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

Which rotor control to use?
by Eric Knaps, ON4HF 27 Oct '09

27 Oct '09

Hello guys, I was wondering what kind of hardware to use to control my satellite rotors. I have the G-500A elevation rotor and the G-650C azimuth rotor. My only com port is connected with my FT-847 for doppler correction via HamRadioDeluxe so it must be something via the USB port. Thanks! Eric - ON4HF -- Eric Knaps Waterstraat 30 B-3980 Tessenderlo Belgium Tel. +32472985876 (mobile) http://www.on4hf.be

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G.hn: Powerline Up To 200 MHz ?
by Trevor . 27 Oct '09

27 Oct '09

I note the bandplan for home powerline network adaptor extends right out to 200 MHz. I know ARRL managed to get some notches put in for the HF ham bands to reduce the horrendous amount of interference "homeplug" type devices cause. Does anyone know if ARRL is also attempting to get notches for the Amateur Satellite Service allocation at 144-146, and also the US Amateur Service allocations at 50-54 and 146-148 ? G.hn: the new ITU-T Home Networking Standard http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2009/g_hn_new_itu-t_home_networking… 73 Trevor M5AKA Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS news: http://www.southgatearc.org/ ----

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EM97 WV Grid Expedition wrap up etc.
by John Papay 27 Oct '09

27 Oct '09

The EM97 grid operation on 24 October came off as planned. The operating location proved to be quite good. The lowest western AO-27 pass was only 8 degrees and I was able to hear the entire 7 minutes of it. The last pass of AO-51 at 2338z was the most difficult because of the many competing signals. Many are not full duplex and cannot hear the buzz and continue to transmit. Even so, 21 different callsigns were heard and nine of them were worked. It was very hard to transmit into the bird but very easy to hear it. The operating location elevation was over 2500' AMSL. Only a few hills around me were higher. All of them were covered with trees. It's very hard to find high spots that are accessible, and that makes EM97 very difficult to work if you are in the western part of the US. Temps during the daytime approached 60 degrees but temps during the last pass of AO-51 dropped to 45 degrees with a brisk west wind blowing directly at me. The first pass of AO-27 was a little wet but all in all the weather cooperated. Fifty-six contacts were made and I hope some of you came away with a new grid. QSL cards are being printed and should be out within two weeks. Everyone in the log will receive a card. No return cards are requested. Info is on my qrz.com page along with the card design. Not unlike last weekend, there were others operating away from their home location. Rodney, KC0ZHF, was in EN04 beginning on Friday evening and Gerald, N0JE operated on the EN05/06 grid boundary on Sunday morning. John, W6ZKH, was worked in DM05. Thanks to all of you for operating out of your comfort zone for the benefit of those working on their VUCC totals. Also noteworthy was the appearance of TF3ARI on the early morning 1047z AO-51 pass. Ari is running a TS2000 and is working to improve his receive capabilities. If you are looking for a challenge, try operating in an adjacent grid or take your radio with you when you are on vacation. More and more are trying it and you'll find that you'll really enjoy the change of pace from operating at your home location. 73, John K8YSE

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EN04 Actavation
by Rodney Waln 27 Oct '09

27 Oct '09

i would like to thank all those that worked me on the trip to Huron, SD EN04, sorry the grid combination EN04/14 location that was scouted did not work out, the area was very muddy and the approaches were not favorable, there was also a digital link that was interfering with my recorder but i could make out all of the stations that i worked, except the last one on the last pass at 0028z on saterday at my los, in total 20+ stations were worked during the 2 day operating on AO-51, the location was a park on the east side of town next to the largest pheasant in south dakota, cards for the trip for those that i have in the log will be mailed soon, for those that do not have cards in about two weeks and woked me let me know, Rodney kc0zhf back in DN94 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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SVHFS Conference Call For Papers
by Robin Midgett 26 Oct '09

26 Oct '09

Call for Papers 14th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference April 23rd and 24th, 2010 Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky The Southeastern VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers and presentations for the upcoming 14th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference to be held at Morehead State Univeristy in Morehead, KY on April 23rd and 24th, 2010. Papers and presentations are solicited on both the technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak signal amateur radio. Some suggested areas of interest are: Transmitters Receivers Transverters RF Power Amplifiers RF Low Noise Pre Amplifiers Antennas Construction Projects Test Equipment And Station Accessories Station Design And Construction Contesting Roving DXpeditions EME Propagation (Sporadic E, Meteor Scatter, Troposphere Ducting, etc.) Digital Modes (WSJT, etc.) Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Software Defined Radio (SDR) Amateur Satellites Amateur Television In general papers and presentations on non weak signal related topics such as FM repeaters and packet will not be accepted but exceptions may be made if the topic is related to weak signal. For example, a paper or presentation on the use of APRS to track rovers during contests would be considered. The deadline for the submission of papers and presentations is February 5, 2010. All submissions for the proceedings should be in Microsoft Word (.doc). Submissions for presentation at the conference should be in PowerPoint (.ppt) format, and delivered on either a USB memory stick or CDROM or posted for download on a web site of your choice. Pages are 8 and 1/2 by 11 inches with a 1 inch margin on the bottom and ¾ inch margin on the other three sides. All text, drawings, photos, etc. should be black and white only (no color). Please indicate when you submit your paper or presentation if you plan to attend the conference and present there or if you are submitting just for publication. Papers and presentations will be published in bound proceedings by the ARRL. Send all questions, comments and submissions to the program chair, Robin Midgett K4IDC via K4IDC at comcast dot net. For further information about the conference please go to <http://www.svhfs.org>www.svhfs.org Thank you, Robin Midgett K4IDC 2010 Program Chair, SVHFS

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W6FOG status ?
by Alvaro de Leon Romo 26 Oct '09

26 Oct '09

Is W6FOG in route to Puerto Vallarta ?? If yes when will arrive here ?? Many thanks in advance Al XE2AT _________________________________________________________________ Si no está en Windows Live, nunca pasó http://www.actualizatuperfil.com.mx/

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Re: Hopefully - Some ITAR Clarifications.
by Tony Langdon 26 Oct '09

26 Oct '09

At 09:31 AM 10/27/2009, Samudra Haque wrote: >With a forum, you can unclutter your mailbox, and also the forum >system can always tag messages according to a timeline/subject/thread >whatsoever, so if you are really busy (are we not all busy ... its a >hobby of course) then just wait to log on, and then when you do, the >system can show you (if desired) all of the unread messages in the >various topics you are subscribed to (Think: USENET Newsgroup style >focus) unless you wish to say "catchup" and then all is marked as >read. Doesn't work for me, the fastest and most reliable processor I have for sorting messages (once they've been filtered into their own folder by my mail software) is the one between my ears. The additional delays caused by interacting with the network in real time means I can get through about 1/10 of the number of posts in forums as I can in email. I don't trust threading, due to thread drift (happens here in email, happens on forums too, it's a human thing ;) ). I've battled these monstrosities for _years_. >In your current system of receiving messages from the "amsat-bb" >mailing list, unless you have a very large mailbox and never delete >your message pool, you are (we are..) all keeping separate message >copies for each and every reply, instead of just the delta's for each >message kept on a server somewhere. This method is not only bandwidth >inefficient, it also means YOU the user are responsible for tracking >your threads and keeping up to date. Would you not wish to lessen your >burden just a little bit by having the system keep track of where you >are in your hobby ? Nope, because my means of keeping track are vastly more accurate and reliable than any forum system. That is due to quirks in how my brain works, but I'm able to exploit those quirks. And yes, I do keep large archives. :) >If you like, the forum can also mail all relevant postings to you as >regular SMTP mail, so if you don't like the forum, that's ok too. The problem is then a context shift back to the forum is required to reply. _very_ few forums (FUDforum is one that does though) implement a decent attached mailing list. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com

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TS-790 and sat comunication
by Mario Manissero 26 Oct '09

26 Oct '09

Hello folks, Recently I have in my station a TS-790 for satellites. In the past the radio used for this activity was a IC-821. On that radio, for sat activity, is suggested to use the main band for downlink reception and the sub band for the uplink. This because the reception in main band is better instead of sub receiver. And the radio, when sat mode is selected, allow that configuration. Now on the TS-790, Have I to follow the same setup? This because, I have done many attempts to use this radio how the Icom without results. Tnx for your time 73 Mario IK1ZQJ

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KiwiSAT Videos + SwissCube
by Trevor . 26 Oct '09

26 Oct '09

There are 3 KiwiSAT videos on YouTube, see http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2009/kiwisat_youtube_video.htm The downlink forwarder is an application for SwissCube that allows people in range of the spacecraft to listen and forward the BSFK downlink to the SwissCube team. Details at http://swisscube-live.ch/RadioAmateurs/DownlinkForwarder (note you need to register on the site) 73 Trevor M5AKA Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email news items to: editor at southgatearc.org ----

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FS items (Arrow, PCR-1000, 1.2 GHz module for TS-790).
by Mark L. Hammond 26 Oct '09

26 Oct '09

Hello AMSAT-BB, I need to pursue a tower/rotor/antenna project. Therefore, I am selling some items in the shack to help fund the project. The prices are "fair" and therefore "firm". I'm giving the BB a shot before I take these to a local hamfest or eBay. Prices do not include shipping/insurance. 1) Arrow II Antenna 146/437-10WBP Satellite version with built-in diplexer and split boom. Condition: nearly new, only assembled about 5 times. Elements/boom neatly numbered via label-maker tape. $100 + shipping/insurance. 2) Icom PCR-1000 receiver. Includes receiver, serial cable, and power supply. Condition: few minor scuffs/scratches, perfect working condition. (The variable bandwidth permits reception of 38k4 packet signals!) $250 + shipping/insurance. 3) UT-10 1.2 GHz L-band module for Kenwood TS-790. This is a plug-n-play module, about a 5-10 min. no-tuning install. Includes screws. Condition: Perfect working order, low transmit time, full 10W output. Price: $475 + shipping/insurance. Please contact me directly offlist at: marklhammond AT gmail DOT com 73, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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