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

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:[email protected]] 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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