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

Re: Ham Radios on Cruises
by Clint Bradford 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

Yes, your cruise line (and others) specifically prohibits ham gear ... http://tinyurl.com/no-ham-rccl Personally, my wife and I found it difficult to find much spare time on our week-long cruise from Vancouver to Alaska ... Maybe because it was our first cruise ... I imagined relaxing and reclining on deck in a chaise lounge, reading ... that NEVER happened ... (grin) I would approach your travel agent. He/she know the right people to contact for such requests. Ours got some "magic" done for us, and we were very appreciative. Clint Bradford, K6LCS Cruise pics - http://tinyurl.com/k6lcs-cruise

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Canary Islands ARISS Contact
by JoAnne Maenpaa 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Hello Everyone, This message arrived in the AMSAT News Service mailbox. I'm sending it out today because waiting for the weekend news cycle will make it late. ----- Dear AMSAT friends, Next Thursday 3rd of March at 14:17 UTC we will be performing the first ARISS contact ever performed from the Canary Islands. In order to commemorate this event we are going to provide HD broadcast of the event through our website http://www.isscontact.eu. We think this could be of interest for hams and fans of the ISS all around the world, so we would be very grateful if you could help us spread this information to as many people as possible. We would like to thank you also for all the excellent information available at your website, which has been of great help during the almost year and a half of preparation time needed for this contact. Kind regards, Javier Perez - EA8CRA/EG8ISS Contact Coordinator for the IDeTIC ARISS ISS Contact -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service

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help with amp design
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Hi All The CAPE team is design a 3.8 volt 2 watt amp and could use some help. If you can help please contact me. Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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AO-51 Schedule revised, updates--no S-band yet!
by Mark L. Hammond 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Hi All, Helpful reports from users (about the transmitters turning OFF) and telemetry confirm that AO-51 is still seeing a few minutes of "darkness" every orbit. There isn't sufficient sun to allow us to turn the S-mode transmitter on yet. Drats. The current mode will continue until either 1) we have clear telemetry and we can run a day of S-band -OR- 2) we make the mode change to normal (V/U voice repeater and L/U Pacsat BBS) on March 4. 73, Mark N8MH _______________________ AO-51 Revised schedule: Feb 28 Dual Voice Repeaters : Mode V/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink 435.300 MHz FM Mode L/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 1268.703 MHz FM Downlink 435.150 MHz FM Mode change-To Be Determined! Mode V/S Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM Downlink 2401.200 MHz FM March 4 (~0945 UTC) Mode V/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink 435.300 MHz FM Mode L/U PacSat BBS Uplink: 1268.703 MHz FSK 9k6 baud Downlink 435.150 MHz FSK 9k6 baud March 6 (~2115 UTC) Mode L/SU FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 1268.703 MHz FM Downlink1 2401.200 MHz FM Downlink2 435.300 MHz FM (low power) March 11 (~1000 UTC) [Eclipses return around March 12/13] Mode V/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink 435.300 MHz FM Mode L/U PacSat BBS Uplink: 1268.703 MHz 9k6 baud Downlink 435.150 MHz 9k6 baud

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fo-29
by Kevin Deane 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

so I know you all will laugh at me but what inverting means lsb down usb up is this correct

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LAST Call for Papers: 15th Annual SVHFS Conference Huntsville, AL
by Robin Midgett 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Last call for the 2011 SVHFS Conference Papers. They are to be received by March 11th. Please send to N2CEI, Steve Kostro at SVHFS2011(a)downeastmicrowave.com. We have one or two more presentation slots open so if you would like to make one, (published paper not required! ) please contact Steve. So far we have some great material to be published and some informative presentation to be made but there is always room for more! Join in the fun, jot something down for the proceedings and put a simple 5-10 min. presentation together for us to see! Deadline for hotel reservations is March 29, at last report there were only a few rooms left in our block and there are a number of other functions scheduled for Huntsville during conference weekend. Don't get caught without a room. A link for hotel reservations can be found on the conference page at www.svhfs.org. The registration form will be posted on the same page soon. The Southeastern VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers and presentations for the upcoming 15th annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference to be held in Huntsville, Alabama on April 29th and 30th, 2011. Papers and presentations are solicited on both the technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak signal amateur radio. Time slots for Presentations are limited but all papers will be considered. Some suggested areas of interest are: Transmitters Receivers Transverters RF Power Amplifiers RF Low Noise Pre Amplifiers Antennas Construction Projects Test Equipment And Station Accessories Station Design And Construction Contesting Roving DXpeditions EME Propagation (Sporadic E, Meteor Scatter, Troposphere Ducting, etc.) Digital Modes (WSJT, etc.) Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Software Defined Radio (SDR) Amateur Satellites Amateur Television In general papers and presentations on non weak signal related topics such as FM repeaters and packet will not be accepted but exceptions may be made if the topic is related to weak signal. For example, a paper or presentation on the use of APRS to track rovers during contests would be considered. The Technical committee this year is K4IDC, Robin Midgett and N2CEI, Steve Kostro. Contact Steve Kostro, SVHFS2011 AT downeastmicrowave DOT com as soon as possible if you wish to make a presentation. There is limited presentation time left in the schedule. Submissions for presentation at the conference should be in PowerPoint (.ppt) format, and delivered in person at the conference to Robin Midgett on either a USB memory stick or CDROM or posted for download on a web site of your choice. Notify or adress Robin with any other AVA questions at K4IDC AT Comcast DOT net. Papers may be submitted and published without presentation. Deadline for the submission of papers is March 11, 2011. All submissions for the proceedings should be in Microsoft Word (.doc). Pages are 8 and 1/2 by 11 inches with a 1 inch margin on the bottom and ¾ inch margin on the other three sides. All text, drawings, photos, etc. should be black and white only (no color). For further information and updates about the conference please go to www.svhfs.org Thank you, Robin Midgett K4IDC 2011 Conference Program Co-Chair, SVHFS

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ND9M/MM Op Sked - 28 Feb
by Clary, James T, Civilian 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Here is my planned schedule for 28 Feb and the grids I expect to be in: AO27 - 28/2041Z - CM65 - approx turn on time AO51 - 01/0112Z - CM64 or CM74 AO7 - 01/0222Z - CM74 VO52 - 01/0320Z - CM74 SO67 - 01/0420Z - CM74 VO52 - 01/0453Z - CM74 FO29 - 01/1059Z - CM84 These passes occur during the business day. Now that we're approaching our West Coast destination in DM13, the ship's own op sked is ramping up, so these passes will be the first to go. I'll get in whatever passes I can. SO67 - 28/1612Z - CM54 VO52 - 28/1628Z - CM54 VO52 - 28/1803Z - CM54 or CM64 AO27 - 28/2222Z - CM64 - approx turn on time FO29 - 28/2311Z - CM64 AO51 - 28/2334Z - CM64 AO7 - 01/0032Z - CM64 - Likely 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid CM54

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SO67 For the Americas
by Hans 28 Feb '11

28 Feb '11

Hi all Schedule for this week 28 Feb - 6 March now on www.amsatsa.org.za <http://www.amsatsa.org.za/> Hans ZS6AKV SA AMSAT

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ND9M/MM: VO52 - CM45
by Clary, James T, Civilian 27 Feb '11

27 Feb '11

Sorry for the short notice, but last night when I wrote up my op sked for today, I overlooked a VO52 pass that will rise locally at 28/0436Z. I'll be in the center of the band from CM45. I'll post tomorrow's op sked later. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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Revised schedule AO-51 Feb-March 2011
by Mark L. Hammond 27 Feb '11

27 Feb '11

As suspected, we're changing the schedule (due to a lack of full sun and to support the school contacts previously arranged in Alaska). The current schedule is below. We may need to adjust again; changes will be communicated at the AO-51 website and here. AO-51 Mode Change Schedule February 21 (~2145 UTC) [Eclipses should end around Feb. 24/25] Dual Voice Repeaters : Mode V/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink 435.300 MHz FM Mode L/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 1268.703 MHz FM Downlink 435.150 MHz FM March 1 (~1005 UTC) Mode V/S Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM Downlink 2401.200 MHz FM March 4 (~0945 UTC) Mode V/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink 435.300 MHz FM Mode L/U PacSat BBS Uplink: 1268.703 MHz FSK 9k6 baud Downlink 435.150 MHz FSK 9k6 baud March 6 (~2115 UTC) Mode L/SU FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 1268.703 MHz FM Downlink1 2401.200 MHz FM Downlink2 435.300 MHz FM (low power) March 11 (~1000 UTC) [Eclipses return around March 12/13] Mode V/U FM Voice Repeater (no PL tone needed) Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink 435.300 MHz FM Mode L/U PacSat BBS Uplink: 1268.703 MHz 9k6 baud Downlink 435.150 MHz 9k6 baud As always, command stations may need to reconfigure modes in order to collect telemetry as needed. Remember that power management may be running, and the transmitter(s) will shut OFF during periods of eclipse and/or low battery voltage. 73, Mark N8MH AO-51 Command Team Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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