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

ITAR and AMSAT
by G0MRF＠aol.com 29 Mar '08

29 Mar '08

Slightly off topic, but interesting for satellite constructors For anyone who is having trouble sleeping at night, or is interested in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regarding hardware / software export from the USA, the following site lists technologies that are restricted. _http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/offdocs/itar/p121.htm_ (http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/offdocs/itar/p121.htm) Space technolgies are listed in section 15 (XV) >From an AMSAT perspective it makes some nice distinctions in technologies that may be considered as 'US Munitions' and other allowable 'commerce' products. AMSAT has technologies that can be placed in both categories. e.g. Export of GPS capable of operating above 60,000 feet. / 1000MPH - Banned Attitude control systems capable of pointing accuracy 0.02 degrees or better. - Banned restartable kick motors that remain active once on orbit, that can produce greater than 1g acceleration. - Banned. Satellite antennas with ground coverage 3dB points less than 200 nautical miles diameter. - Banned. Radiation hardened space rated ICs. Banned, but if you embed them so they can't be removed. - Allowed. Fortunately for us, the overall emphasis is on military use and it does not seek to restrict commercial space products. Other than the GPS, (and buying a bigger pot of epoxy resin) none of the other exmples seem to be a problem for the average AMSAT mission. Or are they? Thanks David G0MRF

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Re: MANCHESTER encosing schemes
by RFI-EMI-GUY 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Thanks Jim! Jim Sanford wrote: > > See Embedded Systems Design for Feb 2008. www.embedded.com > 73 and good luck! > Jim > wb4gcs(a)amsat.org > > > RFI-EMI-GUY wrote: >> Can anyone point me to some simple schemes for Manchester encoding >> and decoding. The application would be for high speed data over a low >> cost ISM link (manufacturer advises against long strings of data in >> 111 or 000's) >> >> > > > -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "The RFI-EMI-GUY"© "Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason." "Follow The Money" ;-P

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QSL CARD EXCHANGE
by Stuart Underwood 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Greetings, I have a question about exchanging QSL cards. When the last time the ISS xband repeater was up I made seven contacts. I was very excited because this was the first time I was able to work satellites. Very anxious, I sent out seven QSL cards. Waiting to get some back. I received only one. My questions is, is there a protocol for sending and receiving QSL cards for satellite work? When I get better, I would like to try for VUCC... Thanks in advance. 73, Stuart W8STU EN91

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Re: QSL card exchange
by John Mock KD6PAG 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

I've had very good luck with US and Canadian QSL cards. My experience with Mexico is too limited to draw that much of conclusion (but lately i've been getting a fair number of them). In fact, i get ALOT of cards that i don't ask for; people seem to like to send me cards even when i check 'TNX' on my card when i know that i don't need their grid and/or state. I'm not so good at QSLing promptly, as i record each pass i operate and then carefully transcribe them [when time permits]. But everyone gets a card from me the first time i work them in (or from) a new grid. I find that easier than trying to keep track of who needs which cards. So if you don't hear me on the air for awhile, that's probably because i have gotten too far behind in QSLing. Here's what i do that works well for me. I print my own cards from the QSO data on 4x6" card stock and accurately trim to post card size. (Alot of folks don't want your card sticking out of an otherwise neat stack of cards.) Since i'm frequently roving, i include both my operating location, six- character grid square and GPS co-ordinates. There are a couple of graphics and some lettering is colored. Perhaps most importantly, i add a personal comment to each card, even if it's just the other station's grid square and best wishes. In addition, as well as the usual 'Thx' and 'Pls QSL', there is also a box marked 'LoTW' which is checked whenever the QSO data has been already been uploaded to ARRL at the time the card was printed. Also, for QSLs on grid square boundaries, i often include a picture taken from QSO location, which could be compared to satellite images (such as Google maps) or topographic maps to help verify that i was operating from two [or more(!)] grid squares at once. (I probably should include the county and power level [available on LoTW] but that would require a re-design of my cards.) The other thing i do when i want a card back is to include a self-addressed envelope and 'loose' postage. This way, the receiver can use the postage and still have the choice of using my envelope or their own. For Canada, i order Canadian stamps on-line. (I don't have a good source of Mexican postage, but i make an effort by including the corresponding US postage with the notation "for your next USA SASE". Stamp trades are welcome.) At the moment, US amateurs get an extra 1 cent stamp to they can respond conveniently even after our postal rates go up [again]. Basically, i go through a fair amount of work to produce and mail the cards (much of which was a once-only task [programming]). People seem to respond to that effort. Compared to what i've heard from most HF'ers, i am quite pleased with (and also proud of) efforts that satellite operators make to QSL. -- KD6PAG (Networking Old-Timer, Satellite QRPer)

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Re: QSL CARD EXCHANGE
by Wayne Estes 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Stuart Underwood wrote: Very anxious, I sent out seven QSL cards. Waiting to get some back. I received only one. My questions is, is there a protocol for sending and receiving QSL cards for satellite work? Wayne replies: The satellite QSL protocol is essentially the same as for terrestrial contacts, except we put slightly different information on the QSL card. Did you send a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with the QSL cards? In my experience, about 20% will send a card back to me if I don't include a SASE. The response rate is about 80% when I include a SASE. This is very different from when I was a novice in the 1970's. I had a high response rate then, and I never sent SASE's. I assume you were referring to domestic contacts because the ISS has a small footprint. For international contacts you need to send either an IRC or dollar bills for return postage. This gets expensive. A dollar is sufficient for a reply from Canada or Mexico, but you need to send 3 dollars to get a reply from Germany. It's difficult to buy IRC's in the United States. The U.S. signed a treaty that requires post offices to stock IRC's, but most U.S. post offices don't stock them. Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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Re: QSL CARD EXCHANGE
by Frank A Cahoy 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Hello Wayne and the Group, I believe that this message may have been sent before it was ready to be sent. My email server (JUNO) has a habit of sending things at a time when it should not do so. Therefore, I'll start over again and hope for the best. I am an avid "paper" QSL card collector. In 2007 I sent nearly 2000 cards to the outgoing ARRL bureau. It's much too soon to calculate the results from last year but after 47+ years of sending cards I'd be quite pleased with a 50% return. Recently I contacted a fellow in Hungary with a plee for some help in getting that entity confirmed via satellite. I thought I was in great luck because he told me that he personally, could indeed, confirm one of my Hungarian QSOs. That being HA5MRC on AO-40. He did state that he had no HA5MRC paper QSLs and no way to get any. I got on the computer and made up and printed several paper HA5MRC cards that met his approval. I then sent those paper cards with an SAE and $2.00. That was late in 2007 but to date only a short reply telling me to be patient! This same fellow also gave me specific instructions about how to get a card from HA2RD whom I'd QSOed via AO-10. More wasted effort and dollars down the drain. My point??? Even when you follow directions and make double sure that you've done everything RIGHT, your efforts may go unrewarded!! I think that I have a minimum of $10.00 to $15.00 invested from my efforts to get an HA satellite confirmation. It would appear that I have to wait for P3E before I can find and work a station in Hungary who is willing to send QSLs............. My 2 cents worth on QSL card exchanging. 73 Frank, KØBLT

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IT time change
by Dave Guimont 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

A few days back someone had a question regarding the latest time change and IT. I was a way from my computer for several days, forgot who asked the question, perhaps it has been answered... When I got back I inadvertently deleted a bunch of files, and the question with it.... Simply enter the change in the it.ini file...a text file explains it... Its been a long time, but as I remember a "SET" command introduces the error, but the ini will correct it... 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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Re: ke7jgb qso with Alaska
by Robert Coppock 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

HI, there is a post on qrz forums about university night: John / ke7jgb (western Washington state) had a qso with an Alaska station at 0317 utc 28th (thursday evening pdt) on ao51. he did not get the station callsign, and this was his very first satellite qso! the other station did repeat his callsign. he is looking for that station and callsign. if anyone can help him, please email him. his qrz info has the email id. i just thought i would relay his post to another good chance place. maybe if he gets in contact with the other station, he will become an AMSAT member. thank you very much, 73, Robert kf0g cm97 #35488

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Re: QSL CARD EXCHANGE
by Kent R. Frazier 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

By mistake, I sent this only to Jim at first... On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 7:24 AM, Kent R. Frazier <k5knt(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > > On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 12:52 AM, Jim Walls <jim(a)k6ccc.org> wrote: > > > Stuart Underwood wrote: > > > Greetings, > > > > > > I have a question about exchanging QSL cards. When the last time the > > ISS xband repeater was up I made seven contacts. I was very excited because > > this was the first time I was able to work satellites. Very anxious, I sent > > out seven QSL cards. Waiting to get some back. I received only one. My > > questions is, is there a protocol for sending and receiving QSL cards for > > satellite work? When I get better, I would like to try for VUCC... Thanks > > in advance. 73, Stuart W8STU EN91 > > > > When was the ISS last on cross-band? Has there been enough time for you to > have received the cards? I'm new to satellites also, from what I've read > some use QSL bureaus and they only send out once a month or when a certain > amount of cards are ready to be sent. > Did you include a SASE with your cards? > > > > > > Unfortunately fewer and fewer hams are willing to send QSL cards. I > > will always send a card if requested, and would usually send a card if > > it was to someone I had never worked on satellite. Also if it was > > something special for one or the other of us. > > > > When I was trying to finish my satellite VUCC, it took some effort to > > get the last few card. > > > > Satelllite VUCC #108 > > > This is disturbing... As a newbie to satellites, I've never been > interested in collecting awards or QSLs until now. If fewer hams are > willing to send QSL cards (too expensive?) then the ARRL and AMSAT need to > reconsider allowing some form of electronic QSLs for the awards, IMO. > > I just sent nine cards out this week. These are the first satellites I've > worked. I included a SASE with each. It will be interesting to see what kind > of response I get. > > 73, > > Kent > > -- > Kent R. Frazier, K5KNT -- Kent R. Frazier, K5KNT

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MANCHESTER encosing schemes
by RFI-EMI-GUY 28 Mar '08

28 Mar '08

Can anyone point me to some simple schemes for Manchester encoding and decoding. The application would be for high speed data over a low cost ISM link (manufacturer advises against long strings of data in 111 or 000's) -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "The RFI-EMI-GUY"© "Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason." "Follow The Money" ;-P

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