AMSAT-BB August 2012

132 participants
188 discussions

Satellite's
by Kevin Deane 29 Aug '12

29 Aug '12

I have been following most of the recent post's on Sat usage and I gather the main topic was the lack of use on the linear bird's. I think working the FM sat's (or lack of) are always fun and always have been. I am dying to work AO-7 for sure and VO-52, FO-29 but gave up trying to do so without the right equipment. I tried several times with an FT-857 and presets, heard people many time's but could not keep up with tuning and punching button's. Frustration overcame my desire to even try, knowing mostly that without the proper rig's I was just not going to fulfill my aching for these wondrous long passes with more than just a grid exchange. Which brings me to the point: Lack of money, you can get on the FM bird's with an Arrow and a Hand Held, I get a minute or so on my mobile! So what is the cheapest "proper" entry on the linear birds? Full duplex I found very nice on the FM sat's though I do not always have that luxury. An 857 run's what 8-900 buck's and I do not think even two of those would be very good? Let's change the topic a bit and ask the elmer's how to help us younger and or newer guy's get on the Linear Satellite's instead of reminiscing what once was or the lack of use of these great bird's that still live!!! Kevin KF7MYK

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Smartphone and Kinect CubeSat Presentations
by Trevor . 29 Aug '12

29 Aug '12

On September 15-16 Dr Chris Bridges will be giving two presentations to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, United Kingdom. Chris will cover the Nexus Android Smartphone amateur radio satellite STRaND-1 which will carry both a Resistojet and a Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) module and STRaND-2 which will use Microsoft Xbox Kinect controller technology. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=9946 73 Trevor M5AKA ----

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Satellite Usage - 2012
by John Papay 29 Aug '12

29 Aug '12

The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a discussion of the current state of affairs with the satellites that are still working. After reading about how the activity on the linear birds was down, I had to wonder a bit. It has not been my experience. I really expected the activity on the FM birds to diminish when AO-51 died. We only get 7 minutes of AO-27 and that doesn't make up for the much longer passes on AO-51. SO-50 has never been off the air since I started in 2006 but it is the most difficult to hear throughout the pass. For that reason, activity on SO-50 was fairly low. If you can't hear it, you can't work it. But to my surprise, SO-50 activity dramatically increased when AO-51 went silent. Those who work the FM birds became determined to work through this satellite despite the difficulties in hearing it. Of course, if you are not full duplex, you don't know when you are hearing the bird and that sometimes results in those who call but cannot hear the responses. They might assume that there is no activity on the bird when in fact there are many stations trying to make qso's. I started using the ssb birds in late November 2007. There wasn't much activity on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 at that time. But over the last two years, activity on the linear birds has steadily increased. Much of the increase can be attributed to the newer people who started on the FM birds and quickly decided to get involved with the linear birds. I think the availability of satellite capable radios has really helped. If you have a TS2000 you can be on a linear bird without much effort. They are easier to hear than an FM bird. Some are using a pair of radios to achieve full duplex with great success. And I highly recommend SatPC32 which I have used now since 2006. It runs 24x7 on a Vista Quad machine and doesn't crash. The recordings on my website were made possible using the auto multi-satellite tracking feature of this program. Recordings are made without any outside intervention. One of the things that powers DX on the HF bands are dxpeditions. Groups spend large amounts of money to travel to destinations all over the world so that others can put that country in the worked/confirmed column. With satellites today it's the VUCC award that drives the activity. When someone shows up from a rare grid, the birds are sometimes overwhelmed. ND9M has worked from hundreds of USA grids and has also worked from his ship on the linear birds. UT1FG/mm has been very active over the past three years and has created pileups on the ssb birds not unlike those on HF. To say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever before. You work with what you have and make the best of it, fm or linear. The future of AMSAT and the satellite phase of our hobby is all about the new people. When you hear someone new on the bird and it's a noisy signal with an incomplete callsign, maybe without phonetics, call that station. Giving out that first contact with a newbie far outweighs 100 contacts with those that you have worked many times before. Sometimes the effort doesn't result in a qso, but maybe there is a possibility to follow up with an email or postcard with an offer of help. Just remember we all started out at some point with no experience. Most everyone can remember their first contact and how important it was in terms of encouraging future operating. So if you're reading the AMSAT-bb and are discouraged by the fact that there are no High Earth Orbit Satellites, don't be. Times change, technology changes but we continue by using what we have to the max and working towards improving our situation where we can. AMSAT works very hard to explore every possibility for building and launching new satellites. It's a tremendous effort that most of us don't realize is happening day after day. We all need to support this effort. FOX I and II will be here before we know it. These birds should give us some room for more qso's and new operators. In the meantime, AO-7 continues to work at an altitude of 1450KM. FO-29 is at 1200 or 1300 KM some of the time. These birds provide an opportunity to work DX if you can see down to the horizon. If you can't, you can always go to a location that is better and use your FT817 with an Arrow antenna and work down to the horizon. There is nothing wrong with using an Arrow or ELK antenna to work DX. WD9EWK has proven that point time after time. A good ham radio operator is one that looks at a problem as a challenge rather than a show stopper. Ham radio ingenuity over the years has been amazing. So if you are having trouble and are frustrated, develop an action plan to move forward. The resources available to us today are unprecedented. And there are mentors out there that are willing to help. Above all, stay positive and have some fun! 73, John K8YSE

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Allen, N5AFV comments on the Houston AMSAT Net
by Bruce 29 Aug '12

29 Aug '12

for those that would like to listen to allen, n5afv's, comments on the houston amsat net (august 28, 2012 8pm central) without having to listen to any part of the net, you can do so at this link... http://www.amsatnet.com/964snip.mp3 hope this makes it easier for those interested. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
by K5OE 29 Aug '12

29 Aug '12

Not everyone has given up. Listen to Allen's, N5AFV, comments at the beginning of the Houston AMSAT net tonight... http://www.amsatnet.com/ 73, Jerry, K5OE

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Satellite and/or tracking apps for smart phones
by Philip Jenkins 28 Aug '12

28 Aug '12

Hi all I'm changing cell phone carriers and I can choose either an Android phone or an iPhone as my next smartphone. I haven't decided which phone yet, but I'd like to know which satellite-related apps other operators are using on both types of phones. Are there any apps for satellites other than for tracking? (I'm interested in tracking satellites too, of course). So I'm looking for recommendations and ones to stay away from. Any particular features to look for in these apps, or any bug-a-boos to avoid, especially when installing an app? Reply to my email, N4HF(a)AMSAT.ORG, or to the BB (since others might be interested too), although I don't want to be "blamed" for starting one of those threads that seems to run on forever. :-) If there are any websites which discuss satellite (tracking) software apps specific to smartphones, that would be great! Thanks. Gracias. Merci. Danke. Efxaristo. Spasibo, Obrigado Philip N4HF

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looking back
by John Becker 28 Aug '12

28 Aug '12

Sure do miss AO 40.

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BB Postings
by K4FEG 28 Aug '12

28 Aug '12

90 % of the people posting here I have NEVER heard on ANY satellite, I have contacted several about schedules and all I get is that the antenna system is down, or their dog ate their microphone cable or they don't have an angle on the satellite, but they sure got time to make postings on the BB, the linear birds are alive and well, the FM birds are crowded and I have never heard a Cube Sat. With no HEO satellites I work all 50 States in 8 months on the birds that are flying, I have worked 660 grid squares and have almost 600 confirmed in 12 months and 3 weeks. Fix your antennas, repair your mikes and cut your trees and get on the satellites! UT1FG works half duplex on the linear birds as a maritime mobile and does a fantastic job, on his last voyage on the open ocean I personally worked him in 170 NEW grid squares, There is plenty of activity. Pick a bird, Pick a mode, Pick a satellite or pick you nose, but at least pick up a microphone and get on the satellites they are still up there! AO27 is flying!!! BYE! K4FEG

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TDMA Question
by Howie DeFelice 28 Aug '12

28 Aug '12

Hi Dave, The answer is yes, TDMA voice can and has been used on commercial satellites; LEO,MEO and GEO for years. Commercial GEO satellites, for the most part, are just high powered frequency translators. All the TDMA part is generated on the ground. The complication is that all users will have a different path length and therefore a different transit time to the satellite. Compensating for this different path length is usually done by adding a timing offset to each user. For GEO satellites this is fairly simple. For orbiting satellites it must be done dynamically. It is also quite common to see VoIP transported inside TDMA frames since most current commercial TDMA modems have native Ethernet/IP interfaces. If amateur satellite is going to make the most of digital technology, I think we will see a trend away from boxes added to analog radios and see a movement toward the method used commercially, which is have all the data handling and modulation done at a low IF frequency that feeds the appropriate up and down converters. There are many bright and talented hams doing amazing work in DSP. I would not be surprised to see a cubesat using this technology supporting numerous QSO's on a single frequency sometime in the not so distant future. - Howie AB2S

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Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Aug '12

28 Aug '12

> To >say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply >incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever >before. Since my Board of Directors report from sometime ago was used as evidence, let me state that activity on the linear transponders -is- up from when I wrote that at least a year (or more?) ago. It's not uncommon to hear 4-5 qsos going at once now. That hasn't always been the case in years past. 73, Drew KO4MA

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AMSAT-BB August 2012