July 2014 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

AO-7 CW Telemetry
by John Papay 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

It is very rare to hear clear CW from the AO-7B telemetry beacon around 145.972. Most of the time there is no beacon at all. Sometimes there is jibberish. Usually the signal is very weak. With AO-7 going through eclipse on every orbit, the satellite can come out of eclipse in different modes/ options. Recently there have been times where the beacon has transmitted clear CW over North America, something I have not heard over the years. According to the DK3WN website, there was some cw telemetry back in 2002 when the satellite was discovered to be working again. And there was some discussion about what is valid data based on the last 3 digits sent in the 24 group block of data. If the value is 649, 650, or 651, the data is likely valid. I first heard the image of the cw signal around 958. It was so loud I thought it was a valid user at first. But since the cw was all numbers I tuned up to the beacon frequency and there the signal was louder than anything I have ever heard on AO-7. It took a while for me to get the recorder running but I managed to capture some data. After playing it back I found that there was only one block of data where the last group was valid, a 649. Other later transmissions were loud but the data was much different and the last group was not correct. I couldn't locate a telemetry calculator at first so I decided to build one on Excel using the formulae provided by DK3WN. The data follows: AO-7B Telemetry 24July2014 2318UTC POS Parameter Range Raw Real 1A Total Solar Array Current 0-3000ma 171 2094.5ma 1B +X Solar Panel Current 0-2000ma 193 110ma 1C -X Solar Panel Current 0-2000ma 157 830ma 1D +Y Solar Panel Current 0-2000ma 108 1810ma 2A -Y Solar Panel Current 0-2000ma 286 250ma 2B RF Power Out 70/2 0-8watts 204 7.3728W 2C 24 Hour Clock Time 0-1440min 201 15.16min 2D Batt Ch/Discharge Current-2000/+2000 207 -1720ma 3A Batt Voltage 6.5-16.4 361 12.7V 3B Half Batt Voltage 0-10v 397 9.7V 3C Batt Charge Reg #1 0-15v 340 6V 3D Batt Temperature -30 to +50C 300 95.8C 4A Baseplate Temperature -30 to +50C 446 27.72C 4B PA Temperature 2/10 -30 to +50C 401 94.32C 4C +X Face Temperature -30 to +50C 430 51.4C 4D +Z Face Temperature -30 to +50C 498 -49.24C 5A PA Temp 70/2 -30 to +50C 545 29.2C 5B PA Emitter Current 2/10 0-1167ma 502 92.84MA 5C Module Temp 70/2 -30 to +50C 543 32.16C 5D Inst. SW Regulator 0-93ma 527 33.14MA 6A RF Power Out 2/10 0-10,000mw 606 23.076MW 6B RF Power Out 435 0-1000mw 643 219.9MW 6C RF Power Out 2304 0-100mw 679 255.881MW 6D Midrange Telemetry Cal 0-.5v 649 0.49 There are some values which are obviously not correct. Some sensors might not be working properly since some values are out of range. However, the solar panel numbers might be somewhat correct. I wouldn't doubt it if the transmitter was putting out 7 watts at the time. Perhaps there are those who are familiar with the AO-7 telemetry that can make some sense out of the data. Unfortunately we don't have multiple blocks of good data to compare readings. Maybe some have recorded recent CW data and can find some good blocks that can be shared here. The data was copied on my Arizona remote and Skype was being used to listen. But I am fairly confident that the cw copied is correct. 73, John K8YSE

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AMSAT-NA Election Reminder
by Alan 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

All AMSAT-NA Members, The annual election packet was mailed prior to 15 July, and should have been received by now. Many members have already returned their ballots. If you have not, please take a few minutes to review the position statements of the various candidates, make your selections, and then mail them. This is especially important if you are in a non-North American QTH. In that case, it is strongly recommended that you use air mail or other expedited means. This is your opportunity to select the AMSAT-NA leadership and help chose the future direction of our organization. Due to unusual circumstances, we are electing 4 full Board members, in addition to the usual 2 Alternates, so you may vote for up to 4 candidates. 73s, Alan Biddle WA4SCA AMSAT Corporate Secretary

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UKube-1/FC2 Data warehouse
by David Johnson 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

Hi, We had a problem with decoding data for FC2 in the data warehouse this morning (31st Nov). This has been fixed and if you have any bin files which you recorded between 0:00 and 14:00 utc, please replay them into the warehouse. Many thanks Dave, G4DPZ

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SO-50 EN62 portable 2014-Jul-31 0146Z
by KC9WPR 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

Greetings, I will be operating portable and activating EN62 on SO-50. My pass starts at 0146Z (2046hrs CDT). If you need the grid this is your chance. I will confirm on LOTW, eQSL, or direct. 73s de KC9WPR Sent via the Samsung GALAXY S®4, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

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AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium Videos
by M5AKA 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

Thanks to the work of volunteers from the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) videos of the presentations given at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium in Guildford are now online. http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2014/presentation-videos/ Also on the AMSAT-UK site: 434 MHz balloon goes around the world http://amsat-uk.org/2014/07/30/434-mhz-balloon-goes-around-the-world/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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Delfi-n3Xt CubeSat engineer died on MH-17
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/july/cubesat_engineer_died_on_mh17.ht… WA4HFN

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New Low-cost Launcher For Satellites
by B J 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/07/29/rocket-lab-announces-small-satellite… http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/60372738/kiwi-rocket-company-read… http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/29/kiwi-launches-world-first-che… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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How to switch from Radio & Dongle
by Vincenzo Mone 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

Hi to the list, i hope somebody can help me to solve the problem. I on a Kenwood TS-790E Radio, the UHF and the VHF Antennas Connected to the radio. I have bought a dongle USB that I use to receive the AO-73 and the UKUBE. The problem I have is when I have the antennas connected to the radio And want to listen on the Dongle, I have to disconnect the antenna from the Radio an connect it to the dongle and vice versa if I want to listen from the radio. I would like to know if there is a way like a switch that I can commutate the antenna on the Utilizer I need at the moment. Any help will be really appreciated. 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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FM birds
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

I hope someone can launch a 100 of them, single channel ,pileup ,total chaos ,someone keying down on the entire pass what more would you want. All we need to bust a crazy pile up is a 300 watt mfj amp right? Lets all work to the good of the satellite part of the hobby. SSB/CW birds are the only way to go and if you build it they will come . Now if someone can build a multi channel FM bird then do it. Lets face it guys ,everyone got mad trying to work AO51 and AO27. Was it fun making a call to a grid you wanted only to have someone key down on him coming back to you, Is this what you want , Then go to 20 meters DX. Single channel FM birds are obsolete, Damon

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WB5H?? on AO-73
by Paul Stoetzer 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

Good evening, I heard a station calling CQ on CW at the upper end of the passband on AO-73 at around 0318Z. He drifted up and out of the passband before I could get the full call, but I'm reasonably certain it was WB5H??. No other activity but the sound of my voice was heard for the six usable minutes before the satellite entered sunlight. Was it anyone here? Or does anyone know who that might have been. Admittedly, my CW is not very good. 73, Paul, N8HM

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