January 2009 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

ISS V/U Crossband repeater
by Peter Sils 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Hi All, Last night I was finally able to get everything to work and made my first contact through the ISS V/U crossband repeater. It took a lot of work setting up antenna's in the attic, SatPC32 for the frequencies (TNX to David - KG4ZLB/MØZLB for help with this) and TNX to N5UXT for hearing me and contact (Angelo, QSL is in the mail)! The pass last night (0420 UTC) was orderly (IMHO) and enabled me to make a contact with a modest set-up - small 435 yagi for RX (fixed AZ and EL) and a J-pole for 45 watts TX - all in the attic. My wife did not understand my determination to make a contact thru/with ISS before Jan 15 - hi hi Now on to the sat's! TNX AGN to David and Angelo! I was like a kid at Christmas! Peter KD0AA

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A-51 V/S Trans Atlantic QSO
by Clare Fowler 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Had my 1st transatlantic QSO on AO-51 on mode V/S. with G3VZV at 10:11 UTC. (5:11 am local). Elevation 5 degrees range 2700 km. Short QSO and good signals. Now back to bed. Clare VE3NPC

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Re: A-51 V/S Trans Atlantic QSO
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Hi Guys, "Congratulations" - Nice one and very significant to show what can be achieved. Cheers Ken GW1FKY

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Magazine Article on Cubesats
by John . 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

SatMagazine is a free web based magazine that I get each month. This month's issue is dedicated to Cubesats. They even mention AMSAT and amateur radio in one article. A link to the magazine is attached. http://www.satmagazine.com/cgi-bin/display_edition.cgi Regards John

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Solved Re: Please check my settings for ISS
by Mike Ryan 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Hello all, Thanks much for all the great feedback. Its turned out my keps were off in SATPC32 and I just needed to do a quick update. Funny that the ISS was the only SAT exhibiting the problem. Perhaps its orbit/schedule is more dynamic than the rest? Made 4 contacts yesterday on ISS with relative ease. Awesome big signal coming from there. Loving every second of it. I wish they would keep it going a little longer. Mike WB1AAT

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Re: Please check my settings for ISS
by Wayne Estes 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Mike WB1AAT wrote: I've tried listening to a few passes (as high as 70 degrees) the last 2 days and heard nothing but silence. I must be doing something wrong. Can the group confirm I am doing this right for the current cross band repeater? My Xmit is 145.99 tone 67 hz My RX is 437.8 My radios, antennas, preamps, and such are fine as I can still work SO-50, AO-51, and FO-29. What gives? Wayne W9AE replies: Somebody posted those frequencies a couple days ago, but it seems "backwards" to me. I thought ISS downlinks were ALWAYS on 2m. I keep missing the ISS passes the last couple days, but I've loaded the above frequencies and the reverse into Doppler.SQF on SatPC32, so I can hopefully confirm which is the correct uplink/downlink for the crossband repeater. The last time I worked the crossband repeater the downlink was definitely on 2m, but that was probably using the "standard" crossband repeater pair of 437.8 MHz up and 145.8 MHz down. When you do finally hear the crossband repeater, speak softly or turn the microphone gain way down. The crossband repeater's audio is easily overloaded even when you transmit in FM-narrow mode (3 kHz deviation). Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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Turn deviation down for ISS repeater
by OZ1MY 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Hi all, During the last two passes over Europe tonight the observation is that many use too high deviation. It makes the audio difficult to read (hear). Try to turn the mike gain down or use FM Narrow on the uplink when using the repeater :-) And another thing - for a QSO to be valid you just need the call and the signal report. No need for locator or personal name. Please no flames. 73 OZ1MY Ib

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hamfest demonstrations on Saturday (10 January)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 08 Jan '09

08 Jan '09

Hi! On Saturday, 10 January 2009, I will have an AMSAT table at the ThunderBird Amateur Radio Club's "Westfest" hamfest in Glendale AZ. Just like in 2008, this will be an indoor hamfest on the campus of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. This campus is on the southeast corner of 59th Avenue and Greenway in Glendale (grid DM33vo). The hamfest starts at 0700 local time (1400 UTC), and is officially scheduled to run until 1200 local time. A map showing the hamfest site is available at: http://www.w7tbc.org/PDF_File/WestFest/Westfest_side_2.pdf More information about the hamfest can be found at: http://www.w7tbc.org/Westfest.html During the hamfest, I will do satellite demonstrations outside the building via AO-51 and VO-52 using my callsign WD9EWK. With Drew's recent announcement about the AO-51 mode change for this weekend (thanks Drew!), I will be able to show off both the 435.300 MHz and 2401.200 MHz downlinks during the 1429 UTC pass. I will try working the later AO-51 pass around 1610 UTC, which will be a shallow pass to the northwest of the hamfest. I plan on trying VO-52 during the 1703 and 1839 UTC passes, with my downlink in the area of 145.915 MHz USB. I will be happy to send you a QSL card if we make a contact during my demonstrations. Just e-mail me directly with the QSO information, and I will drop a card in the mail. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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ARISS logo items at CafePress
by Will Marchant 08 Jan '09

08 Jan '09

The ARISS team is pleased to announce the availability of ARISS logo items through the http://www.cafepress.com/ariss online store. The ARISS logo is being made available as a courtesy to the members of the amateur radio community for personal use. Persons wishing to market items with the ARISS logo need to contact the ARISS Secretary Treasurer, Rosalie White, at k1sto(a)arrl.org to receive permission. AMSAT-NA receives 10% from sales through this store. These funds will be used to support the ARISS team activities. Neither ARISS nor AMSAT have any control over items ordered, or returns, through Café Press. 73, Will -- Will Marchant, NAR 13356, Tripoli 10125 L3, AMA 800142, FBIS kc6rol(a)amsat.org http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/will/

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Scientific Atlanta Series 3860 digital controller ACU
by Pieter Kotze 08 Jan '09

08 Jan '09

Hello all Anyone have one of these lying around? Or know where to source? Regards Pieter ZS1PK/M0PAK -- This message is subject to the CSIR's copyright terms and conditions, e-mail legal notice, and implemented Open Document Format (ODF) standard. The full disclaimer details can be found at http://www.csir.co.za/disclaimer.html. This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. MailScanner thanks Transtec Computers for their support.

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