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

Alinco DJ-G7T Pro/Con reviews
by w6zkh＠comcast.net 07 Sep '09

07 Sep '09

Having read several threads here dealing with the Alinco Tribander HT, I would like to hear from folks who are using said HT for full-duplex satellite operation, either Pro or Con. I am looking for an HT for portable work while RVing the country at the end of this month. All reviews will be greatly appreciated. John W6ZKH

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QSL requests for K8GI/P and K8GI/4
by Rick 07 Sep '09

07 Sep '09

Guyz: I'll be wrapping up my trip in a few days. If you contacted be from EM98/EM99, EM98 or EM97 (as K8GI/P), or EM96, EM94 or EM91 (as K8GI/4), and you want a QSL card from me, kindly proceed as per my 08/26/09 msg on "AMSAT-BB." It will be helpful if any such requests are received by next Monday, 09/14, so I can get them out that week. I also need to know how many cards to make for a couple of those QTHs. (I worked a couple more grids than originally planned.) 73! Rick 'GI

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Increasing range from LEO.
by G0MRF＠aol.com 07 Sep '09

07 Sep '09

In a message dated 03/09/2009 08:09:09 GMT Standard Time, kd6ozh(a)comcast.net writes: P3E is a HEO with the same engine as P3D and no benefactor funding a launch. It seems more reasonable to focus on projects that we can pay to launch or where someone has already donated the launch. 73, John KD6OZH Wacky idea No 357 Perhaps a longer term piece of AMSAT research could be to develop a subsystem for LEO satellites that detects and then connects users between passing LEOs. This would allow short term intersatellite communication. Very tricky, but a nice project where boards are made available to anyone who would like to add this facility to their LEO Sat. Thanks David

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WD9EWK from DM31ov - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

Hi! Despite the evening thunderstorms that rolled in from northern Mexico, ruining my chance to work one more pass, my day-trip to grid DM31 yesterday (Saturday, 5 September 2009) was successful. I was able to look around the area, so I could have a better idea of the surroundings than I could see in Google Earth or Google Maps. That grid is less than 3 hours from my home, so this is a destination I can visit on future day-trips. As I drove toward DM31 near the USA/Mexico border on Arizona route 85, I made note of a spot that straddles the DM31ox/DM32oa grid boundary. There is a place to safely pull off the highway, but with mountains to the east and west of the highway I did not think this would be a good spot to work from. I was not so concerned with operating from the grid boundary; I can visit DM32 in an hour's drive from Phoenix, but DM31 is not so convenient. I drove to the small town of Lukeville, which is the Arizona side of this border crossing point across from the Mexican city of Sonoyta. This point is where most who are interested in visiting the Mexican town of Puerto Penasco ("Rocky Point"), on the north end of the Gulf of California just over 60 miles/100km away, cross the border. This area allowed me a better view of the sky to the east and west than I had at other points north of the border - without having to go away from the highway and set up in an area that is less secure than a border crossing complete with lots of law-enforcement personnel. My location was in grid DM31ov - 31 52.915 N, 112 49.027 W. I parked in a large parking lot at "Gringo Pass", which is a complex complete with gasoline station, restaurant, grocery store, and a duty-free store and auto-insurance agency for those heading into Mexico. I did not have a Mexican ham-radio permit, and with the security situation over there not being stable, I did not cross the border even for a second. I walked up to the line, and took photos around there - the plaque marking the international border, a plaque on the Mexican customs house, the signs and flag on the Mexican side of the border, looking along the border fence, etc. I also took some photos of my portable station, and was able to work an SO-50 pass at just after noon (1900 UTC). For that pass, I logged 8 QSOs - mostly with stations near the Pacific coast, with 3 being further east as the satellite moved in that direction. A good start. I was ready for the first of two AO-27 passes at 2049 UTC. When the repeater opened up, it was busy. I was able to make QSOs with 17 stations from Mexico, the continental USA, and even KL7XJ in Alaska showed up at the end of the 7-minute repeater time. Before the next AO-27 pass, I had lunch and then returned to the parking lot for the pass. That pass put 6 more QSOs in the log. I had planned to work 2 AO-51 passes, at 0026 and 0206 UTC. I knew of a pass around 2254 UTC, a very shallow pass for me at this location (maximum elevation 2 degrees). Since the first possible AO-51 pass came not long after the western AO-27 pass, I decided to try it from this location. I figured I might have 2 minutes or so when the satellite was at its highest to hear something, let alone make QSOs. In the span of approximately 80 seconds, I heard the satellite, made a call, worked 3 stations, then heard nothing when AO-51 went behind mountains northeast of my location. If anyone has a recording of that pass from yesterday, in particular the segment between 2255 and 2257 UTC, and could e-mail me a copy of that - I would appreciate hearing it. After those 3 QSOs, I drove up the road toward the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument - which I drove through earlier - and to the town of Why. The signs as you approach this little town answer that "question" - gasoline, food, lodging, and camping. Other than that, there's not much here other than an intersection with another highway that heads east toward Tucson, 120 miles/200km away. There was even a small casino about 2 miles/3km east of that intersection, on the western edge of a large Indian reservation. After that drive and picture-taking, I drove back to Lukeville. The better eastern pass of AO-51 for me was at 0026 UTC. I was ready, and worked a total of 16 stations - 6 in Mexico, and 10 across the USA. I appreciate the fact that I was able to make QSOs with so many XE stations, as they are also interested in working rare or unusual grids as many in the US are. This turned out to be my last pass from DM31 for the day, unfortunately. As the 0026 UTC AO-51 pass ended, I had a nice chat with a couple of officers from the US Border Patrol. They were interested in what I was doing with radio equipment, so close to the border. They asked me what I was doing, which I explained to them. One of the officers asked if I could listen in on their radio gear. I said "no", thinking their radios were using some form of digital transmissions (they each had commercial Motorola HTs on their belts) and I did not have a receiver capable of decoding digital voice communications. I understand why they might ask that question, since there would be others that would be interested in listening in on those transmissions. One of the officers stuck around for almost 20 minutes to chat (his uncle is a ham operator, but the officer had not picked up this hobby), and we watched the dark clouds roll in. Then he returned to his post - inspecting vehicles approaching the Mexican border. As the clock moved toward 0206 UTC, the start of the last pass I planned to work, dark clouds started coming up from the southeast. Then lightning started to strike around that part of the border area. The lightning convinced me to shut down, dismantle my station, and head home. I was able to drive about 5 miles/8km north of the border, next to the visitor center at the nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and take some pictures of the southern sky as it was being lit up by lightning. My camera is a simple Sony 7.2-megapixel camera, which does not lend itself for nighttime photography and doesn't have a fast shutter speed. I was able to get some nice photos of the clouds in the sky as the lightning lit them up. On the way home, at another US Border Patrol highway checkpoint about 60 miles/100km north of Lukeville, the two officers there asked me where I was coming from and also about my radio gear. Then one of them asked if I knew the code to access the front- panel programming mode for a certain model of commercial Kenwood HT - not the sort of question I expected to hear from those officers. I didn't know about that, but we did talk for a few minutes about radios and programming them before I was allowed to continue on my way home. I did not mind talking with any of the Border Patrol officers; they have a tough job trying to secure the southern US border, and now performing inspections on vehicles heading into Mexico (a new task, something that was never done on a regular basis in the past for those leaving the US). Despite not having the chance to safely work the last AO-51 pass, this was a good day. A total of 50 QSOs went in the log on 5 different passes, and now I have a better idea of where to go to work from DM31 in the future. Most of this grid is in Mexico, and there are better locations without so many hills and mountains on the other side of the border. Even down to "Rocky Point", which is near the southern edge of DM31, would be a good place to set up and operate - while having something cool to drink. :-) That will have to wait, but I'll head down to the Arizona side of DM31 again in the future. Again, anyone interested in a QSL card confirming contacts made with me from DM31 only needs to e-mail me the QSO details. No SASE is needed. I hope to have cards in the mail in the next week or so. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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FT 847 (loaded)/SYMEK TNC 3S for sale on EBAY
by wgravett＠juno.com 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

I am selling this combination on EBAY ( Item 230374998108). The auction is open to registered EBAY folks. The FT 847 has been modified with the F-IFD board to handle 38.4 kbaud downlink. The TNC3S has a 9600 AND a 38.4k baud board in it. There is a reasonable reserve on this auction ; all manuals are included....Christmas times a'comin !!! 73 Bill, W5PGZ ( direct any questions to wgravett(a)juno.com or the ebay ad) ____________________________________________________________ Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/BLSrjpTFoYcKFnbqPfGkQ6i0U1UIwyW…

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AO-51 MODE L/U
by Alan P. Biddle 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

Had a couple of good QSOs this morning. According to KD8CAO, the mode should be around a bit longer while the new schedule is being finalized. Have a great Labor Day weekend! 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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SatPC32
by Art McBride 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

Hi All, I am trying to get my ICom 820H working under CAT. I have an OPC-478UC It is USB to single line CI-V required by the ICom 820H. I have shifted it's output to the tip from the sleeve on the 1/8" phone plug. Under System / Device hardware the OPC 478 shows up as com 3. The radio does not control. I have set the address to 60h from 42h in the radio and the baud rate to 9600 on both radio and program. I get the E/A Fehler-32 warning when I try to store the com port values. The OPC 478UC does work my ICom D800 and when connected to the 820H will return a Com 3 when com port is selected. If I unplug the cord to the 820H it tells me no radio is connected. Any help on this one would be appreciated. Art, KC6UQH

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ANS-249 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne Maenpaa 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-249 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: * AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due September 15 * Only One Month Until the AMSAT Space Symposium * FO-29 Recovery Efforts Continue * AO-7 DX Reports * Silent Key: Packet Satellite Pioneer Den Connors, KD2S * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ESA Astronaut Answers Your Questions From Space SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.01 AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due September 15 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.01 The deadline for returning the gold "corrected" ballot to the AMSAT office is September 15th. If you need biographical information on the candidates, it can be found on the AMSAT website. [ANS thanks Martha for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.02 Only One Month Until the AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.02 Co-Chairs, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer remind you that the 2009 AMSAT Symposium is rapidly approaching! And we hope you can join us, especially given that there are some low-cost airfares out there for those of us in the US. We have an outstanding venue this year at the Four Points Sheraton at the BWI Airport. Your symposium committee recently did a walk through of this facility. The accommodations and meeting rooms are superb. Frank said, "I do a lot of traveling and I must say that the rooms are absolutely beautiful. You will definitely get a substantial bang for your buck (or Euro, etc.) at this symposium. And planned 40th Anniversary celebratory events will be truly memorable". So we'd love to see you in "Charm City"-Baltimore Maryland..for the symposium presentations, 40th anniversary celebrations, poster ses- sions, ARISS Operations Team Meeting, and AMSAT BoD meeting. Full details are available on-line: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php You can now register online for the 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting: http://www.amsat-na.com/store2/SymposiumReg2009.php Online registration will disappear on October 5th so do not wait too long! Our guest speaker is Dr. Martin Collins from the the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. He will talk on "Making the Space Age: The First Fifty Years". Follow the links from the Symposium page to book your room at the hotel. An 800 number is also available. When booking your room let the operator know that you are with the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation for the special rates. (They don't seem to know about AMSAT.) [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.03 FO-29 Recovery Efforts Continue AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.03 Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reported that recovery efforts continue for the FO-29 satellite. Partial CW telemetry from FO-29 was received by Luciano, PY5LF, "during the orbit 64384 of FO29 I heard and decoded the telemetry for only 3 times then the satellite turned off." At the present time the ground control team continues to analyze telemetry and are continuing attempts to restore the satellite while it is over Japan. The latest information can be found on Mineo's web page at: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/fo29rest.htm [ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.04 AO-7 DX Reports AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.04 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.04 Piraja, PS8RF reported more transatlantic DX via AO-7 from Brazil. During the orbit number 59094 of AO-7 (MODE B - 20:14:21 UTC - 21/08/2009) I could hear Andre, ZS2ACP calling CQ and giving a signal report to another station here in Brazil (PY5LF). Unfortunately I could not find the uplink, was prepared, but I missed the time to call it. Despite the weather have been enough I could not hear me. The AO-7 in spite of 35 years continues to bring surprises to the satellite community. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMa0zz5v4k Piraja also noted another AO-7 milestone. Joe, K3SZH has reached 10,000 contacts via AO-7. Congratulations Joe! [ANS thanks Piraja, PS8RF for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.05 Silent Key: Packet Satellite Pioneer Den Connors, KD2S AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.05 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.05 Tom Clark, K3IO noted, "It is with much sadness that I report the passing of Den Connors, KD2S. Den passed on after a year long fight to conquer lymphoma." Den was TAPR's first president, overseeing the transition from a local Tucson club into the multi-national TAPR. He was a major sponsor of the adoption of AX.25 as the amateur packet standard. Under his lead, TAPR introduced the TNC-1 and then later the TNC-2. Den worked with Tom to define an amateur store-and-forward packet radio satellite which morphed into the AO16, IO-26, AO-27, and MO-30 Microsats. 73, Den -- you will be missed by all your friends! [ANS thanks Tom Clark, K3IO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.06 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.06 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.06 + The dates of the 2010 AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be the weekend of July 30 to August 1, 2010. The location will be the same as in 2009, the Holiday Inn, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. (G3WGM) + Please collect and send telemetry data you receive on 145.825 from the Pollux and Castor satellites to ande(a)juno.nrl.navy.mil. There was a laser ranging experiment this weekend from Maui to illuminate the retroreflectors on both satellites. If you include your address you can receive a QSL card. (KD4HBO) + Photos of the night time launch of STS-128 can be viewed on-line: From 200 miles north on Jekyll Island, GA see: http://bit.ly/4uBi3N The view from Orlando can be seen at http://www.mydrive.ch/en. The username is plethra2. The guest password is aa4kn_1. They are found in the STS-128 folder. + Listen for Tom, KB9BIT as he activates the far western part of the Oklahoma Panhandle between September 12 - 19 (grids DM86 and DM87) To get your QSL card e-mail Tom at kb9bit(a)arrl.net or tmlask(a)att.net with the details of the QSO. + Congratulations and a hearty well-done to Clint, K6LCS on his very successful "How to Work Ham Sats With Your HT" presentation to the Moreno Valley (CA) Amateur Radio Association. Clint says, "They were, indeed, properly impressed!" Listen for Clint's upcoming demos on: September 11 - EchoLink/IRLP via K0GQ September 17 - Conejo Valley ARC October 5 - WARA (Fullerton) meeting October 17 - Victor Valley ARC's JOTA + West Coast USA stations worked Hawaii via AO-51 on September 4. Ron, W6ZQ operated from Kauai in grid BL02. Robert, NH7WN from Honolulu (BL11) was also on the same pass. Patrick, WD9EWK said he was able to work W6ZQ at just under 2 degrees elevation and got NH7WN at just over 3 degrees elevation. [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-249.07 ESA Astronaut Answers Your Questions From Space AMSAT News Service Bulletin 249.07 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. September 6, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-249.07 This week Space Daily carried a story dateline September 3, from Paris, France about a new way to contact the International Space Station. How do you wash your clothes in space? How does food stay fresh if there is no fridge on the ISS? ESA's Frank De Winne is answering these, and many more of your questions, right now, from space. Is there something you always wanted to know about being an astro- naut? Or you are just curious about living and working in space? Well, now is the time to ask. Instead of searching the Internet, you can ask an ESA astronaut directly. Frank De Winne, on the International Space Station, is keen to answer your questions personally via ESA's YouTube channel. Questions answered so far have been "Will you exercise a lot on your bike?", "What medical conditions would stop you becoming an astronaut?", "Will Europe have its own Space Shuttle in the future?" and "Do you use washing powder for washing clothes in space?" Frank is answering questions from space fans all over Europe, and he will greet you in English, French or Dutch in your personal video response. All you have to do is record your question using a webcam, video camera or mobile phone, and post it on ESA"s YouTube channel. Each week, Frank posts his responses to your questions on the site, directly from space. Frank is part way through his six-month mission on the International Space Station. Later in his mission, he will also become the first European commander of the ISS. Have a go, it could be your question answered next! Record and upload your questions to ESA"s YouTube channel as a 'Video Response' to De Winne's video message which can viewed at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okpNcG3vu_E (ed. note: Frank's amateur radio callsign is ON1DWN.) [ANS thanks 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 when wondering how important feed line loss is in your antenna installation that ancient wisdom reminds us about the man who digs his well at a distance from the tent soon laments when his wife's mustache catches fire. 73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org

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No go for 0206 UTC AO51 pass
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

Hi! Due to bad thunderstorms that rolled into the DM31ov area, I won't be able to make this upcoming pass. I'll be back here in the near future, now that I know that I can get here in 2.5 hours from Phoenix. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK Lukeville AZ

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KB1RVT from FN64 on Monday, 7 Sept. afternoon
by Daniel "Nick" Kucij 06 Sep '09

06 Sep '09

Hi I'm planning a day-trip further downeast along the Maine coast to FN64 on Labor Day afternoon, the 7th of September. I expect to be on the AO-27 pass at 1809 UTC and the AO-51 pass at 2130 UTC. I'll be working with two HTs and my homebrew yagi. I've been operating portable on Mt. Desert Is. in FN54 over the last week. If you need a QSL for QSOs from any of the grids I've worked portable from in Maine, just send me an email with QSO details and I'll check them in my log and send you a card. 73! Nick KB1RVT

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