July 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 30 May '12

30 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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FW: Re: The Moon is our Future
by Dave 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

We have met the enemy and they are us. WE need to do something. Yes, $15m is outta reach, but isn't there a cash prize for the first on-commercial moon landing? Dave DM78qd // KA0SWT If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners.-- Johnny Carson +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Davis Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 9:35 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: The Moon is our Future On Thu, Jul 02, 2009 at 06:48:51AM -0600, Jack K. wrote: > communications anyway) and move forward... We can put up all the leos > we want, but until someone makes something like B. Bruninga's cell > concept work, we are only going to have more of the same, We don't > need more of the same! I couldn't agree more - we don't need more of the same. If I want to sit back and have a two hour rag-chew with someone on the other side of the planet I will use Skype or my cell phone! Dreaming about what *might* be in space is a fun exercise. Actually doing something about it requires sending things to LEO because reality has dictated that's as far as we can afford to go. How's about we use some of that frustrated *imagineering* to come up with interesting new concepts at LEO? We don't need any more FM repeaters buzzing overhead, but what about more cameras downloading HD images, scientific payloads that monitor the ongoing climate change, payloads to study the Earth's magnetic field, etc. etc. Our own 'Twitter' messaging network from space...? The Apollo 13 creed of "failure is not an option" has completely infected the brains at AMSAT and this list. You want something at HEO or on the moon, cut a check for $15 million dollars and let's get on with it. Been waiting since 1996 for another AO-13 and I am getting too old to keep waiting. AMSAT is becoming completely irrelevant as it strives without success for the impossible mission and exhibits a shocking amount of leadership malfesance as it stubbornly refuses to recognize and adapt to realities in the launch business. I know, I know maybe NEXT year someone rich will die and leave us a boatload of cash. Or the bankrupt US government will suddenly cough up a billion dollars for some orbiting emergency communication system. In the meantime we have to stifle the truth because it might blow yet another *secret* deal that's in the works and *almost* a done deal, so let's not complain publicly and ruin it. Heard the stories, heard the lies, got all the t-shirts and ball caps. Whatever. -- Jeff, KE9V AMSAT-NA member since 1994, Skeptic that we will ever go back to HEO since 2002 _______________________________________________ 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: 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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DJ-G7T experiences
by Alan P. Biddle 06 Aug '09

06 Aug '09

After a nearly 2 month wait, my rig came in recently. The good news is that they are coming through with the current firmware and manual. The manual is "OK" but lacks an index making things hard to find, and does not include all the menu items. Fortunately, after you get comfortable with the logic, it is easy to figure them out. The computer programming software is available so far only in Japanese, but they claim the English version will be available Real Soon Now. For normal operations, the RX and TX audio are excellent, and the wideband receive is useful, or at least fun. As with most HTs, the stock antenna could stand to be replaced, and has been. Packet works well, and the VOX simplifies interfacing. On the downside, the receivers are both less sensitive than they should be. In comparison with an ancient Icom HT with exactly the same specs, using the same antenna and location, marginal repeaters which are close to full quieting on the Icom are noisy and largely unreadable on the Alinco. More importantly for satellite use, the sub band which you must use for RX is significantly noisier. I use an ARR preamp. With it on, pointing to clear sky with an Elk antenna, I get 2-3 S-units of noise on the main RX. Using the sub RX, it is full scale, and actual readability is poor in comparison with the main RX. This is independent of whether the wideband RX function is on or off. Attenuators off of course. ;) I have had the impression that some of the old AMSAT hands at portable operation have been less than impressed, and so far that has been my experience. It will be interesting so see if there are any helpful firmware updates. While a disappointment so far for satellite use, I do expect to use this as my main HT for normal operations once the English programming software becomes available. Anybody have an experiences to share, hopefully positive? Alan WA4SCA

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BEVO1 Deployment from STS-127
by Karla Vega 06 Aug '09

06 Aug '09

The University of Texas at Austin deployed BEVO1 in space on July 30, 2009 at 7:27 AM CDT via the STS-127 Space Shuttle Picosatellite Launcher (SSPL). We appreciate anyone who can help us tracking BEVO1! BEVO1 Downlink Information: Beacon Mode Downlink Freq: 437.325 MHz Modulation: FM, 200mW, Morse Code, ~20 WPM Data Mode Downlink Freq: 437.325 MHz Modulation: GMSK, 1W, 9600 baud, AX.25 (default) FM, 1W, Bell 202, AX.25 TLE's: 1 99999U 9211.52399245 .00015326 99081-9 77971-4 0 19 2 99999 51.6397 84.3142 0004954 91.3966 248.8994 15.80682654 2322 BEVO1 is a 12.5 cm cube and 3 kg in mass. The purpose of the mission is to collect data from NASA's DRAGON GPS receiver. BEVO1 has two modes, data and beacon. The data mode is on over most parts of the United States, and the rest of the time, the satellite is in beacon mode. Also, anyone tracking BEVO1 can record what they hear at http://paradigm.ae.utexas.edu/opsThe University of Texas also has additional information at: http://www.utexas.edu/news/2009/06/09/picosatellite/ NASA describes DRAGONSat as an anticipated eight-year program with a launch of the satellites approximately every two years. The first three missions will test individual components and subsystems while the final mission will culminate with the successful docking of two satellites. Refer to http://tinyurl.com/m2blyc for additional mission information. The University of Texas at Austin has developed BEVO1 and Texas A&M University has developed AggieSat-2 for this mission. Both satellites will perform the initial data acquition testing of the DRAGONSat program.

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ANDE-2 Deployment
by Robert Bruninga 02 Aug '09

02 Aug '09

The two ANDE satellites (Castor and Pollux) will be deployed from the Space Shuttle now that it has separated from the ISS. Both satellites will be transmitting on 145.825 MHz. Castor will transmit telemetry every 30 seconds. Pollux every 33 seconds. Both are transmitting 1200 baud AX.25 packet Telemetry. Most of the info is on the website: https://goby.nrl.navy.mil/ANDE. Other than that, I don't have much detail information since this was built by a different team than our original ANDE project. The amateur payloads were developed by the Amateur Radio Club at the Naval Research Labs and got a ride on the ANDE spheres like we did a few years ago. Bob, WB4APR

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POLLUX TLM 14:50UTC
by wouter weggelaar 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Another pass of pollux produced the following TLM 16:50:49R POLLUX-1>CQ,TELEM Port=1 <UI Len=118>: MEMS 77220 2.59 2.58 2.45 11.225 11.771 9.884 -0.09 -0.440 -3.441 -5.09 -30.15 8.14 16.23 16.80 16.44 2.60 10 18 43 16:51:55R POLLUX-1>CQ,TELEM Port=1 <UI Len=104>: MEMS 77286 11.440 11.771 10.331 -0.02 -0.02 -3.882 -5.32 -34.22 -2.22 16.34 17.02 16.44 2.60 34 32 18 16:52:22R POLLUX-1>CQ,TELEM Port=1 <UI Len=100>: SYST 77319 0 0 33 0 0027 11e0 0004 10b8 0011 1058 0163 1218 004c 1000 ffff ffff 0156 08ca 0fbe 003c Regards, Wouter PA3WEG

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FX.25 on Castor and Pollux
by Jim Heck 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Hi Folks, Does anyone know if these sats are sending FX.25 yet? I havnt found much on the web about FX.25, but it sounds exptremely cool. The https://goby.nrl.navy.mil/ANDE/Amateur_Radio.html web site refers to a FX.25 decoder. Is this yet available, I wonder? 73s Jim G3WGM

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AO-7 A/B
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Does anyone have an idea when we go from a to b or b to a? Looking at the log it seems not very consistant. 73 bob W7LRD

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