January 2012 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

LVB Tracker USB serial port driver for Windows 7 x64?
by Bill Bordy, NJ1H 22 Dec '16

22 Dec '16

Has anyone located a driver for the LVB Tracker internal USB to serial port adapter on Windows 7 x64? If not, has anyone reverted to the serial port connection on LVB Tracker and used an external USB to serial port adapter successfully with SatPC32 on Windows 7 x64? I have an Edgeport multiple USB to serial port that has drivers for Windows 7 x64 that I will use if I have to. I would prefer using the LVB Tracker with its USB to serial adapter if someone has another solution. 73, Bill NJ1H

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AO-16 telemetry 3 Oct 2010
by Mark L. Hammond 01 Jul '16

01 Jul '16

Hi All, Here is a quick AO-16 update. On Sunday I turned AO-16 long enough to get some telemetry packets. The satellite would remain on for less than one minute after being commanded on. A quick test of the "bent pipe" voice mode repeater was successful. . The "hardware watchdog timer problem" is still evident; as expected, spacecraft temperatures are insufficient to keep the transmitter ON (needs to be above 15 deg C). Orbit projections suggest that satellite illumination conditions will not result in increased temperatures for nearly 10 years. Command stations do periodically turn AO-16 "ON" to check on its condition and see if the hardware timer problem has "automagically" fixed itself (which in not anticipated, but who knows...). AO-16 telemetry 3 Oct 2010 1838 utc PACSAT MBL Telemetry Decoder Ver. 1.3 (c) Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN =============================================================================== (average values) +10V Battery Bus : 0.00 V Battery Charge Reg : 0.55 mA Base Temp : 9.07 °C PSK RF Out : 1.90 W +5V RX Bus : 4.87 V +8.5V RX Bus : 8.49 V +10V RX Bus : 11.24 V Here is another teaser :) Several months ago I commanded the AO-16 S-band transmitter ON; it too remains functional (albeit weak), and was received by me, Drew KO4MA, and Alan WA4SCA. 73, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Call for Papers--2007 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
by Ford, Steve, WB8IMY 16 Jul '12

16 Jul '12

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 26th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 28-30, 2007 in Hartford, Connecticut. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31, 2007. Please send papers to: Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111 or you can make your submission via e-mail to: maty(a)arrl.org Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights. 73 . . . Steve, WB8IMY ARRL

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Re: EggBeater
by Bill Dzurilla 30 May '12

30 May '12

Steve, I have both a commercial and a homebrew Eggbeater and am disappointed with both, especially in light of its rather high price. Connected to my IC-7000 via an ARR mast-mounted preamp, performance is far less than with an HT and an Arrow. Guess an omni can't cut it, at least not from my QTH. Maybe if I could get it up higher, clear of all roofs, it would do better. I can make contacts at relatively high sat elevations, but can do just as well with a $10 dual band ground plane. My friend has an Eggbeater and the same preamp at a clearer QTH, and he hears substantially better, down to 10 degrees elevation in some directions. Good luck and 73, Bill NZ5N > > Hi Steve, > > > > It is surprising to read that you are not hearing > anything. I have > > repeatedly used a 2m and 70cm Eggbeater for the sats > and have had no > > problem hearing things. No pre-amp. > > > > I was using a short cable (e.g. less than 10 meters). > The rigs I > > used were a FT-736r (deaf) and a FT-847 (so-so). > > > > 73, > > > > Dave

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AO-51 wikipedia error
by Andrew Glasbrenner 13 Apr '12

13 Apr '12

Hi All, Would someone more familiar with wikipedia please edit the photo currently claimed as AO-51 in that entry? I'm not sure what satellite that is, maybe one of the SaudiSats, but it's not 51. The error was carried over to this month's QST even. http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT/AO-51-ECHO/02-Preparing-ECHO/042-CIMG1769/108… is a good shot of AO-51 just before launch. Thanks, Drew KO4MA

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QSL backs for roving satellite operators
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Has anyone designed a QSL card back for satellite operators who operate a lot of rover? I am trying to trim cost and time associated with multiple cards to QSL my rover contacts. In the past I have hand written many /P cards and some image-based cards using photo printers, but would like to order a better quality card with an image front and QSO data on back. I'm looking for a QSL card back that has room for pertinent information such as my rover grid, satellite, and the necessary items to confirm a valid QSO for award purposes. The idea would be for the card to support at least four QSO's. My question is -- has anyone designed such a card and are you willing to share with me your image? Perhaps someone is a real graphics hound and would like to help? Thank you & 73, Clayton W5PFG

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Vega Satellite Deployments
by Mineo Wakita 01 Feb '12

01 Feb '12

Eight CubeSats by Vega Satellite planned on February 9, 2012 are released in order of the following time schedule after launching. Pre-launch TLEs have not yet been made available. T0+ 4245.30secs first PPOD, XatCobeo, e-st@r, and Goliat T0+ 4255.30secs second PPOD, Robusta, MaSat-1, and PW-Sat T0+ 4265.30secs third PPOD, UniCubeSat only T0+ 4275.30secs AlmaSat-1 http://www.uk.amsat.org/4235 http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/esa9cubf.htm http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/20131esa.png http://www.ies.univ-montp2.fr/robusta/satellite/IMG/pdf/EDU-TN-Cubesats-ICD… JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Slightly OT: That's no moon!
by Andrew Glasbrenner 31 Jan '12

31 Jan '12

I was out in the yard getting something out of the car tonight, and as I am wont to do, looked up at the nice clear winter sky. I noticed something moving W to E, nice and bright. Although the path was similar to airliners coming in from the Gulf to Tampa International, this wasn't a plane. Nor was it ISS, as Pocketsat3 quickly confirmed. The straight W-E movement, and my location at 28 and change north, suggested an orbit of similar inclination. It plainly blinked out just before 19:41 local, just as it was approaching Gemini. My gut reaction was maybe the new Chinese mini-station? Heaven's Above made it easy to search for visual passes, and the best match was an obvious one. Hubble Space Telescope matched my observations, with a max magnitude of 0.7. I had no idea it was so bright! Just a neat experience I thought some satellite types might appreciate, and it all happened by accident from just looking up. 73, Drew KO4MA

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NASA Meet & Greet
by Clint Bradford 31 Jan '12

31 Jan '12

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-018 NASA, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND INVITE PUBLIC TO ASTRONAUTS' DISCUSSION OF RECENT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MISSIONS WASHINGTON -- NASA and the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering invite the public to a discussion with three astronauts from recent International Space Station expedition missions at 5:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the Hoff Theater inside the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. The crew members will give a video presentation about their mission and answer questions from the audience. Free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets can be picked up from the Stamp Union ticket office daily between noon and 10 p.m., starting Monday, Feb. 6. Reporters interested in covering the event should contact Missy Corley at 301-405-6501 or mcorley(a)umd.edu. Mike Fossum served as a flight engineer for Expedition 28 and as commander for Expedition 29. During his stay, the station celebrated 11 years of continuous residence and work. Fossum returned to Earth on Nov. 21, 2011. He has logged more than 194 days in space, including more than 48 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA) in seven spacewalks. He is seventh on the all-time list of cumulative EVA time. Ron Garan served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 27 and 28. While aboard the station, Garan continued work on a variety of microgravity experiments and welcomed two shuttle visits, including the last to the station. Garan landed on Sept. 15, 2011. He has logged more than 178 days in space, including 27 hours and 3 minutes outside the station during four spacewalks. Cady Coleman served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 26 and 27. She was the lead robotics and science officer. While aboard, the station hosted a record number of visiting spacecraft: five vehicles from four space agencies. She returned to Earth on May 24, 2011. Coleman has logged over 4,330 hours in space aboard the station and space shuttle Columbia. The trio also will give a presentation earlier in the day to NASA employees at 10:30 a.m. in NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb Auditorium, located at 300 E St. SW in Washington. The presentation will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. The astronauts will be available for media interviews from 9 to 10 a.m. Journalists must call 202-358-1100 to attend the presentation or to schedule an interview. For more information about Fossum, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fossum.html http://www.twitter.com/astro_aggie For more information about Garan, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/garan-rj.html http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Ron For more information about Coleman, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/coleman.html http://www.twitter.com/astro_cady For more information about the A. James Clark School of Engineering, visit: http://www.eng.umd.edu/impact/space For a map of the University of Maryland campus and location of the Stamp Student Union (Building 163), visit: http://bit.ly/zku8ht For NASA TV schedule information and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv -end- Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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AMSAT-UK website on Mobiles + Horyu-2 satellite
by Trevor . 31 Jan '12

31 Jan '12

Some information on Horyu-2, believed to be planned for a February launch, is at Student High-Voltage Satellite Horyu-2 http://www.uk.amsat.org/4279 The AMSAT-UK website now provides a better experience for mobile users. If you have one of these devices, could you test and feedback. Android Nokia Palm Windows Smart Phone and Opera Browser… 73 Trevor M5AKA

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