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

DM84, DM85, DM86, DM96 activations = SUCCESS
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 25 Sep '11

25 Sep '11

It was a pleasure working some of you this week from the grids mentioned in the subject line. I also operated from DM83, EM14, and EM15. It is very apparent that DM83 is much more rare than any other grids I have activated in the region. Several hams had asked that I make a trip specifically to put DM83 on the air. It is not very far out of my business route so activating it was no trouble. I will be doing it again and possibly before the end of this year. If you need any of the following grids confirmed, we can setup a schedule: EM02-07 EM11-14 EM21-26 DM82-85 DM92-96 EL28-29 It may take a few months before I travel to your desired grid but rest assured I will go there and we can attempt contact. Some grids I visit fairly regularly. I've already started to input contacts into my electronic log and upload them to Logbook of the World. If you sent me a QSL card and SASE I will respond early this week. If you did not send me a card but would like me to send you one, please email me the details of our contact. If you do not see our contact confirmed in LotW by the end of this upcoming week, please contact me. For those whom I worked on the DM85/DM95 grid line, I will have a special card related to the nearby attraction on Interstate 40 (7/10 mile east of the grid line.) No SASE req'd. I will be sending them out in a week or two. 73 Clayton W5PFG On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 9:57 AM, Clayton Coleman W5PFG <kayakfishtx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Over the next few days I will *attempt* to activate grids DM84, DM85, > and possibly DM86/DM96 in the Texas Panhandle region using AO-27, > AO-51, and potentially SO-50. I've scouted a few places where I can > operate these grids in relative proximity to where I will be working. > > 73 > Clayton > W5PFG >

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Re: Two Questions
by K5OE 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

K5TRI Wrote: > Next project will be to build a 2nd IOio and phase them together 90 deg off to > see if that will help with the fading issue (mostly on FO-29) vs buying or building a > complex RHCP/LHCP switchable setup. Good plan on building a second linear antenna. This is not as complex as it sounds and only requires one coaxial relay and one section of delay line (coax). Your choice on how you want to match the impedances, but the simplest for two 50 Ohm feedpoints is to use 50 Ohms for the delay line and at the output of the relay use a 37.5 Ohm matching section (pair of 75 Ohm cables in parallel). You can various schemes in the literature, including the ARRL Satellite Handbook. > My IOio beats your Arrow or Elk in terms of price by leaps :). But then again > it doesn't look as nice. Wow, I finally met a humble ham! 73, Jerry, K5OE

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ARISSAT-1
by BobHerrell 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

Today I was able to make my first contact on ARISSAT-1. It was at 2038z with Sebastian, W4AS. It took a while for us to make it, but we finally succeeded. Was Sebastian's second contact. Glad I was able to make at least one contact before we loose the bird.

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Re: ARISSat daylightpower recovery time
by andy thomas 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

I agree with this observation here at IO92NL. Arissat-1 does not switch on immediately when in sunlight, I have missed several passes this morning and in the last few days. I am just waiting for what the MET is announced (voice tlm) as at 1032 utc AOS (coming up) and will backtrack to how long she has been in sunlight. The difference ought to tell us the latency. 73 de andy G0SFJ

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ARRISat-1 SSB QSO w/ WB0KFC
by John Papay 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

ARRISat-1 was in pretty good shape when it finally turned on after being in eclipse this morning around 1510z or so. I had a good qso with WB0KFC and heard someone else (maybe N8MH?) at the end of the pass. The bird went off the air around 1516z before my LOS. The next pass at 1643z should be good for western and the southeastern USA. Give it a try. It's 15 degrees for me but I'll be calling. Run as much power on the uplink as you have. It doesn't hear very well with a stubby antenna. Hope to work you. 73, John K8YSE

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UARS is gone, but you can still enter the ARISSat-1 Chicken Little Contest!
by Alan P. Biddle 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

All, Now that everybody has climbed out from under their beds, it might be a good time to think about entering the ARISSat-1 Chicken Little Contest. We are still looking for calculations/guesses/darts-in-the-calendar submissions for when ARRISSat-1 makes its final orbit. We have a fair number of submissions from all over the world from adults, but very few from students. If you know of one who might be interested, encourage them to enter. The details are here: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ARISSat/ARISSatContest While it is not going to receive the coverage of UARS, the closest submissions in each category will be recognized. Right now, the deadline is the 15th of October, though since ARISSat-1 is "floating like a butterfly" that MIGHT get extended. TBD. We want to give people enough time to enter. However, if we wait too long, the window narrows significantly, putting those who submitted early at a disadvantage. Alan WA4SCA

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NASA Says ...
by Clint Bradford 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

We can now confirm that #UARS is down! Debris fell to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23, and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. -NASA Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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UARS
by Peter Portanova 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

NASA UPDATE UARS Updatesa.. Update #15 Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:46:42 AM EDT NASA's decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California said the satellite penetrated the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty. 73's Pete WB2OQQ www.massapequanyweather.com

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ARISSat daylightpower recovery time
by Richard Ferryman 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

Although I have severely limited satellite visibility I have been copying telemetry from ARISSat1 for some weeks. I live in a valley surrounded by chalk hills and cliffs over 100 metres higher than me so my visible horizon is +12 degrees to +18 degrees at best. Also my 3+3 element short crossed yagi and rotator are in the attic! This worked beautifully when the satellite batteries held up and now when ARISSat is powered up. However I notice it can take 10 minutes or more from the time the satellite enters sunlight until the system bursts into life. At present this means loss of telemetry at this location when ARISSat is over the Atlantic, and even on overhead passes if it has been in sunlight for less than 10 minutes. Question is why it takes ARISSat so long after entering sunlight before it starts transmitting? Surely if the batteries have failed high resistance the voltage should be up within seconds of entering sunlight. Dick G4BBH

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SatPC-32 vs HRD
by Kevin Deane 24 Sep '11

24 Sep '11

Check out the new comic on my QRZ page. I made it 0 -- 0 so far even though I use HRD. Kevin KF7MYK

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