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

F.S.
by Anna Osborn 14 Jun '08

14 Jun '08

F.S. Icom 910 H used 2 hrs , no scratches, non smoker, Manual, orig. box , 1 ut106 (DSP Unit) no 1200 mhz installed. $925.00 1 45 amp switching power supply (MFJ) $125 If bought together $1025 Postal Money Order please. Anna C. Osborn ws4z Amsat NA 1298A Ph. 352-793-3439

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AO-7 portable.
by John Hackett 14 Jun '08

14 Jun '08

OBSERVATIONS FROM NORWAY. June 2008. THE LA2QAA PORTABLE AO-7 STATION. The portable station comprises the following items of equipment. FT-290RII receiver. 0.4dB preamp Headphones. FT-790 700mW transmitter + mic Homebrew 10w amplifier Homebrew keyer and paddle 5 amp gel battery Assorted cables Split boom Arrow aerial - (diplexer removed) Lightweight collapsable tripod camera Shopping trolley/back-pack - (with handle & wheels) Noka phone with SATme tracking software. Bluetooth GPS - (position) Orienteering compass Creative Zen MP3 recorder Everything packs down into the shopping trolley and takes approximately 5 minutes to set up. There are several photos included in this short article. The rigs are self explanitory, they are light and easy to operate with gloves on in the winter months. The aerial is the split boom Arrow with 7 elements on 70cm and 3 elements on 2m. Remember, this is a QRP station for a QRP satellite so you don't want to be lugging around too much aluminium. The lighweight collapsable camera tripod is very handy for mounting the aerial for when your arms get tired from waving your pointy stick at the sky. The Nokia phone is essential since it has the SATme tracking program installed. Remember to update the keps before you hit the road. The Holux Bluetooth GPS receiver is self explanitory. If you move a fair distance from a previously set operating position you'll want to know where you are and the GPS will tell you - as well as give you the precise time for your tracking program. The electronic keyer is built into a small spice box. Note the paddles ... they're *RIPPED* out of a standard joystick and perform exellently ... OK, not 'Bencher' standard but almost !!. A boom mic attached to your headset, with a VOX could be an advantage too. The attenuator is a small homebrew -10dB item for the RA30H4047M 'brick' amplifier which is built into an aluminium lunchbox with forced air cooling from a small computer fan - 'heavy' heatsink material was deemed to be too clumsy for portable operation. The PA runs at 10w output to keep it in the 'official' QRP limit. The 5 amp battery is a gel type so it doesn't matter if it rolls over in your backpack/trolley. Needless to say, it's a geat advantage when operating portable to use headphones. The signals *WILL* be weaker than those from the average base station so I would appreciated if people also try to work the weak ones as well as the exotic DX. Remember, Frei Island is IOTA-EU-36 and anyone working me portable will receive a special AO-7 anniversay QSL card on request. Frei is surrounded by mountains except to my north so being portable is a definate advantage when the bird is coming up from my south. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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Mode S Antenna quest
by Ronald Nutter 14 Jun '08

14 Jun '08

I have been experimenting with different Mode S antennas for portable/mobile use. My latest test was with a Luxul flat panel antenna (http://www.wisp-router.com/wri/itemdesc.asp?ic=CPFP%2D24%2D11&eq=&Tp=). This one was a disappointment in this application. I went back to the K5GNA reflector. The problem is that it doesnt lend itself to packing into the Pelican 1490 briefcase that I keep my satellite demo kit in. Has anyone tried any of the "flat panel" type of antenna with good success ? Thanks, Ron KA4KYI

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Skeds ... not skids.
by John Hackett 14 Jun '08

14 Jun '08

Hello Al, The only 'sure' thing seems to be the weekend skeds with Kamchatskaya ... of this I am proud ("chuffed" to you) because it shows that QRP can and does get through in less than optimun conditions (see the low propagation index) on AO-7 ... mind you, more than 5 stations at the same time and the old girl starts throwing a wobbler ... (for those unfamiliar with "Manchester" slang - it means FM'ing ... ie, AO-7 can only sustain 5 QSO's simulataniously, any more and she starts "complaining". For the experienced operators ... please explain to your newcomer friends why AO-7 is a QRP satellite and why the power budget is as it is ... and give a friendly nod to those using too much power. If you !!! had 32 years of spacedust on your !!! panels - you'd probably be feeling a bit under the weather too. As GM1SXX is wont to say ... aluminium is cheap ... improve your receiving capabilities. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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News Release: Satellite Launch
by Michael L Miller 13 Jun '08

13 Jun '08

Please put the following on the bb and on the ANS. PreSat and NanoSail-D Beacon Alerts Santa Clara University students invite amateur radio operators worldwide to participate with them by receiving beacon signals from PreSat and NanoSail-D, two pioneering cubesat missions that will launch from the Reagan Test Site (Omelek Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of Marshall Islands) on June 23, 2008 at about 7:00 pm PDT. Both spacecraft will go into Low Earth Orbit as secondary payloads aboard a SpaceX Falcon-1 launch vehicle. The vehicles will be launched into a 685x330 km, 9 degree orbit, with line of site communications only possible at low latitudes. PreSat is a 10 x 10 x 30 cm. spacecraft, that will evaluate the performance of a generic biofluidic sample management and handling system for future advanced in situ spaceborne biology experiments. NanoSail-D is a 10 x 10 x 30 cm. spacecraft, which will deploy a solar sail that also will be used as a drag sail to demonstrate orbital debris mitigation technology. These missions follow the earlier efforts of Santa Clara U. students in launching Genesat 1, in 2006. Of particular interest to the amateur radio satellite community are the PreSat and NanoSail-D beacons. The PreSat beacon will operate at 437.318 MHz FM, sending an AX.25 packet every 5 seconds; the packet contains data about the spacecraft systems operation. The NanoSail-D beacon will operate at 437.269 MHz FM, sending an AX.25 packet every 10 seconds; the packet contains data about the spacecraft systems operation. The beacons will initiate transmission as soon as each spacecraft is deployed from their separate carriers, which are attached to a Ride Share Adapter. Amateur radio operators are encouraged to submit received beacon packets through the mission websites in order to receive a web-based QSL card. The PreSat mission website at www.presat.org; the NanoSail-D mission website is at www.nanosaild.org. These sites provide general mission and spacecraft information, instructions on how to contact the Santa Clara University PreSat and NanoSail-D Mission Operations teams, and the latest orbit datam beacon packet format, and other information needed to work the beacons. 73, Mike Miller KE7EGC

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Yubileiny Rs30 tlm
by andy thomas 13 Jun '08

13 Jun '08

+/- 1510u NB and in footprint of Korolev control centre: mrxa2 mrxb2 rs30 us161 ibs12 usun0 isun0 itxa0 itxb6 ttxa65 ttxb66 tnap80 tab66 msep0 mcon53 sma115 smb69 mrxa2 mrxb2 rs30 us161 ibs12 usun1 isun0 itxa0 itxb6 ttxa65 ttxb66 tnap80 73 de G0SFJ __________________________________________________________ Sent from Yahoo! Mail. A Smarter Email http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

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AAUSat Telemetry
by Mike Rupprecht 13 Jun '08

13 Jun '08

Hi, according this received telemetry (May 12, 2008 at 2245 UTC) restarted AAUsat during the pass (-> uplink time). | | EPS | | COM | | Uptime | Bat | I_Bat | Temp1 Temp2 | LastRSSI | HAM Sponsor | -------- | -----+------- | ------------- | ----------- | ----------------------------------+ 17460s | 8.3 | -87.10 | 47.39 45.55 | -172.0dBm | ------ Den Obelske Familiefond | 17490s | 8.3 | -70.97 | 47.00 45.55 | -172.0dBm | ------ Irfan Kuwetli | 17520s | 8.3 | -64.52 | 47.00 45.16 | -172.0dBm | ------ Grundfos | 0s | 0.0 | 0 | 0 0 | -172.0dBm | ------ Knud Højgaards Fond | 30s | 8.4 | -38.71 | 43.87 43.20 | -172.0dBm | ------ Joost Elstak | 60s | 8.4 | -119.35 | 44.26 43.59 | -172.0dBm | ------ Grundfos ! | 90s | 8.4 | -125.81 | 45.05 43.98 | -172.0dBm | ------ Karl Kaas Laursen | 120s | 8.4 | -122.58 | 45.44 44.37 | -172.0dBm | ------ Texas Instruments | 180s | 8.4 | -74.19 | 46.22 44.76 | -172.0dBm | ------ CTIF | 210s | 8.4 | -74.19 | 46.61 45.55 | -172.0dBm | ------ Peter Kai Jensen | 73, Mike DK3WN

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nifty experiment on ISS
by Nate Duehr 13 Jun '08

13 Jun '08

Well, I thought it was nifty, anyway... http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/nu-trt061008.php Nate WY0X

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Cute-1.7+APD II heard over Banting, MALAYSIA
by Yushida Mohd Yunus 12 Jun '08

12 Jun '08

June 13, 2008, AOS: 01:41 UTC LOS: 01:52 UTC CW 437.275 cute 87 cb ae aa 38 27 24 69 70 3b 17 cute 87 cb ad ab 38 29 63 37 .. .. 17 cute 87 cc ae a9 38 27 24 69 63 36 17 cute 87 cb .. ac 38 27 24 69 69 36 17 cute 87 cc ae b0 38 28 25 69 6a 3c 17 cute 87 cb ad bs 38 28 25 .. .. 3b 17 cute 88 cc ae b5 38 28 hy-gain 2x15 beam, no pre-amp Kenwood TS2000 73, Sreem, 9W2VSK & Shida, 9W2YMY

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SEEDS June 12th: CW and Digitalker + SSTV
by Henk, PA3GUO 12 Jun '08

12 Jun '08

Today SEEDS had both CW, and digitalker on. Actually the digitalker had the 'secret' code spoken, which, according to their WEB site, will enable you to receive the special digitalker QSL. So I did submit, let's see if I get it. Same holds for SSTV, so I submitted the received picture, which was transmitted in the same pass, inbetween the spoken messages. Reception was done during lunch, at around 5 degrees elevation, still good quality. Just now (in the evening) writing this email, after I monitored the 437.485 CW downlink. Also was fine. Would be nice if they would also be able to upload in the SSTV picture 'secret' messages. Not sure if it can be programmed still, or is fixed in the satellite. Henk, PA3GUO

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