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

Hawaii AO-51 QSO
by Robert Smith 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

Aloha All For all those that called out to me this afternoon. Mahalo. The AO51 easterly at 0231Z had a maximum elevation of 1.6 degrees here. I was able to hear Patrick (WD9EWK) barely. A review of the audio tape clearly shows WB7QXU also calling (I just couldn't make out Michael at the time). Operator error took my downlink off frequency for awhile. Today's pass indicates that AO51 is doable at less than 2 degs max. el. Aloha and many tnx! We'll have to try this agn soon. 73. Respectfully robert NH7WN in Honolulu

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Shuttle Atop Jet
by Clint Bradford 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

I missed seeing this incredible photo last December when NASA released it. It is a view from ABOVE the Shuttle Endeavor/jet as they fly over the Mojave Desert after STS-126 last December. http://tinyurl.com/nr3zdo Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

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Re: AMSAT-India VO-52 Award
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

Nitin [VU3TYG] said: > Thank you all for the appreciative note on the VO-52 award and we > are glad to know that all of you liked the quality of the certificate. Excellent Nitin - very nice certificate. A treasure for my collection. Thanks again AMSAT India - be blessed. /;^) -- # Alan Sieg, WB5RMG since 1976 # http://wb5rmg.somenet.net # http://www.linkedin.com/in/alansieg # wb5rmg<at>amsat<dot>org AMSAT#20554

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Re: AMSAT-India VO-52 Award
by Nitin Muttin [VU3TYG] 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

All, Thank you all for the appreciative note on the VO-52 award and we are glad to know that all of you liked the quality of the certificate. This will be available henceforth for a fee which will be announced shortly. 73's Nitin [VU3TYG] Secretary,AMSAT INDIA www.amsatindia.org --------- Original Message -------- From: amsat-bb(a)wd9ewk.net To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AMSAT-India VO-52 Award Date: 06/01/09 02:57 AM" > Hi! > > > My VO-52 Award arrived in today's mail, and it's very, very nice. It's > > printed on a very heavy stock and is very attractive. I look forward to > > getting it in a frame and on display asap. > > Mine was in the PO box this afternoon, also. A very nice certificate! > Thanks to AMSAT India for this! > > 73! > > > > > Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK > http://www.wd9ewk.net/ > _______________________________________________ > 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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I should have thought of this earlier ....
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

Hey everyone, I just heard myself on the AO-7 downlink running 500 mW rf out from one of my FT-817s. Just to be sure I also tuned - and sent a quick CQ and ID - to three different spots in the passband (started just above 145.950, the moved up near 145.957, and then back down to just above 145.947). I hadn't planned on working the pass. I had a bit of minor surgery late this afternoon, and not feeling 100% just now. But when I saw the elevation of this pass (almost 84 degrees here), I decided to see whether I could make the trip with a half-watt and the crappy ol' Elk ... hihi. A few weeks ago, I worked K4YYL one morning on a similar-elevation pass running 1 watt out. Just for the heck of it, I decided to take that final low-power step (i.e., 500 mW is as low as any of my all-mode radios will go). By the time I got everything fired up, engaged Doppler tuning in SatPC 32 and loosened up my shoulder/elbow/wrist az/el system, AO-7 was past maximum elevation and on her way down to my northwest. According to the computer, I heard myself when the satellite was between 55 and 60 degrees. It was a weak signal, to be sure - but it was copyable on the Elk inside my house. I suspect those guys with real antennas and preamps could have copied me ok. The next time I get a pass like this one, I'm going to think ahead and post something to the BB because I sure would like to get at least one "flea power" contact on the Grand Old Girl. She was busy just now - or, at least, it seemed that way to me. Sure was nice to hear. 73 to all, Tim - N3TL

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All the mobile talk
by John Price 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

I had not worked any satellite mobile for a good while. All the post about mobile operation got me to thinking. So I got the 19 inch wipe out and connected it to the 706 mk2g and tuned the D-700 to the uplink and away I went down the road. I waited till I heard the bird solid before calling. Heard myself right off. Worked somebody in EL97 I believe it was. I did not have a pencil and paper and could not have logged it while driving anyway. The Icom has a built in preamp which I found necessary to hear the bird solid. I was using a Larsen 2/70 duel band antenna for the uplink. So I guess it still works. That was fun. 73's << John -- N4QWF Amateur Radio Operator AO-7,AO-27,FO-29,SO-50,AO-51,VO-52,ISS Email N4QWF(a)AMSAT.ORG Echolink nodes #110903 -L #388463 http://home.comcast.net/~n4qwf/site/ Formerly KC4AHW VK3FEZ Amsat Member #27845 DXCC #33,478 VUCC SAT #135 WAS SAT #296 51 on AO-51 #13 LON -79.256 LAT 37.459 Grid FM07il >From the Foothills of the Blueridge *Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - "WOW, What a ride!"

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Hawaii BL11 on AO51 today?
by Robert Smith 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

Aloha All I've noticed that AO-51 will have a maximum elevation of 2 degrees on todays "easterly" Hawaiian pass. The footprint will extend from Honolulu to near the western border of Iowa. To date, my "longest" AO-51 QSO has been with K7ULS near Eden, Utah. This may be an opportunity to extend that distance. I am willing to give it a try. The pass "over" Hawaii will be from 0232Z to 0236Z today. I should be at the beach with my Arrow and D700 shortly before that (5 Watts). At minimum, I will get to see some nice sceney on the way to the beach HIHI. Hope to hear you. Aloha and 73, de robert NH7WN in Honolulu.

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Correction
by Martha 01 Jun '09

01 Jun '09

After checking the bylaws, please note that the deadline for nomination is JUNE 15th not June 12th. I sincerely apologize for the error. -- 73- Martha

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Re: true duplex radios
by RFI-EMI-GUY 01 Jun '09

01 Jun '09

Craig; I have added a couple ICOM radios (IC-Delta-100 and IC-970)to the list below: Message: 5 Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 15:42:12 -0700 From: "D. Craig Fox" <DFox(a)rwglaw.com> Subject: [amsat-bb] true duplex radios To: "Amsat \(E-mail\)" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <A8E6E57AFA652D419A823F42AD6ACBDE028AA504(a)RWGLAEXCH.RWG.COM> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" At the request of several following my late night post, set forth below is the list I copied off this or the VX-8 listserv. I have added the new Alinco. I do not think this list is complete so others please feel free to add to it. 73s Craig N6RSX HTs - Icom IC-W2A Icom IC-W31A Icom IC-W32 Yaesu FT-470 Yaesu FT-530 Yaesu FT-50R Yaesu FR-51R Kenwood TH-D7 Kenwood TH-77 Kenwood TH-78 Alinco DJ-G5T Alinco DJ-580T Alinco DJ-G7 Mobile rigs - Kenwood TM741 Kenwood TM742 Kenwood TM941 Kenwood TM942 Kenwood TM732 Kenwood TM-D700/710 Yaesu FT-5100 Yaesu FT-5200 Yaesu FT-8800 Yaesu FT-8900 Icom 2728H Icom IC2800 *Icom IC-Delta-100* Base rigs - Yaesu FT-736 Yaesu FT-847 Kenwood TS-2000 Icom 820 Icom 821 Icom IC-910H *Icom IC-970* NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this communication to the intended recipient, please advise the sender by reply email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying or disclosing the contents. Thank you. -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "The RFI-EMI-GUY"© "Use only Genuine Interocitor Parts" Tom Servo ;-P

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WD9EWK from DM34/DM35/DM36 on 30 May - report (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 01 Jun '09

01 Jun '09

Hi! Saturday was another fun day. A long day, starting out early at the hamfest in Prescott, Arizona, and ending up at home just after midnight (0700 UTC) after driving approximately 400 miles (644km), but a good day. Prescott Hamfest in Prescott, Arizona (grid DM34sn): http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34+34.413+n+112… I started out at the hamfest. Officially, it did not open until 0800 local, but I was there when the site was opened for those setting up in one of the spaces two hours earlier. This let me get on the air for an AO-51 pass around 1320 UTC. This pass was more to hand out contacts with the grid for the hamfest (DM34sn) than a demonstration, but a couple of people stopped by to listen in while they were setting up their spaces. Thanks for the 16 contacts with stations from across the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The later AO-51 pass, just after 1500 UTC, added 5 more contacts with a slightly larger audience - the hamfest officially opened at the start of this pass. After a couple of hours where the crowds started building, VO-52 passed by around 1710 UTC. As I've seen at other hamfests, the VO-52 demonstrations seem to attract the largest crowds. It might be the later pass time, or that SSB via satellite is more of a curiosity than FM, but there was a nice crowd. For this pass, Ray W1OTH - a ham from the Prescott area and AMSAT member - took care of the antenna while I worked the radio. I forgot to mention in my e-mail last week where I would camp out on the downlink, but I started around 145.910 MHz where I made two quick contacts. After not hearing anyone else after those contacts, I tuned around and went down a few kHz to work two other stations near the end of the pass. Four contacts on a VO-52 pass, where I'm not actively tuning through the passband looking for every possible QSO, is not a bad thing. The crowd liked it. Not long after that VO-52 pass, the skies darkened and it started to rain. I felt, and then saw, hail falling. This did not last for long, but the hamfest emptied out not long after this quick burst of bad weather. Even with the storm, this was a good morning. Lots of people stopped by, and there appeared to be more people at the hamfest this year compared to last year. Thanks again to Ray W1OTH for sticking around the AMSAT table for a little while and helping with the VO-52 pass. After the hamfest, the Saturday road trip started. I was off to the first of my two stops for the radio after the hamfest.... near Drake, Arizona, east of AZ-89 at the DM34tx/DM35ta grid boundary: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=35+N+112+23.132… I stopped at this spot a couple of times in 2008, as a way to operate from these two grids and not be parked along the nearby state highway. This is just inside the Prescott National Forest north of the city of Prescott, and about 15 miles/25km south of the I-40 freeway and old US-66. Unlike in 2008, AO-27 and SO-50 had overlapping passes in the mid-afternoon from this location. I decided to work AO-27 when it was on, not using the PL tone needed for SO-50. After AO-27 shut off at the end of its repeater time, I would work SO-50 for whatever time was left on each pass. The first AO-27/SO-50 passes came around 2037 UTC. As usual, there were many stations out for the pass. In 7 minutes, I logged 15 QSOs before switching to SO-50. In the last few minutes of the SO-50 pass, 4 more QSOs went in the log. Not a bad effort, other than dealing with the overlapping footprints for the two satellites. A little later, the two satellites were passing by to the west of my location. Again, starting with AO-27 while it was on, I worked 7 stations from central Mexico to western Canada. My time on SO-50 after AO-27's scheduled shutdown was limited by an impending thunderstorm and a quick visit by a Forest Service ranger. The ranger asked if I was looking for a missing dog, and I explained that I was not tracking animals with my setup. I had a chance to acknowledge 2 stations I heard on SO-50 after that, before I heard some thunder near me. That was my cue to pack up and move on to my last stop of the day. Grand Canyon Village, Arizona - south of the lodges along the South Rim in Grand Canyon National Park (grid DM36wb): http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36+3.195+N+112+… I drove through a hard rain to get from DM34tx/DM35ta up to the Grand Canyon, but it stopped raining about 20 miles/32km before I reached the national park entrance. The DM35/DM36 grid boundary was right at the entrance, but that was not a good place to set up. No places to park, and the line was right at the booths for the park rangers to collect the admission fees. I planned to go into the park and find the best spot I could, which would be somewhere firmly in grid DM36. Grand Canyon Village is a small town inside the national park, along the South Rim. Most of the lodges (hotels) on this side of the park are here. I took some pictures as I drove from the park entrance to the parking lot I decided to work from (Parking Lot "E", south of the lodges at the South Rim), and waited for the first AO-51 pass around 0028 UTC. I knew there were some hills that ringed Grand Canyon Village, and those hills meant I had to wait almost 2 minutes after the predicted AOS time before I could clearly hear the AO-51 downlink. Once I heard it, I announced my location. Then the fun began - lots of QSOs for stations across North America. In the span of 11 minutes, 22 contacts were logged. No Canadians, but many from all over the continental US and a couple of XE stations went in the log. I guess DM36 was a rare grid for many on the satellites. :-) Between that pass and the later AO-51 pass to the west, I did some sightseeing around the village and along the South Rim. A weird (at first) sight was seeing some deer grazing in the rail yard at the Grand Canyon train depot. This is still a working depot, for the Grand Canyon Railway that runs daily between the Grand Canyon and the city of Williams about 60 miles/100km to the south, a favorite for tourists who do not want to drive into the park. Lots of people were taking pictures as the deer ate some grass and wandered around the railroad tracks. I went back to the parking lot after taking lots of photos, and was ready for the western AO-51 pass that started around 0208 UTC. I worked 8 stations on this pass - 1 in Alaska (thanks KL7XJ!), the rest in the continental USA. I made another sightseeing stop at another point along the South Rim as I left the national park, to start my almost 4-hour drive back home. For any contacts made with WD9EWK on Saturday - at the hamfest, or after the hamfest - I will be happy to send out QSL cards. I have cards ready for QSOs made at the hamfest, and will have cards for the other two locations in the next day or two. No need to send me QSLs or SASEs for Saturday - just e-mail me directly with QSO details. If you are in my log, you'll get a card (or cards) for the contact(s). I will also send out cards from my trip to Dayton two weeks ago with these cards, all going out in the same envelopes. I was asked on the air if I was using my new Alinco DJ-G7T on any of the Saturday FM satellite passes. I was not - I was using my Icom IC-2720H 2m/70cm FM mobile radio. Since I'm still tweaking that radio, I will leave that to other passes where I am not trying to demonstrate satellite operation or when I'm parked in unusual locations. Including my drive up to Prescott on Friday (29 May) evening, I drove just under 500 miles/800km for this trip. The hamfest was fun, the two stops after the hamfest - putting some rare Arizona grids on the satellites for a few passes - went well. Thanks to everyone who worked WD9EWK during the hamfest demonstrations, as those contacts help show off the capabilities of our current satellites and how it doesn't take lots of fancy (and expensive) gear to enjoy this part of our hobby. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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