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

Remote Sat Operations (Really Remote!)
by Clary, James T, Civilian 16 Aug '09

16 Aug '09

Diego Garcia (QTH 07S 072E, grid MI62) may not be the worst place for satellite ops, but for the rest of the year it's home for me! > Could be i'm wrong here if you know the worse place to be on earth > for an amateur satellite operator just mention it? (Poles excluded) > > Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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ANS=228 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne Maenpaa 16 Aug '09

16 Aug '09

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-228 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org ********************************************************************** * 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 * * Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport * * Details - http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php * ********************************************************************** In this edition: * Final Call For Papers AMSAT 2009 Space Symposium * New Satellite Location Maps Available * AO-51 Mode Change This Weekend * South Africa's SumbandilaSat Launch Scheduled For September 15 * AMSAT Awards * SimSat-4 Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballon Flight Announcement * Satellite Shorts From All Over * Invitation to Join Nova East Star Party ARISS Video Link * Mars Orbit Getting Busier SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.01 Final Call For Papers AMSAT 2009 Space Symposium AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.01 Symposium Proceedings Editor Daniel Schultz, N8GFV this week issued the final call for papers for the 2009 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held October 9 - 11 at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster pre- sentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. Since the subject of launch opportunities is driving most of what AMSAT can do in the near future, papers on possible cooperative projects with other space organizations would also be relevant. You might also consider doing a tutorial session on some technical subject that you are an expert on for the education of the rest of us. Daniel requests a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by September 1, 2009 for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, at n8fgv(a)amsat.org. [ANS thanks Daniel Schultz, N8FGV for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.02 New Satellite Location Maps Available AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.02 A map showing the current satellite location for most of the amateur satellites are now available on the AMSAT web site. >From the AMSAT front page, use the left hand side navigation, go to the 'Satellite Information' navigation box, then select 'Satellite Status'. You may also go directly there using this URL: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/status.php Next click on an underlined satellite name in the left hand column. This will display a satellite summary, scroll to the bottom of the page and there will be a map showing the current location of that satellite and the illuminated and dark portions of the earth. This feature can be used for a quick check of the satellite's location or to verify that your tracking program was setup cor- rectly. Thanks to Rick, W2GPS and Chip, N2YO for providing this useful feature. [ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.03 AO-51 Mode Change This Weekend AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.03 On Sunday night Eastern Daylight Time (UTC - 4), around 0000Z Aug 17 UTC AO-51 will switch to V/S FM repeater mode using the 145.880 MHz uplink and 2401.200 MHz downlink. The AO-51 spin rate has slowed to over 7 minutes per revolution. Eighteen months ago this was about 2.5 RPM. So, either you should experience less to no fading during the pass or longer fades depend- ing upon the satellite's orientation to your QTH. The AO-51 modes team welcomes your observations, especially those providing actual measured data. Ground controllers probably will turn the L-Band digital uplink off, to get the best power allocation to both transmitters. You will still be able to receive the telemetry on 435.150 MHz. [ANS thanks AO-51 Operations Team for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.04 South Africa's SumbandilaSat Launch Scheduled For September 15 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.04 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.04 The South African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT) reports that South Africa's second Amateur Radio satellite Sum- bandilaSat is due to launch on September 15 AMSAT-SA reported that the satellite is already in Baikonur for system integration and from where it will be launched on its journey around the earth on a Soyuz rocket. The Amateur Radio payload comprises a V/U FM voice transponder with an uplink in the 2 meter band and a downlink in the 70cm band. It has a parrot repeater (voice digipeater) and a voice beacon. The Amateur Radio Payload will be operating in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch Software Defined Receiver project as it will share the VHF receiver and UHF transmitter used by the SDR pro- ject. The SA AMSAT payload has been assigned the callsign ZS0SUM. Control of the satellite's function from the ground will be accomplished by transmitting CTCSS tones which will be announced. One tone will will command the satellite in the transponder mode; another CTCSS tone will command the satellite into the parrot repeater mode; and if no tones are received for a period of time the satellite will activate its voice beacon. Frequencies of operation for the FM voice Transponder and Parrot are: Uplink 145.880 MHz Downlink 435.350 MHz Additional information can be found at these links. A paper presented by a Stellenbosch student on the SA satellite: http://dataweek.co.za/article.aspx?pklArticleId=4118&pklCategoryId=42 University of Stellenbosch http://www.sun.ac.za/ University of KwaZulu-Natal http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ SunSpace http://www.sunspace.co.za/ Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT) http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ [ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA, The SouthGate Web site, and SA-AMSAT for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.05 AMSAT Awards AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.05 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.05 AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO congrat- ulates the following Amateur Radio operators who have earned these awards. AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award: Rizkallah Azrak OD5RI #503 Dave Glow AA1VX #504 Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK #505 The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award. David Bird KC7USS #150 The following have earned the South Africa Communications Achievement Award. Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK #US137 The following have earned the W4AMI Achievement Award (for 1000 contacts) Dimtrios Pallis SW1JGW #54 George Carr WA5KBH #55 Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK #56 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.06 SimSat-4 Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballon Flight Announcement AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.06 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.06 The SimSat-4 high-altitude balloon flight experiment has been scheduled for Saturday morning, September 19, 2009. SimSat-4 Principal Investigator, Pat Kilroy, N8PK has posted the latest information on the web at: http://simsat.net then click SimSat-4. Pat invites you to check this link on a regular basis for updates and late breaking news about SimSat-4. Pat says he needs more volunteers to help execute a successful flight. He is looking for: 1. Net Control Station for the (A) HF or (B) VHF net. You are also invited to create your own net on a repeater more local to you and your club. 2. Amateur Radio stations to copy and save telemetry during the mission from the comfort of your own home/shack. 3. Invite a student (young or old) to participate with you. Show 'em how to listen. That's all. 4. Download and install a CW code reader on your PC. Play with it and let us know how well it works. 5. There are many other fun tasksand you can see the list on the SimSat-4 announcement page. http://simsat.net and then click SimSat-4. [ANS thanks SimSat-4 Principal Investigator, Pat Kilroy, N8PK for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.07 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.07 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.07 + Congratulations to Patrick, WD9EWK on his Worked All States award. Patrick completed WAS completely via the FM LEO satellites. + Short Notice! Mark WA8SME plans to activate the rare grid DM19 (smack in the middle of Nevada) on August 17 during the 2130Z AO27 pass (approximate). He will operate using an HT and Arrow antenna. + Software enhancement allows you to fly through the 10,000 galaxies of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image at: http://tinyurl.com/n3fhjg Try the full screen option in the bottom toolbar for the best experience. (UniverseToday.com) + Congratulations to Doug, KD8CAO and Jim, W8MRR on their successful Amateur Satellite demonstration via AO-51 on 8/11/09 at the Holland Area Radio Club in Michigan. Jim said, "Everything went right, the weather was perfect, the satellite and our equipment performed flawlessly, and a huge crowd of hams were there for our monthly meeting." Doug and Jim also included a Power Point presentation. + AMSAT-UK's FUNcube satellite project is featured on the front cover of the August 12-18 edition of Electronics Weekly magazine. You can read the digital version of Electronics Weekly magazine online in PDF format at: http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1D4a803d8814a11352.cde + Roland PY4ZBZ has posted an audio recording from his AO-7 SSB QSO with Andre, ZS2BK covering a of distance of 6890 km. The recording is at: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite/ZS2BK_AO7.wav Photos of his 2 element Yagi on VHF and 6 el on UHF are on-line at: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite.htm#owa6 + The next Hudson Valley Satcom Group net is Thursday August 20 at 8PM EDT (UTC-4), on the 146.97 Repeater and Echolink node: N2EYH-L (via WA2BSS) [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.08 Invitation to Join Nova East Star Party ARISS Video Link AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.08 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.08 On Saturday, August 22, 2009 participants at the Nova East Star Party (Smileys Provincail Park, Brooklyn, Nova Scotia Canada) will have the opportunity to speak with Canadian Astronaut and Expedition 20/21 Flight Engineer Dr. Robert (Bob) Thirsk, VA3CSA, on board the International Space Station. With the help of the Province of Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office and Bell Aliant a LIVE satellite uplink will be used to pro- vide a 1 hour webcast of the event. Starting at shortly after 12:00 UTC the webcast will include amateur radio and astronomical topics. The webcast will conclude with the actual contact which begins with AOS at 12:54:08 UTC. Please join us for this very special educational outreach event at http://exclusive.bellaliant.net/spacestation. [ANS thanks the ARISS Mentor for Nova East Star Party 2009, Wayne Harasimovitch, VE1WPH for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.09 Mars Orbit Getting Busier AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.09 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 16, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.09 MarsDaily.com reports that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode, a precautionary standby status, and in communications with Earth after unexpectedly switching to its backup computer on Thursday, August 6. Engineers are working to determine the cause of the spontaneous swap from the orbiter's "A" side computer and subsystems to the redundant "B" side. They have successfully increased the communication rate from the orbiter, but some engineering data about what was occurring just before the side swap may never be available. The team expects it will be at least several days until normal science operations resume. After the challenging mission to moon, ISRO has begun preparations for sending an Indian spacecraft to Mars within the next six years. Mission studies have been completed and collection of scientific pro- posals has begun. India is examining launch opportunities between 2013 and 2015. MarsDaily.com also reported this week that China's first satellite to probe Mars has been transported to Russia for a launch later this year. Yinghuo-1, the 110-kilogramme (242-pound) Chinese satellite, is scheduled to be launched along with Russia's "Phobos Explorer" aboard a Zenit rocket in October after final testing, the Beijing News said. After entering Mars' orbit -- 10 to 11 months later -- the orbiter will probe the Martian space environment, with a special focus on what happened to the water that appears to have once been abundant on the planet's surface. [ANS thanks MarsDaily.com and SpaceDaily.com for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. And with that please keep in mind the camel who journeyed a thousand miles across the desert to reach the oasis palm, and yet he could not get a date. 73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org

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Re: rotator questions
by David Gendle 16 Aug '09

16 Aug '09

Greetings! This thread is bringing back memories. Eons ago (60's) when I was servicing long range radar for the USAF once a month the third shift crew would have to verify the proper azimuth and elevation orientation of our antennas. We would stop all antenna motion, stop transmitting and crank the receiver gain full up. At a specific instant when the sun just broke over the horizon we would verify if the azimuth and elevation of the antenna was correct by using the large noise burst from the sun. Using this method we could get the antennas within 2 degrees of perfect orientation. It was a foolproof procedure because the location of the sun was always predictable. Ahh.... the good old days! :-) 73, Dave _ K4DLG

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Lighthouse Special Event Update
by Peter 15 Aug '09

15 Aug '09

Hello All, I want to thank all the satellite Stations that made contact with W2GSB/Lighthouse today, on Fire Island NY, FN30jp as a result of making contact with the station, you really excited the many visitors that listened to you, and are responsible for bringing a few more operators into our orbit, thank you. I had the recorder on, however I lost part of it, must be the salt air, I also had a paper backup but I want to be accurate. I would appreciate it if operators who made contact with W2GSB/LH today e-mail me their call, thank you. I will only operate one pass tomorrow, Sunday, A0-51- 11:31- 11:46 UTC, due to a family obligation, we will have other operators thru the day, but I can't be positive of that, thank you for making this event a lot of fun! If you want more information on the event, please visit www.gsbarc.org 73, Pete, WB2OQQ

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HOWTO: Insulate the Arrow's elements
by Majdi S. Abbas 15 Aug '09

15 Aug '09

I know there has been some discussion here in the past on Arrow modifications -- specifically, either electrically lengthening the elements, or insulating them from the boom. I opted to try to insulate the elements from the boom, rather than lengthen them. This was mostly due to my concern that it would be hard to ensure an electrically solid lengthening using commodity hardware. One possible approach: Either re-drill to expand, or ream out the existing holes in the boom, and install nylon bushings through both sides, possibly placing a little epoxy on them, to make them a permanent part of the boom. Then install the elements as normal. This would make for a nice finished product, but would require 20 bushings, which were in the range of 0.60- 0.70 USD each at the hardware store. This makes it the most expensive option. I opted for a much less expensive option using 1/4" neoprene bibb washers, of the type used in compression fittings (check the plumbing supplies aisle -- I was able to procure 25 of these washers for $3.49.) I did make one observation about the boom itself -- it is exactly the width of a standard roll of 3M vinyl electrical tape. Given this, with the use of tape, it should be possible to use insulating washers. Here's how to do it: Insulate the boom from the elements by removing the #8-32 threaded rod from each, and carefully wrapping 1 1/3rd turns of vinyl electrical tape around the center. Stretch the tape somewhat as you do this, and then mold it into the threads in the rod using your fingers. Removing the threaded rods entirely is necessary to ensure they are centered, or you will have trouble getting the elements to fit once the insulating washers are in place. Once this is done, carefully install it into the boom, rolling t in the direction of the threads (and tape) to avoid damaging the tape. It is a tight fight, but it is possible to do so. You should be able to see the tape just barely protruding from both sides of the boom. Install a 1/4" neoprene bibb washer (nylon washers could also be used, but those were $0.39 ea, and my goal was to keep this under $5) on each side, and then reinstall and tighten the elements. If you have the split boom model, you may have some trouble with the 70 cm element that joins the halves of the boom. You might need to ream out or file the holes in the copper tubing inside the boom to get a tape wrapped threaded rod insert to fit without disturbing the tape. Worst case, this could involve drilling out the blind rivet, removing the copper insert, expanding the holes and then deburring them, and then reinstalling it. If you don't have a deburrer, a large enough drill bit would do. If you don't have a blind ("pop") riveter, you could reinstall it using a small nut and bolt. The entire process should take about 15-20 minutes. Total cost was $3.49 for the 1/4" bibb washers and a few inches of electrical tape, which I had on hand. Even with tax, this is less than a $5 modification. Unfortunately, I've loaned out my digital camera for the day, so I don't have any pictures of this modification, but it's pretty straight- forward. I hope this has been helpful to someone who was considering this but wasn't sure what they needed from the hardware store. 73, Majdi, N0RMZ

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rotator questions
by Joseph Armbruster 15 Aug '09

15 Aug '09

Hey everyone at the amtat-bb! I spent a good portion of the day sick in bed yesterday and only naturally got to thinking about quite a few things. I figured i'd pop on here and start asking questions. Here's some background information on my sat experience; my rig consists of a TH-F6A (handheld, not full-duplex) and an arrow antenna. I have been successfull at manually trakcing the ISS and AO-51, but I have been unsuccessful at making a contact. I went out to field day (in Oviedo Florida) and was able to check out the rig the LMARS club uses. This got me wondering about sat tracking software, the internals and what definition of "North" that is used. I'm familiar with the IGRF (from my day job as a GIS guy) and was wondering if any of these apps use the IGRF for calculating magnetic declination: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/igrf.html I've thought about creating my own rotator and started wondering about the configuration used. When you buy a rotator and put it out in the yard, i'm guessing you have to orient the base 'correctly'. How is the base of a rotator usually aligned? Do you get a compass out and use local magnetic north (without compensating for the declination from the IGRF). I'm still in learning mode and very new to the world of sat, so if these are really dumb questions, my apologies! I am open to any reading materials you can suggest on the matter. Joseph Armrbuster, KJ4JIO

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FS: Yaesu FIF-232c interface
by James French 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

Wondering if anyone has a need for a Yaesu FIF-232c interface box? I have had one laying around here for the past couple of years and wondering if anyone needs one. Asking 75 dollars plus shipping from 48146 area code or best offer. Have no idea if it even works other than the LED for power switches on and off. Have no way to test it as all equipment here is Icoms. James W8ISS

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Lighthouse/Lightship Event this weekend
by Peter 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

Hello Again, Gail, KB0RZD asked me if other Satellite Operators were involved with this event. If anyone is planning to operate from a Lighthouse/Lightship this weekend, please let us know. If you're radio club is planning to operate, why not join them and make a few contacts, thank you. 73, Pete, WB2OQQ CQ CQ... this is W2GSB/Lighthouse - Fire Island Lighthouse NYSpecial Event Station, August 14th, 15th.

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Wallops APRS Space Launch
by Robert Bruninga 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

There will be a launch to 300+ km of an APRS payload on a sounding rocket out of Wallops Island VA, this fall. I don't want to steal anyone's thunder, but they said I could give this heads up. They will post details when available. It is only 300 milliiwatts and will be on the National APRS frequency 144.39 to make sure everyone can track it. The total mission duration is on the order of 10 minutes from launch to re-entry. AMSAT stations with beams in the mid-atlantic states will be valuable. APRS stations with Igates with beams will be even better so the student builders half way across the country can get their packets live via the APRS-IS (internet)... OMNI antennas in quiet locations should be able to hear the packets direct, so nearby Igates with omni's probably need no enhancement. WB4APR, Bob

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+ Dragonsat / ANDE-2
by PY2ZX 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

Hello, Can anyone confirm If that audio file is correspondent to a Dragonsat reception? http://archangelo.net/misc/sat/ande2/audio/dragon_10ago09_2107z.wav I tuned in CW mode since I knew the signal was weak. Images: http://archangelo.net/misc/sat/ande2/view.htm Flavio PY2ZX

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