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

Re: Courteous AO-51 Operation
by Robert Turlington 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

hi Ben have read your little piece on courteous AO51 Operation with interest and in general I toady agree with you, my only comment is why only AO51, because the other single channel satellites are almost as bad even the newly resurrected AO16 is a bit of a mad house a lot of the time here in Europe. I therefore suggest you rename your title as 'Courteous Single Channel Satellite OperationRegards Robert G8ATE > Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:43:09 -0400> From: bbj(a)innismir.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Courteous AO-51 Operation> > With the ever increasing madhouse that AO-51 is becoming, and with > spring just around the corner adding more users to the satellite, I've > typed up a fairly simple "do's and don'ts" guide to working AO-51. The > guide focuses more on etiquette and operational guidelines rather then > technical ideas, because there are already some excellent guides out > there for the new user to read up on.> > This was more or less conceived one night in #amsat on irc.dishnuts.net > while discussing the operational issues on AO-51. The satellite is a > very good, very easy satellite to get into, however, the more people jam > on, the harder it is for people to use it. So, myself, John (KB2HSH), > Charles (N3CRT), and Mark (KF6KYI) all tossed around ideas on what is > more a less a good "code of conduct" for AO-51 operation.> > Without further adieu:> > PDF (35K) http://www.innismir.net/etc/CourteousAO51_v1.1.pdf> DOC (38K) http://www.innismir.net/etc/CourteousAO51_v1.1.doc> > Comments? Questions? Suggestions?> > -- > Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA> bbj <at> innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/> > _______________________________________________> 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 _________________________________________________________________ Share what Santa brought you https://www.mycooluncool.com

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HQ8R still qrv - grid EK87
by Bill Dzurilla 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Have already worked a lot of folks on AO-51 and AO-27 and a couple on SO-50, still a couple of days left although we will be leaving earlier than planned. I am just using an HT and a hand-held Arrow so it's hard to write and the log is probably inaccurate, so send an email to billdz.geo(a)yahoo.com if you have worked HQ8R. Also if anyone has a recording of any of my contacts, please email a copy. Still working on getting an all mode for at least a few passes on AO-7, AO-16, and VO-52. 73, Bill NZ5N and the whole HQ8R team ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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Re: Courteous AO-51 Operation
by Robert Turlington 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Hi John my reply was in no way a critique of the article I just thought it should not specifically refer to one particular single channel bird but to all. Of course reference could be made to AO51 as a particularly bad example but so far as I am concerned they are as bad as each other in one way or another. By the way I am a regular on all of the birds single channel or linear ,for example 26 countries/4 continents worked on A16 and about 100 callsigns.Regards Robert G8ATE > Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:51:48 -0400> From: KB2HSH(a)amsat.org> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Courteous AO-51 Operation> > Good Afternoon, all...> > Robert, I think the main point that Ben is trying to make with these> "friendly suggestions" is civility. Love the single-channel FM satellites> or not, they are a fact of life throughout AMSAT. And AO-51 is arguably the> worst as far as manners and good operating procedures are concerned. This> doesn't mean that it doesn't happen on other single-channel birds.> > Consider this: You are trying to give a demo to a group that's interested> in satellite-based Amateur Radio. You do your best to convey ease of use,> technical skill and accomplishment, and the fact that satellite hams in> general are a great bunch of guys...etc etc etc. Then, you tune into AO-51> for the demo...and you hear "the Zoo".> > Some of it is just common sense...like using headphones...not using too much> power (we ALL know at least one person that does), but Ben worded some of> the suggestions to try to "level the field", and help to make it more fair> for everyone.> > As our fleet gets older, and more satellites become non-operational...and> more Amateurs enter the ranks, the FM satellites will undoubtedly get worse,> more crowded, etc. As this becomes reality, there are 3 routes to take to> solve the "problem": A) Move to the Linear Satellites...B) Build more FM> Satellites (which some will absolutely HATE)...or C) Learn to become a more> efficient operator and get along with each other.> > Sadly, though...I have a feeling that this will reignite the Linear Vs. FM> debate.> > > John KB2HSH> > > > > -- > _______________________________> > > John Marranca, Jr> PBX Technician/Shop Steward CWA Local 1122> BN Systems, Inc> Orchard Park, NY> (716)972-2006> _______________________________________________> 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 _________________________________________________________________ Who's friends with who and co-starred in what? http://www.searchgamesbox.com/celebrityseparation.shtml

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Fw: Replacement KLM 2M-14C matching harness coax?
by i8cvs 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Swaggart" <k.swaggart(a)charter.net> To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 12:49 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Replacement KLM 2M-14C matching harness coax? > It's time to rebuild my Oscar 10 vintage KLM 2M-14C matching harness. There > are no markings on the original harness but it has teflon insulation and I > assume it is 75 Ohm. Anyone have the replacement info? I'd prefer to use > teflon cable. The antenna manual doesn't describe the matching harness. > > Tnx, > Ken, W7KKE > Hi Ken, W7KKE The balun across each folded dipole is made with 50 ohm RG-303 teflon insulated coax cable, velocity factor 0.694 The phasing coupling harness is made with two matching lines of 75 ohm RG-302 teflon insulated coax cable, velocity factor 0.694 The polarity switcher is a relay Guardian Electric WJ MFG Corp 1365 series 12 V dc A410-364385-00 Due of the lenght of relay the lenght of coax RG-302 going from relay to the 50 ohm unbalance feed is critical to be 1/4 electrical wave long beginning from the folded dipole so that use only 75 ohm RG-302 or any other type of 75 ohm teflon insulated coax with the same lenght as the original one. For water protection it is necessary to enclose the PCB and relay into an additional plastic box and if anyone is interested on it I can send a set of pics showing my own installation. 73" de i8CVS Domenico

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Arthur C. Clarke Dies at Age 90
by Eric Rosenberg 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

From the Washington Post ----------------------------- Arthur C. Clarke; Sci-Fi Writer Foresaw Mankind's Possibilities By Patricia Sullivan Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 19, 2008; B07 Arthur C. Clarke, 90, the world-famous science-fiction writer, futurist and unofficial poet laureate of the space age, died of a respiratory ailment March 18 at his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mr. Clarke co-wrote, with director Stanley Kubrick, the screenplay for "2001: A Space Odyssey," which is regarded by many as one of the most important science fiction films made. A prolific writer, with more than 100 published books, he was praised for his ability to foresee the possibilities of human innovation and explain them to non-scientific readers. The most famous example is from 1945, when he first proposed the idea of communications satellites that could be based in geostationary orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground. Some scoffed, but the idea was proved almost a generation later with the launch of Early Bird, the first of the commercial satellites that provide global communications networks for telephone, television and high-speed digital communication. The orbit is now named Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union. "He had influenced the world in the best way possible," writer Ray Bradbury said in Neil McAleer's 1992 book "Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography." "Arthur's ideas have sent silent engines into space to speak in tongues. His fabulous communications satellite ricocheted about in his head long before it leaped over the mountains and flatlands of the Earth." In addition to his books, he wrote more than 1,000 short stories and essays. One of his short stories, "Dial F for Frankenstein" (1964), inspired British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee to invent the World Wide Web in 1989. Mr. Clarke also popularized the idea of a space elevator as an energy-efficient alternative to rockets. Conceived by a Russian engineer in 1960 and re-invented at least four times in the next decades, Mr. Clarke's inclusion of the idea in a 1979 novel brought it to popular attention and helped launch a new field of study. He told New Scientist magazine last year that it would be built "50 years after everyone stops laughing." But it was his collaboration with Kubrick in the 1968 film that made him internationally famous. The screenplay for "2001: A Space Odyssey" was based on Mr. Clarke's 1951 short story "The Sentinel," and Mr. Clarke simultaneously wrote the companion novel, which was released three months after the film and was believed by many to be a more detailed explanation of the ideas in the film. Mr. Clarke's work inspired the names of spacecraft, an asteroid and a species of dinosaur. He joined American broadcaster Walter Cronkite as a commentator on the Apollo moonshots in the late 1960s. Two television series in the 1980s spread his ideas around the world. He was knighted in 1998, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 and received the Franklin Institute gold medal, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-Kalinga Prize and other honors. Mr. Clarke, a resident of Sri Lanka since 1956, worked with Jacques Cousteau and others to help perfect scuba equipment. He moved to the country, then known as Ceylon, to open a dive shop and explore the undersea world. Disabled by post-polio syndrome, the lingering effects of a disease that had paralyzed him for two months in 1959, Mr. Clarke said diving was as close as he could get to the weightless feeling of space. "I'm perfectly operational underwater," he once said. His dive shop was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. Born Dec. 17, 1917, in Minehead, Somerset, England, he was the son of a postal service engineer turned farmer and a post office telegrapher. He became addicted to science fiction at 11. In 1936, he moved to London and joined the British Interplanetary Society and began writing science fiction. After enlisting in the Royal Air Force in 1941, he became a radar instructor and participated in the development of ground-controlled landings of aircraft under zero-visibility conditions. That experience proved the inspiration for his only non-science-fiction novel, "Glide Path." It is also where, in 1945, he wrote an RAF memo about satellites. He later revised it and submitted it as "Extra-Terrestrial Relays" to Wireless World, which almost rejected it as too far-fetched. He was wrong about some things: He expected that three satellites would take care of the world's communication needs and that each would require a crew in residence. After World War II, Mr. Clarke obtained a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics at King's College, London. In 1954, Mr. Clarke wrote to Harry Wexler, then chief of the Scientific Services Division at the U.S. Weather Bureau, about satellite applications for weather forecasting. From these discussions, a new branch of meteorology was born. Mr. Clarke's marriage to Marilyn Mayfield ended in divorce. Survivors include a brother and sister, both of whom live in England. According to a news release from the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, Mr. Clarke reviewed the final manuscript of his latest science fiction novel, "The Last Theorem," a few days ago. It is scheduled to be published later this year. Although he rarely left Sri Lanka, he kept in touch with the rest of the world by using the satellite communication he predicted so long ago. He told the Associated Press that he didn't regret never going into space because he had arranged to have the DNA from his hair sent into orbit. "Some day, some super civilization may encounter this relic from the vanished species and I may exist in another time," he said. In a 90th birthday video recorded in December, Mr. Clarke said he had only three last wishes: That someone find evidence of extraterrestrial life; that the world adopt clean energy sources; and that an end be found to the long civil war in Sri Lanka. "I'm sometimes asked how I would like to be remembered. I've had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science populariser," he said. "Of all these, I want to be remembered most as a writer -- one who entertained readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well."

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Re: General Astrodynamics Library
by Willmott, Paul 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Gentlemen, Jonathon, thanks for the fix, I'll add it to the next release. I tested this make on OSX and cygwin and the flags were not needed, I'm downloading Debian now to run under parallels on the mac so will be able to test for linux requirements in future. Geoeff, GAL is intended to be a super-set of routines that may or may not be of use to astrodynamics experimenters. David's work on bringing SGP4 up-to-date will be included, albeit in a slightly modified form - it will be altered to be compatible with the gal vector/matrix library and reference frame implementations. GAL will also eventually include direct numerical integration, i.e. orbit propagation direct from gravity and other force models. This will allow orbit propagation for bodies other than the Earth, e.g. the Moon and Mars (Phase 5A). Its going to be a long project, and I've got no timetable, I'll release as each block gets bolted down. A lot of what is going into GAL is based upon research done for the Station Program version 2 ( an aborted project from the early 1990s). If you like David's book then I would recommend this one strongly, it is easier to work through, and includes a CD with all the worked examples in C++. http://www.amazon.com/Satellite-Orbits-Models-Methods-Applications/dp/35 4067280X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205925623&sr=1-1 73 Paul, VP9MU -----Original Message----- From: Geoff [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 4:03 AM To: Jonathan Wagner; Willmott, Paul Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: General Astrodynamics Library Hi Gents My bad sending to the -bb. I intended to send to Paul direct . Jonathon, your fix appeared to work perfectly. Paul how does your work compare to that of Vallado? I have his book and have downloaded his routines but I don't have the skill to do much more than read through them. :-) 73 de Geoff vk2tfg. On Wednesday 19 March 2008 08:16, you wrote: > I don't have time to check the library out now, but it looks like your > errors stem from a makefile issue. It looks like the makefile isn't > explicitly telling the compiler to link the math library in. Try adding > `CFLAGS="-lm" before the ./configure command. > > prompt$ CFLAGS="-lm" ./configure > > If that works then editing the auomake.in or the automake.am files to > add this flag should take care of this for most people. But, that would > be a task for Paul. > > BTW, I had nothing to do with writing this library, but just thought I > would help out a fellow ham. I don't want to steal any of Paul's > thunder; I don't even know him. > > Jonathan Wagner > > Geoff wrote: > > On Wednesday 19 March 2008 04:58, Willmott, Paul wrote: > >> Hi All, > >> > >> I've been working on a general c/c++ astrodynamics library. It is > >> strictly a work in progress, and so far only includes the basic > >> astronomy routines. Next up will be the orbit propagators, and tracking > >> stuff. Anyway, its time for it to see the outside world. It can be > >> downloaded from here: > >> > >> http://homepage.mac.com/pclwillmott/GAL/index.html > >> > >> Its released under GPL 2 and was developed under OSX using the GNU > >> development tools, so should compile OK on UNIX / GNU Linux / and under > >> cygwin in Windows. > >> > >> The routines are primitives, and it is deliberatly not framework based, > >> so you can rip bits for your projects without lots of baggage. > >> > >> Please let me know any comments. > > > > snipped > > > > Hi Paul, > > I had a go at your GAL package on my Debian 4.0 hppa box. Download, > > unpack, configure, make and make install work well but make check barfs > > with the trace you'll see quoted below. I don't have the programming > > skills to do anything with it but I'm always glad to try and break > > software :-) . > > > > 73 de Geoff vk2tfg. > > > >> hppa:/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0# make check > >> Making check in test > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/test' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/test' > >> Making check in vec_mat > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/vec_mat' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/vec_mat' > >> Making check in ephemerides > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/ephemerides' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/ephemerides' > >> Making check in pstrings > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/pstrings' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/pstrings' > >> Making check in star > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/star' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/star' > >> Making check in eao > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/eao' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/eao' > >> Making check in date_time > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/date_time' > >> make[1]: Nothing to be done for `check'. > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0/date_time' > >> make[1]: Entering directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0' > >> make gal_tdatetime gal_tvecmat gal_tprecnut gal_tearthrot > >> gal_tephemerides gal_tpstrings gal_tstar make[2]: Entering directory > >> `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0' > >> gcc -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -Itest -g -O2 -c -o gal_tdatetime.o `test -f > >> 'date_time/gal_tdatetime.c' || echo './'`date_time/gal_tdatetime.c In > >> file included from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:44: > >> test/gal_test_common.h:78:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from test/gal_test.h:38, > >> from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_test_start.h:93:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from test/gal_test.h:39, > >> from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_test_stop.h:82:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from test/gal_test.h:40, > >> from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_vcv.h:92:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from test/gal_test.h:41, > >> from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_vdv.h:94:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from test/gal_test.h:42, > >> from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_viv.h:92:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from test/gal_test.h:43, > >> from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_vsv.h:92:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> In file included from date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:45: > >> test/gal_test.h:70:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> date_time/gal_tdatetime.c:110:3: warning: no newline at end of file > >> /bin/sh ./libtool --tag=CC --mode=link gcc -g -O2 -o gal_tdatetime > >> gal_tdatetime.o libgal_test.la libgal.la libtool: link: gcc -g -O2 -o > >> .libs/gal_tdatetime gal_tdatetime.o ./.libs/libgal_test.a > >> ./.libs/libgal.so -Wl,-rpath -Wl,/usr/local/lib ./.libs/libgal.so: > >> undefined reference to `sqrt' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `floor' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `fmod' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `cos' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `sin' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `atan2' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `pow' > >> ./.libs/libgal.so: undefined reference to `atan' > >> collect2: ld returned 1 exit status > >> make[2]: *** [gal_tdatetime] Error 1 > >> make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0' > >> make[1]: *** [check-am] Error 2 > >> make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0' > >> make: *** [check-recursive] Error 1 > >> hppa:/home/vk2tfg/libgal-0.1.0# > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 ********************************************************************************* This message and any files transmitted with it are confidential and may be privileged and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the person to whom it is addressed and review by anyone else is unauthorized. Any use, disclosure, reproduction, modification or distribution of the contents of this e-mail, or any part thereof, other than by the intended recipient, is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this message in error, please notify the sender of this e-mail immediately by return e-mail and destroy the message and all copies in your possession. 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fascinating - gravity math inaccurate, as shown by spacecraft
by Nate Duehr 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10804075 So-called "slingshot" maneuvers produce a tiny amount more speed than current known gravity models allow for... 4mm/sec... and the deep space and other probes that have used the maneuver have all seen the effect. Unexplained little gravity phenomenon. Very interesting. -- Nate Duehr, WY0X nate(a)natetech.com

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Re: Coax run on the Beams
by Prathap Kumar 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Dear Edward, Domenico, John & Louis Thank you all for the various inputs and knowledge. Yes I am using cross yagis one for V and the other for U and the boom is metalic while the cross arm is a fibreglass tube. Will study all your ideas and try out the bext. Thank you all once again. Best 73 Pop VU2POP

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Re: Help with rotor control and GS-232B
by John Kopala 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Hi Scott, Jeff, K7WIN is controller the Rotor using the GS-232B interface. Well, this is the second part of the puzzle. I'm doing doppler control of an IC-910H using SATPC32 and it works great. If you have trouble setting it up, get back to me and I'll try to help. It does have a somewhat steep learning curve, but it doesn't take long to get over that. John, N7JK -----Original Message----- Message: 4 Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:14:16 -0400 From: "Scott Gillis" <sgillis(a)toyotaofwaldorf.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Help with rotor control and GS-232B Hope I can get some good feedback on this issue. I bought a GS-232B and "assumed" (sigh) that it would be backwards compatible (meaning anything written for any GS-232 would work) I don't seem so lucky (or at least it seams that way with NOVA for Windows). I'm looking for suggestions on what software package (or combination) I need to control my ICOM 910H and my GS-232B. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated 73 Scott Gillis N3UJJ My Current Location <" target=_blank>http://location.n3ujj.com/> My Amateur Weather Station <" target=_blank>http://weather.n3ujj.com/>

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Re: Arthur C. Clarke, RIP
by Jim Jerzycke 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

I work for Boeing on the Sea Launch program. We're on schedule to launch tomorrow (Wednesday) at 3:48pm, Pacific time, 22:48 UTC. There will be a live webcast through the company website at: http://www.sea-launch.com/ It will be carried live on DirecTV channel 573, starting at 3:30pm. There's also a Mission Album you can view if you click on "Current Launch" on the main page. 73, Jim KQ6EA --- Rick Mann <rmann(a)latencyzero.com> wrote: > > On Mar 18, 2008, at 4:44 PM, Jim Jerzycke wrote: > > I just heard that. The sad thing is, I'm out here > in > > the Pacific right now to launch DirecTV-11, and > HALF > > the people on our launch team never heard of him! > > R.I.P., Sir Arthur..... > > > Despite the sad news about Clarke, I'm very excited > about what you > casually mention: you're launching a rocket! How > very cool. > > Is there some place I can go to find out more about > the launch? Are > you posting pictures to a blog, or anything like > that? > > > -- > Rick > >

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