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

Thanks for the AO-7 qso
by Andrew Glasbrenner 31 Jul '08

31 Jul '08

Thanks Doug, for sticking with my puny signal through two passes to make the QSO on AO-7 tonight. I was using a FT-817, Arrow antenna, and SATPC32, while portable on the bank of the Resurrection River just down from Exit Glacier in BP50, Seward, AK. I've been on a few AO-51, AO-27, and SO-50 passes from up here and made a handful of QSOs despite the mountains and trees, but this AO-7 QSO was tops. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Antenna design
by Rosemary & Starr 31 Jul '08

31 Jul '08

Hi All, I am thinking of doing some changes to my 2m antenna set up. One thing I would like to do is improve the front to back ratio. If my memory serves me correctly a second reflector placed behind the first reflector will archive this, however if so, this would increase the boom length. Is there some other method that could be used to improve the front to back ratio? Thanks. 73 Starr ZL3CU

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Re: DO-64 Status
by Alan P. Biddle 31 Jul '08

31 Jul '08

Try this one. http://www.delfic3.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93&Itemid=12 2 Alan

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Help requested for Kenwood Ts-790E
by Vincenzo Mone 31 Jul '08

31 Jul '08

Hi to the list, I own an Kenwood TS-790E Transceiver. Today I wanted to try the DO-64. I've set the radio on CW and sent it on air. I've noticed that the S-Meter stopped on 4 of the dB line. Without touching anything and just passing from CW to FM I saw the S-Meter needle going up till over the 9 of the dB line. Before I made these test I have set the radio with 10 watts in FM. I have measured the SWR and have noticed that there are none high SWR but Just 1.3 on both modes but I saw the power drop down to 5 watts in CW While it was 10 Watts on FM. Please anybody can tell me what has happened? Thanks. 73 de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 *************************************** ***** GSM +39 338 9749786 ***** ***** SMS +39 338 9749786 ***** ***** FAX +39 328 7244294 ***** *** 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it *** ***************************************

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Delfi-C3 Status update 29 July 12:30 UTC
by Wouter Jan Ubbels 31 Jul '08

31 Jul '08

Hi all, please find below the latest status update of the Delfi-C3 / DO-64 satellite 1. We have concluded the first three months of science mission with great success. A big word of thanks to all amateur radio operators around the world for collecting and forwarding telemetry, sending reception reports and observations, and thanks for all the tremendous support we have received. As of today, we have collected 396564 AX.25 frames through the worldwide network... a truly amazing number. Thank you all so much. 2. Delfi-C3 has been switched to permanent transpondermode during the 10:00 UTC pass today (July 29th) over the Delfi-C3 groundstation in The Netherlands. This means that the spacecraft now boots in transpondermode as soon as the spacecraft exits eclipse. This was verified by a successful OBC database dump shortly after that. 3. We plan to switch the satellite back into either basic or science mode, approx. once every 2 weeks for short times during passes over our groundstation for housekeeping purposes. During these passes either the 145.870MHz or 145.930MHz downlink will be on transmitting 1200Bd BPSK, and the transponder will then be off. We would like to encourage everyone to forward telemetry using RASCAL in the usual way during these passes. Longer periods of BPSK telemetry will be announced on the BB. 4. Reports have indicated a slight frequency offset of the transponder, i.e. an uplink of 435.556MHz corresponds to 145.900MHz in the downlink passband. This was actually known before launch, and is caused by a slight frequency offset in one of the spacecraft's local oscillators. The video on YouTube is a video from the first transponder contact using our "flatsat" transponder prototype in early 2007, which is not the same as the flight model. However, the flatsat prototype also showed a slight frequency offset, as G0MRF pointed out. 5. The transponder mode beacon is at 145.870MHz, approx 10dB below PEP, transmitting a CW beacon message, followed by a commemorative Sputnik message consisting of 6 dits. Actually, the CW beacon is transmitted using Double Sideband, there are two CW carriers 1200Hz apart. (Guess where that number comes from hi:) 6. Reports on the transponder's operation are more than welcome, either on the BB (which is read by us on a daily basis) or directly to info at delfic3.nl Having said all this, the team is happy to open the transponder for use, and wishes you good DX. Enjoy! 73 on behalf of the Delfi-C3 team, Wouter Jan Ubbels PE4WJ

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ft 857 data dowlink/.9600 baud sat settings
by Mr Jeffrey L Ross 31 Jul '08

31 Jul '08

hi folks, anyone out there have a ft 857 and are using it for data downlink @ 9600 baud? Tested my rig with a far off station yesterday and he copied me fine on the xmit but I did not copy him. Could it be my tnc settings? anyone have a list of good 9600 baud sat setttings. still no-go with go-32 and it went right over my head. darn. kc8gkf

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Re: DO-64 Status
by Alan P. Biddle 30 Jul '08

30 Jul '08

Enzo, It works like AO-7, AO-10, and AO-13. Take a look here: http://tinyurl.com/5cgkpc Reports are that the pass band is shifted slightly, with 435.556 uplink corresponding to the 145.900 downlink as the center of the pass band. Alan WA4SCA

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DO-64 Status
by Vincenzo Mone 30 Jul '08

30 Jul '08

Hi to the list, I would like to know if the DO-64 bird is still alive. It is from a while that on 145.930 MHz I do not hear it Any more. Is it still transmitting on that frequency? Thanks 73 de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 *************************************** ***** GSM +39 338 9749786 ***** ***** SMS +39 338 9749786 ***** ***** FAX +39 328 7244294 ***** *** 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it *** ***************************************

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Re: Upcoming Scotland/Shetlands trip
by Richard Crow 30 Jul '08

30 Jul '08

John, Sure, I'll "shoot the Atlantic" with you. I'm assuming you'll bring equipment to work the FM LEO(s). If so, I've worked several stations in various parts of England and one in Madrid, Spain on AO-51. AO-51 would be my FM LEO of choice for this. I live near Binghamton, NY where I have a hillside location about 500 yards up behind my house with an excellent view. From this spot I can work AO-51, and other FM LEO(s), down to 1 degree above the northeastern horizon. In fact, anyone who can get to the seashore in the eastern U.S., from New Jersey to Maine, should be able to do this. Canada's Atlantic provinces and Newfoundland are even better. All you need is a clear shot across the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast to access AO-51 while its also in view of the extreme western edge of Europe. To connect Europe to North America on AO-51 will, of course, require an AO-51 pass down the center of the Atlantic. This means you'll be working a pass with a maximum elevation of 1 or 2 degrees, as will I. My experience has been that such a pass will give us a 30 to 60 second time window during which we can exchange call signs. So when the time comes, you'll need to call me often for several minutes to hit the time window just right. I'll do the same. Perhaps if pass conditions are perfect, we may get a couple of minutes. In addition, in light of the comments above, I recommend you try this from the west coast of Scotland with a solid view across the Atlantic to the southwest. Be advised, the west coast of Scotland can be extremely windy, so come prepared. Also, I know you be operate QRP. But bring as much transmit power as you can. With a pass down the center of the Atlantic, AO-51 will be approximately 2000 miles away from both of us. My experience is that 5 watts to AO-51 at this distance is "iffy". I'll be running 50 watts, so I'm pretty sure you'll hear me as others have before. Since I'll have to drag my portable station into position, we'll have to pick out an AO-51 pass and set up a schedule, or two (back-up), off-line. Good Luck! -Richard, N2SPI

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Re: Upcoming Scotland/Shetlands trip
by John Mock KD6PAG 30 Jul '08

30 Jul '08

--- On Wed, 7/30/08, w7lrd(a)comcast.net <w7lrd(a)comcast.net> wrote: > John-Will you be on AO-7? It is possible to work CN87 > (Seattle). Takes timing, planning and luck!. > 73 Bob W7LRD You're right, Seattle should not be hard on AO-7. There's even some theoretical overlap of 0.8 minutes from the Shetlands to Redding, California (thus 49 states), but you'd better have good horizons and a good receiving setup. I'll be seeing if that much overlap might be enough to make it to Alaska on AO-51 (as Iceland has been worked from there without sked). What it really came down to was size/weight and how to compensate for doppler on the uplink, as the SSB rig that i've been offered doesn't have computer control. Even if it did, there are too many software issues to solve prior to travel and i'd need to take the docking station (nearly doubling the computer's weight) if i needed a real serial port. But what it really comes down to is that don't want to carry any more weight (that is assuming the rig[s] would even fit in my luggage), as it does not make sense to have a car for the third of the trip that we're in Edinburgh or Glasgow. So unless someone in the SF Bay Area (or Scotland) can offer a better idea, higher orbit LEO's won't happen this trip. > "if this were easy, everyone would be doing it" Yeah, maybe next trip i'll have access to suitable equipment. I've been talking to another local ham about a small dsPIC-based SSB transmitter and/or receiver. But even if hardware existed a month ago, it's unlikely the software issues would have been solved in time... It's too bad that Yubileiny doesn't have mode J-FM. Maybe someday someone else can put up something more useful into that kind of an orbit. -- KD6PAG

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