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

LVB Tracker reset problem
by Bill Photinos 31 Dec '10

31 Dec '10

Got my LVB Tracker from AMSAT last week. Installed it on a G5500. Calibrated it and it seemed to work fine until yesterday. It seem to now just randomly reset itself as if it were being power cycled. The LCD screen posts the startup firmware version message then goes back to normal. This happens randomly. I have opened up the unit ad everything seems to be seated well. Any suggestions on where to look? Could this be a voltage issue from the G5500 or out of the voltage regulator on the LVB. When this happens it locks the virtual comm port on the computer causing me to have to reset the rotor & tracking programs. Thanks, Bill - W4RVN

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UO-11 Active
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 31 Dec '10

31 Dec '10

Hi all, Pleased to report that UO-11 was active and quite strong on the North/South pass from my QTH in Wales here in the UK. Approx. 0958 hrs GMT. 31st December 2010. I have not monitored A0 -7 as yet today ( it was active yesterday) but is nice to see these old birds seeing out yet another year along with those much younger in this new world of technology advances.. Just a point to the many enquiries about working satellites -You do not need high power or high gain antennas to enjoy the hobby - I have used both my Arrow and Elk antennas for many contacts and still get good reports. Wishing you all a "HAPPY NEW YEAR and GOOD LUCK" for 2011. A big thanks to all that support their time and effort as well as donations to make the hobby worhwhile. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat - UK Amsat NA

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Re: Is it possible to work LEO sats (FM or SSB) with antennas in attic?
by Mike Ryan 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

The Arrow isn't set up for mast mounting by default. But under the rubber handle (easily pulled off) is a threaded connector that mates with most camera tripods. Many use that tripod mount on the Arrow (including me) to manage fatigue and be lazy. You can rig up an L bracket with a trip to the hardware store that uses those threads and gives you something to mount to a mast. An L bracket connected to the Arrow on one end via the threaded screws and connected to a small piece of pipe, mast , or electric conduit on the other end through a couple ubolts. This would never hold up to wind outside but just fine in the attic. In this config 70cm is horizontal and 2M vertical but with a little creativity, you can flip that. Always having one band out of polarity is a characteristic of the Arrow. It’s a little inconvenient signal wise, but of you run full duplex, it gives you some isolation. The Elk, being a dual band log periodic, doesn’t have this feature and both bands are same polarity. Elk or Arrow. Always a debate in the group. Some swear by one and some by the the other. Yes, keep that ARR amp at least until you get a chance to try it. It makes a huge difference on the downlink. Better still if you have the “S” or switched model as its so very easy to accidentally pop your amp through a careless bump of the PTT. As for the U100, that’s just my choice as I’ve been happily using them for years. Since the mast goes through the center, they also make a very easily deployed elevation rotor. Some good pictures of how to do that on Norms Rotor Service website. But you can use any inexpensive rotor like the Radio Shack (similar units available from NTE, Philips, RCA, and HyGain) . I have one of those too and its fine for light duty. Its just very clear by listening to it run and peeking inside the housing at the tiny motor that it wont hold up to punishment. The U100s may be ancient clunkers, but they are pretty tough. Good luck. Mike WB1AAT ----- Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:34:03 -0500 From: "Joe Krepps" <occupant(a)ytpress.com> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Is it possible to work LEO sats (FM or SSB) with antennas in attic? To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <op.vohsq1oraadv7j(a)joes-computer.local> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-15; format=flowed; delsp=yes Question: when mounting an Arrow to a TV rotator, are the 2m elements vertical, horizontal or ...? Guess I better hang onto my bought-from-eBay-but-never-used ARR 432MHz preamp! Tnx & 73, Joe WB3CFN <-now on the hunt for a good ol' U100 (Ka-CHUNK Ka-CHUNK Ka-CHUNK...)

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Re: Mode change delay-AO-51
by Mark L. Hammond 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

Yes Jim, that's what I meant :) Good catch. That's around 5am local Eastern US time, tomorrow (Friday). Hope that's more clear now..heh. 73, Mark N8MH At 08:23 PM 12/30/2010 -0500, Jim Wright wrote: >Did you mean 31 Dec? 1000 UTC on 30 Dec is history! >Curious, >Jim > > >On 12/30/2010 8:05 PM, Mark L. Hammond wrote: >>Hi All, >> >>Due to power management related issues, we skipped the mode change tonight for SKN mode. The plan is for the change to occur around 10:00utc 30 Dec. >> >>73, >> >> >> >>Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] >> >>_______________________________________________ >>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 >> Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Mode change delay-AO-51
by Mark L. Hammond 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

Hi All, Due to power management related issues, we skipped the mode change tonight for SKN mode. The plan is for the change to occur around 10:00utc 30 Dec. 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Let Your Garage Charge Your Radio
by Clint Bradford 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

This has to be one of the most unique radio-charging setups I have ever heard of. Gene KJ6BRR privately emailed me earlier this week, asking me what I thought of his setup. He owns an FT-60R. He rarely uses it - and doesn't carry it around with him. An occasional event or drill - that's all. But he wants it 100% charged and ready to go when he DOES need it. Here's what he has done. He built a little "charge station" shelf in the garage, and hooked up the FT-60's wall wart to the garage door opener's AC outlet. And every time the garage door is opened - four times a day - the radio received four-minute charges. 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. He asked me for my opinion of the setup. "Wonderfully innovative ... slick ... and it WORKS for you ... " are phrases that immediately came to my mind. NOT for EVERYone - but for Gene's life with his FT-60R, he is ready to go at a moment's notice! Clint Bradford

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Re: RAX Decode
by Mark L. Hammond 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

Hi Enzo, A regular 9600 baud modem (same one you use on AO-51) will work fine. When it's ON, the beacons sound like a short packet burst from AO-51 (or any other 9600 source). 73! Mark N8MH At 09:44 PM 12/29/2010 +0100, you wrote: >Hello, >i would like to receive the RAX Satellite. >as i read on the Amsat web it is GMSK 9600 BPS. >I would like to know what to hear. >Should i hear the noise like the AO-51 bird? >What do i need to decode it? >Thanks in advance > >73 de Enzo IK8OZV >EasyLog 5 BetaTester >EasyLog PDA BetaTester >WinBollet BetaTester >D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania >Skype: ik8ozv8520 > > > > > ********************************** > ******* GSM +39 338 9749786 ******* > ****** SMS +39 338 9749786 ****** > ***** FAX +39 328 7244294 ***** > *** 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it *** > ********************************* > > >_______________________________________________ >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 Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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FUNcube Dongle
by Howard Long 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

Folks Henk PA3GUO has kindly put up a video of his FUNcube Dongle in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFZGlqKPPQo The FUNcube Dongle was originally developed for educational outreach as part of the ground segment for the FUNcube satellite. However we realised it can be used for many other applications as well, so AMSAT-UK developed a Pro version too. We sold out in just over a minute on the first batch about ten days ago. We have some more on stream that will be available from 20:00UTC on Sunday 2 January 2011. You can order them here: http://www.funcubedongle.com A proportion of the sales of the FUNcube Dongle goes to support AMSAT-UK's FUNcube satellite (http://www.funcube.org.uk). Season's greetings & 73, Howard G6LVB

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HAPPY NEW YEAR
by iw2ndx＠fastwebnet.it 30 Dec '10

30 Dec '10

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL de IW2NDX (Stefano)

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Re: RAX Decode
by Matt Bennett 29 Dec '10

29 Dec '10

> Hi Enzo, > > We are glad to hear you are interested in tracking RAX! RAX > beacons sound just like the noise you'd hear if you opened > your squelch wide open. Beacon intervals are normally every > 20 seconds. RAX is experiencing some power problems right > now, so are keeping the beacon off most of the time to > conserve battery life for the year ahead. I notified the BB > earlier this month that I will post a message when we are > beaconing regularly again. > > The software to auto-decode beacons can be found on our > website at http://rax.engin.umich.edu. Mike > Rupprecht (DK3WN) also has his own version at http://www.dk3wn.info/software.shtml. > > 73, > > Matt Bennett > KF6RTB > RAX Project Manager > > > --- On Wed, 12/29/10, Vincenzo Mone <vimone(a)alice.it> > wrote: > > > From: Vincenzo Mone <vimone(a)alice.it> > > Subject: [amsat-bb] RAX Decode > > To: "Amsat - BBs" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > > Date: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 12:44 PM > > Hello, > > i would like to receive the RAX Satellite. > > as i read on the Amsat web it is GMSK 9600 BPS. > > I would like to know what to hear. > > Should i hear the noise like the AO-51 bird? > > What do i need to decode it? > > Thanks in advance > > > > 73 de Enzo IK8OZV > > EasyLog 5 BetaTester > > EasyLog PDA BetaTester > > WinBollet BetaTester > > D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania > > Skype: ik8ozv8520 > > > > > > > > > > ********************************** > > ******* GSM +39 338 > > 9749786 ******* > > ****** > > SMS +39 338 9749786 > > ****** > > ***** > > FAX +39 328 7244294 > > ***** > > *** > > 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it > > *** > > ********************************* > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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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