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

Re: A0 40 replacement - mode K cubesat?
by Ross Whenmouth 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

Hi, How feasible is it to fly a mode K (15m uplink, 10m downlink) linear transponder on a cubesat? I expect that pretty much any ham with an HF transceiver would be able to work this bird, and I expect that due to the lower frequency, the footprint might be a bit larger than that of VHF/UHF bird in the same orbit and the Doppler shift would only be about 7% of that experienced on 70cm. The biggest problem that I see though is squeezing a somewhat efficient 10m antenna into a cubesat and deploying it by remote control once on orbit. (I think that the cubesat antenna should be optimised for TX performance, as cubesat TX EIRP capability is severely limited compared to the average HF transceiver). Would two 2.5m lengths of steel tape (the same stuff that tape measures are made out of) - mounted on opposing sides of the cubesat, be able to unroll in microgravity to form a generally straight 1/2 wave dipole with a low risk of tangling, snagging or kinking, etc? Alternately, what about using some sort of thin plastic tubing (something like dialysis tubing, but suited to the space environment?) with a wire inside it, and rolled up. Then, once on orbit, the tubing is inflated with self-expanding polyurethane foam, which will extend the tube (and the wire inside it). The foam will then harden, so future loss of gas pressure in the plastic tube (micrometeorites?) will not cause failure of the antenna? 73 ZL2WRW Ross Whenmouth

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Re: AO-40 Replacement
by Daniel Schultz 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

I know how much the FM satellites are loved by certain segments of the AMSAT community, and FOX-1 will serve that community beginning late next year. In addition, many universities are building 2 meter FM satellites as part of their aerospace engineering curriculum. The problem with the FM satellites is that only one station at a time can access them, during field day I listened to several passes and I did not hear one complete field day exchange during any of them. They are just too limited to serve as a pathway for growth for AMSAT. I have also read many recent posts regarding the late, great AO-40 and how much the long distance DX that it provided is missed. The S-band downlink for AO-40 performed well and was quite inexpensive for hams to acquire. It is simply a myth that microwave equipment and antennas represents a difficult entry path to amateur radio. In the event that AMSAT should find an opportunity to place a Cubesat into HEO, it will not be able to replace the performance of AO-40, but it could provide the long distance DX opportunities for those stations that are willing to make a modest investment in equipment. I am sorry that we cannot provide a HEO DX satellite that anybody can work with an HT and an Arrow antenna, but we are limited by the laws of physics, the size of the solar arrays, the antenna gain and the link budget from HEO. We can only fit so much stuff into the tiny little satellites that will be available to us in the future. If we build a small HEO satellite some people will be excluded from using it. We are not trying to exclude anybody but those are the facts of life as I see them. If you want a HEO DX satellite it is going to cost you some money to equip yourself to work the satellite with its limited power output and link budget. This is not because we want to exclude anybody, this is doing what we can with the launches that are going to be available to us in the future. I don't see the value of bringing new hams into the satellite hobby if they make a few QSO's and then grow tired of the limited capability of the LEO FM satellites. To attract and keep these hams we must provide something more challenging and more useful for communications. That doesn't make us elitist, but until somebody writes a $10 million dollar check to AMSAT, that is what we can do and it is better than disbanding the organization and giving up because we can't do magic on our shoestring budget. Dan Schultz N8FGV ------------------------ Original Message ------------------------ >What should a ham satellite program offer to the amateur community? >If bringing new hams into this aspect of the hobby is important, >then we need another AO-51 - which was probably the greatest marketing >tool ever seen in the amateur satellite community. Its ease of use >was the cause of scores of media alerts and publicity for amateur radio. >And most importantly, it got more people looking skyward and thinking >they could work amateur satellites than any other project. >Then there was the marvelous marketing surrounding ARISSat-1 ... >What else should an amateur satellite program offer? Many here want >satellites that are only accessible with an investment of many hundreds >of dollars' worth of antenna systems and equipment. (Some would actually >love it if Technicians weren't allowed - that's how extreme thinking is >on this topic.) Is THAT what will move the hobby forward for the masses? >IS there a "middle ground?" Sure is a polarized topic (pun intended). Some >want the hobby and sat use to grow ... others want to exclude as many fellow >hams as possible.

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ISS HamTV, yikes I am late
by Robert C. Campbell 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

Fantastic job Fabiano CT7ABD. Elmer's Wanted, I am ready to make the final connections to my station after months of hard work. So much hard work and U$D that I don't want to let the smoke out of the box inadvertently tho I am keeping the halon extinguisher handy.Seems a shame to go this far and be reluctant to plug it in. Equipment is as follows: HP AMD 64 Pavilion with windows vista business 2.4 meter dish mounted on 8 foot tower section, with az and el rotors and home brew 12 turn 2.4GHz helical at focal point. Model 2400 High Siera HamTV-Down Converter TBS-8920 PCI-DVB-S and S2 TV Tuner Card.......got the technotrend from Europe but had to send it back as it was defective. If this happens to you don't use US mail system. TBS-8920 is running on Media Portal - TVServer Software. Questions or settings: What DIsEQC, What KU-band..circular..universal..stacked..legacy...custom What override default lnb freq.... LOF1........mhz, LOF2 ....mhz What Switch LMBSw.......mhz Freqency ........mhz Symbol rate.... Polirization...none,h, v, or circular..left or right Inner FEC Rate....in fractions Pilot, on, off, not set, not defined Roll off... not set, not defined, .20, .25, .35 The DVB-S should also be able to power the down converter via the DISeQC but what one.. Simple a, simple b, Level 1aa, Level 1ab, Level 1ba, Level BB, or none Any help requested would be appreciated. If you must blast please off the amsat site..use KB3PMR(a)gmail.com. Show up and make it work and I will cook the steak. I would offer valuable gifts and prizes but but I need to save up for domestic abuse claims by being preoccupied with this for the last 4 month. Bob

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HEO satellite Haiku poem
by Clayton Coleman 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

AO-40 premature death Sob-sob Boo-hoo I want, I want, I want. (amateurish, I know) 73 Clayton W5PFG

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FUNcube-1 is in its POD
by Graham Shirville 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

The AMSAT FUNcube team are delighted to be able to announce that the FUNcube-1 CubeSat has now completed all its final testing and been placed into its launch POD. This work was completed during a three day programme at the premises of ISIS BV in Delft in the Netherlands and was finished, on time, late this afternoon. FUNcube-1 is actually the middle 1U CubeSat of three sharing a 3U ISIPOD. It is sharing the ISIPOD with ZACUBE-1 from South Africa and HINcube from Norway. ZACube-1, in addition to carrying VHF and UHF communications equipment also has a 20 metre beacon which will operate on 14.099MHz This ISIPOD, with the spacecraft inside, will be transported to Russia, early next month,for launch and will eventually be attached directly to the launch vehicle. FUNcube-1 carries a U/V linear transponder and the educational telemetry beacon using 1k2 BPSK for school outreach purposes. The current launch info has lift off scheduled for November 21st at 07:11:29 UTC Full intial orbit details and TLE’s, together with decoding sofwtare will be made available over the next few weeks best 73 Graham G3VZV – Wouter PA3WEG – Jim G3WGM

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Re: AO-40 Replacement
by Clint Bradford 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

>> ... launch opportunities are so rare that we ought to fly the most capable equipment we can on those rare occasions when we can get a launch ... Perhaps we should define, "most capable equipment." And we also need to define "bang for the buck." What should a ham satellite program offer to the amateur community? If bringing new hams into this aspect of the hobby is important, then we need another AO-51 - which was probably the greatest marketing tool ever seen in the amateur satellite community. Its ease of use was the cause of scores of media alerts and publicity for amateur radio. And most importantly, it got more people looking skyward and thinking they could work amateur satellites than any other project. Then there was the marvelous marketing surrounding ARISSat-1 ... What else should an amateur satellite program offer? Many here want satellites that are only accessible with an investment of many hundreds of dollars' worth of antenna systems and equipment. (Some would actually love it if Technicians weren't allowed - that's how extreme thinking is on this topic.) Is THAT what will move the hobby forward for the masses? IS there a "middle ground?" Sure is a polarized topic (pun intended). Some want the hobby and sat use to grow ... others want to exclude as many fellow hams as possible. Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com ---------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com

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Re: AO-40 Replacement
by Clint Bradford 05 Sep '13

05 Sep '13

>> ... launch opportunities are so rare that we ought to fly the most capable equipment we can on those rare occasions when we can get a launch ... Perhaps we should define, "most capable equipment." And we also need to define "bang for the buck." What should a ham satellite program offer to the amateur community? If bringing new hams into this aspect of the hobby is important, then we need another AO-51 - which was probably the greatest marketing tool ever seen in the amateur satellite community. Its ease of use was the cause of scores of media alerts and publicity for amateur radio. And most importantly, it got more people looking skyward and thinking they could work amateur satellites than any other project. Then there was the marvelous marketing surrounding ARISSat-1 ... What else should an amateur satellite program offer? Many here want satellites that are only accessible with an investment of many hundreds of dollars' worth of antenna systems and equipment. (Some would actually love it if Technicians weren't allowed - that's how extreme thinking is on this topic.) Is THAT what will move the hobby forward for the masses? IS there a "middle ground?" Sure is a polarized topic (pun intended). Some want the hobby and sat use to grow ... others want to exclude as many fellow hams as possible. Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com ---------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com

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Simon Brown - SDR-Radio v2.1 adds satellite support
by Matty Cunningham 04 Sep '13

04 Sep '13

Simon Brown, creator of the original Ham Radio Deluxe software has been busy with his SDR software. The latest console release 30th August, v2.1, build 1494 now has support for satellites, doppler shift is integrated, along with DDE rotator control, link to software here:- http://v2.sdr-radio.com/Download.aspx This works very well with both versions of the FunCube Dongle. Matty MD0MAN

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Re: FUNcube-1
by m1a1fan＠comcast.net 04 Sep '13

04 Sep '13

Congrats and good luck! Ryan / N9SOX At 18:52 04/09/2013, Graham Shirville wrote:>The AMSAT FUNcube team are delighted to be able >to announce that the FUNcube-1 CubeSat has now >completed all its final testing and been placed >into its launch POD. This work was completed >during a three day programme at the premises of >ISIS BV in Delft in the Netherlands and was >finished, on time, late this afternoon. >FUNcube-1 is actually the middle 1U CubeSat of >three sharing a 3U ISIPOD. It is sharing the >ISIPOD with ZACUBE-1 from South Africa and >HINcube from Norway. ZACube-1, in addition to >carrying VHF and UHF communications equipment >also has a 20 metre beacon which will operate on >14.099MHz This ISIPOD, with the spacecraft >inside, will be transported to Russia, early >next month,for launch and will eventually be >attached directly to the launch vehicle. >FUNcube-1 carries a U/V linear transponder and >the educational telemetry beacon using 1k2 BPSK >for school outreach purposes. The current launch >info has lift off scheduled for November 21st at >07:11:29 UTC Full intial orbit details and >TLEâ€™s, together with decoding sofwtare will be >made available over the next few weeks best 73 >Graham G3VZV  Wouter PA33WEG  Jim G3WGM >________________________________________________ >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 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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UT1FG/MM QSL's
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 04 Sep '13

04 Sep '13

I received my Confirmations for Yuri's 1912/13 voyage today. That puts my confirmed total well over 800 Tom K8TL

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