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

Re: [amsat-bb] Flex radio for satellites
by Edward R Cole 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

I guess I should reply to comments by several: When I investigated the Flex-5000 when it first came out, there was no U/V transverter available and no duplex Rx function. I contacted them regarding that and also about their second Rx regarding another project (eme) which does not concern satellite users. After consideration over a couple years I decided on the Elecraft K3/10. I still had my FT-847 and FT-817 at that point. Apparently,Flex subsequently added duplex operation and came out with V/U transverter for the 5000. So maybe you can find a used one if building a satellite station. Now addressing Rick's assertion that one can save money buying a Flex 6000 series radio coupled with Rx downconverter and buying another VHF/UHF capable radio as transmitter. I checked the prices on new Flex: 6300 ... $2399 6500 ... $4099 6700 ... $7199 Not sure where you find VHF or UHF Rx converters these days. price ...? One of the used IC251or 271 (451 or 471) could be used but you would need two to cover both 144 and 432 Or buy a used IC910, FT-847, or TS2000 (but then you do not need the Flex). A couple FT-817 with amplifiers would be cheaper. Compare with Elecraft: K3s/10 ... $2099 K3s/100 ... $2649 KX3 ... $899 2M transverter for KX3 ...$199 DEMI transverters: L144-28 ... $479 L432-28 ... $499 Cheapest Elecraft combo: KX3-2M = $1099 KX3+L432-48 = $1398 total ... $2497 or my proposed sat station: KX3-2M = $1099 KX3s/10+L144-28 = $2598 total ... $3697 both dual Elecraft sat combos are less than a Flex6500. Of course if you also want mode VU then you need a modest power 2m linear. I have RF Concepts 2-30 linear which produces 30w for 2w input. Granted they are rare to find these days but you can substitute the Mirage equivalent. Of course if Flex6700 will have full duplex with second Rx all you need is VHF/UHF amplifiers. I'll leave the comparing to the reader. In my case I have already voted with my dollars: K3/10 (bought in 2010) KX3-2M (bought in 2012) L144-28HP (50w) L222-28 L432-28 (with Apol synth) 1296-28H2 (with A32 synth) 3400-144 10368-144 [no you don't want to total that] ;-) Currently, I mostly do eme: 144: 4x M2 2mXP20 yagis + 8877 PA 1296: 4.9m dish + W6PQL 150w PA soon: 3400: 4.9m dish + 50w Toshiba PA 50: 6-elem yagi + 1000w Harris PA 73, Ed - KL7UW still have all my AO-40 antennas and mw gear. ------------------ Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Flex radio for satellites In answer to your questions, yes the Flex 5000A could be fully equipped with 2 rcvrs and the V/U module, however they discontinued it with the release of their 6000 series radio. For satellites I've used the FT736f, Ts2000 and ft847 and none compare to the ease of operation and rx quality of the Flex5000A, which is why I'm holding on to mine. But you could do what I'm now doing which is to use another radio capable of V/U transmission on all modes as your uplink radio and use a 6000 series radio with inexpensive down converters for rx. I then built a USB relay controlled box that drives antenna switching relays. I found this to be much cheaper than the other alternative which is to buy DEMI transverters or possibly Elecraft. And you also end up with another really useful radio as a backup for HF and other purposes at less cost than the 2 DEMI transverters. I've used this arrangement before (minus the automated relay switching ) I got my tricked out Flex5000. At that time I used the TS2000 as uplink with a Flex 5000A for downlink wth converters and it worked great! Stay tuned for exciting articles by Ron Parsons, W5RKN, and Dave W0DHB in the AMSAT Journal about all this. What I'm doing is a spin off of their ideas and working with them. 73 Rick, W2JAZ 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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AO-85 and AnyTone TERMN-8R, full-duplex - report (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

Hi! After previously trying a couple of Wouxun dual-band HTs with AO-85 in the past few weeks (KG-UV8D, KG-UV9D) on AO-85, I went back to a radio I briefly tested before the AMSAT Symposium last month: the AnyTone TERMN-8R 2m/70cm FM HT. I didn't have much time to try it out then, but I gave it a try this afternoon on a 48-degree AO-85 pass over the west coast. I used the same settings in it that I did with the Wouxun KG-UV9D I tested last weekend, so I could have a baseline to compare this radio against. I was not surprised with the results. The TERMN-8R was briefly on the market in the US earlier this year. This HT was marketed as the first HT that was certified for use in 3 different FCC- regulated services (commercial two-way radio governed by FCC Part 90, along with GMRS and MURS). Its receiver covers much more than the 2m and 70cm bands - broadcast AM and FM, shortwave (HF), and the VHF air band. The FCC revoked the TERMN-8R's certification for use in the GMRS and MURS (license- free 150 MHz VHF) services, and ordered its importer to stop selling this radio. Since amateur equipment other than RF amplifiers operating below 144 MHz sold in the US does not require FCC certification for amateur use, this radio is legal to use in this country on the 2m and 70cm ham bands by licensed radio amateurs when complying with the technical requirements in FCC Part 97. Now that the legalities are out of the way, the simple question. Can the TERMN-8R work AO-85 full-duplex? YES. I worked a pass this (Thursday) afternoon around 2337 UTC. This was a pass with maximum elevation of 48 degrees, a good pass favoring the US west coast. Keeping AMSAT's recent recommendations in mind for working this satellite (low-power stations can get through on higher passes), and my own testing that appears to put the definition of "higher passes" as when AO-85 is at least 20 degrees above the horizon, I had about 7 minutes of this pass where I should have been able to get through. Using the same settings I had used with the KG-UV9D last weekend, I was able to hear the satellite well with narrow FM. I used wide FM on transmit, and I think that seems to work well with these HTs that don't have the deviation that the HTs from the traditional ham manufacturers (Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu) have. Here are some key settings I used with the TERMN-8R, which are specific to each VFO: Uplink VFO: T-CDC (01): 67.0HZ STEP (10): 2.5K W/N (11): 25K TX (17): ON SQL (40): 9 Downlink VFO: STEP (10): 2.5K W/N (11): 12.5K TX (17): OFF SQL (40): 00 As with the KG-UV8D and KG-UV9D, it does not matter which VFO is used for transmit and receive. The settings I used were with the upper (A) VFO as my transmit VFO, and the lower (B) VFO as my receive VFO. This is important for the TX menu setting, where I disabled transmitting from the receive VFO. I did not program any memory channels for use with AO-85, as the VFOs work well for this type of operation. I connected an audio splitter to the speaker jack, and fed the receive audio to an earpiece and my Sony audio recorder. I did not try getting through AO-85 until its elevation was up to about 20 degrees. For my first transmissions as the satellite continued climbing to its maximum elevation of 48 degrees, I was hearing some noise when I transmitted that covered up the downlink. This did not last long, as I was able to hear myself while I transmitted for most of my QSOs. This HT's receiver is pretty good - a little better than the Wouxun KG-UV8D, but not as good as the Wouxun KG-UV9D. Using the 2.5 kHz tuning steps on both uplink and downlink helps a lot. More work for the operator, but the lower- power stations need all the help they can get, and some of that help is finer tuning for the uplink signals than you can do with the 5 kHz tuning steps. I had a separate station set up in my yard to write an RF recording of this pass. I used my SDRplay SDR receiver, 8-inch Windows 10 tablet with HDSDR, and the AMSAT-UK VHF crossed dipole on an 8-foot mast and tripod. I made sure to press Record in HDSDR, so I had an RF recording. I could tell I was transmitting with a different radio, but my transmit audio was not horrible from the TERMN-8R. My transmit audio also sounded OK when I listened to the recording from my Sony audio recorder. With the occasional fades, there were times I had audio for a portion of the pass on one recording, but not the other. I made 5 QSOs on this pass, with all 5 stations in different parts of California (KG6NUB and KB5WIA in northern California, three in southern California - K6FW, N6UK, and KB6LTY). I heard K7TRK in Oregon and N7EC north of Phoenix on as well, but I did not work these two stations. This was an orderly pass, stations leaving gaps between transmissions, which really helps for those using lower transmit power levels. Sawson KG6NUB was using around 2 watts into an Arrow Yagi and getting through for the first half of the pass I heard. I have uploaded the MP3 recording I made from the TERMN-8R, the larger RF recording I made from HDSDR, and some photos plus a screenshot of how the pass looked from AmsatDroid Free on my mobile phone, to my Dropbox space at: http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ Look for the folder "20151126-AO85_Fox1A-DM43", and look for the recordings with file names containing something around 2340 UTC. Photos have file names with timestamps in local time (7 hours behind UTC), if you want to take a look at my setup before AO-85 came up from the horizon. Since I already had the TERMN-8R, it was on my to-do list to try with AO-85. I'm glad I tried it out, since now I can say there are at least 3 Chinese-made 2m/70cm HTs that can work AO-85 full-duplex. I found that I could hear myself while transmitting to SO-50 using the TERMN-8R on very high passes, but in general it is like those Wouxun HTs I previously tried with AO-85 - don't bother trying to use it full-duplex on SO-50 or LilacSat-2 (two V/U FM satellites), without having a second radio nearby. With the TERMN-8R off the market, I wouldn't recommend trying to pick one up for working AO-85. If you want to try a Chinese-made HT with AO-85 and work this satellite full-duplex, the KG-UV9D is a better option. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Flex radio for satellites
by Richard Lawn 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

In answer to your questions, yes the Flex 5000A could be fully equipped with 2 rcvrs and the V/U module, however they discontinued it with the release of their 6000 series radio. For satellites I've used the FT736f, Ts2000 and ft847 and none compare to the ease of operation and rx quality of the Flex5000A, which is why I'm holding on to mine. But you could do what I'm now doing which is to use another radio capable of V/U transmission on all modes as your uplink radio and use a 6000 series radio with inexpensive down converters for rx. I then built a USB relay controlled box that drives antenna switching relays. I found this to be much cheaper than the other alternative which is to buy DEMI transverters or possibly Elecraft. And you also end up with another really useful radio as a backup for HF and other purposes at less cost than the 2 DEMI transverters. I've used this arrangement before (minus the automated relay switching ) I got my tricked out Flex5000. At that time I used the TS2000 as uplink with a Flex 5000A for downlink wth converters and it worked great! Stay tuned for exciting articles by Ron Parsons, W5RKN, and Dave W0DHB in the AMSAT Journal about all this. What I'm doing is a spin off of their ideas and working with them. 73 Rick, W2JAZ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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Re: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio
by Edward R Cole 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

David, Transverters are merely used to allow you to operate a radio on another frequency band. They are not duplex as a rule. Since satellite operation is cross-band duplex and not duplexing on two separate frequencies in a single band, you probably will be using two transverters if the radio does not operate either satellite band. If so, then one will Tx on the uplink band and the other will Rx on the downlink band. I assume the FLEX-6000 is a HF/6m radio. The larger question is whether the FLEX-6000 is a duplex radio? Earlier FLEX radios were not duplex. Some had two receivers but one could not transmit while receiving (ie operate duplex). ------------- I own Elecraft radios and will eventually set up for full cross-band duplex by: 1. Tx on my K3+DEMI 28/432 xvtr in the 435-437 band 2. Rx on my KX3-2M (KX3 with internal 2m transverter) I can reverse which Rx and which Tx, so able to operate either mode UV or VU; either will output up to 25w. Both radios are multi-mode permitting CW/SSB/FM/digital operation. Only caveat is 9600-baud data which will require me to use my SDR-IQ or the K3 IF output to separate SDR which I already use for eme. The biggest hurdle will be Frequency control of two radios. Haven't gotten into that, yet. 73, Ed - KL7UW Not currently QRV for satellite. Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2015 08:33:49 -0500 From: "David" <dwarnberg(a)verizon.net> To: "'AMSAT BB'" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio Message-ID: <00f301d12785$edb794a0$c926bde0$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi all and Happy Thanksgiving, Question.. how many of you are doing SAT work with a FLEX-6000 series rig? I'm in the processes of pursuing just that, got my first Transverter to build, while I'm waiting figured I'd start the conversation on how do you have everything setup? I had a 9100 and could do full duplex and am wondering if the FLEX with transverters will allow the same full duplex operation (I'm assuming it will) Keep in mind here I am new to this transverter thing and have never set one up before.. Thanks David 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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9Y4D worked on AO-73
by Paul Stoetzer 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Good evening, On the 0153Z pass of AO-73, I worked Chris, 9Y4D, in Trinidad & Tobago (FK90gg). Chris is relatively new to the satellites and has been heard on FO-29, XW-2F, and AO-73. I've worked him on both XW-2F and AO-73. He uses LoTW. 9Y has been relatively uncommon on satellite, so keep an eye out for him if you need it! 73, Paul, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio
by Ronald G. Parsons 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Alan. Dave, W0DHB and I are in the final stages of AMSAT Journal articles on the implementation of a true full-duplex satellite system, in my case, based on a FLEX-6500 and a pair of transverters. It is working very well, supports true full-duplex, and supports SSB and FM satellites. Stay tuned. Ron W5RKN Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2015 15:49:04 -0600 From: Alan <wa4sca(a)gmail.com> To: "'Edward R Cole'" <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio Message-ID: <000501d127cb$1aa8ced0$4ffa6c70$(a)GMAIL.COM> There is a lively discussion on the Flex Community forum about this very issue right now. Sounds like all the pieces are close, but not quite there, for a convenient satellite operation rig. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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Minimum 10m equipment for NO-84?
by Scott 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

The recent post from KE8AKW Nick, plus previous posts from WB4APR Bob got me thinking... just what would be required to transmit PSK-31 to NO-84? In the Amateur Radio world, I'm sure that I'm in the minority, but I don't even OWN an HF rig. My primary interests are the higher frequencies, including satellite telemetry and the other various data modes. Practically the only time I transmit a signal is packet to the ISS. I'm much more active with SDR's and a computer than I am with conventional radios. But all the data modes interest me, and perhaps others. If someone would be kind enough to list what hardware might be required for the transmit side of NO-84's PSK-31 capability, it sure would be appreciated. (low-cost options preferred!) 73! -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA

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NO-84&83
by Nicholas Mahr KE8AKW 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Hi, Question for Bob WB4APR, What is the current status of NO-83? Last I heard we never established communications with it. Also I just worked my first successful pass on NO-84's PSK31 transponder, The down link always stays at about 5-5 to pegging the s meter, so no problems here! I only ran 10W on the uplink and the bird heard me just fine. Unfourtently no one seems to be on, maybe people just think its too hard to work, trust me its really easy to work when you get the software setup! Im using DopplerPsk for the uplink and it works very well, it keeps my uplink 100% stable. The W3ADO beacon comes through very strong as well. I hope more people hop on board NO-84 as its the funnest thing I have worked in a long time. And maybe we can see if we can get NO-83 back. 73's KE8AKW Nick

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-26 01:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-26 01:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact was not successful: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg ARISS is working to determine what happened. Nanasawa Kibounooka Elementary School, Atsugi, Japan, direct via 8N1NKSG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-12-02 09:33:51 UTC 61 deg Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan, direct via 8N2YAYOI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg Ingushetia, Russia, direct via TBD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Volkov RU3DIS (***) Contact is a go for: Sat 2015-12-05 16:25 UTC (***) **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Francesco IKØWGF with 115 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2015-11-26 01:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1010. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 975. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2015-11-24 01:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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New iOS Sat Tracking App
by John Brier 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

From https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/3u2n3g/a_satellite_tracking_… http://satsat.space/ "I've just published a side project called SatSat http://satsat.space, it predicts passes, it's free (with ads), and can work totally offline, predictions and maps are done on the device. It also displays frequencies for the beacons. Comments are welcome, based on interest, I may add more features like doppler at start and end..." John, KG4AKV

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