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
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05:53:00
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
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/
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...
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
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
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
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