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

Symposium, WD9EWK activity in/around Baltimore
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 13 Oct '09

13 Oct '09

Hi! As others have already said, thanks to Frank KA3HDO and his group for putting on a great Symposium over the weekend. A good show, and good news from AMSAT for the upcoming year or two - and beyond. Before and after the Symposium activities each day (except for Saturday), and on one lunch break, I worked several passes from outside the hotel. I also took quick drives north to Delaware and south to Washington DC, to put those places on the air for some passes. As always, working the satellites from somewhere else is a learning experience, and fun. Except for two passes on Sunday, I didn't post any advance notice of my intentions to work satellite passes. I went to Baltimore to attend the Symposium and the AMSAT Board of Directors meeting before the official start of the Symposium, and any radio activity would be a bonus as part of this trip across the USA. Some stations were not fully aware of the location I announced on the air, knowing I am normally operating from DMxx grids in and around Arizona. It pays to listen, of course, regardless of whether or not there was an e-mail that announced the plans in advance. First stop, Baltimore. The hotel, on the BWI Airport grounds in grid FM19pe, was where I did most of my operating. The large parking garage next to the hotel made low eastern passes interesting. Otherwise, the only issues at the site were the trees. I worked one pass Wednesday (7 October) evening after arriving in Baltimore, three passes on Thursday (8 October - early morning and evening on AO-51, lunchtime on SO-50), two AO-51 passes on Friday (9 October), then a pass each on Sunday (11 October) and Monday (12 October) morning on AO-51. From all these passes, I logged 70 QSOs with stations all over the USA, Canada, and the Dominican Republic during those 8 passes. Along with my FM19 activity, I know that N2SPI also worked from outside the hotel over the weekend. There may have been someone else on from there, in addition to Richard and me. Many chances for stations to work someone at the Symposium, even without an "official" station. Next, Washington... Washington DC is about 30 miles/50km southwest of BWI Airport. In my almost 4 years of working the satellites, I have never heard anyone on the air from the District of Columbia. There is a station that identifies his location as outside of Washington DC, but never one actually on the air in the city. The grid, FM18, is not rare - there are stations on from both Maryland and Virginia. I operated from River Terrace Park, a nice park along the Anacostia River in the northeast quadrant of the US capital, east of RFK Stadium (grid FM18mv). I drove down for two AO-51 passes, one on Thursday evening and one on Monday morning. The Thursday evening pass was a high pass for me, yet the footprint covered all the way to the Pacific coast. KG4ZLB in Florida was the first station I worked, and K7YDL in Oregon was the last of the 21 QSOs. I was surprised at that number, when I played back the recording to log my contacts. On Monday morning, I worked a pass to the west and logged 13 more QSOs with stations spanning across the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico - even at that early hour for those out west. I am apparently not the only one who had never worked anyone from Washington DC. For the most part, a contact with the District of Columbia doesn't amount to much on its own. For many state-based awards like the WAS awards from ARRL, DC counts as Maryland - the state that it was carved out of. I already mentioned that the grid covering Washington (FM18) also covers parts of Maryland and Virginia, and there are stations that get on from both of those states (I worked one of those stations, NL7VX, who is in the Virginia part of FM18). Several operators thanked me for putting DC on the air. Maybe this would be something a local ham might look to do, operate from Washington from time to time. I still haven't worked DC myself. :-) Then, there's Delaware. Whether on HF, VHF, or satellites, this is normally one of the most rare states to get a contact with - and that all-important confirmation of the contact. I drove north on the I-95 freeway Sunday afternoon just over an hour to reach the Maryland/Delaware state line, contributing $11 in tolls on I-95 and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel to get there (tolls are not something I normally deal with in Arizona), and then drove a few more miles/km to the city of Bear in northern Delaware (grid FM29ep). I parked in a restaurant parking lot near the DE-1/US-40 interchange, and saw I had 5 minutes before the start of an AO-27 pass to the west at 2024 UTC. In the 7-minute pass, I made 14 QSOs (2 XE stations, and the rest sprinkled across the USA). Shortly after AO-27 went away, the first of three AO-51 passes came up from the southeast. I only logged 3 stations on that pass, and heard a VE3 station as I lost the downlink. After those two passes, I updated my logbook and quickly scribbled an e-mail to the -BB announcing I would be on the next two AO-51 passes from this location in Delaware. When the next pass came up at approximately 2216 UTC, I started working stations in the central and eastern parts of the USA. Seventeen stations went in the log, and I waited near my rental car for the third - and final - AO-51 pass of the evening from there starting just before 0000 UTC. Only 8 stations went in the log on that pass, but two of the 8 were from Mexico. Most of the QSOs were with stations in the west, what I had hoped for, before I went into the restaurant for dinner followed by the (cheaper - only $7 in tolls from Delaware back to the hotel) drive back to Baltimore for the night. ********** With this trip, I now have operated from 42 different grids in North America, along with a total of 8 different US states plus Washington DC. I already have FM19 cards for QSOs made from the Symposium, but I will need to print more of them. I will make and print cards for the other two locations in the next few days. In the next week or two, I will be ready to mail out cards - which will also let me mail cards from the upcoming hamfest I will attend in Tucson AZ on Saturday (17 October) along with the cards from my Baltimore/Washington/Delaware trip. If you would like to receive cards for QSOs made with WD9EWK on this trip, please e-mail me the QSO details. No need to send me a card or SASE. If you're in the log, you will get the QSL card(s) from me. This was a fun weekend, with the news from AMSAT along with a chance to work the satellites from the opposite side of the USA from where I live. Thanks to AMSAT and KA3HDO's group for a great Symposium, and to all the stations that worked WD9EWK from these locations over the past few days. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK (back home in Arizona now) http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: AO-51 mode update
by Bob- W7LRD 13 Oct '09

13 Oct '09

Yep that was a typo-Agreed-more opportunities to use "other" modes may create more users. A good gain antenna for L band is less than four feet long. Right now the only testing chance we have for L & S playing is AO-51. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle ----- Original Message ----- From: "John P. Toscano" <tosca005(a)tc.umn.edu> To: "Amsat-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 8:15:38 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 mode update Bob- W7LRD wrote: > > Thanks Drew et al. > > No one else on but me, or at least I was all I could hear, on the > 0100Z pass, running about 60W to a 24 loop yagi. Question-- > What is the power of the 1.2ghz downlink? The signal strength is > at least 3 S units less that the 435.3 frequency. Anyone with > 1.2ghz stuff---dust it off. > > 73 Bob W7LRD Bob: It sounds like you were transmitting on UHF and listening to L-band. If that is the case, you will never hear anyone. You need to transmit on (UPlink to) 1268.7 MHz and listen on (DOWNlink from) 435.3 MHz. There is no 1.2 GHz DOWNlink. :( OTOH, maybe that was just a typographical error on your posting, because "60W to a 24 loop yagi" does, indeed, sound like you were UPlinking on 1.2 GHz... :) Anyway, here are the voice modes that AO-51 supports: Mode V/U (J) FM Voice Repeater (QRP): Operational Uplink: 145.8800 MHz FM Downlink 435.1500 MHz FM Mode V/U (J) FM Voice Repeater: Operational **ON NOW** Uplink: 145.9200 MHz FM Downlink 435.3000 MHz FM Mode V/S FM Voice Repeater: Operational Uplink: 145.8800 MHz FM Downlink 2401.2000 MHz FM Mode L/U FM Voice Repeater: Operational **ON NOW** Uplink: 1268.7000 MHz FM Downlink 435.3000 MHz FM The chicken and egg paradox continues. No one will get on the L band uplink if no satellites listen to L band, and no satellites will listen to L band if no ground stations get on the L band uplink. The best solution? More satellites with multiple transponder capability, particularly (preferably) with linear transponders, and higher orbits. Wishing for that is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for the dream to come to pass... Just sign me confused and waiting, a/k/a W0JT _______________________________________________ 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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AMSAT annual meeting
by Bob McGwier 13 Oct '09

13 Oct '09

Tweets, Twitpix: http://twitpic.com/photos/rwmcgwier Apologies for the phone camera with the smudged lens (greasy fingers, what can I say?). MUCH better pictures were taken by Art Feller and his shotgun (irritatingly loud) Nikon shooting rapid fire like Puff the Magic Dragon and those will be available later. The symposium, full audio visual, will be available on DVD later thanks to Pat Kilroy and Dan Schultz. These offerings of mine are a quick peak at what went on. Cheers, Bob N4HY

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Re: AO-51 mode update
by Bob- W7LRD 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

Thanks Drew et al. No one else on but me, or at least I was all I could hear, on the 0100Z pass, run ning about 60W to a 24 loop yagi. Question-- What is the power of the 1.2ghz downlink? The signal strength is at least 3 S units less that the 435.3 frequency. Anyone with 1.2ghz stuff---dust it off. 73 Bob W7LRD ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> To: "Amsat-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, ao-51-modes(a)amsat.org Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 4:22:24 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-51 mode update On tonight's pass at 23:20 I turned the 1268.7/435.15 repeater on. We'll run this along with the 145.92/435.3 repeater for a few days, except when collecting telemetry, until we get the rest of the schedule sorted out. 73, Drew KO4MA _______________________________________________ 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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Amsat conference follow-up regarding Cubesats, Education and Experimental projects and ITU
by Samudra Haque N3RDX 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

Hi all amsat-bb participants, there were a number of good concepts that were floated at the 2009 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and I highlighted the potential of using AMSAT knowledgebase and experienced hobbyists to create relevant course content for inclusion in a K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) syllabus for various standards of learning. One of the nearest examples I can give of such a similar program is the aviation-technology centric STARBASE program which is a civilian operated program affiliated and funded by the DoD, http://www.dodstarbase.com/ and of those programs, I highlighted work of a single one at the conference, http://www.starbasebeaufort.com If you were at the conference and had any questions about my presentation, please let me know by e-mail. For others, you may wish to purchase the proceedings of the conference from Martha/Amsat at your convenience as this years proceedings is very well organized. I was interested to know a little bit about the history of development/spread of use and launch technology available for the P-POD and Cubesat technology as discussed in http://thespacereview.com/article/1490/1. Morehead State University had a very interesting presentation given by Undergraduate students about their Space Science program http://www.moreheadstate.edu/ssc/. This lead me to think about what the cubesat platform is good for and perhaps I could begin developing a cubesat proposal "with features" in my future research plans. But first a few questions: Does cubesat employ all open standards, free for use, free of any copyright -or- patents ? Are there any alternative choices in the US ? I have heard at the conference, a few years ago AMSAT-NA was initially against cubesats, but now it is an accepted concept. Could someone provide a short history of the discussion of that period ? What types of missions have been completed using P-POD and Cubesat type spacecraft at the current time ? Is there an example of a cubesat with any kind of propulsion system built in and put into service ? Any future candidates ? What are the lifetime design goals of a cubesat system, and if they deorbit in a finite time, can more than a few cubesats be deployed in various stages in the same orbital plane and orbital track ? BTW, I am curious, is there a certain orbital plane allocation for cubesats/altitude ? Who regulates this ? Could a cubesat (small) be launched into (e.g.) a fractional degree orbit .. e.g., 45.5 degrees and separate from 45.7 degrees etc as they are very small, or are the cubesats limited to separation in orbit by whole integer degrees inclination ? Also, with regard to the following ITU definition, can any one help me locate an current list of cubesats and their mission objectives if published on a public website ? If there is no such list readily available, what would be the best possible method to catalog the cubesat launches in order to determine compliance with these two clauses ? I am looking for more comprehensive information other than http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/cubesats.php From: http://life.itu.int/radioclub/rr/art01.htm#Serv 1.56 amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. 1.57 amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of the amateur service. Regards from a radio amateur sat newbie, Samudra, N3RDX n3rdx(a)amsat.org

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AO-51 mode update
by Andrew Glasbrenner 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

On tonight's pass at 23:20 I turned the 1268.7/435.15 repeater on. We'll run this along with the 145.92/435.3 repeater for a few days, except when collecting telemetry, until we get the rest of the schedule sorted out. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Lack of CW on sats
by Bato, Andras 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

Gentlemen, I have spent a substantial amount on money to set up a satellite station. During the past tree years I haven't heard too many station in CW! AO-7 is used in CW but much more DX could be heard if more station were in CW. On VO-52 we haven"t enough room. Usually a great number of stations are calling and you can hear a devil of a noise. The stronger wins! K3SZH asked you to use more CW several times. I am seconding him. Please use CW on VO-52 as well. gl de ha6nn Andras (Andy for short.)

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FM satellite operations again again over Europe
by OZ1MY 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

Hi all in Europe, It is obviously about time to repeate a few good points about operating via the FM repeater satellites. 1. Do not transmit if you can not hear it 2. When the satellite is busy - limit the number of QSO's to ONE 3. Do not call over an ongoing QSO 4. A valid QSO just needs the call and the report 5. Give way to weak stations like /p and /m 6. Allow DX-peditions to make as many QSO's as there are callers That was the short version :-) I have a long version in English, Italian, Russian, Spanish and French. I can send it to you if you want it. Could use a few other languages like Greek, Polish and others. It would be nice if you can get it in your national journals. And please no flames ! 73 OZ1MY Ib

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Yaesu GS-232B Problems Connecting
by Nathaniel S. Parsons 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

Hi, My 232B has worked fine in the past, but just today is acting up (last time I used it was a few months ago). I can't connect to it with hyperterminal or HRD. Following the directions of the manual, I have connected on various bit rates (1200, 9600), switched the device on, and hit enter a few times, but I never get a successful connection message. Could it be that the device stops working if it ever goes below a certain temperature? It's gotten cold recently, so that's the only thing I can think of. Thanks -Nate KC2SVI

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accidental RF into wrong cable of Arrow=bad duplexer?
by Tim Goodrich 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

I am an owner of a 2m/70cm LEO satellite antenna with duplexer in the handle. Sometimes, I operate full duplex (two radios) and bypass the duplexer by attaching my own cables to the separate parts of the antenna (1 radio for 2m, 1 radio for 70cm). In the course of rushing to catch a satellite pass, I mixed up my connections and accidentally transmitted (5 watts) into one of the arrow antenna cables, causing RF to feed backwards into the duplexer. Recently, I have noticed decreased performance (poor reception, lower S/N, even on AO-51 when in the past it was full quieting) and am trying to ascertain if it could have anything to do with my mistake of feeding RF in the wrong direction into the duplexer. Could my mistake cause this problem? Thanks, Tim KI6VBY

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