December 2013 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

test
by Dale Hershberger 28 Dec '13

28 Dec '13

test

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CAPE-2 Voice beacon heard during Mobile
by Nitin Muttin 28 Dec '13

28 Dec '13

I heard the voice beacon on 145.825 Mhz from CAPE-2 when I was driving near Pondicherry on Dec 28th . The signal was strong. A video can be seen at http://youtu.be/3TIZnvOQaNM 73 Nitin [VU3TYG]

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cape ii 13 12 18 0438 cst
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 28 Dec '13

28 Dec '13

CAPE II data +W5UL,CAPE-2,0,GR,201301281902CST,6241mV,01003,0,-5C,-9C,ulcape.org# >> AE6AAA984040FE AE6AAA98404061 03F0 2A72787661727300 010F230D0A Thanks nick ARS K5QXJ EM30xa 30.1N 92.1W Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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CAPE-2 over Brazil
by Roland Zurmely 27 Dec '13

27 Dec '13

On 12/27/2013 in orbit # 576, pass with a continuous tone of 500 Hz FM, intersected by AX25 beacons. Please see here: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/cape.htm#h 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ GH70un

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Re: AO-73 Question (mode efficiency?)
by Robert Bruninga 27 Dec '13

27 Dec '13

> The satellite is only in transponder mode when it is in eclipse.. > In full sunlight it is in beacon mode only. Just curious about the overall design goals of this operating mode? Putting solar energy into and then taking it out of batteries suffers about a 30% loss in efficiency. All else being equal it is usually better to use solar power directly if possible. Maybe the value of this mode is for hams to use the satellite in the evenings during play time instead of during the day when schools and students could benefit. Just curious. Thanks Bob, WB4aPR

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Help with SATPC32 (maybe groups) please
by Burns Fisher 27 Dec '13

27 Dec '13

Hi Everyone, I've used SatPC32 for a number of years, but I have been using it in "simpleton" mode, it would seem. Now that AO-73 is in the "cubesat.txt" keps file rather than amateur, I apparently have to take the next step in my education about this program. Here the current general question: How do "groups" work. I have googled, and the term seems to be used both for Celestrak groups and for the groups in SatPC32 (e.g. Diverse, Standard, etc). I mean the SatPC32 groups. What I want to do is to have a number of satellites selectable with the A,B,C... buttons in the lower right. But right now, I have to pull down the satellites menu and select "cubesat.txt" to get AO-73 and "amateur.txt" to get, say, VO-52 and SO-50. And whenever I switch to a new keps file, all the satellites I have selected as current for the previous file disappear from the right column. Somehow, I suspect that 'groups' are the answer to this, but I can never get the "edit" function under groups to do anything terribly useful. It looks like I can edit "standard", for example, so that if selected, it uses the satellites selected from amateur.txt or cubesat.txt but not both. Ok, so when I get into a pickle like this, it is usually because I don't understand the concept or the model that the program is using. So rather than (or as well as) "click x, select y, edit xxx.txt" the kind of help I hope I can get would be include "how are groups supposed to be used?" And by the way, I have read the manual, and it again seems to assume that I know what groups are supposed to be. Thanks in advance, Burns, W2BFJ

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I thought it was Vaporware
by Gary "Joe" Mayfield 27 Dec '13

27 Dec '13

I am not associated with this item in anyway... At one point in time I had a Yaesu FT-480. It was a good rig that helped me make many satellite contacts. I had read about the console, but no one had ever seen one and we just assumed it didn't really exist. We were wrong as one is on sale on eBay right now: http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAESU-SC-1-FT480R-FT780R-/191015020883 There was a time when that truly would have been the ultimate satellite station! 73, Joe kk0sd

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AO-73 Question
by Peter Budnik 27 Dec '13

27 Dec '13

Dear Felloe Satellite Hams I've been listening to AO-73 Telemetry beacon for about 2 weeks now and never hear any radio contact going on. Is there any activity on the new satellite or is that mode not functional at this time? Thanks for any help. 73 Peter,KB1HY

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Any interest in DM31?
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Dec '13

27 Dec '13

Hi! In 2009 and 2010, I made the trip to southern Arizona and worked different satellites from grid DM31 within sight of the USA/Mexico border fence in Lukeville AZ (look up that town, or grid DM31ov, to get an idea of the geography in that area). I worked many of the active operators who were on at those times on several satellites in SSB and FM. Some of those guys are still active, but newer satellite operators (or those who were inactive in 2009 or 2010) may have missed my previous DM31 trips. Since I've been asked by a couple of satellite operators about those trips, and the possibility of another DM31 trip, I'll pose the question here: Is there any interest in a trip to activate DM31 in early 2014 on the satellites? Or possibly multiple trips, before the summertime heat arrives? I would attempt to pick a day for this trip where SO-50 had passes in the daytime - to allow more stations to have a shot at working this rarely-heard grid, and also to avoid being down there at night due to security concerns with the international border. This means I would not be able to work AO-73 down there, but would try to pick a Saturday with SO-50 and the other satellites with SSB/CW transponders all being available - including AO-7 in mode B. And another opportunity to have friendly conversations with the law-enforcement officers and agents in that area. :-) (They are great to talk with, some take an interest in my equipment, and all will keep an eye on me to ensure I remain safe while in the area) I can't commit to any specific dates yet, but a Saturday is probably the best day of the week for a trip down there. I might even throw in a weekday trip, if time permits, in addition to a Saturday trip. I would be able to leave early so I arrive in the area in daylight, and stay until around sunset so I am on the highway north from the border before darkness falls across that desert area. I am probably not going to camp down there, even at the campground in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument that surrounds the Lukeville border crossing. I like camping, but prefer to do that in other places where I'm not as concerned about the local security situation. I would prepare QSL cards as I do for my other trips to confirm QSOs for DM31, and upload those QSOs to Logbook of the World after a trip down there. Please feel free to e-mail me directly if you would be interested in working me during a road trip to DM31 in early 2014. I will post more when I decide on a date (or dates) for a trip down there. I am not looking for any contributions to cover expenses to go there, since it is only a 3-hour drive from Phoenix to get there. Fuel costs are manageable, and I don't need to drive off paved roads to get to good locations to set up and still be safe (a good thing, now that I don't drive a truck). Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Cape-2 over Brazil
by Roland Zurmely 26 Dec '13

26 Dec '13

Successful commands "Get Health Beacon" and "Send Text to Speech" ! Please see here: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/cape.htm#g 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ GH70un

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