January 2016 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

10 Jan '16

Gee whiz...sounds like someone has been stuck in the double-wide too long.. (Good Old Clint, ever the optimist...) -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Clint Bradford Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2016 8:14 PM To: AMSAT BB Subject: [amsat-bb] Cruise with Amsat! Now THERE'S a guaranteed manner in which to increase attendance: add a cruise cost to air fare. You gotta be kidding. This makes your online pleas for money raising on behalf of AMSAT-NA for satellite projects seem trivial and unnecessary: AMSAT must be loaded if they think this is going to enhance their stature and bank account. This makes me wonder what the true desire is of AMSAT-NA. If it is, indeed, to "disseminate info about and build birds," then the best method available is remote, live, videocasts from presenters. That would cost the presenter NOTHING in transportation costs. It would involve EVERY CONTINENT on the planet. And it would allow the largest possible audiences to "attend." Minimal charge for password access to whatever session one wanted to see ... or a conference package fee ... allow that access to be shown to a classroom or audience ... those fees are TOTAL PROFIT to AMSAT (unless honorariums are paid to some presenters). Overhead costs to AMSAT-NA? Virtually nothing. Largest attendance ever of any AMSAT show in history? Guaranteed. Unless the same minds who thought up "let's take a cruise" are in charge of it ... only then could someone mess up so simple a concept to bring educational sessions to the largest audience. Clint Bradford _______________________________________________ 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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ANS-010 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 10 Jan '16

10 Jan '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-010 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: * Cruising to the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium * ARISS-US Receives $5,000 Grant from Yasme Foundation * Best Fist Nominations Due * Your 2015 Space Symposium Photos Needed! * ARISS Commemorative SSTV Event Update * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.01 ANS-010 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. [MONTH DAY, YEAR] To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-010.01 Cruising to the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium The 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held aboard a commercial cruise ship departing from the port of Galveston, Texas. Sail dates are November 10-14 aboard the Carnival Liberty. Galveston is conveniently located near Houston, Texas with access from both the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and the Houston Hobby Airport (HOU.) This cruise will embark on Thursday afternoon at 16:00 CST and return on the following Monday morning at 08:00 CST. The trip includes two full days at sea and one day in port at Cozumel, Mexico. Symposium presentations and meetings will be conducted during the days at sea to allow free time during the stop in Cozumel. The AMSAT Board of Directors meeting will occur on shore at a Galveston hotel in the days prior to the Symposium. This year's cruise ship venue offers an environment for significant others, families, and friends to attend the AMSAT Symposium event with you. Many activities are available on a cruise ship including musical and theatrical performances, comedy, dancing, and casino gaming. During the stop in Cozumel there are many onshore activities and excursions available for your pleasure. There will be no post- Symposium tour offered since this venue incorporates the Cozumel visit. In preparation for this upcoming Symposium it is recommended you obtain a passport for travel as soon as possible. United States residents may find the most convenient place to obtain a passport is their nearest US Post Office. Not all USPS locations offer this service; check the US Postal Service website: https://www.usps.com/international/passports.htm Details on travel documents required for US citizens to take a Carnival cruise originating at a US Port and returning to the same port may be found here: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1406 AMSAT is offering a group rate and booking code available starting January 5. Please book your cruise directly by calling 1-800-438- 6744 and dialing extension number 70005. Our group name is AMSAT and the group code is 8Z0FR5. It is recommended you make reservations very early since cabins are held for a short period of time. Reservations require a $150 USD per person deposit. The deposit is fully refundable up until September 11. Rates may vary depending upon cabin type selected and occupancy. Please utilize the group code as this directly benefits the Symposium and the amenities we are able to offer attendees. Further details will be released in the coming months via ANS, AMSAT- BB, and the AMSAT Journal. [ANS thanks Clayton W5PFG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS-US Receives $5,000 Grant from Yasme Foundation The ARISS-US Team is thrilled to announce that it received a $5,000 grant from the Yasme Foundation, awarded to support the development of the power converters needed as a part of an extensive upgrade to the entire ARISS radio system onboard the International Space Station. Ward Silver, N0AX, President of the Yasme Foundation, www.yasme.org, said the Yasme Board decided to support ARISS, in part, as a catalyst for individuals and other groups to follow suit by donating to the radio system cause. Ward commented: “While you have a long way to go in funding the whole upgrade project, we hope our grant will encourage organizations and individuals to donate to ARISS. Yasme is happy to get that ball rolling.” ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, noted that receiving grants from more groups similar to Yasme can result in bigger sponsors being much more likely to donate funds and in-kind resources to the radio project. The 12 ARISS Delegates from around the world had voted in August 2015 to move forward with the planning that will ultimately develop all hardware needed for an upgraded ARISS radio system if funding could be raised. ARISS Chair Bauer, explaining that the power converters are critical to the overall ARISS equipment upgrade, remarked: “The Yasme grant will jump start the project by allowing the ARISS hardware team to build a prototype converter, purchase critical parts for the flight converters, and further develop the design. We will continue our pursuit of other funding so as to realize the completion of the entire upgrade project.” ARISS-US Delegate Rosalie White, K1STO, thanked Silver for his personal effort in delineating ARISS’s hardware needs and goals to the Yasme Board. She added: “Garnering the Yasme grant is a major step in helping ARISS progress with our fundraising for the upgraded system. We are elated to know that Yasme has faith in ARISS and its goals of piquing the interest of young people in science, technology, engineering, math, space, communications, and amateur radio.” Just three weeks ago in mid-December, a group of ARISS-US team members were at Johnson Space Center solidifying plans for the design of this next generation radio system. Other groups and individuals interested in supporting ARISS goals through a donation can contact Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, at ka3hdo(a)verizon.net or can go to the AMSAT Website, www.amsat.org, and submit a donation directly using the ARISS Donate button. ARISS rewards a beautiful ARISS Challenge Coin to donors giving $100.00 or more. About ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. [ANS thanks Yasme ans ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Best Fist Nominations Due Ray Soifer, W2RS, would like to thank to all who participated in AMSAT's Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2016. If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to nominate someone you worked for Best Fist. Your nominee need not have had the best fist of those you heard, only of those you worked. Send your nomination to w2rs at amsat.org [ANS thanks Ray W2RS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Your 2015 Space Symposium Photos Needed! AMSAT Journal Editor, Joe Kornowski KB6IGK, reports that the AMSAT Journal needs your photos from the 33rd Space Symposium in October 2015. Please send your hi-res photos, with captions if possible, to journal at amsat.org by January 17. [ANS thanks Joe KB6IGK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Commemorative SSTV Event Update The SSTV commemoration of the first ARISS contact events is now tentatively planned for January 16. The transmission mode will be PD120. Because preparations are still in process, it is suggested that you stay tuned to AMSAT-BB and the AMSAT and ARISS web site for the latest information on this event. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, USA and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-01-05 17:42 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was AJ9N. This represents ARISS' 981st contact. + A Successful contact was made between Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign GB1SS. The contact began 2016-01-08 08:47:47 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via GB1SAN. ARISS Mentor was MØXTD. This represents ARISS' 982nd contact. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado “Benedetto Croce”, Civate, Italy, telebridge via VK5ZAI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-01-13 11:35:44 UTC 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. ARISS Commemorative SSTV Event Update The SSTV commemoration of the first ARISS contact events is now tentatively planned for January 16. The transmission mode will be PD120. Because preparations are still in process, it is suggested that you stay tuned to AMSAT-BB and the AMSAT and ARISS web site for the latest information on this event and others that ARISS plans to conduct over the next few months. Remember that the official page for all things ARISS is www.ariss.org [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Satellite Operations from Cowtown Hamfest, January 15-16 Keith Pugh W5IU, reports that the Cowtown Hamfest in Forest Hill, Texas, a suburg of Fort Worth, will be held Friday and Saturday, 15- 16 January. Keith intends be on the air for as many passes as he can during the hamfest hours. [ANS thanks Keith W5IU 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, AA8EM (Former KC8YLD) kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Polarity
by Joe 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

Cross Polarization. We all know that vertical to vertical = Zero db loss from cross polarization. same with horizontal to horizontal and Right hand circular to RHC as well s LHC TO LHC And then in theory, the "Infinite loss" when vert to horiz, and RHC to LHC But while in theory it says "Infinite" in practicality it's more like 30 to 40 db or so. Now I did notice this effect when I had an antenna array that the db loss was NOT linear. Like say at 45 degrees of polarity error, being half way in a linear world would be 15 to 20 db loss, but according to this pdf file it is only 3 db down. And I do agree with this because I do remember when rotating the polarity little change was noticed till the last bit and the max deep part was very small. Now does anyone know of a chart anywhere where the values for every degree of something really is? Like 45 deg is 3 db down, 50 deg =? 55 deg =? etc. anyone? Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

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Successful activation of NPOTA sites HP45+TR13 on SO-50
by Fernando Ramirez 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

I would like to thank KO6TZ, WD9EWK, KL7CN, W5PFG, N6UA, N8HM, K4FEG, K8YSE, N7EC and AA0CW for their contacts during the 20:20 utc SO-50 pass today. Those 10 contacts validated the activation of Tumacacori National Historical Park + Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail in southern Arizona. Equipment used: Chinese made HT and Arrow II Antenna. TQSL allows elegible NPOTA multiple units, which are included on the drop down menu when setting up the parks' names. As usual, the pass was busy, but free of whistlers, CQ'ers, hoolas, etc. Again, thank you all for your help. Log for the pass already on LoTW. 73! Fernando, NP4JV Nogales, AZ

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Video of ARISS between GB1SS and Sandringham school GB1SAN
by Ciaran Morgan 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

The full video of the web stream from Fridays contact between Sandringham school and Tim Peake is now available on YouTube. The video is a complete copy of everything that was web streamed from the school by the UK ARISS team. Please search for the "ARISS UK Team" and you will find a channel that I have set up. It currently contains the video from the Richard Garriott contact in Oct 2008 with Budbrooke School and the Sandringham contact. Over time, it will be populated with videos of the previous UK contacts. As further contacts with Tim occur, they will be uploaded to this YouTube channel. Enjoy! 73s Ciaran - M0XTD

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Regular Arrow vs. Alaskan Arrow
by Dave Swanson 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

Hello Satellites friends and colleagues, Since I started making videos a few months back of my portable satellite operating, a lot of folks have picked up on the fact that I seem to use the 'Alaskan' Arrow (AKA) pretty often. I also tend to use the AKA for DX contacts and very long distance QSOs which always make it into my movies. Questions about the AKA versus the regular arrow have become by far the most asked topic of me from other operators. Clayton, W5PFG, wrote an outstanding piece on his blog ( http://www.w5pfg.us/2015/10/my-thoughts-about-alaskan-arrow-146437.html ) with his thoughts on the AKA, after his experience with one this fall, that I'd recommend that anyone interested in this topic also go read. Since I don't have a blog though, this is the best forum I have to express thoughts on the matter. If you have no intention of ever operating portable, or are convinced some other design is superior, then feel free to skip the rest of this thread. I'm not trying to make this into anything other than an answer to frequently asked questions I get, concerning the differences between the Regular Arrow and the Alaskan Arrow, and to try and address the 'is it worth it' question that inevitably follows the 'which one should I get' question. So, to start, the regular arrow is great antenna. I have one, and I use it for 95% of the passes I work. I used my regular arrow for my first QSOs with Brazil, Alaska, Hawaii, Northern Ireland, and England, all of which are between 5000km and 7200km from my home operating spots. It is lightweight, effective, and will suit the needs of nearly every satellite operator out there that seeks a portable antenna. If (and this is a huge if, that's outside the scope of this post, but so so important) you have a nice operating spot that has a clear view of the horizon with nothing in the way. You can easily work all birds in the sky AOS til LOS with the regular arrow, and be wildly successful. If I'm not chasing 7000km+ DX, I'll be on my regular arrow. If I'm hanging my arm out the window while /P in another grid? I'll be on my regular arrow. Backyard 45° SO50 pass in the evening? Regular Arrow. Most of the time, I'm on my regular Arrow. It probably doesn't look that way from pictures and video, but I typically don't document my routine operating.. no one wants to see that, they only wanna see the cool stuff. So, why do I own and use an AKA with everything I just wrote in mind? First, I do operate terrestrial VHF/UHF, as well as satellites, from mountain tops. For this type of work I'll physically attach the AKA with only one set of elements installed to my mast, pop it up in the air, and work folks in other grids on 2m or 70cm. If I'm Jeepin' to the mountain top, my equipment has to break down into small enough pieces I can fit it inside, or if I'm hiking, it needs to be small and lightweight enough to carry up on my back. The AKA represents the highest gain, lightest weight, most portable solution that I could find for my style of mountain-topping. Second, the AKA does have more gain, which is useful for working satellites. It's not a lot more gain, and it's not required on most passes, but I routinely work at < 0.5° in max elevation from elevated positions while portable, and so every db counts. Most people are probably not doing this... and judging by the considerable lack of activity I hear in the birds on these passes, I think there's a fair amount of evidence to support this theory. If you're routinely working exceptionally low passes at and near the horizon portable, then an AKA might be for you. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Third, as mentioned many times by others, the AKA is big and heavy. As Jeff, NI3B, said a while back in a post "Holding one of those things up in the air for fourteen minutes and your arms will look like Popeye the Sailor Man at LOS." Combine this with my distaste for tripods, and you can see where we've got an issue. While I don't care much for canned spinach, I am a six-foot, 250 pound man, I split firewood by hand, and I try to keep myself pretty strong and in shape. I can hold the AKA for an entire pass without a huge issue, even thought my arms get pretty sore after. I absolutely understand that others may not be capable, or simply may not want to subject themselves to this kind of punishment. That's fine, you don't have too. Get a regular arrow, and save your biceps.. you'll be just fine. So in summary, If you're a mountain-top, multidisciplinary operator, that wants superior portable performance, weight and muscle fatigue be damned, then the AKA might be for you. If you're not, get the regular arrow, you won't be sorry. Feel free to ask questions, provide critiques. 73! -Dave, KG5CCI

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fyi
by Bob- W7LRD 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

Recently bought a short jumper cable for my Chinese HT radio from MPD digital. Nice quality and reasonable price. 73 Bob W7LRD

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Pass Satellite Tracking - Rotor & Rigs
by Pedro Converso 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

App available at http://amsat.org.ar/pass.exe for download. This application is an upgrade on web app http://amsat.org.ar/pass.htm To control Rotor/Rigs, run concurrently WispDDE Driver. ( http://www.mederoscnc.com/CX6DD/wispdde/wispdde.htm ) Thanks for fine comments and suggestions on pass.htm . Congrats all for excellent satellite activity shown on amsat-bb. If You care to try pass.exe, comments, changes, additions, welcome. Enjoy, Best 73, lu7abf, Pedro Converso

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Polarity
by Roland Zurmely 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

The theoretical value of the loss in dB as a function of the angle "alpha" of bias error for linear polarization is: 20log(cos(alpha)) Examples: for alpha= 45 degrees : 20log(cos(45)) = 20log(0,707) = -3 dBfor alpha= 60 degrees : 20log(cos(60)) = 20log(0,5) = -6 dBfor alpha= 89 degrees : 20log(cos(89)) = 20log(0,0174)= -35 dB 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ

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would someone tell me how to access the current amsat-bb archives
by Jack Colson 09 Jan '16

09 Jan '16

All I am able to find is those from 2009 to 1998. Thank you, sri for dumb question. W3TMZ

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