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

Fwd: [DigitalATV] ISS HamTV presentation webcast on now
by Mark Thompson 20 Jul '13

20 Jul '13

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: M5AKA <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> To: Digital ATV Group <DigitalATV(a)yahoogroups.com> Sent: Saturday, July 20, 2013 6:26 AM Subject: [DigitalATV] ISS HamTV presentation webcast on now Watch the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium live from Guildford UK http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/18/webcast-of-international-space-colloquium/Tr… M5AKA __._,_.___ Reply via web post Reply to sender Reply to group Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: * New Members 3 * New Files 1 Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use • Send us Feedback . __,_._,___

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AMSAT-UK Webcast + Cassini
by M5AKA 20 Jul '13

20 Jul '13

AMSAT members wave at Cassini http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/20/amsat-members-wave-at-cassini/ Webcast of International Space Colloquium this weekend http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/18/webcast-of-international-space-colloquium/

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Re: Antenna direction calibration
by Rodney Waln 18 Jul '13

18 Jul '13

hi, well i will through my $0.2 in, for my home station to get as accurate as i can, i listen for a satellite beacon on one of the SSB's set the radio to track and satpc32 to track, have a radio or wireless mic and take an ht to the roof with me,when i hear the cw tone that sounds ok i am set. then fine tune things from there, mind you i am at a 10* handicap do to thre hills around me, so it takes a few tries, i also do it almost the same way for or portable, but you get the idea, the FM sat's are point and shoot, Rodney kc0zhf

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UKube-1 linear transponder CubeSat may launch October
by M5AKA 18 Jul '13

18 Jul '13

BBC News is reporting that the UK Space Agency's first CubeSat UKube-1, being built by Clyde Space in Glasgow, may launch in late October 2013. Clyde Space Senior Systems Engineer Steve Greenland will be giving a presentation on UKube-1 to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium which takes place July 20-21 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK. The Colloquium is open to all but for those unable to attend the event all 18 presentations including UKube-1 should be streamed live to the web. Further information on UKube-1 at http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/18/ukube-1-launch/ ---- 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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New Radio
by Vincenzo Mone 18 Jul '13

18 Jul '13

Hi to the list, as I cannot find the piece for my TS-790E as it is discontinued, I am thinking that it is time to change my radio. Anybody can suggest me on that has already enclosed 2m, 7cm and 23cm. Also it will be wonderful if is already ready to RX and TX 9600 baud and 38k4 baud Without to modify it by myself. Any suggestion will be really appreciated 73's de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ********************************** ******* GSM +39 328 7110193 ******* ****** SMS +39 328 7110193 ****** *** 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it *** *********************************

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D STAR AMSAT users net tonight
by damon runion 18 Jul '13

18 Jul '13

https://sites.google.com/site/memphisdstar/d-satellite-amsat-net If you do not have a d star radio or dv dongle ,you can still checkin using drats , The down load is on the above link .Tonights net will be informal and open to all satellite and grid chasers. Thanks Damon WA4HFN 5in em55

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Ham Radio Workshop held at Satellite Event
by M5AKA 17 Jul '13

17 Jul '13

Good to see amateur radio involvement at the recent Small Satellite Developers Workshop http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/17/ham-radio-workshop-held-at-satellite-event/ Other stories on the web: Earn Your Radio Merit Badge - K2BSA ISS contact Saturday http://radiofrequencyinternational.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/space-station-s… STRATODEAN High Altitude Balloon talk on Saturday to be web streamed http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/17/team-stratodean-high-altitude-balloon-talk/ ---- 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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Space Track TLE Retriever 2 Error Message
by Rick Walter 17 Jul '13

17 Jul '13

Just tried to download new Keplerian elements with Space Track TLE Retriever 2 provided by CelesTrack and got an error message saying I should check credentials. Anyone else getting this message? Don't know if they are down or if I have a problem. I have been getting the latest Keps from them for at least 15 years. Rick WB3CSY -- Sent from Rick's gmail account

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Registration required for Colloquium SSTL visit
by M5AKA 17 Jul '13

17 Jul '13

As part of this weekendsAMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium in Guildford, UK there will be two opportunities to visit the satellite facilities at the Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) Kepler building. The tour will only be available to those who have registered for it in advance. The closing date for registration is 1100 GMT Thursday. Further details at http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/16/registration-needed-for-sstl-kepler-visit/ For those unable to get to the Colloquium you can watch the presentations on Saturday and Sunday on the BATC Live Events page at http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=3 The schedule is at http://tinyurl.com/2013ColloquiumSchedule ---- 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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Help wanted on CP antenna design
by Phil Karn 17 Jul '13

17 Jul '13

I'm one of several adult mentors to a local high school ham club that's been designing and flying balloons. We are designing a high speed 70cm digital downlink for a future payload. One of my major concerns is frequency selective multipath fading in the 1 MHz bandwidth I plan to use as the balloon gets low on the horizon of the tracking station and the receiver begins to pick up a reflection off the ground. I think one of the simpler ways to deal with multipath is to use circular polarization on both ends. This automatically rejects all odd-order reflections (including the all-important 1st order reflection off the ground) as they have the opposite circularity sense to the direct signal and automatically be cancelled at the receiver. (CP was tried experimentally with analog TV broadcasting back in the 1970s as a means of reducing ghosting.) On the ground we'll just use a regular 70cm satellite antenna, but on the balloon I need a 70cm circularly polarized transmit antenna with a fairly wide (hemispherical) beamwidth that can maintain its circularity over as much of that as possible. I'm not an antenna guy, but my understanding tells me that a quadrifilar might be a good choice here. Any comments on this? Can anybody point me to some typical performance figures for these antennas? Again, I'm more interested in cross-polarization rejection than in absolute gain. I have plenty of link margin and I'm willing to sacrifice a few dB if necessary to get rid of those deep multipath fades. Thanks, Phil

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AmsatDroid Free
by David Johnson 17 Jul '13

17 Jul '13

Hi, For those of you that do not get automatic updates, the latest version 1.0.5 is now in the play store. Bug fixes and map drawing performance improvements. I also re-introduced the prediction calculation for the current pass. More details of the paid version at the AMSAT-UK colloquium this weekend. 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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CQ-VHF Spring Edition CO6CBF Article
by Les Rayburn 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

CQ-VHF Magazine has elected to allow a free preview of the current issue (Spring 2013) highlighting an article by Hector, CO6CBF on operating satellites using a homebrew setup from Cuba. You can view the entire article at: http://www.cq-vhf.com/vhf_highlights/2013_vhf/2013_spring_vhf/2013_spring_v… Congratulations to Hector, who is an inspiration to all of us. And if you're not a CQ-VHF subscriber, you really should be. It's a great magazine, and very supportive of satellite operators. -- -- 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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LVB Tracker OLED upgrade availability update
by Alan 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

All, The blue OLED displays used in the updated LVB Tracker, introduced at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention, are currently on an 18 week back order with our suppliers. Green and amber OLED upgrades to older units are available through the AMSAT Store. Blue displays are expected to be available at a future date. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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GO-32
by Vincenzo Mone 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

Hi to the list, anybody can confirm me if GO-32 is working? I am having a pass right now 13:15 UTC with a maximum elevation to 77 degrees. On the frequency 435.320 I can hear a strong signal that it seems to be at 9600 baud Because I can see the DCD led of my TNC flicking but it do not decode. The signal I hear is like an PSK signal. I am on FM mode. Please anybody can tell me if it is the GO-32 signal or it is a different signal that I hear? Thanks in advance. 73's de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ********************************** ******* GSM +39 328 7110193 ******* ****** SMS +39 328 7110193 ****** *** 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it *** *********************************

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Re^2: Re: Satellite at 1.2 GHZ
by Mineo Wakita 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

Yes, CO-65's 1.2GHz is still operational. It is usually scheduled for operation at 9600bps GMSK of Up=1267.600 and Down=437.475 on Saturday and Sunday of every weekend. The ground station has been publicity on the web at the end of each month that either Digipeater or Message_Box of CO-65 is it's to be operational. I am open to the public at the beginning of each month such as the following image on my blog. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30701c65.png http://wakky.asablo.jp/blog/ However, because the equipment of ground station so not good, it is not operational on schedule. Since the operation of Degipeater on 31 Mar 2013, the state of digipeater off has continued. Even now, it has been done by the recovery of the equipment of ground station will continue and there is the information that was digipeater ON inter- mittently at weekends recently. 11:28-11:40UTC, 31 Mar 2013, Ele 70 SE-E-N, 1267.603/437.475MHz 9600bps http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30331c65.png When Digipeater or Message_Box of CO-65 is turned on by the efforts of ground station, I will post the information immediately to the AMSAT-BB. JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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apogee prediction?
by Bob- W7LRD 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

Hello (again)...Is there a way (program) that one can predict when the apogee of a given satellite will favor a given grid square? Specifically FO29 varies from about 813 km to 1351km. One can potentially "stretch" the footprint when it is at apogee. 73 Bob W7LRD (sunny) Seattle

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Re: Satellite at 1.2 GHZ
by Mineo Wakita 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

1.2 GHz satellite is CO-65 (CUTE1.7+APDII), not CO-56. Uplink 1267.600MHz Downlink 437.475MHz, 9600bps GMSK http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ct17gmsk.htm JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Re: Rotor in need of overhaul
by Jim Bennett 16 Jul '13

16 Jul '13

Just for every ones info, Norm doesn't do Yaesu. " yaesu prefers to handle their own service, you will have to contact them" From: Pete Rowe [mailto:ptrowe@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 7:50 PM To: Jim Bennett Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Rotor in need of overhaul Hi Jim You might check with Norm at: rotorservice.com He is a good guy and repairs many different rotors. Pete WA6WOA _____ From: Jim Bennett <jlb3nn(a)bellsouth.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 4:19 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Rotor in need of overhaul Has anyone got a reliable source to overhaul the Yaesu B5400 rotors? Or should I just replace with new? Or with the sats dying, should I even care to fix them? Thanks for any insite. Jim Ke4kol _______________________________________________ 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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Re: [SPAM] TNC-220 jumper info?
by george abbott 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

On 7/15/2013 5:59 PM, Mike Nettles wrote: The jumper on my TAPR TNC may be marked for adjustment. > I know its an old tnc but does anyone have info on the jumper settings they > can scan and email to me? Or how the com port speed is set? If I can use it > to free up one of my newer tnc's for another use that would be great. > > > > Would be nice to locate newer firmware if possible. I have a burner, just > need the file. > > > > I ask here because most of the info I found on the net dealt with hams using > this tnc for Satellites. > > > > Thanks and 73, > > Mike kb5wbh > > _______________________________________________ > 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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TNC-220 jumper info?
by Mike Nettles 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

I know its an old tnc but does anyone have info on the jumper settings they can scan and email to me? Or how the com port speed is set? If I can use it to free up one of my newer tnc's for another use that would be great. Would be nice to locate newer firmware if possible. I have a burner, just need the file. I ask here because most of the info I found on the net dealt with hams using this tnc for Satellites. Thanks and 73, Mike kb5wbh

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US Towers TMM-433HD for sale
by David Reinhart 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

On the ground, heavy duty 33 ft. crank up tower with fold-over fixture. Ten ft. mast, four coax arms, inverted vee arm. Everything except anchor bolts. Pick up only in Holden, MA. Originally $2,500. Make offer. Contact Dave at wa6ilt(a)amsat.org.

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Personalized CubeSats
by B J 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space-all-small-cheap-satellites-may-one-day… http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/07/15/cubesats-personalized-eyed-for-inter… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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AMSAT-UK Colloquium Programme
by David Johnson 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

Hi, I'm pleased to let you know that programme is now complete. However, If you are bursting to share some info with us, I might be able to squeeze in two more 20 minute presentations, one each on Saturday & Sunday afternoons. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq4J8y0gGRnkdG9uVks0Y3JJOGx4OD… 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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antenna direction calibration
by Bob- W7LRD 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

You'd think I would have this figured out by now. I never paid very close attention to exact antenna direction until now. I mean the satellite was always within the beam pattern. I tried the SuM part of Satpc32. I am thinking of trying some EME, and I looked up the boom of the yagi' and I was about 8* high and maybe 10* to the right of the moon, still probably within the half power point of the beams. This is where the obsessive part comes along, should I use the moon as the "grand phooba" of calibration? Or compass true/mag. I mean the moon is "pretty" consistent. As always the collective thoughts of this bb are never wrong. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle

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Re: Antenna direction calibration
by John Fickes 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

Bob What I do ( and I'm not sure I'm right,but seems to work ) is to use the North star to calibrate. I live at 41.2* latitude, so if I crank my antennas to 41* elevation and point north 0* azimuth I should be pretty close. I also live at 1* magnetic declination, not much so I don't worry much about that. Now I don't do much EME as I don't have any power, but I've monitored EME and this seems to get me pretty close. I will also be glad to see what others do to calibrate. 73 John KC0BMF

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