January 2015 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

AESP-14 CubeSat on ISS awaiting deployment
by M5AKA 17 Jan '15

17 Jan '15

AESP-14 CubeSat on ISS awaiting deployment http://amsat-uk.org/2015/01/17/aesp-14-cubesat-on-iss-awaiting-deployment/ UK Space Industry in Guardian Newspaper http://amsat-uk.org/2015/01/14/uk-space-industry-in-guardian/ Video of FUNcube-1 demonstration at IARU-R1 conference http://amsat-uk.org/2015/01/14/video-funcube-1-demo/ UK’s Sarah Brightman starts space flight training January 15 http://amsat-uk.org/2015/01/13/uks-sarah-brightman-starts-space-flight-trai… ---- 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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testing again
by Kevin Deane 17 Jan '15

17 Jan '15

1 2 3 test KF7MYK

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KL4E on SO-50 from southern Nevada on Saturday (17 January)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 17 Jan '15

17 Jan '15

Hi! Craig KL4E sent an e-mail detailing his plans to work two SO-50 passes on Saturday (17 January) afternoon and evening. The first pass will be a demonstration for the Saturday afternoon VE test session at the Nye County EOC in Pahrump, Nevada (grid DM16) at 2120-2130 UTC. Later in the evening, Craig plans to be on the SO-50 pass at 0554-0604 UTC from either grid DM16 or DM26 in southern Nevada. If you have a preference on which of those grids you would like to work Craig in, please e-mail him using his e-mail address listed on QRZ.com. Good luck, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK (on behalf of Craig KL4E)

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AA2TX estate items on eBay
by Joe Fitzgerald 17 Jan '15

17 Jan '15

I am working with Tony's family to find new homes for his gear. Just search for items being sold by eBay user km1p Presently there is an opportunity to snag an AEA 140-525 SWR and Return Loss Meter. Starting bid is $200 with no reserve. There are other goodies including an oscilloscope, FUNcube dongle and a Bird wattmeter. 73 de KM1P Joe

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List Etiquette?
by cspacone＠socal.rr.com 17 Jan '15

17 Jan '15

Is is appropriate for me to place a message in this BB indicating I have something for sale? Thanks and 73, Chris, KD6OUB

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Search Amsat-BB with Google
by Daniel Schultz 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

It is possible to search the Amsat-BB archives by using the "site:" command in Google. For example, to find all mentions of the word "Diplexer" in Amsat-BB, type this line into Google: Diplexer site:http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb To restrict the search to a particular year, type Diplexer site:http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2014 73, Dan Schultz N8FGV ------ Original Message ------ Received: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 07:06:29 +0000 Subject: [amsat-bb] Advice for a portable ground station The lack of a fully searchable archive for this list has made this post necessary, my apologies for a noob-style query.

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Advice for a portable ground station
by tom.wz9u＠gmail.com 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

The lack of a fully searchable archive for this list has made this post necessary, my apologies for a noob-style query. I’m gradually assembling a portable ground station for the FM satellites, primarily using John Heath’s (G7HIA) article “Down-to-Earth Satellite Communications” (PDF), focusing on his “Awesome” configuration: Dual-band HT Diplexer 2m amplifier 70cm preamplifier Arrow II antenna In that article he uses RG58 coax, perhaps 15-20 feet max. Is there a better choice that also works in that application? Considering the lengths involved, price per foot is not really an issue. He also calls out an RF choke at the feed point of the 70cm antenna, but gives no detail about its material or construction. It looks to me like a few turns of RG58 on some type of ferrite core. I’ve spent hours Googling for information (commercial or DIY) and have come up mostly empty-handed. All the “meaty” stuff is for HF only. A final question concerns the various connectors involved. The illustrations in that article aren’t the best, but it seems that he’s using BNC terminators on all the cables, and BNC-to-UHF adapters where required. I’m concerned (perhaps too much) about cumulative losses, both from the coax and all those adapters. My goal is a tripod-mounted antenna, operating on battery power from various parks and forest preserves nearby. Can anyone clarify my understanding here? Tom WZ9U Sent from Windows Mail

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Re: [amsat-bb] Advice for a portable ground station
by Kevin M 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

Tom, I work satellites with AZ-El yagis from home but I also have an Arrow II antenna... I've played around using it in different configurations and asked a lot of advice. I'm currently putting together a setup to take roving. Let me share what I've learned based on the premise that you said 'for the FM satellites', keeping in mind what's already been said... right now, there is only the one. Does your dual band HT operate full duplex? if not, you would be better off with a couple of small, cheap handheld size HTs. And if your HT is full duplex, does it suffer from desense problems? Only way to know is to test and again, if there is any desense, better to use two HTs. (Weight alone, in my case, 2 smaller HTs is better!) I have an Icom W32A and two Baofengs (UV-3R+ and UV5R)... I'm going with the two Baofengs because the version of W32A I have has desense issues. (And you CANNOT tell from the serial number on the W32A as published on the internet... mine has a serial number in the supposedly 'good' range.) Tripod... while many first time sat ops see it as a near necessity, most (but not all) of the prolific roving sat ops I know just use their Arrow or Elk antennas hand held. Even to me, the antenna seemed heavy on my first pass or two, but after a few times, I guess I built a little muscle up, because it's not a problem any more. When you mount the antenna to a tripod it sort of 'ties you down'. It's not as easy to adjust position or orientation and you become tethered to the mount; you are stuck where you are, can't move to aim around a tree, etc. But if you do decide on a tripod, make sure it has the ability to tilt the mount 90 degrees. You really need to be able to 'twist' the antenna to change the UHF yagi's orientation from horizontal to vertical and back to match the satellite. Without that reception will be much more difficult. 2m amplifier... if you mean a receive preamp, wait until the new FM birds are launched, you will likely not need it. If you mean a transmit amplifier, I can't see the need. I transmit with an entire 2 watts and worked J79TX in Dominca standing on my porch... I think he was using 1 watt. Even with an amplifier on a busy bird, at best you would 'double' with someone, not over ride them. That's why you need full duplex capablity... if you can't hear yourself, then unkey... let the other guy go and wait for another turn. Otherwise, nobody makes a QSO and the doubling continues 70 cm preamp... it would definitely help. But just try to make it small and lightweight and mount to the handle of antenna; as close to the grip as possible to reduce the lever effect. It WILL increase the weight some, so you may just want to try without it first. See how you do and if you feel it is necessary. A lot of guys are working the bird without one. Coax... as short as possible, as low loss as possible. W5PFG and I have both advised ops to cut off a couple feet from the cable of a home made antenna and it made all the difference on UHF receive. The numbers say it shouldn't matter that much, but real world experience says it does. Diplexer... if you use two HTs, one is not necessary. Save the weight, the loss, the extra cables and the hassle. The diplexer designed for the ARROW that goes in the handle is what I would use anyway; light and out of the way. I plan to hook up my receive HT through it since the cable is short and i know it hears with it. I will have a second jumper to bypass the diplexer and run to the 2m yagi for TX. Recording... Something most consider critical that you didn't mention; an audio recording device. Forget relying on a notepad... it just doesn't work. You will invariably miss writing a call down or can't read your own writing later. Some use their phone... I have used a digital recorder strapped to the back of my HT. But the best way and one I bought the cabling to do, is wire up a splitter to run direct audio to a set of headphones and the recorder. This may also require some 'padding down' to keep from over driving the recorder input... I got an 'attenuating cable' for this. And running full duplex, hooking the recorder to the downlink, I will hear the other stations AND I will hear what actually GOT HEARD of what I said... Not just want I spoke into the microphone. Microphone/headset... another big consideration you didn't mention. Remembering that you only have two hands, will be moving around and may be in a noisy environment, combined with full duplex and the potential for feedback... earphones or a headset is pretty much a must. If you purchase a good headset, try to have it so that the PTT switch can be mounted conveniently... like on the Arrow handle where your thumb will be. Since my Baofeng HTs are not much larger than a hand mic, I am going to start off trying one hand holding the antenna, the other holding the TX HT and crossing over with the thumb and forefinger holding that HT to adjust the RX HT's frequency. (On the new birds which will be U/V, I will be adjusting the TX frequency of the HT in that hand, much easier.) Then the RX HT has a splitter going to the recorder and a set of headphones. If it doesn't work well enough on initial testing, an order for a headset (mic and earphones) will be in my future. =^) Hope you benefit from the research I've been doing... lots to think about and consider. Tripod versus handheld is a big consideration and one not taken lightly, but as I said, there are lots of pics and videos of many popular roving sat ops waving their handheld yagis around. Also a number of pics of tripod mounted setups, too. All a case of personal preference but the point I am making is to not assume automatically that tripod mounted antennas are better. You will have to try it and see what works best for you. Looking forward to working you in a rare grid! =^D 73 es GL! Kevin N4UFO

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UISS and NO-44
by ingejack＠cox.net 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

thanks to all who helped me with the UISS program to run NO-44 SAT. Especially thanks to Patrick WD9EWK who took his time to walk me through the changes with multiple emails. Thanks again to ALL who helped 73 JACK/KC7MG

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Re: [amsat-bb] satpc32 port problem
by Scott Smith 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

Tnx for the reply folks. I using the Kenpro G5400a rotor system and noticed my “elevation” rotor has stopped working. Wonder if this has anything to do with it?. It’s getting pretty old. so in the spring, I’m going to buy a new satellite rotor setup. 73 de Scott VE6ITV

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