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

Ac0ra trip
by wyattdirks 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

Well just another four hours of driving till we get home. Well I am riding now but will drive the last stretch through Iowa. By the time we get home we will have been on the road for about 22.5 hours. Any way I just did the tally and I have 238 contacts in the log from 25 different grids and from 6 different states. A few of the high lights of the trips as far as sat ops go was working vo52 from two grids while mobile. For the First three minutes of the pass I was in dn91 then passed into dn90 and worked three station from each grid. Also at the last minute I decided to take and hour detour north off of i80 to the en01/00 gridline just north of grand island to work quite a few stations. And to all those who worked me on fo29 while I was mobile I am sorry for the weak signals. My half wave mobile whip got damaged early trip by a big bird at 80mph and it never worked right after that. For a while it didn't work at all but with some roadside repairs i got it working to get us through the trip. Also if you working me you might have noticed sometimes I signed mobile and sometimes I signed portable. Well this was for a reason that is quite obvious. When I signed my I was using my ft857 with halfwave mobile antenna for 2m and three el arrow for 70cm. Mostly was semi duplex while mobile but sometimes used the ft817 for rx. When I signed portable I was using the ft897/817 pair with an arrow antenna which performed flawlessly. Well all but my battery charger for the ft897 batteries stopped working which wasn't an issue because I had a back up 35amphr gelcel along. Charged everything while driving through inverter and once in the hotel room. If you want qsls for grids which I assume some will of you could send a sase with the contacts you want with the grid I was In writen on the card that would be good. It might take a little bit for cards to get back out as I might need to get some made. But it shouldn't take more then a month or two. Thanks to all who followed me along the trip! 73 Wyatt AC0RA

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D Star Amsat users net
by damon runion 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

I will start a net on D Star on 1 August(Thursday evenings) for Amsat users. It will be at 8:pm local Memphis,TN on REF 60 B in Nashville, TN. through the W4LET repeater in the Memphis area. If you have a D Star radio or a DV Dongle , please join in and share any info on grid trips you may be planning or info on someone that maybe planning one. If you have equipment for sale or if you are looking for something you may list it.Let's keep the rocket science off this net. I wish to support the use of the satellites. If anyone would like to be an alternate net controller , please contact me. I will be on each Thursday evening at 8:pm local time in an informal mode and on 1 August the net will be formal. Thanks WA4HFN EM55ab Damon Runion

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5 in em55 update
by damon runion 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

*In an effort to help increase interest in satellites, we have created a new award for working five (5) different hams in the EM55 grid or collect 5 5 in EM55 certificate holder numbers or a combination of numbers and em55 operators totaling 5* Thanks Damon WA4HFN EM55

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5 in EM55 update
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

In an effort to help increase interest in satellites, we have created a new award for working five (5) different hams in the EM55 grid or collect 5 5 in EM55 certificate holder numbers or a combination of numbers and em55 operators totaling 5

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Re: Satellite at 1.2 GHZ
by Andrew Glasbrenner 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

1.2 GHz is never a downlink band, only uplink. Right now I think CO-56 is the only satellite with a user-accessible 1.2 GHz uplink. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: Vincenzo Mone <vimone(a)alice.it> >Sent: Jul 14, 2013 10:24 AM >To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite at 1.2 GHZ > >Hi to the list, >I would like to know if there is any active bird with a DL at 1.2GHz. >Thanks in advace > >Inviato da iPhone >_______________________________________________ >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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Satellite at 1.2 GHZ
by Vincenzo Mone 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

Hi to the list, I would like to know if there is any active bird with a DL at 1.2GHz. Thanks in advace Inviato da iPhone

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ANS-196 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-195 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: * 2013 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Ballot Mailing This Week * 2013 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium This Week * 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference 26-28 July * The Whale's HTs Don't Have PL * Scotland Portable Satellite Operation in August * ARISS News * This Week in Space History SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-195.01 ANS-195 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 195.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 14, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-195.01 2013 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Ballot Mailing This Week This year there are eight candidates running for the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors. The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as voting Board Members with two year terms. The two candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will be non-voting Alternate Board Members with terms of one year. Please vote for no more than four candidates. Ballots will be mailed to members in good standing by July 15th, and must be returned to the AMSAT-NA office no later than the close of business on September 15th, 2013. If you have not received your ballot by August 1st, please contact the AMSAT Office. Ballots sent to members outside North America are automatically sent via air mail. It is suggested that they be returned the same way. AMSAT-NA Board candidates in alphabetical order by last name: Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Steve Coy, K8UD Frank Griffin, K4FEG Mark Hammond, N8MH Brian Klofas, KF6ZEO JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM Tony Monteiro, AA2TX [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium This Week 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. It is anticipated that both the FUNcube-1 and FUNcube-2 missions will be launched later this year and the FUNcube team will be on hand to talk about the missions and the planned educational outreach. A full demonstration of the Engineering Model, which has been performing flawlessly for almost a year, will also be provided. For those unable to attend it is planned to stream the presentations on the web to a global audience. The video streaming should be available on the Live Events section of the BATC website at http://batc.tv/ The Colloquium schedule (times in BST, GMT+1) can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/2013ColloquiumSchedule Further details and booking information at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/ [ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference 26-28 July The 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference committee invites you to a full weekend of VHF/UHF activity the weekend of July 26th-through-July 28th. This 47th Annual Conference is being held at the Elk Grove Village Holiday Inn at 1000 Busse Rd located at the South-West corner Route 83 and Landwehr Road in Elk Grove Village. The activities begin Friday morning at 9AM with antenna range gain measurements and pre-amp noise figure measurement contests. Technical Programs are held Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. The detailed Agenda and full information can be found at; http://www.csvhfs.org/2013conference/index.html The Society is fortunate to be able to welcome noted VHF/UHF and 10 Ghz enthusiast Mr Dave Sumner K1ZZ, Chief Executive Officer of the ARRL to this year's conference as our Keynote Speaker. Please plan to attend Saturday's Banquet when you sign-up for the Conference. Registrations for the Banquet will close on Thursday the 18th of July so please take time now to reserve your dinner selection; http://www.csvhfs.org/2013conference/2013Registration.html The Forum Speakers and Topics for the 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference - Chicago/Elk Grove Village will include; James Kennedy, K6MIO(/KH6) Worldwide Es Propagation on 27-29 June 2012 Kent Britain, WA5VJB Unusual Antennas for Unusual Applications James Froemke, K0MHC Where have all the ROVERS gone Ed Krome, K9EK Building and Testing VHF/UHF Power Amps based on the Freescale LD-MOS Modules James Kennedy, K6MIO(/KH6) Solar Cycle Update Wayne Overbeck, N6NB Building a Tower Trailer for Roving (and Why!) Jon Platt, W0ZQ Gitchi Gami and the 2012 ARRL 10 GHz Contest Terry Price, W8ZN 1.5 kW Larcan 222 MHz Amplifier Keith Pugh, W5IU AMSAT and ARISS Update 2013 Al Ward, W5LUA Working Small Stations on 10 and 24 GHz EME with help of WSJT Gerald Johnson, K0CQ Multiple "mini"-topics (Antenna Modeling, Test "Tricks" to better your GHz signal, Soldering) Central States VHF Society Sponsored Activities and Awards - This will be s moderated session that will recognize the 2012-2013 States Above 50 MHz results, Reverse VUCC and the 2013 VHF & Up Spring Sprints. This session will extend into a discussion of the Future of the Spring VHF & Up Sprints. [ANS thanks Kermit, W9XA, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Whale's HTs don't have PL HamRadioNow episode 85, released July 9 features an interview with a pair of AMSAT VP's discussing AMSAT's Fox-1 Satellite. Getting a launch date for a new satellite even a date more than a year out is exciting at AMSAT. In this episode, we talk to a pair of AMSAT VP's. Tony Montiero AA2TX handles Engineering, and Mark Hammond N8MH does Education.We talk about what Fox-1 will do (an FM crossband repeater that will also relay data from onboard science experiments). And we learn how AMSAT must transition from a bunch of hams who put up satellites that we can talk through, to a provider of the physical platform and communications for educational experiments for school grades K thru Post-Grad.... that also has transponders and repeaters that hams can use. And the Whale's HTs? Well, you're just going to have to watch. http://arvideonews.com/hrn/HRN_Episode_0085.html [ANS thanks Gary Pearce KN4AQ and HamRadioNow for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Scotland Portable Satellite Operation in August Paul, 2E1EUB, will once again be active as 2M1EUB for 14 days beginning August 5th. He will be driving around Scotland for anyone looking for new grids or grids they have not worked yet. Activity will be on 160m, 80m, and the satellites (mostly AO-7 B/A mode), as well as 2m SSB. He does accept E-mails and will arrange skeds to work him at <2e1eub(a)amsat.org>. Check out QRZ.com under 2M1EUB for more info and updates. [ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful ARISS Contacts + A Successful contact was made between Scout Canada Jamboree, Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada and Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 16:31 UTC 2013-07-08 and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via VK5ZAI. CJ'13 was a gathering of up to 6500 youth, leaders and volunteers in Sylvan Lake, Alberta from July 6-13. This wass the largest gathering of scouts in Canada. CJ'13 brought people from across the country and around the world together for the ultimate scouting experience. Scouts shared friendship and adventure while experiencing personal development that only a jamboree experience can bring. Scouts hiked near glaciers, dug for bones, learned about the challenges of space exploration, raided a castle, and dove for buried treasure. The week was one scouts will never forget! + A Successful contact was made between Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu', Rome, State of Vatican City and Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP using callsign IRØISS. The contact began 12:36 UTC 2013-07-10 and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was dirct via HV2VO. Created in 1869 through a generous initiative of the Salviati family, and donated to the Holy See in 1924, the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital is now a comprehensive children's polyclinic. In 1985, it has been formally recognized by the Italian Ministry of Health as "Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico" IRCCS (Research Hospital), and it is now one of the three Paediatric IRCCS in Italy, and the only one for Central and Southern Regions. The Hospital is a reference point in Italy and abroad and it is connected to the most important paediatric centres in Europe and the United States. Healthcare and research. Upcoming ARISS Contacts + Boy Scouts of America, 2013 National Jamboree, K2BSA, Mount Hope, WV, direct via K2BSA Contact is a go for: Sat 2013-07-20 15:34:46 UTC + Colegio Urugua, El Pinar, Uruguay, via LU8YY Contact is a go for: Sat 2013-07-20 19:05:21 UTC 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. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week in Space History July 14 1965 Mariner 4 completes first successful flyby of Mars 1967 Surveyor 4 Launched 2008 MESSENGER first Mercury flybay July 15 1975 Apollo 18 Launched Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Last Apollo mission 2009 STS-127 Endeavour Launched June 16 1969 Apollo 11 Launched 2011 Dawn Spacecraft orbits Vesta June 17 1975 Apollo-Soyuz dock in orbit 1984 Soyuz T-12 Launched 100th human space flight June 18 1921 John Glenn Born 1966 Gemini X Launched 1980 India becomes 7th nation to launch its own satellite June 19 1967 Explorer 35 Launched 1985 NASA selects Christa McAuliffe as first private citizen to travel in space June 20 1969 First Humans Walk on Moon (Apollo 11) 1976 Viking 1 Lands on Mars 1999 Liberty Bell 7 capsule recovered from Atlantic Ocean after 28 years [ANS thanks The Planetary Society for the above information] /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, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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Rotor in need of overhaul
by Jim Bennett 14 Jul '13

14 Jul '13

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

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AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2013 Programme Online
by David A B Johnson 13 Jul '13

13 Jul '13

Hi, As programme organiser, on behalf of the AMSAT-UK committee, I'm pleased to let the AMSAT community know that the programme is now online at: *http://tinyurl.com/pyey25w* Details of the event at: http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/ 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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AO7 Mode A
by K4FEG 13 Jul '13

13 Jul '13

AO7 is in Mode A during the 1309UTC pass over EM55aj84ta, just now. Signals had slight distortion in them, but CW and SSB was readable. I am not 100% sure if this is an indication of the end of the eclipse cycle and the return to daily mode switches. My predictions had shown more eclipses for at least 2 more weeks. Watch AO7 closely for Mode and possible switch times. The last Mode A over the USA was back on May 21 of this year. Stay Tuned folks! Frank; K4FEG EM55aj84ta

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SunSpace Announcement
by M5AKA 13 Jul '13

13 Jul '13

The South African Relay League (SARL) has issued a bulletin about the company SunSpace which developed out of the Stellenbosch University SUNSAT OSCAR-35 project and was responsible for building the SumbandilaSat OSCAR-67 satellite. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/13/new-home-for-sunspace-staff/ ---- 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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K2BSA/W4UOO-EM97 West Virginia FO-29 1500z 13July2013
by John Papay 13 Jul '13

13 Jul '13

W4UOO is operating as K2BSA from Beckley West Virginia EM97. West Virginia is a rare state on satellites. It's small and very mountainous and most places are down in the valleys such that they don't have a low horizon. I drove down to Beckley several years ago to hand out EM97. It was 300 miles one way. Now is your chance to work this grid and state. Mike was able to work down pretty low. This is a great opportunity. He was worked on FO-29. 73, John K8YSE

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Signal strengths of the two ISS ham radio stations
by M5AKA 12 Jul '13

12 Jul '13

Henk PA3GUO has produced an interesting video showing the the signals from the two amateur radio stations on the ISS, see http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/12/signal-strengths-of-the-two-iss-ham-radio-st… Also on the AMSAT-UK site: HamRadioNow Episode 85 Gary Pearce KN4AQ talks to Tony Montiero AA2TX (VP Engineering) and Mark Hammond N4MH (VP Education) about the new Fox-1 Satellite. http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/12/amsats-fox-1-ham-radio-cubesat/ July 13 Lift-off for LOHAN Balloon Rocket Test http://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/10/july-13-lohan-balloon-rocket-test/ ---- 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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Fwd: Central States VHF Society Conference, Elk Grove Village, IL, 7/26-28
by Mark Thompson 12 Jul '13

12 Jul '13

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Kermit Carlson <w9xa(a)yahoo.com> To: Kermit Carlson W9XA <w9xa(a)yahoo.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 8:27 PM Subject: [frrl] 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference July 26-28 Greetings ! The 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference committee invites you to a full weekend of VHF/UHF activity the weekend of July 26th-through-July 28th. This 47th Annual Conference is being held at the Elk Grove Village Holiday Inn at 1000 Busse Rd located at the South-West corner Route 83 and Landwehr Road in Elk Grove Village. The activities begin Friday morning at 9AM with antenna range gain measurements and pre-amp noise figure measurement contests. Technical Programs are held Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. The detailed Agenda and full information can be found at; http://www.csvhfs.org/2013conference/index.html The Society is fortunate to be able to welcome noted VHF/UHF and 10 Ghz enthusiast Mr Dave Sumner K1ZZ, Chief Executive Officer of the ARRL to this year's conference as our Keynote Speaker. Please plan to attend Saturday's Banquet when you sign-up for the Conference. Registrations for the Banquet will close on Thursday the 18th of July so please take time now to reserve your dinner selection; http://www.csvhfs.org/2013conference/2013Registration.html The Forum Speakers and Topics for the 2013 Central States VHF Society Conference - Chicago/Elk Grove Village will include; James Kennedy, K6MIO(/KH6) Worldwide Es Propagation on 27-29 June 2012 Kent Britain, WA5VJB Unusual Antennas for Unusual Applications James Froemke, K0MHC Where have all the ROVERS gone? Ed Krome, K9EK Building and Testing VHF/UHF Power Amps based on the Freescale LD-MOS Modules James Kennedy, K6MIO(/KH6) Solar Cycle Update Wayne Overbeck, N6NB Building a Tower Trailer for Roving (and Why!) Jon Platt, W0ZQ Gitchi Gami and the 2012 ARRL 10 GHz Contest Terry Price, W8ZN 1.5 kW Larcan 222 MHz Amplifier Keith Pugh, W5IU AMSAT and ARISS Update 2013 Al Ward, W5LUA Working Small Stations on 10 and 24 GHz EME with help of WSJT Gerald Johnson, K0CQ Multiple "mini"-topics (Antenna Modeling, Test "Tricks" to better your GHz signal, Soldering) Central States VHF Society Sponsored Activities and Awards - This will be s moderated session that will recognize the 2012-2013 States Above 50 MHz results, Reverse VUCC and the 2013 VHF & Up Spring Sprints. This session will extend into a discussion of the Future of the Spring VHF & Up Sprints. We look forward to seeing you at the Conference ! 73, Kermit Carlson W9XA

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File audio 9k6 FSK
by Vincenzo Mone 11 Jul '13

11 Jul '13

Hi Folks, please anybody can tell me where can i find an audio file for 9k6 baud FSK? Is it the same as the old KO-23 KO-25 and UO-22? Thanks 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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OUYA Satellite Tracker Interest
by Joseph Armbruster 11 Jul '13

11 Jul '13

Everyone, I have NASA WorldWind running on the OUYA, see: http://libjoe.blogspot.com/2013/07/worldwind-on-ouya.html It wouldn't take much to turn this into a full-on satellite tracker app. If anyone is into Android or the OUYA and would like to exchange some ideas, please let me know. Joseph Armbruster

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funcube
by w6gmt＠bak.rr.com 11 Jul '13

11 Jul '13

Looking for Used Funcube plus for project involving tracking birds and animals at the Discovery Center where I volunteer. -- W6GMT BROCK THOMSEN MARCELL MN 56657 EN37EN

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Next Antares Launch
by B J 11 Jul '13

11 Jul '13

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/07/10/orbitals-cots-demonstration-mission-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Back Issues of AMSAT Journal in PDF
by Les Rayburn 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

Does AMSAT offer compilations (back issues) of the AMSAT Journal in PDF format on CD, similar to the way that the ARRL and other organizations do with their publications? I've been buying all the back issues I can find at hamfests and on Ebay, but it's slow going. If they are not available, I'd be willing to donate the labor to archive them into PDF format so that AMSAT could offer them for sale. My firm provides this service commercially to our clients (mainly in healthcare, who want to archive specialty publications for niche audiences). I'm sure my staff would enjoy taking a break from scanning endless issues of "Radiological Imaging Today" :-) -- -- 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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Yaesu G-5500 Azimuth Motor Replacement
by Sion Chow Q. C. (9W2QC) 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

Dear All, Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I have a Yaesu G-5500 rotator that has a spoilt azimuth motor while the elevation motor works fine. Looking at the specifications published by Yaesu, the G-800 rotator seems to be very similar with the azimuth motor of the G-5500. Instead of purchasing a whole new set of G-5500 just to replace the spoilt azimuth motor (the control box is working and this has been verified with another working azimuth motor), I wonder if anyone has tried replacing the azimuth motor the G-800 instead? Will the G-5500 control box work with the G-800 motor, are there some modifications needed, or is this simply not possible? Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. 73, Sion Chow Q. C., 9M2CQC, WQ2C

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Proton Launch Facility Operations To Be Examined
by B J 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/07/10/outside-experts-to-examine-khruniche… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: APRS & Twitter
by PA3GUO 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

Hi Rizwan, First of all: we are all very interested in your CAPE-2 project. Would you be able to share some more information on CAPE-2 ? In case you involve radio-amateurs in capturing telemetry/data from your satellite you will have an huge increase in coverage, as we are spread across the entire globe. We do have the APRS system up-and-running, and NO-44 (PCSAT-1) and ISS-APRS data packets for example are monitored and automatically forwarded to the internet already. On messaging to twitter email: In case of a malfunction or wrong software setting the satellite may not be able to change its transmission pattern, when it is in space and cannot be reached anymore (e.g. up-link broken). Alternative would be to break it up in two steps: Step 1 Transmit a status in APRS format, and have that captured/received as regular packets. Here is for example how all the ISS data (real-time) looks like: http://www.ariss.net, and here is how NO-44 looks like: http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/pcsat.cgi Step 2 Have a software program running that looks at the the received APRS telemetry, and derive from that a Twitter tweet (every hour, every day, ...). For example if the telemetry says: "CAPE 012000105" this could mean I am alive and battery voltage is 10.5 volt and temperature is 12 degrees Celsius. The tweet could be: "Hi this is CAPE-2 in space, I feel cold (12C) and my battery is good (10.5V)". Just a thought. Regarding APRS email: http://www.aprs.org/aprs-messaging.html explains how to do this. Here is an example on how this worked on ANDE-1: ANDE-1 digipeat: !T 12:26:38 PA3GUO-8>APRS,ANDE-1*,qAO,PE1ITR::email :[email protected] Hi ROb !S 12:26:36 :email :[email protected] Hi ROb Here an example on how this worked on ISS: TNC settings an email to PE1ABC (pe1abc(a)spamsat.org) via ISS (RS0ISS-3): MYCALL PA3GUO-5 U APRS VIA RS0ISS-3 BEACON EVERY 1 BTEXT :EMAIL :[email protected] Hi there! The result (the email received by pe1abc): From: ksproul(a)rci.rutgers.edu Date: 25-02-2004 08:00 To: pe1abc(a)spamsat.org cc: Subject: APRS Message from PA3GUO-5 Hi there! Please let us know if this helped & success with CAPE-2! Henk, PA3GUO www.pa3guo.com >Greetings AMSAT! > I am one of the software engineers on the CAPE-2 Cubesat project at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I am interested in information on how to set up our satellite to tweet over APRS to a specific twitter account. For example: If i want our satellite to tweet once a day what our satellite's status is, and have it be posted to a CAPE-2 twitter account, how can i make this happen? We've seen other groups do it, and we are wondering how to replicate this. Thanks for your help! Sincerely, Rizwan Merchant Call Sign: KF5BNL

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(no subject)
by B J 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2013/07/10/proton-launch-failure-update-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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APRS & Twitter
by Rizwan 'Drake' Merchant 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

Greetings AMSAT! I am one of the software engineers on the CAPE-2 Cubesat project at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I am interested in information on how to set up our satellite to tweet over APRS to a specific twitter account. For example: If i want our satellite to tweet once a day what our satellite's status is, and have it be posted to a CAPE-2 twitter account, how can i make this happen? We've seen other groups do it, and we are wondering how to replicate this. Thanks for your help! Sincerely, Rizwan Merchant Call Sign: KF5BNL

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Alternative TLE / Satellite Info Source
by David A B Johnson 10 Jul '13

10 Jul '13

Hi, There are many very worthy sources of TLE data and satellite catalogues. However, there is no user-defined source. I.e one where the user can: Categorise their own satellite types Choose from one of the many aliases for an individual satellite Have satellite channels / modes available for viewing Have individual / mixed schedules (constellations) available ... If there is any interest in creating such a service to the AMSAT/CubeSat community then I should be interested in discussing it. I should be particularly interested in API proposals from existing source providers. This will NOT be a commercial undertaking, any income will go to AMSAT worlwide. I am going to make a similar propsal at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium in two weeks time. 73 Dave, G4DPZ AMSAT-UK AMSAT-NA

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