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

Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 4, Issue 298
by Tim Goodrich 28 Jun '09

28 Jun '09

I tried using the crew contact and repeater freqs on ISS for this mornings west coast pass at 0845PST. All I heard was a carrier. Anyone know what's happening? Thanks, Tim KI6VBY -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)AMSAT.Org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@AMSAT.Org] On Behalf Of amsat-bb-request(a)AMSAT.Org Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 12:00 PM To: amsat-bb(a)AMSAT.Org Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 4, Issue 298 Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to amsat-bb(a)amsat.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org You can reach the person managing the list at amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.92/2203 - Release Date: 06/27/09 05:53:00

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Re: A Ham Radio Weekend for Talking to the Moon - NY Times
by Rsoifer＠aol.com 27 Jun '09

27 Jun '09

Hi Art, Glad to see ham radio (and K1JT) get the good publicity, but i think the author is overestimating the difficulty of getting on EME. As Dave, W5UN, says on his web page, anyone with 100 watts and a good 10-element 2-meter yagi can do it. 73 Ray W2RS In a message dated 6/27/2009 3:41:33 A.M. GMT Standard Time, afeller(a)ieee.org writes: _http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/technology/27moon.html?_r=1&hp_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/technology/27moon.html?_r=1&hp) BEEN on the road again for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Please, help! Donate and follow the story on my TNT web site!! http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/ambbr09/afeller CAUTION: Web site may have a photo of me in Spandex..... ;-) = **************Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood00000005)

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ISS Field Day configuration?
by Jeff Yanko 27 Jun '09

27 Jun '09

Hi all! There might be a good possibility that the ISS will be active during Field Day this year, like they have in previous years. Just wondering what frequency split will they be using? 73, Jeff WB3JFS Las Vegas, NV DM26

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4C50C via satellite, through 31 August 2009
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jun '09

27 Jun '09

Hi! Omar XE1AO, a regular satellite operator from central Mexico, e-mailed me news of a special callsign that will be showing up on the satellites between now and 31 August 2009. The call, 4C50C ("Four Charlie Fifty Charlie"), is part of the "Trabaja Todo Colima" (Work All Colima) special event currently taking place in the central Mexican state of Colima. This event is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the creation of the J. Roberto Levy radio club in that state. During the months of June, July, and August, stations from all over Colima have been on HF and the satellites, trying to put all 10 Colima "municipios" (municipalities, similar to counties in the USA) on the air. On HF, the special call XE50C has been used from different parts of Colima. Now, four hams (XE1AO, XE1ATZ, XE1AY, and XE1J) have been authorized by the Mexican telecommunications regulator CoFeTel to use 4C50C on the satellites as part of this event. Initially, XE1AO will attempt to put 4C50C on AO-51's evening passes along with VO-52 and FO-29 evening passes. Omar and the other 3 hams hope to expand the use of 4C50C onto SO-50 and AO-27, plus look at passes at other times of the day during this period. For hams outside Mexico, XE1J is the QSL manager for these special calls. The Mexican QSL bureau will take care of QSL requests from XE hams. Along with the QSL cards, there will be a certificate available to stations that work stations in at least 7 of the 10 Colima municipalities and also accumulate at least 74 points based on the location of the stations worked in Colima. Additional points are available for working certain stations like XE50C and 4C50C. More information (in Spanish) is available at: http://arco.sat-xe.org/XE50C/XE50C.html and also: http://arco.sat-xe.org/4C50C/4C50C.html For now, the 4C50C page is a mirror of the XE50C page. It will be updated shortly, with new information related to the 4C50C call. Good luck, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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A Ham Radio Weekend for Talking to the Moon - NY Times
by W4ART Arthur Feller 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/technology/27moon.html?_r=1&hp BEEN on the road again for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Please, help! Donate and follow the story on my TNT web site!! http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/ambbr09/afeller CAUTION: Web site may have a photo of me in Spandex..... ;-)

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Re; Circular switching
by Frank Woolfe 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

Hi Jan PE0SAT, my emails are not getting through to you so I'll post here, I have had some success so far, I've made up two lengths of RG213 with 1/4 wave lengths of 75ohm cable on each end. These are to run from the coax relay to the 145mhz Yagi's as the ARRL drawing suggests. N type connectors are used on each end of these cables. I've tested this as a phasing harness and achieved around 30dB return loss that's with the 75ohm transformer ends in a T piece and 50ohm loads on the end of each cable. This was tested on my HP8920 using a 50Mhz to 1000Mhz Narda coupler and am happy with the results, so the phasing harness as it is, is centered on 145mhz with a VSWR of 1.06:1. Next is the delay line, this has got to be an impedance of between 104 to 110ohms, as the antennas are between 52 to 55ohms now this is going to be hit and miss, as you can't get 105ohm coax. However, you can get 93ohm and what I'm thinking is to remove the center conductor of the coax and replace it with a smaller diameter conductor this should raise the impedance of the coax hopefully to around 105-110 ohms, thus achieving the required impedance of the delay line which is called for in that circuit. The 93 ohms is just too low and I've found with my testing so far it's better to be on the high side of impedance than the low. The 93 ohms seems to look like near enough to 75ohms and acts like another transformer section. So I'll continue on and keep you in the loop on success or failure. Thanks for your mail and Best 73's Frank VK5KV...

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Fw: Volcano from ISS
by David H. Jordan 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

This is an incredible shot sent to me from my son. It was taken from the ISS on 6-12-09. AA4KN Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile -----Original Message----- From: David Jordan <djordan7387(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:00:32 To: David J<n4csitwo(a)bellsouth.net> Subject: Volcano from ISS very cool. check out the picture. http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/25/volcanic-shockwave-captured-by-iss-… David

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ISS Field Day information
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

Hey everyone, The president of the Athens Amateur Radio Club just posted this to our local reflector. I'm confident it came from ARRL. Possible International Space Station Contacts for Field Day 2009 This Field Day, astronauts aboard the International Space Station plan on making contacts -- using club call signs as well as their personal call signs -- with amateurs on the ground (as time permits). Will you be one of the lucky ones who get an ISS QSO this Field Day? According to NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, there is a good possibility that groups participating in ARRL Field Day may be able to make a contact with one of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). "Some of the crew members of the International Space Station plan to make contacts with operators on the ground during Field Day operations as time permits" Ransom said. "Since the ISS now has a multinational crew representing all five space agencies, the possible club call signs to be heard are RS0ISS, NA1SS and OR4ISS. The crew could also elect to use their personal calls, as well. In either case, they will be signing 1A (Alfa) ISS after the call sign." ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, said he is excited about the potential ISS participation: "In my 11 years heading up Field Day for the ARRL, I can think of nothing that causes more excitement around a Field Day site than the group completing a contact with the ISS. It is almost electrifying!" But Henderson exercised caution, saying that there is always the possibility that circumstances on board the ISS will change and the astronauts will not be able to operate during Field Day times. "We are pleased to have their commitment to attempt it again this year," he said. "There is an ARISS contact on the schedule for Saturday morning before Field Day officially begins, so there is a good chance that on later passes, amateurs may get a chance to experience a unique thrill." Ransom reminded US amateurs that talking to the crew on the ISS does not qualify for satellite bonus points, "but it is anticipated that the crew will have the crossband repeater active (437.80 up/145.80 down, no CTCSS), so any contact you make with another ground station using his repeater can count for the bonus. Of course, working an astronaut on Field Day has its own reward." Remember that the ISS circles the Earth about once every 90minutes. As the Earth turns, the orbit of the ISS does not always give US amateurs a good path every orbit. "Some passes will favor some parts of the country while passes will favor others," Henderson said. "There will be passes where the US itself may not be in the 'footprint' of the ISS." Henderson suggested that Field Day groups trying to contact the ISS visit the AMSAT Online Satellite Pass Predictions Web site. To use the Pass Prediction tool, first, select the ISS in the "Show Predictions for" box. Next, input both your site's latitude and longitude -- or input your grid square -- and the click the "Predict" button. From the predicted information you receive back, you will want to look for orbits that occur within the Field Day operating time beginning at 1800 UTC on Saturday, June 27 for the following 24-27 hours, depending on your group's operating window. "You want to find a pass that has the highest maximum elevation," Henderson said. "For example, the best Field Day pass at W1AW is going to be at 62 degrees of elevation beginning at 11:44:30 UTC on Sunday, June 28 that will last for approximately nine to 10 minutes (AOS to LOS). Don't be discouraged if you don't have a lot of passes that have outstanding elevations or durations. And remember, if you don't complete a contact with the ISS, you can use the same prediction tool to see what other amateur satellites you might try to contact." Best of luck to all, Tim - N3TL

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ISS information for Field Day - second posting
by n3tl＠bellsouth.net 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

Hey everyone, I thought I sent this 20 minutes ago. Maybe it hasn't posted yet. If this is, indeed, the second copy to post, my apologies. I thought everyone would want to know ASAP. The president of the Athens Amateur Radio Club posted this to our email reflector just a little while ago. I'm confident it came from ARRL: Possible International Space Station Contacts for Field Day 2009 This Field Day, astronauts aboard the International Space Station plan on making contacts -- using club call signs as well as their personal call signs -- with amateurs on the ground (as time permits). Will you be one of the lucky ones who get an ISS QSO this Field Day? According to NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, there is a good possibility that groups participating in ARRL Field Day may be able to make a contact with one of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). "Some of the crew members of the International Space Station plan to make contacts with operators on the ground during Field Day operations as time permits" Ransom said. "Since the ISS now has a multinational crew representing all five space agencies, the possible club call signs to be heard are RS0ISS, NA1SS and OR4ISS. The crew could also elect to use their personal calls, as well. In either case, they will be signing 1A (Alfa) ISS after the call sign." ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, said he is excited about the potential ISS participation: "In my 11 years heading up Field Day for the ARRL, I can think of nothing that causes more excitement around a Field Day site than the group completing a contact with the ISS. It is almost electrifying!" But Henderson exercised caution, saying that there is always the possibility that circumstances on board the ISS will change and the astronauts will not be able to operate during Field Day times. "We are pleased to have their commitment to attempt it again this year," he said. "There is an ARISS contact on the schedule for Saturday morning before Field Day officially begins, so there is a good chance that on later passes, amateurs may get a chance to experience a unique thrill." Ransom reminded US amateurs that talking to the crew on the ISS does not qualify for satellite bonus points, "but it is anticipated that the crew will have the crossband repeater active (437.80 up/145.80 down, no CTCSS), so any contact you make with another ground station using his repeater can count for the bonus. Of course, working an astronaut on Field Day has its own reward." Remember that the ISS circles the Earth about once every 90minutes. As the Earth turns, the orbit of the ISS does not always give US amateurs a good path every orbit. "Some passes will favor some parts of the country while passes will favor others," Henderson said. "There will be passes where the US itself may not be in the 'footprint' of the ISS." Henderson suggested that Field Day groups trying to contact the ISS visit the AMSAT Online Satellite Pass Predictions Web site. To use the Pass Prediction tool, first, select the ISS in the "Show Predictions for" box. Next, input both your site's latitude and longitude -- or input your grid square -- and the click the "Predict" button. From the predicted information you receive back, you will want to look for orbits that occur within the Field Day operating time beginning at 1800 UTC on Saturday, June 27 for the following 24-27 hours, depending on your group's operating window. "You want to find a pass that has the highest maximum elevation," Henderson said. "For example, the best Field Day pass at W1AW is going to be at 62 degrees of elevation beginning at 11:44:30 UTC on Sunday, June 28 that will last for approximately nine to 10 minutes (AOS to LOS). Don't be discouraged if you don't have a lot of passes that have outstanding elevations or durations. And remember, if you don't complete a contact with the ISS, you can use the same prediction tool to see what other amateur satellites you might try to contact." 73 to all, Tim - N3TL

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AO-51
by Jeff Yanko 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

Wondering if AO-51 is operating? Just listened for the 2357z pass and nothing received. The last time I checked the status of the bird it shows that the 435.300 downlink was active. I also listened for the 435.150 to no avail. 73, Jeff WB3JFS Las Vegas, NV DM26

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