December 2010 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

LVB Tracker USB serial port driver for Windows 7 x64?
by Bill Bordy, NJ1H 22 Dec '16

22 Dec '16

Has anyone located a driver for the LVB Tracker internal USB to serial port adapter on Windows 7 x64? If not, has anyone reverted to the serial port connection on LVB Tracker and used an external USB to serial port adapter successfully with SatPC32 on Windows 7 x64? I have an Edgeport multiple USB to serial port that has drivers for Windows 7 x64 that I will use if I have to. I would prefer using the LVB Tracker with its USB to serial adapter if someone has another solution. 73, Bill NJ1H

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AO-16 telemetry 3 Oct 2010
by Mark L. Hammond 01 Jul '16

01 Jul '16

Hi All, Here is a quick AO-16 update. On Sunday I turned AO-16 long enough to get some telemetry packets. The satellite would remain on for less than one minute after being commanded on. A quick test of the "bent pipe" voice mode repeater was successful. . The "hardware watchdog timer problem" is still evident; as expected, spacecraft temperatures are insufficient to keep the transmitter ON (needs to be above 15 deg C). Orbit projections suggest that satellite illumination conditions will not result in increased temperatures for nearly 10 years. Command stations do periodically turn AO-16 "ON" to check on its condition and see if the hardware timer problem has "automagically" fixed itself (which in not anticipated, but who knows...). AO-16 telemetry 3 Oct 2010 1838 utc PACSAT MBL Telemetry Decoder Ver. 1.3 (c) Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN =============================================================================== (average values) +10V Battery Bus : 0.00 V Battery Charge Reg : 0.55 mA Base Temp : 9.07 °C PSK RF Out : 1.90 W +5V RX Bus : 4.87 V +8.5V RX Bus : 8.49 V +10V RX Bus : 11.24 V Here is another teaser :) Several months ago I commanded the AO-16 S-band transmitter ON; it too remains functional (albeit weak), and was received by me, Drew KO4MA, and Alan WA4SCA. 73, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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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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Working HO-68
by Richard Lawn 16 Oct '11

16 Oct '11

Doing what I try to do every vacation which is try to spend a little time back on the birds. I've yet to have a QSO on HO-68. I hear the beacon just fine. But I just finished my 2nd pass from NJ and was unable to hear any signals let alone myself coming back on any mode. Did I misread the operating schedule or am I doing something wrong? MacDoppler told me there was a good pass to this part of the world are around 21:30 my time. Great beacon strength but nobody else was home. Rick W2JAZ

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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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Drawing winners
by Andrew Glasbrenner 21 Jan '11

21 Jan '11

Here are our drawing winners so far. I'm picking up the drawings for Martha for a while so she can concentrate on some end of year activities (and some vacation). This way we can keep this fund drive rolling over the holidays. The winners so far are: $1000-$1250 Richard Lewis $1250-$1500 Eric Schecter $1500-$1750 Stephen Silverman and Charles Suprin I did get off a little bit counting things, so we did two drawings for the last interval. Since it was my mistake, Martha and Barry will have to dock my pay for the additional prize! Thanks to all the donors, especially Clint Bradford for his matching donations. If you'd like to sponsor a matching donation program, please email me direct at ko4ma(a)amsat.org. We still have a long way to go to close the ledger on ARISSat-1 and get FOX off to a good start financially, but this has been an excellent start. Remember,as a 501c3, donations to AMSAT may be tax-deductible, and the end of the year is rapidly approaching! Happy Holidays and 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations

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Helped needed--AO-51 activity reports
by Mark L. Hammond 10 Jan '11

10 Jan '11

Hell All, The command team could really use your help. If you work AO-51 (or hear it) and there isn't a recent entry, please make a report entry here http://oscar.dcarr.org/ so we know all is well. Things are touch-and-go now that we are experiencing eclipses, and reports on the OSCAR Status Page that the bird is up and functional are extremely helpful. We do expect the transmitter to go OFF during eclipse, but eclipses are only a couple minutes or less at the moment. Thanks for your help! Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Thank you !
by PA3GUO 31 Dec '10

31 Dec '10

Dear all, Here in the Netherlands we have only a few hours left of 2010. Thank you for all the positive energy this year on the amsat-bb ! It is truly a pleasure to be part of this group. Have a fantastic 2011 !! Henk, PA3GUO

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Re: Let Your Garage Charge Your Radio
by G0MRF＠aol.com 31 Dec '10

31 Dec '10

Hi Clint. Sounds like a unique solution. Probably OK for NiCd or Lead acid. However, if it's any sort of Lithium technology in those batteries, then deep cycling and a top up charge is definately the wrong way. For maximum shelf life Lithium batteries need to be kept at 40 - 60% charge, then topped up when needed. Also, for the maximum number of cycles, the battery needs a small depth of discharge not deep cycling. Your friend is probably using NiCd bats, but I thought I would mention it just in case anyone thought this would be a good idea for Lithium batteries. Thanks es HNY David In a message dated 30/12/2010 19:20:52 GMT Standard Time, clintbradford(a)mac.com writes: He also performs a "cycling" of his battery pack every 60 days (running the radio until it won't power on, then charging). After a year-and-a-half of this, his voltage indication is still quite high. When he performs his "cycling," the pack seems to not have lost a bit of capacity.

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