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

Brazilian satellite pirates (was Re: Re: 70cm Helicoil Good/Bad expensive?)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 12 Jul '11

12 Jul '11

Hi! A couple of years ago, the Brazilian authorities arrested many of these satellite pirates. A Brazilian immigrant in New Jersey was also arrested for illegally using these military satellites. I remember seeing this article around that time: http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2009/04/fleetcom?currentPage=all 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: 70cm Helicoil Good/Bad expensive?
by Joe Leikhim 12 Jul '11

12 Jul '11

Hi Mariano; I stand corrected! I concur that some Americans here in the states were caught accessing the satellites. What is their motivation? What dialect are they speaking? On 7/12/2011 11:14 AM, AMSAT-CT Engineering wrote: > > Esteemed colleague Joe Leikhim, > > The people as you referred as operators (...) A few years back I found > some "pirate" (Portuguese) (...), are not Portuguese, speaking in > Portuguese, but are Americans from Brazil, and are illegally, very > active in the satellite. > > Greetings > > > > Mariano, CT1XI > > www.amrad.pt > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Leikhim" <rhyolite(a)nettally.com> > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 3:18 PM > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: 70cm Helicoil Good/Bad expensive? > > >> I have an Andrew bifilar helical antenna for the240-320 MHzMILSAT >> band, same antenna pictured in back of their old catalogs. I paid a >> lot of money (mostly in shipping) to acquire it. But far less than >> what this seller wants. It won't do you any good in the ham bands, >> but you might find interesting listening in the MILSAT/Fleetsatcom >> bands. A few years back I found some "pirate" (Portuguese) operators >> quite active on the satellites. I think they have all been caught by >> an interesting mix of technology and trigonometry and have been >> silenced. >> >> On 07/12/2011 04:23 AM, Clint Bradford wrote: >> >>> > I am looking for an adapter to make this satellite helical work >>> on my > handheld radio ... >>> > >>> > http://tinyurl.com/SAT-HELICAL >>> > >>> > >>> > Clint Bradford, K6LCS >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> >> -- >> Joe Leikhim >> >> Leikhim and Associates >> Communications Consultants >> Oviedo, Florida >> >> www.Leikhim.com >> >> JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com >> >> 407-982-0446 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > > -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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Re: 70cm Helicoil Good/Bad expensive?
by Joe Leikhim 12 Jul '11

12 Jul '11

I have an Andrew bifilar helical antenna for the240-320 MHzMILSAT band, same antenna pictured in back of their old catalogs. I paid a lot of money (mostly in shipping) to acquire it. But far less than what this seller wants. It won't do you any good in the ham bands, but you might find interesting listening in the MILSAT/Fleetsatcom bands. A few years back I found some "pirate" (Portuguese) operators quite active on the satellites. I think they have all been caught by an interesting mix of technology and trigonometry and have been silenced. On 07/12/2011 04:23 AM, Clint Bradford wrote: > > I am looking for an adapter to make this satellite helical work on my handheld radio ... > > > > http://tinyurl.com/SAT-HELICAL > > > > > > Clint Bradford, K6LCS > > > > > > > -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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Re: 70cm Helicoil Good/Bad expensive?
by Joe Leikhim 12 Jul '11

12 Jul '11

Helical antennas are wonderful things. However with one caveat, they respond in "normal mode" over a wider bandwidth than the desired axial mode. What this means is that your receiver is more susceptible to overload from _out of band_ signals than it might be using a Yagi having a resonant match. Be sure your preamp is a high end model with coincidentally, " a helical" front end filter. -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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13 Colonies Award Received
by John Papay 12 Jul '11

12 Jul '11

I received two 13 Colonies Special Event Certificates today, one for a clean sweep on HF and the other for a clean sweep on satellites. There is a satellite endorsement sticker on one award. The awards manager Ken Villone KU2US is doing a great job processing the requests. The application was mailed on the 5th and the certificate was received on the 11th! Thanks also to Dave, KB1PVH, for organizing the event on satellites. He also sent a card for our K2H contact on SO-50. The event creates lots of activity on both FM and the linear birds each year. 73, John K8YSE

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70cm Helicoil Good/Bad expensive?
by Kevin Deane 12 Jul '11

12 Jul '11

Hello all, whats the take on these antennas? I am sure someone on here has used them and they certainly look cool but how do they perform? Dont you have to switch polerization on a cross polerized yagi? I know there is not a perfect antenna, just wondering about the Helicoil... Kevin KF7MYK

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SatPC32 simplified
by Thomas Doyle 11 Jul '11

11 Jul '11

Thanks for all the feedback on the tracker. A few people commented that it was a bit complex mechanically. This got me thinking about a minimal version where the mechanical section could be built in less than an hour by almost anyone. Several people asked about moving antennas. The motor in the iPoint has torque of only 35 oz-in. This is at least an order of magnitude less than enough to move an even a small antenna. The main project I am working on is an az-el rotor for small antennas. The azimuth rotor is working and I am working on the mount for the mast. I want to make sure the azimuth rotor is rock solid before working on the elevation rotor. The reason the motor driver in the iPoint is so over designed is that it was designed for the actual rotor not the iPoint. The iPoint actually started out as just a test bed for software development. A few people have asked about astronomical applications. I have thought about that myself and have been looking for a simple usb telescope to mount on iPoint. It would be interesting to set up SatPC32 to track the moon and let iPoint run all night and capture shots of the moon from the usb tele. The tele would have to be very small and light weight. Does anyone have Kardashian data for heavenly bodies ? Wonder if anyone caught that. I actually would like to know if it is possible to track the moon with SatPc32 and if so where to get the elements. Here is a short HD video of the minimalist iPoint. While it may be a piece of junk it does work and might give someone some ideas on building something simple but much better than what I did. It did require only a hand drill and a hacksaw and took only about an hour to build. After seeing it you may wonder while it took an entire hour. There is a quarter just to the right of the beast for size reference. There was quite a bit of discussion on auto license plates a while back. I did not want to contribute to the QRM then but I do have something on that topic at the end of the video. It is actually my photo qsl without the address information - you will understand when you see it. Since I do not operate very often and qsl only when I get one this is probably your only chance to see this rare card. If you look carefully at the back left of the video you can see the azimuth rotor partially disassembled. I keep it there to make me feel guilty when I work on something else. here is the simplified tracker - I know it is junky so no need to tell me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGwyUdb_vHs Here is the good tracker in case you missed it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnc4-XcEXEQ 73 tom ...

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Re: ICOM 9100
by Erich Eichmann 11 Jul '11

11 Jul '11

Hello Glen, I tried 3 times to answer to your mail but all my mails were rebounced by the mail delivery system. I hope you receive this via AMSAT-BB 73s, Erich, DK1TB

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ND9M in DM51/52 on AO-27 2047z 11July
by John Papay 11 Jul '11

11 Jul '11

Jim is about 20 miles away from the DM51/52 line and plans to operate from there on the AO-27 pass coming up at 2047z or so. If he doesn't make that pass, he'll likely be on FO-29 at 2213z or so. You can track him on APRS, ND9M-9. 73, John K8YSE

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KB5WIA California Lost Coast (CM79/CM89/CN70/CN80) August 7-8, 2011
by David Palmer KB5WIA 11 Jul '11

11 Jul '11

Hi Everyone, I'm about a month away from my planned grid-expedition to the rare grid squares in California's Lost Coast. If all goes well, I'll be QRV from the grid intersection of CM79, CM89, CN70, and CN80 on Sunday August 7th and Monday August 8th. As usual, I'll try for as many linear and FM bird passes as I can manage. I'll be using the twin Yaesu FT-817ND radios, along with the Elk antenna on a tripod. Power will come from a lightweight LiFePO4 battery and as much sunlight as my solar panels can harvest. I haven't been to this location before, but based on the terrain, I should have fairly good views towards the horizons, so hopefully anyone in North America who needs these grids can get them! http://kb5wia.blogspot.com/2011/07/california-lost-coast-cm79cm89cn70cn80.h… 73 de Dave KB5WIA

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