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

Second Call for Papers for 2011 Symposium
by Daniel Schultz 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

This is the second call for papers for the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium to be held Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 6th at the Wyndham San Jose Hotel, San Jose, California. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 1, 2011 for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, at n8fgv(a)amsat.org.

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SarPC32 and local repeater
by Ronald G. Parsons 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

Since I use the same radio (Icom IC-910H) for both satellite and local UHF/VHF repeaters, I’d like to be able to have SatPC32 automatically switch over the radio to satellite mode when a satellite is in view, and switch back to the repeater after LOS. I seems it should be possible to use “Automatic sat change ON” and have a dummy satellite in the satellite list configured to a local repeater. When a real satellite comes into view, SatPC32 would switch to that and when no real satellites are in view, the dummy satellite (repeater) would become active. My first idea would be to have the dummy satellite in the lowest satellite priority, and a dummy keps entry which would have the dummy satellite always in view. However, I don’t know how to construct such a keps element. Perhaps there is a more elegant way. Suggestions? Ron W5RKN

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SO67 - HO68 Status
by Ted 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

The SA AMSAT site states: "SO67 suffered another anomaly which means that all amateur activity has been suspended." I think the translation is RIP SO67 As for HO68, the CAMSAT web page is no longer there I take that as RIP HO68 TK K7TRK

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ARISSat-1
by Carl Rimmer 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

I was having a really good pass gpong from my NW-SE and I had copied 6 frames of Telemetry and 5 frames of KURSK data when the bird just went silent. It never came back during this pass. It was the 08-27-2011 0241 UTC pass over Lake Erie. I am curious if anyone has heard it since than. That is probably the best I have copied it since day one. The frames where forwarded. The MET was 55' 33". Bat Voltage = 35.668; Bat Current = -16 ma. I've never heard it just go silent like that and not come back up. Carl W8KRF

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Arissat-1 transponder LAST NIGHT OVER UK
by paul robinson 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

rpt 5/7 sig last night via the transponder called cq a few times heard a EA station that was weak but didnt manage to work him.Its not easy to work but possable. 2E1EUB

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Re: ARISSat-1
by Pete MI0VAX 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

Hi Carl, I've seen this recently myself too.. On the occasions when it happened here over the UK, the bird "should" have been in high power mode, but after looking at telemetry it appears that it had switched into low power mode much earlier that than usual, from memory the footprint was only half in eclipse. Also noticed that before it cuts off that there is usually 10-15 or so seconds of a silent carrier. On another occasion it cut out halfway through a SSTV transmission - this I'm almost certain shouldn't have happened due to the way the firmware was written. Perhaps a bad solar panel contributing to low voltage when approaching eclipse? I had noticed one of the panel temps was over 75c on several passes. It certainly looks like there is some intermittent problems beginning to raise their head, lets hope it's not a steady decline in the bird's performance as gathering the SSTV pics, telemetry etc has been a very enjoyable change to the usual FM/SSB activity. 73 de Pete Mi0VAX On Sat, Aug 27, 2011 at 3:59 AM, Carl Rimmer <cfrimmer(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I was having a really good pass gpong from my NW-SE and I had copied 6 > frames of Telemetry and 5 frames of KURSK data when the bird just went > silent. It never came back during this pass. It was the 08-27-2011 0241 > UTC pass over Lake Erie. I am curious if anyone has heard it since than. > That is probably the best I have copied it since day one. The frames where > forwarded. The MET was 55' 33". Bat Voltage = 35.668; Bat Current = -16 > ma. I've never heard it just go silent like that and not come back up. > > Carl W8KRF > _______________________________________________ > 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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Southwest Texas Grids - August 22/23 SUCCESS!
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 27 Aug '11

27 Aug '11

I want to thank all who supported my efforts to activate DL98/DL99 on the Texas/Mexico border. I also made quite a few contacts from EL07 in Laredo, Texas. Despite two border patrol inspection stations and three border patrol "drive-by's" while I was operating, the boundary operation went smoothly. APRS coverage was fairly poor for most of the trip unless I was in between major metropolitan areas in the Interstate 35 corridor. My SO-50 operations weren't as smooth as on AO-27 and AO-51 because they were unplanned and I was working them from whatever place I was on the road at AOS. Sometimes it was *not* a great location. Overall I ended up making 102 contacts from grids EM00, EM01, EM02, EL07, EL08, EL09, DL98, and DL99. I've already uploaded these contacts to Logbook of the World. If you would like a paper card, please email me the QSO details or go the usual direct/SASE route. 73, Clayton W5PFG EM21

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Re: ARISSAT-1
by Clint Bradford 26 Aug '11

26 Aug '11

>> ... I was having a really good pass ... went silent ... 08-27-2011 0241 UTC pass over Lake Erie ... All the more reason for EVERYONE to report their work on the OSCAR Status site at ... http://oscar.dcarr.org/ Our reports help not only "meager" fellow hams, but also the control operators of the various satellites up there! Clint, K6LCS http://tinyurl.com/ARISSAT1-STATUS

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CM86/CM96 rare grid activation this Saturday August 27.
by John Papay 26 Aug '11

26 Aug '11

Hello. K G 6 N U B/p received a positive response from his CM86 / CM96 grid activations last week from Santa Cruz California. To fill unmet demands for these grids, especially CM86, he will be traveling to the CM86/CM96 grid boundary this Saturday August 27th. For those needing cards, a SASE sent the FCC ULS listed address is appreciated, but not required. Expect a 3-12 month turnaround. He always operates with 5W or less into a hand held yagi connected to a full duplex radio. The operation plan is as follows: QTH: -122.0/37.0 ------------------------------------------------------ Object AOS (utc) LOS grid(s) ------------------------------------------------------ SO-50 19:47 19:59 CM86/CM96 AO-27 20:04 20:15 CM86/CM96 AO-27 21:41 21:56 CM86 AO-51 22:10 22:22 CM86/CM96 AO-27 23:26 23:33 CM86 AO-51 23:47 00:02 CM86 AO-51 01:30 01:39 CM86(maybe) 73, John K8YSE

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NASA Space Station Status Briefing
by Clint Bradford 26 Aug '11

26 Aug '11

Aug. 26, 2011 Michael Curie Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 michael.curie(a)nasa.gov Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kelly.o.humphries(a)nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-180 NASA SETS SPACE STATION STATUS UPDATE BRIEFING FOR MONDAY HOUSTON -- NASA Television will broadcast an International Space Station status update briefing at 9 a.m. CDT on Monday, Aug. 29. Michael Suffredini, space station program manager, will provide the latest information on the status of the station following the Aug. 24 failure of the Russian Progress 44 resupply vehicle to reach orbit. The Russian Federal Space Agency has established a commission to assess the root cause of the failure, to develop a plan of corrective action, and determine any implications for the launch of crews to the station on similar Soyuz rockets. Suffredini also will discuss the status of the commission's investigation and preliminary plans by NASA and its international partners to resume crew and cargo launches. NASA TV and the agency's website will broadcast the briefing live from the Johnson Space Center. Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations, and should contact their preferred NASA center to confirm participation. The phone bridge at Johnson will be available for reporters to participate by calling the newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 8:45 a.m. For the latest information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For schedule, streaming and downlink information about NASA TV, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv -end- Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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