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

Duchifat1 is picking up packets!
by Herzliya Science Center 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

Hi all, We have almost reached 20 stations already picked up by Duchifat1 that are displayed on the world map at our web site. You are all invited to experiment sending a compressed APRS packet with your location and registration code to the satellite. These packets can be generated either with a small software converter from LAT/LON ("APRS Encoder") at our web site or with a Byonics TinyTrak4 for mobile use or base station. When using the "APRS Encoder" you also need a conventional TNC, either external or software to convert the 14 characters long text string to 1200bd AFSK audio for transmission. The satellite stores the packets and we get to download them from the satellite at least 3 times a week. The new stations are then added to the map automatically. More information and operational tips are in the downloadable files at the web site. Good luck & 73! Herzliya Science Center ground station team www.H-SPACE-LAB.org <http://www.h-space-lab.org/>

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Office Closed
by Martha 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

The AMSAT Office will be closed from Wednesday, October 14th - Monday, October 19th. Hope to see you at the Space Symposium -- 73- Martha

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First Contact
by John LeVous 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

Hello All, My thanks to K4AMG Memorial Amateur Radio Club for allowing me to rework the club's OSCAR station. It provided me with the opportunity to make my first satellite contacts today while testing the hardware and software systems. My thanks also to N8IUP, K8YSE/7, and N3PZZ for answering my calls on FO-29. Now for the stupid question of the day: I've found the ARRL instructions for editing ADIF files to enable logging OSCAR contacts via LoTW. I am running Debian stable and using CQRLOG as my primary logging software. I also use CQRLOG to upload my contacts to LoTW and eQSL. I export my CQRLOG to upload to QRZ as well. Is there any consensus regarding electronic logging of OSCAR contacts? What, if any suggestions can you all make to aid a new operator trying to log satellite qso's? 73, John, KW4CR

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AMSAT-OSCAR 85 TLEs
by Nico Janssen 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

All, Hours after the launch of AO-85 (ex FOX-1A) the first TLEs for 8 of the 13 launched Cubesates were published under GRACE 1 through 8. I have not seen any updates since launch day. Today around 18:00 UTC AO-85 was 29 s early compared to the TLE set for GRACE 8, which is currently leading the group. AO-85 is 41 s early compared to the TLE set for GRACE 2, that most people will be using now. So either the early TLEs were not very accurate yet, or the TLEs for AO-85 were not yet determined and therefore not available in the initially measured batch. Let's hope we get updated TLEs for all 13 Cubesats soon. BTW, there appears to be a small temperature drift on the downlink signal frequency of AO-85 that may be noticable when using automatic doppler correction. 73, Nico PA0DLO

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LEARNING & POSSIBLE MEMBERSHIP
by b 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

Please send me information concerning amateur satellite monitoring at the simplest level as I am new to the field. I intend to purchase Boefeng uv n-srt as that is all that I can afford at this time. As I am disabled and homebound, I am confident that the microwave signals can reach me. Thank you, Rick (Richard DePersio)

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Monday evening AO-85 passes at WD9EWK...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

Hi! No QSOs went in the log on either AO-85 pass I worked this evening, but I was able to collect 32 data frames on these passes, and unsuccessfully tried a different HT on these passes (Anytone TERMN-8R). I'll come back to this radio after I return from Dayton. I used the same two setups on both passes: Station 1: AnyTone TERMN-8R 2m/70cm HT, Elk handheld 2m/70cm log periodic Station 2: SDRplay RSP receiver, 8-inch Windows 10 tablet, HDSDR, connected to AMSAT-UK (Winkler) VHF crossed dipole on 8-foot mast and tripod The first pass came by around 0130 UTC. This was a very high pass, up to almost 72 degrees elevation. Lots of stations on from coast to coast. I tried to get through with the TERMN-8R/Elk combination. I think I heard myself early in this pass, but was covered up by a stronger station. Other than that one instance, I never heard myself through the satellite on this pass, and didn't hear myself on the HDSDR recording from my other station. Even though I made no QSOs, I was able to upload 30 data frames from this pass. Not bad for a portable station with an omnidirectional antenna on an 8-foot mast and tripod (probably closer to 10 feet/3m high, including the height of both mast and tripod). For the later pass around 0311 UTC, I moved my station to my driveway, so I had a better view to the west and northwest. It was a lower pass, with maximum elevation of 15 degrees. I didn't hear myself get through on this pass, but not from a lack of trying. A nice bit of voice activity from stations along the west coast, and up to VE6WK in Calgary before my LOS. The SDR receive setup was able to upload 2 data frames from this pass. If I had my Elk connected to the SDRplay, I am sure I could have pulled a few more frames from this pass. The HT I used on this pass is the AnyTone TERMN-8R 2m/70cm FM HT. It was briefly sold in the US earlier this year, but was pulled from the market. I bought it earlier this year, used it with SO-50 previously (half-duplex - lots of desense, like with other Chinese-made dual-band HTs), and have been waiting for AO-85 to arrive. Its receiver is similar in performance to the Wouxun KG-UV8D when working this satellite, and not as good as the KG-UV9D. It is very important to have the best possible signal in the receiver with this radio, as its performance drops off quickly as the signals weaken. The TERMN-8R is not as sensitive as most Icom/Kenwood/Yaesu dual-band HTs, and not as sensitive as the KG-UV9D. I was able to copy the downlink OK, but due to a variety of issues I only heard part of one transmission early in the first pass I worked. I will come back to this radio after the AMSAT Symposium, and hopefully have a better chance to get through on AO-85 at that time. I have been asked why I am doing this - using different radios or combinations of radios to work this satellite. Since we have not had a U/V FM satellite since SO-35's demise in 2001 (a satellite I worked one time, in 2000, using two HTs with long duckies), and not counting the ISS U/V crossband repeater that was on in the mid- to late-2000s (its downlink was much easier to hear than even AO-85), this is the first time we have been able to actually test radios against an actual U/V FM satellite. I attend lots of events around the southwestern USA representing AMSAT, where I field questions from hams who are either thinking about satellite operating, and others who may be coming back to this part of our hobby. I also get e-mails from all over, with questions that I have enjoyed trying to answer. If I'm able to disprove some incorrect statements that have been floating around in relation to some of these radios, all the better! It is better to have more options available for hams to work this satellite, not fewer. Some of the traditional options for radios that work with SO-50 and previous V/U FM satellites are not good options for AO-85 and future U/V FM satellites. Not working SO-50 and other V/U FM satellites full-duplex may be a viable option for those satellites, but it is a very poor option. Find a second HT, or even an SDR receiver, if you are trying to set up a station capable of working satellites - including AO-85 - full-duplex. I could just use my IC-2820H mobile radio at 50W to log lots of stations on every possible AO-85 pass I can work. I know this is a great radio for FM satellites, whether working V/U or U/V. Where's the challenge in doing that? And there's the SDR stuff that has been fun to use. Having the RF recordings from HDSDR, which I can use to upload telemetry to AMSAT and update my logbook, is a powerful tool to help improve my station and my operating. An SDR receiver with a small tablet is a capable - and less expensive - way to help build an all-mode satellite station that is capable of full-duplex operation. The two RF recordings I made from the AO-85 passes I worked, and other photos and screengrabs, are now up in my Dropbox space at: http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ (hit F5 until the folder/file listing appears in your browser window, if it doesn't appear immediately) My @WD9EWK Twitter feed usually has photos either before or after the AO-85 passes I work, along with other comments and observations I can put into 140-character chunks. This is readable in a browser window without having to join Twitter, at https://twitter.com/WD9EWK 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Bay View Elementary School, Burlington, WA
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 12 Oct '15

12 Oct '15

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Bay View Elementary School, Burlington, WA on 14 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:41 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD. The contact should be audible over Italy and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Bay View School in Burlington, Washington has been serving kindergarten through eighth grade students in the Burlington-Edison School District for 22 years. Named after the small community of Bayview, which was later incorporated by the town of Burlington, it serves mainly in-district neighborhood students. This year 562 students are enrolled. The town of Burlington is 66 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Located at the intersection of two major highways, Burlington serves as a retail and commercial hub for the region. Industry is mainly agricultural, retail, and commercial. Over the past three years, Bay View has committed to becoming a school of inquiry. Through inquiry and collaboration, Bay View's purpose is to nurture compassionate, creative, knowledgeable growth-minded world citizens, who pursue dreams and positively impact the future. Bay View continually inquires to understand one essential question. What do we need to understand, commit to and implement to prepare students to be career, college, and/or world ready for the 21st century? This journey has led them to begin creating concept-based units of inquiry at each grade level. Multi-disciplinary and intra-disciplinary units support school-wide connections through inquiry. The opportunity to ask questions of astronauts on the ISS was pursued as an experience that could spark students' interest in space, engineering, technology, mathematics, and support a school-wide inquiry. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How do astronauts walk in space? 2. How do you exercise in space? 3. What can you see from the ISS? 4. Are you allowed to have pets in space? 5. Is time different in space if so by how much? 6. How do the astronauts use technological devices like iPads in space if there is no Wifi? 7. Which planets do you study most and why? 8. What is the daily schedule like in space? 9. Is there a way to grow plants in space? 10. How does zero gravity affect bone mass? 11. What do you do for fun? 12. What does the sun look like in space? 13. How do you take a shower or bath in space without water going everywhere? 14. How do astronauts go to the bathroom? 15. Why did you want to go to outerspace? 16. What are you researching to help people on Earth and why? 17. When you break a bone, will it heal faster or slower in space? 18. What happens if you get sick in space? 19. What is the weather like in space? 20. What is a weirder feeling, going from gravity to zero gravity or from zero gravity to gravity? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Decoding AO-85 from IC-910H 9600 data socket - any success anyone?
by Bob Mattaliano 12 Oct '15

12 Oct '15

Hi, Congrats to the AO-85 team! Trying to decode telemetry using the 9600 output of the sub data (while radio is in Sat mode) from my IC-910H. Has anyone been able to do this? High elevation passes only? 9600 output is connected directly to mic input. No isolation transformers, etc. Seems like those making progress have gone the SDR route with IQ data? Sound card input - 2 channel (L-R channels connected on cable), 24 bit, 48000 Hz radio - cable to sub band data socket. 9600 bps transmission on. (Is this for TX only, does not change output and can be left of?) AO-85 software Source - mic input, 4800 start --> no joy, Suggestions welcome. Thanks, es 73 Bob N6RFM n6rfm1(a)gmail.com

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Just Checking... (AO-85)
by Burns Fisher 12 Oct '15

12 Oct '15

I'm sorry you did not like some of the replies on FB, but I would truly say that this is a new bird, and the suggestion that you try multiple things was not in jest, especially the bandwidth. At some point as the bandwidth you are transmitting gets wider, I'd guess that the voltage incoming from the Rx to the A/D converter in the satellite exceeds its capabilities and it clips. But on the other hand if the B/W is too narrow, the gain will be low. I used 'narrow' in pre-flight testing from my HT but there is not guarantee that the flight board will work exactly the same way. A few other thoughts but no certain answers: 1) You said you heard other stations. How much power do you have? You said HT, so I assume 5W or less. Remember that FM is only single-channel and usually the strongest signal wins. (But also remember the standard rule to use as little power as you can successfully use). Some people have managed with 5W HTs. Others have not. 2) The bird seems to be tumbling quite a lot now. The 70cm Rx antenna may be even more subject to fading than the Tx antenna since the Rx is only on one side, while the Tx uses both sides and the satellite itself to radiate from. (The thought about fading is somewhat informed speculation). 3) The 67Hz tone may take a second to kick on the transmitter but once it is on it will stay on for the duration of the hang timer, which is one minute. So if you have have to kick the hang timer with low power it will be harder due to fades. 4) When the hang timer is hanging (during that 60 seconds) if there is nothing being received, the transponder is going to resend the noise that it hears from the Rx. When listening, I can tell the difference between "no carrier from the satellite" and "satellite is transmitting the output of a receiver that is receiving nothing". The latter has fewer high frequencies and fewer low frequencies, i.e. it is duller. If you can hear that difference, the latter case would be a good time to try to get in. No one is blocking you, and the hang timer is already running. Seriously, detailed reports you make of both success and failure will be helpful to others! 73, Burns W2BFJ Fox-1 Flight Software

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FM xpndr up again? (10/13 0913Z)
by Jeff A. Boyd 12 Oct '15

12 Oct '15

I tracked a pass off the east coast of Japan monitoring the FM downlink just in case it was up, and lo and behold, it was. https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/ao-85-pass-oct-12-2015-1813-jst I didn't expect it to be up, only to hear the test recording. Was this an unannounced activation, or were there just people hitting it unscheduled? J. Boyd (JR2TTS) -- J. Boyd, JR2TTS/NI3B the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp http://www.flickr.com/photos/the2belo/ http://www.qrz.com/db/JR2TTS Twitter: @Minus2_C

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