January 2011 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Re: QSL Information
by Zachary Beougher 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

Hi Ron, According to his QRZ page under the "detail" tab, he responds to direct only - no eQSL or LoTW. I don't know how current that info is, so things may have changed. I am planning on sending a request along with an SAE and IRC to his Germany address, and we will see what happens. I am forwarding this to the BB just in case someone else has heard different. 73! Zack KD8KSN -----Original Message----- From: Ronald Oldham Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 4:21 PM To: kd8ksn(a)amsat.org Subject: QSL Information Hi Zack... You completed a contact with PJ6/DL7VTX ( Grid FK87 ) today on the AO-27 pass around 19:13 UTC. Do you have any QSL information on this station? Any info would be appreciated. 73, Ron - N8RO

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SO-50 PAVE/PAWS Interference
by Giacobbe Lauser 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Is anyone else in Northern California having interference on the SATS from PAVE/PAWS, particularly on the downlink for SO-50? I notice some S3+ modulated noise blocking all weak signals. If I'm lucky, I hear the Sats at S3, so the noise is really squashing at least that Sat and others on passes to the north. - Jake, K3UAZ

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So I am not the only one...
by Kevin Deane 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

I agree 100%. I am still pretty new at this, I also have trouble finding up to date sites. So a friend of mine let me have like half of this site and I get to put whatever I want on it, and he does practically all the work! all I have to do is keep it updated. Easy right? So if anyone has information they would like to contribute please e-mail me or post it on the forum @ nvllrc.org, theres just an article I wrote and a bunch of relevent links at the bottom so far. I have lots of time to keep it up to date and will put whatever you guys want on there!!! I put that AO-51 pdf on there. Anyway, if you guys arent against the new and young guys. I am trying to make it so people dont make the same mistakes I did, like cloggin up the passes with calls when I had no ears. Stuff like that. You know the way you guys want it done not just guesswork and trial and error. So not that anyone will do it but at least there will be one site with usefull info and you dont half to go through old posts, or ask for new post and whatever please help!! Still excited, Kevin KF7MYK

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International Space Station
by Ted 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

I thought this link was interesting Space Station Look at what happened from 1998 until 2008. In just ten years it has grown and grown. Watch the pieces come together as they are sent up from Earth. This is the International Space Station (ISS) Assembly diagram, piece by piece. I had no idea the Space Station had grown to this size. <http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm> click here

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TLE's for new satellites
by Bob Bruninga 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

RAX, OREOS, NANOSail-D, I feel dumb asking this, 1) Because we see these questions everyday here and I ignore them all 2) I assume they just have not looked on celestrack But now I went to get TLE's for the recent launches and I'm getting nothing. AMSAT web pages have nothing on them. CELESTRAK has nothing. Or I can't find them. I've spent 2 days getting ready for a student lab searching for individual pages (if you can find them). But it seems to be extraordinary that people with satellite pages: Never put the object number RIGHT UP FRONT once they are launched. Some (FAST-1 and FAST2) list TLE's with object numbers in the 90xxx range which I assumed were just pre-launch predictions. Then I have to cut and paste and fight all the checksum problems. For decades, I have always just gone to CELESTRAK and everything was there. Clearly I'm having a brain freeze. STK even has no satellites in its database above 36xxx. What happened while I was asleep? Thanks Bob

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Re: Yaesu 530
by Tyler Nicholas 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi Zach, I found my FT-530 on QTH.com and it had a charger and a battery with it. There's one on eBay right now that looks to be ok. I would just watch eBay, QRZ, QTH, and eham for some to pop up. The FT-530 has a good receiver and hears great when you are transmitting on 2m. Another feature that makes satellite operation on the FT-530 a breeze is the sub tune feature. It allows you to leave 70cm as the active band for tuning with the VFO while the PTT button transmits on the 2m side. This makes things so easy because you never have to switch bands back and fourth all the time to adjust your downlink frequency. Tyler Nicholas K5TDN Sent from my iPhone On Jan 27, 2011, at 9:03 AM, zach hillerson <qstick333(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Thanks for your response to my query regarding duplex vs. 2 ht. I agree with you that a singular, well performing duplex ht is ideal. If I could find a used duplex I would much prefer that to spending $500 on a new Kenwood. I'm wondering where you managed to find your Yaesu 530? Do you think posting a WTB on QRZ is a decent way to go about looking? > > Finally - is the 530 the preferred duplex ht? > > Thanks for your great post and help, I appreciate it. > > Zach Hillerson > KJ4ZVV > >

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Now that LOTW has caught up with my uploads...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi! It looks like LOTW took about 5 minutes or so after I shut down last night to get the rest of my uploads processed. The numbers now stand at 9911 QSO records, with 1332 QSLs (13.4% confirmation rate). I also had to adjust the ruleset for my VUCC "account" based on activity in and around Phoenix, since it was picking up at least a couple of QSOs I know would be outside the 200km limit in the VUCC rules. I'm now at 87 grids confirmed for my Phoenix-area activity, based on LOTW QSLs. Not enough for a VUCC application solely on LOTW QSLs, but not bad considering VUCC just became an option through LOTW. I spent almost as much time last night getting the last 2100 QSOs uploaded as I did the other evening working on the larger part of my log, since I had more station locations to define. I made 60 uploads in total last night. Some of those locations only had a handful of QSOs, and a couple had exactly one QSO. I had to redo a couple of uploads, since I fat-fingered the grids for a couple of the station locations (locations at 4-grid intersections - ones that really need to be done carefully). I also found that I had to upload some QSO records again, so I could have a station's call with "/P" after it. I expect this will probably be the main reason I won't see some QSLs; not having the appropriate indicator added to a station's call. This is not a big deal, as I can make a new QSO record and quickly go through the process to upload the additional record. If you think there should be QSLs with any of my calls that you are not seeing, please e-mail me directly so we can take a look at specific instances. Once SO-67 is supported by LOTW, I can upload those QSOs. Then my complete satellite log will be there. I will upload my future satellite activity to LOTW periodically, and hope to go through my logs to get 6m activity and possibly other contest logs I have in electronic form up there. And, soon, save enough pesos to make my initial satellite VUCC application, plus a lunch for my friendly card checker as he goes through all of those cards. :-) 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: W6RO QSL & VUCC
by John Papay 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Jeff, Here's the VUCC rule on the grid square: 7(b) For the convenience of the Awards Manager in checking cards, applicants may indicate in pencil (pencil ONLY) the grid locator on the address side of the cards that DO NOT clearly indicate the grid locator. The applicant affirms that he/she has accurately determined the proper location from the address information given on the card by signing the affirmation statement on the application. For more proof, you can simply use qrz.com. In the case of W6RO, it does not show the actual location of the ship but you can do so by using the google map for grids and find the ship on the satellite view. This will spot the lat/long and translate into a grid square. You only have to certify that you have determined the correct grid square; you don't have to prove it to the card checker. It's always good to go right to the rules when there is any question. Don't assume that the card checker always knows them. You will find that you will get other cards over time that don't have the grid square on them. Simply determine what the grid square is and follow the rule above. It's always a good idea to print out the VUCC rules and take a copy with you when you get your cards checked. 73, John K8YSE

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ND9M/MM Voyage - VQ9-W4 via Panama
by Clary, James T, Civilian 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Greetings from the Indian Ocean! My merchant marine ship is enroute from Diego Garcia (grid MI62) to Charleston, SC (FM03) and is taking the Pacific route this time. I've got the FT897D and FT817ND with the Arrow-2 with me, and I'll be QRV from quite a few wet grids along the way. Unfortunately, my XYL Cori isn't along for the ride; she's at home recovering from shoulder surgery and getting ready for our next road trip. The grid fields that I expect to travel through while enroute to the Left Coast and hopefully operate from include: MI, NI, OI, OJ, PJ, PK, QK (24 hours at Guam), QL, RL, RM, AM, BM, CM. and DM. My job is seven days a week for four months straight, which is why I get long vacations for those long road trips! The downside is that I have to miss passes that occur during the normal daytime working hours. I can sometimes get away at key pass times, so AO27 and HO68 (when it's QRV again) are possible, but can't be predicted. Another downside is that with an easterly voyage of this length, we'll be going through a lot of time zones. (We're currently at GMT +6.) We'll go through 10 time zones before we hit the USA, and at an average of a time zone every three days (and losing an hour of sleep each time as well as gain a day somewhere along the line), the body will start to adjust to the new time just when we have to set clocks ahead again. It's going to get old very fast! The majority of passes that I'll be on will be in the late afternoon and early evening, so AO51, FO29, and AO7 Mode B will be the focus. Early morning AO7 passes will occasionally be on the plate too. Likewise, I should be on late evening VO52 passes but likely only once we've crossed the Int'l Date Line into the eastern Pacific. I have to set up on the ship's helicopter deck that normally has no lighting and isn't patrolled. The ship is very, very safe, but since we're at sea, I have to pay extra attention to wherever I am outside on the decks especially after dark. My LED headband lamp up gives me pretty good light up there, but it would be way too easy to disappear over the railing, and it's a big ocean! We'll be off the coast of southern California by the end of February and should be there for about 10 days before we resume our voyage towards Charleston. Our route will then take us through the Panama Canal and northward around Cuba towards Jacksonville (EM90) for another stop at the end of March; after a week or so there, we'll finish the trip with a quick run to Charleston where I'll sign off the ship in April. Cori will meet me at the ship, and we'll head home to Panama City, Florida. I've applied for my IARP permit for Panama so that, barring unforeseen regulations, I'll be able to operate whatever passes occur as we transit the Canal. It's way too early to know if we'll actually stop at Panama, but I'll be ready with the gear to operate from the country itself for those who need DXCC credit. I'm cut off from the internet for the next three months, so I will not have access to my regular AOL e-mail account. Any queries or sked suggestions should be sent to me at the following shipboard address for now: james.t.clary.civ(at)msc.navy.mil. The address obviously has a lot of dots, but they have to be in there to get through. As always, I'll send regular updates on my trip's progress to the BB. CU on the birds! 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid NI02

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WD9EWK LOTW uploading - finished!
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi! I just finished uploading my satellite QSOs into LOTW. Except for any SO-67 QSOs, they are now all in LOTW. The server is still processing a few of my uploads with over 600 QSOs remaining, but it now has 9277 of mine. Of those, 1230 are QSLs, a confirmation rate of 13.2%. My "VUCC account" in LOTW for my WD9EWK activity in and around Phoenix shows 96 grids confirmed. If a few more QSLs can be had from the remaining uploads LOTW still needs to process, I may have enough to use LOTW for my initial satellite VUCC application. I'll take a look in the morning, to (hopefully) see that the rest of my uploads have been processed. At one point in the past hour, I received a strange error message in my browser when trying to see my LOTW activity. Too many users - after midnight local time (0700 UTC)! Oh well.... Time for bed. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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