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

Neil Armstrong
by Jeffrey Koehler 25 Aug '12

25 Aug '12

From CBS News' Bill Harwood 03:20 PM EDT, 08/25/12 ADVISORY: Neil Armstrong, first man on moon, dies at 82 By WILLIAM HARWOOD CBS News Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon and an enduring icon of the space age and America's greatest technological triumph, died Saturday, multiple sources said. He was 82. "We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures," he family said in a statement (http://www.neilarmstronginfo.com). "Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. "Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job. He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He also found success back home in his native Ohio in business and academia, and became a community leader in Cincinnati. "He remained an advocate of aviation and exploration throughout his life and never lost his boyhood wonder of these pursuits. "As much as Neil cherished his privacy, he always appreciated the expressions of good will from people around the world and from all walks of life. "While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves. "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink." 73, Jeff WB2SYK

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14099 kHz CPUT CubeSat to launch in November
by Trevor . 25 Aug '12

25 Aug '12

The amateur radio CubeSat designed and built by students at the Cape Peninsular University of Technology in Bellville will be launched towards the end of November. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=9891 73 Trevor M5AKA

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IARU Satellite Forum + SkyCube & 915 MHz CubeSat Ground Station Network
by Trevor . 25 Aug '12

25 Aug '12

The IARU International Amateur Radio Satellite Forum will this year be held in conjunction with the AMSAT-UK Colloquium which takes place in Guildford, England on the weekend of September 15-16. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=9862 -- The Huffington Post reports on the imaging CubeSat SkyCube that will be utilizing a network of 915 MHz ground stations operated by the US Navy, the Boeing Corporation, and the University of Utah for CubeSat projects. Images taken by SkyCube will be transmitted by a 57.6 kbps modem that was developed for CubeSats using the 915 MHz band. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=9872 -- 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: Ts2000 with external preamps
by Bob DeVarney W1ICW 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

I suspect the issue with the Icom preamps and a TS-2000 is that the Icom preamp does not appear to RF-sense.. if there's DC on the coax, it's in line, if there's not DC on the coax, it's bypassed. I run the SSB SP-2000 and it can handle 200 watts RF-sensed. No sequencer necessary with the rig barefoot. The box you referenced on eBay protects the TS-2000 from amplifiers that need a lot of current from the radio to switch them, or have high voltage levels in the switching circuit ( bad design ) I did find this link which had a lot of useful info: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?287072-ICOM-AG-25-amp-TS-2000-Questions On 8/24/2012 12:15 PM, Lawn, Richard wrote: > I have an icom preamp and wish I didn't. I'll send you the eBay link separately. > Rick > > >

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YW5B
by Omar Alvarez 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

I contacted the YW5B in 24.945 and they have problems to be on SAT, so will be in another expedition. Omar XE1AO DK89df ******************************** M.C. Omar Alvarez Cárdenas Facultad de Telematica, U de C 316 1075 xe1aom(a)ucol.mx omar_ac(a)hotmail.com ********************************

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Office Closed
by Martha 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

The AMSAT Office will be closed from Monday, August 24 - Tuesday, Sept 4th. -- 73- Martha

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FUNCube dongle for sale
by Alan P. Biddle 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

Hi, Cleaning the shack, and I have a spare FCD Pro V1.0 SN 188 for sale. This is first generation and does not provide +5V on the antenna as do the V1.1 units. It is in perfect electrical and mechanical condition, and used only the shack. $80 including shipping to North America. Please contact me off list. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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KL7AA BP51 operational
by AL4S - Rich 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

Happy to report the Anchorage ARC's Earth Station at BP51be is operational. The M2 VHF/UHF antennas are on a Glen Martin tower with non-penetrating roof mount and pads. The Yaesu G-5500 az/el is driven by a ST-2 Sat Tracker by various Software including SatPC32. The main rig in use is the ICOM IC-910H with a MicroHAM MK2 interface. Next to be integrated is a KPC3+. This station is available to members of the club and guests. We will also participate with the genso.org project. www.kl7aa.net -- Rich Gillin - *AL4S* 907.884.1404 skype/ooVoo: rich.gillin

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USB SDR DONGLE - Re: Exclusive New Product Launch at AMSAT-UK Colloquium
by Thomas Doyle 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

I have been working with some of the new low cost RTL2832U+E4000 dongles that are flooding the market. It appears that they are designed for the digital TV market in some countries outside the US. They cost about $20. They usually come with an antenna and a remote control. The antenna and remote are useless but the dongle does work. It has a PAL antenna connector which is not a problem since an adapter are available at Radio Shack. It takes a bit of digging around to find the drivers. There was some sort of license fight between a couple of "open source" developers which makes it a bit more difficult than it should be. I have one 'working' with HDSDR. It is still a little funky changing frequencies with the 'FreqMgr' but it is early days. The performance is the same as the FUNcube. There are quite a number of different chipsets in use so buyer beware. If you like hunting for working drivers and ExtIO programs and tinkering these E4000 dongles are for you. IMHO the FUNcube Dongle is still the best bet for the rest of us. My FUNcube has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while as it does not perform as well as my receiver even with the help of a SSB mast mounted pre-amp and cavity front end filter. I was talking with someone on FO-29 and they mentioned they use theirs as just a panadapter. I dug my FUNcube out and it does work well as a panadapter (no connection to the receiver required). Very handy on those rare occasions when there are more than zero people on the linear sats. SDR-Radio v1.5 works well with the FUNcube . Very nice work by Simon. I do miss the picture of him and his dog when the SDR-Radio program boots up. Very interested in seeing Howards "FUNcube Dongle PRO-PLUS". I hope the PLUS is not a price increase. In an attempt to find out what it is before the official release I searched the net and came up with this gem from 2010 on the http://www.funcubedongle.com 'Ordering FAQ' page. Be sure to check out the link. " admin says: October 26, 2010 at 2:21 pm I am working on a Pro Plus version http://www.proplus.co.uk/ to enable us to work 24/7 on the Dongle. " Thanks to all the Europeans who manage to keep out hobby alive and up to date. 73 W9KE Tom Doyle On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 1:09 PM, Trevor . <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > AMSAT-UK are delighted to announce that Howard Long, G6LVB, will be present at the Colloquium this year and will be launching a new "FUNcube Dongle PRO-PLUS" during his presentation. > > Full technical details have been embargoed until his talk and we are not permitted to steal his thunder by releasing further details of this new product in advance. Attendees at the Colloquium will therefore be the first to learn about Howard's latest development which will further advance the applications for SDR devices. > > The Colloquium is a truly international event and will include: > > Exclusive access to inspect the new SSTL clean room and integration facilities at the recently opened Kepler Building. If you have visited their previous facilities at the university campus, during previous Colloquia, you will be amazed by what is happening now. > > Presentations by experts from AMSAT-SA, AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL on their current spacecraft projects. > > CubeSat presentations on UKube-1, STRaND-1, STRaND-2 and, of course the FUNcube-1 project. > > We will be including an exclusive roundup of a number of new live and potential spacecraft projects that are under investigation and/or development. > > Additionally a number of presentations are planned covering new communications techniques and similar futuristic topics. > > Plus all the usual networking opportunities, the gala dinner and auction/raffle, plus the opportunity to operate the sophisticated groundstation in the GB4FUN mobile demonstration module. > > The Colloquium takes place at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, England, September 15-16. Rooms and Saturday’s Gala Dinner must be booked in advance at http://tinyurl.com/Colloquium-2012-Booking > > Further information http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium/twelve > > 73 Trevor M5AKA > AMSAT-UK > ---- > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb -- Sent from my computer. tom ...

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Solved! Icom 821 and SatPC32 uplink frequency weirdness
by Stephan Greene 24 Aug '12

24 Aug '12

...and there was much rejoicing. Trying to get back on the satellites after many (10 year?) hiatus. [Yes, I missed AO-51, Arrisat, and a lot of the earlier cubesats. Sigh.] Trying to use SatPC32 to control my Icom 821H and I was seeing weird behavior and having trouble finding and staying tuned on my downlink. Manual control worked fine, but I wanted the computer taking care of some of the work for me. Finally noticed that the frequency jumps were EXACTLY the default repeater offsets used when the rig is in FM/repeater mode. No idea how the satellite section got that way (hidden menu triggered? stray bit flip?) but it happened whenever SatPC32 sent frequency corrections (either automatic Doppler correction from the software or tuning via keyboard commands) while I was transmitting. Solution was a full reset of the radio. Satellite mode works as it should, confirmed by some nice, computer-supported voice QSOs on AO-7 and VO-52 this evening. So, to summarize (and hopefully make it easier for anyone searching amsat-bb in the future if they run into this): Problem: Icom 821 in satellite mode. Sub-band transmitter frequency jumps +600 kHz (2M) or -5 MHz (70cm) while transmitting in CW, SSB, and FM, as soon as software sends a frequency correction to the radio. No jumps or problems when just listening and tuning across transponder. Manual satellite mode (software control off) behaves normally. Manual does not indicate satellite mode has a repeater offset feature. Solution: Full reset of radio, reconfigure radio as needed (interface baud rate and verify address) for software control. Thanks to the folks I contacted direct (searches of amsat-bb archives for SatPC32 and Icom 821 issues) for their suggestions and encouragement. Sometimes a problem that appears to be between the radio & the computer or software is due to the radio, not the computer. 73, hope to work many of you on the birds. Steve KS1G FM18hx ks1g(a)amsat.org

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