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

searching advice on low hpass filter for 146 MHz
by Werner Kullmann, HB9BNK 10 May '11

10 May '11

To improve the reception of the sats on 145.9xx MHz with my little yagi, I recently acquired a SSB-preamplifier SP-2000. To my dismay, the reception on my IC910H was intermittend heavily distorted. After a while I found, that a nearby located commercial transmitter (POCSAG) emitting bursts on 147.300 is so strong, that the frontend of the IC910H (or its AGC) practically quites the receiver on 145.900. When the bursts stop, reception resumes. Difficult to qso. I have experimented with a large cavity filter and found, that the impact of the bursts can be reduced, so that normal satellite work is possible again. Now I am looking for advice on how to build a steep low pass filter, eliminating everything above 146 MHz, to be mounted before the preamp on the mast. The filter must however be capable to accept the rf power, if I work in V/U mode. Thank you for any ideas ! Werner, HB9BNK

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ANS-130 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin ARISSat-1 Update
by JoAnne Maenpaa 10 May '11

10 May '11

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.01 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - ARISSat-1 Update AMSAT News Service Bulletin 130.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 10, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-130.01 The ARISSat-1 satellite was intended to be activated in April as part of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's famous flight. However, no ground stations reported hearing the satellite. To follow up, the ARISSat-1 team had a teleconference with represent- atives of RSC-Energia (Russia) and NASA to request a clarification of the events and discuss what happened. According to RSC-Energia, the battery in ARISSat-1 was only charged once on the ground and was then used for a variety of tests and dur- ing the February activation event. It was not recharged prior to the April Yuri Gagarin activity since it can only be charged a limited number of times on the ISS. The cosmonauts reported that they activated the satellite and con- firmed that they heard the signal on the ham radio equipment on board the ISS. Since the battery was nearly depleted of its original charge, they switched the satellite off after six hours of operation in order to prevent over-discharging the battery. The battery was then removed from the satellite and stored separately as per their normal battery handling procedures. For more information on this battery, please see the JAN/FEB 2011 AMSAT Journal. RSC-Energia reported that their plan is to recharge the battery about three weeks prior to the EVA deployment. This will give the cosmonauts time to reinstall the battery and test the satellite to make sure it is working properly. The EVA deployment is planned for late July of this year. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX for the above information] /EX

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G5400B
by Joe Leikhim 10 May '11

10 May '11

I have a G5400B AZ/EL rotor which has never had any problems. I am now reinstalling after being QRT for a long while. Is it possible to crack these open for simple inspection and a preventative greasing or am I facing a major tear-down? -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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New Link on AMSAT.org Web - AMSAT-OSCAR Slide Show from Space Day 2011
by JoAnne Maenpaa 10 May '11

10 May '11

Hello Everyone, AMSAT and ARISS participated in Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington, DC on Saturday, May 7. We featured display tables and ARISS had a contact with the ISS. More coverage on this event will be in upcoming ANS bulletins and in the AMSAT Journal. Perry, W3PK says at Space Day, AMSAT showed a new version of the AMSAT-OSCAR slide show. Perry took Dick Daniels, W4PUJ, slides, added captions and converted them to PowerPoint. We have added the slide show file as a PDF to the http://www.amsat.org front page. The link is directly below the paypal donation widget. This is a fascinating document of AMSAT's proud history, tradition, and heritage of amateur radio in space. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service

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Kevins Comics
by Kevin Deane 10 May '11

10 May '11

Ok, I put all of my Comics/Qsl cards on nvllrc.org I usually make one or two a week and am getting a little better at it. I hope that the control operators do not take offense, I always have thought that they are supposed to be semi mean and sarcastic. So I do appreciate all the work you guys do and hope that no offense is taken. Kevin KF7MYK nvllrc.org

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KB5WIA California Lost Coast (CM79/CM89/CN70/CN80) August 6-9 2011
by David Palmer 10 May '11

10 May '11

Hi Everyone, Just FYI, plans are coming together for a satellite mini grid-expedition in early August this year. The idea is to camp out near Shelter Cove on the remote northern California Lost Coast area. As much as possible, I'll hike with the portable satellite gear (Twin FT817ND's, Elk antenna, solar panels and battery) and work from the grid intersection of CM79, CM89, CN70, and CN80. This is the same location that was activated on 6m last year for the completion of the FFMA award -- CM79 is a pretty rare grid, and the adjacent ones aren't terribly common in the sat community either. As usual, I'll try for as many linear and FM passes as I can manage. Operation (and the trip itself!) is still dependant on weather and other factors, but I just wanted to give the group a heads up on this one. 73 de Dave KB5WIA

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Re: AO-51 Data
by Clint Bradford 09 May '11

09 May '11

>> ... you can't ... shouldn't ... don't go out any buy anything just for this ... Heavy sigh. It's just that this has been such a good friend ... Guess I picked the wrong week to stop drinking Pina Coladas. Long live AO-51. I have a 67 degree elevation pass coming up in 30 mins ... Clint, K6LCS

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Iss repeater or crossband.
by mm0kjg 09 May '11

09 May '11

Hello there. Can someone tell me when the Iss repeater will be active. My thought's are that if Oscar 51 is sick just now wouldn't it be nice to use the repeater on the Iss. Or is the repeater used only for School's chat's?. Kev De MM0KJG

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AEA PK-96
by N0JY 09 May '11

09 May '11

All y'all, I've not yet done any digital satellite work, and I'm getting an itch to head that direction. Slowly it will be, and I have a few questions that I haven't been able to resolve on the internet. A local ham has an AEA PK-96 he has offered me. Is this older TNC suitable for the various modes of satellite packet on the current birds? Also, is WiSP the software I would want to use and does it run on Vista and Windows 7? Thank you for your help. 73, Jerry NØJY __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 6105 (20110508) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com

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SO-67 plan starting 9 May
by Ib Christoffersen 08 May '11

08 May '11

Hello all in Europe, The plan for next week is at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ Please remember it is a plan. Good luck. 73 OZ1MY Ib

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