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

More ND9M/MM Videos
by Zachary Beougher 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Hi! Here are a couple other videos of Jim’s ship (well, the ship he is on ;-)). The first is Jim’s ship entering the Gatun Locks, and the second is when he is exiting: Gatun Locks 73! Zack KD8KSN

1 1

A few more ND9M/MM Panama Canal Pics
by David Palmer 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi Everyone, For anyone interested, I posted a few more of the photos of Jim ND9M/MM's ship in the Panama Canal at: http://kb5wia.blogspot.com Managed to get photos of the ship in Miraflores, going under the Centennial Bridge, and leaving the canal at Gatun. 73 de Dave KB5WIA / CM88

2 1

Cushcraft 416-TB
by Howard Kowall 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hello All I acquired a Cushcraft 416-Tb antenna,the so called phasing harness was in bad shape,so I am going to make a new one for it. I could copy the original one,but yes I am making it hard on myself and decide to calculate the proper cable type and length,and to do that I need to know how the antenna actually works.Here is my problem ,the 2 driven elements have a balun to each of the Tmatchs to make the impedance 50 ohms on each driven element.The original phasing harness is 2 piece of 75 ohm aprox 13" that goes to each driven element and the a so239 connector on the other end of the harness is the 50 ohm feedline.I originally thought this was a matching stub,but when I do the calculation for the matching stub,should only be aprox 4" to each driven element.Am I missing something here,how are they able to do this,does anyone know this antenna and how it works. Thanks to all who read and respond in advance Howard VE4ISP

3 3

FAST1 heard over Brasil
by Roland Zurmely 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite.htm#f 73 de Roland.

1 0

WD9EWK @ Tucson AZ hamfest and post-hamfest activity on Saturday (26 March)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi! I will have an AMSAT table at the Radio Society of Tucson's spring hamfest on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The hamfest will be at the usual spot for hamfests in that city, in the Kino Sports Complex - along Ajo Way, east of I-10 and the baseball stadium (previously Tucson Electric Park, now Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium). There is a map of the area showing the hamfest location available at: http://www.rstclub.org/sites/default/files/HamfestMap11.jpg The hamfest officially starts at 0700 local (1400 UTC), but - as with most hamfests in Arizona - there will be people roaming around an hour or so earlier. WD9EWK will be on several satellite passes throughout the morning for demonstrations from approximately 1300 UTC, including AO-7 passes if it is in mode B (it should be, if the current pattern continues). The hamfest site is in grid DM42me. Depending on how long I stay in the Tucson area after the hamfest, I may make a drive to one of the different boundaries in southeastern Arizona for a few hours to work satellite passes before returning home. I have been to the DM51/DM52 boundary (along US-191, south of I-10 near the town of Sunsites in Cochise County) on the last couple of trips to that area, and it has been almost a year since I last visited the DM52/DM53 boundary (along US-70, northwest of Safford in Graham County). The Arizona/New Mexico state line along I-10 (grid DM52 only) is also a possibility. Whatever direction I go, I should be visible on APRS at (among other places): http://aprs.fi/wd9ewk-9 If you have a preference on which of these boundaries I should visit, please e-mail me directly. I can't guarantee I will honor all requests, and really can't do that given the distances between these points. It helps to know what others might be interested in working. Some have already worked me in all 3 of these locations during my past trips. Whether you work me at the hamfest and/or wherever I go afterwards, I will be happy to confirm any QSOs with QSL cards. There's no need to first send me a card or SASE, just an e-mail with the QSO details. I will take care of sending a card (or cards) out. I will also upload my QSOs to Logbook of the World. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

1 0

Re: ND9M/MM Panama Canal Transit - 23 March - Photos from Webcam
by David Palmer 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi Everyone, There were good views from the Miraflores webcam as Jim ND9M passed on his ship by this morning! If anyone's interested, here are some photos I grabbed: http://kb5wia.blogspot.com/2011/03/photos-of-nd9mmms-panama-canal-transit.h… 73 de Dave KB5WIA / CM88 On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Clary, James T, Civilian <James.T.Clary.civ(a)msc.navy.mil> wrote: > We should be crossing into FJ07 shortly, around 22/2300Z. I’ll be on the AO7 > pass that rises locally at 22/2302Z, assuming AO7 is still in Mode B. We > will be in FJ07 for three or four hours, so the VO52 pass at 23/0149Z should > be good for that grid as well. > > > > I expect to be on from FJ08: > > > > FO29 – 23/0813Z > > AO51 – 23/0853Z > > FO29 – 23/0958Z (possibly) > > AO51 – 23/1032Z (possibly) > > > > My ship received our transit schedule for tomorrow. Traffic has to move > slowly through the canal, so it will be an all-day transit. Barring high > winds or bad weather, I’ll set up the step ladder satellite station on the > flight deck and leave it in place all day. > > > > 1345Z / 0845 LT – Arrive Miraflores Locks (east side, right hand) > > 1450Z / 0950 LT – Depart Miraflores Locks > > > > 1535Z / 1035 LT – Arrive Pedro Miguel Locks (west side, left hand) > > 1620Z / 1135 LT – Depart Pedro Miguel Locks > > > > 1950Z / 1450 LT – Arrive Gatun Locks (east side, right hand) > > 2145Z / 1645 LT – Depart Gatun Locks > > > > Evidently there are three sets of locks; I was only aware of two! I don’t > know if the Pedro Miguel Locks has a web cam; probably not since these locks > are immediately after the Miraflores Locks. > > > > Looking at SatPC32, there’s a VO52 pass occurring shortly after we enter the > Miraflores Locks and an FO29 pass as we hit the Gatun Locks. I should be > able to make both passes; it would be fun operating on camera! > > > > Also, we’ll cross into FJ09 at the Miraflores Locks, possibly during the > VO52 pass at 23/1355Z. > > > > 73, > > > > Jim, HP/ND9M / VQ9JC > > Grid EJ97 > > > >

1 0

OOPS
by Kevin Deane 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Sorry did not mean to send that to everyone... KF7MYK

2 1

JPL Tour
by Clint Bradford 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Just got back home from a day at Pasadena's JPL ... un-edited, no-captions-yet photos at ... http://tinyurl.com/JPL-042211 Clint

2 1

Re: FT-817 - Menu 7 - Antenna Selection
by Clint Bradford 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Patrick is one amazing gentleman. I had already harassed him for some radio tips earlier in the day, so I posted this to the AMSAT-BB, not wanting to take up any more of his time with my questions-I-should-know-the-answers-to ... Thanks, Patrick and Bob, for your informative replies. Clint

1 0

Ground Station Items For Sale
by Joel Black 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

I'm no longer active on satellites and have some satellite-related gear that is surplus to my needs: 1 ea. Symek TNC31S - $275 OBO +shipping (and PayPal fee if applicable). Comes with the 9600 and 9.6k/38.4k modems. I'd prefer to not separate. >From what I read on the Symek site, both are out of production. I think it was UO-36 on which I used this. 1 ea. Icom AG-25 - $125 OBO +shipping (and PayPal fee if applicable). Works with the IC-821 and FT-847 (I do not know about other radios). I might have a pair of mode J antennas too. I need to contact the person who was going to purchase them. Please contact me off-list at w4jbb(at)charter.net 73, Joel - W4JBB

1 0