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

Yuri's 50th
by G0MRF＠aol.com 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Hi all. Well. Hi ARISSat team actually. It's now less than 2 weeks before ARISSat-1 will be activated on board the ISS. Can anyone tell me / us, the current status of the ARISat decoding software / where it can be downloaded and the planned times of activation of the satellite please. Would be nice to have some time to load it onto the computer at a weekend and avoid the traditional last minute rush. BTW. Did it get recharged via a new lead on the last supply flight? (Will it last 24 hrs?) Thanks David G0MRF

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On a more positive note...
by Adrian Engele 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Dear fellow Satellite Ops, In contrast to the recent disastrous pass on AO-51 the other day, today it was a joy to help many operators get EK99 and ZF2AE/ZF8 into their logs. The AO-27 @ 19:35UTC and AO-51 @20:13 UTC passes were a joy to work. As a DX Station, I appreciated everyone's courtesy, good operating technique and most importantly good listening skills. I hope the newer operators got a good feel for what a busy pass can sound like but still be very productive. As many of you know I will be popping up on various satellites mostly in the afternoon/evenings. Both on FM and SSB. I cannot guarantee that I will be on a particular satellite but I will make an effort when asked. Mornings are out for me as I am out diving. Tomorrow I will make an effort to make it over to FK09. I have to rent a car a great expense (only one rental car place on the islands and they charge big bucks) to make it over to the East end for a few hours. Right now I will only be available from around 1900 UTC to 2300 UTC. This is the only time I have left unfortunately on Little Cayman. I have to check what is available. I think one AO51 and an FO29 pass, perhaps some others. I hope we will see the same discipline we saw today to allow many stations to work me in a calm and orderly fashion. I would like to thank Drew for all the hard work to keep AO-51 happy. I know it is often a thankless effort but it is appreciated by many including this operator. Finally a reminder it is very hot and very humid here. So yes I pity those that have to stand in the cold but trust me standing in the sweltering heat dripping with sweat, tuning the radios and jiggling the antennas is a big challenge too! See you on the birds. I will be going to Grand Cayman on Saturday, so plenty of opportunity to work me from there. 73, Adrian ZF2AE/ZF8

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Oscar 57
by jerry keeton 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Has anyone ever heard an AFSK signal from Oscar 57 ?

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Preamp Distance from Antenna
by Zachary Beougher 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Hi, I am in the process of getting the ARR SP432VDG preamp for my mobile setup (and just to have around), and I have read that the closer to antenna you mount the preamp, the lower noise figure you will have. My question is, what is close to the antenna – 1ft., 5ft., 10ft.? Ideally, I would probably mount it about 5-6ft. from the antenna (1/4 wave) – would this be acceptable? Any additional advice would be appreciated! Zack KD8KSN

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Lehman High School on Fox News, Austin
by Clint Bradford 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Fox News covers Lehman event ... http://tinyurl.com/iss-lehman -or- http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/top_stories/Lehman-HS-Students-Tal-to-Astron… Clint, K6LCS

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Re: FT-60R and recording
by Bill Dzurilla 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Hi Ted, I also use the FT-60. Since it is not full duplex, I do not use headphones and just have a small recorder hanging from my neck. It picks up my voice and sounds from the radio. If you want to use headphones, I suppose you could use a T adapter and plug both the phones and the recorder into the headphone jack, but then I don't think your own voice would be recorded. 73, Bill NZ5N

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Re: FT-60R and recording
by Bill Acito W1PA 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

Gosh, I love Google... http://www.mixitproducts.com/ -------------------------------------------------- > We need a small portable, two channel mixer with low and high inputs and a > balance control. >

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Re: FT-60R and recording
by Bill Acito W1PA 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

I have often wondered about this myself. I like to use headphones... I wonder if you could use a stereo recorder, and put the "speaker out" (low impedance) to one side, and an external mic (high impedance) to the other. Getting the audio to balance would be a trick. We need a small portable, two channel mixer with low and high inputs and a balance control. Otherwise you have to use an external speaker, and just pick it and your voice up over the mic. Bill W1PA

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Today Grid EL51 on AIR
by David Maciel 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

This day, on the AO-51, on 21.50z, Eduardo XE3EOL work the Grid EL51 is a difficult grid in Mexico, lucky if they listen. David Maciel XE3DX EK36 Amateur Ham Radio www.qsl.net/xe3dx/ xe3dx(a)amsat.org

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ND9M/MM Sat Ops: QRT ... for now!
by Clary, James T, Civilian 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

My ship will be pulling into Jacksonville (EM90) late tonight, so there are no more wet grids to operate from for the time being. It'll be nice to at least try sleeping through the night tonight for the first time in weeks without getting up for an oh-dark-30 pass. I've been doing it for so long that I'll probably be awake at some ridiculous pass-time hour anyway, but I'll try not to be. We're due at Charleston SC on 10 April. The run from Jax to Charleston is just a few hours, but I'm told that since another ship is scheduled to take our berth at the Jacksonville dock on the 6th, we'll be leaving a few days early. We won't have a destination, other than Charleston four days later, but I don't know if we'll head out a few miles and do a "controlled drift" or do donuts until it's time to head in. I'll keep an eye on the navigation charts, and will update the BB if it looks like we'll be in a wet grid when there's a pass coming up. Meanwhile, I'll finish getting my logs together and get ready to sign off the ship when we arrive at Charleston. I'll post a trip wrap up in a few days once I get the numbers compiled. Tks for helping to make the two-month voyage a memorable one! 73 for now, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Jacksonville / EM90

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