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

ISS digipeater path?
by Gordon JC Pearce 10 May '10

10 May '10

Hi there, I've finally got to a point where I have a working 2m rig in the house, with a working sound interface and working soundmodem *and* the ISS has packet turned on. I've been able to wake up the BBS on RS0ISS-14, so the radio on the ISS can hear me and talk to me. I'm not seeing any APRS packets being digipeated, though. Currently I have Xastir set up with the unproto path set to ARISS,SGATE,WIDE2-2 which is derived by consensus from several (possibly out-of-date) websites. Is this right? If it isn't, what should it be? Gordon MM0YEQ

2 2

K5GNA Parts
by Angelo Glorioso 10 May '10

10 May '10

Hi All, If anyone has a bad/junk K5GNA, I am looking for the dipole ( white piece in a cross configuration). A fellow ham has K5GNA with a diople that is broken. Angelo

3 2

STS-132 Launch
by Bobby Lacey 10 May '10

10 May '10

Wondering if any AMSAT members will be down at the cape this week to see Atlantis' final scheduled launch to the ISS? I lucked out and was chosen to be a part of NASA's STS-132 Tweetup. Some of the highlights scheduled for Tweetup members are viewing RSS retract on Thursday evening & watching the launch from the press site (~3 miles from LC-39A) on Friday. I've never seen the shuttle closer than the causeway (~10mi), so this is really going to be a treat. I'll be tweeting the experience at www.twitter.com/kf4gta while posting photos and HD content to www.flickr.com/photos/rllacey & www.vimeo.com/rllacey 73 Bobby KF4GTA http://www.nq4i.com/operators/details/kf4gta

1 0

Re: AO-51 S schedule loaded
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 10 May '10

10 May '10

Hi Drew, I monitored the "S" band downlink for the UK 1536 hrs pass at my location here in Wales. The max elevation was 33 degrees with some screening due adjacent trees Even with my moderate equipment I heard a number of European stations whom I pleased to report were quite strong, some 5 -9. Glad to report the good news following your switchover, a big thanks to you for all of the time and effort that you put into keeping everything ship shape. Regard to all. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat -UK Amsat NA

1 0

Music video for space hams.. (listen with speakers on..)
by Samudra Haque 10 May '10

10 May '10

Hi, perhaps you have already seen this music video from the ORBITER 2006 computer game community, good simulations nonetheless! http://vimeo.com/9061682 If you wish, please circulate it to your colleagues elsewhere for bringing a bit of enthusiasm to their jobs and hobby life. Samudra N3RDX

1 0

AO-51 S band fades
by Bob- W7LRD 10 May '10

10 May '10

Anyon have an idea why we get such deep fades on AO-51 S downlink? Did work K8YSE & KC9ELU between the fades. Is there something we can do at the rx end? Switch polarity, bigger dish?? 73 Bob W7LRD

2 1

thanks for DM32/DM42 QSOs yesterday
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 10 May '10

10 May '10

Hi! Thanks to all the stations that made QSOs with WD9EWK yesterday, while I was down at the DM32xx/DM42ax grid boundary near Maricopa AZ. I parked along a road, a couple hundred yards/meters south of the spot where four grids come together (those two, plus DM33 and DM43). I logged a total of 50 QSOs on 7 passes - 2 each on AO-51, SO-50, and AO-7; plus one FO-29 pass - in just over 3 hours. I was unsuccessful on an FO-29 pass with maximum elevation of 8 degrees from that location a few minutes past 0000 UTC, south of the Southern Pacific transcontinental railroad line and near a Nissan automotive test center. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, a warm day in the central Arizona desert - around 95F/35C outside when I started, but comfortable for the last pass I worked at 0220-0240 UTC on AO-7 at sunset. I have written out cards for anyone who requested confirmation for QSOs made yesterday. Those will go to the post office tomorrow morning. I also wrote out additional cards for stations that I've never worked from DM32 before, some with SASEs if those stations are new for my log, since DM32 is particularly rare on the satellites (most of the grid is a military bombing range, with a small part extending into northern Mexico). Please e-mail me if you would like to receive a QSL card for a QSO from DM32/DM42. Since the northeast corner of grid DM32 is less than an hour's drive from downtown Phoenix, this is a location I visit periodically. If you need DM32 for your satellite log and missed me yesterday, please let me know. We can make arrangements for a quick stop down there even in the summertime to make a QSO. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

1 0

AO-51 and V/S
by Andrew Glasbrenner 09 May '10

09 May '10

We made the mode change this evening to V/S on AO-51. I and the rest of the command team are a bit concerned that we may not have enough battery capacity now to sustain operation through eclipse in V/S mode. We cannot PTT the transmitter with PL like the UHF transmitters, nor is there any way to lower the downlink power on S. If the battery voltage drops too low, the voltage watchdog will shut the S transmitter off and it will remain off until commanded back on. If we cannot make it through eclipse in this mode, we can try to use the automatic scheduler to enable the S transmitter at a predicted time upon exiting eclipse each orbit. We've not tried to use the scheduler this way before, so there may be some time required to get things working.This approach will require daily intervention to keep things running. The next four months are going to be challenging keeping AO-51 as available as possible. Please either email me directly, or via -bb, or post to http://oscar.dcarr.org/ reception reports for V/S. Send those reports in this week please! 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations

1 0

Using a FT-897 for Linear Transponders
by Reid Crowe 09 May '10

09 May '10

Has anyone figured out a good way to use an FT-897 for linear transponders without an additional receiver? I would really like to get on some of the other birds from Sondrestrom (GP47) and Thule (FQ56) before I leave Greenland. Thanks, Reid OX/N0RC

2 1

WC7V/P in DN44
by kladuke1144＠msn.com 09 May '10

09 May '10

All, I plan on operating AO27 Monday May 10th from DN44. Beginning at 1847Z then 2017Z and finally 2157Z. I will be in the Mammoth, Yellowstone Park, WY area. 73 WC7V Kerry

1 0