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

Re: LEO's
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 19 Jun '08

19 Jun '08

Hi John and all Look around your neighborhood and I'll bet you will find an old primestar dish staring aimlessly at the sky. These can be had just for the asking. Right now I can drive over to about 5 of them. That with a 3731AA downconverter from K5GNA, and a simple 5 turn helix, you to can receive S band. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle -- "if this were easy, everyone would be doing it" -------------- Original message -------------- From: "John AA5JG" <aa5jg(a)lcisp.com> > > > > > > >On Jun 18, 2008, at 2:46 AM, i8cvs wrote: > > > >> > >> A 3 to 4 foot dish with a 2400/144 MHz downconverter in the focal > >> point and > >> connected to any old 144 MHz CW/SSB receiver mounted on the balcony > >> was > >> sufficient to receive a nice downlink from all over the world by > >> many users > > > Yeah, and most of us, especially new hams, just happen to have a 3 to 4 foot > dish laying around. > > 73s John AA5JG > > ________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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An Observation.
by John W Lee 19 Jun '08

19 Jun '08

AMEN AGAIN ! My first attempts at Oscar 10 were with: Transmitter: Heathkit HW-24 FM rig, keying on CW (10 watts), 7 element vertical polarized yagi, no elevation. Receiver: Yaesu FT-221R no preamp, 12 element yagi horizontal polarized, no elevation. Many contacts made. Subsequent improvements made things better for sure. 73 John K6YK On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:49:16 +0200 John Hackett <archie.hackett(a)hotmail.com> writes: > > An interesting post on the Amsat-BB from KC6UQH - whom stated ... > and I tend to agree ... HEO's are generally *EASIER* to work than > LEO's. > > That one needs expensive equipment to work an HEO is a myth that is > simply *NOT* true. - (try telling GM1SXX it's expensive) - it's his > pet niggle. > > Personally, I've worked the world on HEO's using an FT-290 and an > FT-790, both of which are 20 years old and purchased used on Ebay - > neither rig has bells and whistles, no automatic doppler tuning and > no computer interface. I used an El Cheapo Japanese azimuthal TV > rotor, fixed elevation and a maximum EIRP of 25 watts ... yes !!! - > E.I.R.P. > > ____________________________________________________________ Enter for Your Chance to WIN* The TotalBeauty.com Summer Spa Sweepstakes! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/JKFkuJi7Ufh173tdDllA9aiJZLRrPPB…

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JUBILEE and other frustrations
by pcalvi＠bluewin.ch 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

Honestly, if somebody has put a 45 kg amateur satellite into a 1,500 km plus orbit and has NOT included a transponder, then this hobby has really become a joke! What's the weight of a transponder module? And the cost? What's the problem in giving us something more like a "real" satellite? (and this is said with enormous love and affection for the old girl - which I use daily - and plenty of respect for HamSat). Yes - I am quite angry. We are kept in complete darkness as to real progress and launch opportunities for P3E - something I have repeatedly and completely uselessly complained about several times on this BB. I find this absolutely incredible. I have repeatedly said that I have the utmost respect for the work of AMSAT DL and I am quite keen to support it financially, bit I cannot see any reason for this total blackout on communication, which has been going on since the beginning of the project. I appreciate that AMSAT DL themselves must be quite uncertain, but the DO TELL US, for God's sake! Keep us informed on negotiations, progress, prospects. That fuels enthusiasm, attracts resources and somewhat cures frustration. We live on tiny bits of information - mostly speculations and rumours. How is this possible? And now, talking about frustration, somebody invest considerable resources to put a new bird in orbit and do not include a transponder? Tell me that's not true, PLEASE. 73. Piero ________________________ Piero Calvi-Parisetti MM0TWX currently also HB9DSU for music, Ham Radio and more visit http://www.chmusiq.com/ham

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LEO's
by w0dxz＠aol.com 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

RE:? Usefullness of LEO's... I think there should always be at least one accessable LEO-FM bird... for the very reason that some (WB6LLO) think there should not be. It gets you started with satellites. If I had not gone to a hamfest and seen Patrick demo use of the FM birds, I would not now be active on not only FM birds, but? the all mode birds as well. Without the FM birds, the? imtimidation factor would have been too much, I never would have gotten started. Every hobby needs an easy entry level possibility... for many it is the LEO's, FM. When I bought my first Harley, a Sportster,,, many said oh, a beginners Harley, yeah, maybe, but I would never have? bought a motorcycle? if I had to buy a full dresser as my first bike.? And yes, my first gun was a .410, not a 12 gauge.? And I learned to snorkel before I learned to SCUBA. FM LEO's have a purpose, a use. Not everyone can? chase the other birds. Live and let live. That is the fun part of the ham radio hobbyt, there is something for everyone. There may be complaints about LEO-FM birds that are justifiable, but? the fact that you can work one with a HT is not one of those arguments. Bob W0DXZ DM33

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An Observation.
by John Hackett 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

An interesting post on the Amsat-BB from KC6UQH - whom stated ... and I tend to agree ... HEO's are generally *EASIER* to work than LEO's. That one needs expensive equipment to work an HEO is a myth that is simply *NOT* true. - (try telling GM1SXX it's expensive) - it's his pet niggle. Personally, I've worked the world on HEO's using an FT-290 and an FT-790, both of which are 20 years old and purchased used on Ebay - neither rig has bells and whistles, no automatic doppler tuning and no computer interface. I used an El Cheapo Japanese azimuthal TV rotor, fixed elevation and a maximum EIRP of 25 watts ... yes !!! - E.I.R.P. (see "How much power is enough") <http://www.observations.biz> I have satellite QSL's from all corners of the world. (The world doesn't have corners twit, they're "round"......GM1SXX). Things like aerials, a preamp and a 5 watt PA were all home made. Despite certain schools of thought, circular polarisation is *NOT* a necessity. (A further discussion of circular polarisation can be found on the OBSERVATIONS website) - <http://www.observations.biz> Expensive to work an HEO ?? ... Gerroff !!!!. It's only expensive if you absolutely must follow the route of - Mine's bigger than yours" mentality. BTW Ib - (OZ1MY) - I agree with most of what you say but would like to point out that not everyone who would like to operate amateur satellites can afford a rig that supports auto doppler tuning if one moves to higher frequencies for LEO's as you suggest. Radio amateur satellites ought to be available to all amateurs - not just the affluent ones. As station "developement" I used the excellent ITUNE software and a homebrew interface via the push-buttons to give the rigs auto-doppler tuning for full doppler tuning at the satellite. Again - as cheap as chips - (those you have with fish). Expensive ? ... difficult ? ... Ballcocks !!!!. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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Re: Spanish cubesat
by G0MRF＠aol.com 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

Hi all. I've seen several posts on the BB in response to the Spanish Cubesat teams request for suggestions for communications payloads. Some have said.....A linear transponder....but you probably wont have the power for that. But. Looking at the ESA page for the cubesats, it appears our friends from Spain have a deployable solar array planned. In which case, there may be slightly more power than anticipated. "Xatcobeo (a collaboration of the University of Vigo and INTA, Spain): a mission to demonstrate software-defined radio and solar panel deployment; " 73 David

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AMSAT Awards
by Bruce 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

I have not posted in a month, so I have some catching up to do with the award posting. We would like to welcome the following to the satellite community. They have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club. Robert Netzband, NA2H Piyumi Perera, VE4WPL Keith Cutter, KD7GOP The following have earned the AMSAT Sattelite Communications Achievement Award Dimitrios Pallis, SW1JGW #464 Rob Rousseau, KI4BKE #465 Rafael Valdez, Jr., XE2RV #466 The following have earned the AMSAT Robert Barbee, Jr., W4AMI Satellite Communication Achievement Award Rafael Valdez, Jr., XE2RV #51 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com 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 Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org

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2M1EUB/P QRV SCOTLAND 28/6/08
by paul robinson 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

Hi group ill be qrv once again from io87rj near aberdeen scotland from 28.06.08 for 7 days. its not an easy location for stateside but possible,if you wish to work me ,please be quick as only a small window for USA! would also be good to work some new calls from the states!! Europe window is ok! Ill be on all birds but mainly ao7 ssb .i will also be 160 and 80m as well as some hf ssb! including 6m and 4m ssb ..check out the qrz web page under 2m1eub ,theres a nice photo of the qth ,and of my dog ted.qsl is via home call 2e1eub.73 de paul amsat uk/na member --------------------------------- Sent from Yahoo! Mail. A Smarter Email.

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Maderia Island on the AO-51 6/17 2121Z Pass
by Ben Jackson 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Interesting enough that I will bring this to -bb, partially to let others know, and partially to try to satisfy my own curiosity... On the 2121Z east coast pass (topping out at a whopping 5 degree elevation from my QTH) I was able to weakly copy a Maderia Island, Portugal station calling CQ North America. We were never able to trade grid squares, nor was I able to get 100% copy his call sign (I can only make out CT3?G on my recording), but we did hear each other. So, I want to let everyone on the east coast know that there are reasons to operate very low passes of AO-51, and I'm curious if anyone might know who the station might be that I heard? I'd love to try to try to set up another chance and give it another go. Also, just to show how well meager setups work: I was using FT-7800 into a mag mount for the uplink and a FT-60 with a K5OE handi-tenna for the downlink. All from my car sitting in my condo parking lot. :) - -- Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA bbj <at> innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iQEVAwUBSFiENgQiWVsfSvVvAQKLaAf8C3W3rlhr4Q1f5EOMoAHyPAmPKxHxtYzl /jL0l92VvGFIQPoSz74eySlZvNTRLwJ1UJ8D7+wRqpg+1U+tYKHGS4122/EJakZA My1wCdJWCs+MQgz+GXzGgTLOOnCwVUe49g/68u2Ag1AU18O32275DMIYgtwjwAXw eHyXrmo7bqRA88zZs3xoLzgSzsKpshwa4UdZba2rqadfRrpJOitq8f0LndnKQizI 3nz8RjUazG2iNm388zkaff2xmRe2mHWwRfkiGcpXR3FyiIVFgnZu8HRqbFDtoJix RHvgNVWo0JcfdPPAB1wbuioZOlCsCWrw5rZJB+r753Mn0w3DLvfFHg== =qyD/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: DirecWav satellite internet useful?
by Greg D. 18 Jun '08

18 Jun '08

Hi all, Well, it's been saved from the dumpster, at least for now. But, I kind of don't care much about the dish itself - it's probably a bit big /heavy for my Az/El rotor setup, though it's hard to tell with the huge steel support mount still attached. I nearly wrenched my back out carrying it over to my side yard this morning. (I think the Advil is wearing off... oow) But, back to the pre-amp and other electronics pieces... I found a reference to the Hughes DirecWay (not wav) service on the Web. Looks like the stuff runs in the Ku Band (11-14.5 ghz, according to Wikipedia), and has a 0.5-2 watt transmitter, depending on model. Sounds like it's possibly a good bit out of band for P3E needs, and I'm not much good with microwave hacking. Am I better off taking another two pills and putting it back on the pile, or is there a reasonable chance that I can do some simple (think "Drake") modifications to get it to work? Greg KO6TH ________________________________ > From: w7lrd(a)comcast.net > To: ko6th_greg(a)hotmail.com; kc6uqh(a)cox.net; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: DirecWav satellite internet useful? > Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 17:14:01 +0000 > > Greg- They seem to be an off center feed antenna, similar to the old primestar dish of which I have been successfully using for several years. If it's free you can't beat the price. > 73 Bob W7LRD > > -- > "if this were easy, everyone would be doing it" > > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: "Greg D." > >> >> Hi Art, >> >> The DirectWav is an Internet link - data, not TV - but good point about LO >> stability being an unknown. >> >> But, my base question was whether any of the pieces can be used, and it sounds >> like it's worth saving. Thanks! >> >> Greg KO6TH >> >> >> ---------------------------------------- >>> From: kc6uqh(a)cox.net >>> To: ko6th_greg(a)hotmail.com; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >>> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] DirecWav satellite internet useful? >>> Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 22:20:55 -0700 >>> >>> Greg, >>> These dishes are used on 10 GHz and lower frequencies. Designed to operate >>> in Ku Band ~12 GHz they will give ~30 dBof gain. The LNB and feed can be >>> used , at least the LNA section. As the intended use is television the LO is >>> not stable enough for Amateur Satellite work. >>> >>> Art, >>> KC6UQH >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Greg D." >>> To: >>> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 8:23 PM >>> Subject: [amsat-bb] DirecWav satellite internet useful? >>> >>> >>> >>> Hi folks, >>> >>> My neighbor appears to be tossing their Hughes "DirecWav" satellite internet >>> dish and associated dish-mounted electronics. By any stroke of luck, is >>> this stuff reasonably convertable for use with any of the the proposed P3E >>> up or downlinks? I have no idea what frequency it runs. It appears to have >>> both transmit and receive capabilities (based on the warnings posted). >>> There are no model numbers tha t I can find on the electronics. >>> >>> I've got my AO-40 S-band receive setup, but nothing for the higher bands. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Greg KO6TH >>> _________________________________________________________________ >>> E-mail for the greater good. Join the i’m Initiative from Microsoft. >>> http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_ GreaterGood >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >>> >> >> _________________________________________________________________ >> Give to a good cause with every e-mail. Join the i’m Initiative from Microsoft. >> http://im.live.com /Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?souce=EML_WL_ GoodCause >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 _________________________________________________________________ Change the world with e-mail. Join the i’m Initiative from Microsoft. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=EML_WL_ChangeWorld

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