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

Mirage T-Injector Problem
by Richard Lawn 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

I've finally diagnosed the problem with my new ARR preamp. I really thought it was the preamp until I got it on the bench and found that when I power the ARR preamp via the coax I see the under load the T-injector's DC output drops about 2.5 volts to about 11.15vdc. How can this be? Any suggestions on how to modify the T-injector so this doesn't happen? It strange as I've used several different Mirage injectors with their preamps and an Icom preamp with no problems but neither Mirage injector I own works with the ARR preamp. 73 Rick, W2JAZ

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-09-29 16:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-09-29 16:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Nowogard Union Schools: Junior High School No. 2, Nowogard, Poland, telebridge via LU1CGB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact was successful: Tue 2015-09-29 12:56:27 UTC 36 deg (***) Watch for possible live stream http://ariss.pzk.org.pl/live/ Fukara Junior High School, Susono, Japan, direct via 8N2F The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Thu 2015-10-01 10:26:55 UTC 85 deg Corpus Christi Catholic School, Chambersburg, PA, telebridge via LU1CGB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-10-06 16:29:32 UTC 33 deg Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Tun Dr Ismail (1), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, direct via 9M2RPN The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-10-09 08:00:04 UTC 47 deg **************************************************************************** ** Interested in hosting an ARISS contact? The window is now open from 2015-09-01 to 2015-11-01. These proposals will be for school contacts during the second half of 2016. Go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact or http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html for full details. To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions. These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session is not required, it is strongly encouraged. These will be offered Thursday, September 17, at 2000 UTC; Tuesday, September 22, at 2000 UTC, and Wednesday, September 30, at 2300 UTC. Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to sign up for an information session. **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 109 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2015-09-29 16:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 995. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 960. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2015-09-29 16:00 UTC. (***) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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I tried to get a signal from LAPAN-A2
by Karn Suwanrat 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

2015 Sept 29 0826UTC I tried to get a signal from LAPAN-A2 with TLE: 2015-052F Receiver set to 437425kHz Max El 9 Degree Over Bangkok, TH I heard some kind of sound but don't know if this is a TLM from LAPAN-A2 or not here is my video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XpNihCQ8yc Thank you Karn Suwanrat E20ZFD/AA1AF

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LilacSat-2 pass @ 0147 UTC tonight (29 September)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

Hi! There was a nice turnout on the 0147 UTC LilacSat-2 pass over the US west coast. Stations up and down the coast, and as far east as west Texas, were on. Unlike with the first QSO I made on this satellite last week, when it was raining very hard on my operating position in the yard, I was able to have a nice and calm evening. I used my Icom IC-2820H 2m/70cm FM mobile radio for my uplink transmitter, and an SDR setup for the downlink receiver - SDRplay SDR receiver, 8-inch Windows 10 tablet with HDSDR software - to operate full-duplex. I connected both of these through a diplexer to my Elk log periodic. I used HDSDR to make an RF recording of both downlinks - the FM repeater downlink around 437.200 MHz, and the digital telemetry downlink around 437.225 MHz. I think I had a better copy on the 437.225 MHz downlink tonight than over the weekend, and logged 6 contacts on the FM repeater. Last week, when I worked Glenn AA5PK, I was not able to get through with anything less than 50W transmit power. Tonight was not as bad, but I found that I couldn't get away with 5W for more than a few transmissions. The mid-power setting from my IC-2820H, 15W, worked better. High power (50W) worked well, too. None of these power levels desensed my SDRplay receiver. Maybe if the satellite was higher in the sky, and closer to passing over my head, I might have had better luck using the 5W power level. I saw a mixed reaction on Twitter - one reported needing to run 50W, and someone else said 5W was sufficient. Rather than posting the long and nasty URLs used by Dropbox for its public folders, I made a shorter URL that can take you to the recordings and other files I have been posting in my public Dropbox space: http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ For tonight's LilacSat-2 pass, look for the folder with the name "20150929-LilacSat2". If you have an SDR program on your computer or device, and have the bandwidth to download the RF recording, download the WAV file with the name starting with "HDSDR_20150929" in that folder. I also have an MP3 recording with the audio I heard during the pass, plus photos of my back yard setup and a screengrab from my phone's tracking app to show how the pass was for me in central Arizona. Late last week, I made a one-page graphic with a quick-reference guide for the LilacSat-2 FM repeater. I now have this graphic at its own URL: http://lilacsat2.wd9ewk.net/ Please feel free to right-click on the graphic and save it to your computer/tablet/device. This pass was the 3rd consecutive pass where LilacSat-2's FM repeater was operational over the continental USA. It was nice to see the reports from the two earlier passes, and then to work it for myself on the third pass. Thanks to the LilacSat-2 team for another FM satellite for us! 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-09-29 04:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-09-29 04:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Nowogard Union Schools: Junior High School No. 2, Nowogard, Poland, telebridge via LU1CGB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-09-29 12:56:27 UTC 36 deg Watch for possible live stream http://ariss.pzk.org.pl/live/ Fukara Junior High School, Susono, Japan, direct via 8N2F The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Thu 2015-10-01 10:26:55 UTC 85 deg Corpus Christi Catholic School, Chambersburg, PA, telebridge via LU1CGB (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-10-06 16:29:32 UTC 33 deg (***) Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Tun Dr Ismail (1), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, direct via 9M2RPN The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-10-09 08:00:04 UTC 47 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** Interested in hosting an ARISS contact? The window is now open from 2015-09-01 to 2015-11-01. These proposals will be for school contacts during the second half of 2016. Go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact or http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html for full details. To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions. These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session is not required, it is strongly encouraged. These will be offered Thursday, September 17, at 2000 UTC; Tuesday, September 22, at 2000 UTC, and Wednesday, September 30, at 2300 UTC. Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to sign up for an information session. **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 109 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2015-09-29 04:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 994. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 959. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2015-09-17 08:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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XW-2 identifications
by Nico Janssen 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

All, Using detailed doppler measurements I find the following identifications: XW-2A is object 40903, 2015-049E, (other IDs: XiWang 2A, Hope 2A, CAS-3A). XW-2E is object 40909, 2015-049L, (other IDs: XiWang 2E, Hope 2E, CAS-3E). 73, Nico PA0DLO

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New Satellites! ? (keyhole view)...
by Robert Bruninga 28 Sep '15

28 Sep '15

Watching the BB about all these recent satellites is like watching a parade through a key hole. Would someone with the time simply make a very brief summary of these items: NAME, NUMBER, Inclination, DOWNLINK, UPLINK, MODE, comments ANd try to remember to include the table (as updated) in most emails so that we can all benefit as a group from your efforts. When new info comes along, hit REPLY, then edit the table with your new info. And for the table, KEEP it BRIEF, else we cannot see the trees in the forest. Bob, Wb4APR

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Fall Grid Trip - Summary
by R.T.Liddy 28 Sep '15

28 Sep '15

This Fall's Grid Expedition took place 9/17-9/23. I had several requeststo activate some northern Grids in Ontario and Quebec. So, I mapped outa route quite a ways north of Toronto in Ontario to EN99 and over intoQuebec to FN18 and down to Montreal and over to FN24 in Upstate NY. My portable station was an ICOM 820H and an Arrow Antenna on a homebrewAX/EL/Vert/Horiz tripod mount. You can see the setup on my QRZ.com page,but it shows my Arrow prior to building the tripod which makes things much easier. The first station worked on the trip was KG5CCI while in FN05 on FO29and the last station worked was WI9I while in FN24 on SO50. Special Thanksto Frank K4FEG who was always around with helpful info and assisting withputting out status messages on the Internet on my progress. Extra Special Thanksto John K8YSE who kept me company at the end of most passes when I wasalone and there was no one left to work. John would always have a signal thatwas copyable nearly to my LOS! Here are some highlights of the Trip by the numbers:0 - The number of stations worked on an FO29 pass in FN08. Where were they?1 - Excellent & Understanding XYL who lets me do these solo trips.1 - Only once did anyone come over to me and ask what I was doing.2 - DX Countries worked. G & ZF.2 - Stations that said I was their FIRST SAT QSO!!3 - Chicken Dinners I ended up with vs.ONE in Quebec due to my poor Francais.4 - Countries worked ...plus All US Call Areas and VE2 & VE34.56 - Price per gallon in Canadian $ equating to 3.39 in US $5 - The number of cylinders I drove home on the last 150 miles, fouled plug!6 - Motel stays (Thankfully, 25% advantage using US Exchange Rate!)7 - Days on the road seeing absolutely beautiful scenery!!11 - Voltage of my truck battery the day after I got home - replaced. (Glad I was HOME.)12 - Number of Grids activated. FN05,06,07,08,18,17,16,26,24 and EN97,98,9921 - Stops for Grid Activations.73 - Number of different stations worked - 36 with single QSOs and 37 with multiple QSOs.234 - Total QSOs - 181 on FO29 and 53 on SO50.2065 - Total trip miles.++ - Lost count of the number of times I heard, "Thanks for the New Grid!" Biggest Thrill - Tie between working 2 stations as their FIRST SAT QSO and the multiple times I gave folks a New Grid!! Biggest Disappointment - The level of QRM on SO50 on every pass that prevented numerous QSOs I was trying to finish with stations. Most Interesting Roadside Marker - 'Now Entering The Arctic Watershed"!! WOW, that's what I call NORTH!!! Hope you enjoyed my trip as much as I did. Would I do it again? YOU BETCHA!! 73, Bob K8BL /VE3/VE2/W2 (AMSAT #6593 Since 1979)

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Re: [amsat-bb] LilacSat-2 FM Transponder at 00:11 UTC, 29-September
by Rick Tejera 28 Sep '15

28 Sep '15

Clayton, Is the downlink at 447.220 as recently reported? From earlier reports, it seemed to be around 457.200 as dome (might have Bern you) were hearing it at LOS near 447.191. Hoping to give it a try Wednesday. Rick Tejera K7TEJSaguaroAstro(a)cox.net623-203-4121 -------- Original message -------- From: Clayton W5PFG <w5pfg(a)amsat.org> Date: 09/28/2015 17:51 (GMT-07:00) To: 'amsat bb' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] LilacSat-2 FM Transponder at 00:11 UTC, 29-September About a dozen stations were heard making contacts on LilacSat-2 at 00:11Z, orbit # 135. From my QTH in Texas, EM21, I was hearing stations as far north as EN37. This orbit put LilacSat-2 almost directly up the center of the USA. I was able to make several contacts using 5 watts and an Elk antenna. 73 Clayton W5PFG EM21hs _______________________________________________ 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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LilacSat-2 FM Transponder at 00:11 UTC, 29-September
by Clayton W5PFG 28 Sep '15

28 Sep '15

About a dozen stations were heard making contacts on LilacSat-2 at 00:11Z, orbit # 135. From my QTH in Texas, EM21, I was hearing stations as far north as EN37. This orbit put LilacSat-2 almost directly up the center of the USA. I was able to make several contacts using 5 watts and an Elk antenna. 73 Clayton W5PFG EM21hs

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