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

A0-51
by WCP 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

Are we still in L/U ?

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OH8MBN on AO7
by k3szh＠netzero.net 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

Mika Take pride and Congratulation on your 2000 plus contacts on AO7. Who would ever think it would come back and give us this kind of enjoyment of the last of the high fliers. Again Congratulation and tnx for the many qsos on AO7 73 Joe Amsat 3788 ____________________________________________________________ Hit it out of the park with a new bat. Click now! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2241/fc/Ioyw6i4u0wiymZFsDNSpyrWqvJup…

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OH8MBN-2000
by TERRY BROMLEY 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

Well done Mika on reaching 2000 in the ao-7 log. See you soon my friend on ao-7. 73s Terry G1WPR.

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Re: Chinese Bird
by Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

The keps for Objects A and E have not changed so I assume them to have re-entered. OBJECT A 1 33386U 08047A 08272.15013951 .00054573 00000-0 29582-3 0 158 2 33386 042.4044 178.2230 0005368 282.1563 235.6774 15.79173201 410 OBJECT B 1 33387U 08047B 08272.52125000 .00324036 82851-5 23787-3 0 175 2 33387 042.4058 175.2862 0090770 146.3481 216.8338 16.05968715 481 OBJECT C 1 33388U 08047C 08272.79537664 .07064019 81123-5 33940-2 0 180 2 33388 042.5742 173.5657 0090234 165.6608 196.7439 16.10983137 520 OBJECT D 1 33389U 08047D 08272.49420139 .05297875 79209-5 29873-2 0 173 2 33389 042.5303 175.7401 0145323 164.5134 195.0393 15.98817780 466 OBJECT E 1 33390U 08047E 08272.09102851 .03224960 77331-5 30760-2 0 38 2 33390 042.2824 179.0310 0205276 133.9838 323.5950 15.80599614 151 OBJECT F 1 33391U 08047F 08271.89590119 +.02818579 +76643-5 +29023-2 0 00022 2 33391 042.2388 180.3464 0215754 136.2522 281.2430 15.77502214000126 OBJECT G 1 33392U 08047G 08272.77258895 .00013893 00000-0 79060-4 0 57 2 33392 042.4046 174.3906 0006826 283.7746 175.2304 15.78758671 187 Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF wrote: > I will summise that: > Object B was the original crew/payload module. > Object B then split into 3 induvidual parts to become Object F, the re-entry module and Objects B and E are the propulsion module and crew module. > Object G is the satellite they ejected. > Objects A, C abd D are the rocket body and shields. > > Diagram of the spacecraft here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7640301.stm > > > > Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF wrote: >> We have 3 new objects this morning. >> One will be the satellite they threw out, one might be the re-entry module, any guesses on the third? >> >> OBJECT A >> 1 33386U 08047A 08272.03157407 .00058856 00000-0 31878-3 0 148 >> 2 33386 042.4039 178.9535 0005455 281.7900 281.1499 15.79165297 399 >> OBJECT B >> 1 33387U 08047B 08272.10851979 .00331787 82862-5 24665-3 0 157 >> 2 33387 042.4056 177.9288 0091371 143.1653 350.9410 16.05709766 417 >> OBJECT C >> 1 33388U 08047C 08272.07164448 .05965914 79757-5 35793-2 0 165 >> 2 33388 042.5635 178.2286 0132890 157.6146 335.5968 16.00603714 400 >> OBJECT D >> 1 33389U 08047D 08272.07101250 .05057167 78671-5 33535-2 0 155 >> 2 33389 042.5304 178.4131 0159115 161.3630 282.7272 15.94264673 404 >> OBJECT E >> 1 33390U 08047E 08271.83351942 .03191372 77247-5 31858-2 0 20 >> 2 33390 042.2872 180.6102 0210917 131.7480 299.3868 15.78884219 117 >> OBJECT F >> 1 33391U 08047F 08271.18885239 .02670637 76465-5 30734-2 0 17 >> 2 33391 042.2455 184.6779 0229104 130.3664 231.7368 15.73363832 07 >> OBJECT G >> 1 33392U 08047G 08272.01633316 -.00014617 00000-0 -78040-4 0 31 >> 2 33392 042.3990 179.0456 0007088 284.9410 190.4454 15.78718137 63 >> > > -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Nigel A. Gunn. G8IFF W8IFF (was KC8NHF) 1865 El Camino Drive, Xenia, OH 45385-1115, USA 937 825 5032 e-mail nigel(a)ngunn.net www http://www.ngunn.net Member of ARRL, GQRP #11396, QRPARCI #11644, SOC #548, Flying Pig #385, Dayton ARA #2128, AMSAT-NA LM-1691, AMSAT-UK, MKARS, ALC <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

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AO-7 KL7
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

I had just talked to OH8MBN this last pass when AL1F in AP90 came on. His first AO-7 QSO. I told Joe he would be a popular fellow on AO-7. Keep an ear out for him. 73 Bob W7LRD -- "if this were easy, everyone would be doing it"

5 17

Telemetry question
by Bob DeVarney W1ICW 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

For Compass-1, try 437.275 CW mode for the beacon. Should come every 3 minutes or so. The cw is very "chirpy"; once you hear it you'll know what I mean. The cw can be copied in FM mode, but the "sound" you hear will be the space between the dots and dashes, not the dots and dashes themselves.. think about it and you'll understand... NH7WN has good luck copying "visually" by recording the audio and then analysing it visually in Audacity. Send him an email if you're interested. You might hear AFSK 1200 baud packet on 437.405 as well, but only very occasionally, and never in eclipse. With M2 30 elements CP and a SSB preamp at the antenna, I only get the bird S-7 to S-9 tops, so you might have a hard time hearing it with an eggbeater. Your actual mileage may vary. I have considered an eggbeater as well, if for no other reason than to save wear and tear on my 20 year old Yaesu 5400 rotor ! 73 de Bob W1ICW

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WTB Icom MB-5 mounting bracket
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

Does someone have one of these they'd like to sell? I'm looking to buy one... 73, Drew KO4MA

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GO-32 off???
by Mineo Wakita 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

Nothing heard at 09:30UTC 28Sep2008 over Japan. JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

2 1

Status DO-64?
by Rob Hardenberg PE1ITR 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

Hi All, Er there station making qso's on DO-64? Last 2 weeks I tried serveal times but I can't hear my signal on the transponder. It looks like the transponder receiver is not working. I can hear the beacon and transponder noise very well. 73 Rob PE1ITR http://www.pe1itr.com

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ANS-272 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne Maenpaa 28 Sep '08

28 Sep '08

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-272 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org *************************************************************** *** 2008 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting *** *** October 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia *** *** http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2008/index.php *** *************************************************************** In this edition: * AMSAT Symposium Presentations Posted * ARISS Confirms Amateur Radio Hardware Deliveries * Richard Garriott Operations Call for Support * Call For AMSAT Journal Articles * AMSAT-Italy Announces Joint VERTA-1 Satellite Project With AMSAT-UK * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status Report for the Week of September 22, 2008 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.01 AMSAT Symposium Presentations Posted AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.01 The list of presentations for the 2008 AMSAT Symposium Oct 24-26 is now posted on the AMSAT web site. There is a link on the front page and also on the Symposium information page. We have a great line up of speakers, so make your plans to attend the Symposium in Atlanta. The AMSAT board meeting Oct 23-24 preceeds the Symposium at the same hotel. Please make your reservations soon and join us to get the latest news and information about the organization, plans for future satellites and technical information. Follow this link for the latest Symposium information: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2008/index.php We are about to lose our room block at the Buckhead Doubletree in Atlanta. If you are planning to attend the 2008 AMSAT Symposium, you need to make your room reservations ASAP. Their direct phone number is 404-231-1234. The room rate is $125 per night and the Group Code is ASG. [ANS thanks the 2008 Symposium Committee for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.02 ARISS Confirms Amateur Radio Hardware Deliveries AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.02 The ARISS team received confirmation from Sergey, RV3DR, that the recent Progress flight delivered the flight backup D-700, a David Clark Headset for the Ericsson system, and an additional VOX box and cables to support the computer-operated SSTV system. The D700 may be installed as early as late this week, depending on crew availability. The flight backup will not provide a significant change in ARISS operations, making it easier for the crew to change program modes. Richard Garriott plans to take a Kenwood VC-H1 SSTV communicator with him on-board the Soyuz for his flight and leave it aboard the ISS for future ARISS use. The VC-H1 has completed all hardware certification on the US and Russian sides. The final test, an EMI radiated emissions test, was performed last week and the test data was delivered to Sergey Samburov, RV3DR in Russia this week. The VC-H1 provides a very simple interface for ISS crew members and does not require the use of a computer. Computer usage has been a real challenge for ARISS, so the VC-H1 represents a lesson learned to improve ARISS operations. [ANS thanks ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.03 Richard Garriott Operations Call for Support AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.03 Early during Richard Garriott's flight, he expects to setup the VC-H1 SSTV system and autonomously transmit a new Earth image every 3 minutes. He hopes to have this system on a great deal of his flight. We encourage the ham community to bring SSTV equipment into schools and download these images in real-time. The ARISS team also plans to display images from hams around the world on a special on a web/blog site. A beta site has been de- veloped and will be rolled out to the ham community in the near future. To successfully implement the on-line SSTV picture site and support it 24/7 during Richard's flight, we will need some savvy individuals that can sort through the many SSTV photos that ARISS will receive and keep the SSTV site up to date in near real time. Some computer skills will be required. We are looking for global support from a few individuals in each international region to make this happen. That way we will not be asking individuals to volunteer all-night to realize this project. If you are interested in helping on this, please e-mail Frank Bauer, KA3HDO directly via ka3hdo(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.04 Call For AMSAT Journal Articles AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.04 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.04 AMSAT Journal Editor Ed, WA4SWJ said this week, "If you have articles for the Journal I need them now! Please, if you have an article to contribute to the Journal, get it to me right away. Do not delay. I want to get the Journal back on schedule." The deadline for contributions to the Journal is the 15th of the ODD numbered months (1-3-5-7-9-11) throughout the year. The intent is to get the Journal released to the printer the first week of each EVEN numbered month. [ANS thanks Ed, WA4SWJ for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.05 AMSAT-Italy Announces Joint VERTA-1 Satellite Project With AMSAT-UK AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.05 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.05 AMSAT-Italy President Florio LX2DV/IW2NMB said this week, "AMSAT-Italia along with AMSAT-UK has the great pleasure of announcing our joint application to launch the proposed "EuroDAST" micro-satellite onboard the Arianespace VEGA launcher, with its VERTA-1 flight opportunity." Florio continues, "Although it be launched with a European Launcher and is based on an AMSAT-Italia mission concept, the development of such micro-satellite is open to worldwide contributions in hardware and soft- ware." Any individuals or groups of interested amateurs, universities, research centers having space based hardware or software concepts are invited to submit their ideas by e-mail to: cd(a)amsat.it. More information about the Arianespace VEGA mission can be seen at: http://www.arianespace.com/launch-services-vega/vega_overview.asp. [ANS thanks AMSAT-Italy for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.06 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.06 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.06 + Information about a Google Earth plug-in plotting orbiting earth satellites can be found at: http://www.universetoday.com/2008/09/05/explore-earths-satellites-with-googl e-earth/ (watch line wrap - this URL is a single line). + Howard, G6LVB has posted video of the successful ARISS School Contact with the Michael Sobell Sinai School, Harrow, United Kingdom at: http://www.g6lvb.com/images/MichaelSobellSinaiSchoolHi.wmv 147Mb http://www.g6lvb.com/images/MichaelSobellSinaiSchoolMed.wmv 45Mb Howard recommends you download them first then play them, rather than attempting to stream. An MP4 format of the video is available at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/669/68/ + Congratulations to F3ZD on your 5000th contact via AO-7. Bob, W7LRD reports AO-7 contacts with OH8MBN and AL1F in Alaska. + The AO-27 command team will post updates on getting this satellite back on at http://www.ao27.org. + An interesting photo tour of the Baikonur Cosmodrome is at: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_baikonur_cosmodrome.html#photo6 (watch line wrap - this URL is a single line). + Watch http://spaceweather.com/flybys/ & http://www.heavens-above.com for visual sighting opportunites of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, ISS, Jules Verne, and the Early Ammonia Service jettisoned from the ISS. + Have you forgotten your AMSAT Store account name or password? If you have forgotten or misplaced your account name or password for the AMSAT Store, simply create a new one. We hope to have someone working on new software to give your password in the future. Until then go ahead and make your reservations or purchases with a new account. [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-272.07 ARISS Status Report for the Week of September 22, 2008 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 272.07 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-272.07 1. Upcoming School Contacts - Status The ARISS team continues its work on scheduling the next school radio contacts. Johnson Space Center was closed the week of September 15 due to Hurricane Ike, delaying contact approvals. Scheduling is expected to resume this week. 2. Richard Garriott - ISS Flight Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, will fly with the Expedition 18 crew to the ISS on Soyuz TMA-13 which is scheduled to launch on October 12, 2008. He plans to participate in several ARISS contacts during his mission. A press release has been posted. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/Garriott%20PR%20Final.doc 3. GSFC LaunchFest Update On Saturday, September 13, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland held a LaunchFest event, during which the Center's personnel manned exhibits and provided space related demonstrations for the public. ARISS supported LaunchFest with its own exhibit booth, providing information, distributing lithographs and generating much interest in the program. Approximately 13,000 attended the event. See: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/launchfest_recap.html 4. ASTC - ARISS Presentation The Association of Science - Technology Centers (ASTC) will hold its 2008 annual conference on October 18-21 in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. Ten presenters from NASA will describe NASA's education and outreach programs and NASA resources. ARISS Deputy Program Manager Mark Steiner, K3MS, will give an ARISS overview. For more information on this event, see: http://www.astc.org/conference/index.htm 5. ARISS Volunteer Receives Award Nancy Rabel Hall, a Research Scientist working at NASA Glenn Research Center and the current president of the NASA Glenn Amateur Radio Club, was the 15th recipient of the Allan Severson, AB8P memorial award. The Ohio ARRL (American Radio Relay League) Section Manager presents this award each year. Hall has assisted three local schools with ARISS contacts. For more information, see: http://www.arrlohio.org/arrl_allan_severson.htm [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org

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Re: Kenpro elevation rotor repair, Sebastian - W4AS
by John Kopala 27 Sep '08

27 Sep '08

Sebastian, The motors in these rotors use a RUN Capacitor which provides a phase shift to one set of the motor windings and produce a rotating magnetic field. When the run capacitor goes bad, you get the symptoms that your are describing. Then the motor hums but doesn't run in either direction. With the G-5400B, the azimuth cap is in the controller and the elevation cap is in the rotor. In any case, check the circuit for the nominal 24V AC between terminals 6 and 4 and then between 6 and 5 with either Down or Up selected. If there is voltage present on both terminals 4 and 5 referenced to terminal 6, then at least the cap is NOT open. But it may still be shorted. Check the resistance of the rotor between terminals 4 and 5. It should read about 5 ohms if the cap is not shorted. You will have to open the rotor to get at the cap to do further testing or to replace it. An extra side note. Yaesu has moved caps from the controllers to the rotors. So the G-400, G-500, G-5400B, G-5600B, and G-5500 rotors and control boxes are not interchangeable. With the G-5500 and G-5600B, both caps are in rotors. With the G5400B only the elevation rotor has the run cap in it. With other models, the caps are in the controllers. Good luck, John N7JK > From: Sebastian <w4as(a)bellsouth.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Kenpro elevation rotor repair > > Well I had been back on the birds for the last 3 months or so, and > while I was getting ready for an AO-16 pass a few days ago, my > elevation rotor on my Yaesu G-5400B stopped at about 10 degrees. > > That's it. It won't go back down or up. > > So I checked the wiring on the rotor, everything appeared fine. I > removed the elevation rotor from the azimuthal, and took it inside. I > made a small patch cord to go from the control box to the rotor, but > no luck. All I get is the display of the elevation of about 10 > degrees, and I hear a little hum when I attempt to move it up or > down. This tells me that the potentiometer is probably good, and the > motor is receiving power. > > I've removed the small nameplate on the side, and there is no water > inside, and I can see the ball bears; there doesn't appear to be any > rust inside. I also removed the terminal assembly in case one of the > wire had come loose, or had a cold solder joint, but I didn't find any > problems there. Looking at the diagram of the rotor, there appears to > only be a small 24 volt motor which turns this; along with numerous > mechanical parts. > > So the question is. Before I send this to Yaesu, has anyone had this > problem before, is it a minor one (something that I could fix myself), > or is best left to Yaesu? Before anyone mentions, Norm's no longer > services these rotors. The four 'screws' that hold the two parts are > impossible for me to loosen. I would have to use a vice, but I do > have a friend with a motorcycle repair business who I'm sure could > open it for me in 60 seconds. To me, this looks like a jigsaw puzzle > by looking at the diagram. > > The rotor was in service for about a couple of years back in the early > 90s. It then sat inside without any use, up until a few months ago. > If the consensus is to send it to Yaesu, should I bother to send in > the azimuthal rotor, or should I follow the "don't fix it if it aint > broken" rule?

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Yaesu G-600X Rotator
by Eric Christensen 27 Sep '08

27 Sep '08

And on the topic of rotators... I bought a Yaesu G-600X a few months back and never messed with it. Now I'm ready to put it up but I need a pole mount for it. Of course none of my usual dealers still have this rotator so it is going to be a little difficult. Does anyone know if I can just use the pole mount from a G-800 rotator? Does anyone happen to have a pole mount for a G-600X laying around that they'd like to sell? 73, Eric Christensen, W4OTN AMSAT Area Coordinator - Southeastern Virginia USA AMSAT Member 35360 http://www.ericsatcom.net GPG Key Fingerprint: 4395 EF8D DDFF E681 26CB 7165 2F95 7CC9 D749 08ED

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Explore the Ionosphere (from the safety of your own home)
by Luc Leblanc 27 Sep '08

27 Sep '08

Hi! thought you'd be interested in this story from Science@NASA: Today, NASA-funded researchers released to the general public a new "4D" live model of Earth's ionosphere. Without leaving home, anyone can now fly through the layer of ionized gas that encircles Earth at the edge of space itself. All that's required is a connection to the Internet http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30apr_4dionosphere.htm?friend It's crazy if it's working it will reignite my HF passion. Yous should have google earth running and try the radio section i fell on my XYZ just have to check live how it will really perform EG: Its a demo!!! "-" Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

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Time Is Running Out
by Martha 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

We are about to lose our room block at the Buckhead Doubletree in Atlanta. If you are planning to attend the 2008 AMSAT Symposium, you need to make your room reservations ASAP. Their direct phone number is 404-231-1234. The room rate is $125 per night and the Group Code is ASG. For a list of speakers, go to the AMSAT website. -- 73- Martha

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FO-29 doppler observations
by Mark Lunday, WD4ELG 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

Just heard a bunch of stations on the high angle pass about 1600 UTC. One thing I am noticing is that FO-29 downlink is 4 kc higher than expected. I could hear my CW and SSB signals no problem, but they were higher than the satellite programs predicted. I did hear a bunch of SSB stations, which is great! Did not work anyone on this pass, though. :( Mark Lunday WD4ELG wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.net

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VHF ITU submitted FRQS Shenzhou
by Luc Leblanc 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

Downlink 294.3 and 299.3 MHz Uplink 259.2 MHz and 260.2 MHz. FM! Max BW=1 MHz Credit to Sven Grahn from Heasat mailing list "-" Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

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alogger
by ryan woods 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

can anyone help me with alogger i want to igate iss,pcsat and maby go-32 but i don know how to set it up 73 kd8atf tnk and 7

2 1

Re: ARISS school contact
by David - KG4ZLB/MØZLB 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

I see the BBC has changed it to a "live teleconference link" now so thats a bit better. Here! <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7636229.stm> Trevor - any chance of getting the BBC to add more specific websites to the "Related Internet Links" panel to the right of the story? RSGB would be a good start! David Howard Long wrote: > David > > I really don't think I need to make any excuses here. Carlos and I were > there, we know what we did. > > We only knew about the contact early on Tuesday morning, so we had two days > to get it done, including taking a day off work. > > We had no idea about their telephone system until we arrived. We had to wire > up stuff to their ISDN PABX on the fly on the morning of the contact. > > We made an effort for them NOT to be speaking into a telephone by using the > microphone. We could have had them holding the telephone receiver but we > didn't think that would have the right image. So we wired up the mic to > their telephone receiver on the moring. > > We gained access at 08:45. Journalists started turning up at 10:30, > demanding audio feeds. As you will know, once the media turn up you have no > more time to do anything else. So we had 1:45 on site to get everything > working. > > Carlos had a 20 minute spot just prior to the contact where it was made > patently clear that this was amateur radio. > > I have spent hours if not days doing press packs in the past. They are > largely ignored in my experience. > > Carlos and I would much prefer direct contacts rather than telebridges. But > a telebridge was all we were offered. > > Journalists will say what they like I'm afraid. But at least we had one more > mention of amateur radio that we would otherwise not have. > > Howard > > ________________________________ > > From: David - KG4ZLB/MØZLB [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 26 September 2008 03:31 > To: Howard Long > Cc: 'AMSAT-BB' > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ARISS school contact > > > Hi Howard, > > Always happy to volunteer but geographically speaking I can't really be much > help to AMSAT-UK except on rare trips home :-) > > Trevor (M5AKA) is the AMSAT-UK PR guru and does a fine job - after I brought > this to his attention I believe he will be in touch with the BBC to have the > article corrected. > > Of course mistakes happen but if no-one notices them and reports them then > errors remain and for something as high profile as this we really can't > afford to pass up on any publicity. > > In response to your e-mail though, I am not sure why "volunteers" would > need to be "experts" in PR - the question asked by the media would be "how > is the contact made", the answer would be "amateur radio" - how satellite > phones got mentioned and by whom is more the issue I would have thought! > > Having been part of a team that conducted a highly successful School contact > a couple of years ago, I am well aware of the enormous pressures that are > ever present with these things and therefore things can slip! We had two TV > News crews and 3 local papers in attendance and we had pre-prepared Q&A crib > sheets for them to ensure that the subsequent reporting was as controlled > and therefore as accurate as possible. > > > 73 > -- *David* *KG4ZLB/MØZLB* *www.kg4zlb.com <http://www.kg4zlb.com/>* *www.mØzlb.com <http://www.m0zlb.com/>*

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AO-51 L/U FM operation
by Gould Smith 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

There was a problem changing to FM operation on the L uplink to the second repeater on AO-51 last night. That problem was corrected on the 1345Z pass this morning and the second repeater is in mode L/U FM and is now working fine. Enjoy this mode the rest of the week. 73, Gould, WA4SXM for the AO-51 Command Team

2 2

ARISS school contact
by David - M0ZLB 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7636229.stm Disappointing to note that the BBC's on line news report of the ISS school contact today with a school in England noted that the contact took place via "satellite phone" doh! Bearing in mind there were three or four TV crews there, it is surprising that they were not given a handout with the facts or that the organisers failed to brief the media properly! A bit of a waste of good publicity for ARISS and the amateur radio service methinks! David KG4ZLB/M0ZLB

3 2

AO-51 mode-L/U FM observations
by OZ1MY 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

Hi all, AO-51 is working very well in mode-L/U FM. On the two last passes here over Copenhagen [Denmark :-)] The signals on the uplink went through the "transponder" with nice downlink signal. There is some slow fading, QSB, on the uplink when the satellite turns. That can not be avoided - but if you keep talking your signal will come up again. Remember that the downlink on 435.150 MHz is left hand circular. I use an IC-910H with 10 W on 23 cm. Antennas are two 19 turn helixes - gain about 18 dBi, right hand circular. Cable loss like 4 dB to the antennas from the transceiver. Another observation is that it helped to use the compressor in the IC-910. Managed to get a resonable downlink signal when the distance was about 3200 km. Have fun. 73 OZ1MY Ib

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FO-29
by Dave Guimont 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

Where is everyone on FO-29??? Had a pass in San Diego ~1930z, and found one contact, Jim, W6ASL in Concord CA... It covered Alaska, a big chunk of the US and Canada, and the NE corner of Russia... I used about 50 watts EIRP on the uplink...with some polarity fading at times.... We've got from 145.900 to 146.000 on the uplink, cw or ssb, room for many, many SIMULTANEOUS QSO'S. Why fight the mob on AO-51???... Get Marty Davidoff's SATELLITE EXPERIMENTER'S MANUAL if you need help in understanding the procedure... A fifth grader could do it easily... 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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The Moon - bit off topic
by JoAnne Maenpaa 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

Hello everyone, I saw this on the moon-net reflector and posting it here for us space faring hams to enjoy it also ... http://sundry.i2phd.com/moon.pps It's a packaged-up powerpoint slide show featuring the moon. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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Re: FO-29
by Eric H Christensen 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

I'll have to agree with Tim. I dusted off my arrow a few days ago and walked outside to work AO-51 and I haven't had any problems at all. I have been consistently working three and four stations a pass using 5-watts or less and my arrow antenna. I remember when it was quite difficult to get into 51 with the same setup. Maybe people have gotten more polite or maybe it's just luck. 73, Eric W4OTN >For what it's worth, guys ... any day can be QRP day. > >I'll soon be applying for the AMSAT Achievement Award using confirmed contacts >that were all made while I was transmitting 50 milliwatts RF out from my Yaesu >VX-7R, on 2 AA Duracells - the same set of AA Duracells, actually. I ended up >making 51 contacts at 50 mW RF out, and another 3 at 300 mW RF out, from that >one set of Duracells. > >Only 4 of the 20 contacts I'll use for the Achievement Award came on AO-51's >QRP pair of 145.880 up and 435.300 down. The other 16 contacts included all >three Mode-J FM LEO satellites during operation on the standard V/U pairs. It >took me six days of operating to wear out the Duracells, and I ended up with >20 states, Ontario, Mexico and Venezuela worked. The highlight for me was >state No. 20, thanks to Mark, WA8SME - it was my first-ever contact (any mode, >any band) with W1AW. That was cool! > >So any time you'd like a QRP day, just reduce the output power and go for it! > >73 to all, > >Tim - N3TL >AMSAT Member No. 36820 >Athens, Ga. - EM84ha >-------------- Original message from Ben Jackson <bbj(a)innismir.net>: >-------------- > > >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >> Hash: SHA1 >> >> Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF wrote: >> > Remember the weekly QRP day on ALL the sats until a few years ago? >> >> I actually like the idea of a QRP day. When Drew started bringing the >> 2nd V/U transponder online last winter/early spring it was fun to have a >> (nearly) empty satellite to play on and see "how low I could go" to get >> in. (5W into a vertical) >> >> Now that I'm testing a more directional antenna, it would be fun to not >> have to deal with the 50W stations muscling through. >> >> >> - -- >> Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA >> bbj innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/ >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- >> Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32) >> Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org >> >> iQEVAwUBSNuglwQiWVsfSvVvAQIsYAgAhRjVWgNvET8NcTHhtM4bpJxY8iliWFaZ >> r/2UlyWyQsfuwpNBK0x6UvzKgORqwjtV/g12TuT31fTpDhahf+h5ogVGs0uzQxjM >> BYFhAUW10eol8bi5JFtlHN1PCV2wev3vy7frxbyAx5Z5d73S4TLZEUPbNa1dmZ9z >> q8R13i9nWRxISIDlm/35iCM0xCBuRgVtCi2CRR+BMk4Up/aMDmJU2p7TQyLjrB2r >> TuBHb/PMjs/PrDA2k2TnhQ+9Qjia+HraMxLNHtESa+pMCaO8vDZeKnlR3mNmA9q9 >> wm7HmUX/mB8BGe590LJWeN9Fo4gzllgp1dOUITxRIHMxIW5B25GTxA== >> =eGIs >> -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >_______________________________________________ >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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AO-51 L/U FM not working
by Luc Leblanc 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

HI I just check the 2 first morning pass here and there was a noise carrier on 435.150 and nothing seems to be received on 1278MHZ? nothing on the downlink only noise. "-" Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

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