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

Call for Papers--2007 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
by Ford, Steve, WB8IMY 16 Jul '12

16 Jul '12

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 26th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 28-30, 2007 in Hartford, Connecticut. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31, 2007. Please send papers to: Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111 or you can make your submission via e-mail to: maty(a)arrl.org Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights. 73 . . . Steve, WB8IMY ARRL

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Re: EggBeater
by Bill Dzurilla 29 May '12

29 May '12

Steve, I have both a commercial and a homebrew Eggbeater and am disappointed with both, especially in light of its rather high price. Connected to my IC-7000 via an ARR mast-mounted preamp, performance is far less than with an HT and an Arrow. Guess an omni can't cut it, at least not from my QTH. Maybe if I could get it up higher, clear of all roofs, it would do better. I can make contacts at relatively high sat elevations, but can do just as well with a $10 dual band ground plane. My friend has an Eggbeater and the same preamp at a clearer QTH, and he hears substantially better, down to 10 degrees elevation in some directions. Good luck and 73, Bill NZ5N > > Hi Steve, > > > > It is surprising to read that you are not hearing > anything. I have > > repeatedly used a 2m and 70cm Eggbeater for the sats > and have had no > > problem hearing things. No pre-amp. > > > > I was using a short cable (e.g. less than 10 meters). > The rigs I > > used were a FT-736r (deaf) and a FT-847 (so-so). > > > > 73, > > > > Dave

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Re: true duplex radios
by clintbrad4d＠earthlink.net 17 Sep '09

17 Sep '09

But the ability to crossband repeat doesn't automatically mean that a radio can monitor a satellite's downlink while transmitting to it .... -----Original Message----- From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> Subj: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: true duplex radios Date: Mon Jun 1, 2009 12:55 pm Size: 467 bytes To: "Clint Bradford" <clintbrad4d(a)earthlink.net>,<amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Really? Dual-receive, indeed. And will perform crossband repeating. > But I can transmit on one band and simultaneously hear myself on > another with a FT-8800? How else would it be able to cross band repeat? Page three of the manual: "Featuring 1054 memory channels (527 channels each for "Main" and "Sub" band), full duplex operation with independent Volume and Squelch controls, and built-in CTCSS and DCS encoder/decoder circuits, ..." 73, Drew KO4MA

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G-5500 and LVB tracker question.
by racer5039 03 Jul '09

03 Jul '09

I have the G-5500 and a LVB Tracker on my antenna set. I have noticed that when the pair are just setting there the LVB tracker will loose its place. By that I mean if the G-5500 box is at 180* the LVB will start out at 180 but as it sets there it will soon be at 178, 174, 172 and so on. I also noted the meter on the g-5500 is going down too. Where do I start looking ? Marv N0FJP

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Original 13 Colonies update
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 02 Jul '09

02 Jul '09

Hey everyone, I've just heard from Gary, N2AUO, who is interested in activating Pennsylvania on the satellites during the Original 13 Colonies special event this week. That gives us 10 of the Original 13 Colonies that will be active on the satellites during this event! Thanks to Gary for his interest in participating. At the request of the event's organizer (Ken. KU2US), those of us active on the satellites will be IDing with our own call sign/special event call. For example, I will be IDing as N3TL/K2G. I'll add that I'm the station in Georgia for the special event, just to be clear. Ken also has advised that he is adding a special satellite designator to the certificates for those who earn them via satellite contacts. Thanks to him for doing this. For the latest information on the Original 13 Colonies Special Event, please go to www.QRZ.com/ku2us. The event begins at 1300 UTC July 1 and ends at 0359 UTC on July 5. 73 to all, Tim - N3TL

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Re: Richard Garriott on BBC Newsnight tonight
by Trevor . 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

The show should also be available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/newsnight Newsnights homepage is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight I've not tried accessing BBC shows from overseas so don't know if they restict access. If they do I guess a Proxy Server may be one way round it. 73 Trevor M5AKA --- On Tue, 30/6/09, Howard Long <howard(a)howardlong.com> wrote: > From: Howard Long <howard(a)howardlong.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Richard Garriott on BBC Newsnight tonight > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Date: Tuesday, 30 June, 2009, 9:20 AM > Folks > > I understand that it is likely that Richard Garriott is to > be interviewed on > BBC2's networked Newsnight program tonight at 22:30BST, > 23:30CET (In Western > Europe 28.2E 10773H 22000 5/6). > > 73, Howard G6LVB >

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Re: Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X
by Jim Jerzycke 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

Predict is supposed to run on OSX, but I don't know anybody who's tried it. Jim KQ6EA --- On Mon, 6/29/09, Howard Kowall <hkowall(a)shaw.ca> wrote: From: Howard Kowall <hkowall(a)shaw.ca> Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X To: "AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Date: Monday, June 29, 2009, 1:43 PM Hello to all Well my daughter just bought a new Mac laptop because hers had died She came into town and gave me her dead Mac laptop And of course I fixed it,work good now and it is the only laptop that I have that has a good battery. Is there any Satellite Tracing software that will run on Mac OS X. I have seen the Dog Park software,but I would like to try something else to make sure this computer works Thanks in advance to all who respond. Howard VE4ISP Amsat #37005 _______________________________________________ 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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Richard Garriott on BBC Newsnight tonight
by Howard Long 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

Folks I understand that it is likely that Richard Garriott is to be interviewed on BBC2's networked Newsnight program tonight at 22:30BST, 23:30CET (In Western Europe 28.2E 10773H 22000 5/6). 73, Howard G6LVB

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Re: Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X
by Rafael Valdez G. 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

You can use predict But need to compile via mac ports or darwin ports... 73's XE2RV ------Original Message------ From: Howard Kowall To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Jun 29, 2009 2:43 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X Hello to all Well my daughter just bought a new Mac laptop because hers had died She came into town and gave me her dead Mac laptop And of course I fixed it,work good now and it is the only laptop that I have that has a good battery. Is there any Satellite Tracing software that will run on Mac OS X. I have seen the Dog Park software,but I would like to try something else to make sure this computer works Thanks in advance to all who respond. Howard VE4ISP Amsat #37005 _______________________________________________ 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 <http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb>

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Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X
by Howard Kowall 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

Hello to all Well my daughter just bought a new Mac laptop because hers had died She came into town and gave me her dead Mac laptop And of course I fixed it,work good now and it is the only laptop that I have that has a good battery. Is there any Satellite Tracing software that will run on Mac OS X. I have seen the Dog Park software,but I would like to try something else to make sure this computer works Thanks in advance to all who respond. Howard VE4ISP Amsat #37005

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Fw: Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X
by Howard Kowall 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

----- Original Message ----- From: Howard Kowall To: Howard Kowall Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:50 PM Subject: Re: Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X ----- Original Message ----- From: Howard Kowall To: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:43 PM Subject: Satellite Tracking Software for Mac OS X Hello to all Well my daughter just bought a new Mac laptop because hers had died She came into town and gave me her dead Mac laptop And of course I fixed it,work good now and it is the only laptop that I have that has a good battery. Is there any Satellite Tracing software that will run on Mac OS X. I have seen the Dog Park software,but I would like to try something else to make sure this computer works Thanks in advance to all who respond. Howard VE4ISP Amsat #37005

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Sea Launch
by Trevor . 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

Sadly Sea Launch is bankrupt so one less launch company. http://www.space.com/news/090629-busmon-sealaunch-bankruptcy.html 73 Trevor M5AKA

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AO-27 Question
by Jim Jerzycke 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Hi, everybody. Today at Field Day was the first time I tried to work AO-27, and succeeded. One thing I noticed, is that as the satellite came up over the horizon, I wasn't hearing anything until what sounded like a long data burst happened. Then I heard the sat come alive, with what sounded like people already in QSO. As the sat progressed, I heard a lot of operators, then the long data burst happened again, and it seemed like the sat went "dead" I know a bit about how it's scheduled (TOPR), but since this is the first time I was able to hear it well enough to actually consider it usable. What's the data burst? Is it part of the TOPR, or am I hearing something else? 73, Jim KQ6EA

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Re: Need advice : Eggbeater antenna, preamp, coax
by Jean-François Ménard 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

/Hi Sebastian, I planning to work at 5W for now. I will use my 2 FT-817.... one for RX and the other one for TX.... both controlled by SatPC32. I bought 2 premamps RF switch at 25W maximum from Advanced Research. J-F VA2SS From/: Sebastian <w4as@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:w4as@DOMAIN.HIDDEN>>/ Date/: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:12:06 -0400 I'll add a thought here that I haven't seen anyone reply about. As everyone mentioned, definitely go with a preamp - but think for the future. How much transmitter output power do you have? If you have relatively low power, say 5 watts, you can get an inexpensive preamp. However, if you plan to use higher power in the future, perhaps for meteor scatter; that low power preamp may no longer be useful. Again, you've received several responses, but one thing hasn't been mentioned. What is your output power? If you have an HT with a couple of watts, that RG-8 may 'eat up' a lot of your power, especially if you are going to transmit on 440 Mhz. Without knowing how much power you have, and which birds you plan to use, it's difficult to give you a good answer. "you can't work 'em if you can't hear them"; also don't forget that you need to hear yourself FIRST. Work on hearing your downlink if possible before you start to call other stations. If you can't hear yourself, then post about it so we can help you out. I think it would be helpful if you told us which type(s) of rig(s) you will be using. When you find a fellow ham who has all the money that's necessary to build a perfect station, please let me know! 73 de W4AS Sebastian

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Re: Need advice : Eggbeater antenna, preamp, coax
by Jean-François Ménard 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Wow... many many answers !! Well, everybody seems to be agree that preamp are a "must", and the first thing to add in my setup. I bought, at a great price, 2 "second hand" and near perfect eggbeater antenna from a ham here in province of Quebec who would like to upgrade to a more serious setup. Ok now, I just ordered 2 preamps from Advanced Research... VHF and UHF. I will put them in an wheater proof enclosure near my eggbeater antennas..... the closer I can.... in an PVC enclosure... because I bought standard one. I received today from a friend of mine, a brand new 50 meters 1/2" heliax coil.... I will be able to change my 2 old coax runs with this. And finally, I will use my 2 FT-817 with SatPC32.... seems to work perfectly at this moment... the 2 rigs are controlled simultaniously RX & TX.... a great piece of software !! I hope I will be able to do a step further soon.... to have a contact !!! 73 J-F VA2SS Jean-François Ménard a écrit : > Hi, > > I would like to know if there is much difference using a preamp for > satellite receiving using a M2 Eggbeater antenna ? > > And also, is there much difference between a heliax 0.5" and a RG-8 > on a 50 feet cable run between the antenna and the radio ? > > I would really like to optimize my receiving quality but I also want > to know where to put all my effort first. > > I'm new and I cannot invest much money the first year. > > Thank to all for your advice. > > 73 > > --- > Jean-François Ménard > VA2SS > >

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Need advice : Eggbeater antenna, preamp, coax
by Jean-François Ménard 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Hi, I would like to know if there is much difference using a preamp for satellite receiving using a M2 Eggbeater antenna ? And also, is there much difference between a heliax 0.5" and a RG-8 on a 50 feet cable run between the antenna and the radio ? I would really like to optimize my receiving quality but I also want to know where to put all my effort first. I'm new and I cannot invest much money the first year. Thank to all for your advice. 73 --- Jean-François Ménard VA2SS

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Re: Need advice : Eggbeater antenna, preamp, coax
by Jim Jerzycke 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

There's a TREMENDOUS difference with the preamp, mounted at the antenna. You will hear the satellites earlier, and stronger, with the preamp. Good coax is also good to have, but if you're on a budget, buy the preamp first. I tried many different things, but the preamp made the most improvement. 73, Jim KQ6EA --- On Sun, 6/28/09, Jean-François Ménard <va2ss(a)me.com> wrote: From: Jean-François Ménard <va2ss(a)me.com> Subject: [amsat-bb] Need advice : Eggbeater antenna, preamp, coax To: "AMSAT Mailing list" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 1:16 PM Hi, I would like to know if there is much difference using a preamp for satellite receiving using a M2 Eggbeater antenna ? And also, is there much difference between a heliax 0.5" and a RG-8 on a 50 feet cable run between the antenna and the radio ? I would really like to optimize my receiving quality but I also want to know where to put all my effort first. I'm new and I cannot invest much money the first year. Thank to all for your advice. 73 --- Jean-François Ménard VA2SS _______________________________________________ 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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W1AW/# on AO-27...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Hi! Mark WA8SME asked me to post this on his behalf... Anyone who worked Mark during any of the ARRL Teachers Institutes over the past few weeks, and in the coming weeks, on AO-27 using any of the following calls: W1AW W1AW/4 W1AW/5 W1AW/6 W1AW/8 can get a QSL card for those contacts by sending your QSL request directly to WA8SME at his QRZ.com mailing address. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Call for Papers--2009 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
by Mark Thompson 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Call for Papers--2009 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Posted by: "Ford, Steve, WB8IMY" sford(a)arrl.org wb8imy Date: Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:41 am ((PDT)) Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 28th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 25-27, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31, 2009. Please send papers to: Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111 or you can make your submission via e-mail to: maty(a)arrl.org Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights. 73 . . . Steve, WB8IMY ARRL

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Labjack U12 & Piggy back
by Mani VU2WMY 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Hello Group, Could someone tell me any satellite tracking software other than NOVA, compatible with Labjack U12 & Piggy back combo to drive Yaesu G 5500 rototor. with regards Mani VU2WMY

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Re: Advice for transponder ops
by Jim Jerzycke 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

I also noticed a lot of "warbling" on the AO-7 stations I heard. I'm assuming this is the "FM'ing" I've read about. I cranked my power down to about 10 Watts on the AO-7 passes I tried to work, and my downlink sounded "OK", but some guys had a very 'watery' sound. I also noticed a couple of sats where the downlink seemed to "drop out" after I heard some very LOUD stations on them. I don't think it was receive blockage causing me to lose the signal, but it was something I never heard before. Jim --- On Sun, 6/28/09, n3tl(a)bellsouth.net <n3tl(a)bellsouth.net> wrote: From: n3tl(a)bellsouth.net <n3tl(a)bellsouth.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Advice for transponder ops To: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 8:45 AM AMEN brother! I called CQ multiple times on AO-7 in CW last night between 145.940 and 145.944 (downlink), and NOBODY was tuning down that far. I found that very disappointing, as I did the close proximity of all the stations on FO-29 and VO-52. I believe a lot of us could have made a lot more contacts on the linear satellites if we'd just used the passband. Thanks for this post Drew! 73 to all, Tim - N3TL -------------- Original message from "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com>: -------------- > I took this screen grab of this morning's eastern FO-29 pass, and what it > shows is in my opinion very illustrative of a problem that is getting worse > even on days other than Field Day. > > http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q305/glasbrenner/radio/FO-29FDanotated.j… > > Spread out! There is no good reason that we should have a dozen operators > fighting over the center 15 kHz of a 100 kHz wide transponder. Remember the > gentlemen's agreement is the lower third is for CW, middle 1/3 is for mixed > ops, and the upper 1/3 is for SSB. There is nothing magic about the Doppler > shift at the very center of the passband that simple addition and > subtraction can't duplicate elsewhere. > > Just my opinion, and please take it constructively. > > 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 _______________________________________________ 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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Velocity factor
by PE0SAT 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Thanks for reading, Hi read the following and look at the image attached, after that, can you tell me if there is a velocity factor when calculating the 1/4 lambda distance between the horizontal and vertical antenna? The "Physical Method" following a different technique in order to avoid the use of coaxial piece for the necessary 90° phase's difference. Here the "Phase Difference" has been achieved by "shifting" (moving) each element of the 2nd (Horizontal) antenna exactly one Quarter-Wavelength (ë/4) forward in space, vis-a-vis to each element of 1st (Vertical) antenna onto the common Boom. Thanks, Jan -- With regards PE0SAT Internet web-page http://www.ham.vgnet.nl/

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Original 13 Colonies Special Event Update - K2T
by claryco＠aol.com 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Instead of signing K2J as initially planned, I was able to get "K2T" ("T" since North Carolina is the "Tarheel" State) assigned to me at the last minute for the 1-4 July time frame. K2J will still be on the air from NC, at least on HF, and I'll be QRV on both HF as well as the sats. I'll be on the FM birds at the least; the linear sats will be used as well if I can get my Acer netbook to use SatPC32 to talk to my 897 and?adjust the freqs for Doppler. Contacts with either K2J or K2T will count for North Carolina toward the certificate offered for the event. Nine of the 13 colonial states will have sat stations on during the event. We're still looking for ops for Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Pse note that the special event runs the calendar days of 1-4 July; per the event web site, it officially runs out at 05/0400Z July. Finally, for?any sat op who is a county hunter, I'll be running North Carolina counties on both CW and SSB on 20, 30, and 40 meters as K2T throughout the event period and then using my regular call afterward on the way home to Florida. Spots of my HF county hunting operation will be available at http://ch.w6rk.com/?and will include the county that I'm in at the spot time shown. Although the grid square is not indicated on this web site, it shouldn't be difficult to identify since the county I'm in is shown. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC / K2T

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ISS Contact
by David H. Jordan 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

Thanks to the freq update from Kenneth this morning, the LMARS N4EH sat station had a QSO with Bob Thirsk, VA3CSA on the 14:56 UTC pass this morning. Dave, AA4KN and J.D., N4VIL Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

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Advice for transponder ops
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

I took this screen grab of this morning's eastern FO-29 pass, and what it shows is in my opinion very illustrative of a problem that is getting worse even on days other than Field Day. http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q305/glasbrenner/radio/FO-29FDanotated.j… Spread out! There is no good reason that we should have a dozen operators fighting over the center 15 kHz of a 100 kHz wide transponder. Remember the gentlemen's agreement is the lower third is for CW, middle 1/3 is for mixed ops, and the upper 1/3 is for SSB. There is nothing magic about the Doppler shift at the very center of the passband that simple addition and subtraction can't duplicate elsewhere. Just my opinion, and please take it constructively. 73, Drew KO4MA

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