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

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

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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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