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

Re: Anyone have this problem?
by Jeremy Bomkamp 10 Apr '11

10 Apr '11

I bet it is for KD0JWY, he has been active on the sats and an easy mistake

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Re: Diplexer
by Anthony Monteiro 10 Apr '11

10 Apr '11

Hi Bob, It is simple really - all of the common gadgets sold for ham use as duplexers are really diplexers that can be used as duplexers or diplexers :) And Dom is correct. The microwave Radars used a similar principle but with 1/4 wave sections of waveguide instead of coax. The gas tubes would short the waveguides when the transmitter was on making the other end a high impedance and disconnecting the receiver. 73, Tony AA2TX --- At 04:56 PM 4/9/2011, Bob- W7LRD wrote: > I'm really trying to "absorb" all this diplexers/duplexor > thread. Specifically I have a new FT-8800 and want to run FM sats > from my truck. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel would a simple > dual band whip suffice. Then maybe requiring a preamp, and how all > that works maybe with a di/du etc. My head is starting to hurt. > >73 Bob W7LRD >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Andrew Rich" <vk4tec(a)tech-software.net> >To: kc6uqh(a)cox.net, "i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it>, "Amsat - BBs" ><amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, "Anthony Monteiro" <aa2tx(a)comcast.net> >Sent: Saturday, April 9, 2011 1:39:01 PM >Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Diplexer > >DU = TX RX >DI = RX >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Art McBride" <kc6uqh(a)cox.net> >To: "'i8cvs'" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it>; "'Amsat - BBs'" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>; >"'Anthony Monteiro'" <aa2tx(a)comcast.net> >Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 6:27 AM >Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Diplexer > > > > As I understand it, > > A Duplexer allows for transmission and reception to take place in the same > > band using a single band antenna. > > A Diplexer allows for transmission and reception to take place on > > different > > bands using a multi-band antenna. > > > > Art, > > KC6UQH > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On > > Behalf Of i8cvs > > Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 10:35 AM > > To: Amsat - BBs; Anthony Monteiro > > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Diplexer > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Anthony Monteiro" <aa2tx(a)comcast.net> > > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > > Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 5:15 PM > > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Diplexer > > > >> A "duplexor" is a device that allows both transmitting and > >> receiving over the same transmission line or antenna. It > >> may or may not be a passive device and it may or may not > >> be frequency selective. > >> > >> In WWII RADAR systems, a duplexor was used to allow > >> the transmitter and receiver on the same frequency to > >> share the same antenna. The duplexor was a waveguide > >> device that had special gas-filled tubes to quickly > >> switch the signal direction. > >> > >> 73, > >> Tony AA2TX > >> > > Hi Tony, AA2TX > > > > I have in my hands the Instruction Book for Radar Recognition > > Sets AN/UPX-6 of U.S. Navy Department Bureau of Ships. > > > > The UPX6 is a IFF transponder on board of aicrafts and was used > > in WWII for Identification of Friend or Foe. > > > > The UPX-6 can transmit from 1010-1030 MHz and receive from > > 1090-1110 MHz and allows both transmitting and receiving over > > the same transmission line and antenna via a circuit made of coax > > cable RG-58/CU that the manual calls a "DUPLEXER" and not > > a "duplexor". > > > > This "duplexer" is working on the fact that a transmission line, > > shorted at the far end a quarter wavelenght long for the incoming > > signal,represent infinite impedance (an open circuit) at the sending > > end of the line. > > > > The UPX-6 was converted in the early 1980's to be used on 1296 MHz > > and an interesting article written by W6NBI was published in Ham > > Radio Magazine march 1981 > > > > I modified it and I got 40 watt output.......not too bad for that epoch > > time ! > > > > Best 73" de > > > > i8CVS Domenico > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > signature > > database 6027 (20110408) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > signature > > database 6029 (20110409) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > >_______________________________________________ >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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Full Duplex as a Single Channel on a HT
by Don Ferguson 09 Apr '11

09 Apr '11

Bill, The Alinco DJ-G7 is full duplex and has 100 cross band memory channels that can do Satellites. You can setup 5 memory channel pairs to cover first approach, near approach, Closest position, near departure, far departure. Then just click through the memories as the satellite passes. Another DJ-G7 feature is it can also do 1 watt on 1.2GHZ uplink to AO51. I suggest using 5khz steps on 435mhz so it does 5 memory sets. Good luck, Don - kd6ire -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Bill W1PA Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 12:10 PM To: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Full Duplex as a Single Channel on a HT Do any of the current or classic "satellite" HT's (FT-51R, IC-W32A, etc) allow you to create a single channel with a FM bird rx/tx pair in full duplex? I.e. I turn one knob and get 435.310 145.875 {click} 435.300 145.880 {click} 435.290 145.885 I could do this with the 20 DUP channels on the Ft-100D. Even though the IC-W32A has two "knobs", it looks like (from the manual) only one can be in memory mode at one time, so TX would be in VFO mode, and the other would be in channel mode. Is this correct? So for each change (AOS, MID, LOS), I have to turn both knobs one click, correct? Even if I can have memories on both sides, I still have to turn both knobs -- If so, why wouldn't I just use a VX-170/VX-177 pair of HT's, and turn both knobs? I can program my DJ-V5 to have the "odd split" (TX144/RX432) single knob channels, but of course, it is not full duplex. Bill W1PA _______________________________________________ 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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Russian Hams Get Ready
by Clint Bradford 09 Apr '11

09 Apr '11

Excuse the clumsy translation from Russian to English ... Hams at Baikonur will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the flight of Yuri Gagarin 08/04/2011 Celebration launch manned spacecraft "Vostok-1 caused a wide resonance in morse movement in many countries. In Roskosmos received numerous requests from the Russian and Kazakh radio to conduct expeditions to Baikonur Cosmodrome for a broadcast on amateur radio shortwave (HF) bands. >From 7 to April 14 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to organize an expedition of Russian and Kazakh radio. In this period, the HF carrier rocket will be spoken Russian and Kazakh anniversary amateur radio call sign, devoted to the first human spaceflight: R50KEDR (Cedar); R50SK and UP50SK (Sergei Korolev), as well as R50YG and UP50YG (Yuri Gagarin). Work on the air will be from 5 jobs: - "Gagarin's Start" (site 1) callsign R50KEDR (Cedar) on April 12 from 9 hours 18 minutes Moscow time during the 108 minutes on the amateur bands 30 and 20 meters, radio frequency are close to the frequencies of the spaceship "Vostok-1" (9.019 and 20.006 MHz); - Test item number 1 (site 18) and callsigns R50SK R50YG from 7 to 14 April on the bands 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters; - Rf (site 5) and callsigns R50SK R50YG from 8 to 14 April on the bands 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters; - Test item number 5 (site 23) callsign UP50SK from 10 to 11 April on the bands 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters; - The city of Baikonur (pl. 10) callsign UP50YG from 8 to 11 April on the bands 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters. April 9-10, Kazakh and Russian teams will take part in competitions in relation to the HF at "Cup of Yuri Gagarin. - Press Service of the Russian Space Agency

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Full Duplex as a Single Channel on a HT
by Bill W1PA 09 Apr '11

09 Apr '11

Do any of the current or classic "satellite" HT's (FT-51R, IC-W32A, etc) allow you to create a single channel with a FM bird rx/tx pair in full duplex? I.e. I turn one knob and get 435.310 145.875 {click} 435.300 145.880 {click} 435.290 145.885 I could do this with the 20 DUP channels on the Ft-100D. Even though the IC-W32A has two "knobs", it looks like (from the manual) only one can be in memory mode at one time, so TX would be in VFO mode, and the other would be in channel mode. Is this correct? So for each change (AOS, MID, LOS), I have to turn both knobs one click, correct? Even if I can have memories on both sides, I still have to turn both knobs -- If so, why wouldn't I just use a VX-170/VX-177 pair of HT's, and turn both knobs? I can program my DJ-V5 to have the "odd split" (TX144/RX432) single knob channels, but of course, it is not full duplex. Bill W1PA

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Yuri's Night - Skype Contacts?
by Clint Bradford 09 Apr '11

09 Apr '11

I am having a party on April 12 celebrating Yuri Gagarin and the activation of ARISSat-1. It is from 6-10PM PDT April 12 (0100-0500 GMT April 13). Anyone out there want to "visit" a bunch of giddy Californians via Skype/Skype Video in that time period? We are already scheduled other video linkups from 7:05-7:10PM and 9:45PM-9:55PM PDT ... You do not need to "offer" anything special ... Just hearing/seeing you as we commemorate this date would be GREAT! My Skype name - clintbradford If you want to test the connection, just send me email. Clint, K6LCS 909-241-7666 - cell

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ARISSat-1 mentioned on NPR Science Friday
by Daniel Schultz 08 Apr '11

08 Apr '11

ARISSat-1 was mentioned today on NPR's Science Friday program, thanks to Dave Jordan AA4KN for calling in to the program. You can hear the podcast at http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201104083 Dan Schultz N8FGV

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ARISSat-1 Latest Information Posted on AMSAT web
by JoAnne Maenpaa 08 Apr '11

08 Apr '11

Hello everyone, I've updated the http://www.amsat.org web page news items to include the latest news about ARISSat-1 and the plans to activate it aboard the ISS next week. You will also find ... + Link to download ARISSatTLM software + Link to PDF version of ARISSatTLM Software User Guide + Link to MP3 audio from David AA4KN being on NPR's "Science Friday" radio program to talk about ARISSat-1. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service

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ANS-098 ANS Special Bulletin ARISSat-1 Activation Aboard ISS Begins April 11
by JoAnne Maenpaa 08 Apr '11

08 Apr '11

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-098.01 ANS Special Bulletin ARISSat-1 Activation Aboard ISS Begins April 11 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 098.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 8, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-098.01 SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND (AMSAT News Service) While awaiting deployment from the International Space Station (ISS) in late July, an amateur radio satellite specifically designed to in- terest students in scientific and technological careers will be activated and begin transmissions from the ISS in mid-April of this year. Transmissions are scheduled to begin Monday around 14:30 UTC April 11 and ending Wednesday around 10:30 UTC on April 13. Electronic certificates of the event will be available to those summitting reception reports to: Gagarin(a)arissat1.org. These transmissions will commemorate 50 years since the flight of Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the first human to enter outer space. The satellite (called ARISSat-1, RadioSkaf-V) will send telemetry, SSTV images, and messages of goodwill as it orbits earth inside the ISS. ARISSat-1 is a cooperative effort between AMSAT, ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station,) RSC-Energia (The Russian Space Agency) and NASA. The design, development and construction of the satellite was done by AMSAT volunteers. Original plans call- ed for the satellite to be housed inside an old Russian spacesuit. But when the suit became unavailable, a spaceframe was developed to house the radio equipment and solar panels. The new satellite was named ARISSat-1. Other names for the spacecraft are RadioSkaf-V and Kedr. The transmitted callsign will be RS01S. In order to operate inside the ISS, ARISSat-1 will be connected to an external amateur radio antenna already mounted on the outer sur- face of the space station. The craft will use its own battery for operation, therefore it will be in low power mode. As a result, listeners can expect 40-60 second "ON" periods followed by two-minute "OFF" periods to save battery power. To listen for ARISSat-1 voice signals during this special event, FM receivers should be tuned to 145.950 MHz. Specific only to this event, planning is currently underway to provide an additional FM broadcast downlink at 437.550 MHz. Even though the satellite will only have an output of 250 mW on 2 meters, a standard FM handy talkie equipped with a quarter-wave whip antenna should be able to receive the voice ID, voice telemetry and greeting messages as the craft passes overhead. SSTV transmissions may also be demodulated and viewed using a free downloadable program such as MMSSTV that is available at: http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/pages/mmsstv.php. For Mac users, Multiscan2 is available at: http://web.me.com/kd6cji/MacSSTV/MultiScan.html. Those planning to monitor voice broadcasts from ARISSat-1 are request- ed to make note of the telemetry battery voltage values and UTC time, and then submit their records to Gagarin(a)arissat1.org. Digital tele- metry will be sent at 145.920 MHz. Given the low duty cycle of the spacecraft, those planning to receive the digital telemetry are en- couraged to record the entire signal band using the FunCube dongle or SDR-IQ receivers. Software for demodulating the BPSK-1000 telemetry is available at: http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSatTLM_050_Setup.exe A software user guide will be available soon. This special period of operation is only expected to continue during the two-day 50 year commemoration of Gagarin's famous mission. The actual deployment of ARISSat-1, first announced for February 2011, is now expected to take place during an EVA scheduled for late July, 2011. After it is deployed from the International Space Station, ARISSat-1 is expected to be in orbit for a period of up to six months. More information on the transmission schedule and overall mission of ARISSat-1 can be found at: ARISSat-1 Web site: http://www.arissat1.org AMSAT Web site: http://www.amsat.org ARISS Web site: http://www.ariss.org ARISS Facebook Page: Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) ARISS Twitter site: @ARISS_status The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) is a non-profit, volunteer organization which designs, builds and operates experi- mental amateur radio satellites and promotes space education. We work in partnership with government, industry, educational instit- utions and fellow amateur radio societies. We encourage technical and scientific innovation, and promote the training and development of skilled satellite and ground system designers and operators. Our vision is to deploy satellite systems with the goal of providing wide area and continuous coverage for amateur radio operators world- wide. AMSAT is also an active participant in human space missions and supports satellites developed in cooperation with the educational community and other amateur satellite groups. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a volun- teer program which inspires students, worldwide, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math through amateur radio communications opportunities with the International Space Station on-orbit crew. Students learn about life on board the ISS and explore Earth from space through science and math activities. ARISS provides opportunities for the school community (students, teachers, families and local residents) to become more aware of the substantial benefits of human space flight and the exploration and discovery that occur on space flight journeys along with learning about technology and amateur radio. [ANS thanks the ARISSat-1 Team for the above information] /EX

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ND9M/MM Sat Ops: FM01 Update
by Clary, James T, Civilian 08 Apr '11

08 Apr '11

Unfortunately I had the VO52 pass at 08/1352Z all to myself when the ship was in FM01. The downlink was strong, but there were no takers. My ship was still barely in FM01 when SO67 came up a while later. There was no QRM on the bird's downlink, so I was all set. But the ship's engineering department chose that time to test the high pressure foam system used for extinguishing fires. I normally set up the step ladder station on the flight deck, but we have a foam cannon (called a "monitor" for some reason) trained on the deck, and my station was right in line to get blasted. Luckily, I was able to get the gear out of the way just in time, but the fire system test didn't allow me any chance to get set up again before SO67 went over the hill. We're now in FM02, the last grid square of this voyage. I'll be on board until Sunday morning and will be able to make this grid available a few times through tomorrow evening. I won't be posting a schedule though. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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