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

BEESAT keps
by Mike Rupprecht 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

All, Here are the initial TLE for BEESAT-1 BEESAT 1 99998U 09999Q 09266.27807917 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00018 2 99998 098.3002 000.8533 0002378 350.5091 222.5822 14.50491512000005 Launch time: September 23, 2009 at 06:21 UTC from Sriharikota (PSLV-C14). Beacon frequency: 436.000 MHz Modulation: 4k8 GMSK CW Beacon every 40 sec: DP0BEE 73, Mike DK3WN

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Way to Go, Patrick!
by Clint Bradford 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

>> ... Thanks to the 14 stations ... Great job. I mentioned I was using only one Watt just for you ... to try to impress your group! >> ... Clint ... seems to have a never-ending lineup of demonstrations ... It's funny. A month will go by with just one presentation ... but I have had NINE demos/presentations in a five or six week period right now. SO MANY that I registered a new URL ... http://www.work-sat.com ... which just redirects to my ham site. But it looks good in the handouts (grin). New for me is the EchoLink presentations. What fun! I get to be a DJ for an hour. I have pared down my 150+ slides to about 50, saved the presentation as a .pdf, and offer it to the EchoLink audience - so that those online can follow along with the show. The first one was well-received. And the next EchoLink session is on October 8 (EchoLink “SCARS” Node 96140 5:30PM PDT). >> ... Even though the demonstration came before, and not after, the presentation I gave to the club - it all worked out very well ... It's one thing to talk to folks and tell 'em that you CAN do this ... But a GREAT "teaser" to get those few that show up early to actually DO IT with you beforehand - and use those folks during your presentation to "validate" what your slideshow shows! Again, excellent work, Patrick! Clint Bradford, K6LCS - http://www.work-sat.com

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Icom W32A for sale
by David - KG4ZLB 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

Icom W32A dual band, full duplex h/t, comes complete with stock antenna, battery and wall charger. Battery holds full charge, no sign of wear. Some wear on the top row of buttons but otherwise in perfect condition, screen unscratched (its been kept in the case) full 5w output in "Hi" position. Extras: Icom speaker mic Icom Leatherette case Icom AA battery box Icom CP12L cigarette lighter charger No original manual but I can print a copy and include it. $275 including shipping to anywhere in the lower 48. -- David KG4ZLB www.kg4zlb.com

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thanks for contacts during WD9EWK demo tonight!
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

Hi! Thanks to the 14 stations in the western parts of the USA and Canada for making contacts with WD9EWK during my demonstration for the Tri-City Amateur Radio Association in Goodyear, Arizona, on AO-51 tonight. A special thank-you goes out to Rick WA4NVM - sorry we could not hook up and complete a QSO, which could have been the 15th during the demonstration. You were the easternmost station I heard on that pass, and I did mention that to the crowd during the demo. Clint K6LCS, who seems to have a never-ending lineup of demonstrations on various weeknights around southern California, took time to drop in on the pass and say hello to the group. Thanks! With you and other experienced satellite operators showing up, that helps make a good impression on those who have had little or no exposure to satellite operating before tonight. Even though the demonstration came before, and not after, the presentation I gave to the club - it all worked out very well. The club moved its meeting location to this spot in grid DM33tk, which looked out over an open field to the west. The club also requested that members show up an hour or so earlier than the normal starting time for their monthly meetings, to take in the satellite demonstration. Their flexibility to accomodate an AO-51 demonstration is great, and thanks also have to go to AMSAT's AO-51 Operations Group for ensuring a V/U FM voice repeater would be available for this evening. After the meeting and presentation, I followed several members to a post-meeting gathering at a nearby restaurant. I stayed there for an hour or so, until the gathering began to break up. It was a fun time to keep chatting with the club members about satellite operating and other radio-related topics. Time for bed... 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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W6ZQ from "big island" of Hawaii via AO-51, Tuesday evening
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

Hi! I talked with Ron W6ZQ this evening, and he said he is now on the "big island" of Hawaii. He has a decent pass of AO-51 tomorrow (Tuesday) evening that covers the US west coast starting around 4.30pm Hawaii time (7.30pm Pacific time, or 0230 UTC Wednesday). He is not sure which grid he will be operating from, so you'll have to find out tomorrow evening. As Ron's vacation is nearing its end, this will probably be his only time on the radio from the island of Hawaii on this trip. Whatever grid he comes on from, it is probably not a grid heard very much on the mainland. Good luck to all who try to work W6ZQ tomorrow evening. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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For Sale Kantronics 9612 Plus w/ 512K
by Peter Sils 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

I have for sale a like new Kantronics 9612 Plus V8.2 with 512K and manual. $295 shipped Cont. U.S. PSE contact KD0AA at Yahoo.Com. TNX!

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FM scanner for downlink?
by James Hickox 21 Sep '09

21 Sep '09

Hello All, I am looking for a scanner that I could use with a Hamtronics preamp as a downlink. The scanner should be able to step in 1 KHZ steps or less, receive on FM and maybe be used in the 137 MHZ range for WX sats. Portability and price are a MAJOR consideration. Let me know if anyone else is using such an item and the make/cost. Thanks and 73, James Hickox, AA5AO EM02

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Re: POLLUX
by Randy 21 Sep '09

21 Sep '09

Perhaps we could try some EPE ?? Earth-Pollux-Earth Randy Message: 2 Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:01:59 +0000 From: Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF <nigel(a)ngunn.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: POLLUX To: andy thomas <andythomasmail(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: amsat <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <4AB79567.80307(a)ngunn.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed I guess now that the battery is exhausted, you'll have to blast it with your laser and do the ranging experiments, it's main mission objective. andy thomas wrote: > I haven't heard Pollux for a week now and I see that's the same on DK3WN's satblog. Is there any statement from the ande team?

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keps
by Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF 21 Sep '09

21 Sep '09

METEOR-M 1 35865U 09049A 09262.90688002 +.00000176 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 00080 2 35865 098.8008 313.0781 0003592 078.1595 281.9966 14.21823599000318 OBJECT B 1 35866U 09049B 09263.67999104 .00000178 00000-0 10000-3 0 64 2 35866 098.8018 313.8552 0004251 071.3961 288.7678 14.22295165 429 OBJECT C 1 35867U 09049C 09263.84045757 .00002262 00000-0 10000-3 0 123 2 35867 097.3749 313.8569 0008584 278.8598 210.9485 15.22698590 474 OBJECT D 1 35868U 09049D 09262.90648254 +.00000177 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 00078 2 35868 098.8011 313.0790 0005233 061.2715 298.8958 14.22083002000312 OBJECT E 1 35869U 09049E 09263.68064780 .00000176 00000-0 10000-3 0 58 2 35869 098.7999 313.8478 0005450 073.6420 286.5336 14.21977798 428 FREGAT/IRIS 1 35870U 09049F 09263.68516416 .00002269 00000-0 10000-3 0 64 2 35870 097.3738 313.6979 0010241 286.6515 073.3553 15.22787556 454 -- Nigel A. Gunn, 1865 El Camino Drive, Xenia, OH 45385-1115, USA. tel +1 937 825 5032 Amateur Radio G8IFF W8IFF (was KC8NHF), e-mail nigel(a)ngunn.net www http://www.ngunn.net Member of ARRL, GQRP #11396, QRPARCI #11644, SOC #548, Flying Pigs QRP Club International #385, Dayton ARA #2128, AMSAT-NA LM-1691, AMSAT-UK 0182, MKARS, ALC, GCARES, XWARN.

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20 September EM88/98 West Virginia Operation
by John Papay 21 Sep '09

21 Sep '09

Thanks to everyone who worked me from the EM88/EM98. This was a very interesting trip to a very out of the way place in West Virginia. West Virginia is very hilly/mountainous and finding a place where there is a road with a view on a grid line is not an easy task. Google Earth helps but you just don't know until you get there if it's going to work out. Fortunately the views were fine and WD9EWK was able to work me easily from Arizona. The road trip of over 450 miles began around 9:45am Eastern and I got there about 40 minutes before the first AO-27 pass at 1841z. Sassafras is not on the official West Virginia State map but it is on Google. My Garmin GPS routed me on a one lane dirt road for about 6 miles and fortunately I never confronted a vehicle. The road where the operation took place was paved and there was a lane next to a cornfield about 40' or so from the 82 degree line so I could park safely. It was a short walk over to the line to operate. It was raining on the first pass so a poncho kept the radio and me fairly dry. The antenna and microphone were exposed to the elements but the rain had no adverse effect on them. The rest of the passes were rain free. Several cars stopped; one person was curious, the other two wanted directions! One lady was looking for a church and said she had been driving around in circles trying to find it. I passed one on the way in and directed her to it but I'm not sure if it was the one she intended to visit. APRS looked pretty good at the grid boundary as I was getting digi'd. Unfortunately it must have taken more than three hops to find a gateway since only a few packets made it to the aprs servers. The ISS digi was off so the radio that I prepared for that purpose didn't get any packets through on 145.825. Here's one that did make it through from where I was parked (close to the line but not on it). 2009-09-20 22:15:56 UTC: K8YSE-8>APHH2,WIDE1-1,KE8NK-3,KB8CVP-7*,WIDE2,qAR,KA3PPH:=3855.94N/08159.99Wk170/000 Here's a packet from West Virginia when I was almost there that went all the way to Cleveland before being gated by home station, K8YSE! 2009-09-20 17:52:53 UTC: K8YSE-8>APHH2,WIDE1-1,K8GPS-10*,WIDE2-1,qAR,K8YSE:=3852.47N/08154.67Wk332/036 There was essentially no cellphone coverage from this area. Ham radio can really serve a purpose there for emergency communications. A total of 52 contacts were made on the 2 passes each of AO-27, SO-50 and AO-51. The only real problem (which is getting worse) was from simplex operations that take place on or around 145.85 during an SO-50 pass. The extra power from the Kenwood V7A that I used helped me get through. As always I used the Arrow antenna and a 7AH UPS battery to power the radio. Using headphones and a digital recorder made operating a snap. Full duplex tells you right away if you're in the bird or not. There were 42 unique callsigns worked; best DX was YY6IEA. KE5GDB, Young Ham of the Year, was also in the log from EL29. I left after the 2322Z SO-50 pass since it was sunset in Sassafras. It got dark quickly and driving the back roads can get a little tricky. I was at home around 11:30 pm eastern. QSL cards are at the printer and will be sent to everyone who made it into my log. No return card is necessary. Don't bother sending an SASE. The card design is already on my qrz.com web page. Operating from grids away from your home QTH takes some effort but you will have fun doing it. I would encourage everyone to look at the possibilities around your QTH and plan an operation. Once you have it all figured out you will be confident that you can go anywhere and operate successfully. Thanks to all of you who already do this so that we can all work something new. And finally a special thanks to my son, KD8CAO, for being there on every pass and watching the radar for approaching weather. 73, John K8YSE

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