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

Launch coverage!
by David - KG4ZLB 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

I was intrigued yesterday to see in capsule footage of the launch of the Soyuz (with the "Space Clown") from Russia! Does anyone know if NASA plans to broadcast footage from inside the Shuttle, maybe a split screen showing the traditional launch and the other side showing the crew during lift off? Thanks -- David KG4ZLB www.kg4zlb.com

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On the road to EL79
by w6zkh＠comcast.net 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

Leaving EM70 this morning for EL79 territory around Panama City for possible 2 days before heading west. I will try on get on at least 1 of the 3 FM birds during those 2 days . Looking at the Grid Map, seems EL79 has pretty small land mass, so probably not alot of activity that way. Again, if you want a QSL to confirm, just mail direct to homebase address in CA, or eQSL.cc and I will confirm. John W6ZKH

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On the Air from Iceland (Tom, TF/N2YTF)
by Daniel "Nick" Kucij 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

Posted by Nick, KB1RVT on behalf of Tom, N2YTF: Greetings to all, I would like to let anyone who is interested in working Iceland know that from Sept. 28 through Oct. 5th 2009 I will be operating every daytime/evening FM satellite pass I can between 10:00 and 01:00 UTC from Iceland. Please keep in mind that the weather in Iceland can be pretty extreme, and my primary reason for being here with my wife is to tour, so I will not be on every pass, but most days I will work many passes. Equipment on this end is a 3w TH-D7AG with Arrow Antenna and headset for full duplex work. I am updating my satellite log daily on my QRZ page. The log includes both North America and Europe so far... The volcanic ground along with the almost complete lack of trees (and buildings outside of Reykjavik) make working the low passes easy, so do not be discouraged if you see a low pass listed for Iceland...you just may work me anyway. I have made several QSOs on passes under 4 degrees maximum elevation. If you are in an arctic location or africa and think you have a shot at working me, I would be specifically interested in working you and would ask that you email me directly for a sked. Everyone else, please just look for me on the birds....I am on quite abit. 73 to all, Tom-TF/N2YTF n2ytf(a)arrl.net

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FW: OFF grid solar system
by Thomas McGrane 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

I am reposting the original message for your review because bruninga changed my meaning by taking words out of context. Sorry about the repost but I hate having my work corrupted. thanks and go solar, pat >------- Original Message ------- >From : Thomas McGrane[mailto:n2oeq@aceweb.com] >Sent : 10/2/2009 10:39:56 PM >To : amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Cc : >Subject : FW: OFF grid solar system > >The grid is vulnerable as a system. We have to stop always thinking about being connected to or relying on the utility grid. Think in terms of building an independant 12 volt DC system (low voltage) for the average dwelling to operate independant of the grid by charging batteries from solar or wind and utilizing the energy real time or later from the batteries. It seems everyone has visions of large expensive rooftop systems but starting small and building up over time will reduce the utility bill by substitution. We need to be energy independant on a small scale as well as looking at the big picture. Small systems can easily run lights, TV’s, radios, even a small refridgerator for essentials. You would still need the grid power for large loads like heat, large refridgerators, etc but you can have a seperate system to rely on if you suffer some calamity. With the advent of the “smart” grid, you dont want to be connected to the grid. Remember, the wires are antennas as well as conducting electricity. We owe our reliance on a large electrical system to Nickolai Tesla who developed high voltage alternating current power systems that won out over Thomas Edisons Direct Current system around the turn of the last century. The idea was to minmize power loss over long distances. Therefore we should all promote local or household Low voltage DC solar or wind systems to reduce the use of grid power and for much better reliability. Through the years I have built a very economical system comprised of several solar panels with a capacity of about 130 watts that automatically charge 6 large deep cycle and regular batteries from which I operate some radios , lights and in the event of loss of utility power, a small refridgerator. I also have a couple of cheap store bought DC to AC inverters if I need to operate an AC device, Solar panels have come down in price dramatically and production capabity is expanding, so start now. Think independant and start small instead of suffering mega system price hesitance. A world of 12 volt dc devices are available from hardware, marine, automotive and internet sources. You just have to start. Be the first on your block to confuse the lineman who show up during a power failure. I did. I posted the above text on the new york times "Green Inc" energy blog back on september 23, 2009 as a comment to an article regarding solar power in africa. The internal discharge in a deep cycle battery is only about 50 milliamps which I consider insignificant. I dont want to be connected to the grid which I consider "STUPID" and you dont either. Dont follow, think for yourselves. Think about this..... brain waves operate up to about 20 cycles per second, imagine what 60 cycles is doing to you and the world. Pat

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OFF grid solar system
by Thomas McGrane 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

The grid is vulnerable as a system. We have to stop always thinking about being connected to or relying on the utility grid. Think in terms of building an independant 12 volt DC system (low voltage) for the average dwelling to operate independant of the grid by charging batteries from solar or wind and utilizing the energy real time or later from the batteries. It seems everyone has visions of large expensive rooftop systems but starting small and building up over time will reduce the utility bill by substitution. We need to be energy independant on a small scale as well as looking at the big picture. Small systems can easily run lights, TV’s, radios, even a small refridgerator for essentials. You would still need the grid power for large loads like heat, large refridgerators, etc but you can have a seperate system to rely on if you suffer some calamity. With the advent of the “smart” grid, you dont want to be connected to the grid. Remember, the wires are antennas as well as conducting electricity. We owe our reliance on a large electrical system to Nickolai Tesla who developed high voltage alternating current power systems that won out over Thomas Edisons Direct Current system around the turn of the last century. The idea was to minmize power loss over long distances. Therefore we should all promote local or household Low voltage DC solar or wind systems to reduce the use of grid power and for much better reliability. Through the years I have built a very economical system comprised of several solar panels with a capacity of about 130 watts that automatically charge 6 large deep cycle and regular batteries from which I operate some radios , lights and in the event of loss of utility power, a small refridgerator. I also have a couple of cheap store bought DC to AC inverters if I need to operate an AC device, Solar panels have come down in price dramatically and production capabity is expanding, so start now. Think independant and start small instead of suffering mega system price hesitance. A world of 12 volt dc devices are available from hardware, marine, automotive and internet sources. You just have to start. Be the first on your block to confuse the lineman who show up during a power failure. I did. I posted the above text on the new york times "Green Inc" energy blog back on september 23, 2009 as a comment to an article regarding solar power in africa. The internal discharge in a deep cycle battery is only about 50 milliamps which I consider insignificant. I dont want to be connected to the grid which I consider "STUPID" and you dont either. Dont follow, think for yourselves. Think about this..... brain waves operate up to about 20 cycles per second, imagine what 60 cycles is doing to you and the world. Pat

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On the Air from Iceland
by Thomas Tumino 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

Greetings to all, I would like to let anyone who is interested in working Iceland know that from Sept. 28 through Oct. 5th 2009 I will be operating every daytime/evening FM satellite pass I can between 10:00 and 01:00 UTC from Iceland. Please keep in mind that the weather in Iceland can be pretty extreme, and my primary reason for being here with my wife is to tour, so I will not be on every pass, but most days I will work many passes. Equipment on this end is a 3w TH-D7AG with Arrow Antenna and headset for full duplex work. I am updating my satellite log daily on my QRZ page. The log includes both North America and Europe so far... The volcanic ground along with the almost complete lack of trees (and buildings outside of Reykjavik) make working the low passes easy, so do not be discouraged if you see a low pass listed for Iceland...you just may work me anyway. I have made several QSOs on passes under 4 degrees maximum elevation. If you are in an artic location or africa and think you have a shot at working me, I would be specifically interested in working you and would ask that you email me directly for a sked. Everyone else, please just look for me on the birds....I am on quite abit. 73 to all, Tom-TF/N2YTF

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Fwd: [ARISS-i] Video available on Internet
by Fabiano Moser 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Gaston BERTELS <gaston.bertels(a)skynet.be> Date: 2009/10/3 Subject: [ARISS-i] Video available on Internet To: ariss-i(a)amsat.org ARISS CIENCIA VIVA CONTACT VIDEO NOW AVAILABLE The October 1 ARISS School Contact with Ciencia Viva Museum in Lisbon, Portugal was a success. A video is presently visible at : http://www.cvtv.pt/imagens/index.asp?id_tag=15&id_video=408 73 Gaston Bertels - ON4WF ARISS Chairman _______________________________________________ ARISS-i mailing list ARISS-i(a)amsat.org http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ariss-i -- 73 Fabiano Moser CR7/PY5RX ARISS-PORTUGAL (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) Representative at Teleconference and Portugal Telebridge Coordinator. AMRAD/AMSAT-CT http://www.amrad.pt/ariss.php "There is no great talent without great will. (Honoré de Balzac)"

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off grid solar system
by paul robinson 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

Hi guys,must agree with Tom we should all be looking at small pv setups! here i run 1KW PV charging my stand by bat ! which is some 1500amp ! and 3kw inverter! ...look about its amazing what is abt on 12v dc!! i also run solar hot water pan...to heat the water ....paul (2e1eub)

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Arrow antenna reconfiguration results - UPDATE
by Jeff Yanko 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

Hi all, A quick update to my new project to improving the Arrow antenna, efficiency wise. I wanted to see how well it would perform on gaining and losing access during AOS and LOS. AO-27 is not a good choice since the timer is turned on when it is well above the AOS horizon and it is switched off before it reaches its LOS horizon. That leaves a dependable AO-51 to test it out. With the last setup, the OEM diplexer provided by Arrow Antenna, I would copy AO-51 about 3 minutes after AOS and lose it about 3 to 4 minutes before LOS. Not bad, but people were saying they worked the birds when they were 1 degree off of the horizon. I have some pine trees that could be an issue but they are spaced far enough apart that I can work between them and I also have to deal with the McCollough Range to the SSE of me here in Las Vegas, NV. Today, there were 2 passes of AO-51, one at 12 degrees elevation, the other at 74 degrees. During both passes, I began to copy the downlink about a 1.25 minute after AOS. A considerable difference from 3 minutes. The downlink also improved down to about minute before LOS. On the last pass I worked KG6NUB at 0124z and LOS was 0125z and my downlink sounded fairly good, though I was fighting desense. (That's another issue I need to resolve.) Also, on both passes, I never once lost the downlink. No dropouts or fades. I'm still amazed. Another issue I came across was how wide the beamwidth is of the Arrow Antenna between the Arrow diplexer and the new diplexer. I was wondering if this was going to happen and it did. The reason that this happened was with the old diplexer, the signal attenuated so much that you had to be pointed right smack dab on the bird, a few degrees off and you lost the signal. Now, with the new diplexer, you can point the beam in the general direction and still copy the bird. In most cases I had to turn the beam 90 degrees before I completely lost the downlink! Twisting the antenna to make polarization changes makes absolutely no difference now. This also attributes to the fact that now I'm copying the entire pass without dropouts or fades. Makes sense. What I've regained over the lossy diplexer makes up for any polarization differences, etc. for a better copiable signal. Next weekend I will have to try more passes and get a feel of how much this system has changed. 73, Jeff WB3JFS Las Vegas, NV DM26

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FW: AO-7 Mode A
by ps8rf Piraja 03 Oct '09

03 Oct '09

Hello Fabiano. We are waiting for you in the mode "A". 73 Piraja, PS8RF _________________________________________________________________ Você sabia que pode acessar o Messenger direto do seu Hotmail? Descubra como! http://www.microsoft.com/brasil/windows/windowslive/products/tutoriais.aspx

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