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

HO-68 Schedule -18-25 July 2010
by Alan Kung 15 Jul '10

15 Jul '10

UTC: 18 July 2010 ================================ 17:20...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India, Africa, Middle East, Europe,NA 18:05...Turn Off 19:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,Middle East,NA 19:50...Turn Off 20:30...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,Middle East,NA 21:15...Turn Off 19 July 2010 ================================ 00:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT South America,NA,North Asia 01:10...Turn Off 02:52...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 03:08...Turn Off 11:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,India,South Asia, Middle East,Europe,North Asia 11:50...Turn Off 17:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 17:45...Turn Off 22:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT South America,NA,North Asia 23:35...Turn Off 20 July 2010 ================================ 00:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT South America,NA,North Asia 01:25...Turn Off 02:35...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia, East Asia, South Asia 02:51...Turn Off 10:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,Asia,Europe 11:35...Turn Off 13:30...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,Europe,Africa,South America 14:15...Turn Off 16:45...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Middle East,Europe,NA 17:30...Turn Off 18:15...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 19:00...Turn Off 21 July 2010 ================================= 02:23...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 02:39...Turn Off 10:35...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,East Asia,North Asia,Europe 11:20...Turn Off 13:15...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,East Asia,North Asia,Europe 14:00...Turn Off 16:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 17:10...Turn Off 22:20...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,North Asia,East Asia,Oceania 23:05...Turn Off 22 July 2010 ================================= 02:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 02:21...Turn Off 05:35...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,North Asia,Middle East, Europe,Africa 06:20...Turn Off 10:15...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA 11:00...Turn Off 12:55...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 13:40...Turn Off 16:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,India,Middle East,Europe,NA 16:50...Turn Off 18:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 18:45...Turn Off 22:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA 22:45...Turn Off 23 July 2010 ================================ 01:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 02:06...Turn Off 10:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA 10:45...Turn Off 12:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 13:25...Turn Off 17:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Africa,Europe,NA 18:25...Turn Off 21:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT South America,Africa,NA, Europe,North Asia,East Asia 22:25...Turn Off 24 July 2010 ================================ 00:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT South America,NA,North Asia 01:25...Turn Off 01:32...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 01:46...Turn Off 11:30...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA 12:15...Turn Off 14:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 14:50...Turn Off 17:20...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 18:05...Turn Off 23:15...Turn On--FM/PACSAT South America,NA,North Asia 24:00...Turn Off 25 July 2010 ================================ 00:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 01:35...Turn Off 06:30...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,Europe,Africa 07:15...Turn Off 13:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 14:35...Turn Off 73 Alan Kung, BA1DU HO-68(XW-1) Project Manager www.camsat.cn

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ISS Picture SSTV Martin 1 14:02UTC
by CE3SOC Raul Romero 15 Jul '10

15 Jul '10

Copied Only Receiver Icom IC-R1500 and Disconne Antenna 2 Pictured in Martin 1 http://www.facebook.com/editalbum.php?&aid=2066091&add=1&created=1#!/album.… Tnx Raul CA3SOC

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Thanks for the TI Support
by Mark Spencer 15 Jul '10

15 Jul '10

I want to offer my sincerest thanks to the satellite community, Drew, and AMSAT for the support that you gave us during the TI-2 Space this year. We are in day 4 of the teachers institute and will be wrapping up the day with some last minute satellite contact opportunities. But over the last three days, your support in making contacts with the teachers, and in particular, the dedicated SSTV activity on AO51 last night, has made the TI-2 Space a huge success this year. I wish each of you could have seen the glowing light bulbs in the teachers' heads at each successful satellite contact. I am confident that they will be taking what they learned this week back into their classrooms to make space "alive" for their students. Thanks for the patience you showed as these novice satellite operators learned the tricks of the trade. I can tell you that I am warn out (in a good way) facilitating their learning experience. (It is also a hoot to see 8 satellite ground stations, and antennas operating at one time.) I think we may have a record of "work around the table via satellite" awards. Thanks again for your support, and I'll be seeing you on the birds when I recover and am back at the home QTH next week. Mark Mark Spencer, WA8SME Education and Technology Program Coordinator ARRL, the national association for Amateur RadioT mspencer(a)arrl.org www.arrl.org/education-technology-program www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology 530-495-9150

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Re: ISS
by Bill Acito 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

Anyone have a recording of the pass over NA at 6PM EDT, today? I worked Col. Wheelock from the mobile (5:50EDT) outside of Boston. He acknowledged calls and the fact that I was mobile. (thank you, Pete) I usually have a digital audio recorder in the car, but neglected to bring it today. Contact me at [my call]@hotmail Bill W1PA

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Re: AO-51 obseved solar eclipse?
by Mark L. Hammond 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

Hello Masahiro, Thank you for your message! You have made a great observation, and I think you are exactly right about the cause of the observed "glitches" in the telemetry. Usually at this point in its orbit we would observe AO-51 charging its batteries at a steady rate from fully illuminated panels. >From what I've read from page 43 here: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEpubs/2010/TP214171a.pdf the eclipse was from 18:15 to 20:52 UTC. Look also at the areas experiencing eclipse. Please be aware that the "clock" on AO-51 runs fast. It is now about 3 minutes fast, so look at telemetry timestamped from about 18:18 until 20:55 UTC. Since the duration of the solar eclipse was 2 hrs 39 min (or 159 mins) and AO-51 orbits every 100 minutes or so, it could have been affected two times. I've plotted some of the telemetry collected from that period (telemetry from 1800-2130utc) and posted it here: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/telemetry/ao51/2010WOD/July2010/Wd071100_180… And here's a screenshot of AO-51 at the time: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/telemetry/ao51/2010WOD/July2010/ao51_11July2… 73! Mark N8MH 2010/7/13 Masahiro Arai <m-arai(a)a.email.ne.jp>: > > Total solar eclipse was observed in southern Pacific Ocean at 11th > July. I checked AO-51 WOD file. Total Array I shows glitch at > 2043-2045z. AO-51 was located on east of Argentina at the time. Is > this glitch made with solar eclipse?? > > > AO-51 Wd071100 > 2010/7/11 > UTC Total Array I [mA] > 20:35 -2.111 > 20:36 -0.323 > 20:37 -0.323 > 20:38 1.465 > 20:39 -0.323 > 20:40 528.851 > 20:41 321.472 > 20:42 307.170 > 20:43 183.815 > 20:44 190.966 > 20:45 176.664 > 20:46 249.962 > 20:47 300.019 > 20:48 396.557 > 20:49 498.459 > 20:50 519.912 > 20:51 729.079 > 20:52 634.328 > 20:53 936.458 > 20:54 843.495 > 20:55 948.972 > > > WOD file > ftp://ftp.amsat.org/pub/amsat/telemetry/ao51/2010WOD/July2010/Wd071100 > > AO-51 WOD decoder > http://tinyurl.com/DK3WNsoftware > > > 73 > > Masa JN1GKZ Tokyo Japan > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Live Webstream of AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium
by Trevor . 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

The 2010 Space Colloquium - the 25th held by AMSAT-UK, is taking place on July 31 and August 1 at the Holiday Inn in Guildford, England. As usual there will be many interesting presentations and demonstrations from the developers and users of the ever increasing number of amateur radio satellites. In addition there will be talks on nano propulsion systems, solar sails, cubesat sized linear transponders, the GENSO ground station network, GNU radios and numerous other topics. It is still possible to attend the meeting itself, although the "early booking" rates may now no longer be available - for booking details see http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium If, however, you are unable to attend in person, we can announce that the batc.tv webstream service will again be provided over the weekend starting from 1000BST (0900UTC) on the Saturday. The current programme - which is always subject to late changes - can be seen here http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/713/284/ again please note that all timings are given BST which is UTC +1. The BATC.TV webstream will be available here, click on Live Events http://www.batc.tv/ AMSAT-UK http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: Since there's been a lot of ISS chatter recently, I thought this might be a good time to post
by Robert Christ 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

My original back of the napkin calculations showed a 6-8' dish, so yes, this seems approximately correct. Point to keep in mind: the 10 dBm will not be the Tx power. 10 dBm will be the maximum Tx power. Due to bad orientation, we expect to only receive a fraction of that, unless someone gets particularly lucky with ISS orientation. I'll be simulating exactly how much of a fraction over the next few days, and of course could do so for anyone's particular location. Robert On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 4:32 PM, Edward R Cole <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net> wrote: > Here is what I calculate: > 10 dBm Tx power > 0 dBic zero gain Tx antenna > 20 dBic Rx antenna gain > 0 dB Cross polarity loss > 902 MHz > 0.001 millions of km (1000km) > 20 K sky temp > 40 K Rx antenna temp > 36 K receiver noise temp > 200000 Hz bandwidth > > 151.5 dB space loss at 1000km > -121.5 dBm received signal level > 96 K total receive system noise temp > -125.8 dBm EIRP > 4.3 dB S/N > > this was calculated using the spreadsheet I made for determining the signal > from MRO: > http://www.kl7uw.com/raseti.htm > click on the word "calculate" to download the spreadsheet. > this works for determining any spacecraft signal reception. > > A 20-db antenna will have around a 10 degree beamwidth so much easier to > point than what hams used for AO-40 on 2.4 GHz > > probably a 4 to 6 foot dish will suffice. > > > > At 08:40 AM 7/14/2010, Robert Christ wrote: >> >> Hey everyone. I'm a researcher at Cornell, and this fall,Â our >> experimental, 1 inch diameter, â€œchip satellitesâ€ are scheduled to be >> launched on the final space shuttle flight, STS-134.Â They're going to be >> mounted on the exterior of theÂ ISSÂ structure, and will be set to transmit >> a 902 MHz signal.Â Unfortunately, we do not yet have an antenna for >> receiving this transmission. Â After talking with Bob - Wb4APR for a while, >> it was suggested that the fine members of the AMSAT BB might be able to >> helpp us. What weâ€™re looking for is a digital capture of this 902MHz >> frequency (with a bandwidth of about 200KHz), during at least one ISS pass >> (only a few gigs of data, we believe). Â No decommutation or other analysis >> of the signal will be required, but actually capturing the signal will >> require at least a 20 dbB gain receive antenna (more details in a minute). >> If any of you can help us in this experiment, or are able to successfully >> capture the signal, not only would we be incredibly grateful, but we would >> also be prepared to add your names and contributions to all of the published >> papers that will result from this mission. Â It goes without saying, though, >> that weâ€™d also be entirely open to suggestions if the community, or a >> member, were aware of some manner by which Cornell might be able to better >> avail itself to the both those who help us on this project and the community >> as a whole. So here are the technical details.Â There are 3 transmitting >> antennas, all tiny, center-fed dipoles: two of them use wires separated by >> 180 degrees, and one has wires separated by 90 degrees. Â Each of these >> dipoles is mounted a few mm from large metal panels on the ISS. Â The >> ChipSats will transmit for approximately 10ms every 1-2 seconds, but the >> signal is going to be beneath the noise floor.Â Detecting the signal >> requires a pseudorandom noise (PRN) code, which Cornell will handle once the >> dataset is in hand. Â Since we can/will take care of the post processing, >> and capture isnâ€™t guaranteed on every ISS pass (attitude alignment >> problems still TBD) so anyone who can take a recording of this frequency at >> this bandwidth for us, of any ISS pass, would be incredibly helpful. The >> good news is that the chips will be live and transmitting almost immediately >> after they are installed from STS-134, and they will transmit continuously >> whenever the ISS is in sunlight. Â Additionally, should they survive in >> their environment, they are set to transmit for up toÂ two years, which >> should give us many chances to receive the data and confirm that the >> ChipSats are functioning. Thanks for your time, everyone, Robert Christ >> http://www.spacecraftresearch.com/ P.S. a little extra information: Our >> website is http://www.spacecraftresearch.com/projects.html if you're >> interested. This mission isn't explicitly mentioned there yet, but is rather >> a proof of feasibility study for most of the projects listed on that site. >> Ah and lastly, the ERP of the transmitter is expected to be ~10 dBm, though >> it will almost certainly be facing in a poor orientation, giving us only a >> fraction of that power. We won't know the exact amount for a few more days. >> Thanks all! _______________________________________________ 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 > > > 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 > ====================================== > BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com > EME: 144-QRT*, 432-100w, 1296-QRT*, 3400-fall 2010 > DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)hotmail.com > ====================================== > *temp >

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Chipsat
by Howie DeFelice 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

I may be missing something, but if I understand the following statement correctly: "The ChipSats will transmit for approximately 10ms every 1-2 seconds, but the signal is going to be beneath the noise floor. Detecting the signal requires a pseudorandom noise (PRN) code, which Cornell will handle once the dataset is in hand." This would require the receiving station to digitize the entire pass band, plus and minus doppler, so that Cornell could apply the PRN to pull the signal out of the noise floor for demodulation. This is beyond the capability of the "typical" ham station but may be practical with some SDR based radios. Not making use of the PRN code for the capture will mean that it will be totally blind. i.e. there will be no way to know if you are really receiving anything and if the 20 dB antenna was pointed correctly. This is certainly a challenging task. Howie AB2S _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID2…

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Re: Recording from HO-68 on June 20?
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

Mike, Check out this page- http://www.papays.com/sat/general.html , it belongs to John K8YSE, he records all the FM passes. Dave - KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless DROID On Jul 14, 2010 12:38 PM, "Michael Elliott" <k4moa(a)verizon.net> wrote: Would anyone happen to have any recordings from HO-68 over Fathers Day Weekend from June? I have had an unfortunate incident with my mp3 recorder which had a couple of passes of satellites from June 19 & 20 stored on it. I typically copy my recordings to a computer late in the evenings or early morning, but we were going to a family fathers day dinner and didn't get a chance to copy them over. To make my story short, I had a CreativeLabs recorder which I discovered did not like bouncing off of a brick patio. I thought it was just the switch on the unit which failed so I grabbed another unit from ebay. After putting the drive from into the new-to-me unit I was not able to recover the data. I then tried another drive with different firmware with again no success. Also the way Creative handles the formatting my PC (Windows and Linux) could not view data off of the drive. I have since grabbed a different recorder that has a good clip on it. So now I've hit the web searching for possible help. I am fairly sure the pass was Sunday the 20th, I know it was HO-68 and I worked a CM station which was maritime mobile. I have listened to the recording from K8YSE (who has a excellent site by the way) but my qso was not captured. I wish I could verify the time but in my desire to try to fix the recorder I failed to document the passes. I want to say it was around 14:00-18:00 UTC on Sunday. If anyone has a recording I would greatly appreciate if you would let me know... Thanks, Mike, K4MOA _______________________________________________ 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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Since there's been a lot of ISS chatter recently, I thought this might be a good time to post
by Robert Christ 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

Hey everyone. I'm a researcher at Cornell, and this fall, our experimental, 1 inch diameter, “chip satellites” are scheduled to be launched on the final space shuttle flight, STS-134. They're going to be mounted on the exterior of the ISS structure, and will be set to transmit a 902 MHz signal. Unfortunately, we do not yet have an antenna for receiving this transmission. After talking with Bob - Wb4APR for a while, it was suggested that the fine members of the AMSAT – BB might be able to help us. What we’re looking for is a digital capture of this 902MHz frequency (with a bandwidth of about 200KHz), during at least one ISS pass (only a few gigs of data, we believe). No decommutation or other analysis of the signal will be required, but actually capturing the signal will require at least a 20 dbB gain receive antenna (more details in a minute). If any of you can help us in this experiment, or are able to successfully capture the signal, not only would we be incredibly grateful, but we would also be prepared to add your names and contributions to all of the published papers that will result from this mission. It goes without saying, though, that we’d also be entirely open to suggestions if the community, or a member, were aware of some manner by which Cornell might be able to better avail itself to the both those who help us on this project and the community as a whole. So here are the technical details. There are 3 transmitting antennas, all tiny, center-fed dipoles: two of them use wires separated by 180 degrees, and one has wires separated by 90 degrees. Each of these dipoles is mounted a few mm from large metal panels on the ISS. The ChipSats will transmit for approximately 10ms every 1-2 seconds, but the signal is going to be beneath the noise floor. Detecting the signal requires a pseudorandom noise (PRN) code, which Cornell will handle once the dataset is in hand. Since we can/will take care of the post processing, and capture isn’t guaranteed on every ISS pass (attitude alignment problems still TBD) so anyone who can take a recording of this frequency at this bandwidth for us, of any ISS pass, would be incredibly helpful. The good news is that the chips will be live and transmitting almost immediately after they are installed from STS-134, and they will transmit continuously whenever the ISS is in sunlight. Additionally, should they survive in their environment, they are set to transmit for up to two years, which should give us many chances to receive the data and confirm that the ChipSats are functioning. Thanks for your time, everyone, Robert Christ http://www.spacecraftresearch.com/ P.S. a little extra information: Our website is http://www.spacecraftresearch.com/projects.html if you're interested. This mission isn't explicitly mentioned there yet, but is rather a proof of feasibility study for most of the projects listed on that site. Ah and lastly, the ERP of the transmitter is expected to be ~10 dBm, though it will almost certainly be facing in a poor orientation, giving us only a fraction of that power. We won't know the exact amount for a few more days. Thanks all!

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