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

ISS and Shuttle visible over Europe today
by Simone T 18 Mar '09

18 Mar '09

Hi everybody, we had a nice visible pass of Space Shuttle Discovery pursuiting ISS over south France (Antibes, JN33) at 8pm local time on March 17th. 73 de IW1FYV - Simone

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Defective W32A 4 Sale
by Sebastian 18 Mar '09

18 Mar '09

This is a long story, I'll try not to get into too much detail, and please any responses send them directly to me. I have an Icom W32A (dual band full-duplex HT) package for sale. It includes a wall charger; an off brand Master Charger 1a (drop in charger); BP-173 9.6v 650mAh battery; 9.6v 1100 mAh W&W battery; Icom antenna and original manual. I bought this recently at the Orlando hamfest, and it seemed to be working fine. It was a package deal, so I sold this to another ham who found the radio had problems when it was received. The other ham opened up the radio, and found a ribbon cable which goes from one part of the radio to the other, was loose, and missing a small plastic connector which holds it in place. When the ribbon cable was moved to the right place, the radio worked perfectly. The other ham broke the cable, and then tried to 'fix it' and the radio no longer turns on. I don't want to deal with this anymore, and would prefer to sell it as- is NOT WORKING. I'll sell the entire package only for $110 shipped. This is good for parts, or perhaps you can repair it. Again, please respond off the list. 73 de W4AS Sebastian

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The Goce Satellite Ion Engine
by Bill Ress 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Following up on David's (G0MRF) post about the ion engine, the ESA Goce satellite mission, due to launch next week, uses a nifty ion engine which you can see at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7935621.stm I believe these engines will soon become "practical" for use in satellite orbital modification. David presented a fine paper at the 2008 AMSAT Symposium in Atlanta showing how it would be possible to launch (relatively inexpensively) to LEO and then over time, using small thrust engines, modify the orbit to MEO. He also shows how the MEO orbit could provide a significant portion of a HEO's orbit visibility time. Possibly a reduced cost way to achieve extended satellite visibility at a price tag much less than the $8 to $10 million dollar GTO launch cost. If any of our members/readers have leads/contacts with folks doing ion engine development work that might be looking for a satellite test vehicle, please contact me off list. Regards...Bill - N6GHz`

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grid squares
by Michael Heim 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

I'm not sure how active FN01 is regarding satellite work, but I will be spending a week in that grid next week for work. If anyone needs FN01, I can be very easily convinced to take an HT and antenna with me. I do not believe I have the grid worked myself, so it might be rare on the birds. Let me know if you need it, and I'll do something to get on from Oil City, PA. Michael Heim ARS KD0AR

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Re: old satellites
by Wayne Estes 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

There is no reason to stabilize a satellite after it is boosted to the graveyard orbit. The satellite might have power and be easy to track, but the antennas won't point towards earth very often. Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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Re: old satellites
by G0MRF＠aol.com 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

In a message dated 17/03/2009 17:29:47 GMT Standard Time, kg4zlb(a)googlemail.com writes: >I was reading about the newly launched GOCE satellite and the fact that >its mission will end when its 40kg tank empties - that of course may be >a long time coming but as it has an S band transmitter, could this not >be tweaked for us once the mission is complete? Hi. ESA will use the usual 2G / 2.2G ish space communications band for GOCE. The modulation format and data rate will be very different from anything that we are familiar with. The uplink will send commands to the spacecraft and the downlink will send back science data but It's highly unlikely that signals can pass through or that the TX and RX can be moved to 2.4 GHz. >And thinking further, for these satellites could amateur radio gear be >carried so that it could be activated once the main mission is complete? >Doing this over a number of years would provide a ready made supply of >new birds over a period of time. This however is a very practical idea. Right now AMSAT members are building / designing a communications system that will be launched on the ESA educational satellite ESEO. When the science mission is over it will switch to amateur use and hopefully provide a good service for many years (touching wood for good luck as I write this) ESEO is planned to be 75kg going to LEO. 73 David

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Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 4, Issue 129
by Louis McFadin 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

There is no DCI filter in line with the ISS amateur radio system. On Mar 17, 2009, at 11:51 AM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > Lou McFadin W5DID ARISS US Hardware manager

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iss packet invalid callsign nnnnnn
by Mr Jeffrey L Ross 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

hi folks, just looking at the iss mheard callsign list I see one called nnnnnnn. Does anyone know what or who this is? maybe just a silly error, or maybe someone is using the iss without a call. we hams police our own if I'm not mistaken. anyway why its here to observe and go over hows about some explaining to us why there are serveral calls for the iss. I see in the list, ISS, ISS-10,ISS-5, RSOISS-4, -4 I Think is the heard digi, but always wondering what the other iss calls are. If anyone knows please post, thank you much, kc8gkf-5 UISS User. attached is the isscallsign heard list

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Re: "Mobile" Operation
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

So . . . As I really only have a hand-held radio when I'm in the car, that might be considered porta-mobile. But since I often have to stop and hang the antenna out the window, would that be considered psuedo-mobile ? Which raises another age-old question - "If I forget to key the mic while talking, but my wife isn't around, - am I still wrong ?" (Your mileage may vary) /;^) -- <- Licensed in 1976, WB5RMG = Alan Sieg * AMSAT#20554 -> <- http://www.somenet.net * http://wb5rmg.somenet.net -> <- http://www.linkedin.com/in/alansieg * My 'Day Job' ->

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Re: Did ISS perform maneuver burn?
by Greg Beat 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Jeff - When I was listening to the Shuttle STS-119 audio feed last night - March 16 (just before Midnight - Chicago time). The Shuttle performed a burn to "catch up" with the ISS. The shuttle appeared to be about 20 minutes behind the ISS on the visible pass here last night -- before the burn. w9gb ==== Message: 11 Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:34:07 -0700 From: "Jeff Yanko" <wb3jfs(a)cox.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Did ISS perform maneuver burn? To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <D48CA16E64E44DD186DE36455EFF8ECE@QUECREEK> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Hi all! Did the ISS perform a maneuver burn to avoid a possible collision with space junk? The reason I ask is during the 0841z to 0850z pass I started to receive the downlink about 08:39:30. About 1.5 minutes before the AOS was to occur. I'm using 1 week old keps and the previous night pass was right on schedule. 73, Jeff WB3JFS DM26

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Re: "Mobile" Operation
by Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

If you're not operating from your station address, and your entire station is not capable of being fully operated whilst moving, then you are portable. If your station is completely operable whilst you move your "shack" at the vehicle's (or your feet if walking) normal speed, you are probably mobile. John Heaton wrote: > On Tue, 2009-03-17 at 16:20 +0000, Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF wrote: >> Sitting still isn't mobile if you're parked. > > I understood that if you aren't operating from your station address then > you are 'mobile'.. > > John > -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Nigel A. Gunn. G8IFF W8IFF (was KC8NHF) 1865 El Camino Drive, Xenia, OH 45385-1115, USA 937 825 5032 e-mail nigel(a)ngunn.net www http://www.ngunn.net Member of ARRL, GQRP #11396, QRPARCI #11644, SOC #548, Flying Pig #385, Dayton ARA #2128, AMSAT-NA LM-1691, AMSAT-UK, MKARS, ALC <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

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N3TL/portable South Carolina
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Hey everyone, What a hoot that was! If any of you are thinking about making a drive to activate a not-so-active grid or a not-so-active state ... go for it! You will have a blast. I did. >From here in northeast Georgia, South Carolina is closer than Ham Radio Outlet's Atlanta store. Last night, I drove up U.S. 441 to I-85 and headed north to the state line. I found a couple of really good locations very close to the border and just off the interstate. I chose the South Carolina Welcome Center at I-85 mile marker 1 last night because (1) the pass would be after dark and the center is very well lit, and (2) it was rainy and foggy. I figured the light and security of the center would be nice to have. They were. My home grid, to six characters, is EM84ha. On this pass, I operated from EM84ll. This was a busy pass of AO-51, and there were multiple Mexican stations operating portable from different grids. In spite of that, I made a personal high of 11 contacts on the pass, with: AA5PK K8YSE - EL98 N5AFV K8YSE - EN91 KB0RZD WA5KBH N1RCN N9AMW WA2S K5KNT K8NWD Thanks to everyone on the pass. It was great hearing all of you and working so many of you. This location is a good one for working passes to the west, and I'll be using it again to activate South Carolina. QSL cards will be on the way in the next day or two. No return card is necessary. 73 to all, Tim - N3TL EM84ha

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Did ISS perform maneuver burn?
by Jeff Yanko 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Hi all! Did the ISS perform a maneuver burn to avoid a possible collision with space junk? The reason I ask is during the 0841z to 0850z pass I started to receive the downlink about 08:39:30. About 1.5 minutes before the AOS was to occur. I'm using 1 week old keps and the previous night pass was right on schedule. 73, Jeff WB3JFS DM26

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How much Precision for QTH?
by Kent Frazier 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Hi all, I was wondering how much precision is needed when indicating my QTH on a QSL card. Since my station is currently my mobile rig, mounted in my car, I sometimes operate from different locations. Mostly I operate from the driveway of my home, but I have also operated from my daughter's elementary school and my work parking lots. Both of these locations are within a 2 mile radius of my home. I know if I were in a different grid square I would need to indicate that, but when operating within the same grid and even the same subgrid how precise do I need to be? 73, Kent K5KNT AMSAT #36765 ARRL

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AMSAT INDIA March-09 Newsletter
by Nitin Muttin 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

All, AMSAT India March 2009 Newsletter is uploaded and available at http://www.amsatindia.org/Newsletter/AmsatIndia-News-March.pdf www.amsatindia.org/Newsletter 73's Nitin [VU3TYG] AMSAT India www.amsatindia.org ________________________________________________

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Re: N3TL/portable tonight
by Glenn AA5PK 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

A million thanks to Tim/N3TL for the SC contact this evening on AO-51. That makes all 50 states. 73 Glenn AA5PK AMSAT #6694

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N3TL/portable tonight
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Hey everyone, I plan to operate AO-51 this evening (March 16 local time, March 17 UTC) from South Carolina. I should be in the footprint from around 00:15 UTC to 00:23 UTC (8:15 p.m. - 8:23 p.m., EDT) on 145.920 up/435.150 down. If we work and you need a QSL card to confirm South Carolina, please email me. I'll get a card on the way to you. No return card to me is necessary. 73 to all, Tim - N3TL Athens, Ga. - EM84ha

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S band downlink - AO-51
by Michael Heim 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Worked VE3NPC on AO-51 V/s just now. We had the transponder totally to ourselves, and had a nice little chat. I was on this morning around 7:30, by myself. We have V/s all week. This is my favorite configuration, the signals are a LOT stronger on 2401.2 then on 70cm. What is the TPO and antenna on S band on AO-51? Such good conditions, I hope to hear you on!! Michael Heim ARS KD0AR

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AO-10 Report On Sat Status
by Chris Bloy 17 Mar '09

17 Mar '09

Hi All, I see that IK2MKE has reported hearing AO-10, any idea if this is possible? -- Thanks, Chris Callsign: M0DQO AMSAT UK & GB3PC/GB3PD Membership Officer http://www.gb3pc.co.uk

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SwissCube Slide Show
by m5aka＠yahoo.co.uk 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

SwissCube is scheduled for launch at the end of April and pictures from a recent presentation on the satellite are now available on the web, see http://www.southgatearc.org/news/march2009/swisscube_slideshow.htm 73 Trevor M5AKA Daily Amateur Radio RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Get Daily Amateur Radio News by Email http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=2783644&loc=en_US ----

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Re: ISS Webcam Streaming Video
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

Trevor M5AKA said : > Does anyone know if the camera is connected via cable > or do they make use of a WiFi connection ? We'll assume you are speaking of the connections on ISS, as it is most certainly wireless back to earth. TDRSS tho, not LinkSys. They have several new HD video cameras mounted outside, in addition to several indoor cameras. The Ku band downlink carries 4 simultaneous video channels, as selected by ground control or crew. I'm not sure why this is considered new, as it seems like the same thing they have been doing during crew sleep - showing lots of outside camera views on NASA-TV as streaming video. I think maybe there is a new URL, it's just that during Joint Ops they are showing Mission Coverage, same as on the main public channel. AhHa - looks like http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/isslivestream.asx by itself will kick open a Media Player window. Maybe after this shuttle mission this new URL will not go back to the regular public channel content. I love watching the earth ball rolling underneath ISS, and hope that this new URL will give us more of that, and less 'NASA Edge' . . . Thanks /;^) -- <- Licensed in 1976, WB5RMG = Alan Sieg * AMSAT#20554 -> <- http://www.somenet.net * http://wb5rmg.somenet.net -> <- http://www.linkedin.com/in/alansieg * My 'Day Job' ->

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ISS Webcam Streaming Video
by Trevor 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

The ISS streaming video camera seems to be a great idea http://www.southgatearc.org/news/march2009/iss_webcam.htm Does anyone know if the camera is connected via cable or do they make use of a WiFi connection ? 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: Orbiting Debris - Again
by m5aka＠yahoo.co.uk 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

--- On Mon, 16/3/09, Rich Dailey <richdailey(a)windstream.net> wrote: > I try hard to maintain optimism, but I see this problem > only getting much worse in the future. Solutions? One solution may be to put the ISS in a 1200 km orbit and thus above most of the debris that originates from decaying sats and debris in 500-1000 km orbits. The big drawback is that it would cost more per kilo to get payload up there but once construction is completed there shouldn't be the need to ship up so much stuff. 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: ISS Packet off/on?
by Nader Omer 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

HI Jeffrey kc8gkf I think you mean you lost your position Icon at http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/ariss/index.cgi The server will not hold the info for good !!! Only the fresh APRS data shows up. Bob WB4APR can tell us more about this. 73 Nader.st2nh

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ISS Packet off/on?
by Mr Jeffrey L Ross 16 Mar '09

16 Mar '09

Hi folks, wow was nice to get mycall on the ariss map, but I lost it. Not sure if its because they turned off the iss packet for the shuttle or if its still on, any one know? I see other calls still on the web page. 73 kc8gkf using uiss 5.2.3c jpole @10 feet 5 watts/low ft-8100 kpc3+ 1200 baud 145.825 mhz

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