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

ISS BBS Mess/Qsl
by Kevin Deane 23 Jul '11

23 Jul '11

Now that I can actually send and receive messages off the ISS is there anyone around here doing it? I think that alot of the calls that show up here http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/ariss/index.cgi are Beacon People so I really dont want to clog up the BBS with messages that will never be retrieved...There are alot of people saying hello but only KF1BUZ has actually said hello back on the same pass... RS0ISS-11 BBS 0 not o. PACKET LIVES and if more people would get on 145.050 in CA there could be a Golden Packet EVERY DAY!!! Specifically Merced to Bakersfield.... Kevin KF7MYK

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planetemily.com
by Charles Suprin 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

Folks, It looks like the front page of planetemily.com has been hacked. Has anyone else noticed anything strange? Charles

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5500 rotor problem
by Jeff KB2M 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

Thanks for all the replies on my 5500 rotor problem! I had some time tonite to work on it and here's what I got. On both a1 a3, and e1 e3 pairs I'm reading only 1.0 volts. Between a2 a3 , and e2 e3 pairs I see only .5 volts at half range, IE an elevation of 90 degrees = a reading of .5 volts. I'm going to order a new Q2 UA7806C and this should do it. Only question I have is why Q2 failed to only output 1 volt, don't they usually fail and output 0 volts? I'm thinking it might be something else in the circuit feeding power to Q2. If so I will work this further when I actually take the rotor box apart with the new Q2 in hand. One other thing, I wish I can find all my components' I boxed up when I moved. I bet I have 10 of these in stock :) Thanks again for all the help guys, the electronic copy of the manual was a big help as I can't find my copy.... 73 Jeff kb2m > I'm having a problem with my 5500 after a thunderstorm. What is > happening is that the rotor works manually, but doesn't display az and > el information > on the control box. Also when I try to use computer control it goes > all the > way to stop in both azimuth and elevation. I'm thinking this might be > in the > control box, as both az and el are doing the same thing, the control > box being the single point of failure. Did anyone ever have this > problem? How can I diagnosis what chip might be at fault without a > schematic. I vaguely remember having this same problem after a close > lightning strike with my prior az el Yaesu box about 14 years ago but > don't remember what chip I swapped out, or how I determined which one > was at fault. This getting old thing really sucks. Any help would be appreciated. > > 73 Jeff kb2m

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Weather Satellites
by Mike 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

I was wondering if anyone has information about receiving weather Satellites. I have the A.R.R.L. Weather Satellite Handbook but its dated 1994 and is rather limited. I would like to know what freq.'s to find them on etc. Thanks in advance! 73's Mike N8GBU

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Arrow yagis
by George Henry 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

Anybody have any experience with the solid-element single-band yagis from Arrow? I can't put up my big Gulf Alphas at home (deed restrictions) and I'm tired of struggling with stealth omnis... I might be able to get away with putting up a pair of the Arrow yagis on a rotor on the back side of the roof & trying to pass them off as TV antennas. A lot less expensive than any of the dual-band cross-polarized yagis out there. Just wondering if anyone has used them & can vouch for their durability. George, KA3HSW

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Re: Arrow yagis
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

I use NOOX-X on all my aluminum connections. It is an oxide inhibitor that you can get it at any electrical supply house. I think Home Depot and Lowes carry similar products in the electrical dept. Dave - KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless DROID X On Jul 22, 2011 2:43 PM, "Dee" <morsesat(a)optonline.net> wrote:

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Re: : Arrow yagis
by David Palmer KB5WIA 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

Hi George, Arrows are great antennas -- when I first put up my az/el system in the backyard I used an Arrow 4-element 2-meter yagi for the uplink, and it worked just fine. One thing I noticed was that after a month in the elements / rain, the studs connecting the aluminum elements together had corroded pretty severely -- I think the aluminum didn't like all the rain, and I could barely get the elements apart. I've seen some reports of other hams using arrows fixed on rotors in dry environments (Arizona), but if you're going to leave them outside in the rain, you might need to take precautions to prevent corrosion of the element connectors. 73 de Dave KB5WIA http://kb5wia.blogspot.com

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Re: Arrow yagis
by John Papay 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

My satellite truck is currently using the 4el VHF Yagi from Arrow Antennas. They are very well built and can be ordered with a Type N connector for a small extra charge (well worth it). The 7x7 Arrow II is what I use for UHF on the truck with a coax relay to switch between horizontal and vertical polarization. I am using a Mirage UHF preamp powered through the coax for that setup and it does work well. The 7x7 UHF Arrow went 5000 miles at speeds over 70mph at times and the elements never shook loose. Dollar for dollar, it is hard to beat an Arrow antenna. With over 2000 contacts in 32 different grids over a 5 week period, it's hard to say they don't work well. Arrow Antennas is now under new ownership. Tim Chapman, KB7MDF, bought the company and is in full production. Tim is really excited about the business and has the drive it takes to ramp up production and introduce new products. Suggestions have been made and he is looking at them. I loaned my Arrow II (v/u) to a friend and when it was returned, one of the inserts that allows the threaded rod to screw into the arrow shaft was missing. Tim shipped a replacement element, a few inserts and some threaded rod, no charge. It is a mystery as to how that insert was pulled out. Once the new one was hammered in, it was in there solid. Customer service is great. 73, John K8YSE

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Puerto Rico CubeSat Project on TV
by Trevor . 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

TV News report on YouTube (in Spanish) --- Eight students from the School of Engineering and Geomatic Sciences at the Polytechnic working with Honeywell Aerospace Company of Puerto Rico in designing a CubeSat nanosatellite in Puerto Rico. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN5rM5Dxs-k --- CubeSat at UPRM http://cubesatuprm.wordpress.com/ 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Curiosity
by Peter Portanova 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

Hello, And the winner is "Gale Crater", up up and away.. 73's Pete WB2OQQ www.massapequanyweather.com

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