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

Re: [amsat-bb] Patrick's Calendar
by Clint Bradford 20 Apr '15

20 Apr '15

>> ... This concludes 6 straight weekends I've done AMSAT-related activities around Arizona and southern California. All of this has been fun, but I will gladly take next weekend as a break ... How DARE you not actively promote AMSAT 52 weeks a year ... (grin) Repeat: (grin) Clint Bradford

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Re: [amsat-bb] antenna question
by Dino Papas 20 Apr '15

20 Apr '15

Steve - we actually conducted our ARISS contact on a M2 Eggbeater as we had a last minute problem with the primary station and had to shift to the backup rig and antenna (now that was exciting and our hearts started beating again only when we heard the astronaut coming back to us!). Our contact lasted about 10 minutes with the antenna up at about 40’ on top of the school gym where we worked the ISS. 73 - Dino KL0S On Apr192015, at 2020 PM, Steve Kristoff <skristof(a)etczone.com> wrote: > Does anybody have any experience that they'd like to share about using an M2 Eggbeater antenna on 2 meters for satellite work? I was thinking about using one to go to and from the ISS and to receive AO-73 telemetry. Right now I just have a 5/8 wave vertical and (surprise!) that's not doing the trick. I'm running 25 watts out of a Yaesu FT290RII. I'm not ready for the whole computer controlled tracking dual yagi thing yet. > Any and all insights and comments will be appreciated. > Thank you! > > Steve Kristoff AI9IN > skristof(a)etczone.com

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antenna question
by Steve Kristoff 20 Apr '15

20 Apr '15

Does anybody have any experience that they'd like to share about using an M2 Eggbeater antenna on 2 meters for satellite work? I was thinking about using one to go to and from the ISS and to receive AO-73 telemetry. Right now I just have a 5/8 wave vertical and (surprise!) that's not doing the trick. I'm running 25 watts out of a Yaesu FT290RII. I'm not ready for the whole computer controlled tracking dual yagi thing yet. Any and all insights and comments will be appreciated. Thank you! Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof(a)etczone.com

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Friday (17 April) evening presentation/demos @ Tucson AZ - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 19 Apr '15

19 Apr '15

Hi! I was in Tucson on Friday (17 April) evening, to give a presentation and demonstration on satellite operating for the Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club at its monthly meeting. There was a nice turnout for a Friday evening meeting, with 57 in attendance. My presentation came during the middle of the meeting, and then about half of the crowd stuck around for the demonstrations I gave using SO-50 and AO-73 after the meeting wrapped up. Even though I had my presentation ready to go before Friday, I was happy to modify it to include the very recent announcement about the transponders for Fox-1C through Fox-1E that came out Friday morning. I also talked about our current satellites, along with a little bit of history - how our amateur satellites fit into the wider history of the Space Age. After the meeting, I had my station set up on my car in a parking lot. I used the AmsatDroid Free tracking app on my phone to know where to point my Elk antenna, and set up two of my tablets running SatPC32 so the crowd could see the satellite's location and footprint during each pass. This wasn't something I planned, but it seemed to be a good use of those devices. The crowd liked it. I had two passes available in the hour following the end of the meeting - an SO-50 pass around 9.18pm (0418 UTC), followed by an AO-73 pass at 9.51pm (0451 UTC). The SO-50 pass was a popular pass, seeing 6 QSOs logged with stations in the central and eastern parts of the continental USA. Since the Catalina Mountains were to the east and northeast of the meeting site, my LOS came a few minutes before the predicted LOS time. AO-73 went directly overhead, away from the mountains, so I had most of the predicted pass time available. I worked two stations on that pass, both in Texas. This allowed me to show the differences between FM and SSB/CW satellites, and the differences in operating technique (i.e., CQing on AO-73, but no CQing on SO-50). Thanks to everyone who worked WD9EWK during these two passes! I uploaded the QSOs from these passes to Logbook of the World last night. I will be happy to send QSL cards to anyone who worked me, without receiving a QSL card or SASE from you. Please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. If you are in my log, I'll drop a card in the mail. Even after the two passes, I was answering questions for up to 90 minutes after the AO-73 pass. This made my drive home later, but worth it. The evening weather in Tucson was nice, not hot or cold, and I was happy to stick around. Thanks to everyone at the OVARC, especially Steve Wood W1SR (he invited me to Friday's meeting) and Bob Molczan KA7VPR (club president), for a great time Friday evening! This concludes 6 straight weekends I've done AMSAT-related activities around Arizona and southern California. All of this has been fun, but I will gladly take next weekend as a break, before I go to another hamfest in Sierra Vista, Arizona (southeast of Tucson), on 2 May. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Thanks for the "Upcoming Satellite Operations" page!
by Grant Zehr 19 Apr '15

19 Apr '15

I want to thank Paul N8HM for adding the "Upcoming Satellite Operations" page to the AMSAT website. Thanks to the information there I was able to watch for (and work) HH2/N2IEN for an 'all time new one' on satellite. I've added the page to my browser book mark bar. Let's continue to encourage Dxpeditions to nearby (LEO range) entities to take along satellite gear! Grant Zehr AA9LC

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Near Space Flight Question
by Dave Marthouse 19 Apr '15

19 Apr '15

Pardon me asking this question as it only relates to amateur satellites in a small way as the packages I refer to don't achieve escape velocity. Over the years I've followed the work being done regarding flying radio packages on balloons. I'm familiar with the scenario of a balloon carrying a package that will go to a predetermined altitude, bursting then returning to the ground. With the advent of the round-the-world experiments with small party balloons, how do project organizers keep such equipment in the jet stream so that they travel long distances without the equipment going so high that the balloon bursts? Dave Marthouse N2AAM dmarthouse(a)gmail.com

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-27 Heard over Florida!
by Rick Tejera 19 Apr '15

19 Apr '15

Not a lot there, last update was in September. Hopefully we'll see something new soon. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> Date:04/18/2015 12:15 (GMT-07:00) To: w4upd <updwrb(a)bristor-assoc.com> Cc: "Amsat-Bb@Amsat. Org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-27 Heard over Florida! I know the control team has been working on writing new code to try to get it working again. I believe the transmitter has to be commanded on in the state it's in, so maybe they are making another attempt. Check here periodically for updates: http://www.ao27.org/ 73, Paul, N8HM On Sat, Apr 18, 2015 at 3:03 PM, w4upd <updwrb(a)bristor-assoc.com> wrote: > Wondering if anyone has heard about the status of AO-27? Just hear a > telemetry pass over its downlink at about 1900 UTC. > > Reid, W4UPD > > _______________________________________________ > 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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ANS-109 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 19 Apr '15

19 Apr '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-109 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Fox-1C and Fox-1D Include L-Band Uplink; Fox-1E Linear Transponder Announced * Immediate Volunteer Opening at AMSAT: Cubesat Thermal Engineering * AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention -- Second call for volunteers * "GB4MBC" - Special Event Station - Cancelled * Clive Wallis – G3CWV – SK * Cayman Island on Satellites May 20-25 * NASA Cube Quest Challenge SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.01 ANS-109 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 109.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. April 19, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.01 Fox-1C and Fox-1D Include L-Band Uplink; Fox-1E Linear Transponder Announced AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, announced plans to incorporate an L band receiver in Fox-1C and Fox-1D. The addition will allow ground commanded selection of the U/v (normal Fox-1 bands) or the new L/v 1.2 GHz (23 cm) mode. Both bands will operate as FM single channel. Rather than adding a complete new receiver, the L band "Project Downshifter" will convert the received L band signal down to the Fox-1 uplink frequency and feed it to the regular UHF receiver on the Fox-1 satellite. The design will not require an additional antenna on the satellite because the existing UHF antenna will work for L band receive as well. In concert with the development of the satellite segment, a new group of volunteers is working on a companion uplink station to convert UHF to the L band uplink frequencies: + Bruce Herrick, WW1M + Dan Hubert, VE9DAN + Elizabeth Schenk, KC1AXX + Dave Smith, W6TE + Alfred Watts, AF5VH The team is planning to have an affordable L band uplink ground station available to amateurs by the time Fox-1C is on orbit. In further news, Jerry announced the plan to construct a Fox-1E "Evolution" variation of the Fox-1 series which will carry a Mode J linear transponder. The transponder is planned to be 30 kHz wide and will also include a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon. The purpose of the project is to test a design for a linear transponder that could be made available to CubeSat builders as a secondary, or even primary radio payload thus bringing more opportunities for amateur radio in space as well as offering AMSAT's proven communications skills as a telemetry option. AMSAT has been approached for a launch opportunity for Fox-1E in 2016, but launch details can not be shared at this time. Jerry concluded, "It is important that we find additional resources to help the Fox-1 Team with these new endeavors. We are looking for volunteers who have solid RF building and testing experience to work on both the downshifter and the transponder prototyping and construction." If you would like to help and be a part of the success of Fox-1C/D and Fox-1E, please contact Jerry through the AMSAT Engineering volunteer form page on-line at: http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1121. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediate Volunteer Opening at AMSAT: Cubesat Thermal Engineering AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, says he has an immediate need for a volunteer who is experienced in thermal engineering. Opportunities include upcoming AMSAT CubeSats up to 6U in LEO and HEO, and larger spacecraft up to 150 kg. Jerry says Sinda, Thermica, and Patran software experience would be helpful. If you would like to help and be a part of the success of Fox-1C/D and Fox-1E, please contact Jerry through the AMSAT Engineering volunteer form page on-line at: http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1121. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention -- Second call for volunteers The Dayton Hamvention is less than five weeks away! It is time to be creating your shopping list and making your travel plans. If you can stay for more than a day and you want to stay at the AMSAT hotel, contact Martha ASAP. Last year, we had 52 people assist with the AMSAT booth at Dayton. We've had a good response so far to our call for volunteers, but we could really use another 10-15 people. The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun. Meet or renew acquaintances, exchange operating tips, and find out what antennas, software and equipment other AMSAT members use. We currently expect all of the AMSAT senior officers and 5 of the 7 board members to be there too. The 2015 Hamvention is May 15-17. Would you consider helping AMSAT at Dayton this year? If you're an experienced operator, great! We can use you and your experience. If you've never operated a satellite before, but want to learn more, that's OK. We can use your help too. Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please send an e-mail to Steve, n9ip(a)amsat.org if you can help. Thank you! [ANS thanks Steve, N9IP, Dayton Team Leader, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- "GB4MBC" - Special Event Station - Cancelled With respect to the planned activation of the Special Event Station - "GB4MBC" on HF and satellite during 24th -27th April 2015 -Location: " Flatholm Island" EU124. Due to circumstances beyond our control ,"Barry Amateur Radio Society" South Wales, regrets that the visit and activation has been cancelled. An attempt for contacts from our mainland station with its Marconi special call GB0MDI -Locator IO81JJ [ANS thanks Ken, GW1FKY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Clive Wallis – G3CWV – SK From Jim Heck, G3WGM, Hon Sec AMSAT-UK It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that I have just learnt of the passing of our dear friend Clive Wallis, G3CWV on 27th March 2015. Clive has been a very staunch supporter of AMSAT from the very early days. Many will recall his intense interest and loyalty in following UOSAT-2/UO-11. He maintained a very comprehensive web site with details of the spacecraft’s activities. He wrote many articles for Oscar News about his activities. He attended many AMSAT-UK Colloquia. For 17 years between 1996 and 2013 Clive produced monthly reports on OSCAR-11 (UoSAT-2). The report archive is at http://www.g3cwv.co.uk/newsarch.htm Clive’s OSCAR-11 page http://www.g3cwv.co.uk/oscar11.htm In 1993 Clive Wallis G3CWV took over distribution of satellite related BBC software http://amsat-uk.org/2011/12/11/bbc-micro-and-amsat-uk-software-library/ He was awarded the Louis Varney cup for 2015 by the RSGB, and although he knew of the award before his passing, the formal presentation is not until 25 April. His funeral is to be held on Tue 22 April 2015 at 3.00pm at Christchurch, Bedford Road, Hitchin, Herts, UK. I am sure that his family would appreciate the presence of any AMSAT members who are able to be there. We send our condolences to his widow, Janet. RIP, Clive. 73s Jim Heck G3WGM Hon Sec AMSAT-UK [ANS thanks Jim Heck, G3WGM, Hon Sec AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cayman Island on Satellites May 20-25 ZF2, CAYMAN ISLANDS. Operators Pete/N8PR and Bill/NZ5N will be active as ZF2EM from the Cayman Islands between May 20-25th. Main activity will be focused on 2 meter EME, but with some HF SSB and maybe JT65HF. They will also have 2m/440 and an Elk antenna for some possible FM satellite QSOs if the passes are at times when the moon is not up. QSL via N8PR. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1210 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Cube Quest Challenge The Cube Quest Challenge, sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Centennial Challenge Program, offers a total of $5 million to teams that meet the challenge objectives of designing, building and delivering flight- qualified, small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the moon. 1) You are cordially invited to subscribe to the official, new, Cube Quest Challenge mailing list! The Cube Quest mailing list will: * Broadcast official announcements regarding the Challenge * Enable list members to post messages, share ideas, collaborate, and offer Challenge-related services * Be monitored by Cube Quest to approve list members and keep posts on-topic To subscribe, visit: https://lists.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/cube-quest-challenge and follow the instructions. 2) Revised Operations and Rules and other documents have recently been posted to the Cube Quest web pages. To keep up-to-date, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest/details/ and keep your eyes on the News and Updates announcements. (News and Updates will also be posted to the Cube Quest mailing list.) 3) Cube Quest judges Dr. David Klumpar and Bruce Yost will be attending the April 22-24 CubeSat Developers Workshop at Cal Poly, so be sure to say "hi". 4) Less than 108 days before the first Cube Quest Ground Tournament! There's still time to register your team. Download the official Operations and Rules document, then visit the http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest/details/ "how to enter" link to register your team. [ANS thanks Jim Cockrell for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-27 Heard over Florida!
by Richard Tejera 18 Apr '15

18 Apr '15

Let's hope.. it'd be nice to her back. 73 Rick K7TEJ On April 18, 2015, at 12:15, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: I know the control team has been working on writing new code to try to get it working again. I believe the transmitter has to be commanded on in the state it's in, so maybe they are making another attempt. Check here periodically for updates: http://www.ao27.org/ 73, Paul, N8HM On Sat, Apr 18, 2015 at 3:03 PM, w4upd <updwrb(a)bristor-assoc.com> wrote: > Wondering if anyone has heard about the status of AO-27? Just hear a > telemetry pass over its downlink at about 1900 UTC. > > Reid, W4UPD > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Yaesu G-5500 For Sale
by MICHAEL 18 Apr '15

18 Apr '15

I'm selling a Yaesu G-5500 AZ/EL rotator if anyone maybe interested. Used it less than a year never made a contact. N8GBU --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com

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