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

report rx NO-84
by LW8EXS 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

22:18 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [19:18:19R] T#565,869,074,525,848,820,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [19:18:56R] !54 . N\111 . ES090/999/W3ADO s#013924,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [19:20:21R] T#567,867,073,523,852,818,00011100 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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July/August AMSAT Journal
by Rick Walter 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

Just received the very nice July/August AMSAT journal in the mail today at Lancaster, PA. Lots of great pictures and large content. Congratulations to all involved that create this fine publication for us! Rick - WB3CSY Sent from Rick's iPhone 5 "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds" - Albert Einstein

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report RX NO-84
by LW8EXS 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

15:42 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [12:38:07R] !05 . S\078 . WS120/999/W3ADO s#013652,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [12:38:07R] s#013652,0z290,efGhaadHAEDIcgGgceeI0AEJchGgdgeIbbFJ 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [12:39:24R] T#172,896,073,615,789,834,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [12:39:41R] !08 . S\072 . WS120/999/W3ADO s#013653,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [12:39:41R] s#013653,0z290,aeHehEfbgeIAaDJdhFgdgfJacEKdiGfehfJc 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [12:41:26R] T#174,894,071,628,768,832,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [12:42:27R] T#175,902,074,633,763,830,00011100 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Making Reservations
by Martha 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

I have been in contact with the Crowne Plaza in Dayton. Our original Sales Manager is gone! Information she gave us turns out to be incorrect. To make reservations for the AMSAT Space Symposium call 1-800-689-5586 and ask for the AMSAT block. I have been assured by Nicole (our new Sales Manager) that this will work. -- 73- Martha

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EM97 Activation
by James Lea - WX4TV 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

I will be working in West Virginia in EM97 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this week and will work as many SO-50 passes as I can. If anyone needs that grid, let me know and I will let you know when I will be on the satellite. 73, James

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NO-84?
by Steve Kristoff 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

I'm making no claim to be the expert on this, but it looks like the voltage on NO-84 has stabilized. Haven't seen anything below 7 volts for a while. Can we anticipate that it will be open for digipeating in the near (or semi-near) future? Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof(a)etczone.com

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AO73 2m passband
by John Geiger 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

What are the downlink passband frequencies for AO73. They seem to be different than I was saw on the Amsat website. 73 John AF5CC

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FUNcube-1 now in autonomous mode
by Graham Shirville 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

Just to advise that FUNcube-1 is now operating in autonomous mode. 73 Graham G3VZV

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PR8ZX (GI64gl) QRV this afternoon
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

Good afternoon, Pedro, PR8ZX, tells me he will be on FO-29 and AO-7 this afternoon from his home QTH - GI64 - looking for North American stations. If you need it and you have a window, look for him. 73, Paul, N8HM

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ANS-235 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-235 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: * Launch Date for AMSAT Fox-1A * Satellite Antennas and the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 * CubeSat Developers' Workshop Presentations Online * JAXA H-II Transport Vehicle to Deliver Two ESA Cubesats * IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies * IARU Region 3 Act on Band Plan Satellite Allocations * AMSAT Satellite Communications Awards * Send Your Name to Mars on NASA's Next Red Planet Mission SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-235.01 ANS-235 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 235.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. August 23, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-214.01 Launch Date for AMSAT Fox-1A Jeru Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President of Engineering advises that AMSAT has been informed that the launch of Fox-1A is now scheduled for October 8. No other details are available at this time. [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Antennas and the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 AMSAT members are encouraged to contact their congressional representatives and senators, asking them to sign on to The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 as a co-sponsor. Passage of the Act (currently consisting of bills in both the House and Senate) will directly benefit AMSAT members and likely help us grow our membership numbers. Putting satellites in orbit is only half the challenge of "working the birds." Reaching them with an appropriate ground station is the other half. Many of us living in housing developments, condos or apartments would love to have a fixed station antenna system but are severely limited by restrictive CC&Rs that forbid outside antennas. We are relegated to working ISS, SO-50 and future LEO satellites with Arrows, Elks and HTs. The Radio Amateur Parity Act of 2015 would not give Amateurs "carte blanche" to do whatever they wished in terms of erecting radio antennas where they now are prohibited. But it would eliminate blanket prohibitions, requiring HOAs and other private land use regulators to extend reasonable accommodation to Amateurs who want to erect antennas. The ARRL is leading on this issue for the larger Amateur Radio community. Sample letters for the U.S. House and Senate, along with instructions for their use. can be found at this link: http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act [ANS thanks Joe Neil Kornowski, KB6IGK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSat Developers' Workshop Presentations Online The 12th Annual Summer CubeSat Developers’ Workshop was a great success!! The Workshop feedback has been amazing, and truly underscores the efforts of all who participated, from the engaging, entertaining, and provocative technical presentations to the incredible networking opportunities. Thank you to all Presenters, Attendees, Sponsors, Live Stream Viewers, and Organizers! Your contribution was invaluable to the success of the Workshop and greatly appreciated! For those of you who could not make it, or for those of you who want to review what you saw, all presentations can be found online on cubesat.org with a link to the video of the presentation. Please join us at the 13th Annual Spring Developers’ Workshop at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA from April 20-22, 2016. [ANS thanks The CubeSat Workshop Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- JAXA H-II Transport Vehicle to Deliver Two ESA Cubesats Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) launch of its H-II Transport Vehicle (HTV)-5 to the International Space Station on Wednesday, Aug. 19 included two cubesats. These satellites will then be deployed together into space in the first half of September, with the involvement of Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen. Both CubeSats originated from Denmark. GOMX-3 is a 3U Cubesat. The mission and its payloads will be used for story telling and teaching. It will include an ADS-B receiver, magnetometer data, solar cells and green energy and radio operation. An experimental X Band transmitter plus an SDR receiver will also be carried. GOMX-3 downlink: 437.250 MHz with 1k2-9k6 GMSK data from a NanoCom AX100 using CSP protocol. AAUSAT-5 is a 1 unit cubesat. The primary mission is to receive AIS beacons from ships with a new design based on AAUSAT-3. In addition to that a educational payload for high school outreach was designed by engineering students. The AIS receiver payload is based on SDR principles. Once deployed from the ISS it is expected to remain in orbit for approx 6 months. AAUSAT-5 downlink: 437.425 MHz, GMSK telemetry. Danish Ministry of Science and Education, House of Natural Sciences http://nvhus.dk/house-of-natural-sceinces.aspx ESA Cubesat launch announcement: http://tinyurl.com/ESA-Gomx SpaceRef.com article about AAUSAT-5: http://tinyurl.com/AAUSAT-Article [ANS thanks ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies The IARU have announced they are committed to only coordinate satellite frequencies within the internationally aligned IARU band plans. The two metre amateur band is one of the most popular and populated bands in all the spectrum allocated to the amateur and amateur satellite services. This recently led to a request by satellite builders for coordination outside the spectrum reserved for satellites in the IARU band plans (145.800 – 146.000 MHz) as not enough channels are available to satisfy their requirements. The IARU Satellite Adviser, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV and his advisory panel are mandated to coordinate frequencies within the IARU band plans for amateur satellites. Coordinated frequencies must comply with band plans that are common to all three IARU Regions Satellites coordinated outside these plans could cause interference to terrestrial amateur operations in other regions. In theory satellites could be programmed so that they only operate over their country of origin. Because satellite orbits make it difficult to pinpoint operations, spill over to other Regions may occur during parts of the orbit. Accordingly, IARU will not coordinate frequencies for satellites which are planned to operate outside the internationally aligned IARU band plans for amateur satellites. The IARU offers frequency coordination in an effort to maximise spectrum utilisation and avoid possible interference to other satellites and ground stations. The IARU requests that satellite groups work on a sharing plan or use other parts of the amateur service spectrum designated for satellite operation. When a large group of satellite sharing the same band are launched, they will soon drift apart which enhances the opportunity to share the same frequencies. For example, during the initial phase, just after launch, a time sharing system could be used to monitor the payloads before initialising transponders and other systems. For instance, the 10 metre band, once popular with satellite builders, is today not significantly used. The band segment 29.300-29.510 MHz has been used for amateur-satellite downlinks for more than 40 years, beginning with Australis- OSCAR 5 in 1970 and AMSAT-OSCAR 6, AMSAT’s first communications satellite, in 1972. The band segment was very popular for downlinks in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, only one amateur satellite actively uses a 29 MHz downlink: AMSAT-OSCAR 7, launched in 1974 [and RS-15 on 29.3525 MHz – Editor]. While a 29 MHz downlink would not be practical for today’s very small satellites, owing to the size of the antenna required, the band could be used very practically for uplinks even with small receiving antennas, because transmitting power at the earth station is easy to obtain. The IARU Satellite Adviser and his panel believe that the 10 metre band offers a good alternative to 2 metre uplinks Currently the IARU team also coordinates frequencies for satellites built by universities and educational groups in an effort to maximise spectrum utilisation and mitigate any possible interference to Amateur Radio operations. The IARU is committed to work with these groups and with the ITU to find other spectrum for these satellites. Rod Stafford W6ROD Secretary International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) [ANS thanks Rod, W6ROD, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Region 3 Act on Band Plan Satellite Allocations The IARU Region 3 (Asia/Pacific) Directors have submitted a band plan paper concerning amateur satellite allocations for consideration at the IARU Region 3 Conference which takes place October 12-16 in Bali, Indonesia. This is the 16th Conference and it will be hosted by the Amateur Radio Organisation of Indonesia (ORARI). 60 Premier and 12 Suite hotel rooms have been booked at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel which is described as being situated in Sanur, the secretly sophisticated side of Bali. ORARI plans to run a special event station YB16IARU from October 11-16 from the conference and the delegates will be taken on a tour of Bali. The President of ORARI, Sutiyoso YB0ST, says: “It’s an exciting time for us as we continue to grow and thrive, remaining always adaptable, motivated and responsive. The world of amateur radio is an exciting area in which to work and play, and we’ll continue to meet and bring inspired people together in forums like this, to ensure IARU Region 3 remains at the cutting edge.” The changes proposed by IARU Region 3 Directors would appear to prohibit the use of the Amateur Satellite Service channel 144.490 MHz as an uplink for crewed space missions. Use of this channel was agreed by IARU Region 3 some 20 years ago but the new paper says: “Note 2: The other portion of the band 144.035-145.8 MHz is exclusively identified for the amateur service.” At the same time IARU Region 3 had agreed the crewed space mission downlink channel would be 145.800 MHz using 5 kHz deviation FM with a Doppler shift of +/- 3.75 kHz. The paper does not record this. Read the IARU R3 Directors amateur satellite band plan paper at http://www.iaru- r3.org/16r3c/docs/022%20Modification%20to%20R3%20Band%20Plan.docx The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) have presented a satellite band plan paper, see http://www.iaru-r3.org/16r3c/docs/023%20Changes%20to%20R3%20Bandplan.docx Other papers submitted for the conference may be seen at http://iaru-r3.org/16th-triennial-conference-of-the-iaru-r3-documents/ 16th IARU R3 Conference http://www.iarur3conf2015.org/ IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/20/iaru-coordination-of-satellite-frequencies/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Satellite Communications Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards provided the following corrected list of AMSAT Satellite Communications Award recipients as an update to the list previously published in ANS-228. Steve Kristoff, AI9IN #564 Frank Westphal, K6FW #565 Fraser Bonnett, W3UTD #566 Carlton Noll, KA4H #567 (also a new member to AMSAT) [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Send Your Name to Mars on NASA's Next Red Planet Mission Mars enthusiasts around the world can participate in NASA’s journey to Mars by adding their names to a silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA's InSight Mars lander, scheduled to launch next year. "Our next step in the journey to Mars is another fantastic mission to the surface," said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By participating in this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you're showing that you're part of that journey and the future of space exploration." Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 8. To send your name to Mars aboard InSight, go to: http://go.usa.gov/3Aj3G The fly-your-name opportunity comes with “frequent flier” points to reflect an individual's personal participation in NASA’s journey to Mars, which will span multiple missions and multiple decades. The InSight mission offers the second such opportunity for space exploration fans to collect points by flying their names aboard a NASA mission, with more opportunities to follow. Last December, the names of 1.38 million people flew on a chip aboard the first flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts to deep space destinations including Mars and an asteroid. After InSight, the next opportunity to earn frequent flier points will be NASA's Exploration Mission-1, the first planned test flight bringing together the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule in preparation for human missions to Mars and beyond. InSight will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in March 2016 and land on Mars Sept. 28, 2016. The mission is the first dedicated to the investigation of the deep interior of the planet. It will place the first seismometer directly on the surface of Mars to measure Martian quakes and use seismic waves to learn about the planet's interior. It also will deploy a self- hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet. These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth. For additional information about the InSight mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/insight/main/index.html You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: https://www.facebook.com/NASAInSight and https://twitter.com/nasainsight [ANS thanks NASA 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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Maybe Activating Blueridge parkway in North Carolina
by John Brier 22 Aug '15

22 Aug '15

I'm headed to the parkway mainly to get closer to the Arizona ARISS contact happening this afternoon but I'll have my gear to get on SO-50 for perhaps both Sat and Sun depending on when I decide to come back home to Raleigh. Looks like grids EM96, EM95 and EM85. No promises as I haven't even looked up if there are passes but if you need those grids look out for me! John, KG4AKV

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Servo Based Rotator for $375
by Bill Attwood 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

After fielding a number of questions about my light-duty rotator I finally got around to making a bit of a parts list, etc. I've posted it at https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=118737 for anyone interested. I do hope to clean up the instructions and add some photos as time permits! 73, Bill VE6WK --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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how can I decode packet thru a Funcube?
by Bob KD7YZ 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

I want to monitor a few satellites by using my Funcube Dongle Pro Plus on a different computer. I have a spare antenna, an M2 2m440XP ? I've tried setting the FCDP+ to a frequency with their own controlling device then letting MixW or UISS/Soundmodem listen ... but nothing gets decoded. Is this even possible? 73, -- Bob KD7YZ http://www.qrz.com/db/kd7yz AMSAT LM#901

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HH8/KD8CAO Haiti
by John Papay 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

The last satellite operation by Doug, HH8/KD8CAO, will be on the Friday afternoon passes of FO-29 and SO-50. He is still working on the radio station there and hopes to have everything completed before they leave the island on Saturday. He has also been working HF pileups on 14251 in the evenings with the 5W FT817 and a dipole antenna. Conditions have been good to the US and many satellite op's have made an HF contact with him. No operation is planned for tonight. 73, John K8YSE

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KX9X/m this weekend
by Sean Kutzko 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

Hi all- I'll be heading back to CT beginning Saturday morning. Will take a couple days to pass through the following grids on my way home: EN92 FN02 FN03 FN13 FN23 Will be on SO50 and FO29. for FO29, I'm half-duplex, transmitting on 145.930. Hope to work you. Sent from Sean's iPad

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FN53
by Andrew Glasbrenner 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

I will be on FO29 and probably SO50 on the early morning passes tomorrow from Bath, Maine. There have been some other ops up higher in the passband where I normally go, plus I will be paying attention for Europe early in the pass, so I may be in the middle or slightly below the middle of the passband. I'm only running 5watts from a pair of 817s and an Arrow antenna, so listen closely :-). Thanks, and 73, Drew KO4MA/1 Sent from my iPhone

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Ariane 5 Launch Webcast Today
by JoAnne Maenpaa 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

Not an amateur radio payload today, but if you enjoy the rumble in the Amazon Jungle of an Ariane launch tune into http://arianespace.tv/ at 19:56 UTC. Ariane 5 will orbit 2 satellites: EUTELSAT 8 West for EUTELSAT, and Intelsat 34 for INTELSAT. It will be launched from the Ariane 5 launch complex N° 3 (ELA3), in Kourou, French Guiana. Webcast begins at 19:56 UTC. Launch is planned for a window between 20:10 to 21:56 UTC. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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ISS and H-II Transfer Vehicle Both Eyeball Visible
by JoAnne Maenpaa 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ is a cool tool to find the times that the ISS and the H-II transfer vehicle are eyeball visible for the next few days. H-II and ISS are about 10 minutes apart (with H-II flying by first) from an earthling's point of view. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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KX9X/m grid update
by Sean Kutzko 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

Hi all- I'll be on SO 50 today from the EN60/EM69 line in rural Illinois today from 1616-1950z today. Will also try FO29 half duplex passes, but in having trouble getting that to work. I will transmit on 145.930 and trying to listen as I can. I also need suggestions for Sunday activations. I'll be staying Saturday night in Erie, PA, EN92. Won't get there in time for Saturday's SO50 afternoon passes. What else in that neck of the woods do people need? FN23 is as far north as I can go. Be sure to log me as KX9X/x for LOTW uploads, this includes KX9X/9 for today's activation. Sean KX9X Sent from Sean's iPad

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IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies
by M5AKA 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

The IARU have announced they are committed to only coordinate satellite frequencies within the internationally aligned IARU band plans http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/20/iaru-coordination-of-satellite-frequencies/ Rad1o 50-4000 MHz SDR Transceiver video features AMSAT-TAPR Banquet speaker Michael Ossmann AD0NR http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/13/michael-ossmann-chaos-computer-camp/ Amateur Radio Allocations Discussed http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/13/amateur-radio-allocations-discussed/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Re: [amsat-bb] ST2 Fox Delta vs lightning
by Kevin M 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

Thinking more about the possible 'mechanism of damage', I removed the RS-232 driver chip and the current draw dropped down below 100 mA where I'm sure it belongs. So I am (still) manually adjusting rotors until I can get that replaced. Of course, I'll need to check and make sure the serial board in the computer is working okay as well. 73 all, Kevin N4UFO

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Hawaii on FO-29?
by Mark Johns 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

My tracking software shows a brief FO-29 mutual window with Hawaii and much of the Midwest and Western mainland U.S. in about an hour. Anyone in the aloha state on SSB satellite? -- Mark D. Johns, KØMDJ Decorah, Iowa USA EN43 ----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ---Mark Twain

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Danish CubeSats head to ISS + other news links
by M5AKA 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Danish CubeSats head for ISS. They are expected to be deployed in September by Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ who attended the 2009 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/19/danish-cubesats-head-for-iss/ Newspaper story - School students decode ISS images http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/19/school-students-decode-iss-images/ UKHAS Conference on Saturday http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/17/ukhas-conference-on-saturday/ RSGB Letter to PC Pro Magazine mentions satellites and FUNcube http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/15/rsgb-pc-pro-letter/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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ST2 Fox Delta vs lightning
by Kevin M 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Hello all! I had a lightning storm roll through today... radios and gear were powered down but the computer was not. Not sure what the mechanism was, but either my Yaesu rotor controller or my Fox Delta ST2 has suffered a failure. I tried hooking up a 12V wall wart to the ST-2 and I can get the standard display, albeit the brightness is off (due to voltage being off, I now know)... the buttons work, readings are within the ball park, etc. Simply put, it's still working, just something is off somewhere. - So with the ST2 connected and checking voltages I can see that the ST2 is dragging down the voltages from the Yaesu controller considerably... The 12v line (actually measuring ~15.8v when unconnected) drops to 5.5 volts and when I check the current draw it's around 350-400 mA. Hooking up the wall wart and checking again, I find the 12v wall wart (measuring 12.1V when open) drops to 5.7v when connected and shows a current draw of around 600 mA. The wall wart is rated at 420mA and since I am using a 10A scale to measure, sounds about right... it's pulling max current. And clearly the wall wart is capable of supplying more current than the Yaesu controller. -So what I don't know, are normals... Does anyone know the normal current draw of the ST2? (serial RS-232 version, if it matters). I can't imagine it being that high since it is mounted without heatsink! But I wanted to make sure before I go tearing into the ST-2 to diagnose it. I suspect the 7805 has gone wonky, but still functioning... although it could be something else has shorted. - Thanks in advance for saving me some time and headache! 73, Kevin N4UFO

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HH8/KD8CAO
by John Papay 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Doug just emailed that he will try to be on the next FO-29 at 2105utc. He has been very busy working on the radio station in Jacmel and hasn't been able to get on the afternoon passes. Several satellite ops including N8MH, W5PFG, N8RO and KE8AKW worked him on 14251 last night after 0000z. He might be on again tonight. Conditions to the US were very good and his 5W FT817 and dipole were doing an amazing job. He worked 3 ZL's that I heard as well. Hopefully he will be more active Thursday and Friday on the birds. They leave Saturday. 73, John K8YSE

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report RX PSAT ( NO-84 ) 20:12 utc
by LW8EXS 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

report RX PSAT ( NO-84 ) 20:12 utc Soft Ui-View: 17:12:41R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=1 <UI Len=50>: !02 . N\132 . ES040/999/W3ADO s#009002,0z290 17:12:41R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=2 <UI Len=50>: !02 . N\132 . ES040/999/W3ADO s#009002,0z290 17:12:42R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=1 <UI Len=52>: s#009002,0z290,MBJeEOLiHmaONfKnhLMaNnkIJCOllHbIPimJ 17:12:42R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=2 <UI Len=52>: s#009002,0z290,MBJeEOLiHmaONfKnhLMaNnkIJCOllHbIPimJ Soft Soundmodem: 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [17:12:41R] !02 . N\132 . ES040/999/W3ADO s#009002,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [17:12:42R] s#009002,0z290,MBJeEOLiHmaONfKnhLMaNnkIJCOllHbIPimJ 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [17:13:03R] T#349,898,074,539,844,848,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [17:14:04R] T#350,869,074,538,850,848,00011100 73s de LW8EXS Buenos Aires - Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Canadian Satellite Launch Platform
by Bill Booth 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Maybe it will come to pass and enable a lot more hamsats ..... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/canadian-company-patent-build-space-e… -- Bill Booth VE3NXK Sundridge ON, Canada 79.23.37 W x 45.46.18 N FN05ns Visit my weather WebCam at http://www.almaguin.com/wxcurrent/weather.html Organ and Tissue Donation - The Gift of Life Talk to your family. Your decision can make a difference.

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report RX PSAT ( NO-84 )
by LW8EXS 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

16:56 utc 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [16:56:39R] s#008865,0z290,DeMJCJDfMICKEiKC0LGiJceMHgJifLCcLkhJ 73s de LW8EXS Buenos Aires – Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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When Might ISS Radios Be Off
by E.Mike McCardel 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Friends, I often see threads on this board an others, as well as social media, pondering why there is no signal from the ISS amateur radios. In lieu of yesterday's Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s H-IIB rocket launch which will rendezvous with the ISS later this week I offer the following flight rules which were provided by Kenneth Ransom N5VHO and were reported in the ANS-313 November 9, 2014. I believe this information explains most of the times when the amateur radios on the ISS are off. Pay attention to ISS announcements for EVAs and dockings and Robotic Arm usage and you will know, most of the time,when the radios will be off. Sites for information include: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/index.html http://www.ariss.org http://http://www.issfanclub.com/ Did You Know... Current flight rules require all the ham radios to be off during an EVA. Technically, the VHF radios needs to be off for Russian EVAs and the UHF radio needs to be off for US EVAs. For dockings and undockings, again the ISS operates under a flight rule that has the VHF/UHF radios off for Progress, Soyuz and ATV vehicle activity. Note that Cygnus, Dragon, HTV and formerly the Shuttle did not require the radios to be off. For Ham TV, already mentioned is that it will be off for any EVA. It needs to be off for ATV (the last one November) docking and undocking. It also has to be off when the Robotics arm is in close proximity. 73, EMike E. Michael McCardel, KC8YLD V.P. for Educational Relations, AMSAT-NA Have you donated to get your Fox-1 Challenge Coin Yet? http://www.amsat.org/?p=3275

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Sat Software on Windows 10
by Fraser Bonnett 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Took the plunge and upgraded my Ham Shack PC (Win 8.1 x64) to Windows 10. Other than switching a few Com Ports around, everything seems good to go: 1. SatPC32 v12.8c and all sub programs like WinAOS and ISS SatPC32 2. Rotor Controller EA4TX ARS-USB 3. AGW Packet Engine 4. UISS 5.4.0d 5. UIView32 v2.03 6. APRSIS32 7. Orbitron 8. Icom IC-9100 9. HRD 10. DM780 11. SDRConsole (V2) with a Funcube Plus Dongle Pretty much everything that ran under Win 8.1 is running under Win10 with no apparent issues so far. 73, Fraser --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Re: [amsat-bb] [VHFcontesting] Waterproof diplexers
by ww8rr 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Both the Diamond and Comet line of diplexers look weather resistant enough.I have used the Diamond type before and really pleased with insertion losses. RonWW8RR From my Samsung Galaxy S4 -------- Original message -------- From: John Geiger <af5cc2(a)gmail.com> Date: 08/18/2015 10:20 PM (GMT-05:00) To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, vhf contesting <vhfcontesting(a)contesting.com>, Chris Boone via VHF <vhf(a)w6yx.stanford.edu> Subject: [VHFcontesting] Waterproof diplexers Does anyone know of any waterproof diplexers that could be used to feed separate 2m and 70cm antennas with a single coax run? 73 John AF5CC _______________________________________________ VHFcontesting mailing list VHFcontesting(a)contesting.com http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting

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Waterproof diplexers
by John Geiger 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Does anyone know of any waterproof diplexers that could be used to feed separate 2m and 70cm antennas with a single coax run? 73 John AF5CC

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Extraordinary Night in Mission Viejo, CA
by Clint Bradford 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

It was a standing room-only crowd of more than 50 last night for my satellite presentation for the SOARA club in Mission Viejo, CA. But what made it truly unique was that 24 attendees passed their Technician tests right before the satellite show ... as well as a couple additional upgrade licenses! SOARA has a wonderful history in the region - and has also been a Special Service Club of the ARRL since 1975. I took a "poll" of how long the attending members have been hams, and there was literally hundreds and hundreds of years of experience present - all excited to welcome the new hams and assist in any aspect of the hobby that crops up. NUMEROUS plugs for the ARRL, AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-UK, and ARISS interspersed throughout the show. And - as always - the Q&A afterward was exciting. THANK YOU to SOARA for the invitation ... AND for weather that was about 20 degrees cooler than staying home tonight! (grin) Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by Paul Stoetzer 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Good evening, As we're nearly two months pass the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, transponder time is increasing on evening passes over North America. Here in Washington, DC, on the 0155Z pass, I had 6 minutes and 10 seconds of pass time from AOS until the satellite entered sunlight and the transponder switched off. I heard and worked PV8DX at my AOS, but no other stations were heard. AO-73 is currently the only amateur satellite consistently available during regular evening hours, even if not for an entire pass, so let's hear some more activity! It's really quite an easy satellite to work with the strong downlink. 73, Paul, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by W M Willoughby 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

Thanks for the L band upconverter info, Jerry. When the time is right, I would probably like to ask one of the developers to write an article for the AMSAT Journal (I am helping Joanne as an Assistant Editor). So, please keep that in mind and let me know who might prepare such an article to inform our membership.

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by W M Willoughby 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

Good info on AO-73 - maybe that will help get some more activity on the transponder. Relative to Nayif-1, I need to be thinking about an up-converter and an antenna for L band. Anyone have any recommendations?

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by Paul Stoetzer 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

If you need more than 5 watts to hit 25 watts ERP (AMSAT-UK's recommended power), then feel free to up the output as needed! I find I can get in with no problems using 5 watts to the Arrow even down to a couple of degrees as long as there are no obstructions in the way (tree leaves love to suck up 70cm signals, a medium deciduous tree can attenuate 70cm signals by 10.5 dB, so feel free to compensate for this too if you're beaming into trees). Of course, I am using only 6' of LMR-240 and can switch polarity quickly as necessary as I'm holding the antenna. As far as the other FUNcube transponders - 2 of them are already flying (UKube-1 and EO-79 have the other two). They share the same design and likely exhibit the same frequency instability. As the satellites are different (within a 3U and 2U cubesat, respectively) the temperatures may stay a bit more stable, but we'll have to wait and see when they are made available for general use. FUNcube on Nayif-1 will have an improved design and should be more stable. FUNcube on ESEO will be an L/V FM transponder, so it will be different from the other four FUNcube units. 73, Paul, N8HM On Tuesday, August 18, 2015, W M Willoughby <redski(a)bellsouth.net> wrote: > Same story here, Michael. Manual tuning is the only way I ever hear my > signal, but then only above about 30 degrees elevation. I don't have the > same troubles on FO-29, etc. One problem I am in the process of fixing is > high loss feedlines. Since I am very cautious about using the recommended > low power, my EIRP is very low. But, the feedlines should be replaced soon > with LMR-400. I hope the other four Funcubes that are in the pipeline will > not be as peculiar as AO-73. > > _______________________________________________ > 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://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in NorthernHemisphere
by W M Willoughby 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

Same story here, Michael. Manual tuning is the only way I ever hear my signal, but then only above about 30 degrees elevation. I don't have the same troubles on FO-29, etc. One problem I am in the process of fixing is high loss feedlines. Since I am very cautious about using the recommended low power, my EIRP is very low. But, the feedlines should be replaced soon with LMR-400. I hope the other four Funcubes that are in the pipeline will not be as peculiar as AO-73.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Activation of transponder on EO-79
by Fraser Bonnett 17 Aug '15

17 Aug '15

On a 60 degree pass at 15:20 UTC (Aug 16) I did manage to hear myself briefly. No contacts or other's heard though. Fraser, W3UTD --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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FUNcube-1 mode change
by Graham Shirville 16 Aug '15

16 Aug '15

Hi All, Just to confirm that FUNcube-1 was switched back to autonomous mode during its last pass over Europe at approx 20:58 UTC this evening 73 Graham G3VZV

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is Funcube Data Warehouse functional anymore?
by Bob KD7YZ 16 Aug '15

16 Aug '15

I noticed for quite some time that when I know watch a current pass that later on the Funcube warehouse.funcube.org.uk never ever adjusts my uploaded "count" . The "Dashboard" program from them has a check-mark in the stream data to warehouse box. I tried this question on the Funcube sponsored Forum, to no avail Then I noticed that other guys have asked the same question. Those guys as well as myself never received a single reply. I I have a Funcube registration account which they have lost or deleted then how would I ever know that? There is seemingly no link to write to them. I only can conclude that it is a waste of time for me to have a dedicated program and radio gear using the Capturing program since it seems Funcube isn't looking at uploaded data. So I m guessing I have something configured incorrectly? What other choices are there ? 73, -- Bob KD7YZ http://www.qrz.com/db/kd7yz AMSAT LM#901

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Awards Correction
by Bruce 16 Aug '15

16 Aug '15

I made a mistake looking at my file. This weeks ANS bulletin should have listed the AMSAT Satellite Communications awards as follows. Steve Kristoff, AI9IN #564 Frank Westphal, K6FW #565 Fraser Bonnett, W3UTD #566 Carlton Noll, KA4H #567 (also a new member to AMSAT) -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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ANS-228 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 16 Aug '15

16 Aug '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-228 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: * ARISS-I Delegates Meet This Week in Tokyo * Activation of Transponder on EO-79 August * Plans for New Amateur Radio Station for ISS Columbus Module * South Texas Balloon Launch to Fly Amateur Radio Payload * AMSAT Awards Update * Jeff Lamb NX9B Earns 73 0n 73 Award * Small Satellites: Possible Future WRC Agenda Item * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.01 ANS-228 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. August 16, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-228.01 ARISS-I Delegates Meet This Week in Tokyo ARISS International Delegates, its Board of Officers, and international team members will meet at Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan on August 20-23, 2015 for a critical meeting to discuss ARISS strategy, teamwork, hardware and operations. Delegates are voting members of ARISS-I representating the 5 ISS member regions: United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. The meeting will open with remarks from meeting host Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB from ARISS Japan and JARL. Other agenda items will include: * Welcome by the Japanese Space Agency JAXA & an Overview of the JAXA Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program * ARISS working group business discussions and reports, including: regional reports, ARISS Terms of Reference update, space agency coordination status, sustainability & fundraising and ARISS future endeavors * Technical discussions on current and future hardware developments, including: Next Generation ARISS Radio Systems, the Astro-Pi Project, and an update on the Ham-TV system * Operations discussions, including presentations on: Educational Activities, International Expansion & Planning of SSTV. School Selection and Regional Scheduling Procedures and plans for the upcoming Tim Peake Mission Along with their ambitious schedule the delegates will begin each day with an opportunity for informal discussions and will have the opportunity to visit the Tsukuba Space Center. [ANS thanks ARISS-I for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Activation of Transponder on EO-79 August The AMSAT-NL transponder on EO-79 will be activated to support the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). We apologize for the short notice, this opportunity came along very last minute, and again we took it. QB50p1 (EO-79) carries the FUNcube-3 400 mW inverting linear 435/145 MHz transponder provided by AMSAT-NL with support from AMSAT-UK. - *Uplink:* 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB - *Downlink:* 145.935-145.965 MHz USB TLEs are NORAD # 40025, COSPAR designator 2014-033-R Remember that the FUNcube family of transponders do not need much power to work them. I will be operating at Scheveningen Lighthouse PA25SCH, NL0025 Thanks to the Von Karman Institute and Innovative Solution In Space for the opportunity to use the transponder. Have FUN over the weekend! In related news Peter Portanova, W2JV, announced that he will be active from the Fire Island Lighthouse- FN30KP from 1400 U to 2100 U Saturday and Sunday celebrating Lighthouse/ Lightship weekend. The call will be W2GSB/LH and will be on all Amateur Satellites including EO-79. If you would like a commemorative QSL card please SASE to my QRZ QTH, and more information is available on my QRZ page, thank you. [ANS Thanks Wouter PA3WEG and Peter W2JV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Plans for New Amateur Radio Station for ISS Columbus Module Plans are under way to develop a new, higher-power Amateur Radio station for the ISS Columbus module. The current radio is a lower- power unit that sometimes results in weak signals during ISS-to-Earth educational contacts. A new radio system will improve communication capability for students scheduled to participate in ARISS educational contacts and related activities. The new system also would allow greater interoperability between the Columbus module and the Russian Service Module. ARISS said that integration of the equipment into the ISS infrastructure and the necessary testing and certification require hours of engineering resources that it cannot afford. "Each ARISS contact offers the opportunity to inspire young people through ARISS's unique window into space exploration activities, opening the horizon of possibilities of a career in a STEM field," said ARRL Education Services Manager, Debra Johnson, K1DMJ. "Each contact also introduces students and their communities to Amateur Radio. The program needs your help to secure these opportunities for the future." Individuals may donate to ARISS online via the AMSAT website (select the "ARISS Donate" button). AMSAT is contributing the necessary personnel resources to handle gifts to ARISS. Individuals contributing $100 or more will receive the new ARISS Challenge Coin. Corporate donors should contact Frank Bauer. [ANS thanks AMSAT News Service, ARISS, and Debra Johnson, K1DMJ for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- South Texas Balloon Launch to Fly Amateur Radio Payload South Texas Balloon Launch Team announced their next flight via their BLT-42 balloon and payload is scheduled for August 22, 2015 at 10:00 Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). The launch site will be from the Wharton Intergalactic Spaceport, Wharton, TX (Coords: 29.2543, -96.1544 Grid: EL19WG). The flight payload includes: + Live DTV-B Color ATV = 434 Digital TV 0.3W + Crossband FM Repeater Up 147.435 Down 446.000 + Digital Camera with a picture every 15 seconds + Balloon Burst Cam Recorder + APRS Coconut v1.2 - AB5SS-11 - 144.390 MHz + APRS GPS Downlink = 144.390 W5ACM-9 250 mW + TWO GoPro Cameras for HD Recording with Micro Cam Recorder pointing down + New Surface Mount Fireball - 28.322 MHz 50.000 MHz - 50 mW + Austin Experiments - Raspberry Pi w/TP-Link WiFi Omni Antenna + Dallas Experiments KE5GDB - SSTV System - 144.5 MHz FM - 0.5 W Website:http://www.w5acm.net/ APRS.FI: AB5SS-11, W5ACM-9 Telemetry: APRS: 144.390Mhz, Contact: John Maca ab5ss(a)swbell.net QRZ: AB5SS Check http://www.w5acm.net/b42.html or contact Andy MacAllister, w5acm(a)amsat.org for the latest flight/payload information. [ANS thanks the BALLOON_SKED(a)yahoogroups.com e-mail list for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update Here are our newest award recipients and quite a good batch we have this time. AMSAT Communication Achievement Award Steve Kristoff, AI9IN #565 Fraser Bonnett, W3UTD #566 Carlton Noll, KA4H #567 (also a new member to AMSAT) ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Frank Westphal, K6FW #169 Hector Luis Martinez Sis, CO6CBF #170 Carlton Noll, KA4H #171 ------ AMSAT Century Award Hector Luis Martinez Sis, CO6CBF #45 ------ AMSAT South Africa Communication Achievement Award Frank Westphal, K6FW #US193 Fraser Bonnett, W3UTD #US194 Carlton Noll, KA4H #US195 [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Lamb NX9B Earns 73 0n 73 Award Congratulations to Jeff Lamb, NX9B, for working 73 different stations on AO-73 since September 1, 2014 and becoming the 27th recipient of the 73 on 73 Award. [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Small Satellites: Possible Future WRC Agenda Item The CEPT CPG-PTA-8 meeting in Catania, Sicily, July 21-24, discussed a number of issues related to WRC-15 among them a paper submitted by The Netherlands – Small satellites: further aspects for the development of a future agenda item. The paper’s summary says: Following proposals from 12 CEPT members, WRC12 decided to place the subject of nanosatellites and picosatellites on the WRC19 agenda for adoption at WRC15. Since then a growing number of small satellites, launched year on year has been recorded, and a growing number of diverse applications has been implemented ranging from technology demonstration and research to Earth observation. The applications of these small satellites vary widely, but all of these satellites have one common need which is Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C). Providing for proper TT&C will allow positive satellite control at all times, and, when combined with ranging capability, may provide for orbit determination as well which in turn can aid in the tracking of space objects. At this moment, the study work under the related agenda item 9, issue 9.1.8 which deals with regulatory aspects for nanosatellites and picosatellites is finished. The studies have indicated a number of difficulties in the application of the Radio Regulations. These difficulties, however, do not justify a change of Articles 9 and 11. Considering that most bands currently used for satellite telemetry and command such as the 2200-2290MHz SRS/SOS/EESS allocation are heavily crowded, the growth in numbers of small satellites launched offers new challenges which were not faced before. Therefore, the proposal for AI 10 is to invite ITU-R in the forthcoming study period to identify additional allocations to the space operation service (SOS) within the 137MHz-960MHz range. This frequency range is particularly suitable for small satellites since it offers favourable propagation characteristics while allowing moderately complex antenna systems and antenna pointing requirements on board the satellite. CPG-PTA-8 meeting in Catania, Sicily, July 21-24, 2015 http://tinyurl.com/ANS228-WRC To download the meeting documents: • Go to http://tinyurl.com/ANS228-Documents • Click on 2015 • Click on 8th CPG PTA Meeting – 21-24 July – Sicily • Click Input Contributions and Goto table • Tick documents • Click on Minutes and Annexes and Goto table • Tick documents • Do same for Annex IV – Draft Briefs, Annex V – Draft ECPs, Annex VI – misc • Click the Download selected button [ANS thanks Trevor M5AKA and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Space Jam 9, Rantoul, Illinois, USA and Astronaut Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2015-08-08 16:58 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was AJ9N. + A Successful contact was made between Fleurance Astronomy Festival, France and Astronaut Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF using Callsign RSØISS. The contact began 2015-08-14 19:42:00 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was F6ICS. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-08-13 16:00 UTC Higashioka Elementary School, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan, direct via 8N3HO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-08-18 11:42:14 UTC 82 deg Pima County 4H/Vail Vaqueros 4H Club, Tucson, AZ, direct via W7LB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Sat 2015-08-22 18:37:55 UTC 87 deg Sochi, Russia, direct via TBD) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF) Contact is a go for 2015-08-29 11:15 UTC * Watch for the official announcements for when US schools will be able to send in proposals for an ARISS contact. The window will be open from 2015-09-01 to 2015-11-01. These proposals will be for school contacts during the second half of 2016. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + AMSAT Award Comments Paul Stoetzer N8HM congratulates all those who earned the AMSAT Awards, mentioned in the rticle above. Paul says, "I'd like to point out a couple of them. First, congrats to Hector on the Century Award. The Century Award is tough enough to complete from the East Coast of the United States, but Hector managed to complete it from Cuba. He made many of these QSOs with homebrew equipment and had the additional handicap of not being able to use AO- 7's Mode B transponder due to Cuban regulations, so he had to wait until FO-29 was near apogee on the right passes to make his longest distance QSOs. Second, congratulations to Carl on the Sexagesimal Award. Like me, he has operated solely with portable equipment and low power and he appears to be on the way to beating my pace to the Century Award (it took me 23 months from when I started getting on the air daily, Carl has been on for only about a year)." Hector, W5CBF/CO6CBF, responded, "Actually, the AMSAT Century Award has been the hardest award in my amateur radio career. The lack of AO- 7 mode B made it even harder. Thanks very much to all the operators who made it possible and special thanks to the DX stations that accepted the challenge of an extreme QSO." [ANS thanks Paul N8HM and Hector W5CBF/CO6CBF for the above information] + UK Ham's ISS Contact Gathers No Moss There’s been a lot of coverage in mainstream media of the ham in England who made contact with astronauts aboard the ISS last month. This bit in Time is the latest, and possibly most mainstream. http://time.com/3995908/international-space-station-radio/ [ANS thanks Sean KX9X 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, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Activation of transponder on EO-79
by Wouter Weggelaar 15 Aug '15

15 Aug '15

Hi All, The AMSAT-NL transponder on EO-79 will be activated to support the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). We apologize for the short notice, this opportunity came along very last minute, and again we took it. QB50p1 (EO-79) carries the FUNcube-3 400 mW inverting linear 435/145 MHz transponder provided by AMSAT-NL with support from AMSAT-UK. - *Uplink:* 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB - *Downlink:* 145.935-145.965 MHz USB TLEs are NORAD # 40025, COSPAR designator 2014-033-R Remember that the FUNcube family of transponders do not need much power to work them. I will be operating at Scheveningen Lighthouse PA25SCH, NL0025 Thanks to the Von Karman Institute and Innovative Solution In Space for the opportunity to use the transponder. Have FUN over the weekend! Wouter PA3WEG AMSAT-NL

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LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND- FIRE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE - FN30KP/ NA-026 ACTIVATED
by W2JV 14 Aug '15

14 Aug '15

Hello, W2JV, Peter will be active from the Fire Island Lighthouse- FN30KP from 1400 U to 2100 U Saturday and Sunday celebrating Lighthouse/ Lightship weekend. The call will be W2GSB/LH and will be on all Amateur Satellites including EO-79. If you would like a commemorative QSL card please SASE to my QRZ QTH, and more information is available on my QRZ page, thank you. 73 Peter W2JV

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Re: [amsat-bb] spid rotors
by george hinkle 14 Aug '15

14 Aug '15

All is working well for the first day out. Thanks to John. The manual in some areas is just a little lacking. I wish to thank ever one who offered a helping had and I'm still not done. So I may be asking more questions. I have to trick it out for my to way operate. That should not be much of a problem. Again thanks to all. george wi9i On Aug 6, 2015, at 1:29 PM, Doug Holmes wrote: > > Hello George, > Thanks for your note. A neighbour of mine, Dave, VE3SAT called and was inquiring about the setting of AlfaSpid rotators. He did mention that yours was not indicating the proper direction during use. > > I have no experience using the rotators for satellite work, but I should not think it would be different from normal azimuth only usage. > > To calibrate the azimuth rotator, one must rotate the beam to north and visually confirm that the beam is indeed pointing north, no matter what the readout indicates. Then, turn the control box power to OFF. When turning the power back ON for the rotator controller, it is possible to accurately set NORTH by turning on power all the while holding the FUNCTION [F] button depressed. The readout should then indicate "000 degrees", and tracking should then occur properly. From there it is possible to rotate clockwise up to 180 degrees, and also it is possible to rotate counter-clockwise up to 180 degrees from the North setting. One has to be careful, however, because over-rotation beyond the 180 degrees either direction can occur. > > Alternatively, an operator may choose a "SOUTH" centered functioning of the rotator, in a similar manner as above. > > I hope this has answered the concern that you have. > > For additional information and assistance, you may contact Mitch at Alfa Radio, in Edmonton, Alberta. The business telephone there is 780-466-5779. > > kind regards, Doug, VE3VS > > > > > On 8/6/2015 1:48 PM, george hinkle wrote: >> Doug, >> I posted my need on Amsat BB's and received a phone call telling me you would be the man that could direct me with my new rotors. My current situation: Running Yeasu rotors with Satpc32. They work to perfection. Why get new rotors? I use them every day and they are running day and night. I don't think for the long term something better would meet my need. >> I got the RAEL, RAK and Rot2Prog controller interface new. >> At this point I'm using 12 volt power supply. Software is SatPc32 with the "Yeasu 232" software. >> The software and the controller seem to work fine. >> The rotors do not track to the location indicated. >> If you have some time to talk me through I would be very grateful. I am retired so most times are good for me. >> george wi9i >> >> email gwhink41(a)msn.com >> >> ph 217 753 4457 >> > > > -- > Always reply to drholmes(a)xplornet.com > I do not receive via gmail >

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Lighthouse Weekend Amateur Satellite Activation
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 14 Aug '15

14 Aug '15

Will be operating both club call and personal calls from "NASH POINT " Lighthouse - Bristol Channel, South Wales UK - Saturday /Sunday 15th 16th August. Sorry it will be daytime operation only - HF bands and satellites. ( Grid Sqaure:IO81FJ ) (WAB: SS96 ) They are Twin lighthouses - Low and High thus two options for a contact /QSL. Regards and sorry for the late news. Our club was only given the option at a late stage. Ken Eaton GW1FKY

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AMSAT / TAPR Banquet speaker at CCC
by M5AKA 13 Aug '15

13 Aug '15

The lectures at the Chaos Computer Camp, taking place August 13-17 in Mildenberg, Germany, are being streamed live to the web. Several are radio related. Among the attendees is radio amateur Michael Ossmann, AD0NR, who was guest speaker at the 2015 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT / TAPR banquet. The badge issued to Chaos Computer Camp attendees is a full-featured 50-4000 MHz SDR Transceiver. Watch the talk about the Rad1o badge at 21:15 CET (19:15 GMT) on Friday, August 13. See http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/13/michael-ossmann-chaos-computer-camp/ Badge https://events.ccc.de/camp/2015/Fahrplan/events/6884.html 73 Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Small Satellites WRC Agenda Item discussed by CEPT
by M5AKA 13 Aug '15

13 Aug '15

The CEPT CPG-PTA-8 meeting in Catania, Sicily, July 21-24, discussed a number of issues related to WRC among them a paper submitted by The Netherlands – Small satellites: further aspects for the development of a future agenda item. http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/12/small-satellites-future-wrc-agenda-item/ SUWS WebSDR supports Meteor Scatter enthusiasts http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/13/websdr-supports-meteor-scatter/ Radio Astronomy Group Meteor Scatter Workshop http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/11/rag-meteor-scatter-workshop/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Raspberry Pi - LVB Tracker - G5500
by Thomas Doyle 13 Aug '15

13 Aug '15

http://www.tomdoyle.org/netserver 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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