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

Update on D-STAR GMSK Satellite OUFTI-1
by Trevor . 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

See http://www.uk.amsat.org/3795 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Atlantic Coast and New England
by Mervyn Hecht 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

Oscar 7 is working well for me for the east coast. I now have Mass, VT, NY and So Carolina. Is there anyone out there in North Carolina, PA, or New England? Merv

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heads up!
by Bob- W7LRD 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

http://www.spaceflight101.com/phobos-grunt-re-entry-information.html http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Misc/PhobosGrunt2.php parts of it could make it to your back yard! 73 Bob W7LRD

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Anyone using Heil Traveler w/FT-847?
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Before I make a purchase and construct a custom cable, is anyone using a Yaesu FT-847 with a Heil Traveler headset? If so, would you please share with me your results/feedback of this configuration? Thank you, Clayton W5PFG

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Radio Pirates
by Bob Bruninga 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Went to local flea market today (34F degrees out) for a wwod stove and was shocked to see a guy selling brand-new boxes of VHF and UHF, and Dual band HT's fully programmable from 140 to 170 and 440 to 570 MHz 5 to 7 watts. He had several brands and some were even dual band. Most boxes had chinese instructions. Radios were between $65 to $80 each. I guess I knew that these were available, but now that they are being sold in large quantities at general (non ham) flea markets, I guess the cat is out of the bag. Bob, WB4APR

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Student's Software Defined Radio CubeSat
by Trevor . 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Students at the University of Vigo have built Xatcobeo a CubeSat carrying a Software Defined Radio (SDR) that plans to launch in February. Video and further info at http://www.uk.amsat.org/3775 73 Trevor M5AKA ----

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Very Interesting Radio - Possible Sat Use
by Thomas Doyle 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Thanks to everyone who shared their opinion of my dual UV-X4 full duplex project. It was very interesting to read the variety of opinions people have. Back in the day we used to say that if you had a room with 10 hams in it there would be at least 20 strongly held opinions on any topic. Glad to see that is still true today. The first UV-X4 is great and has worked out so well that I ordered the second one and hope to work you with the full duplex setup someday soon. 73 W9KE Tom Doyle On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Thomas Doyle <tomdoyle1948(a)gmail.com> wrote: > This may have been discussed previously but just in case it has not. > > I purchased an interesting radio that might be an inexpensive way to > operate full duplex on the FM sats. > The radio cost $65 including shipping and all accessories. It runs 2W on > both 2M and 70cm. It has > almost all the bells and whistles you would expect on a dual band handi. 99 > memories - tone squelch ... > > In addition to the low cost the radio is very small. See pic - I have > fairly normal size hands so you can see how > small it is. > > http://www.tomdoyle.org/UV-X4.jpg > > I purchased it expecting the worst. Much to my surprise it actually works > quite well. The menu system is > the most intuitive I have found on any radio. The only negatives I could > find were > > - no channel lockout when scanning - I put the local weather station in one > of the memories. > Since it is always on you can not use the scan function. > > - I fully expected a radio of such a small size would not have adequate > sound from the speaker. > In fact the sound from the speaker is really loud. Everything is set > using a rotary digital switch > with detents. This works great for selecting channels and using the menu > functions. There are > only 9 detent positions for the volume. The lowest volume setting is > mute, one click up and it is > loud and it keeps getting louder as you go up. There was nothing wrong > with my radio - they > all do it. > > - no DTMF pad > > None of these negatives affect the use of the radio with an FM sat. You > could buy a pair of these > for $130 including shipping. Add a diplexer and Elk/Arrow antenna and I > think you would be good to > go with a very compact low cost full duplex portable FM station. > > I bought mine from http://www.maintradingcompany.com and received excellent > service. In case you > were wondering what the goofy looking LED between the switch and the > antenna is - it is for the > flashlight function the radio offers as a feature. The flashlight feature > is invaluable :-) > > Sent from my computer. > > W9KE Tom Doyle

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FUNcube in Electronics Weekly
by Trevor . 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

The FUNcube amateur radio satellite project is featured in the publication Electronics Weekly, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/3752 ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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Video - Kicksat - Zac Manchester Interview
by Trevor . 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Watch a live interview and Q&A session attended by over 100 people Jan 10, 2012 http://www.uk.amsat.org/3730 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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[amsat-bb] Video - Kicksat – Zac Manchester Interview
by Trevor . 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Watch a live interview and Q&A session attended by over 100 people Jan 10, 2012 http://www.uk.amsat.org/3730 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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