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

WD9EWK's road trip, starting Sunday (20 July)...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 20 Jul '08

20 Jul '08

Hi! I am about to start a 3-day road trip from the Williams (Arizona) hamfest, looking to do some sightseeing and operating from unusual grids in and around northern Arizona. All plans are subject to change without notice due to weather, road conditions, etc. - but I will try to keep you posted. At this moment, I am still in Williams, but will leave tomorrow morning for the DM56ex/DM57ea grid boundary in northeastern Arizona. I hope to be on the 2106 and 2247 UTC AO-27 passes from this spot. Please note that this grid boundary is just south of the Arizona/Utah border, so this will not be a QSO with two states simultaneously - just Arizona. After the two AO-27 passes, I will head west toward Page AZ, site of Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and the DM46fx/DM47fa grid boundary. I will be on the one good Sunday evening AO-51 pass (0201 UTC Monday) from here. I may be on an AO-51 pass Monday morning, before leaving this area. According to my maps, at Page the grid boundary is also the Arizona/Utah state line. I will try to confirm this while I am in the area, so contacts from this location could be good for 2 states as well as 2 grids. On Monday, I will head west and try to be on AO-27 passes from either the DM36/DM37 or DM26/DM36 grid boundaries near the northwestern corner of Arizona. Then, down to Las Vegas and the DM25/DM26 grid boundary for the evening AO-51 passes. I might try for SO-50 passes during both of these days, around midday local time (1800-1900 UTC). For now, I won't post specifics related to those passes, other than to say I might give them a try. After Monday, I have not decided if I will stay along the Colorado River looking for SO-50 and/or AO-27 passes from grids like DM24 or make a more-direct return to Phoenix. I will try to post updates while on the road, if I have Internet access. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

1 0

Frank, K9CIS 2000th AO-07 Contact
by dcowden＠nc.rr.com 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

Congrats Frank for reaching the 2K plateau. SATELLITE CW is definitely not dead. Enjoy our QSO's. Thanks for helping improve my CW skills. The 4-way ones are fun and challenging 73 Old Friend Don. N8DDK

1 0

Re: where all the users
by John W Lee 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

I always thought that was what that big knob in the middle of the radio was for . 73, John K6YK On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:47:46 -0400 "Michael Tondee" <mat_62(a)netcommander.com> writes: > I've never been able to get the doppler tracking quite right using > SatPC32. Snip > 73, > Michael,W4HIJ ____________________________________________________________ Live the good life! Click now for great retirement planning assistance! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3mK7BX3NXXyUPWzMDeuGtYU8O…

2 1

Bill Ress - N6GHz - - - AMSAT Board Candidate
by Bill Ress 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

I’m Bill Ress, N6GHz, and I’m campaigning for a seat on the AMSAT Board. You will soon be getting your ballots for this year’s AMSAT Board election. The current dialog on the AMSAT-bb clearly indicates member dissatisfaction with AMSAT leadership on various levels. Well, now you have the chance to voice your concerns through your votes!! In my ballot statement, you will read that I’m disappointed with AMSAT’s lack of visible progress on a viable and sustainable satellite program, and with the lack of adequate communication and accountability. The engineering efforts are in a state of disarray. Hardly a screw has been turning on Eagle. AMSAT’s website, the primary “front” to the public, is in need of redevelopment after months of neglect. The vision statement has long been outdated. After being content to operate the birds, I thought I should do more. So, in 2006 I volunteered and started my very agonizing participation on the Eagle design team, designing and building a concept 3.4 GHz down converter and supporting the 70 CM receiver. That “fruitless” experience, along with what I've witnessed with the some of the AMSAT leadership, prompted me to run for the board, hopeful of being able to contribute in any way to making a positive improvement to a troubled situation. The inner circle of leadership goes back many years in AMSAT. They have put in many, many well meaning volunteer hours and we should recognize and appreciate that fact. Perhaps their long-term membership on the board led to inaction and complacency, which clouded judgments and prevented critical decisions from being made. The board (and subsequently the membership) will benefit from a “new” member who is critical of current performance, and is willing to be a vocal reminder of member concerns. You can help decide the future of AMSAT with your vote. Do I think I can change the current AMSAT culture overnight? Only a fool would think so, but I can tell you that I will try very hard to convey your legitimate concerns with the hope of influencing the board’s attitudes and decisions to support a process of positive change. AMSAT is at a critical crossroad right now brought on by ever increasing launch costs, lack of leadership and an unclear vision. I know the leadership has finally recognized this and is making a serious effort to address burning issues. I plan on offering to the board what I hope will be viewed as constructive inputs which will reflect many of your concerns. The AMSAT-bb is a great medium for communication, and I’m very keen on open lines of communication. I’ll be using it in the coming days, weeks and months to explain my position on the issues you want me to address. I am also preparing an online e-survey, a format I will use periodically, to get your opinion on various issues (and the results will be shared with you and the AMSAT leadership). To put this recurring criticism of “poor communications” to rest, we need to keep our web site active and current. If that doesn’t happen very soon, I would encourage the leadership to use the AMSAT-bb, or perhaps a “blog” to keep members informed. For my part, you’ll be hearing from me often using the AMSAT-bb, or perhaps my own blog. I was first licensed in 1957 as KN2HDG. That was the first step, which lead to my professional career in electronics. I graduated in 1968 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a BSEL. From there, I went on to have a rewarding career in the RF/microwave industry with companies like California Microwave, Omni Spectra and Radian Technology, where I designed and built components for the satellite industry for companies like Hughes, TRW and Lockheed. I now run a new start-up RF/microwave components company. I am also a member of Project Oscar, ARRL, AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-ZL (Go KiwiSat!!!). I read the AMSAT-bb daily. I’m on the birds frequently but if we can’t hook up there, email me at n6ghz(a)amsat.org. Thanks and 73s!!… Bill – N6GHz

9 14

Re: where all the users
by Edward Cole 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

At 08:25 PM 7/18/2008, Dave Guimont wrote: > >Yes puters do make it easyier, but not tottally absolutely necessary. > > > >in the old days we tracked the birds using something called math, > > > >Made little paper things with clear plastic overlays to simulate the > >birds path across the sky, > > > >Doppler? uhhhh, we tristed the vfo to keep it in tune, > > > >geeech, > > > >Joe WB9SBD > >Joe, > >I had exactly the same thoughts, but hesitated to say it for fear the >one who made the comment would not understand "twisting a knob"!!! > > > > > > 73, Dave, WB6LLO > dguimon1(a)san.rr.com > > Disagree: I learn.... > > Pulling for P3E... Yeah, maybe on 435-MHz but try doing that at 1268 or 2400 on the Leos! Not very easy/practical. One hand tunes the uplink, other moves azimuth, third the elevation, and fourth keys the mic...fifth keeps the log...uhuh. I find operating ordinary old mode-B or mode-J hard enough and think auto-tracking (at least) is made for the Leos. For AO-10/13/40 its non-issue, of course, Doppler rates and tracking rates are lower. Ed - KL7UW

5 4

Grid JN00 on air
by Angel Peláez, EA4DUT 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

Hello everybody: I'm on holidays until next Monday 21st at Mediterranean coast on the mainly marine (but with a small land corner) JN00 grid. My operation is only on FM birds on afternoon, AO-27. QSL is OK via buro. Thanks and good luck. EA4DUT/5 Angel ______________________________________________ Enviado desde Correo Yahoo! La bandeja de entrada más inteligente.

2 1

Re: Vanishing Hams - BBC News Report
by Trevor 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

Seeking Scotland's radio hams "Colin Wight of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigates why in the internet age there are still so many radio amateurs." http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2008/bbc_scotland.htm 73 Trevor M5AKA --------------- Daily Amateur Radio RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email your news items to: editor at southgatearc.org News On Your Website: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/index.htm News On Your PC: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/newsreader.htm Upload Your News: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news.htm --------------- __________________________________________________________ Not happy with your email address?. Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at Yahoo! http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/ymail/new.html

2 1

NAMSATE AND EAGLE PROJECT ARE DEAD!!!
by Luc Leblanc 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

As usual AMSAT-NA is keeping the crowds unaware and uninformed on AMSAT-BB and on purpose...NAMASTE and EAGLE project are from my point of view literally dead! For those who are still believing on a HEO made by AMSAT-NA forget it they "HALTED" NAMASTE et fired out the EAGLE team leaders Here is some e-mails exchange... It seems obvious now that AMSAT-NA projects are collapsing NAMASTE is dead and EAGLE PROBABLY WILL BE HALTED TOO????? SEE BELOW THE FULL EXCHANGE AND PLEASE READ THE THREADS ON: http://amsat.org/pipermail/namaste-dev/2008-July/thread.html Here is an excerpt moving around the "Super duper" AMSAT-NA president on the NAMSATE reflector > At this time, all group leaders on the Eagle project > are relieved of their leadership duties. Rick W2GPS AMSAT LM2232 -----Original Message----- From: w8iss at wideopenwest.com [mailto:w8iss at wideopenwest.com] Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2008 12:36 AM To: Rick Hambly (W2GPS); 'namaste-dev' Cc: bod at AMSAT.Org; 'officers' Subject: Re: [Namaste-dev] AMSAT Engineering ---------- Original Message ----------- From: "Rick Hambly \(W2GPS\)" <w2gps at cnssys.com> To: <eagle at AMSAT.Org>, "'namaste-dev'" <namaste-dev at AMSAT.Org> Cc: bod at AMSAT.Org, "'officers'" <officers at AMSAT.Org> Sent: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:18:13 -0400 Subject: [Namaste-dev] AMSAT Engineering > > Any changes to fundamental Eagle goals will come from the Board and Senior > Officers team through me as engineering team leader. If anyone would > like to suggest new ideas for consideration you have free access to > express yourself either through your engineering team leader or > directly to the members of the Board and Senior Officers team (see > the links at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/AboutAmsat/officers.php). So is Michelle STILL team leader? > At this time, all group leaders on the Eagle project > are relieved of their leadership duties. Are you NOT contradicting yourself here, Rick? Just some clarification here please. James W8ISS NO MORE EXCANGE BEYOND THIS POINT!!!!! AMSAT-NA is on a crashing course i doubt this group will survive up to the end of 2008! Sad news but could be under a new leadership things can still have some chance of success! P.S. I just hope i am dead wrong here? "-" Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

15 27

Re: AMSAT NA
by Stephen Melachrinos 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

>Geosyncrous (sp?) Geosynchronous. But actually, you probably mean geostationary. Geosynchronous just means that the orbital period is integrally related to one sidereal day, so the ground track repeats on a daily basis. There are lots of possibilities for geosynchronous orbits, but only a few are practical. Geostationary is a special case of geosynchronous, where the period is exactly equal to one sidereal day, the eccentricity is zero, and the inclination is also zero. The result is that the satellite does not appear to move (is "stationary") when viewed from an observer on the earth. That's the orbit typically referred to as a "GEO," and the one that's most in use for commercial and military communications satellites, direct broadcast satellites, and civil weather satellites. >Ok, how difficult is that weird orbit that a few of >the Russian Birds had, called something like Molylna, >or something like that? They semed awesome and the >best of both worlds, The Molniya orbit **is** a HEO, albeit a special one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit Its characteristics: - Its apogee is over the North, so it spends most of its time (better than 80%) above the equator. - Its period is equal to one-half of one sidereal day, so its ground track repeats exactly each day. - Its inclination (63.4 degrees) is such that its argument of perigee doesn't shift (from 270 degrees) so the apogee stays over the North Pole. Because the apogee is so high (about 40,000 km), it's a relatively high-energy orbit, meaning it's expensive (fuel-wise) to launch. It's not quite as bad as GEO, but much worse than LEO. My rules of thumb put a factor of two between each of these. In other words, if you could launch 100 kg to LEO, you could have either: - a 100 kg spacecraft at LEO, or - spend 50 kg of fuel to put 50 kg into a Molniya-like HEO, or - spend 75 kg of fuel to put 25 kg into GEO. (Note that these are approximations. There are variations based upon the altitude of the LEO, the inclination of launch, the Isp of the propulsion system, and the accuracy of your orbital knowledge and execution of maneuvers.) Steve W3HF

3 2

Re: Vanishing Hams - BBC News Report
by John W Lee 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

Mebbe it's because Amateur Radio and the internet are not the same thing. The internet is great for research but certainly is no substitute for real radio. A lot of Amateur radio operators don't seem to have figured this out yet. K6YK On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:59:14 +0000 (GMT) Trevor <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> writes: > Seeking Scotland's radio hams > > "Colin Wight of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) > investigates why in the internet age there are still so many radio > amateurs." > > http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2008/bbc_scotland.htm > > 73 Trevor M5AKA >>> ____________________________________________________________ Click to shop and compare great deals on trucks. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3l1wbrQoASLvM2fR3OxL2Ut15…

1 0