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

AMSAT at 2015 ScienceCity/Tucson Festival of Books - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 16 Mar '15

16 Mar '15

Hi! AMSAT was part of the K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club's booth at the 2015 Science City/Tucson Festival of Books, which combined a book fair with a science fair on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson last weekend. AMSAT was present on Saturday. A local radio club, the Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club (W0HF), was there all weekend. This event is a joint effort between the University of Arizona and the Arizona Daily Star newspaper in Tucson. The university side of the event, the science fair, had representation from many colleges and departments on the campus, including the K7UAZ radio club. The newspaper managed the book fair. The university took good care of the many volunteers, with bottled water available all weekend, and lunches as well. With temperatures going as high as 94F/34C on Saturday afternoon, the water was appreciated by all working at this event. During Saturday, the K7UAZ booth had two HF stations in operation, another station demonstrating SDR technologies, and my satellite station. The SDR station was copying ADS-B data from aircraft flying around southern Arizona, which was plotted on a map for the crowds to see. The HF stations were busy making contacts on different bands. The satellite station, which was set up in front of the booth, was on the air for several passes on Saturday. My @WD9EWK Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK has lots of photos I took throughout the day. I also uploaded a short video showing the K7UAZ booth, which is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puzNyK1y5zM Throughout Saturday, 14 satellite contacts were made using 4 different amateur satellites (AO-7, AO-73, FO-29, SO-50) and the International Space Station, with stations across the USA and Mexico. The satellite activity started with an SO-50 pass just before the official start of the event at 9.30am (1630 UTC), and wrapped up with an FO-29 pass in the final half-hour. One contact was made using the ISS packet digipeater, between WD9EWK and Craig N6RSX in southern California, by exchanging APRS messages just before noon (1900 UTC). With the buildings and the intense RF environment around the university, my windows for these passes were no more than 5 to 7 minutes per pass. Sorry if I was not able to work you during Saturday. I had uploaded the contacts I made on Saturday to Logbook of the World, but there was an error in that upload. I will fix that tonight, and do another upload. In addition to LOTW, I will have QSL cards available for those who want that form of confirmation. Please e-mail me with the QSO details, and I will mail a card out to you if you are in my log. It is not necessary to first send me a QSL card or SASE to get my QSL card. Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I was not able to stay in Tucson for the Sunday half of the event. The K7UAZ club reported the same sort of crowds on Sunday at their booth, and for the event in general. Local media reports are stating the organizers estimated the attendance for this event at approximately 130,000 for the weekend. I have no reason to doubt that count, given the crowds I saw all day on Saturday. Many thanks to Kirk Krentzel N7VGJ and the K7UAZ club for inviting AMSAT to be a part of this fun weekend. With so many people, this was a great way to show off amateur radio, and in particular this corner of our hobby. Next year's event is scheduled for 12-13 March 2016, and I hope to be there and representing AMSAT for the entire weekend. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: [amsat-bb] UT1FG/MM Update Next Port Oregon
by Richard Tejera 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Saw him on 10m PSK31 this morning. He was weak and gone b4 I could work him. Gonna keep an eye out for him there as well. 73 Rick K7TEJ On March 15, 2015, at 13:44, Jeff Moore <tnetcenter(a)gmail.com> wrote: Uri is heading for Longview, Washington (there is no Longview, Oregon TIKO). Longview, Washington sits on the Washington side of the Columbia River (the North side). There is nothing on the Oregon side except a road and the closest Oregon town is Ranier to the East towards Portland. If you Google Longview, Oregon - you will get Longview, Washington - they are NOT the same place. Longview, Washington is one of the larger ports on the West Coast. 7 3 Jeff Moore -- KE7ACY Bend, Oregon On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 12:31 PM, John Papay <john(a)papays.com> wrote: > Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently in EK42 in the Pacific Ocean > off the coast of Guatemala. He expects to be in EK42 through > Sunday evening March 15th. He is going to be > drifting for the next few days, likely to the northwest. His > next port is Longview, Oregon, but he cannot arrive at the port > until 1 April. Therefore he is waiting a bit where the weather > is good before heading up the coast. > > His course up the coast will be fruitfull in terms of new grids. > Amongst those that are highly sought after are DM02 and CM79 which > are both part of the Continental US and required for those trying > to work all 488 Continental USA grids. His time in DM02 may be > very limited and passes may not correspond to his track across > the grid. But Yuri knows that this grid is rare and sought after > and will do what he can to be there during workable passes. His > time in CM79 will be much longer and it should be possible to work > him in that grid. > > In addition Yuri will go through the middle of CN70 through CN76 > which all have land on their eastern edge. These grids are normally > hard to work but should be relatively easy due to the low horizon > that he has on the ship. His speed is normally around 11-14 knots > so you can judge how long he will be in a grid. Each of these > grids is about 70 miles from south to north. > > His next port after Oregon is unknown but if he picks up cargo > destined for ports in the east, he will likely come back down the > coast to the Panama Canal and give everyone another shot at working > grids that they missed when he was northbound. > > Yuri is a very patient operator and skilled at operating with just > one IC706 tuned manually. Remember that he has to find those calling > him. If you give your call just once he will not likely get it. Give > it twice at a reasonable pace, with phonetics, and you will increase > your chances of a qso. Call and then listen for a bit to see if he > calls someone. Yuri is very good at recognizing callsigns that he has > worked before, even if he just gets a few letters. But that doesn't > mean you can rattle off your call without phonetics and expect him to > get it right. Phoentics might seem like a waste of precious satellite > time but if he doesn't get it the first time, the extra time it takes > to correct it will be worse. Yuri's English is very good but remember > it is not his first language. > > Yuri uses an ELK antenna mounted on a PVC mast that runs from the deck > of the Bridge up to the Flying Bridge. The Flying Bridge appurtenances > can block the sky from the port to stern. For example, if the ship is > traveling due north, his signal at lower elevations will be blocked from > 270 to 180 degrees. See where the satellite is with respect to his > course and you will be able to predict when he may not be able to hear > very well. If he is in range of an AIS station you can get his speed > and course on marinetraffic.com. Search for the "Greenwing." The ELK > antenna is pointed up at 15 degrees and can be rotated by the crew. > Sometimes you can hear Yuri requesting that they turn the antenna for > him (not in English). The ELK is a few years old now and has been blown > down before. He takes it apart and greases the connections to prevent > the salt from destroying it. Based on what I see the salt do to > antennas here in Florida, it is amazing that he has been able to keep > this antenna in working condition. > > Yuri has been working on QSL card requests from last season as well as > this season. My guess is that he will mail some from Oregon where they > will be sure to go out without problems. So be patient. Yuri has a > manager, Eugene, UX0FY, however he does not have the logs for the last > part of the previous season. Yuri does prefer to do the cards himself > even if it takes a little longer. > > We have many new operators on the birds and they don't always understand > what it means to have a rare grid on a pass. Many don't know country > prefixes to know where a station is, or what grid is rare. Those who > have been around for a while can mentor others and give the rover station > a chance to make more contacts. Things have changed now that Yuri is > on the west coast. Suddenly the east coast operators who normally have > a big advantage with Yuri are now at a disadvantage since he is in the > Pacific. So if you are on the west coast and will have a footprint with > Yuri for a long time or have a shot at a pass that doesn't cover the east > coast, hold off so that Yuri can work those who have a very short opening. > Yuri gets on most every visible pass while he is on the move, day or night, > so passes out over the Pacific will work fine for west coasters. And if > the situation is reversed, hopefully, east coasters will reciprocate. It > should be noted, however, that there is much more interest in working DX > by those in the east compared to those in the west. > > Yuri is an amazing operator and has likely operated in more grids than > anyone. He is a very experienced Captain and you can see how his crew > respects him for that. We are fortunate to have him on the birds. Have > fun working him. > > 73, > John K8YSE > > John Papay > john(a)papays.com > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions > expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of > AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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UT1FG/MM Update Next Port Oregon
by John Papay 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently in EK42 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guatemala. He expects to be in EK42 through Sunday evening March 15th. He is going to be drifting for the next few days, likely to the northwest. His next port is Longview, Oregon, but he cannot arrive at the port until 1 April. Therefore he is waiting a bit where the weather is good before heading up the coast. His course up the coast will be fruitfull in terms of new grids. Amongst those that are highly sought after are DM02 and CM79 which are both part of the Continental US and required for those trying to work all 488 Continental USA grids. His time in DM02 may be very limited and passes may not correspond to his track across the grid. But Yuri knows that this grid is rare and sought after and will do what he can to be there during workable passes. His time in CM79 will be much longer and it should be possible to work him in that grid. In addition Yuri will go through the middle of CN70 through CN76 which all have land on their eastern edge. These grids are normally hard to work but should be relatively easy due to the low horizon that he has on the ship. His speed is normally around 11-14 knots so you can judge how long he will be in a grid. Each of these grids is about 70 miles from south to north. His next port after Oregon is unknown but if he picks up cargo destined for ports in the east, he will likely come back down the coast to the Panama Canal and give everyone another shot at working grids that they missed when he was northbound. Yuri is a very patient operator and skilled at operating with just one IC706 tuned manually. Remember that he has to find those calling him. If you give your call just once he will not likely get it. Give it twice at a reasonable pace, with phonetics, and you will increase your chances of a qso. Call and then listen for a bit to see if he calls someone. Yuri is very good at recognizing callsigns that he has worked before, even if he just gets a few letters. But that doesn't mean you can rattle off your call without phonetics and expect him to get it right. Phoentics might seem like a waste of precious satellite time but if he doesn't get it the first time, the extra time it takes to correct it will be worse. Yuri's English is very good but remember it is not his first language. Yuri uses an ELK antenna mounted on a PVC mast that runs from the deck of the Bridge up to the Flying Bridge. The Flying Bridge appurtenances can block the sky from the port to stern. For example, if the ship is traveling due north, his signal at lower elevations will be blocked from 270 to 180 degrees. See where the satellite is with respect to his course and you will be able to predict when he may not be able to hear very well. If he is in range of an AIS station you can get his speed and course on marinetraffic.com. Search for the "Greenwing." The ELK antenna is pointed up at 15 degrees and can be rotated by the crew. Sometimes you can hear Yuri requesting that they turn the antenna for him (not in English). The ELK is a few years old now and has been blown down before. He takes it apart and greases the connections to prevent the salt from destroying it. Based on what I see the salt do to antennas here in Florida, it is amazing that he has been able to keep this antenna in working condition. Yuri has been working on QSL card requests from last season as well as this season. My guess is that he will mail some from Oregon where they will be sure to go out without problems. So be patient. Yuri has a manager, Eugene, UX0FY, however he does not have the logs for the last part of the previous season. Yuri does prefer to do the cards himself even if it takes a little longer. We have many new operators on the birds and they don't always understand what it means to have a rare grid on a pass. Many don't know country prefixes to know where a station is, or what grid is rare. Those who have been around for a while can mentor others and give the rover station a chance to make more contacts. Things have changed now that Yuri is on the west coast. Suddenly the east coast operators who normally have a big advantage with Yuri are now at a disadvantage since he is in the Pacific. So if you are on the west coast and will have a footprint with Yuri for a long time or have a shot at a pass that doesn't cover the east coast, hold off so that Yuri can work those who have a very short opening. Yuri gets on most every visible pass while he is on the move, day or night, so passes out over the Pacific will work fine for west coasters. And if the situation is reversed, hopefully, east coasters will reciprocate. It should be noted, however, that there is much more interest in working DX by those in the east compared to those in the west. Yuri is an amazing operator and has likely operated in more grids than anyone. He is a very experienced Captain and you can see how his crew respects him for that. We are fortunate to have him on the birds. Have fun working him. 73, John K8YSE John Papay john(a)papays.com

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Recommendations for dual-core mobile for in-car SO-50
by Jacob Tennant 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

I am looking installing a mobile dual-band radio in my Subaru Forester for occasional SO-50 and other FM sats on my lunch break or while out and about. I already have a dual-band antenna on the vehicle. Not looking at investing a fortune for this radio as I will probably buy it from eBay used. Jacob Tennant

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Satellite Day for Radioamateurs on April 25 in The Netherlands
by PA3GUO 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

In cooperation with the VERON VHF day, a second 'Satellite Day for Radioamateurs' will be held in The Netherlands. Date: April 25, 2015 (Saturday) Time: 09:00 - 16:30 (local time) Location: City of Apeldoorn, in the Mid-East of the Netherlands. Most presentations will be held in Dutch, while the Delft/Delfi presentation will be in English. Of course almost everyone in The Netherlands speaks English so we invite everyone whom is interested to join us! Sponsored by the VERON (http://www.veron.nl), the entrance is free (no admission), including free coffee, tea and lunch. We would like to know how many participants we will have, so please sign up via email to either one of us. We look forward to another exciting satellite event! http://amsat-nl.org/satday2015 Best regards Ivo Klinkert - PA1IVO, email: pa1ivo AT amsat.org Henk Hamoen - PA3GUO, email pa3guo AT amsat.org Listed below is the program: FUNcube: from launch to the future - Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG: In 2013 Wouter addressed us about the then upcoming launch of FUNcube-1 and we had the working engineering model of the satellite on stage. This time Wouter will update us on the experiences with the (still fully operational) FUNcube-1 satellite that in the mean time celebrated its first anniversary in space! Wouter is closely involved in various FUNcube projects and will be able to share a lot of inside information. Spacenews from the University of Delft: Delfi-n3Xt, DelFFi and more .. - Nils von Storch and Ehsan Tofigh: Nils and Ehsan will update us about Delfi-n3Xt, DelFFi and the Stratos II (amateurrocket of the TU Delft) missions. Satellites: currently operational and future satellites - Jan van Gils, PE0SAT: An overview of the currently operational satellites working on amateur radio frequencies plus a sneak preview into the (near) future. Projects like AMSAT-NA's new satellite (Fox), the upcoming AMSAT-DL geostationary satellite with transponders (Es'HailSat-2) and many more interesting cubesats. How to start with amateur radio satellites - Henk Hamoen, PA3GUO: This presentation is expecially geared towards starters: what do you need to get going? What is LEO/HEO? When is a satellite in reacvh and can I hear it? Also we will discuss equipment: what do you (and what do you not) need for this fascinating hobby. Satellite tracking for expert users - Nico Janssen, PA0DLO: What is the meaning of all these secretive Kepler sets and their parameters inside. What can be derived from TLE sets and what can you do with it? Can you do measurements using satellite tracks? How to identify satellites using TLE sets? How to calculate the moment a satellite will de-orbit and burn down into the atmosphere? All this and more will be discussed by Nico. Reception of satellite signals: SDR, software modems and other tools - Jan van Gils, PE0SAT: Many satellite transmit digital signals, which are very interesting... if you can decode them! Jan share his experience in decoding these signals using software defined radio (SDR), softmodems and other tools. Plus not to forget: about all the university contacts & friends around the world with whom he works together on this exciting technology! Deep Space Probes on the amateur radio bands - Rob Hardenberg, PE1ITR: Think you did DX? Think again! Listen tot his presentation by Rob about the reception of deep space probes MRO, LX0OHB-4m, Shinen-2 and Artsat2:Despatch. A record was set at 4.7 million kilometers from Earth! Hands-on session Amateur satellites - PA3GUO, PA3WEG, PE0SAT and PA1IVO: We will do live sessions where we will listen to Cubesats and transmit via satellite transponders. Equipment will be on site, but we encourage everyone to bring their own set-up along. Doesn't matter whether that is small or big - it's all about fun! In 2013 we made QSOs via satellites from one end of the parking lot to the other. See here: http://ivok.home.xs4all.nl/other/img/SatDay2013_1.jpg More information and detailed timelines can be found here: http://amsat-nl.org/satday2015

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Re: [amsat-bb] Yaesu G-5500 Potentiometer replacement
by Kevin Schuchmann 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

For what it's worth, I have a rotor that has been going for 14 years, the set screw issue was cured early on with a drop of blue Lock tight, this counts for both the pot drive gear and the motor drive which also has a small set screw that likes to back out and then the rotor runs forever or until the windings fry. I did lose a motor winding once due to a jam so after that I shoved a thermal switch down between the windings to cut power in a over heat situation, 4 lock to lock rotations and it will cutout, the motors that Yaesu used have a very short duty cycle. The Pot... never have had one go really bad where I had to replace it but that #$%^ wire in the middle for the wiper can be vexing, the turning and flexing breaks it and then you get wild extremes or bad readings in one spot, replacing it with the most flexible wire you can winding it like a loose coil and putting a small drop of epoxy at each end to stop wire movement helps it last the longest (several years for me), never had a problem realigning the stops if you make good marks of where it was when you started or if possible you run it to zero before you begin. I have also found that quicksilver marine grease 2-4-c with ptfe works really well and is readily available for the gears and bearings. YMMV 73 Kevin WA6FWF On 3/12/2015 11:14 AM, Todd wrote: > I recently bought a _very slightly_ (like new) used Yaesu G-5500 > rotator and have had some issues with the indication system. During > rotation of the elevation rotor sometimes both indication meters would > sometimes fluctuate violently to full scale. Finally the elevation > indicator just stopped at 90 degrees and stayed there or went to zero > when hitting the zero stop microswitch. Anyway, if figured the > position potentiometer was the problem and opened up the unit and > _found the gear on the pot shaft was slipping due to the set screw not > holding_. Although, it would grab at some point during the rotation > cycle again and hence be out of sync now with the motor stop! This > grabbing again in the rotation cycle destroyed the pot. Got two (one > spare) replacement pots from Yaesu and installed and calibrated very > carefully I might add. Adjusted pot to display "0" degrees, installed > gear on pot shaft and rechecked indication to be be sure I still read > "0". Assembled motor gearing with boom tube so stop switch @ zero > just actuated. Installed other case half and checked ok and dead on > after standard manual cal. > Anyway, just checked the azimuth operation and see that the indication > is off at 90 degrees by 10 degrees or so. Watching needle from zero > the needle delays in movement by a couple of seconds after motor > starts turning. I suspect another set screw slipping again. I will > investigate further. I'm getting closer to interfacing the LVB Tracker > now. Anyhow, after looking everywhere on this BB and internet for any > procedure to change these pots in either rotator I did find this > posting from a Yaesu Rep that gives a guide to a individual if he > decides to take on the task of changing out the azimuth pot. The Rep > advises him to sent the unit to him in California.

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FW: AO-7
by dnkucij＠myfairpoint.net 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Kerry, Congrats, that was a great DX contact on AO-7! It's always a thrill when you can complete one of those. Tor, DJ8MS is a fine sat op also. 73, Nick, KB1RVT

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Palm Springs HamFest 2015
by Clint Bradford 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

THANK YOU to those I met from this list today out at the Palm Springs HamFest! We had a blast ... worked SO-50, AO-73, and APRS on the ISS - all before noon. And when a guest speaker had a personal emergency crop up minutes before his scheduled time, the convention manager snagged me and declared, "Clint, you're on!" So I conducted a completely off-the-cuff "Q&A" session - and we all had a great time. Wonderful event ... well-attended ... not too hot for Palm Springs ... ARRL reps there, and AMSAT's FOX-1A project promoted to all within earshot (grin). For raffle prizes, I acquired a Heil PR-10 Set from Dr. Heil, a gift certificate from RT Systems, and I offered a new Arrow 146/437-10WBP for $50 off to a happy ham. If you are in the Southern California region, please make it a point to attend this wonderful show next year - the second Saturday in March. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Kenwood TH-D72a via Samsung Tab4 for packet?
by Scott Smith 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Hi, just bought one of those Samsung Tab4 units and was wondering if there was a way to connect my Kenwood Th-D72 handheld to for packet display?. At the moment, I do packet on the handheld and it works great, I also downloaded a program into the Samsung called Aprsdroid which also works nice (via the internet), but can the tablet be used just to the handheld and no internet to display the packets coming in?. maybe someone out there has a similar setup and give me some ideas. I’ve tried hooking the handheld via the usb on the handheld to the tablet and in the setup changed it to the Kenwood setting but no luck. 73 de Scott VE6ITV

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Young ham’s first contact is via FO-29
by M5AKA 14 Mar '15

14 Mar '15

Young ham’s first contact is via OSCAR satellite http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/14/young-hams-1st-contact-via-sat/ Notice of Variation to UK Amateur Radio Licence 75.875-76.000 GHz Amateur and Amateur-Satellite allocation restored to Primary status http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/13/nov-uk-amateur-radio-licence/ UK 434 MHz CanSat Competition http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/13/434-mhz-cansat-competition/ Sarah Brightman – A message from Tim Peake KG5BVI http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/11/sarah-brightman-tim-peake-video/ Listen to FUNcube-1 during Solar Eclipse http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/09/funcube-1-and-solar-eclipse/ Bitcoin Pioneer Jeff Garzik ex-KB4UZB signs contract with DSI for CubeSat constellation. DSI's Daniel Faber VA3DRF attended the 2012 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium http://deepspaceindustries.com/bitcoin-pioneer-inks-contract-for-satellite-… UK Space Agency teams up with Clyde Space and Outernet to provide free telecommunications services through CubeSats https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cubesats-to-provide-telecomms-through-in… ---- 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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