AMSAT-BB December 2015

157 participants
241 discussions

by Trevor .

Students at the Ivy League Brown University are developing an amateur radio satellite EQUiSat that will carry a Xenon Flash Tube (XFT) subsystem to act as an Optical Beacon that should be visible to the unaided eye of observers on Earth. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10635 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAK-UK http://www.amsat-uk.org/ ----

3 years, 3 months

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-10-26 23:00 UTC

by AJ9N＠aol.com

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-10-26 23:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Possible Russian contact with Kursk Tue 2015-10-27 11:35 UTC Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, direct via K8UTT The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for Option #3: Tue 2015-10-27 16:01:59 UTC 57 deg Watch for a live video stream that should start about 15:00 UTC: (***) http://www.dearbornschools.org https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbhrQiZ62LE Daggett Montessori School K-8, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, direct via K5COW The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for Option #4: Thu 2015-10-29 14:12:56 UTC 31 deg **************************************************************************** ** Interested in hosting an ARISS contact? The window is now open from 2015-09-01 to 2015-11-01. These proposals will be for school contacts during the second half of 2016. Go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact or http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html for full details. To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions. These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session is not required, it is strongly encouraged. These will be offered Thursday, September 17, at 2000 UTC; Tuesday, September 22, at 2000 UTC, and Wednesday, September 30, at 2300 UTC. Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to sign up for an information session. **************************************************************************** ** >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 114 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 2015-10-24 06:00 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 1001. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 966. (***) 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 2015-10-24 06:00 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

4 years, 4 months

LVB Tracker USB serial port driver for Windows 7 x64?

by Bill Bordy, NJ1H

Has anyone located a driver for the LVB Tracker internal USB to serial port adapter on Windows 7 x64? If not, has anyone reverted to the serial port connection on LVB Tracker and used an external USB to serial port adapter successfully with SatPC32 on Windows 7 x64? I have an Edgeport multiple USB to serial port that has drivers for Windows 7 x64 that I will use if I have to. I would prefer using the LVB Tracker with its USB to serial adapter if someone has another solution. 73, Bill NJ1H

5 years, 1 month

AO-16 telemetry 3 Oct 2010

by Mark L. Hammond

Hi All, Here is a quick AO-16 update. On Sunday I turned AO-16 long enough to get some telemetry packets. The satellite would remain on for less than one minute after being commanded on. A quick test of the "bent pipe" voice mode repeater was successful. . The "hardware watchdog timer problem" is still evident; as expected, spacecraft temperatures are insufficient to keep the transmitter ON (needs to be above 15 deg C). Orbit projections suggest that satellite illumination conditions will not result in increased temperatures for nearly 10 years. Command stations do periodically turn AO-16 "ON" to check on its condition and see if the hardware timer problem has "automagically" fixed itself (which in not anticipated, but who knows...). AO-16 telemetry 3 Oct 2010 1838 utc PACSAT MBL Telemetry Decoder Ver. 1.3 (c) Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN =============================================================================== (average values) +10V Battery Bus : 0.00 V Battery Charge Reg : 0.55 mA Base Temp : 9.07 °C PSK RF Out : 1.90 W +5V RX Bus : 4.87 V +8.5V RX Bus : 8.49 V +10V RX Bus : 11.24 V Here is another teaser :) Several months ago I commanded the AO-16 S-band transmitter ON; it too remains functional (albeit weak), and was received by me, Drew KO4MA, and Alan WA4SCA. 73, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

5 years, 6 months

request for info on North American grids active via satellite in 2015

by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)

Hi! I'm trying to put together some data to illustrate how many grids around North America (including Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean) that have been active on the satellites in 2015. I asked for this information on Twitter earlier today, and I'll make the same request here. If you have operated from grids away from home, please send me the list of grids you have worked from. Please include your home grid in the list. I would like to make a map of grids that were available via satellite during 2015, and possibly scribble an article for the AMSAT Journal as well. Besides my own activity in 2015, I have lists from the following stations: AA5PK KA4H KX9X N8HM NP4JV W5PFG I will generate a map based on all submissions I receive, and probably some other maps based on the lists I receive from other stations. Even if your list is nothing more than one other grid besides your home grid, every submission is appreciated. I am hoping to have this information by 15 January 2016, so I can then make the maps and write that article about which grids have been on the air during 2015 before getting too far into 2016. Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

6 years

EO-79 transponder activation

by Wouter Weggelaar

Hi All, Today, 21st of December 2015 at 1038 UTC, it is planned that the EO-79 transponder will be turned on for a prolonged period. The FUNcube transponder subsystem on QB50p1 (EO-79) had been provided by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL and is a similar subsystem as on FUNcube-1, but without the telemetry downlink circuitry. The current software running on EO-79 does experience occasional reboots. When these reboots happen, the transponder is automatically turned off and will have to be turned back on by a command station. The FUNcube team has selected a few command stations to do so, but be advised the transponder may be off. TLEs: AMSAT keps name: EO-79 Celestrak keps Name: QB50P1 Celestrak file: cubesat.txt NORAD # 40025 COSPAR designator 2014-033-R Frequencies: *Uplink:* 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB *Downlink:* 145.935-145.965 MHz USB EO-79 has been set to only beacon the normal AX.25 beacon every 30 seconds instead of 10 seconds. The beacon frequency is 145.815MHz and consists of AX.25 frames on BPSK. more details about the downlink can be found on the ISIS HAM page at http://isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html We kindly request you to share your experiences with the BB so everyone can benefit from operating tips and tricks, as well as being up-to-date on the status. We would also welcome any observation related to the transponder behaviour when the AX.25 beacon comes on. Just like FUNcube-1, the crystal oscillator circuits exhibit drift with temperature. This means manual tuning will probably work best. Lastly, the commanding team will not be available over Christmas, so the current activations are planned from today until Thursday 24th and from Monday 28th until Thursday 31st 73 and have FUN Happy Holidays Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG AMSAT-NL AMSAT-UK

6 years

Waiting for Solar Panel Efficiency (Ha!)

by Robert Bruninga

Compare the cost and efficiency of solar panels for cubesats and for your house: http://aprs.org/Energy/solar/efficiency-comparison-cost.png The 10,000 Watt array for your house costs less than a 10 W array for a cubesat satellite. I get tired of the excuse, “Im waiting for higher efficiency cells” when the cost of just doubling the efficiency from 15% to 30% is a factor of 1000 times more expensive. You’ll be dead before the expensive ones even come down by half (much less the 1000 to 1 needed to make them practical). And in fact it will never ever happen. Because a satellite builder will pay a measly $10,000 to DOUBLE the power of his 4 inch satellite and so the market for the highest efficiency cells will always get a premium price because the satellite buyers will always pay max dollars for max power independent of cost. And there will never be a decaying cost or learning curve, because as soon as someone comes up with a 32% solar cell, then the 30% technology is ABANDONED because the space industry will all move to the 32% cells and be happy to pay even more for the higher power and there is practically no market for last year’s 30% cells that cost 1000 times more than existing silicon cells at 15%. And without a growing market for last year’s HIGH efficiency cells, there will never be a learning curve and declining cost. Meanwhile the cheap 15% cells being mass produced for the terrestrial solar market in a MILLION times the volume at 1/1000 the cost already cost less than a window of the same size! Witness the cost reduction of 10 to 1 in the last 10 years and the 2 to 1 reduction in the last 3 years with improvements from 15% efficiency up to around 18% not by changing the technology of the 60 year old simple silicon, but just optimizing the manufacturing process (by the billions)… Solar is here, Now. And it won’t get any cheaper, because as the market expands exponentially the demand for bazillions of watts of solar will soak up every panel produced and homeowners are then competing with massive utility scale purchases of millions of panels. Solar panels now cost less than just a window of the same size. It is no longer the cost of the panels, it is simply the cost of labor that drives the majority of cost now. You can buy solar panels for under $0.70 a watt but to have a contractor installed system is hovering around $3.50 per watt and not going down much at all. Lastly, if you have sun, you KNOW eventually you will be going solar. So once you realize that, you should also realize that every electric bill you pay from now on is just throwing money away which would have been better invested in free electricity and 10% annual return for life on your roof or in your yard. Waiting gains nothing. Even the solar panels I bought 4 years ago at twice the price have already paid for themselves. Waiting would have gained nothing except 4 years of more wasted money to the utility and so many tons of burned coal wasted into the air. Here are some more thoughts… http://aprs.org/solar-now.html Summary, Solar and Satellites… the same but 1000 times cheaper on Earth. Bob, Wb4APR

6 years

Club Equipment - Error

by Clint Bradford

Sorry for that post - it was NOT meant for the list. And i have NOT started drinkin' yet for New Years' celebration - honest. Clint

6 years

Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Net - Colorado

by Clint Bradford

Great job, Skyler, on the satellite net this evening. Although just a dozen or so checked in, there were more lurking - and, hopefully, learning and getting interested. Heck - one of your participants even offered a donation to your school's ham club! Clint K6LCS

6 years

Final Jepoardy 12/30/2015

by Clint Bradford

Most of you here - and any of the attendees of my 80+ amateur radio satellite presentations - would have known the answer to last night's Final Jepoardy(tm) question! GERMAN SCIENTISTS - was the category. The answer: "Best known for his theories about planetary orbits, in 1604 he became the first to explain how eyeglasses correct vision." Screenshots of the answer - AND solution - at the bottom of ... http://work-sat.com/Misc.html Merry 2016 to all! Clint K6LCS

6 years

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AMSAT-BB December 2015