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

Out of Office
by Martha 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

I will be out of the AMSAT office from Wednesday, March 12th until Tuesday, March 25th. -- 73- Martha

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More AO-7 log.
by John Hackett 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

Mak, Despite our repeated requests ... yesterday ... W7AIT 15:49 W7AIT 15:50 ... (seperate QSO's) PY4AJ CQ VK4ZQ CQ Like I mentioned ... don't these people 'look' at what they write? ... or note how those that fill in the log correctly do it? ... or even read the Amsat mail?. What can one do?. Statistics are no use to man nor beast if they're incorrect - and over the first 3 months of this year there are enough errors to ensure that the statistics *ARE* wrong ... agreed, they're only small mistakes and agreed that - "it's only a hobby" - but what is the point in filling in the log in the first place if you're not going to do it correctly?. Having pointed out the errors once, twice and three times on both bulletin boards in the last 14 days I assumed that ought to be enough - obviously it wasn't ... so I don't know about you but I'm not going to bother anymore. Since the main "contenders" are English speaking one cannot blame the language. The panes are clear enough and cannot be misconscrued. The hour glass is self explanitory - you yourself have explained more than once how to fix things if they do occasionally go amok - (data is "data") - I'm referring to the - 'remember me' - checkbox issue. It's a pity such a useful resource is allowed to become a mess. EOR ... (End of rant). 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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fo-29
by CE3SOC Raul Romero 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

FO-29 is Working ??

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SPACE RETRANSMISSIONS/SHUTTLE
by Mr Jeffrey L Ross 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

on your local repeater. hello all, anyone who has any info or happen to be net controllers for this kind of net, please contact me off list. I would like information on how your net runs and some do,s and don'ts. I am now in the process of gaining permission from the repeater/club owners, and want to supply them with a wrtten net before I go on the air for the March launch. p.s this is only for a launch. time maybe 15 mins. These are some of the questions I will need answered. 1. should I use a repeater? 2. should I use simplex? 3. how often (if used on repeater do i break for emergency traffic? ideas 4. say shuttle launch: from 3 mins to liftoff, till when? ideas thank you much in advance please advise if you can, kc8gkf West Michigan USA

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Re: More AO-7 log.
by Bill Dzurilla 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

Alan, >>Or, folks could just use common sense and read the second sentence at the top of the log - "IF YOU HAVE A CONTACT TO REPORT...." Oh, we already tried that and it didn't work... Are we talking about the log at http://www.planetemily.com/ao7/logentry.php ? I do not see the "If you have a contact to report" sentence. On my screen, it says, "Use this form to report contact with and information about AO-7. It will be stored in our database and provided to the control operators of AO-7. This information will not be used for any other purpose other than to provide information about AO-7." The "information about" line implies that more than just QSO info is welcome. For the benefit of those not subscribed to this list, I suggest adding the correct instructions directly on the Log Entry page, something like "Do not enter CQ or anything else in the QSOs box unless you have actually completed a two-way QSO." Or are you saying not to make an entry at all unless a contact is completed? I have been entering any time I could hear my downlink, even if no one answered my CQ, based on the "even if it was to yourself" statement on the web page. I had been entering CQ until I saw this thread, so your posts were not totally in vain. 73, Bill NZ5N ____________________________________________________________________________________ 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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Dual Band (2m-70cm) Mobile Antenna Recommendations
by Kent R. Frazier 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

I have been unsuccessfully trying to hear AO51 over the last week with my mobile rig (Icom IC2720 with a Comet C767 dual band antenna mounted to the rear hatchback with a Comet CP-5M mount). Since I am able to transmit and receive on our local repeaters, I'm guessing that the issue is with my antenna. I've been using the online AMSAT satellite pass predictions to predict passes I try to listen to. Can anyone recommend an antenna I could use with the above mount to improve my satellite reception? I'll settle for reception at the moment. I have a 2m handheld (Icom T-22A) that I've been thinking of using for transmit. I'm thinking of adding a Arrow antenna for this. I'm not that knowledgeable with regard to antennas currently, so specific models would be helpful. Thanks, Kent -- Kent R. Frazier, K5KNT

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Re: Dual Band (2m-70cm) Mobile Antenna Recommendations
by Bill Dzurilla 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

Hi Kent, Sorry to hear you are still having trouble. >>Since I am able to transmit and receive on our local >>repeaters, I'm guessing >>that the issue is with my antenna. If you are hearing repeaters good and strong but are hearing absolutely nothing from AO-51, I'm guessing that the problem is not the antenna or the radio. Although not nearly as strong as a nearby repeater, the downlink signal from AO-51 is quite loud, and high elevation passes (35 degrees or more) can easily be copied on an HT with just a rubber duck antenna. I have made many contacts with just a 6 1/2" ground plane on the downlink. So my guess is that you are listening at the wrong time or on the wrong frequency, or there's some other problem. That being said, a better antenna is always nice. The Arrow is very popular and effective, if you don't mind holding it in your hand for 15 minutes during a pass. It can be mounted on a camera tripod if you don't want to hold it. Good luck, Bill NZ5N ____________________________________________________________________________________ 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: Dual Band (2m-70cm) Mobile Antenna Recommendations
by Bob Bruninga 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

> Can anyone recommend an antenna...to improve > my [mobile] satellite reception? By definition, a good antenna for repeaters is bad for satellites. Repeaters are on the horizon, satellites are usually higher when they are strong enough to hear. Please see the OMNI antenna discussion at the bottom of the ASTARS web page: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/astars.html Use a 19" 2m whip in the center of your roof. It has almost 5 dB gain above the horizon on 2 meters and over 7 dB on UHF. Bob, WB4APR

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Re: Dual Band (2m-70cm) Mobile Antenna Recommendations
by Bill Dzurilla 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

Kent, VO-52 has a strong beacon at 145.936. This is quite a mystery, if I lived closer I'd visit your shack and try to help further. In your driveway, your antenna is not so close to the house that it blocks the path, is it? If your house (or a neigbor's house or a big tree) blocks the path between the antenna and the sat, then you would not hear the bird. Have you tried from an open area? I was on AO-51 last night around 0100 UTC, 7pm Central Time. Lots of activity from Canada to Venezuela. Is that when you were listening? For tonight (Tuesday), I'm seeing a nice high pass for you from 0148 to 0201, highest at 0154. If you are in the clear and don't hear anything on 435.3 at that time (start at 435.305 near the beginning of pass, 435.3 in the middle, 435.295 near the end), something's wrong. 73, Bill ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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AO-16 status report
by Mark L. Hammond 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

Hello all, Ronald, I'll take your message as a prompt to provide an AO-16 update! AO-16 is certainly not dead. It is doing quite well in its current mode. Below is the current operational configuration for AO-16: (available from: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=11&retURL=/sate… ) Mode FM Voice Repeater (Downlink is double sideband.): Operational Uplink: 145.9200 MHz FM Downlink 437.0260 MHz DSB (LSB and USB) The plan is to continue this mode of voice operations "until further notice. " AO-16 has been in full sunlight (no eclipse periods at all) for several months. That is about to change later this month! Short eclipse periods will begin at the end of March and will increase steadily until early July--at which point the eclipse periods will increase to about 26 minutes each orbit. We'll have to watch this old bird and its batteries as the eclipse periods increase. It is possible that the long eclipse periods may necessitate the reduction of the 70 cm transmitter output; this is a manual process for AO-16, since the spacecraft isn't running any housekeeping software to do it "automagically." AO-16 is pretty loud at its current power setting, so some reduction should have little if any user impact. Observations and user reports will be especially helpful during April/May/June/July this year. In order to collect telemetry, we'll need to change the satellite into its digital mode from time to time. But this doesn't take long and therefore shouldn't interfere much with its operations as a voice satellite. The S-band beacon is not operational at this time. The exact status of the S-band transmitter remains unknown; however, its last known status might be described as "suspect" or "semi-operational" at best...(as I recall--and this might not be accurate--there are issues with the power budget, no way to adjust the power output of the S-band transmitter, and so on.) Given the age of the satellite (over 18 years!), my opinion is that this falls into the "maybe we should leave well enough alone for now" category. (And yes, LUSAT/LO-19 is still transmitting CW telemetry on 437.125+/- ----if that's what you mean below?) On behalf of the AO-16 Command Team, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] ___ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:17:02 -0800 From: "Ronald A. Stunden" <ve7yc-(a)shaw.ca> Subject: [amsat-bb] AO 16 To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <0JX600L2JM8F6K50@l-daemon> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Is the beacon on 2401.143 in operation.? Or is the bird dead. Also heard LU Sat on 435.110 ? Thanks YC

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