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

Re: Intro to Satellite Presentation
by Dale Hershberger 01 Apr '11

01 Apr '11

On 3/31/2011 10:33 AM, Dale Hershberger wrote: > Myself, Dale/KL7XJ, Dan O'Barr/KL7DR and Craig/KL4E will be giving a > Satellite presentation > at the monthly meeting of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club on Friday > April 1st. Meeting will > be in the in the Carr-Gottsein building at Alaska Pacific University, > Anchorage, Alaska. > > I will give a intro to satellite ppt, Dan and Craig will help. We > will try a real demo but the > only two sats will be SO67 and HO68. HO68 shows as being down even > though it is scheduled to be on over the Americas for two weeks > starting Mar 30. Our best try will be the SO67 pass. > > HO68 AOS at 1956 Local/0356 UTC > SO67 AOS at 2110 Local/0510 UTC > > Hope to make some contacts... > Thanks for listening. > > Dale/KL7XJ > Area Coordinator-Alaska > I have corrections to make on my previous post. It looks like there will be two passes on SO67 only. HO68 will not be on and SO67 will be on during passes according their schedule and it is the satellite that will be on over the Americas. SO-67 AOS 1938 Local / 0338 UTC SO-67 AOS 2110 Local / 0510 UTC Will have to see if we can both or only one. It all depends on the meeting schedule. Thanks to Mark for info on the corrections. 73, Dale/KL7XJ

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Intro to Satellite Presentation
by Dale Hershberger 01 Apr '11

01 Apr '11

Myself, Dale/KL7XJ, Dan O'Barr/KL7DR and Craig/KL4E will be giving a Satellite presentation at the monthly meeting of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club on Friday April 1st. Meeting will be in the in the Carr-Gottsein building at Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, Alaska. I will give a intro to satellite ppt, Dan and Craig will help. We will try a real demo but the only two sats will be SO67 and HO68. HO68 shows as being down even though it is scheduled to be on over the Americas for two weeks starting Mar 30. Our best try will be the SO67 pass. HO68 AOS at 1956 Local/0356 UTC SO67 AOS at 2110 Local/0510 UTC Hope to make some contacts... Thanks for listening. Dale/KL7XJ Area Coordinator-Alaska

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Re: -={Echo Madness}=-
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

There is only ONE WAY to stop the mess on AO51. Turn it off and let Drew turn it on when he wants to make a sked with someone . He caused me to miss a grid contact Sunday when he changed the TX freq in the middle of a pass . He was wrong in doing that. AO51 is out of control. If an operator needs to be contacted by email and have proper operation explaned to them ,let KO4MA do it. We can type these usless messages here till we all get blisters on our fingers and it will not make any difference. Alot of the people who are causing the mess dont even use the Amsat BB . WA4HFN Damon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger Kolakowski" <Rogerkola(a)aol.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 3:03:02 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: -={Echo Madness}=- Not directed at the authors, but in listening to the recording of that pass, I think it could have easily done without the multiple CQ's along with the whistling and blowing into the mike...eliminate those bad habits first and then working on not interrupting quick, 4 transmission exchanges and trying to keep transmissions short would result in a much less chaotic atmosphere, even without running full duplex. Roger WA1KAT Zachary Beougher wrote: > Hello Kevin and group, > > >> Back to the point, please let me know if you think I >> need any correcting, I would rather help not hinder. >> I really enjoy this HOBBY, but I dont know if there is >> a solution... >> > > At this stage in the game, there really is no solution per say. When there > is 30-40 > guys on ONE frequency trying to make QSOs, what else can we expect? _______________________________________________ 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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More Echo Madness
by K5OE 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

Please allow a little perspective on AO-51 from someone who has worked it for a long time and from all over the world. I left the USA in late 2003 for a work assignment in Darwin, NT (Australia as VK8OE), where I talked to myself for over a year on AO-51 mode L/S (I took my AO-40 setup and it died before I could work it as DX). I did the same thing on ISS packet, having great keyboard QSO's with myself. The only sat contacts I ever made while VK8OE was on AO-51 in mode V/U FM (mobile while at work) with a few ops on the other side of the continent (VK5ZAI, VK3FGN, VK2TU, VK2TRF, et al). Ditto in the UK (M0GOE), where every pass sounds like the one from last weekend--or worse. I gave up working FM satellites for several years while in Europe--and I had an Arrow! The only operating time on sats I had for a number of years was a Mexican cruise in 2007 where 100% of the succesful contacts were on AO-51. I am repeating that cruise in two weeks and hope to work a few of you on this venerable bird. I spent most of last year in Papua New Guinea (V29OE) and the only satellite traffic I ever heard was on AO-51 V/U FM (VK's of course). I never completed a QSO as I just could not make it with a bad battery in my FT51R (less than a Watt) and a whip antenna. Sorry for the rambling.... the bottom line is birds like AO-51 are a great resource to us and finding ways to manage them for everyone's benefit is a challenge. They are a priviledge to work, not a right. Control of them is not a democracy. And regardless if you consider this a casual interest or a seriously competitive sport, it is still just a hobby. The thing that really annoys me, though, is that I saw Drew's posting, I wrote down the new uplink frequency, I had it in front of me on a sticky note, and I still didn't connect the dots when I couldn't hear myself in the downlink! I deserved to miss that grid :-) 73, Jerry, K5OE

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Re: soldering iron recommendation
by Lowell White 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

Hi Zach, You might find either a 'regular' or average sized soldering gun to be of use, or a 40W-50W iron, mainly depending on the size of wire / connector you plan to typically work on. Soldering guns typically will have a higher wattage rating and a larger surface contact area, lending them to better handle heating of, say, the shell of a PL-259. An iron is better suited for smaller or lower power (i.e. more sensitive to heat) applications. Various tips can be had on irons also to help suit them to the work to be done. The most common are round tips or chisel points. Weller is probably the best known and distrubuted brand of the consumer brands. A local hardware store or some hobby stores would be likely to carry them as well as might big box stores. Kind regards & 73, Lowell K9LDW ------ Original Message ------ Received: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:33:15 PM CDT From: zach hillerson <qstick333(a)yahoo.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] soldering iron recommendation > A bit off topic - I am hoping to get better at making cables and dipoles etc... and would like to replace the antiquated soldering iron I am attempting to use with something more suited to the job. I'd appreciate a recommendation as to brands/models I should be looking at for this type of work. I'm not sure what wattage would be appropriate. I do not plan to do circuit work at this time, strictly connectors and HF dipoles. > > Thanks! > > Zach > N4ERZ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Fm Birds
by Giacobbe Lauser 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

Just so everyone knows, I find all of this utter ridiculous; and while I disagree with all of the folks who say "this is just a hobby" (since many of us are also commercial operators and heavily involved in ARES/RACES, etc. as certified emergency radio operators), I do believe that some civility is in order. Rather than complain incessantly though, I'm just going to get off the birds altogether. I'm thinking of selling my FT-60R, my Elk antenna, and my digital recorder and moseying on down the bands. I really prefer HF DX and contesting anyway, but satellite was fun while it lasted... I do hope you're all able to sort this mess out though. It's really seeming petty from the outside, and I know most of us don't like infighting like this. Good luck! I'm out.... - Jake, K3UAZ

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soldering iron recommendation
by zach hillerson 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

A bit off topic - I am hoping to get better at making cables and dipoles etc... and would like to replace the antiquated soldering iron I am attempting to use with something more suited to the job. I'd appreciate a recommendation as to brands/models I should be looking at for this type of work. I'm not sure what wattage would be appropriate. I do not plan to do circuit work at this time, strictly connectors and HF dipoles. Thanks! Zach N4ERZ

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HudsonValleySatcomGroupNetMarch31@800PMEDT Echolink N2EYH-L node 429079
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

It is time again for the HVSCG Net at 8 PM on Echolink N2EYH-L and the MT beacon Repeater 146.970 pl 100. Please join us for the net and share your satellite knowledge and talk about any contacts you have made on the birds. An Amsat coordinator or two will be there to answer any questions you may have. Hope to hear you there.

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Subscribers
by Kevin Deane 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

I mentioned this BB to a fellow Sat user and he has joined. I think everyone should, I have found this a very usefull source of information. Plus you can reply to certain users without posting to everyone which I think is nice. Except of course when you hit the wrong button. Anyway seems some of the other forums are stale, year + old post and all. I saw mentioned here about not everyone reading this BB so I thought I would spread the word. This is a good thing right? Kevin KF7MYK

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ZF2AE/ZF8 will be QRV from FK09
by Adrian Engele 31 Mar '11

31 Mar '11

OK, here is the game plan. I will be making a special trip over to FK09 today. I plan to be on during 1900 UTC through 2300 UTC today only!!! I hope to get on: AO27 at 19:06 UTC FO-29 at 21:03 UTC AO-51 at 21:11 UTC Please, please, please be patient and listen, listen, listen. This makes it easier on this operator and I can work more stations efficiently as was done yesterday. 73, Adrian AA5UK - ZF2AE/ZF8 EK99xp > FK09 later today

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