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

Re: PCSAT32 Question
by David Palmer 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

> I have been trying to get familiar with PCSAT32. I was a bit confused today. > I tried switching from EST to UTC on my computer and I assumed everything > would remain the same as far as satellite positions on the map etc. When I > did change the time everything changed why is this? Where should I leave the > time for correct satellite positions etc? Hi Mike, Also be sure you restart the software and/or computer when making changes like this -- I have found with a number of programs that a simple restart is all that's required to get things acting normally again. Personally, on my home PC, I use SATPC32 set in UTC, with the PC set to local time (currently GMT-7 in California here with daylight savings time). However, on my netbook computer that I use for portable ops, I use SATPC32 (also set to UTC) with the computer itself set to UTC also. Both setups work equally well. I actually find it easier to have the software and the computer in UTC time zone (on my netbook), but since my XYL shares the home PC, I have to be accomodating and leave everything in local time (except for SATPC32!). 73 de Dave KB5WIA / CM88

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ND9M Op Sked: Early Tuesday Passes
by Clary, James T, Civilian 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

I'll be on from grid DL34 on the FO29 pass at 15/1209Z and then the AO51 pass that follows immediately afterward at 15/1227Z. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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FW: Re: The Moon is our Future
by Dave 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

We have met the enemy and they are us. WE need to do something. Yes, $15m is outta reach, but isn't there a cash prize for the first on-commercial moon landing? Dave DM78qd // KA0SWT If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners.-- Johnny Carson +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Davis Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 9:35 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: The Moon is our Future On Thu, Jul 02, 2009 at 06:48:51AM -0600, Jack K. wrote: > communications anyway) and move forward... We can put up all the leos > we want, but until someone makes something like B. Bruninga's cell > concept work, we are only going to have more of the same, We don't > need more of the same! I couldn't agree more - we don't need more of the same. If I want to sit back and have a two hour rag-chew with someone on the other side of the planet I will use Skype or my cell phone! Dreaming about what *might* be in space is a fun exercise. Actually doing something about it requires sending things to LEO because reality has dictated that's as far as we can afford to go. How's about we use some of that frustrated *imagineering* to come up with interesting new concepts at LEO? We don't need any more FM repeaters buzzing overhead, but what about more cameras downloading HD images, scientific payloads that monitor the ongoing climate change, payloads to study the Earth's magnetic field, etc. etc. Our own 'Twitter' messaging network from space...? The Apollo 13 creed of "failure is not an option" has completely infected the brains at AMSAT and this list. You want something at HEO or on the moon, cut a check for $15 million dollars and let's get on with it. Been waiting since 1996 for another AO-13 and I am getting too old to keep waiting. AMSAT is becoming completely irrelevant as it strives without success for the impossible mission and exhibits a shocking amount of leadership malfesance as it stubbornly refuses to recognize and adapt to realities in the launch business. I know, I know maybe NEXT year someone rich will die and leave us a boatload of cash. Or the bankrupt US government will suddenly cough up a billion dollars for some orbiting emergency communication system. In the meantime we have to stifle the truth because it might blow yet another *secret* deal that's in the works and *almost* a done deal, so let's not complain publicly and ruin it. Heard the stories, heard the lies, got all the t-shirts and ball caps. Whatever. -- Jeff, KE9V AMSAT-NA member since 1994, Skeptic that we will ever go back to HEO since 2002 _______________________________________________ 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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ND9M/MM Op Sked (Partial): Tonight & Tomorrow (15 March GMT)
by Clary, James T, Civilian 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

Here's a partial op sked for tonight's and tomorrow's passes and grids. I'm cutting it short to make the first pass on the list. More info later. Planned VO52 - 15/0245Z - DL26 FO29 - 15/1024Z - DL25 or DL35 (or both!) - we'll probably be in DL35 for an hour or less AO51 - 15/1048Z - DL35 or DL34 (probably) AO7 - 16/0030Z - DL42 Probably VO52 - 15/1752Z - DL33 AO27 - 15/2013Z - DL33 (approx turn on time) AO27 - 15/2146Z - DL33 (approx turn on time) AO51 - 15/2157Z - DL33 FO29* - 15/2328Z - DL33 or DL32 - if still in DL33 AO51* - 15/2331Z - DL33 or DL32 - if in DL32 *Both FO29 and AO51 passes will be directly overhead at my QTH and coincide almost exactly. Since I can't be on both at the same time, I'll be on the one that does the most good. I'll be in Grid DL32 for only a very short time, so if we're in that grid at pass time, I'll be on AO51. Maybe VO52 - 15/0419Z - DL26 SO50 - 15/1334Z - DL34 VO52 - 15/1614Z - DL34 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid DL26

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432 PreAmp
by Jerry 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

I am considering placing a 432 preamp (ARR P432VDG) in the 432 line coming from the splitter on my Arrow. Do I have a danger in the 2M signal overloading this preamp back through the 432 antenna on the Arrow? Hope I've composed this question so that it could be understood. Tnx for any ideas. Jerry K7LY

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QSO XE1-LU/Q on AO7
by Luis Quintas 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

Ramon (XE1KK) and myself (LU6QI) made a QSO on AO7 in SSB Mode B at 11.12 UTC on March 14, 2011 during the orbit #66247. The distance between Ramon’s location (EK09JI) and mine (FF66TQ) is 6816.7 km.

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FASTRAC Separation!
by Sebastian Muñoz 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

All, First of all I wanted to thank the HAM community all over the world for supporting our project, your support has been incredible and we really value. Today, after a few months of initial operations, we started one of the most exciting phases of our project by separating both of our girls so that they can compute on-orbit real-time relative navigation solutions while both of them are freely drifting from one another. We sent the command to separate them at 16:56:11 CDT and over the next few passes we will be checking to confirm their separation. We will continue to update the satellites' TLEs on our website ( http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/for_radio_operators/users/phpBB3/predictedorbi…) if any of you are interested in tracking them. We really appreciate all of your help so far and we hope that we can continue to count on it. Thanks again, 73, Sebastian Munoz (KE5FKV) FASTRAC Student Program Manager -- Sebastian Muñoz Toro Graduate Research Assistant The University of Texas at Austin Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Satellite Design Laboratory email: sebastian_munoz(a)mail.utexas.edu phone: +1 (512) 471-5144 cell: +1 (512) 825-3857

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Re: Using Preamps In Shack
by Joe Leikhim 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

Paul; Check the electrical departments at Home Depot and Lowes for inexpensive plastic boxes made by Carlton. These are fully weatherproof boxes without any knockouts that are excellent for weatherproofing preamplifiers. You will probably need some type N bulkheads that have a long neck so that you can pass through the plastic plus whatever aluminum gauge ground plane you might want to bond your preamps to. I just got through rebuilding a wideband amplifier 25 MHz -1 GHz for my receiver, and I have a second one built at least 12 years ago for 240-270 MHz that although the box is pretty weathered, the electronics inside including a bandpass graph and notes on paper inside, look like new. Absolutely no water intrusion although outside for years. Get a bigger deeper box than you think you need. I used 6x6x5 inch boxes. For this one I used a Polyphazer "pickoff" to extract 15V DC from the coax to run a gasfet preamp and a WJ 28 dB gain T08 amplifier. -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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AO-51 still cannot access
by Vincenzo Mone 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

Hi, Today at about 15:00 pm i had a good pass of AO-51 but as usual i could'nt get in. I've tried during the whole pass to tx on the uplink frequencies moving a bit up and down but nothing to do, i did not get any response. I have tried with two TNC with a TINY-2 and with a TNC3S but had the same result. I saw in the queue for the whole pass OZ7SAT. I would like to know which is the correct frequency to TX. Unfortunately i do not know and also cannot find OZ7SAT's email address so if he read this message can please email me the correct frequency. Any help will be really appreciated. 73's de Enzo IK8OZV Inviato da iPhone

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Re: Is it 100% impossible to work a satellite below thehorizon?
by na2x＠yahoo.com 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

On 3/12/2011 7:25 PM, Bill Dzurilla wrote: > I was giving a presentation at our club meeting called Working > DX on the Satellites and afterwards someone had a good > question: is it at all possible that tropo, skip, or other > form of enhanced propagation can enable a contact via a > satellite below the horizon? > > It has never happened to me. Has it ever happened? > > My memory might be a little fuzzy here. There was an article in the AMSAT Journal back in the early 90's where G3IOR described his contact from the UK into VK/ZL using RS-12. As others have mentioned in this thread, RS-12 using 15 and 10 meters for uplink and downlink, below the horizon contacts were possible. I was able to work KH6 that way from New York. I also worked many European countries out of normal expected range. I seriously doubt that satellites using 2 meters and higher frequencies for uplink/downlink would show much (if any) below the horizon capability. Bob NA2X AMSAT LM #51 since 1974

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