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

CO6CBF/P Western Cuba
by K4FEG 25 Jun '13

25 Jun '13

Late Breaking Update on CO6CBF/p!!! Hector reported on the 0155UTC pass of FO29 just now that EL81 would be IMPOSSIBLE for him to operate from. He was operating from the EL72/EL82 grid line with an excellent signal on FO29. I am sure Hector will have some details for us once he is back home from this trip, still I personally have worked him in 3 additional new grids for myself and I have heard him work many others as well. I have no additional information on his plans at this time so "Stay Tuned"!!! /*73 ALL FRM;*//* *//*K4FEG;*//* *//*STARCOM DIV GGG*//* *//*GGHQ: EM55*//*aj84ta*/

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CO6CBF West Cuba Operations
by k4feg 25 Jun '13

25 Jun '13

An update! on Hector; I apparently misunderstood Hector this morning about *which FO29 pass, *he would be on today for his /*EL81ax*/ operation later today. We had a bad pass between us on VO52 when he told me he would be in EL81ax for *1 pass only! *on FO29. I understood him to say that it would be in the morning but on a subsequent SO50 pass he told John, K8YSE that he would in EL81ax later tonight on FO29. *CHECK YOUR PASSES!! I AM NOT 100% SURE WHICH PASS HE WILL BE ON*!! I am sorry for the earlier confusion but EL81ax is the only portion of that grid that is on dry land, to the best of my knowledge there has not been a satellite operation from that grid, RARE ONE FOLKS! Remember Hector is operating half duplex, please allow him the time to respond before calling him, when he is transmitting he CAN NOT HEAR the satellite. 73 ALL FRM K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGG GGHQ: /*EM55*//*aj84ta*/

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Lincoln Highway Special event
by Wyatt Dirks 25 Jun '13

25 Jun '13

Hello all, This weekend I will be activating K0KBX special event via satellite for the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Highway. The event will take place from EN31XX. The event will take place from 1400utc to 2100utc both Saturday June 29th and Sunday June 30th. I maybe be on passes slightly before or after these times if I see a good pass to work. I will try and work a pass of so50 to allow the fm users to work us as well but will focus on the three ssb satellites. Also look for the Event on general portions of the hf bands as well. There will be both voice and cw stations on several bands. for more info look in the June issue of QST and/or the qrz page of K0KBX. Hope to catch you on the birds and other bands! 73 Wyatt AC0RA

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June-29 free balloon UV repeater from La Pampa, Argentina
by Amsat Argentina 23 Jun '13

23 Jun '13

Amsat Argentina is pleased to announce that on Saturday June 29, 2013 from 14hs GMT, climate permits, launch of free balloon repeater 'Betty II' is planned from Victorica, La Pampa, 665 Km. west of Buenos Aires. Details and photos of the announcement and prior experiences in http://www.amsat.org.ar/globo29.htm Approval of ANAC (Argentina FAA)) had been granted by NOTAM (NOtice To AirMen) http://amsat.org.ar/images/faxanac.jpg . For these experiments members of AMSAT-LU, LUSEX, project development group http://lusex.org.ar , are working together with Pampeano and QRM Belgrano Radio Clubs, APRS Group, etc. Electronics is comprised of a voice UHF to VHF FM repeater with CW TLM, APRS, DTMF and SSTV. According to estimates balloon could reach 30,000 meters high, traveling for 3 hours, 150 km east of the launch site. This would allow contacts between stations located in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Cordoba, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, La Pampa, San Luis, Mendoza, San Juan, Rio Negro, Neuquen, Uruguay and Chile. (It is launched from the center of the country to facilitate greater participation). Coverage at http://www.amsat.org.ar/picocubr.jpg To receive the payload, if less than 750 km from launch site, only need is a handy or base FM receiver on 145,950 KHz for voice/sstv and 144,930 for APRS. The repeater which is enabled via 123 Hz CTCSS subtone, receives 435,950 KHz FM voice (-112dBm, 0.56 uV) emitting 2W output simultaneously on 145.950 KHz. Payload will also carry an emergency long duration APRS transmitter sourced by solar cells and supercapacitors as batteries. To enable better utilization, it is suggested short QSOs (license, own locality, grid locator, received signal and short comments). Simultaneous emits APRS 1200 baud at 144,930, and also in 145,950. The DTI symbol on APRS will change from a balloon ( /O ) during ascent to a slider ( /g ) during the parachute descent. Will operate for 90 seconds voice, then a beep alerting the end of that time will make way for the issuance of APRS at different frequencies. Every five minutes CW TLM via telegraphy audio tones sends callsign LU7AA and height in meters, then repeat the cycle. On 145,950 KHz SSTV images ROBOT-36 mode (36 seconds) will be emitted on demand showing what the balloon sees (Can be received, with either MIXW or RX-SSTV (recommended)). Balloon will carry two GoPro TV cameras (one to ground and another to the horizon) that will record images and sound during flight and can be retrieved with the payload. It will be live in APRS on http://aprs.fi/?call=lu7aa-11 every minute, including speed, height, internal and external temperatures and battery voltage. Local georeferenced maps are available for UI-View in http://www.amsat.org.ar/pico2.jpg , http://www.amsat.org.ar/pico2.txt to be renamed to pico2.inf . The experiment on 435.950 KHz voice also receives and accepts DTMF user issued commands i.e. B * (DTMF keypad UHF handy) will return S5 ... ..... on VHF CW 145.950, your signal strength received at balloon, if P10 that states S9 +10. There are more commands that enable issuance of TLM in CW or APRS beacon and remote commands to drop payload, mode changes, control of timers, energy, power, enable SSTV, etc.. Additionally a VAISALA RS92SGP radiosonde emitting FM wide on 402.740/403 Mhz has been added, providing GPS location, pressure, winds, height, course, dwt point, temperatures, etc. Same data as daily collected by the National Meteorological Service. Data can be received using an SDR dongle and sondemonitor program available as test for 21 days from internet. On launch day/time Amsat-LU will have one of his members on the Ezeiza Airport Traffic Control, acting as a contact between ANAC and Amsat, using VOR locations application, adapted from EOSS and available on http://amsat.org.ar/vor.asp . Local frequencies coordination and announcements before and during flights will be 7095 kHz LSB + / -10 kHz and VHF frequencies of local repeaters in the area. During flight 430.930 AMSAT-LU APRS will operate wide coverage Igate LU7AA, installed at the Investigation Center, besides a portable Igate close to launch site. Any area stations that can receive and provide bridge to the APRS network are welcome. Being an experiment aimed at a next satellite, contacts made between stations thru this UV repeater will be considered valid and awarded upon request by Amsat-LU Permanent Satellite Certificate, free and also applicable for license upgrades, see http://www.amsat.org.ar/certsat.html, http://www.lu4ao.org.ar, http://www.amsat.org.ar/lu4aao. Top 10 participants with the highest two-way contacts/distances sum thru repeater will be awarded with a special certificate. Send email with data filled on form http://www.amsat.org.ar/lu4aao/Globo_29jun2013.xls QSOs with stations via the balloon including QRA Locators, QTR to RC QRM Belgrano before July 23. All reports welcome. If you want or can organize or be part of launch teams, control, monitoring and recovery, operating as an independent station and capturing data, and / or want to join us in this adventure from the launch site can do it through an email to parapente arroba amsat.org.ar. We appreciate having read this information and forward if possible. 73, LU7AA, AMSAT-LU. aiming to the future by making present fun. www.amsat.org.ar info at amsat.org.ar facebook.com/Amsat.LU

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VUCC Awards
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 23 Jun '13

23 Jun '13

I, of course, have a few comments. While I'm not much in favor of an expansion, the ARRL is having enough problems administering the awards they all ready offer. I would suggest you pattern any expansion along the lines of the DXCC Challange, total of band grids. The second thought would be a multiplier for the shorter wave lengths. Lastly what about the bands such as 70 mhz which are not international allocations. Tom K8TL

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2E1EUB QRV LOOKING FOR FIELD DAY STATIONS
by paul robinson 23 Jun '13

23 Jun '13

QRV FROM I092BX IN UK LOOKING FOR FIELD DAY STATIONS NEXT FEW PASSES AO7 AND FO29 PAUL 2E1EUB ( rx ao7 145.945? )

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Book Now for AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium
by M5AKA 22 Jun '13

22 Jun '13

The 2013 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will start late afternoon on Friday, July 19 and will run through until the afternoon on Sunday, July 21 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK. It will be preceded by a “Hands-on” CubeSat Workshop. This free workshop will take place at the nearby University of Surrey on Friday, July 19 and this will be followed, at the hotel, by the usual Colloquium “Beginners Session” in the late afternoon. Further details and booking information at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/ ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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5 Band VUCC & VUCC Triple-Play
by Les Rayburn 21 Jun '13

21 Jun '13

After some persuasive arguments and constructive criticism from Paul K7CW, Sebastian W4AS, and Pete WA7JTM I've decided to modify my proposal for the creation of a new 5 Band VUCC Award. * Eliminate the requirement to "reset to zero" all previous grids worked and confirmed. * Eliminate a requirement to include at least one of the low bands like 2 Meters or 6 Meters. * Insure that the 5 Band VUCC Award complies with all existing rules and requirements for VUCC Awards, with no changes needed. This will reduce the cost to administer the award, and minimize programming changes needed for Logbook of the World. But Pete WA7JTM made some some great points about how activity has declined in the past few years as many experienced VHF operators have worked nearly all possible grids in their area. His suggestion caused me to do more research on other awards that the ARRL has recently implemented. Inspiration came in the form of the Worked All States (WAS) Triple-Play Award. So in addition to the 5 Band VUCC Award, I'm proposing the establishment of a VUCC Triple-Play Award that would allow operators to earn VUCC on any amateur band above 50 MHz provided that they could work the required number of contacts for a basic VUCC Award, but on each of the three modes Phone, CW, and Digital. For example, you could earn VUCC Triple-Play on 432 by confirmed contacts with 50 Grids in Phone, CW, and Digital Modes. All previous grids confirmed in the past would count towards the new award, but it would be a rare station that has already earned this award passed purely on past contacts. * Insure that VUCC Triple-Play complies with the existing rules for VUCC, with no changes needed. Keep costs to administer low, and make programming in LoTW easier. * Allow all previous confirmed grids to count towards the new award. * Any digital mode would be acceptable. While I expect WSJT modes would dominate, PSK, RTTY, and others would qualify too. * Satellite operators could join the fun by digipeating through the International Space Station and digital satellites. Tough but possible! This would serve my original purpose of immediately increasing on-air activity especially during contests when more grid-chasers would turn out hoping to pick up new grids. And everyone would be happy because they wouldn't see a lifetime of accomplishments wiped clean by resetting to zero. I hope that others will continue to offer constructive criticism, and join me in writing their Division Directors and Vice Directors, along with their VUAC reps to support these ideas. VHF-UHF operation could use a shot in the arm, and this a great way to do it. Thanks to all who took the time to offer their thoughts on this proposal. -- -- 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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ISSSAMOR II: Save the Date!
by Taksha University 20 Jun '13

20 Jun '13

ISSSAMOR II, 2013: 2nd International Symposium on Small Satellites for Arctic and Maritime Operations and Research Washington, DCTues.-Wed., Dec. 3-4, 2013 Save the Date! Save the Date Announcement Based on the success of last November's ISSSAMOR I, we are expanding the agenda for this annual symposium by a half-day. This will allow us to accommodate the welcome demand for presentation opportunities, and to increase our information exchange to a second day. Our focus for 2013 is on Arctic Ocean Requirements and the Role of Small Satellites. This announcement is to notify past participants and potential new attendees of our dates and general location. Details will be sent as available. In the meantime, mark your calendar, to be in Washington, DC on December 3-4! Write to contact(a)taksha.org ( mail:[email protected] ) , to inquire about presenting or participating in this upcoming event. ________________________________________________________ ISSSAMOR is sponsored by Taksha University's Global Maritime Awareness Institute for Safety, Security and Stewardship (GMAISSS) and the Taksha Institute for Small Satellite Space Systems (TISSS), as well as the Journal of Small Satellites (JoSS), with the cooperation of invited government and industry representatives. The Symposium is led by Prof. Guy Thomas, Director, C-SIGMA Centre (Ireland) and Chair, Taksha GMAISSS (Baltimore, MD, USA). The primary purpose of the symposium is to provide a forum to discuss and exchange information for the enhancement of the safety and security of the Arctic environment and global maritime assets, including the protection of the maritime environment and its resources, as well as the people and vessels traversing the waters of the world. The secondary purpose is to promote collaboration on science and technology to further Arctic and maritime awareness through increases in the capability of systems and communications, both terrestrial and space-based, as well as the shared use of the output of existing systems for the good of all. It will examine the complete cycle of knowledge from requirements generation to tasking, seeking, collection, fusion and analysis, "big data" analytics, automated decision-making aids,decision-making itself, and to dissemination of information. The tertiary purpose is to develop short- and long-term recommendations for future action items, and to produce an edited symposium proceedings. All proceeds from sales, registration fees, charitable contributions, and other sources support the educational and research programs of Taksha University, founded as a not-for-profit institution in 1976. (C) 2013 Taksha University Taksha University, 15 Research Dr., Hampton, VA 23666 Unsubscribe | Privacy policy ( http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3a%2f%2fcache.nebula.phx3.secures…! ) ( http://twitter.com/?status=View+%22ISSSAMOR+II%3a+Save+the+Date!%22+at+http… )

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Fw: Open access to Surrey Space Centre research output
by M5AKA 20 Jun '13

20 Jun '13

A new blog aims to provide open access to SSC research output by sharing pre-print copies of publications. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/19/open-access-to-ssc-research/ Also on the AMSAT-UK site: UK High Altitude Society (UKHAS) Conference London Sept 7 http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/19/ukhas-conference-sept-7/ ICSEDS 2012/13 video showcases Rocket and Balloon Achievements http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/18/icseds-201213-video/ CubeSat Demo Flight Tests Technologies http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/19/cubesat-demo-flight/ ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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