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

AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Election 2010
by Alan P. Biddle 29 Aug '10

29 Aug '10

The deadline for submitting your ballot is rapidly approaching. In order to be counted, they must be received at the AMSAT office by the close of business on Wednesday, September 15th. The results will be announced as quickly as possible, with the new directors assuming their position immediately upon the formal announcement of the results. As always, this very direct feedback is essential for AMSAT to continue to represent its membership! Alan Biddle WA4SCA AMSAT Corporate Secretary

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Reminder: AMSAT BOD Elections
by Stuart Balanger 29 Aug '10

29 Aug '10

*Hi all, Don't forget to vote in the AMSAT BOD's election's, & if you haven't please mark your ballot (Vote for 3), & mail it before Sept 15th. (Wed.) If you have voted, yhanks for taking the time!. I thought I would say something, since no one else has! 73,.Stu (WA2BSS) *

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New Satellite Downlink?
by Robert Bruninga 29 Aug '10

29 Aug '10

Possible new AMSAT Application? We may have access to two old TRANSIT navigation satellites with a 50 baud downlink at 149.985 (and 400 MHz). (presently coming over in the mid afternoon). My problem is, coming up with any meaningful application to use them for communications that would capture the interest of students, hams or volunteers in support of education, public service or emergency comms or just plain fun... The downlink can be heard on an OMNI antenna (though I would suggest a 3/4 wave (55") vertical) and could be decoded by a simple software only application with a sound card. (someone has to write it)... The total useful message capability is about 500 bytes transmitted every 2 minutes (at 50 baud). The uplink is very specialized and can ONLY BE DONE from one (or two) very special commmand stations. These satellites of course were the original Navy Navigation satellite system (also called OSCARS) and so the message would be in-place of the normal navigation data. SO in a sense, this is a downlink BROADCAST application. Since ham radio is two way, I'm stumped for applications. The total message capability of 500 Bytes can contain one long ARRL bulletin, or 20 APRS position/status reports, or say 20 or so APRS text messages, or say 50 "callsign exchanges" or maybe even 1 thumbnail image... but what's the application? Even if we allow say, INTERNET link to the command station for "anyone" to contribute to the twice per-day upload, then everyone's receiver application can receive them... For what? So Im looking for ideas. All I can come up with so far is: 1) ARRL Bulletins? (I don't even know how often ARRL sends bulletins...) 2) Navy/Army/AF MARS broadcast bulletins... 3) Internet message in-to-command-upload-to message RF downlink. Two stations do this to each other and it counts as a two-way QSO? 4) ... Every scenario of interest usually begins with the much higher value of UPLINK from the individual field station, not downlink.. Hence I am stumped. HUMMH... Maybe purely educational? If the software can run on any PC with a sound card connected to any scanner... Then every school can use it as a satellite downlink signal of interest.. What kind of thumbnail image can fit in 500 bytes? Send in your picture and get it downlinked on a given day? Etc.. Will need a DSP volunteer to write the sound card decoder. Bob, WB4APR

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Symposium Poster Presentation & Demonstration Opportunity
by JoAnne Maenpaa 29 Aug '10

29 Aug '10

Hello Once Again Everyone, Here is a relay of even more Symposium news from the AMSAT News Service Bulletins ... SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-241.03 Symposium Poster Presentation & Demonstration Opportunity AMSAT News Service Bulletin 241.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 29, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-241.03 The poster presentation and demonstration area proved to be a popular place to visit at the Baltimore Symposium. The 2010 Symposium Committee plans to duplicate this success at the Chicago Symposium. So, if you don't have time to generate a paper or presentation please consider setting up a Poster Presentation or demonstration. We had the opportunity to view actual CubeSats, PPod launchers, ARISSat-1 proto- types. If you plan on setting up a Poster or demonstration please contact the 2010 Symposium Proceedings Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa K9JKM via e-mail at k9jkm(a)amsat.org. We'll reserve table space for you! [ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information] /EX PS - If you don't get the AMSAT News Service weekly bulletins you can sign up on-line at: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service Copy Editor, AMSAT Journal

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Exciting Symposium Papers and Presentations Rolling In
by JoAnne Maenpaa 29 Aug '10

29 Aug '10

Hello Again Everyone, Here is a relay of more Symposium news from the AMSAT News Service Bulletins ... SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-241.02 Exciting Papers and Presentations Rolling In AMSAT News Service Bulletin 241.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 29, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-241.02 As of this week the 2010 Symposium Committee has had several exciting offers for papers and presentations. Topics that have arrived include the list below. Exploration and definition of AMSAT's opportunities to grow our outreach in the educational areas: + ARISS and Education + ARISS Operation Update + Education Paradigm Shift for AMSAT to Support Subsidized Launch Opportunities + University of Louisiana Satellite Program Get up-to-date on AMSAT's next platform in space: + Assembling ARISSat + ARISSatTLM, a telemetry display program for ARISSat-1 + Software Radio Technology on ARISSat-1 + ARISSat-1 Overview + ARISSat-1 Power System + BPSK-1000 format for ARISSat-1 Discussion of AMSAT's future satellite technology: + Elmersat -- A Modest Proposal for Future Satellites + Using ham radio satellites to distribute amateur radio news in both voice and data formats + Characteristics of simulated data multicasts transmitted over K3IO's proposed GEO-Eagle communications platform + Proposal for Digital Television Aboard the ISS Updates and information of current AMSAT topics: + ITAR Legal Update + AMSAT-FOX + SUNY-AMSAT System Development + AO-51 Battery Capacity and Spin Trends + South Africa AMSAT Update + AMSAT Publications - Future Direction for the Journal, News Service, & Web Building up your satellite station: + Flex Radio V/U Module - 2m/70cm full duplex transverter module for the Flex 5000 + Low Cost, Lightweight Homebrew Dish Construction Teaching others how we do it: + How to Work the FM Ham Satellites With Your Handheld Radio + Successful Hamfest Demonstrations Authors are reminded to send in your completed papers as soon as possible. Presentations should be in Powerpoint format. Bring your presentation loaded on a thumb drive which can be loaded into the projection system prior to your speaking time slot. [ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information] /EX PS - If you don't get the AMSAT News Service weekly bulletins you can sign up on-line at: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service Copy Editor, AMSAT Journal

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May/June Journal
by Edward R. Cole 29 Aug '10

29 Aug '10

I received my copy of the May/June Journal today 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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SO-50
by Matt Patterson 28 Aug '10

28 Aug '10

Excellent pass over North America 0340Z and no one to talk to. L Matt W5LL

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WD9EWK on AO51 this afternoon with VX-8GR/long duckie
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Aug '10

28 Aug '10

Hi! On the AO-51 pass that just went by around 0012 UTC this afternoon, I tried something I do with any HT I get - work satellites. I picked up a Yaesu VX-8GR at Dayton 3 months ago, and have started using it for APRS. Since it has two VFOs on it, I did not have to program any memory channels to get it working for satellites. It is not a full- duplex radio, but it can work. I use a Diamond SMA-BNC adapter on it all the time (a well-designed adapter, which makes a secure physical connection to the radio), and put a Diamond RH77CA 2m/70cm long duckie on it. Since I did not have my Sony digital audio recorder with me, I used a recorder app on my N900 phone, with the phone sitting in my shirt pocket and the microphone hole pointing up. And I was doing this on a west-facing balcony at my office in Scottsdale AZ (DM43al). This pass was a nice one for Arizona, with maximum elevation at 64 degrees to the west. The footprint still covered a significant chunk of North America. Once the satellite got up to about 25 to 30 degrees elevation, I could hear it easily with the squelch wide open on the receive VFO. I made a few QSOs, including one with John K8YSE still on his road trip. Thanks to everyone for the QSOs, and thanks to John for all your work putting on a lot of rarely-heard grids in that part of North America! With this radio, I had to change from one VFO to the other before and after transmitting. Since this radio has two VFOs, I could still hear the downlink even if the transmit VFO was the active VFO. I had to make sure to go back to the receive VFO to make my Doppler adjustments, and then to the transmit VFO if I wanted to be heard through the satellite (something I missed once or twice). Sure, this is not the ideal handheld radio for FM satellite operating, but it is definitely good enough as a backup if I am not able to use my normal HT (IC-T7H) or any of my other radios to get on an FM satellite pass. I will not regularly work satellite passes from this location. I tried it today, since I was the only one in the office (I had some work to do on one of my computer systems, best done when nobody else is in). There is a hospital about 1/2 mile (about 1km) south of here, which throws out a lot of intermod - a good reason not to work many passes here. With a better antenna, and especially pointing south toward the hospital, I would have had problems hearing the satellite downlink. Even with all of that in mind, I now have another radio that I've used on the satellites - and is capable of being used in the future if the need arises. It will definitely be used for APRS when I go on the road, mostly through the terrestrial APRS network but I might see if I can get an APRS packet through the ISS some time. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Question, Re: Boxboro Hamfeste!
by Stuart Balanger 28 Aug '10

28 Aug '10

*Hi all, Haven't read any mention of any "Demo"satillite sta. @ the New england Div. conv. (Or "Boxboro"), & was wondering if there is one? 73,.Stu (WA2BSS) *

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SO-50
by Dobarrows 28 Aug '10

28 Aug '10

Sometimes I have not heard SO-50 on late night passes. Then I key up my transmitter with a 74.4 hz tone. After that, I key my transmitter on and off with a 67hz tone while tuning the receiver set in cw mode until I find a carrier that goes on and off with my keying somewhere near where I expect the downlink to be. I then give my station ID and change the receive mode to fm. I know that SO-50 is alive and well. I don't know if it is well understood, but SO-50's downlink will only be on as long as there is a signal in the uplink with the 67hz tone on. You let up on the mike and the downlink ceases until someone else transmits. AO27 and AO51 have continuous carriers when turned on so they are easier to locate when there is little activity. (Little activity doesn't happen often here in North America on AO27 and AO51). 73, Dave W8IJ

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