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

Re: Nothing from ARISSat-1?
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 27 Sep '11

27 Sep '11

Hi Gordon, I did not hear even a whisper today -Monday morning - at my QTH in south Wales UK. Thanks for your posting it confirms that I was not alone. Regards Ken Eaton GW1FKY

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Ref my ARISSat-1 report 26th Sept.
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 27 Sep '11

27 Sep '11

Thanks to the feedback from operators in Europe whom advised me that they had in fact heard ARISSat-1 on the morning passes on Monday 26th Sept. It appears that I did not wait long enough for its activation after coming from eclipse, I followed up the pass today (Tuesday ) at approx. 0900 hrs GMT. Sure enough it did activate OK but longer than I had anticipated and perhaps rather like the situation in the earlier days for Europe after it was released. Today ( using tracking ) it came over the horizon - a reasonable clear view - at approx. 0900hrs and reached its max. elevation of only 14 degrees for my QTH at approx. 0904hrs. It had not turned on at this stage and I did not hear the FM transmissions until 0909 hrs at which time it had tracked down to an elevation of only 7 degrees. Not able to work via the SSB link at such a low angle so can't comment except to say that under better operating situations during the month, I have heard my own down link quite strongly and had two confirmed contacts. Many thanks and apologies if my earlier report caused confusion. Ken Eaton GW1FKy

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post that dudnt go
by Kevin Deane 27 Sep '11

27 Sep '11

Hello From Don KA9QJG , Hope Everyone is doing Well I have Heard and Read and ask a lot of Questions about Hams using the Oscar Sub Band 144.3-144.5 and as You can guess I Got a lot of Opinions From the ARRL, FCC And others, So I thought the Best thing to go was to actually get the Answers from You the users. Yes I know that and as a Responsible Ham I think We all should use the Guidelines , But in this Case From what I have found the Oscar Sats have not been on the Air since in Many Years , and NO Other Sats or ISS Is using the Freqs or set aside for them , So a Lot of Hams in the US are using the Freqs for FM/ SSB CW DIGTAL And Look the Well Established APRS And long time and still used 144.34 FM for Conducting ATV And I have seen on the Internet Some States actually adding the 144.300-144.5 As Simplex FM The Problem is I have Heard People Jamming and Arguments about this over the Air , I have even seen on the Internet when doing searches for Info Some States even include this NON Used 144.300 TO 144.500 For FM Simplex Etc.. Because NO Oscar Sats Exist or Nothing else to Interfere with But I agree 100Percent if there Was the Freqs should NOT Be used for anything other then what it was intended for Thanks 73 De Don KA9QJG PS as You know We have a lot of older Hams kind of set in their ways and the New ones Are Listening and looking for ways to Fit in, and We need as Many New Responsible Hams in this Hobby as We can get But How Could We get on these Freqs Some are using and Say Hey We are not allowed here Because of the Oscar Sub Band Something that has been Gone for over 20 Yrs

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SoCal Grids
by Kevin Deane 27 Sep '11

27 Sep '11

Does not look like there is much left, I heard someone in DM04 and I think KI6YAA is in DM22. DM 12 maybe, I think I hear that one too? I will stick to the plan and get DM6,7,8 on the way back. 8 is easy right by my brothers. Kevin KF7MYK

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Fw: Strong Geomagnetic Storm on Sept. 26
by George and Cheryl Abbott 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

FYI George,W1GMA- 73's -----Original Message----- From: SpaceWeather.com Sent: Monday, September 26, 2011 4:02 PM To: SpaceWeather.com Subject: Strong Geomagnetic Storm on Sept. 26 Space Weather News for Sept. 26, 2011 http://spaceweather.com GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A strong geomagnetic storm is in progress following the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) today, Sept. 26th, at approximately 12:15 UT. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab report a "strong compression of Earth's magnetosphere" and the possibility that satellites in geosynchronous orbit have been exposed to solar wind plasma and magnetic fields. Mid- to high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras after nightfall. Observing tip: The hours around local midnight are usually best for spotting Northern and Southern Lights. Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates. DON'T MISS THE STORM: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice). You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com. New subscribers may sign up for free space weather alerts at http://spaceweather.com/services/ . To unsubscribe click here: http://www.spaceweather2.com/u?id=602373K&n=T&l=spaceweather or send a blank email to leave-spaceweather-602373K(a)www.spaceweather2.com

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AO-7 observation
by Bob- W7LRD 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

I notice when AO-7 is out there at 4000km I can notice the delay in cw from my monitor to the 8000km round trip to and from AO-7. Kind of shades of AO-40 (sobsob) when the delay was really noticable, and when we listened to ourselves (ssb) we had to turn down the rx volume a little as no to sound like a babbling fool. 73 Bob W7LRD

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A Modest Proposal
by Thomas Doyle 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

The bulletin board system AMSAT is using is well suited for information that is useful for only a relatively short time. If there is a trip to a rare grid location that information is of little use after the event takes place. IMHO what is missing is a way to share information that has relevance beyond a few days. When I became active again on the sats I asked a question on the board. I received an email telling me that "that question has been asked several times before". It was helpful beyond belief. In the last few days someone posted a nice check list of things to do to try and get your SatPC32 station running. A bit later someone posted a correction that added a vital step that was missing in the first posting. Suppose a newbie subscribes to the board today - he has already looked at the articles from 1997-2004 in the new users section on the AMSAT website but needs a little current info. He posts a message on the board asking about getting his SatPC32 station working. Lets hope no one sends him a message telling him that "that question has been asked before". I also hope no one sends him a message suggesting he uses the search funtion. That would be like the 4th grade teacher who responded to my question "How do you spell pneumonia ?" - by telling me to "Look it up in the dictionary" - I spent a lot of time looking for words that started with "N" before asking my folks when I got home. If they did search - what would they look for. What are the chances that they would find the initial post AND the correction post. I realize everything is perfect as it is but perhaps it would be nice to have something similar to the Yahoo Groups where subscribers can post files and pictures of things that would be of interest for more than a day or two. Take a look at the SDR-Radio or Softrock groups on Yahoo. There are files and pictures that have been very helpful to me. There was a recent posting here from someone asking for a current Doppler.SQF file. I sent him mine but it would have been better if there was a place to store it where anyone could access it. Some people have their stations working well but are not all that excited about spending a lot of time documenting it and posting it for a handful of people who might look at it before it disappears into the abyss of the message archive. You may not like what you read but be thankful I fought the urge to include some sort of Jonathan Swift reference.

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WB0KFC ARISSat-1 Signals
by Farrell Winder 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

To WB0KFC : Heard your signals Sept 25, 2011 on the 15:41 U pass at Cincinnati. On 145.934.5 where I have fixed my receive for experiment with another station, heard your CW transmissions, CQ CQ WB0KFC, then voice CQ CQ Kilo Foxtrot Charlie. In your setup what antenna are you using on the uplink. Do you leave your Uplink fixed and tune downlink or vice versa? Appreciate your comments and suggestions for best technique to make contacts on ARISSat-1.. Have received my own transmissions for very very short time with weak cw return. Thanks, 73, Farrell Winder, W8ZCF, Cincinnati, Ohio

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Thanks for third certificate for arissat-1
by andy thomas 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

Thanks for the sstv certificate, a commendably fast turnaround from CT-land ! 73 de andy g0SFJ

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Arissat-1 silent over UK: Explanation
by andy thomas 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

As reported over the weekend, Arissat-1 is no longer audible in the UK, because she does not switch on until after about 14 minutes from entering sunlight. I believe the sequence is: enter sunlight: MET starts: timer activated 14 minute wait before tx - other systems live Tx on with data at a MET of 14 minutes Tx sequence We in the UK now have to wait unril the orbit continues to precess to the late evening (about 10 days' time) 73 de andy G0SFJ

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