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

S band Rx on ebay
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

Hello I'm still trying to peddle my extra S band Rx. I added a mounting bracket in the back of the dish. http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&sho… 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle

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Dayton Hotel Rooms
by Martha 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

Remember to get a room in the AMSAT block, you must: 1. Be an AMSAT Member 2. Volunteer to work the AMSAT Booth 3. CALL ME not the hotel (301-589-6062) -- 73- Martha

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Pass Predictions
by Josh Smith 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

Could someone please run a prediction and let me know when the next few passes for ao-51 should be over morgantown, WV, predict and gpredict are giving me wildly differing answers with what I beleive are the latest keps. Thanks in advance for helping this newb out. -- Josh Smith KD8HRX email/jabber: juicewvu(a)gmail.com phone: 304.237.9369(c) () ascii ribbon campaign - against html e-mail /\ www.asciiribbon.org - against proprietary attachments

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Pass predicitions
by Perry Yantis 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

Just go to Heavens Above, click on amateur satellites and then AO 51 (Echo). http://www.heavens-above.com/satinfo.aspx?SatID=28375&lat=0&lng=0&alt=0&loc… Or go to Amsat page listed below. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/satloc.php?lang=en&satellite=A… Perry WB8OTH

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Re: Pass Predictions
by Josh Smith 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

Bruce, I would agree if the results were consistantly off by an hour however this is not the case. Thanks, Josh On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 5:23 PM, Bruce <kk5do(a)amsat.org> wrote: > sounds like one of the programs did an adjustment for daylight savings and > the other did not. > > 73...bruce > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 8, 2009, at 3:54 PM, Josh Smith <juicewvu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Could someone please run a prediction and let me know when the next >> few passes for ao-51 should be over morgantown, WV, predict and >> gpredict are giving me wildly differing answers with what I beleive >> are the latest keps. >> >> Thanks in advance for helping this newb out. >> >> >> >> -- >> Josh Smith >> KD8HRX >> >> email/jabber: juicewvu(a)gmail.com >> phone: 304.237.9369(c) >> >> () ascii ribbon campaign - against html e-mail >> /\ www.asciiribbon.org - against proprietary attachments >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > -- Josh Smith KD8HRX email/jabber: juicewvu(a)gmail.com phone: 304.237.9369(c) () ascii ribbon campaign - against html e-mail /\ www.asciiribbon.org - against proprietary attachments

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March 3, 2009 -40th anniversary of AMSAT's incorporation
by wmy＠isac.gov.in 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

"40 years of Great Accomplishment". On this great occasion, we all at "Amsat-India" and "Upagrah Amateur Radio Club VU2URC" wish AMSAT many more years of fruitful service. On this occasion, we express our sincere thanks and gratitude to the founder members and all others, who contributed immensely to this organisatiopn for what it stands today. Our good wishes and greetings from India to all at AMSAT. 73 de Mani, VU2WMY (1) Secretary & Station-In-Charge Upagrah Amateur Radio Club, VU2URC ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore (2) AMSAT-INDIA: Technical Committee Member Phone:(O)91-80-2508 2054/2192/2537 Mobile: 91-80-98803 41456 E-mail ID: wmy(a)isac.gov.in vu2wmy_mani(a)yahoo.com isrohams(a)yahoo.com

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Re: IT time
by Paul Williamson 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

At 7:31 AM +0000 3/8/09, w7lrd(a)comcast.net wrote: >I know, I have been here before. I need to change the IT config file for daylight time. It says uncomment something. I don't know what uncomment means (forgot). This was six months ago and I forgot(senior moment). I will write it down so I won't bug you again in six months. In the config file IT.INI, any line that starts with a # is a comment. That is, such a line is ignored by the computer. So to "uncomment" a line is to remove the # from the beginning of that line so that the computer will no longer ignore it. Often you will also need to add a # to a conflicting line in the file. So, if there is a timezone = line in the file that doesn't start with a #, you may want to add a # at the beginning of that line at the same time as you remove the # from another such line. Sorry if this is confusing. Commenting and uncommenting is so common for programmers that we didn't really think about how confusing it could be for non-programmers. 73 -Paul kb5mu(a)amsat.org

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IT time
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

Hello I know, I have been here before. I need to change the IT config file for daylight time. It says uncomment something. I don't know what uncomment means (forgot). This was six months ago and I forgot(senior moment). I will write it down so I won't bug you again in six months. as always, thankyou 73 Bob W7LRD

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Local Hamfests
by Bob Bruninga 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

As the weather warms, remember to watch your APRS radio for HAMFEST alerts. Or you can see a live plot of them on the web: www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?HFEST* If your local hamfest is not showing up, then someone in your area needs to remember to put-out an HFEST-DDx object. where DD is the day of the month and X is the next unused letter in the alphabet for that day as shown on the above web page. By also includign the "FFF.FFFMHz" of the talkin frequency, mobiles can tune right in when they get close. This must be the first 10 bytes of the object text. APRS is the on-air 24/7 global information resource for ham radio. But to be useful, someone has to put in the info.. Shucks, you can also do this for MEETINGS with MEETG-DDx too. Bob, WB4APR

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[ans] ANS-067 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins
by Dee 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-067 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org In this edition: * 40th AMSAT Anniversary * SumbandilaSat launch delayed again * AO-27 Satellite Comes Back * Satellite Shorts * ARISS Status - 8 March 2009 * AO-51 Schedule adjustment * AMSAT/TAPR Banquet SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.01 40th AMSAT Anniversary AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 8, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.01 March 3, 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of AMSAT's incorporation. AMSAT was incorporated in the District of Columbia on March 3, 1969. Perry, W3PK who was AMSAT President from 1969 to mid-1980 said, "We filed the application for incorporation 40 years ago on Feb. 27, 1969. A copy of the filing has been saved at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/AboutAmsat/documents/incorporation.php You can see a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/AboutAmsat/documents/certificate.php Perry is working with Dick Daniels, W4PUJ to preserve the original AMSAT Newsletters, archived in paper format onto electronic media. Additional AMSAT history can be found in the archives of the "Amateur Satellite Report" Newsletters scanned and converted to PDF by Phil Karn, KA9Q. Phil has these issues posted on his website (with AMSAT's permission). See: http://www.ka9q.net/newsletters.html As the electronic archive project makes progress Perry will issue a call for one or more volunteers willing to receive scans of additional issues JPEG format via e-mail, perform the OCR work and help us change them to searchable PDF files. Watch upcoming issues of The AMSAT Journal for articles of AMSAT's roots. AMSAT will also feature 40 years of our accomplishments at the 2009 Dayton Hamvention. [ANS thanks Perry, W3PK for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.02 SumbandilaSat launch delayed again AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 8, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.02 SumbandilaSat launch delayed again The launch of SumbandilaSat has been delayed again, this time due to a technical hiccup at the Russian launch site, Baikonur. The Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology, Dr Phil Mjwara, told SA AMSAT that the launch agency in Russia had sent a message that the launch would probably be at some time in May this year. He said that as the launch agency had not been specific in their communication he will not make a public announcement until DST had received full details about the reasons for the delay and a new confirmed date. It is speculated that the delay is caused by problems of delivering one of the other payloads on time. Currently SumbandilaSat is still safely at the test range near Bredasdorp. [ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.03 AO-27 Satellite Comes Back AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 8, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.03 AO-27 Satellite Comes Back In December, 2008 AO-27 went off the air. The control team members pursued a strategy to drain the batteries in the hopes of resetting the locked up modem. As of a week ago, the bird has rebooted into the primary bootloader. During February, 2009 the control team has managed to upload the high level software (EOS) to AO-27 after several attempts. They took a week to collect data to check on the battery status and conduct an on-orbit checkout before returning to analogue mode. As of March 1, 2009 the AO-27 control team reports that telemetry is looking good. During several passes over the US they turned on the Analogue Repeater. This week the control team will continue the data download schedule to collect as much whole orbit data to check on the health of the batteries. So far, it is looking like AO-27 will return to normal operations on or around March 7th. AO-27 Uplink: 145.850 MHz FM AO-27 Downlink: 436.795 MHZ FM http://www.ao27.org [ANS thanks the AO-27 Control Team for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.04 Satellite Shorts AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 1, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.04 AO-7 UHF Beacon Activates RTTY Telemetry The AO-7 UHF Beacon at 435.100 MHz has been reported as becoming oper- ational. Satellite telemetry in RTTY format is being copied. The AO-7 70-cm beacon was monitored with very strong signals during February 28 passes and also since then. Some reported the beacon initially sounded as if it was in a two-state mode that sounded a bit like RTTY in idle. Successful RTTY decodes have been accomplished using "reverse, 45, 85" parameters. AO-7 Command Operator, Mike, N1JEZ says, "This is a pretty significant development. Every time I've tried to activate the RTTY system, all I would get is a solid carrier then the bird has reset indicating a lack of power." [ANS thanks Mike, N1JEZ for the above information] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Adrian, AA5UK, will be operating as ZF2AE from Grand Cayman and ZF2AE/ZF8 from Little Cayman during his March 25th - April 8th vacation. Current plans are to operate holiday style on AO-51, SO-50 and FO-29. He plans to activate EK99hi from March 25 – 28th, EK99xp and EK99wp from March 28th through April 3rd and EK99kh from April 3rd through April 8th. Most activity will be in the afternoon and evenings. [ANS thanks Adrian, AA5UK, for the above info] -------- AMSAT-UK Colloquium Manchester England - First Call for Speakers This year AMSAT-UK will be holding their Colloquium from Friday July 24th to Sunday 26th July at the University of Manchester right in the centre of the city and within 200 metres of Piccadilly Railway Station. The station has direct trains to Manchester Airport and there is also an hourly bus service from the Liverpool John Lennon Airport. This 3 day event attracts an International audience of those involved in building and operating Amateur Radio satellites and CubeSats. Details of this and previous events can be found at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium AMSAT-UK invite speakers, about amateur radio space and associated activities, for this event. They are also invited to submit papers for the "Proceedings" document which will be published at the same time but printed papers are not mandatory. We normally prefer authors to present talks themselves rather than having someone else give them in the authors' absence. We also welcome "unpresented" papers for the Proceedings document. Offers of talks should be submitted as soon as possible; the final date for full documents to be received is late-June 2009 in order that the "Proceedings" document be available to participants. Submissions should be sent *ONLY* to G4DPZ via the following routes: e-mail: david dot johnson at blackpepper dot co dot uk SnailMail: QTHR from http://www.qrz.com/ (enter G4DPZ is the callsign box) AMSAT-UK also invite anyone with requests for Program Topics to submit them as soon as possible to G4DPZ. Invitations for any papers on specific subjects will be included in the future call. Likewise if anyone knows of a good speaker, please send contact and other information to G4DPZ. AMSAT-UK website http://www.uk.amsat.org/ Join AMSAT-UK online at https://secure.amsat.org.uk/ Colloquium page: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.05 ARISS Status - 2 March 2009 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 1, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.05 1. Upcoming School Contact An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been completed with Padthaway Primary School in Padthaway, SA, Australia on Tuesday, March 3 at 08:32 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. To prepare for the contact, children wrote essays on space related topics. They chose a planet to analyze for feasibility of life, looked at the life of an astronaut (training, diet, etc), researched an event in space history and created a timeline of important events in space history. Media coverage is planned. 2. Upcoming ARISS Simulated Contacts Three simulated Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been completed on Wednesday, March 4. These training sessions are terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts using ARISS-equivalent equipment. Audio is expected to be available on IRLP. All times are approximate. 15:15 UTC - Technopolis, Belgium and Andre Kuipers, PI9ISS 15:30 UTC - Ralph McCall School, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada and Chris Hadfield, VA3OOG 15:45 UTC - Ralph McCall School, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada and Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH 3. Fassett Middle School Contact Successful Fassett Middle School in Oregon, Ohio experienced a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, February 23. Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, answered 16 students' questions while over 550 people who gathered for the event looked on. The Oregon school superintendent was also present for the contact. Audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT (101377) and JK1ZRW (277208) servers. Thirteen connections were made, including 3 link nodes and one repeater, from England, Germany, Malaysia and the U.S. The Toledo Blade and TV 11 covered the news. To view the WTOL TV 11 story, "Can you hear me now? Oregon students call outer space," see: http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=9889811&nav=menu34_2_4 The Toledo Blade article may be viewed here: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090224/NEWS16/90224… 4. Australian Contact Successful Chatham Public School in Taree, NSW, Australia, took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, February 25 via telebridge station K6DUE in Maryland. The event was held at the studios of Radio 2RE. Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, answered 13 questions posed to him by ten children. John Key, the New Zealand prime minister, tied in to the contact and sent greetings to Mike from the Asia/Pacific region. Thirty-eight radio stations belonging to the Super Radio Network covered the event the following morning. The audio was also fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received 19 connections from stations in the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Belgium and England. 5. Italian School Questions Astronaut On Wednesday, February 25, students from 1 Circolo Didattico G. Marconi in Casamassima, Italy participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. Seventeen students asked one question each of the astronaut. Special guest Princess Elettra Marconi attended the event and spoke briefly with Mike as approximately 250 students, teachers and others watched. Some regional television stations and local newspapers covered the event. For more information, photos and audio, visit the ARISS-Europe Web site: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2009_02_25.htm 6. New York Contact Successful Students attending Hampton Bays Middle School in Hampton Bays, New York took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, February 25. Students created a mockup set of the ISS from which ten students asked 14 questions of Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. The school's IT department provided live coverage of the contact to all the schools in the district via intranet. Video of the event will be available on the school Web site in the near future. 7. Astronaut Training Status An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) training session was held with Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH, on Wednesday, February 18. Coleman is a backup crew member for Expedition 20. On Tuesday, February 24, two successful simulated ARISS contacts took place. The first was held between students at the European Space Center, Belgium and Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN. The second was held between the Manordale Public School children in Canada and Bob Thirsk, W5/VA3CSA. 8. ARRL Announces Dayton Hamvention Guest Speaker The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran an article about the upcoming ARRL National Convention to be held at the Dayton Hamvention in May. Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, will attend the event and spend time in the ARRL EXPO area greeting visitors. He will also speak at the Hamvention forum. See: https://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/02/21/10660/?nc=1 The ARRL Letter also ran the story, "ARRL National Convention to Feature Richard Garriott, W5KWQ." See: https://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/09/0227/ ARRL's web feature called "ARRL in Action" for the month of March includes an entry on Richard's attendance at the ARRL National Convention (Dayton Hamvention) May 15-17. The ARRL Web site has 100,000 regular readers; the e-newsletter has a circulation of 115,000. 9. Richard Garriott, Keynote Speaker at AMSAT Banquet The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) announced that Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, will be the keynote speaker at the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet during Dayton Hamvention 2009. The banquet will be held on May 15. Richard will also give a talk at the AMSAT forum on Saturday, May 16. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php 10. AMSAT Story on SuitSat Meeting The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team held a SuitSat-2 meeting on Friday - Sunday, February 20 - 22 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) posted a story summarizing the meeting. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php 11. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS Contact On February 27, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report #1646 covered the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with South Park Elementary Center. The report may be found here: http://www.arnewsline.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=18&Itemid= [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.06 AO-51 Scehdule Adjustment AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 8, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.06 We've made a few tweaks to the schedule to accommodate the G3VZV cruise, at the request some South African operators, and to correct an uplink frequency for the SSTV mode. The new schedule, as posted at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php : March 2009 AO-51 Schedule All modes using the 435.150 downlink are subject to interruption for telemetry collection by a command station. March 2nd - March 9th FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM FM Repeater, V(SSB)/U Uplink: 145.880 MHz SSB Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM March 9th - March 16th Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM 9k6 BBS, L/U Uplink: 1268.700 MHz 9k6 FM Downlink: 435.150 MHz 9k6 FM March 16th - March 23rd FM Repeater, V/S Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM Downlink: 2401.200 MHz FM FM Repeater V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM March 23rd - March 30th FM Repeater V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM FM Repeater V/U SSTV Uplink: 145.860 MHz FM Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA for the above info] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.07 AMSAT/TAPR Banquet AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 8, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.07 Reservations for the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet are now available through the AMSAT Store. Richard Garriott, W5KWQ will be the Banquet speaker. He will also give a short talk during the Saturday AMSAT Forum and spend some time at the AMSAT booth. Richard has many interests in additon to his amateur radio work aboard the ISS. Be sure and read his Wikipedia bio to learn of his numerous accomplishments. Information about AMSAT Activities during Hamvention 2009 are being posted to the AMSAT web site. Use the Dayton Hamvention link on the AMSAT front page left hand navigation. [ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org

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Re: Limits of G-5500?
by Steve kb9ups 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

Hi All, I'm running a 10 foot dish and have built a drive system including controler that works "very well". Please look at my web page and contact me if you wish.. www.qsl.net/kb9ups Steve/kb9ups ARISS Mentor AMSAT area coordinator, Toledo, Oh. AMSAT area coordinator, Streator, IL. www.qsl.net/kb9ups -----Original Message----- From: "Edward Cole" [kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net] Date: 03/07/2009 03:38 PM To: "Mark L. Hammond" <marklhammond(a)gmail.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Limits of G-5500? At 05:25 AM 3/7/2009, Mark L. Hammond wrote: >Hi All, > >Recently I acquired a 7.5' dish. It's aluminum with a steel ring >mount. I estimate the dish weights maybe 50 lbs? > >What is a realistic limit for a Yaesu G-5500 rotator? Would it >handle a dish of this size/weight if carefully counterbalanced? Or >is it too big and silly to even consider? > >I know wind load is a concern of course, too. But I imagine keeping >it close to the ground... > >I've thought about cutting it down in size to reduce weight and wind >load, but would rather not go that route... > >73, > >Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] Mark, Is the G-5500 the same as the B5500? I would not recommend that. The issue is not the weight but the wind area forces. A 7.5 foot dish can have 2000-lbs of wind force at 70mph. What is recommended is a HD azimuth rotator coupled with a satellite dish actuator arm for elevation. I do this with my 2m-eme array (four 21-foot booms on a 12x12 foot H-frame). The B5500/B5400 will handle up to a 3-foot dish probably at maximum. I have had a 33-inch offset feed dish on my B5400 along with a long 432 and 1296 yagis with no problems (knock on wood). Satellite actuators are pretty cheap for running a dish. 73, Ed - KL7UW _______________________________________________ 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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Re: CO-65 digi reported as ON
by Mineo Wakita 08 Mar '09

08 Mar '09

CO-65 GMSK 9k6 should be ON all the time on this weekend. I think that it's made if you transmit and receive it delicately. JA5BLZ>CQ,JQ1YTC* [03/08/09 00:59:32z] <UI>:HELLO ALL JA5BLZ>CQ,JQ1YTC* [03/08/09 01:00:22z] <UI>::JE9PEL :HELLO VIA CO-65 http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ct17gmsk.htm http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ct17gmsk.htm#hint JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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AO-27
by John Hackett 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

As at 15:30Z 07-March-2009 AO-27, though fully operational, is not even listed on Amsat-NA's satellite status page. Is this because there are so few volunteers to help out ... ir did 'we' just foget this old plodder?. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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Limits of G-5500?
by Mark L. Hammond 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Hi All, Recently I acquired a 7.5' dish. It's aluminum with a steel ring mount. I estimate the dish weights maybe 50 lbs? What is a realistic limit for a Yaesu G-5500 rotator? Would it handle a dish of this size/weight if carefully counterbalanced? Or is it too big and silly to even consider? I know wind load is a concern of course, too. But I imagine keeping it close to the ground... I've thought about cutting it down in size to reduce weight and wind load, but would rather not go that route... 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Re: LVB Tracker
by Mark L. Hammond 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Hi Alan, I have a G-5500 and can confirm that with the 0.9 firmware I see the same memory loss; it's always related to power on/off cycling. I keep it ON all the time now, but the main power does go off/on now and then, so I have to recalibrate. I don't recall ever having seen this running ver 0.7 on the G-5500. 73, Mark N8MH >Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 18:09:55 -0600 >From: "Alan" <ve4yz(a)mts.net> >Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LVB Tracker >To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Message-ID: <6DF73413341840AAAFA485A2B25AC19D@athlon> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >The LVB Tracker is a great little box... I have 2 for 2 separate ground >stations. Both run on the USB. > >I can force the lost of memory on one of the LVB's if I switch the G5400B >rotator controller off and on too fast. If I leave the G5400b off for about >10-15 seconds before turning it back on, the LVB will usually not loose its >mind. I have 2 different G5400b control boxes and the LVB reacts the same >on both. Eprom 0.9 but also had this problem with 0.7 > >The second LVB is on a G5500 control box and does not display this problem. >Eprom 0.7 > >I have not switched the 2 LVB boxes to see if the problem is related to the >G5400 and not the G5500. > >So I am now very careful when turning it OFF and ON. The OFF/ON routine is >sometimes required when the USB/Virtual Com Port goes brain dead on my >laptop and the VCOM port is lost. Power OFF/ON causes XP to refind the >virtual comport. The alternative is to unplug and replug the USB cable to >the LVB. Either way the new virtual hardware ( comport ) is found and my >SatPC32 runs normally. > >I also tend to avoid the eprom problem by leaving the G5400b on all the >time. > >The other issue I have with one of the LVB boxes is the poor >ground/shielding of the control cable. The elevation meter on the G5400b >would not go to 0 degrees when the antenna was horizontal. This is after a >calibration 0 to 90. Howard Long was super fast to come back by email >with a solution to this problem saying it was an indication of poor >shielding or grounding on the cable. I replaced the cable with one with >more braid and foil and it improved somewhat. When I run a jumper wire from >the chassis of the G5400b to the ground trace on the LVB PCB I then get the >needle down to 0 degrees. The LVB on the G5500 is OKAY out of the box and >that is why I haven't flashed the eprom from 0.7 to 0.9 > >73, Alan VE4YZ >EN19kw >AMSAT LM 2352 Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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cm96 qrv monterey radiofest
by Robert Coppock 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

hi, me and hopefully a few others will be at monterey,ca for radiofest today and sunday a.m. no44, so50, ao27 and others ? see you on the birds, peace, 73, Robert k f 0 g dublin, ca cm98

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CO-65 digi reported as ON
by Mark L. Hammond 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Hi all, The CW beacon on CO-65 reports the digi to be ON, but I apparently wasn't able to get into it (a 70+ deg pass!) HI HI DE JQ1YTC DIGI ON CUTE 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Update on Hamvention Banquet
by Bruce 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

I have just added the menu to the store for the banquet. There is also a link within the description to the amsat.org web page about the banquet. Direct link to order a banquet ticket at the amsat.org online store http://www.amsat-na.com/store/item.php?id=100158 Direct link to the banquet web page http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2009/Banquet.php 73...bruce

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Dis-assembling M2 VHF & UHF CP Yagis -- removing Stainless Steel keepers....
by Norm & Cathy Beasley 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Gents and Ladies, I have 2x M2 CP Yagis, one VHF and one UHF that I need to dis-assemble for transport back to the USA. I need to compact the antennas as much as possible to maximize my personal effects shipment to the least amount of CuMtr volume. These M2 Yagis use the 3/16" aluminum element mounted through the boom, using insulated bushings and stainless steel keepers on each side of the boom to hold the element mounted in the boom. How does one dis-assemble these elements from the boom? Or, How does one get the stainless steel keepers to "reverse" and slide of the element? The only thing I can think of is to use a Dremel Tool with bit to cut the SS keepers in half. I suppose I can get more SS keepers once I return to the USA. I would prefer to not go this route if there are other, better ways. Your helpful comments and ideas appreciated. Blessings, and 73, Norm ========================================== Norm Beasley, P29NB PO Box 437 Ukarumpa, EHP 444 PAPUA NEW GUINEA E-Mail: p29nb(a)yahoo.com ==========================================

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FO29 pass, 0300 UTC 7 Mar
by Mark Lunday, WD4ELG 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Worked Bob KC9ICH, nice signal. Also heard VE2. B But there was some awful interference. Sounded like AM signal coming through (CB?). Speaking in Spanish, I could not make it out well enough. Was coming on the downlink during the second half of the pass. Mark Lunday WD4ELG wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.net

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AO-7 telemetry hint of the day!
by Mark L. Hammond 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Hi All, So you know--you can copy the AO-7 telemetry beacon MUCH better with the "automatic beat cancel" feature of your spiffy radio turned OFF! :D Ahaha...I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I couldn't print that thing...and it doesn't help with copying IO-26 or AO-16, either.... Anyhow, it's a nice signal. Bird is to my EAST, heading from SOUTH to NORTH and seems much better on LHCP.... Using fldigi, custom RTTY settings: 85 carrier shift 45 baud rate 5 bits per character None parity 1.5 Stop bits FAST AGC And click REVERSE (the Rv button down to the bottom/right). You can turn on the logs and record the thing too...slick. 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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ARISS crap sandwich
by Gordon JC Pearce 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

Well, yet another lovely display of abso-bloody-lutely first class operating on ISS :-/ Thanks in particular to the person sending "CQ CQ CQDX CQ CQ CQDX" in ragged morse with their 1750Hz toneburst. Yes, we could all hear you. We couldn't hear anything else. Aren't you clever? ON7EQ had a lovely signal into the ISS but I doubt he'd hear anything back in the soup of noise. Gordon

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A027 Sounded Great
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

I worked A027 today and made two contacts. It sounded great . Glad this bird is up again. Hope to hear you on the birds. **************Need a job? Find employment help in your area. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agencies&ncid=emlcntusye…)

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LVB Tracker
by Jeff Thomas 07 Mar '09

07 Mar '09

I have been receiving errors: "Warning Bad EEPROM Data" when I apply power to the LVB Tracker rotor controller. I have received this error 4 or 5 times now and it forces me to re-calibrate the rotor controller. Anyone have any idea while this happens over and over? Thanks, Jeff - K7WIN

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Please use the report page
by OZ1MY 06 Mar '09

06 Mar '09

Hi all, It would be nice if more people used the report page: http://oscar.dcarr.org If you hear or make contacts just report it on the page. It takes just a few seconds to do it. I think it is a great advantage to have the most resent news this way. Thanks in advance and have a nice weekend. 73 OZ1MY Ib

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