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

Re: [Mw] Fwd: Power splitters-errors circular polarization?
by Joe v Murray 11 Jun '10

11 Jun '10

Hi Gary Any good suggstions on how to keep the axis of the rotating dipole lined up with the axis of the CP antenna in the far field? Thanks Joe Murray K0VTY ==================== On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:24:55 -0700 (PDT) Gary K Reed <gary.reed(a)sbcglobal.net> writes: > To measure axial ratio, why not rotate a dipole in front of the yagis > (or other antenna) , and measure the signal strength. If the axial > ratio is 1 then there should be NO change in signal strength as the > dipole is rotated. It would necessary to stay in the far field. > > Or have I been working too long today? > > Gary WE9Y > _______________________________________________ > Microwave mailing list > microwave(a)lists.valinet.com > http://www.valinet.com/mailman/listinfo/microwave > > ____________________________________________________________ Health Plans From $50/mo. Compare Low-Cost Health Plans Online. Blue Cross, Aetna and more. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4c1186ca93c8b82046m03vuc

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Hayabusa On Target For Australia Landing
by B J 11 Jun '10

11 Jun '10

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/hayabusa/index.shtml http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/09hayabusa/ This spacecraft has had an amazing story. The designers and mission controllers deserve lot of credit for overcoming all the difficulties it encountered. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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AO-7 question
by Ron Overdrive 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

One thing I always noticed is that its recommended to not exceed 5 watts when operating on AO-7, but I'm not seeing anything about maximum gain to use. I have an Arrow II handheld yagi and on the 440 side supposedly it has a 10dbd gain which would give me effectively 50 watts output assuming no losses. So my question in a nutshell is, what is the maximum recommended radiated power recommended with this bird? ~73, KC2WQW Ron

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Re: AO-7 Mode Switch
by Bob- W7LRD 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

It's a very old "bucket of bolts", therefore reserves the right to be be a bit tempermental, for whatever reason. 73 Bob W7LRD ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Papay" <john(a)papays.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 4:50:54 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-7 Mode Switch AO-7 has normally switched modes every other day except during periods of eclipse when it stays in Mode B. On June 8th, it was in Mode A as predicted, however, when it was supposed to switch to Mode B between 0200 and 0500 on June 9th, the AO-7 log reported that it was heard in Mode B at 0407z by SP9TTX and then was reported off on the next pass at 0600z. When it came back on at 0800z, it was in Mode A rather than Mode B. Then it switched back to Mode B on the 10th at the normal time. In other words, it has skipped a day in the switching schedule. I didn't see any eclipse event and even if there was, the satellite would normally come back in Mode B rather than Mode A. Is there an explanation? 73, John K8YSE John Papay john(a)papays.com _______________________________________________ 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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College night on the Sats?
by Michael Wolthuis 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

Can anyone give me more details or where I can find info on College night on the Sats for June? Did I already miss it or is it tonight? I want to activate W8MSU (Michigan State University) for several sat passes. Thanks, Mike kb8zgl

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AO-7 Mode Switch
by John Papay 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

AO-7 has normally switched modes every other day except during periods of eclipse when it stays in Mode B. On June 8th, it was in Mode A as predicted, however, when it was supposed to switch to Mode B between 0200 and 0500 on June 9th, the AO-7 log reported that it was heard in Mode B at 0407z by SP9TTX and then was reported off on the next pass at 0600z. When it came back on at 0800z, it was in Mode A rather than Mode B. Then it switched back to Mode B on the 10th at the normal time. In other words, it has skipped a day in the switching schedule. I didn't see any eclipse event and even if there was, the satellite would normally come back in Mode B rather than Mode A. Is there an explanation? 73, John K8YSE John Papay john(a)papays.com

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WD9EWK @ DM34/DM35 boundary, Saturday (12 June) afternoon/early evening
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

Hi! I will be in north-central Arizona on Saturday, 12 June, and should be able to park along the DM34/DM35 grid boundary for passes in the late afternoon and early evening on 3 satellites: AO-51, FO-29, SO-50. I should be at the grid boundary around 2300 UTC, in advance of an AO-51 pass at 2336-2350 UTC. I plan to stay up there until sunset, around 0230 to 0300 UTC, to also work passes on the other two satellites. It has been a while since I have been on from DM35, although I have worked from another part of DM34 (at the DM34xm/DM44am grid boundary) a couple of times already in 2010. I'm aware that the upcoming weekend is the ARRL VHF Contest weekend, and I may see about doing some terrestrial VHF/UHF operating in between passes. Anyone working WD9EWK on Saturday that wishes to receive a QSL card only needs to e-mail me with the details of our QSOs. If you are in the log, I'll send a card. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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WD9EWK on the satellites last weekend - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

Hi! Last weekend was a busy weekend. Starting with a 3-hour drive from Phoenix to Show Low in eastern Arizona on Friday (4 June) evening, a hamfest in Show Low on Saturday (5 June) followed by operating from a nearby grid boundary, to a longer drive north with a 5-hour drive home on Sunday (6 June) - busy, but fun. Over 858 miles/1381km driven in just over 2 days, operating from 3 locations in 3 different grids. The first stop for the weekend was at the White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low. This hamfest has been going on for the past few years, and this was the first time I have been to it. As far as I could determine, this was the first AMSAT presence at the hamfest. I had an AMSAT table there, and worked several passes throughout the half-day event (2 passes each on AO-7 and SO-50; one pass each on VO-52, SO-50, and AO-27). Late in the morning, a local Boy Scout troop visited, and one Scout took the microphone to talk with a couple of stations on an SO-50 pass. A total of 41 QSOs went in the log from the demonstrations, including 12 QSOs on an AO-7 pass to start the morning at 1400 UTC. Lots of AMSAT merchandise made it into the hands of hams in that area, and - like with any hamfest - lots of questions about operating and specifically how I was working the satellites with portable gear. After the hamfest and lunch, I found a spot on the DM44xj/DM54aj grid boundary north of Show Low to operate from. I spent about 5 hours at this site, not far from a small lake but off the main highways in the area. Lots of passes to work - 3 passes on AO-7, 2 passes on AO-51, and one pass on SO-50. I knew there were a few who were hoping to hear DM54 on the air, and I was happy to make the contacts with anyone stopping by to call me. The last of the 3 AO-7 passes finished up around sunset, leaving enough light to help me quickly break down my gear for the evening. I logged 43 QSOs from this grid boundary, a good effort. At sunrise Sunday (6 June) morning, I left Show Low and headed toward the Navajo Nation reservation in northeastern Arizona. I was looking for grid DM56, and possibly a spot on the DM55/DM56 grid boundary that I could park on, for several hours of operating up there before returning home. I was already in the area for the hamfest in Show Low, and a few operators asked if I would be able to visit DM56 to work some passes. I drove north and worked my way to US-191 north of the I-40 freeway, and unfortunately saw no safe place to park at the DM55/DM56 grid boundary on that road or alongside the road. I decided to go a few miles/km further north to the Navajo town of Chinle, and find someplace to operate there. Chinle is at the western entrance of the Canyon de Chelly National Monument, which I visited during longer gaps between passes. I ended up operating in town, not far from a convenience store and several fast-food restaurants at a highway junction (grid DM56fd). Since the afternoon temperatures reached 100F/38C up here, being near places with air conditioning (besides my truck) were most appreciated. :-) At Chinle, I started working passes with the 1620 UTC SO-50 pass. As that pass finished, VO-52 came up. Not too long after VO-52 went away, the first of two HO-68 passes went by to the east. After these passes, there was more time between most of the passes, which I used to get lunch and go into the Canyon de Chelly monument. In the afternoon, I was able to work a couple of AO-27 passes and an AO-51 pass before my self-imposed deadline of 2300 UTC (1700 local time on the Navajo reservation) so I would not get home at or after midnight. I logged a total of 73 QSOs on 8 passes from DM56 (2 passes each on SO-50, HO-68, and AO-27; 1 pass each on VO-52 and AO-51), working stations across the USA including Alaska and Hawaii plus Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. After the AO-51 pass, the drive back to Phoenix took almost 5.5 hours. This was the reason why I did not want to stay up there to work later passes. I still had to be at my office Monday morning. The drive home was uneventful, using cruise-control for much of the drive. I appreciate all the stations that showed up on the Saturday morning passes during my demonstrations. I had a decent crowd at the start of the morning for that AO-7 pass, to hear all that activity. Of course, being able to put QSOs into logs from the DM44/DM54 boundary and from DM56 was also fun. I have already printed QSL cards for the 3 locations I operated from over the weekend, wrote out cards for those who requested cards and others, and some of those cards will go to the post office tomorrow. If you would like confirmation of a QSO with WD9EWK from the weekend, just e-mail me directly with the QSO details. I'll be happy to send you a card. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: TS2000 on dualband antenna (for sat work)
by PA3GUO 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

Thanks David ! My vertical did not pick up AO51 at all, so the experiment could not be done here. Using my beams all was fine of course. Funny, I knew this stacked vertical dual band only picks up signals at low elevation (<10 degrees), at many cubesats (70cm) and ISS (2 mtrs). But I never experienced only very noisy signals like this morning from AO51. Nothing wrong with AO51, maybe with my vertical. Anyway - was a good trigger to be on AO51 again, made 1 QSO and listened to many other European stations making contacts. The antenna set-up: http://www.pa3guo.com/ant_jun_2008.jpg 73, Henk, PA3GUO > It works fine. > > Used a TS2000E via a MX2000 tri-plexer to a co-linear both u/v and v/u with > no problems. Worked the States and Canada this way via F0-29. > > Also used a Create CLP5130 log periodic connected in the same way. > > Just keep the TX power as low as is needed to hear your own signal and no > more. > > David > G8OQW > > ******** > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On > Behalf Of PA3GUO > Sent: 09 June 2010 20:36 > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: TS2000 on dualband antenna (for sat work) > > Hi John > Let me try tomorrow and report back, I have never tested this. > Henk, PA3GUO > > > Has anyone on the list tried using a Kenwood TS2000 on full duplex satellite > > operatation using a dualband VHF/UHF antenna and a diplexer? Is it possible > or > is there too much desensitization thru the diplexer to make full duplex > work? > > 73s John AA5JG > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- Henk, PA3GUO

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Can someone help me set up my KW D-700 for ISSAPRS and packet
by pauleakin＠comcast.net 10 Jun '10

10 Jun '10

Traveling north to upper BC and on into Alaska. Can anyone send me information on how to use the ISS for APRS positioning and for packet communications. Also any info on the other other Leo's that I can work with? I think I need the path and callsigns for APRS and for straight packet work. I have tracking software to plan on AOS & LOS. Thanks in advance, KJ4G

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