contact. See: http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=201052&sc=3 The story includes links to the contact video: http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?main=broadcast&bcid=10109 Principal Ward Milligan commented, "It was an awesome 'once in a lifetime experience' that will become more important in the lives of these students as they look back upon this event in years to come. Having a personal contact with someone in space increased the students' interest in space by three fold. Sandra Magnus was very enthusiastic and answered the students' questions in a manner they could relate to. She was very encouraging of the students. It was an inspirational and moving experience." 3. Italian Students Radio ISS On Thursday, December 18, students from Scuola Elementare Faleriense "Gianni Rodari" in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT as over three hundred students, teachers and parents gathered for the event. Twenty-one students questioned the astronaut and Season's Greetings were exchanged. RAI3 Regional Television and some local media and newspapers covered the event. The audio was fed into the EchoLink servers. For more information, including photos and audio, go to: www.ariss-eu.org/2008_12_18.htm The Corriere News ran an article (in Italian): http://www.corrierenews.it/index.php/corrierenews3100/content/view/full/220… ESA mentions the recent Marco Polo, Circolo Didattico San Giuseppe and Gianni Rodari contacts in this story (also in Italian): http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMXK4TTGOF_Italy_2.html 4. ARISS International Meeting Held The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team meeting was held on Tuesday, December 16. Agenda items included the next face-to-face meeting, SuitSat-2 development status and the ARISS special event. Minutes have been posted to the ARISS Web site. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2008-12-16.htm 5. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ, took a refresher course on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) equipment and operations on Wednesday, December 17. Barratt is looking forward to supporting the program during his time on board the ISS as an Expedition 19 crew member. Expedition 19 is the first half of the planned 6 person crew. 6. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) printed 4 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news items in its January 2009 issue of QST. Under "Media Hits" (page 12) is a lengthy paragraph about how the media coverage for Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, was very prolific. A story on pages 59-60 is about Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, a student at Georgia Tech who's a ham and was quite interested in ARISS. She was friends with a ham teacher at a middle school near her middle school; the teacher had applied for an ARISS contact. The story is called "DXpedition to Planet Mars" and is about Andrea's involvement in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). It says at the end that she wants to be an astronaut. Two columns under "Happenings" (page 63) are titled "Richard Garriott; W5KWQ Back on Terra Firma" which is about Richard and ARISS. It carries two pictures - one of the students in Austin who contacted him during his mission in space and the other is a photo of Richard. "Grants Focus on the Future of Amateur Radio" (page 95) covers three groups that won ARRL Foundation grants. One grant was given to the Eagle Scouts of Indiana who took part in an ARISS contact at the Space Jamboree 2008. The grant received was used to fund equipment for electronic building projects at the Space Jamboree which helped scouts complete the electronics merit badge. The equipment also served other regional and national scout gatherings to introduce amateur radio. Another group that received an award was the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum which is scheduled for an ARISS contact on December 27. The money received funded a ham station (and antenna) in the museum lobby. 7. ARRL and AMSAT Articles on ARISS Special Event The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a Web story about the 25th anniversary of ham radio in space. It includes the latest news covering the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) special event. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/18/10509/?nc=1 The ARRL also issued a W1AW bulletin on the same subject and an article was published in the ARRL Letter. See: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/08/1219/ [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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ELK or ARROW
by Jim Danehy 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

the Arrow antenna has been critiqued by Kent Britain, WA5VJB http://wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf he says that some have measured the Arrow for gain on 435 mhz @ 4 dbi (isotropic) . . . . and that further analysis showed that for the element lengths used on 435 mhz that it peaks at 457 mhz and not 435 mhz . . . Kent is a well respected VHF/UHF antenna person who has plenty of credibility . . . Kent opines that the Arrow, as built does not have its elements insulated from the boom. It uses dimensions for insulated elements . . . so much for the Arrow . . . . Now for the ELK : a local friend of mine owns an Arrow and he uses it successfully. He bought an ELK and attempted to compare the Arrow and the ELK . . . . he could not make an across town QSO on 435 mhz from his second story window with the ELK , so he sent the ELK back for a refund . I have worked and exchanged QSLs with several hundred satellite users . . .the majority of the folks that have worked and QSLed me (close to 250 + ) have been using either the Arrow or ELK based upon the information on their cards. So they are popular. Are they optimum ? A lot of anecdotal information would seem to say NO . . . Thirty-five years ago I worked Oscar 6 with a homebrew 2 mtr yagi that probably was worse than either the Arrow or Elk but I worked YV and KL7 from Indiana on CW with about 15 watts to the 3 elements which my XYL waved around at my directions . . . not any more . . .what do I use these days : a pair of circular polarity yagis on 10 foot booms manufactured by M Square . . . . Folks ask what should they buy ? Maybe a Ford or maybe a Chevy . . . neither is a Cadillac . . . . Jim W9VNE

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Re: Elk Antenna vs Arrow Antenna (Trey Brown)
by Mike Ryan 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

I have both. I started with the ELK due to the cheaper price as it does dual band without a duplexer. I've been very happy with it and its currently in my back yard on a rotor (its cold outside this time of year). For comparison, I bought the Arrow 5 months ago. Contrary to N3TL'd very respetable and valued comments, the Arrow does seem to do better for me, holding a signal a little lower in the sky. No leaps and bounds, but noticeable. I'd sum it up like this: Elk + cheaper all around + can be easily set up for permanent use + easier to aim due to wider beam width. Log periodic are like this. + smaller and very fast setup/teardown + one connector for dual band. - no handle for handheld use . You have to make one, but it's extremely easy to do. And no threads for tripod. - inconvenient if using 2 rigs. Must but a separate duplexer. Arrow + copies a few degrees (just a few) lower than the Elk at my QTH + convenient built in handle and built in threads for tripod - narrower beam width - have to "aim" better. - not easily set up for permanent use. No simple mount and you wouldn't want to leave that "in handle" duplexer outside - Can easily use for 2 rigs. Just don't use the duplexer (if so equipped) and plug into the separate UHF and VHF Mike WB1AAT -------------- Original message from "Trey Brown" <palintheus(a)gmail.com>: -------------- > I'm looking to get started in FM satellites and am considering > purchasing one of these antennas. Wanting to get some thoughts and > opinions from people that have been doing this longer than I have > been. > > http://www.elkantennas.com/2m4405element.htm > http://arrowantennas.com/146-437.html

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Re: Elk vs. Arrow
by Clint Bradford 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

>> ... the Elk out-performs my Arrow consistently ... For AO-51 and SO-50, the Arrow seems to "capture" the birds noticeably better than the Elk for me. The Arrow makes the Elk feel "sloppy" in comparison ... just my first-hand observations. Clint Bradford -------------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666 - cell

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Re: Elk Antenna vs Arrow Antenna
by Edward Cole 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

Kauto, I completely agree. I do not use PL-259 at work except for some Marine radio equipment. Motorola mobile has gone to the mini-UHF and cellular is mostly TNC. Base stations and repeaters are all N-connectors as are the duplexers. All my antennas have N connectors as do the hardline runs. What I hear from local hams is "its too hard to assemble N connectors" to which I say "hogwash" (a US term meaning ridiculous). N connectors only require soldering the center pin which normally is gold plated. PL-259s require "tons of heat" to solder the shield which risks melting the center insulator of the coax. I have more instances of shorted PL-259 connectors. MY DEMI xvtrs all are equipped with N-female and BNC connectors for RF connections. It seems that mostly ham radios made in Japan come with SO-239 (female) connectors...and I would say this is because US hams are requesting them on their equipment (or have in the past). My FT-847 has one N connector for 70cm but the other bands are all SO-239. I added two sma connectors for separate Rx antennas on 2m and 70cm. All my mw gear use either N, TNC, or sma's.......so??? 73, Ed - KL7UW At 02:32 AM 12/27/2008, Kauto Huopio OH2LFM wrote: >I have an Elk myself, bought originally for emergency prepardness ops. >Have tried >with satellites couple of times - with very favourable results. One >odd thing - why >PL-256 connectors are still used in 2m/70cm equipment sold in US? We >have a saying >that PL-256 is a screwable banana plug connector.. at 70cm, loss is >already noticeable. > >Why the ham radio equipment industry can't supply equipment with appropriate >connectors like N on rigs and antennas to US market? In Europe, N is >the way to go >on yagis, amps and rigs on 2m and 70cm gear. > >--Kauto OH2LFM > >-- >Kauto Huopio OH2LFM - oh2lfm(a)srali.fi >Hansakallionkuja 12 A 1, 02780 Espoo, Finland >Tel. +358-40-5008774 (gsm) >_______________________________________________ >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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FT 847/SYMEK F-IFD installed and TNC3S on EBAY
by wgravett＠juno.com 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

Hi HAM Satellite enthusiasts Mark it on your calendar!. On Jan 5th, 9:00pm PST, I am listing the above mentioned equipment with a low reserve on ebay. The SYMEK TNC3S is equipped with a 9.6k and a 38.4k modem. The FT-847 is maxed out with a voice synthesizer, 500hz cw filter, and 2.5khz SSB filters . You can process satellite pictures with this set-up. If you want a terrific deal or know some one who wants to get into satellite communication in a first class way, here is the opportunity. I will be selling some more ham satellite stuff on ebay and will keep you informed when it goes on the block. Best 73 and a Happy '09. Bill, W5PGZ ____________________________________________________________ Click here for free information on how to reduce your debt by filing for bankruptcy. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw22U6CbwaM6XKTobQu85BjbJ9s…

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Re: reminiscing about a long ago
by richard＠g3rwl.demon.co.uk 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

James W8ISS wrote: I am wondering how many of us had relatives that did something during those fun times? No relatives, just lil ole me. I was mixed up in the manned space flight comms network in the Gemini days of the 1960's. NASA's comm links to various places came through London and I worked for the British Post office in the control centre for overseas telegraph comms but we did NASA voice as well as teletype and telemetry too via our wireless stations - to their tracking stations in Kano (Nigeria), Canary Islands and Tananarive (Madagascar). I even had a special desk which was staffed 24 hours a day during a manned flight. Still have tapes from the voice network for some of the Gemini missions (haven't played them for years). Nasa's London comm switching centre was in the same building and there was a multi-rack computerised message switch there. One night shift I stuck a label on the side of it that said "made by slave labour in the Soviet Union". The (American) Station Director had a sense-of-humour failure over that one (remember this was in the 1960's) but I don't think they ever found out who applied the sticker. 73 Richard G3RWL

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Re: Earthrise - add
by Reicher, James 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

Seeing this link brought tears to my eyes. At the time the tapes were made, I was the tender age of three, but I still have a very close connection with those images and with the tapes. My grandfather, Walter Lyons, an electrical engineer with RCA, helped develop the technology used in taking the images from the Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor series and converting them into radio waves and into the data found on these tapes. Although he never was licensed as an amateur, he was one of my inspirations for becoming a ham. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years before I earned my ticket. 73 de W0HV, Jim in Raymore, MO (ex-N8AU) Light travels faster than sound... This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:30:36 -0900 From: Edward Cole <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Earthrise - add To: Joe Fitzgerald <jfitzgerald(a)alum.wpi.edu> Cc: Amsat BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <200812252030.mBPKUbv8086213(a)hermes.acsalaska.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 04:25 AM 12/25/2008, Joe Fitzgerald wrote: >Rocky Jones wrote: > > I think that the first black and white photo of Earthrise over > the Moon...was from one of the Lunar Orbiters... I think 5... > > > > > > >There was a nice story recently about a recent restoration of that photo >...http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-111408a.html > >-Joe KM1P >_______________________________________________ >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 I am amazed at times how my own past resurfaces. One of my duties at Goldstone from 1974-1976 was to manage the tape backup for data received from spacecraft like the Voyagers and Pioneers that flew by Jupiter, Saturn (and the outer planets after my time), and other missions. It was sort of an unwanted task handed off on me. But I took it serious and devised a record system to keep track of when they were recorded and so they would be retained for the required time period. These were backups as the prime data had been transmitted to the mission scientist. These were held a minimum of 30-days in case of any bad data in the originals. I started stacking them in an unused office but in time they ended up in the climate-controlled "basement" of the 64m DSS-14 Control Building. They ended up being kept much longer than 30-days. I'm guessing these reel tapes were made by the same recorder as mentioned in the article. Isn't it fantastic that the old Lunar tapes were recoverable! 2009 will be my 30th anniversary of leaving Jet Propulsion Lab to move to Alaska...tempis fugit! The, then new, Hydrogen Maser Master Clock was installed in this same room. It was used for precise timing of VLBI experiments, which previously required calibration by the famous "flying clock" or the x-band Moon Bounce timing system (ask Dick, K6HIJ). Not only Goldstone, but Madrid, and Canberra stations required to be on the same accurate time (ask Tom Clark about that). As the New Year approaches we reflect on the past. Thanks to those who recently found those articles. Merry Christmas and Happy New year! 73, Ed Cole - KL7UW (& Janet)

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Elk Antenna vs Arrow Antenna
by Trey Brown 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

I'm looking to get started in FM satellites and am considering purchasing one of these antennas. Wanting to get some thoughts and opinions from people that have been doing this longer than I have been. http://www.elkantennas.com/2m4405element.htm http://arrowantennas.com/146-437.html -- Trey -- N5THX They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

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Re: 4A1DXXE via FM satellite this weekend
by Allen Vinegar 27 Dec '08

27 Dec '08

I agree it sounds like chaos. I have already worked 4A1DXXE on 20M CW yesterday and 20M RTTY today, so it will be nice to work them on satellite as well. Al W8KHP

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