AMSAT-BB June 2013

122 participants
146 discussions

Google Project Loon - 2400 / 5800 MHz
by M5AKA 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

The first trial High-Altitude Balloon launches have taken place from New Zealand. Google plans to sending up 300 balloons transmitting on 2400 MHz and 5800 MHz around the world at the southern fortieth parallel that would provide coverage to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina. The company hopes to eventually have thousands of balloons flying in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 km. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/17/google-project-loon-using-2400-and-5800-mhz/ ---- 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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Satellite Status page?
by Gordon JC Pearce 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

For a while now when I've tried to look at the satellite status page, it's thrown a database error: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/status.php "*** Database Error - sql - InitDB line 14" Any word on when this is going to be back up? -- Gordonjcp MM0YEQ

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Re: AO7 in Mode B
by Wayne Estes 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

K4FEG wrote: There have been questions as to whether or not a program like SATPC32 is calculating the solar position based on ground track or actual satellite position in orbit, I have not reached out to find out the method of calculations but based on how AO7 has reacted to even the briefest of eclipse's as predicted by SATPC32, I suspect the relationship of the satellite to the Sun is being predicted based on the actual satellite position in orbit and not based on ground track. W9AE replies: SatPC32 displays "Sat in Sun" when the satellite's footprint overlaps the sun's footprint. You can see it change to "Eclipse" when the two footprints no longer overlap. In practice, AO-7's solar panel probably quits generating enough power when only a portion of the sun's "disc" is obstructed by earth. Consequently, the satellite would quit working a bit sooner than the actual eclipse, when 100% of the sun is shaded by earth. This year I plan to make Field Day satellite contacts for the first time in several years. In western Oregon I can operate the un-crowded satellite passes where most of the footprint is over the Gulf of Alaska. Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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For sale-moving
by James Sanford 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

Satellite antenna farm for sale: M2:2mX22el, 70cmX42el, 8' fiberglass boom; 1.2Ghz helix 16t; UEK3000 2.4Ghz to 2m downconverter; G5500 rotor w/W0LMD interface for SatPC32; Icom AG-25 es AG-35 preamps. All of the above with manuals for $900.00 Prefer pickup (45mi NW of Detroit) but will meet up to 150mi Jim K8ZZU EN82gr

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FOX-2 MPPT Presentation
by M5AKA 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

Looks like they'll be a presentation on the Fox-2 Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) project at the PART of Westford meeting taking place 7:30pm on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at the Westford Police station MA. http://www.wb1gof.org/index.html https://www.facebook.com/WB1GOF 73 Trevor M5AKA

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iridium comms in space
by Howie DeFelice 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

While there may be good reason not to have a 2G/3G/4G phone transmitting from orbit, I'm not so sure the same problems would apply to an Iridium transceiver. Iridium is a global system with dedicated worldwide spectrum. There are no terrestrial "cell sites" to interfere with. The Iridium system utilizes satellite to satellite relay to handle handoffs, as long as the process happens quickly enough this should not be a big problem. Even though the Iridium transceiver on the spacecraft was referred to as a "phone", it will more likely be a data modem using one of the burst data capabilities of the system. This would make more sense from a power and size perspective and an entire message could probably be sent during visibility of a single sat, negating handoff issues. Of course, this only deals with the technical issues. There are probably regulatory ones as well. Iridium transceivers have been used on aircraft for many years now, extending the application to LEO should not be that much of a regulatory stretch. Howie AB2S

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Fitri Rahmawati
by Fitri Rahmawati 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

wer http://note-cs.net/zcb/xbiuyvljguc/tpjadgtcldtd/dpo.php Fitri Rahmawati

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AO7-b MODE??
by k4feg 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

Hello everyone, I know it is fathers day, but I have a question for the BB'S, Can we check to see if AO7 is in Mode A today? I have reports from Europe that it was not heard in Mode B but my compatriot in Europe does not have mode A capabilities. I have been doing yard work this morning in advance of rain so I missed the morning passes over the USA, I will be on later to see if we have had a switch. While during this Eclipse Cycle, AO7 has been coming up in Mode B since May 21, 2013, I have been advised that it is a purely random chance that it will come up in one mode or the other. There are periods of full eclipse lasting 9 or more minutes over Antarctica and maybe this was a random switch to Mode A. I will be monitoring the 1852UTC pass over EM55aj84ta to see what I copy, it is a 2 degree pass for me so it is not my best pass, any reports would be appreciated. 73 All FRM K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGHQ: EM55aj84ta

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ANS-167 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-167 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * HAM Video for the ISS Announced by ARISS * AMSAT Videos from Dayton Hamvention * AMSAT Area Coordinator Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, now SK * RECENT AMSAT AWARDS * Fox-2 MPPT Team Selected In TI Design Contest * AMSAT Field Day 2013 - One More Time * Wilse Morgan WX7P (ex-KL7CQ) SK * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-167.01 ANS-167 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 167.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. DATE June 16, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-167.01 HAM Video for the ISS Announced by ARISS ARISS-Europe Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF has drafted an overview of a new "Ham Video" DATV downlink system on S-Band being developed for placement on the International Space Station later this year. The equipment is being developed by Kayser Italia under contract with the European Space Agency using a Canon XF-305 camera provided by NASA. The equipment is currently slated for deployment to the ISS on Japan Space Agency's HTV-4 in August 2013. HTV is Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle for resupplying the International Space Station. Gaston's paper provides an overview of both the equipment that is being placed on the ISS as well as discusses ground station requirements. The ESA contract calls for Kayser Italia to provide five ground stations for placement in Europe that will be "chained" to provide overlapping video reception coverage, with the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) serving as a central server site for receiving video from these ground stations and making it freely available to others via the internet. It is hoped that amateurs will support other ground station "chains" in other countries as multiple stations are needed to provide up to 15 minutes of video in support of school contacts. Gaston's paper with block diagram and photographs of key components will be available soon on the AMSAT website (www.amsat.org). [ANS thanks ANS thanks Gaston Bartels, ON4WF for this information for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Videos from Dayton Hamvention A series of videos taken during the AMSAT Forum during The Dayton Hamvention have been released. + AMSAT ARISS Program Status, by Frank KA3HDO - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hju20svHK5k + AMSAT Education and You, by Mark N8MH - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzCRiNaTXw&feature=youtu.be + AMSAT Status Report, by Barry WD4ASW - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGj5_wjomzI&feature=youtu.be + FUNcube Satellites, by Howard G6LVB - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NSD39MNKe0&feature=youtu.be + Fox Classroom Experiments, by Spence WA8SME - 2013 Dayton Hamvent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl8HCBEGv4Q + Fox-1 Status Update, by Tony AA2TX - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gub5182mowg You can view these videos, collectively, and lots of other AMSAT video content by going to: www.amsat.org and click on "AMSAT YOUTUBE CHANNEL" or by going to www.youtube.com/AMSATNA [ANS thanks AMSAT Steve N9IPand Andrew KO4MA,for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Area Coordinator Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, now SK Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, age 59, passed away suddenly Monday night, 10 June. He had successfully battled a blood disorder for several years, but was stricken Monday morning. Kevin was an AMSAT Area Coordinator for many years and co-chaired the team that hosted the 2007 AMSAT Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to that, he was a key player in executing an ARISS contact from Upper St. Clair (PA) High School. An enthusiastic member of the Wireless Association of the South Hills (WASH) local club, Kevin was always upbeat and positive, and looked forward to the satellite contacts at Field Day, even after the loss of AO-13 and AO-40, and to VHF/UHF operating. He worked hard at the easy contacts, developing ingenious lightweight hand-held antennas and means of controlling two radios to make it all work for the one satellite contact. He moved on to the microwaves, building a 10 GHz kit when he could have bought the completed DownEast Microwave transverter, and was working on one of the W1GHZ transverters for 2.4 GHz. A few weekends ago, several WASH members did some work on his VHF/UHF antennas, and Kevin was looking forward to the VHF contest this past weekend. `He is known to have made at least one 2-meter QSO. Kevin is survived by his wife Peg, married son, Michael, and married daughter, Jen. His obituary may be found at, http://obituaries.triblive.com/listing/226203/Kevin-Smith/ In lieu of flowers, Kevin's family suggests memorial donations be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the MDS Foundation, or to Be the Match. [ANS thanks Jim Sanford, WB4GCS for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RECENT AMSAT AWARDS Here is our latest induction into some of the AMSAT awards community. There is a pretty good batch since the last report in April. The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO. Jim Whitfield, K5JAW The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award. Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #555 The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award. Joseph Fouquet, N5JF, #US185 The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award. George Carr, WA5KBH, #163 Zeljko Ulip, 9A2EY, #164 Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #165 The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI Award. Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #80 The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI 5000 Award. Doug Papay, KD8CAO, #30 [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-2 MPPT Team Selected In TI Design Contest AMSAT sponsored a senior design project at the Rochester Institute of Technology this academic year. The students included senior EE majors: Bryce Salmi KB1LQC Brent Salmi KB1LQD Ian MacKenzie KB3OCF and Dan Corriero. The project was to develop an MPPT circuit that could be used on a future Fox-2 (3U) CubeSat. The students completed a working prototype which was on display in our engineering booth at Dayton last month. With my agreement and encouragement, the students entered this project into Texas Instruments' 2013 Analog Design Contest for university students. See: http://tinyurl.com/mf6nzhr I am happy to pass along the great news that the AMSAT MPPT project was selected as one of the top 10 semi-finalists and the students were invited on an all-expenses paid trip to TI's contest summit to be held July 21-23 in Dallas where the final winners will be announced. Congratulations to the Fox-2 MPPT team! [ANS thanks Tony AA2TX for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Dayton Volunteers Thanked / Asked for Feedback First and most important, I want to thank each of you for your assistance at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. I'm thrilled with our presence at Dayton this year. In my opinion, it went well because of the efforts of the 40+ volunteers who assisted in so many different ways. You made a difference. As I'm wrapping up my Dayton notes, I'm looking for suggestions. How can AMSAT make our presence next year at Dayton more effective? Was there anything we did that made things more difficult for the hams who stopped at the booth? What can we do to attract more potential members and communicate the excitement we feel about building, launching, and operating satellites? Thanks again for all of your help. It was truly a privilege working with you! 73,Steve N9IP Contact Dave with your feedback - seb at wintek dot com [ANS thanks Steve N9IP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Field Day 2013 - One More Time Every year AMSAT promotes a satellite version of Field Day during the ARRL annual operating event which is held on the 4^th weekend in June. This year Field Day will take place from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 22, 2013 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 23, 2013. SaudiSat-Oscar-50 will be the only operational FM transponder satellite this year. If you are considering only FM voice operating for your AMSAT Field Day focus the single uplink/downlink channel will be extremely challenging. As in prior years, this intense congestion on FM LEO satellites drives the limitation in the rules allowing their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). If you have worked the satellites on Field Day in recent years, you may have noticed a lot of good contacts can be made on the linear transponder satellites including VO-52, FO-29, and AO-7. During Field Day the transponders come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The transponders on these satellites will support multiple simultaneous SSB or CW contacts. The AMSAT Field Day 2013 event is open to all Amateur Radio operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of all amateur satellites, both analog and digital. For the complete listing of the AMSAT Field Day Rules please refer to the documents posted on-line at: http://www.amsatnet.com/2013fd.docx http://www.amsatnet.com/2013fd.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wilse Morgan WX7P (ex-KL7CQ) SK Wilse Morgan, WX7P (formerly KL7CQ) passed away June 13 in Rice, Washington. He is survived by his wife, Gimmie AL7LB. An ARRL Life Member, Wilse was an Assistant Section Manager for Eastern Washington and was very active on satellites, PSK31, DXing and contesting. In 2009 he was inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. During his 20 year tenure in Alaska as KL7CQ, he taught courses in Amateur Radio at the University of Alaska and at Anchorage Community College, graduating more than 800 licensed hams. As a Volunteer Examiner, Wilse was involved in the very first VEC exam in the nation and was the first VE certified by the local FCC office in Anchorage. For more information http://www.arrl.org/news/view/wilse-morgan-wx7p-ex-kl7cq-sk http://www.sdxa.org/ http://www.sdxa.org/?p=3321 [ANS thanks AMSAT The ARRL and Patrick, WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Succesful Contacts + A Succesful contact was completed with Belarus State Universtity, Minsk, Republic of Belarus. Contact began 2013-06-04 21:00 and lasted about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Contact was direct. + A succssful contact was completed with participants at Astronomy Camp, Tucson, AZ and Christopher J. Cassidy, KF5KDR, on 08 June. The event began at 19:55 UTC. The duration of the contact was approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact was telebridged between NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact was audible over portions of Australia and adjacent areas. The contact was conducted in English. Astronomy Camp is a week-long residential program held at Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Catalina Observatories near Tucson, Arizona. Several thousand teenagers from 49 states and 20 countries have attended the program since 1988, participating in an informal education program involving hands-on activities in astronomy and related subjects. The camp also operates workshops for adult leaders in Girl Scouts, USA. The ARISS contact dovetails well with the camp's projects involving radio astronomy. The students engage in experiments with electromagnetic energy, construct crystal radios, and tour the radio telescope facilities at Kitt Peak, including climbing into the antenna structure. Upcoming Contacts Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei, Catania, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ Contact is a go for: Sat 2013-06-22 14:57:26 UTC 41 deg ARISS is requesting listener reports for the above contacts. Due to issues with the Kenwood radio that are not fully understood at present, the Ericsson radio is going to be used for these contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Current occupants of the ISS include Exp. 35/36 on orbit Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS Aleksandr Misurkin Christopher J. Cassidy KF5KDR Exp. 36/37 on orbit Fyodor Yurchikhin RN3FI Karen L. Nyberg Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 823. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 806. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 44. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave AA4KN, and Charlie AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + APRS Messenger Android app now released http://tinyurl.com/l2tes3v + World QRP Day Monday 17 June Monday 17 June, is World QRP Day. Switch off the amplifier, turn down the power on your rig and try QRP power. How many kilometres per watt can you achieve. You will be amazed at what you can achieve with QRP. Best is, aim an antenna skyward and connect via a satellite using 5 watts or less. + According to Frank, K4FEG, Look for AO-7 to be in Mode "B" the entire duration of Field Day. --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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AO7 in Mode B
by K4FEG 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

Thanks everyone!! Thanks everyone for the reports on AO7 and it being in Mode B. I think it should be in Mode B for a few more weeks so Field Day should have it in Mode B the entire duration of Field Day. We are in the middle of the Eclipse Cycle, by all standard means of calculating, we (the Earth), are near the furthest distance from the Sun and the Southern Hemisphere is quickly approaching their "Winter" Equinox (shortest daylight period of the year), so this would be the time when AO7 would have the least amount of exposure to the Sun during passes over Antarctica. I know there are programs that will tell you when a satellite is "in the Sun" or not and SATPC32 seems to do a better than average job of predicting when an eclipse period is occurring. There have been questions as to whether or not a program like SATPC32 is calculating the solar position based on ground track or actual satellite position in orbit, I have not reached out to find out the method of calculations but based on how AO7 has reacted to even the briefest of eclipse's as predicted by SATPC32, I suspect the relationship of the satellite to the Sun is being predicted based on the actual satellite position in orbit and not based on ground track. When AO7 first started its "Zero Voltage Reset" and ceased switching modes back on May 21st, the eclipse period that triggered the reset was only estimated to be about 15 to 20 seconds. Reports that I have received from an operator in New Zealand, who has access to the satellite at times when it is heading into eclipse and coming out of eclipse, has stated that the satellite merely "fades" out and then "fades" back in when it comes out of the eclipse. Based on research about the construction of AO7, it has a better than needed solar array, from that era in which it was designed and built, and appears to suffer no ill effects from the "fading voltage" as the satellite loses the sunlight. If the Eclipse Cycle holds true to the predictions and continues to react as we have see it do so for the last almost 4 weeks, it should continue to do what I am calling "Zero Voltage Reset" until it is in continuous Sun over Antarctica, which will not occur for several more weeks. This is one of the reasons I have been studying the reactions of AO7 during this period, the way the satellite was designed gave an outline of how it should react coming out of eclipse, with no on-board battery system, but to my knowledge there has not been a case study, trying to accurately track how the satellite will react. I am just trying to collect data that will help in trying to predict how the satellite may react when the next Eclipse Cycle occurs. Perhaps during future eclipse events we can have a much more scientific study of the "Grand Old Lady" of satellites, AO7. If nothing else I think we can learn much from the how this satellite was built and has been "reborn" to help serve the satellite community! My hat is off to the design team for building one tough bird! Job Well Done! Thank you everyone who sends me email updates about their observations. I hope I am not boring people with my current obsession of AO7, but I like the old bird! 73 ALL FRM, K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGHQ: EM55aj84ta

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AMSAT-BB June 2013