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

A viable FD satellite operation
by Bill W1PA 22 May '13

22 May '13

I may set up a Field Day satellite station for our local club. I haven't done this in a while.... my last experience with a non-FM bird was AO-40. I'd like to avoid the futility of the FM LEO's on FD, and look to the working passband birds, which I understand are AO-7, FO-29, and VO-52. I have at my disposal a FT-847, an Arrow satellite antenna (V/U), and if needed, various preamps and poweramps for 2m and 432, as well as antennas with more elements. I also have a Ten Tec 2510 satellite unit that does not have the "extra crystal board", which I understand makes it a non-starter for the 3 birds I mentioned. For those of you experienced with the bandpass birds, assuming an outdoor, clear sky access location, what should I bring? (i.e. will the FT-847 stock amp be sufficient? How many elements do I need for uplink? pre-amp for downlink? etc) I also may only be able to work overnight (in darkness) -- that rules out AO-7, correct? Bill W1PA

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LVB 5400 rotor control problem
by John Price 22 May '13

22 May '13

Well after working for a very long time without issues my LVB and Yaesu control box have stop talking. The rotor box works perfect with the rotor but the LVB display does not indicate any movement. It just sets at 179 "Az" and "0" El. The switches on the LVB will move the rotor but no display movement on the LVB. Anyone got any idea what might be going on here? Thank << John -- N4QWF Amateur Radio Operator Email N4QWF(a)AMSAT.ORG Formerly KC4AHW VK3FEZ DXCC #33,478 VUCC SAT #135 WAS SAT #296 OSCAR-11 20th birthday #1 WAS HF #57,114 51 on AO-51 #13 LON -79.256 LAT 37.459 Grid FM07il >From the Foothills of the Blueridge *Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - "WOW, What a ride!"

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Re: Amateur Satellites and the emergency on tornado in Oklahoma and Texas
by i8cvs 22 May '13

22 May '13

Hi Trevor, M5AKA I agree with you. I remember that only the HEO satellites OSCAR-10,OSCAR-13 and AO40 were used during the emergency when necessary. My opinion is that we satellite operators we are not actually organized to use the LEO Amateur Satellites during the emergencies so that we only collect grids and QSL's with them as well we receive only telemetry. I'm also not aware of any LEO amateur satellite having ever been used for Emergency Communications but read please the following address of AMSAT and you will surprised to read that even the LEO Amateur Satellites are built by AMSAT to provide communications during emergencies and calamities. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/hamsat.php VO-52 is India's contribution to the international community of Amateur Radio Operators. This satellite will play a valuable role in the national and international scenario by providing a low cost readily accessible and reliable means of communications during emergencies and calamities like floods , earthquakes etc. 73" de i8CVS Domenico ----- Original Message ----- From: "M5AKA" <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> To: "i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:14 AM Subject: Re: Amateur Satellites and the emergency on tornado in Oklahoma and Texas Hi Dominic, An interesting question. I'm not aware of any amateur satellite having ever been used for Emergency Communications, do you know of any ? Yes announcements were made that amateur satellites were available for emergency communications in both the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Japanese Tsunami but as far as I'm aware they were never actually used. I think the problem is two fold: 1) The lack of satellite operators, only one to two thousand world-wide 2) The initial complexity of satellite operating e.g. Doppler, Tracking, which means those without satellite experience cannot rapidly pick it up when an emergency strikes. A 100 watt HF station with a dipole on 40m is far easier to set up in an emergency and will give you a range comparable with satellites and freedom from the restriction of a 15 minute pass time. 73 Trevor M5AKA --- On Tue, 21/5/13, i8cvs <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> wrote: > Date: Tuesday, 21 May, 2013, 4:35 > Hi All, > > I am interested to know if someone in BB has used > or is using the actual Amateur Satellites during the > emergency occurred in Oklahoma and Texas because > of the actual tornado's. > > We know from TV that almost 50 peoples died and if > the Amateur Satellites were used with success that will > be a useful opportunity to demonstrate worldwide to > the autorities that our satellites are useful and necessary > during the emergency. > > The call letters of the Amateurs partecipating as well > the FM and linear Amateur Satellites used to help > into > the emergency will be appreciated. > > Thanks for any info. > > 73" de > > i8CVS Domenico > _______________________________________________ > 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 >

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AO7 Eclipse Cycle
by K4FEG 22 May '13

22 May '13

AO7 is in Mode B and is giving every indication, from reports around the globe, to being in the Eclipse Cycle while over Antarctica. The software being used by those predicting the eclipse periods are Nova and SatPC32, both seem to be very accurate and predicted the start of the eclipse cycle very closely. If the predictions are correct, we will have daily eclipses while the satellite passes over Antarctica and based on other information that I have received, the satellite will, by default, power up in Mode B after the "Zero Voltage State" occurs during the eclipse. I plan to continue to monitor the Mode status daily and look for any variables that might happen with the satellite. Last year we seemed to have had distortion issues for a period during the time when we were in the Eclipse Cycle. I have no idea if, or even if it is possible, that the Eclipse Cycle was causing any of the audio distortions that were noticed last year during the Eclipse Cycle. I hope with closer observation, this year we can follow any changes in the satellite functions and see how they relate to the total loss of power on the satellite as it travels through the eclipse periods. If anyone has any suggestions for things to watch for, or if there are other things to monitor, that might give us a better understanding of how the satellite is functioning, please feel free to comment. I think we have actually caught the beginning of the Eclipse Cycle this year and I think we will be able to see how long it will last and if it is having any effect on the "health" of the satellite. 73 ALL FRM K4FEG STARCOM BB/STAR-COM.NET QTH: EM55aj84ta

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SatPC & Icom
by Al Ozias 22 May '13

22 May '13

I want to control my IC-821 with SatPC32. Is a USB CI-V CAT Interface cable for Icom CT-17 the correct way to do this? What is the difference (if any) between a programing and interface cable? Thanks - Al

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Re: Amateur Satellites and the emergency on tornado in Oklahoma and Texas
by i8cvs 22 May '13

22 May '13

Hi Ben, N1WBV I disagree with you because the LEO satellites are built by AMSAT to serve also into the emergency. Read please the following address: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/hamsat.php VO-52 is India's contribution to the international community of Amateur Radio Operators. This satellite will play a valuable role in the national and international scenario by providing a low cost readily accessible and reliable means of communications during emergencies and calamities like floods , earthquakes etc. 73" de i8CVS Domenico ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Jackson" <bbj(a)innismir.net> To: "i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 6:11 AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Amateur Satellites and the emergency on tornado in Oklahoma and Texas > On 5/20/2013 11:35 PM, i8cvs wrote: > > Hi All, > > > > I am interested to know if someone in BB has used > > or is using the actual Amateur Satellites during the > > emergency occurred in Oklahoma and Texas because > > of the actual tornado's. > > Why? It's a local/regional event and the fact that you have such > information is showing that it's flowing in and out of the affected > area. Let's not push a solution for a problem that doesn't exist. > > > We know from TV that almost 50 peoples died and if > > the Amateur Satellites were used with success that will > > be a useful opportunity to demonstrate worldwide to > > the autorities that our satellites are useful and necessary > > during the emergency. > > I would wager that they are, indeed, neither during this event. > > Donations, thoughts, and prayers are probably the things that are most > needed right now. Not attempts to grandstand our aspect of the hobby in > order to garner some public relations. > > -- > Ben Jackson - N1WBV - New Bedford, MA > bbj <at> innismir.net - http://www.innismir.net/ > >

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Re: Amateur Satellites and the emergency on tornado in Oklahoma and Texas
by i8cvs 22 May '13

22 May '13

Hi Tom, W9KE In responce to your sentence.........."Add the chaotic single channel nature of the FM sats and you have an even harder sales job on your hands." Read please the following address: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/hamsat.php VO-52 is India's contribution to the international community of Amateur Radio Operators. This satellite will play a valuable role in the national and international scenario by providing a low cost readily accessible and reliable means of communications during emergencies and calamities like floods , earthquakes etc. 73" de i8CVS Domenico ----- Original Message ----- From: Thomas Doyle To: i8cvs Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 9:28 PM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Amateur Satellites and the emergency on tornado in Oklahoma and Texas Dominico, One of the really sad things about tragedies is how politicians and others line up to make some cheap publicity over the suffering and death of others. I thought 'Uncle Bob' might do something insensitive like that but was very surprised to see you stoop so low. Anyone trying to promote a a communications systems that works for at best 10 or 15 minutes every 90 minutes as a viable emergency system is grasping at straws. Add the chaotic single channel nature of the FM sats and you have an even harder sales job on your hands. 73 W9KE tom... On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 10:35 PM, i8cvs <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> wrote: Hi All, I am interested to know if someone in BB has used or is using the actual Amateur Satellites during the emergency occurred in Oklahoma and Texas because of the actual tornado's. We know from TV that almost 50 peoples died and if the Amateur Satellites were used with success that will be a useful opportunity to demonstrate worldwide to the autorities that our satellites are useful and necessary during the emergency. The call letters of the Amateurs partecipating as well the FM and linear Amateur Satellites used to help into the emergency will be appreciated. Thanks for any info. 73" de i8CVS Domenico _______________________________________________ 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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Experience with M2 436CP42UG
by PE0SAT | Amateur Radio 21 May '13

21 May '13

Hi, Are there people using the M2 436CP42UG for satellite operation? If so, could you share some experience whit this Antenna? I have bought a used one but am unable to get it aligned in the right way so that SWR is expectable. From the manual I get the length of the dipole at 4.375 inch thats 11.1cm but it isn't working in my setup and changing it in steps of 1mm doesn't bring me to the right SWR. In some places the impedance is so bad that the radio disables power output. Thanks in advance 73 Jan PE0SAT -- With regards PE0SAT Internet web-page http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/

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WTB: U110 TV Style Rotors Computer Control
by Les Rayburn 21 May '13

21 May '13

I'm in the process of acquiring a pair of U110 TV style rotors that have been configured for use as an AZ-EL system. Currently, the rotors have two control boxes, which would work fine, but I'd like to improve on the setup. I've found several projects online for controlling these with a computer, including some using a BASIC stamp, etc. My homebrew days are limited these days, so I'd like to see if anyone has a suitable controller for sale? I'm running SATPC32, and would prefer to control the rotors using that software if possible. If anyone has something suitable that is surplus to your needs, please contact me directly. Thanks! -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light

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Observations Which Helped Save Skylab
by B J 20 May '13

20 May '13

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2299/1 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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