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

Re: [amsat-bb] Announcing EO-79 transponder testing for one full orbit
by Wouter Weggelaar 05 May '15

05 May '15

Hi All, I can hereby confirm Tomorrows intended activation of the AMSAT-NL FUNcube-3 transponder on QB50p1 / EO-79. Date and time:Monday 4th of May, activation around 0830 UTC for one orbit. TLEs are in the normal repositories, COSPAR 2014-033-R, Object# 40025 We would like people to try the following frequencies if possible: DOWNLINK: 145.960 USB UPLINK: Tune to match downlink +/- 435.065 LSB The transponder is linear inverting, nominally 30kHz wide, and approx. 500mW output. Also, If you find the transponder busy on those frequencies, feel free to move around and use the entire transponder passband. The passband seems to have a "dip" in the middle which is bigger than expected, but we do welcome feedback about the usability. Also, please limit your uplink power, as it looks like this transponder is as sensitive as FUNcube-1. The spacecraft antenna is a monopole, so we would also be interested in signal fading reports. The comissioning of the transponder done to date is very limited, three activations for 5, 10 and 8 minutes respectively. So your reports are greatly appreciated. We do understand this is a very short notice, but hope that some of you will be able to participate. This was a take-it-or-leave-it opportunity offered by the ISIS engineers for our consideration, and we are again very grateful to ISIS and VKI to give us this opportunity. Wouter PA3WEG FUNcube team On Sun, May 3, 2015 at 12:28 AM, Wouter Weggelaar <wouterweg(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Dear all, > > I would like to inform you all that tomorrow, Monday 4th of may, there is > a fairly high chance we will be allowed to test the AMSAT-NL transponder > for one full orbit. > > Details will be made available on short notice, but we are aiming for an > activation starting at ~08:30 UTC and lasting until ~10:10 UTC. > > The aim is to characterize the power budget on board EO-79. So we > encourage the usage of this new transponder. Please also report the QSOs > and signal reports to pa3weg(a)amsat.org > > Wouter PA3WEG > AMSAT-NL >

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EL84 Dry Tortugas
by Clayton Coleman 04 May '15

04 May '15

W4T has been heard making contacts on SO-50 and FO-29 this afternoon from grid EL84. This is one of the rarer of the 488 grids needed in all of the lower 48 states. He should be there another few days. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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My New Mexico road trip, Saturday (2 May) afternoon/evening - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 04 May '15

04 May '15

Hi! After the Cochise Amateur Radio Association's hamfest wrapped up on Saturday (2 May) morning, I made a stop for lunch and then proceeded on my plan to work some passes from New Mexico. I had asked on Twitter for possible destinations on my post-hamfest drive, and I had just visited two grid boundaries in southeastern Arizona (DM51/DM52, DM52/DM53) in late March after a hamfest in Tucson. One request was made - New Mexico. So I went there... After stopping for lunch, it took about an hour and a half to make the drive just over the Arizona/New Mexico state line. I stopped at the small "town" of Road Forks, New Mexico. The name of the town says it all - it is where the old US-80 highway makes a turn to the south, away from what is now I-10. Not much is here - a small motel with restaurant, and a fireworks shop. I parked at an abandoned truck stop across the road from those businesses, which was in grid DM52mf. I worked two passes from there - FO-29 at 2115 UTC, and AO-7 at 2135 UTC. I worked 9 stations on the FO-29 pass, but was shut out of the AO-7 pass. I could hear some loud and strong CW signals through AO-7, and could occasionally hear my own 5W CW and SSB signals, but no contacts. After those two passes, I got back on I-10 and drove another 63 miles (just over 100km) in the next 50 minutes to reach a truck stop west of Deming at exit 68. This truck stop is a few hundred yards/meters east of 108 degrees West longitude, also known as the DM52xf/DM62af grid boundary. I parked along the side of the south frontage road along I-10, and worked a few passes from here before sunset (and a bad thunderstorm). I started on FO-29 at 2300 UTC. This was another good pass, and I logged 9 QSOs with stations from coast to (almost) coast. The AO-7 pass that came by a few minutes later was also good for me at this location. Unfortunately, after a minute or two of some strong CW, the mode B downlink shut off. Just as the AO-7 downlink shut off, I was visited by a sheriff's deputy. The deputy was curious about what I was doing with radios on the roof of my car, waving an antenna skyward. I explained what I was doing, and the deputy told me that this area was a common route for people after illegally crossing the US/Mexico border south of that area. I told the deputy I had no plans on staying out here into the night, and that satisfied him. He left, and I still didn't hear AO-7 in the last couple of minutes of that pass. There was an ISS pass coming over just before 0000 UTC, so I set up my Kenwood TH-D72A to use that. I saw a few call signs coming through, and was able to make one QSO. I was able to exchange APRS messages with Brad KG7NXH in the Phoenix area. This was a bonus, although I am finding I can make a QSO or two on many ISS passes with just my TH-D72A lately. One of these days, I will set up my laptop or one of my tablets so I can use a larger keyboard and screen for those passes. Until then, I'll have fun making packet QSOs with just the HT and antenna. After the ISS made its pass, I planned on working two SO-50 passes from here. The first of the passes, around 0045 UTC, went across the northern and eastern sky, covering the continental USA. I logged 8 QSOs on this pass, including one with KG7NXH who I worked on the earlier ISS pass. After that, the later SO-50 pass around 0225 UTC that covered the west coast added 3 more QSOs. As this later pass started, a strong wind and rain started. After logging the last QSO on that pass, I quickly put my gear in the back seat of my car, and drove back to the truck stop. I did a better job of stowing my gear, with the cover over the gas pumps shielding me from the rain. Including a stop for fuel and a late dinner, it took about 4 hours to drive home from Deming. I was "treated" to a thunderstorm complete with strong winds and rain for the first 30 minutes of the drive. I wish I had a video camera running for this part of my drive, because the light show was awesome. By the time I reached the Arizona state line, the rain and strong winds stopped. Except for some road construction on I-10 as I reached the edge of the Phoenix area, I was able to set the cruise control and make good time on the drive home. I have uploaded all of my QSOs from Saturday - at the hamfest, and from these two locations in New Mexico - to Logbook of the World. If you worked me and would like to receive a QSL card, please e-mail me off-list with the QSO details. If you are in my log, I will gladly send a QSL card. No need to first send me a card and/or SASE. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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What preamp to use for SO-50 and Arrow II antenna?
by Bill ACITO, W1PA 04 May '15

04 May '15

Late, but... I have an ARR (Advanced Receiver Research) 432 RF-switched pre-amp hanging from the UHF side of my Arrow with its own 12V NiMH pack. I went "switched" in case I do something stupid. I wear a mic-headset (YH2) and run the FT-530 in my right hand, and hold the Arrow in my left. I've rigged up patch cables that run HT audio (thru a 60db pad) into one side of my stereo digital recorder, and ambient audio (from a mic) into the other so I can isolate what I said and what I heard. Some of my log recordings are a great argument for full-duplex; e.g. I can hear clearly and immediately if a letter got lost and I need to repeat my grid a second time --- especially running 5W. The FT530 does not de-sense and I can clearly hear my own downlink in the headset. With the pre-amp, clean sky and polarization match, SO-50 is full scale into the FT-530 RX. Where it helps is when I have trees and a less than optimal horizon (pretty common in New England). I ran the same on AO-51 and AO-27 and could copy right down to the horizon, easily working into Europe. Bill W1PA

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Cochise A.R.A. hamfest on 2 May 2015 - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 04 May '15

04 May '15

Hi! On Saturday, 2 May 2015, I had an AMSAT table at the Cochise Amateur Radio Association's annual hamfest in Sierra Vista, Arizona. This hamfest is held at the club's property on the edge of Sierra Vista, where there are a couple of buildings, some towers, and an empty lot that was divided between parking and space for sellers to display their equipment. In past years, the lot had lots of empty space. This year, it was almost full. A good turnout for the half-day event. During the morning, I had satellite demonstrations on SO-50, AO-73, and the packet/APRS digipeater on the ISS. There were good crowds for the passes I worked - three on SO-50, two on AO-73, and one ISS pass. It is always nice to have AO-73 available for daytime passes on the weekends, since that helped to show the differences between working it and FM satellites - in particular, equipment and operating techniques. Thanks to everyone who called and worked WD9EWK during those passes. For the ISS, I was able to complete two quick QSOs using APRS messages from my TH-D72A HT with KO6TZ in southern California and N7NEV near Phoenix. I'm finding that there are some who actually are at their keyboards/radios for ISS passes, beyond the automatic beacons that seem to dominate the passes. I wasn't the only satellite operator at the hamfest. Leo W7JPI had a table set up to sell some old gear. John K8YSE was also at the hamfest, and he worked WD9EWK from each of his stations (K8YSE in Ohio/EN91, K8YSE in Arizona/DM43) using a laptop and a WiFi hotspot not far from my table. It was fun - and funny - to point him out to the crowd ("Did you hear K8YSE/7 and K8YSE on that pass? He's sitting over there, using each of his stations remotely."). Talking about the recent announcements for the transponders on all 5 Fox-1 satellites, plus the plans for a geosynchronous payload, made for great conversation throughout the morning. With Fox-1A's launch approaching, the Fox-1A flyer was a popular item at my table. My "job" is much easier with all of these satellite projects to talk about. :-) Thanks to Kurt Edelman KF7PDV and the Cochise Amateur Radio Association for their hospitality. I have been making the trip to Sierra Vista and hosting an AMSAT table at this hamfest since 2008, and it is nice to see the hams in that part of Arizona every year. Thanks also to John K8YSE for using both of his stations to work me during that SO-50 pass. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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EO-79 Report
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 04 May '15

04 May '15

Hi all, Report on EO-73 transponder operation 0830 hrs UTC 4/515 ( My location Wales -UK -IO81EM. At 0833 hrs UTC, I heard Peter 2E0SQL calling CQ on downlink frequency 145.964 Mhz. He was 5/9 but I could also hear some other burst of noise? - Due to my terrain and obstructions I could not get access into the satellite but will try again on the next pass which is a much higher elevation. Congratulation to the team and to Peter of course for his success. Ken Eaton GW1FKY

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Further Report EO-79
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 04 May '15

04 May '15

Hi , Further report EO-79 from here in Wales 1000 hrs pass ( aprox) . I hear Peter ( 2E0SQL ) and Mike ( G0MJW ) both 5/9 but again with noise. As they checked out with one another at 1005 hrs zulu - Appeared to lose any activity, I was not expecting to shut down on the transponder until 1010 GMT as per schedule. Not able to get into the transponder for some reason. My gear is OK and I am accessing AO-7 and FO-29. Strange also using the same transponder frequencies as AO-73 ?? Well done once again to those involved. Ken GW1FKY

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FODTrack with G-5500 Rotator
by Gary Mayfield 03 May '15

03 May '15

Well, I saw my last message so I will try again. I have FODTrack controller that I use with SatPC32 v12.6 on a WindowsME laptop. Old, I know, but it works just fine and has worked fine for many years with a G-5400 rotator.. Newer versions of SatPC32 do not like WindowsME and newer operating systems do not like the FODTrack. We intend to drag it out to Field Day for the ooh and awe factor of automatic rotator control. Unfortunately I will be working with kb0lcr's G-5500 rotators instead of my G-5400 rotators as I am too lazy to take the 5400 down. Is there a way to make the FODTrack work with the G-5500 rotator and its different azimuth scale? Thanks and 73, Joe kk0sd

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Help decoding/understanding terrestrial packet heard on ISS freq 145.825 MHz
by John Brier 03 May '15

03 May '15

Thanks for all the responses on SO-50 preamps and portable setups. I'm still digesting the info. TL;DR: I heard automated packet transmissions on the ISS packet frequency when the ISS wasn't in sight and recorded them to try and figure out who/what they are, but my software isn't decoding anything. Can you help me understand what they were, or even better, decode them yourself? http://cupcakecarnival.net/sites/default/files/New_Jersey_Terrestrial_Packe… http://cupcakecarnival.net/sites/default/files/New_Jersey_Terrestrial_Packe… Here's another question that has me excited: Yesterday after having visited with family in Maplewood, New Jersey for several days, I drove home to North Carolina. I knew there was an ISS pass at 10:26 AM/1426 UTC, right when I started my trip, so I tuned to 145.825 MHz and heard its digipeater easily. Then I left the radio on. I'm not sure where I was in NJ, but about one hour later, around 11:33 AM local/1533 UTC, I heard packet on the frequency again but I was confused because there weren't supposed to be any more passes for a while. I confirmed on my phone that the ISS was over some far away ocean at the time I was hearing these new transmissions, so I knew they must be terrestrial. Still, it seemed odd that someone or something was transmitting when the ISS wasn't in sight... Maybe it's an internet gateway I thought. Or do people leave their stations on the ISS frequency 24/7 so they can "work" any pass that happens? I tried recording videos of the transmissions for later decoding to figure out who or what it was. Eventually I realized it was transmitting every 2 minutes. It was almost certainly an automated setup, adding credence to the idea that this was an internet gateway. Unfortunately, before I realized that, and after recording one video of it, the best reception I received during my drive by "pass," I wasn't recording. As I drove further away it only got weaker and weaker. I did manage to get two half way decent recordings of it, but I have tried decoding them with Soundmodem on Windows and it's not printing out anything like it normally does. I am very new to packet, only becoming interested in it because the ISS uses it, so I thought maybe someone else might be more equipped to decode it. Or certainly someone could shed some light on what I heard, maybe the operator in NJ is on this list. I used Audacity to record the audio off the videos I made as well trim and amplify the audio, but I haven't done anything else, though if someone wants the unedited videos I can put them up too. http://cupcakecarnival.net/sites/default/files/New_Jersey_Terrestrial_Packe… http://cupcakecarnival.net/sites/default/files/New_Jersey_Terrestrial_Packe… John Brier, KG4AKV, Raleigh, NC, FM05

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A good day
by Steve Kristoff 03 May '15

03 May '15

Digipeated through the ISS, QSOs on SO-50, and downloaded telemetry from AO-73 all before noon today. It's been a good amateur radio satellite day. Update for those who were part of a past thread: I put up an M2 Eggbeater on top of my house. It works better for me on the ISS and AO-73 than did my 5/8 wave vertical. Basically, it's doing what I hoped it would do. (SO-50 is still a backyard with the Arrow antenna adventure.) Someday in the future I will likely go full bore and get myself a rotor, etc., but, for now, I'm a happy camper. Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof(a)etczone.com

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