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

Re: Yaesu G-5500 Connectors
by gregory.beat＠comcast.net 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

Joel - KC8HZ found an Ohio distributor for Nanaboshi connectors (Japanese mfg.) in 2007 and was able to order in small quantities. He ended up ordering 2 male and 2 female -- so he could take the rotor out of the tower and have a ground test cable. The connectors cost him about $12 USD each in 2007. Kinetic Technologies of Ohio PO Box 447 190 North Mill Street Milford Center, OH 43045-0447 Phone 937-349-7361 In Ohio Call: 800-569-1334 Here is the Kinetic Technologies (US distributor) web page for Nanaboshi connectors http://www.kinetictechnologies.cc/nanaboshi.htm Nanaboshi - Japanese web page (English version) http://www.nanabosi.co.jp/index.php?ENGLISH 73 de Greg W9GB >Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 10:29:26 -0400 >From: "Joel Kandel" <> >Subject: [amsat-bb] Yaesu G-5500 Connectors >To: "AMSAT-BB" <> >Message-ID: <> > >I found a 2003 AMSAT thread from Wayne, W9AE, indicating that there was a source >for purchasing extra 7 pin connectors for the G-5500 az/el rotor. That was >Advanced Industrial Products, but with a long lead time. > >Since then, has anyone found another source for these connectors (Nanaboshi >NJC-207-PF), or another manufacturer? > >Thank you, >Joel Kandel, KI4T

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Re: AO-51 Tx power?
by Gould Smith 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

Hi Alex, I don't have any plans to automate it. Depending upon the mode(s) in use on AO-51, I manually adjust the TX power to get through eclipse. As long as the BB is operational these settings are available in the downlinked telemetry. If you don't have a 9600 bps modem, Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW has an operational, beta telemetry decoder/display that uses your sound card. This is available on the AMSAT Digital Disk. 73, Gould, WA4SXM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Perez" <aperez(a)alexperez.com> To: "Gould Smith" <gouldsmi(a)bellsouth.net> Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 7:40 PM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 Tx power? > Any plans for automating the process so changes like this get auto- > emailed to the list, so we can avoid these types of repeated inquiries? > > On Apr 1, 2008, at 1:48 PM, Gould Smith wrote: > >> Hello Jeff and BB, >> >> AO-51 is running less power than last week. >> >> 1) The SQRX receiver is on for L band uplink for the BB >> 2) We are starting to enter a new eclipse cycle this week. >> >> TX B (analog) as of this morning is 700 mW (was 820 mW) >> TX A (digital) as of this morning is 550 mW (was 550 mW analog last >> week) >> >> We will reduce power slowly until mid June (eclipse length maximum), >> then >> slowly increase it until early Sept when we will again enter a no >> eclipse >> period for a number of months. >> It is easy to get spoiled with the higher output levels, the last three >> months. >> >> 73, >> Gould, WA4SXM >> AO-51 Command station >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Jeff Mock" <jeff(a)mock.com> >> To: <amsat-bb(a)AMSAT.Org> >> Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 2:51 PM >> Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-51 Tx power? >> >> >>> Was the 70cm Tx power on AO-51 reduced with the latest mode change? I >>> was getting about the same signal levels this morning as in March. >>> >>> jeff >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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AO-51 Tx power?
by Jeff Mock 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

Was the 70cm Tx power on AO-51 reduced with the latest mode change? I was getting about the same signal levels this morning as in March. jeff

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Re: [eagle] WARNING!!! DMHO -- A threat to you and the environment
by Bruce 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

and.... i have stopped using gasoline in my vehicles and only use water. much more environmentally safe. happy april 1 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on SkyScanner Satellite Radio Network on Galaxy-25 @97° West, Transponder 23 (12115 Vert), Symbol Rate: 22425, APID: 1794 (DVB Free To Air) Also streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org

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Re: [eagle] WARNING!!! DMHO -- A threat to you and the environment
by Frank Brickle 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

Tom -- That settles it. Henceforth the only fluids to pass my lips will be Bacardi & Cola. Many thanks for the timely warning! 73 Frank AB2KT On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Tom Clark, K3IO <k3io(a)verizon.net> wrote: > This is an alert to warn all AMSAT members about the threat to your > lives; I refer about exposure to DHMO (Dihydrogen Monoxide). > > Due in part to its widespread use in industry, Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) > is involved in many environmental incidents each year. While most are > unavoidable given current technology, there can be little doubt that the > presence of DHMO in each significantly increases the negative impact to the > environment. > > Among the many commonly-sited DHMO-related environmental impacts are: > > * DHMO contributes to global warming and the "Greenhouse Effect", and > is one of the so-called "greenhouse gases." > > * DHMO is an "enabling component" of acid rain -- in the absence of > sufficient quantities of DHMO, acid rain is not a problem. > > * DHMO is a causative agent in most instances of soil erosion -- > sufficiently high levels of DHMO exacerbate the negative effects of soil > erosion. > > * DHMO is present in high levels nearly every creek, stream, pond, > river, lake and reservoir in the U.S. and around the world. > > * Measurable levels of DHMO have been verified in ice samples taken > from both the Arctic and Antarctic ice caps. > > * Recent massive DHMO exposures have lead to the loss of life and > destruction of property in California, the Mid-West, the Philippines, and a > number of islands in the Caribbean, to name just a few. > > * Research has shown that significant levels of DHMO were found in the > devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 which killed 230,000 in Indonesia, > Thailand, Malaysia and elsewhere, making it the deadliest tsunami in > recorded history. > > * It is widely believed that the levee failures, flooding and the > widespread destruction resulting from Hurricane Katrina along the U.S. > Gulf Coast in 2005 were caused or exacerbated by excessive DHMO levels found > in the Gulf of Mexico, along with other contributing factors. > > In spite of the recent movement to ban unlawful dumping of hazardous > chemicals into waterways in the U.S. and abroad, release of massive > quantities of DHMO continues. Industry cannot be held accountable entirely > because lawmakers are reluctant to pass legislation to make most forms of > dumping of DHMO illegal. Reasons for this could include pressures from > corporate leaders, industry lobbyists, and even vested foreign governments. > This governmental inaction leading to nearly unregulated dumping may be one > of the most overlooked environmental impacts of DHMO. > > The U.S. government refuses to ban the production, distribution, and use > of DHMO. This inaction may be due to pressures from private interests and > corporate-sponsored economists, among many, who predict a DHMO ban could > produce disastrous results. Claims include damage to public health and the > well-being of the U.S. and world economies. > > To inform you of some of the dangers of DHMO You should review the > material available on the DHMO FAQ <http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html>. > > 73 de K3IO > > _______________________________________________ > Via the Eagle mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA > Eagle(a)amsat.org > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/eagle > > -- The only thing we have to fear is whatever comes along next. -- Austin Cline

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Digital (Packet) from a Vehicle
by Kent R. Frazier 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

We are currently renting and the landlord will not allow any external antennas. As such I'm limited to working the satellites from my vehicle. Is it possible to work the packet or digital satellites this way and if so what equipment would be needed? Thanks, Kent -- Kent R. Frazier, K5KNT

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Re: Feedback on downlink on VO-52
by Ronald Nutter 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

I am using seperate antennas and feedlines. For the time being, I am using a Channel Master antenna to turn the antennas. I have a pvc pipe rig setup with the antennas at an angle of 25 degrees due to the clutter in the neighborhood I have to clear to see the sats. I hope to have a tower in the future but with being laid off from my job, cant really have any expenditures right now. I have the cat interface for the IC910H but havent looked into how to set it up yet. Ron KA4KYI George Henry wrote: > -----Original Message----- >> From: Ronald Nutter <rnutter(a)networkref.com> >> Sent: Mar 31, 2008 10:40 PM >> To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >> Subject: [amsat-bb] Feedback on downlink on VO-52 >> >> Thanks to the help of several on this listserv, I was able to get a >> contact on VO-52 until I lost coordination on keeping the rotor turned >> and the IC910H tweaked the right way on the VFO's. I had problems >> finding my downlink because of what I think is desensing on the 2M downlink. >> >> Can I resolve this by putting a filter on the 2M receive to stop the >> desensing like I would on the UHF receive on the FM birds ? If not, is >> there another way to fix the problem ? >> >> Thanks to W0EOZ for putting up with me while I was trying to figure >> things out. Hopefully my next contacts will last a bit longer <G>. >> >> Ron >> KA4KYI > > Are you using separate 2 meter and 70 cm antennas with separate feedlines, or diplexing onto a single feedline to a single antenna? First thing to do is reduce your uplink power as much as possible while still being heard. If you are diplexing to a single feedline, you only have about 60dB or so of isolation, so too much uplink power can exceed that. You should be able to work VO-52 with 25 watts or less... > > I have never experienced desense on 2 meters from my 70 cm uplink... only the reverse, which can be cured with separate feedlines and antennas, ample separation between the antennas, and the diplexer-as-filter trick found at <http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/Mode-J/> > > And I strongly recommend buying or building a CAT interface and letting your tracking program take care of tuning the radio (and turning the rotors, if you buy or build a rotor interface as well). The demo version of SatPC32 is fully functional except for saving your station parameters, and can be downloaded from <www.dk1tb.de/indexeng.htm>. > If you like it, register it: all proceeds go directly to AMSAT. A CAT interface PC board with the harder-to-find chips included is available from <www.farcircuits.net> and only costs about $20 to build. The FOD-Track rotor control PC board is also available from Far Circuits, and will cost $45 - $50 to build. The LVB Tracker is available thru the AMSAT store, and has the advantage of being able to operate without a computer attached... nice for mobile ops! > > Go for the radio control first: that'll free you up to deal with the rotors manually, and they demand far less attention than tuning does. > > 73, > George, KA3HSW > > > >

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Yaesu G-5500 Connectors
by Joel Kandel 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

I found a 2003 AMSAT thread from Wayne, W9AE, indicating that there was a source for purchasing extra 7 pin connectors for the G-5500 az/el rotor. That was Advanced Industrial Products, but with a long lead time. Since then, has anyone found another source for these connectors (Nanaboshi NJC-207-PF), or another manufacturer? Thank you, Joel Kandel, KI4T

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AO-51 APRS
by Mineo Wakita 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

AO-51 is working now as L/U digital mode. We hope to open 'APRS findu.com' of AO-51 L/U. JH1BCL>APRS,PACB-1* [04/01/08 10:40:49z] <UI>:HELLO ALL GE vir AO-51 L/U PKT JE9PEL>APRS,PACB-1* [04/01/08 10:41:31z] <UI R>:=3523.05N/13936.61E- Yokohama Japan {UIV32} JA5BLZ>APRS,PACB-1* [04/01/08 10:42:20z] <UI>::JE9PEL :GE UR 599 TNX

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2401/144 down conveter and antenna questions
by CLAUDIA PIRKL 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

Hello all. I found a 2401/144 down converter on the internet but when it came in the mail there was no info with it. It is a TranSystem Model AIDC-3733 and I think it came from K5GNA. I removed one cover (antenna on left/144 IF facing me) and found a wire with one end not connected. I realize it needs some DC volts to operate but how much and where it needs to be brought in. Does any one have any info to help me out? On the internet there a few helix antenna designs for 2401. I found a piece of 1" PVC and some AL. ground wire. I wrapped the wire around the PVC and came up with the 4cm dia. the article talked about. But, in another article (435 Mhz) it was mentioned the PVC was very lossy. What do you think?? Thanks for any help!! Tim N5KI EM65

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