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

AAUSAT-II FFSK/MSK recorded #2
by Mineo Wakita 11 May '08

11 May '08

WAV 4 minutes, 12:14-12:26UTC, 11 May 2008 2.7MB 88kbps 8bits monaural 11kHz PCM http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/aausatii.htm http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/80511aa2.wav AAUSAT-II are now transmitting the beacon every 30 seconds. We can not decode these beacon because of the weak signals.

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Delfi Not Heard
by john heath 11 May '08

11 May '08

Listened for Delfi on the 11:00 UTC pass over the UK. Using day 128 keps object No. 32789 Nothing heard on 930 or 870 Possibly a problem at my station, hope the sat is OK. 73 John G7HIA

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AO-16 report
by John Price 11 May '08

11 May '08

Heard in digital mode 5/11/08 @11.30z from FM07. Elevation 13 deg. west -- N4QWF Amateur Radio Operator AO-7,AO-27,SO-50,AO-51,VO-52 Internet N4QWF(a)AMSAT.ORG Formerly KC4AHW VK3FEZ Amsat Member #27845 DXCC #33,478 VUCC SAT #135 WAS SAT #296 51 on 51 #13 LON -79.25 LAT 37.45 Grid FM07 >From the Foothills of the Blueridge *Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - "WOW, What a ride!"

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AO-16 report
by John Price 11 May '08

11 May '08

Heard in digital mode 11:29z 5/11/08 from FM07. Elevation 13 degrees west. -- N4QWF Amateur Radio Operator AO-7,AO-27,SO-50,AO-51,VO-52 Internet N4QWF(a)AMSAT.ORG Formerly KC4AHW VK3FEZ Amsat Member #27845 DXCC #33,478 VUCC SAT #135 WAS SAT #296 51 on 51 #13 LON -79.25 LAT 37.45 Grid FM07 >From the Foothills of the Blueridge *Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - "WOW, What a ride!"

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Re: ARISS Quiet 5/11/2008 0629 Z
by Robert A. Netzband 11 May '08

11 May '08

All was quiet from a 76 degree pass over central New York. 145.800 was quiet as well was the digipeater on 145.825 for the entire 11 minute pass. ISS crew was in wake up mode having only been awake for 10 minutes. Bob NA2H.

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AO-7 tlm.
by John Hackett 11 May '08

11 May '08

Apologies folks, forgot to sign the following 'parable' - so you wouldn't have known who to blame. Crikey, my 'periodic Altzheimers' is accellerating ... 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> .......................................................................................... Ron, (and any other interested parties) ... Be aware that 98% of the AO-7 tlm is rubbish. The satellite is has been sending incorrect frames for several years. You can check this yourself by monitoring the 6D parameters. They should be either 649, 650 or 651. If they are not, the tlm is incorrect. It has to do (mainly, but not only) with the power budget ... this is why it is imperative certain 'clowns' stop hitting it with too much power. It is essentially a QRP satellite and the 'gentleman' who proclaimed one needed an 80w BRICK, last year on this reflector. is wrong, wrong, wrong. The following is a recent e-mail to me from Jan King, AO-7's project manager. (I maintain a rather large database regarding this satellite and have just about all the information available on AO-7 in several maps). A *LOT* of information is contained on/from The AO-7 Resource Page if one cares to follow the links. EU-Amsat (c/o SV1BSX) maintains the distance records for AO-7. The foll0wing is an e-mail from Jan. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> ................................................................................................. John. Telemetry received may be good or bad. You can determine if the telemetry is good by the 6D value. It is the reference voltage for the analog TLM system and it should be around 50. If not, then the remainder of the telemetry will be incorrect. (clip) Jan King, W3GEY notes that AO-7 had (has?) a very sensitive receiver and a good uplink antenna. 5 watts EIRP should provide a good downlink (clip). Amplifiers are not required for the uplink. Excessive uplink power may be cause FMing of the transponder and may be causing the input voltage to the regulator that provides 6D to fluctuate causing all telemetry to be bad. AO-7 is almost certainly running only off the solar panels. It is very likely to be on only when in the sun and off in eclipse. Since it is resetting each orbit it may not come on every time. Reports of hearing the beacon just as it comes out of eclipse would be particularly interesting. 1. Speculation that long term chemical changes in one or more battery cells have led to increased cell resistance enabling the spacecraft to operate while in sunlight are correct and 2. Reports indicating that beacons, telemetry systems, and possibly transponders are operating Then The prognosis for long term spacecraft operation are excellent. Channel Measured Parameter Measurement Range Calibration Equation (Preliminary) 1A Total Solar Array Current 0 to 3000 ma I = 29.5 N (ma) 1B +X Solar Panel Current 0 to 2000 ma I = 1970 - 20N (ma) 1C -X Solar Panel Current 0 to 2000 ma I = 1970 - 20N (ma) 1D +Y Solar Panel Current 0 to 2000 ma I = 1970 - 20N (ma) 2A -Y Solar Panel Current 0 to 2000 ma I = 1970 - 20N (ma) 2B RF Power Out 70cm/2m 0 to 8 watts P = 8(1 - 0.01N)^2 (watts) 2C 24 Hour Clock Time 0 to 1440 min. t = 15.16N (min) 2D Battery Charge/Discharge -2000 to 2000 ma I = 40(N - 50) (ma) 3A Battery Voltage 6.4 to 16.4 V V = 0.1N + 6.4 (volts) 3B Half-Battery Voltage 0 to 10 V V = 0.10N (volts) 3C Bat. Chg. Reg. #1 0 to 15 V V = 0.15N (volts) 3D Battery Temperature -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 4A Baseplate Temperature -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 4B PA Temp. 2m/10m -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 4C +X Facet Temp. -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 4D +Z Facet Temp. -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 5A PA Temp. 70cm/2m -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 5B PA Emit. Current 2m/10m 0 to 1167 ma I = 11.67N (ma) 5C Module Temp. 70cm/2m -30 to +50 deg. C T = 95.8 - 1.48N (deg. C) 5D Instrument Sw. Regulator Input Current 0 to 93 ma I = 11 + 0.82N (ma) 6A RF Power Out 2m/10m 0 to 10,000 mw P = (N^2)/1.56 (mw) 6B RF Power Out 70 cm 0 to 1,000 mw P = 0.1(N^2) + 35 (mw) 6C RF Power Out 13 cm 0 to 100 mw P = 0.041(N^2) (mw) 6D Midrange Telemetry Calibration 0.500 V V = 0.01N(0.50 +/- 0.01) (V) AO-7 telemetry format: 1aa 1bb 1cc 1dd 2aa 2bb 2cc 2dd 3aa 3bb 3cc 3dd 4aa 4bb 4cc 4dd 5aa 5bb 5cc 5dd 6aa 6bb 6cc 6dd Hi Hi then these data are valid when 6D is one of 649, 650 and 651. 73 Jan W4GEY/VK4GEY ........................................................................................... > From: w7lrd(a)comcast.net > To: AMSAT-BB(a)AMSAT.Org > Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 18:41:15 +0000 > Subject: [amsat-bb] AO7 telemetry > > Hello > Why does the telemetry on AO7 work sometimes? I ususally take a quick listen, also does it respond to any comands. In my opinion it's the best satellite we have up there! You can actually talk to someone for a reasonable amount of time. > > > -- > 73 Bob W7LRD > AMSAT member 28498 > Seattle

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Portland road trip results
by John Mock KD6PAG 11 May '08

11 May '08

I sent out about 45 cards or envelopes this week, mostly for the Portland road trip in March which represented over 100 QSOs and a total of about 150 grid squares given out. A large proportion of contacts were made from grid square boundaries (as located by GPS readings), and like last summer's road trip, one grid square corner was activated. These, alas, were not entered into Logbook of the World, as LoTW expects grid square designators to be either 4 or 6 letters (as opposed to CN70wx/CN71wa). 19 grid squares were activated (CM89, CN70, CN71, CN72, CN73, CN74, CN75, CN80, CN81, CN85, CN86, CN90, CN91, CN92, CN93, CN94, CN95, DN02, DN03) on this trip. The top operators (with grid square counts) were W6ASL(14), N6PAA(13), K6YK(10), W6HF(9), W6ZQ(9), KG7EZ(8), N7JK(8), W7JPI(8), VE7JRX(7), KK5DO(5), N4QWZ(5), AI7W(5) and K7WIN(5). If i worked you, then you should be getting your cards in the next week (or maybe two in Mexico or Canada), assuming your address hasn't changed recently. If you don't receive any soon, or i seem to have missed a QSL, then feel free to send me a card and i'll check my recordings. You can also e-mail me. On a few occasions, i could not hear my own downlink well and given your card, i may be able to confirm contacts that were not clear enough to send out unsolicited cards. Next trip is likely to be to Seattle towards the end of the month, albeit most contact are likely to be made on the return trip during the first week of June. Details when i know more. -- KD6PAG (Networking Old-Timer, Satellite QRPer)

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AAUSAT-II FFSK/MSK recorded
by Mineo Wakita 11 May '08

11 May '08

WAV 5 seconds, 01:23-01:34UTC, 11 May 2008 http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/aausatii.htm http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/80511aau.wav Sat.callsign: OZ2CUB 437.425 MHz FFSK/MSK 1200, 9600bps (1200 standard) AX.25 FM CW TLM (only in safe mode) Aalborg University, Denmark http://aausatii.space.aau.dk/eng

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Linear satellites
by Mike McConnell 11 May '08

11 May '08

I am somewhat new to satellites, but I have a question. I use a computer program to help with Doppler shift and to manage satellite memories. On AO-7 and VO-52 I have the following set as the middle of the pass band. This is what I set into the radio VFO. I have noticed that I have to adjust the transmitter frequency. I thought that the TX and RX would track each other? Does the relationship between TX and RX frequencies on the satellite change? If I am setting the wrong base frequency into my VFO's for these two satellites, what are better frequencies to use? Thanks Satellite Lower Upper middle VO-52A UPLINK 435.2200 435.2800 435.2500 DOWNLINK 145.8700 145.9300 145.9000 VO-52B UPLINK 435.2250 435.2750 435.2500 DOWNLINK 145.9250 145.8750 145.9000 AO-7 A UPLINK 145.8500 145.9500 145.9000 DOWNLINK 29.4000 29.5000 29.4500 AO-7 B UPLINK 432.1250 432.1750 432.1500 DOWNLINK 145.9750 145.9250 145.9500 Mike McConnell, Ph.D. W0PD 1518 Willson Ave. Webster City, IA 50595 515-835-9363

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Mode S Antenna question
by Ronald Nutter 11 May '08

11 May '08

I have been using a 2.4 ghz Vagi antenna for my Mode S antenna the past few days. I am seeing quite a bit of signal droppout as AO-51 does a little rotating. With a circular polarized antenna do any better ? I have found a source for a 2.4ghz 10 db RHCP antenna and thought about trying that. I know I cant get it before AO-51 goes back to V/U mode but thought I could try that next time. The antenna I found has about a 50 degree pattern so I should get decent coverage since I have it pointed at a fixed elevation because I dont have an az/el rotor. Ron KA4KYI

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