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

Re: FASTRAC 1 Digipeating?
by Keith O'Brien 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

Clayton Coleman W5PFG wrote: Anyone else try to send packets via FASTRAC 1 on the most recent two passes late evening over North America? I only received the CW beacon and one burst of telemetry on each of the two passes over East Texas. I did notice on the first pass that my Keplerian elements were off by a little bit but had corrected it in time for the second pass around 05:15 UTC 3-12-2011. I tried both 1200 and 9600 packet to no avail. 73 Clayton W5PFG Shortly after I read the announcement on Thursday that FAST1 (AKA Sara Lilly) was going to be put into the Digipeat mode, I plugged it into Satpc32 and saw where I had a pass in 10 minutes for about 10 minutes. Here is what I was able to get through and copy with 1200 baud packet on that December 1 pass around 14:50 UTC. 145.825 up and 437.345 down +- Doppler... Fm N4ZQ To APRS Via FAST1 <UI pid=F0 Len=68 >[09:50:19] =2803.56N/08246.28W`UISS-AGWPE-ORBITRON & UISS-ORB SOFTWARE {UISS52} Fm N4ZQ To APRS Via FAST1* <UI pid=F0 Len=68 >[09:50:21] =2803.56N/08246.28W`UISS-AGWPE-ORBITRON & UISS-ORB SOFTWARE {UISS52} Fm N4ZQ To APRS Via FAST1 <UI pid=F0 Len=68 >[09:50:33] =2803.56N/08246.28W`UISS-AGWPE-ORBITRON & UISS-ORB SOFTWARE {UISS52} Fm N4ZQ To APRS Via FAST1* <UI pid=F0 Len=68 >[09:50:36] =2803.56N/08246.28W`UISS-AGWPE-ORBITRON & UISS-ORB SOFTWARE {UISS52} Fm N4ZQ To APRS Via FAST1 <UI pid=F0 Len=68 >[09:50:48] =2803.56N/08246.28W`UISS-AGWPE-ORBITRON & UISS-ORB SOFTWARE {UISS52} Fm FAST1 To KE5DTW <UA >[09:50:56] Fm FAST1 To KE5DTW <I R0 S0 pid=F0 Len=34 >[09:50:56] FAST1 Is Now Connected. GO HORNS! Fm FAST1 To KE5DTW <I R0 S0 pid=F0 Len=34 >[09:51:01] FAST1 Is Now Connected. GO HORNS! Fm FAST1 To KE5DTW <I R0 S1 pid=F0 Len=7 >[09:51:01] fast1> .............. That's all she wrote... . Haven't been able to Digi through it since. Only a few telemetry frames have been copied to date. Maybe the battery was depleted enough to cause the reset they were looking for.. To bad we couldn't swap AO-51 batteries with them... Keith N4ZQ

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FASTRAC 1 Digipeating?
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

Anyone else try to send packets via FASTRAC 1 on the most recent two passes late evening over North America? I only received the CW beacon and one burst of telemetry on each of the two passes over East Texas. I did notice on the first pass that my Keplerian elements were off by a little bit but had corrected it in time for the second pass around 05:15 UTC 3-12-2011. I tried both 1200 and 9600 packet to no avail. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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HEO history question
by John Geiger 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

Back in late 1997 or early 1998 I was using a Kenwood TR9130 on 2m SSB. One morning I was tuning from the FM to the SSB portion of the band, and heard a station just below 146mhz. I tuned them in, and it was a station from Wales! Obviously going thru a satellite as the 2 meter conditions weren't that good that morning. I am now wondering what satellite it probably was. Hearing it was enough to motivate me to eventually get into satellite operations-that took a few years though. Anyways, what satellite was I probably hearing? I am guessing AO10 or AO13 but were they operational at that time? 73s John AA5JG

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ESA Ends Attempts To Communicate With Phobos-Grunt
by B J 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMNEO2XFVG_0.html http://www.spacenews.com/civil/111202-esa-abandons-mars-probe.html http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/02phobosgrunt/ http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/awx/2011/12/02/awx… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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TS2000 Downconverter mounted on Tower
by John Papay 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

The suggestion to mount the converter on the tower near the antenna might have some good results, however, there are two problems. The first is that you will need two coax relays or a transfer switch up on the tower to switch the converter in and out of the circuit. Then you have the potential to transmit into the converter when you are uplinking on uhf if you forget to switch the relay. When you mount the converter in the shack, you can use an inexpensive coax switch. You could use a single relay with two feedlines. One would be for the converter output which goes to the rx aux ant jack. That line could be lossy since the converter has some gain and the 10 meter output will be attenuated less than at UHF. The other would be your best coax and would connect to the type N port on the TS2000. This would prevent any possibility of transmitting into the converter. In other words, the antenna would be switched to the converter input or directly to the TS2000 Type N connector. The second problem is that when you have electronics with frequency determining elements (crystal oscillators) mounted outside, temperature variations will cause drift. Having the converter inside stabilizes the temperature and the converter doesn't drift. Mounting electronics outside also requires special attention to keeping things dry. It's just a lot easier to keep things inside and use good quality coax. Heliax is often available at prices not much greater than LMR400 etc. If sealed up, it will last a lifetime. 73, John K8YSE

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Re: HEO history question
by k6yk 03 Dec '11

03 Dec '11

I think AO-13 was gone by 1997. I made lots of European QSO's on AO-10 in that time frame. 73, John, K6YK On Fri, 2 Dec 2011 17:23:18 -0500 "George and Cheryl Abbott" <ka1ajf(a)cox.net> writes: > My guess would be AO13.If you have the exact date and time you may be > able > to determine which satellite it was by using an old computer and the > > original Quiktrack program.73,George W1GMA > > -----Original Message----- > From: i8cvs > Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 4:47 PM > To: John Geiger ; AMSAT-BB > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: HEO history question > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Geiger" <aa5jg(a)fidmail.com> > To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 8:58 PM > Subject: [amsat-bb] HEO history question > > > Back in late 1997 or early 1998 I was using a Kenwood TR9130 on 2m > SSB. > > One morning I was tuning from the FM to the SSB portion of the > band, and > > heard a station just below 146mhz. I tuned them in, and it was a > station > > from Wales! Obviously going thru a satellite as the 2 meter > conditions > > weren't that good that morning. I am now wondering what satellite > it > > probably was. Hearing it was enough to motivate me to eventually > get into > > satellite operations-that took a few years though. > > > > Anyways, what satellite was I probably hearing? I am guessing > AO10 or > > AO13 but were they operational at that time? > > > > 73s John AA5JG > > Hi John, AA5JG > > OSCAR-10 was launched in 1983 and it started to get problems with > the > main computer in 1986 > > OSCAR-13 was launched in 1988 and reientered because of drag in > 1996 > > Between 1997 or early 1998 OSCAR-10 was operating time to time > with > low level signals in Mode-B, 2 meters downlink while OSCAR-13 was > died. > > If you are sure about the time of your reception back in late 1997 > or early > 1998 I guess that probably you was hearing or OSCAR-10 or mostly > RS-12 > a powerful LEO satellite in Mode-KT with uplink in 15 meters and > downlink > in two bands at the same time i.e.10 meters in the Mode-K and 2 > meters in > Mode-T exactly from 145.907 to 145.953 MHz > > BTW at that time 23 april 1996 OSCAR-10 was still well operational > in > Mode-B because I have the QSL card from i8KRO for a QSO made > through > two satellites OSCAR-10 and RS-12 > > The uplink on RS-12 for i8KRO was in 21 MHz and the uplink for me > on OSCAR-10 was in 435 MHz while the downlink for both of us was > in 145 MHz > > Nice to remember ! > > 73" de > > i8CVS Domenico > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4ed97a9e35b1a71dcc8st06vuc

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AO-51 end of mission
by Andrew Glasbrenner 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

It is with a heavy heart I report that AO-51 has ceased transmission and is not responding to commands. The last telemetry data indicated that the third of six batteries was approaching failure to short, and observations indicate the voltage from three cells is insufficient to power the UHF transmitters. The IHU may continue to be operative. Initial tests with the S band transmitter were also not positive, although more attempts are in order. We have tried leaving the satellite in an expected state where if voltages climb high enough, the 435.150 transmitter may possibly be heard. The command team will regularly attempt communications with the satellite over the coming months (and years). There is always the possibility that a cell will open and we could once again talk to our friend while illuminated. Thanks to all who helped fund, design, build, launch, command, and operate AO-51. It's 7 year mission has been extraordinary. Please support AMSAT's Fox-1 project, and other AMSAT projects worldwide with your time and money. For the AO-51 Command Team, 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations

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Re: FASTRAC Digipeating Announcement
by Mike Rupprecht (mobile) 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

See here: fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/for_radio_operators/users/phpBB3/predictedorbit.php 73 Mike DK3WN ----- Ursprüngliche Nachricht ----- Von: Trevor . <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 1. Dezember 2011 19:49 An: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Betreff: [amsat-bb] Re: FASTRAC Digipeating Announcement Are there any online websites that provide orbital predictions for FASTRAC 1 ? I couldn't find it at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/ and www.n2yo.com lists it but doesn't provide tracking. 73 Trevor M5AKA _______________________________________________ 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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Re: NASA: Nanosail-D Mission Complete
by Mike Rupprecht (mobile) 01 Dec '11

01 Dec '11

... just wondering why this messages comes so late. 73 Mike DK3WN ----- Ursprüngliche Nachricht ----- Von: Trevor . <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 1. Dezember 2011 14:57 An: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Betreff: [amsat-bb] NASA: Nanosail-D Mission Complete See NASA's Nanosail-D 'Sails' Home -- Mission Complete http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/11-148.html 73 Trevor M5AKA _______________________________________________ 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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TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
by John Papay 01 Dec '11

01 Dec '11

As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in front of the radio. At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The problem was that those radios were not computer controlled so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, but they evolved into some better designs including their UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand was no longer there, these products were abandoned. I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly better sensitivity than the TS2000! The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 unattended and make all those recordings without any human intervention. A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on UHF, currently not working). Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use a uhf mobile for receive on AO-27 and SO-50 since I'm in front of the radio and don't run it unattended. I have a coax switch to switch the UHF antenna from the TS2000 to the UHF mobile. Now that AO-51 is silent, all of the FM operation is on SO-50 and AO-27. If you have a TS2000, you'll want to investigate the use of a downconverter. 73, John K8YSE

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