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

SO-50 Orbit 70107
by Oliver Krystal 05 Jan '16

05 Jan '16

Sorry about the poor first attempt. I was operating orbit # 70107, the 0429UTC pass of SO-50. Callsign is KD9CFO and my gridsquare is EN51ju. I only caught one call, but it was not the one that I heard repeat my call. Thanks for acknowledging my presence (if you're on the list).

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-01-04 22:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-01-04 22:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-01-05 17:42:06 UTC 81 deg Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, direct via GB1SAN The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-01-08 08:47:47 UTC 83 deg 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 33 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** 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 115 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 114 **************************************************************************** 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 2016-01-04 22:30 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 1015. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 980. 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 2015-12-09 07:30 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. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS Exp. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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ARISS AUDIO for Friday's Contact
by John Spasojevich 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

Please join us in listening to the ISS contact with participants at the *Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom *on Friday 8 January. AOS is anticipated at 08:47 UTC The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a DIRECT between GB1SS and GB1SAN in the United Kingdom. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. This contact is the first of Astronaut Tom Peakes' Principia Mission Audio from this contact will be available at: https://principia.ariss.org/ click on Live Webcast Audio from the Principia website will be fed for those unable to join into the: EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) Server IRLP Node 9010 Discovery Reflector Audio on EchoLink / IRLP is dependent on the Principia website Please note that on Echolink /IRLP there are manual breaks approximately every third question. Connected repeaters may time out. ** Contact times are approximate. If the ISS executes a reboost or other manoeuvre, the AOS (Acquisition Of Signal) time may alter by a few minutes ** 73, John - AG9D ARISS Audio

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ST-2 Tracker with G-5500
by David Maciel (XE3DX) 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

Hello friends of the group, someone worked the LNB Tracker ST-2 Fox Delta Project, with the Yaesu Rotor G-5500. please comment on the experience and work. Thanks and good health for you and your family. David Maciel XE3DX *http://www.qsl.net/xe3dx/ <http://www.qsl.net/xe3dx/>* *david.xe3dx(a)gmail.com <david.xe3dx(a)gmail.com>*

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Contribution for IRA
by Martha 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

Please note that Congress changed the rules last week. Now up to $100,000 tax-free direct payouts from IRAs to charity can be made from individuals age 70 1/2 and older. -- 73- Martha- AMSAT Manager

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IC-9100 For Sale on QRZ.com
by Frank Westphal 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

ICOM IC-9100 Purchased August 2015. Mint condition. Less than 10 hours use. 7 months left on ICOM warranty optional 3 & 6 kHz roofing filters installed all original packing, manual, hand mic, connectors etc. included $2195 shipped (CONUS only via FedEx ground) PayPal only Marc, WC1Xwc1x(a)arrl.net <mailto:[email protected]>

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Some DUMB hints about using SatPC32 computer aided tuning
by Burns Fisher 03 Jan '16

03 Jan '16

I had CAT working once upon a time, but recently it has not. I don't know what I changed when, but I could not get it to work at all until I spent several hours trying different things, and finally found the (duh) really dumb problems. 1) I have a TS2000. I'm pretty sure that I saw somewhere that you have to check the +12VRTS check box in Setup/Radio to make it work for the latest version of SatPC32. I'm not sure if it has to be, but it works when it IS checked. 2) Check the serial cable. I had the right one, and knew that I did (it generally wants straight through, not null modem). But apparently somewhere along the line a connector had come loose. Tighten them all down! 3) And here is the penultimate killer: In the Setup/Radio dialog box, when you check your manufacturer, you'll see to the right a "Model" label and a pull down to say what model of radio you have. But that "label" is actually a pulldown too. Select "baudrate" instead of "Model" and SET THE BAUDRATE. (I was sure I had seen it somewhere and that I knew what I had set it too. But I was wrong). 4) The ultimate killer in my case: The TS2000 needs to be power cycled after you change its baudrate (menu 56 for those who care) before it takes effect! I hope this helps someone! 73, Burns W2BFJ

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 03 Jan '16

03 Jan '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts on 05 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:42 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE. The contact should be audible over the east coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School is a vibrant school in the central Massachusetts town of Blackstone, adjacent to Rhode Island's northern border. It houses sixth through eighth grades for the regional school district that serves the towns of Blackstone and Millville. This is a quiet, somewhat suburban to rural area where most town residents choose to remain to raise their own families. The major landform in the area is the Blackstone River, which runs southeast through our towns. Because of this river, like many New England towns, these areas were prominent mill towns in the late industrial era, and our landscape is dotted with old mills near the river, many which have been repurposed for factory work, storage or condo living. Our regional school district has two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Our ten-year-old building was built to keep our students up-to-date with technology. We are proud to say that we have 5 computer labs and a STEM program for each grade. It is our sixth-grade students who will be asking the questions to the chosen ARISS astronaut. Sixth graders have just completed an extensive set of lessons about the ISS, its mission, the country partners who sponsor and keep the ISS going, its components, astronauts, some of the science happening on board, and a little bit about astronaut training. Earlier in the school year, they learned about our Universe, its history, the formation and the lives of stars and galaxies, our Sun and its solar system and Earth's place in all of this. Students are very excited to have this opportunity to speak with an ISS astronaut. In our classes, we often follow the path of the ISS, and we watch the Earth from the High Definition Earth Viewing System (HDEV) cameras placed on the ISS. We watched today's Soyuz TMA-19M launch and ISS docking, bringing the three new crew members for Expedition 46. We have also had some very successful ISS viewing parties where students returned to school with their parents after dark to view the ISS when it passed overhead. We know you astronauts can't see us, but we waved anyway! Thank you ARISS, NASA, ESA and all the ISS partners, our ARISS helpers Charlie Sufana and David Taylor, and all the astronauts who have participated in this great program which gives so many students a glimpse into and a personal connection with the science of space exploration and communication, on Earth and in space! Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What is your favorite ISS food? Do you try food/meals from other astronaut teams? 2. Is the oxygen you breathe on the ISS recycled, made or brought up by supply missions? 3. Does the ISS make noise? What causes the noise and how do you deal with it? 4. On the ISS, do you eat more or less than you did on Earth? What types of fresh food do you get from the supply missions? 5. What fun activities do you do in space? 6. How do you wash your clothes? What is the room temperature on the ISS? 7. What was the strangest experience you've been through in space? 8. Do you get to bring one or more personal possessions to the ISS for your time in space? What did you bring? 9. What inspired you to be an astronaut? When did you realize this? 10. How is sleeping in microgravity different in space? Is it a restful sleep? 11. What are some dangers of being on the ISS? 12. Are you on Twitter? Would you be able to send out a tweet either saying hello to us, or saying that you spoke to FWHMS here in Blackstone Massachusetts? 13. What type of tools do you use on a spacewalk? Where do you keep them while working? 14. What jobs or tasks do you do daily on the ISS? 15. What is your favorite place to be on the ISS? Why? 16. How long does it take for an astronaut to regain their strength, muscle, and bone health once they are back here on Earth? 17. I am a seventh grader. I choose a virtual middle school course called Space Station Academy. In this course we learned about how scientists study Earth from space and how the human body reacts to space in microgravity. I want to know how your body reacted when you first went into space. Did you get a bad headward fluid shift (space headache) or have the feeling of nausea? 18. I know astronauts bones become more fragile the longer they are in space due to the lack gravity, so you exercise extensively each day to counteract that. Do your bones feel any weaker or different now that you have been up for a few weeks? 19. Will popcorn pop in space? Do you have popcorn as a snack on the ISS? 20. Is there anything from Earth that you miss because you can't get it or you can't accomplish it on the ISS? 21. How much free time do you get? What do you do with your free time? 22. T. Peake - How will your London marathon run on the ISS be different than running in London? How will it be similar? 23. Have you or your fellow astronauts ever been injured in space? What would happen if someone became seriously injured or became ill? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, direct via GB1SAN The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri, 08Jan2016, 08:47 UTC ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program visit the ARISS website at ariss.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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ARISS AUDIO for Tuesday Contact
by John Spasojevich 03 Jan '16

03 Jan '16

Please join us in listening to the ISS contact with participants at the *Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, USA* on Tuesday 5 January. AOS is anticipated at 17:42 UTC The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Audio from this contact will be fed into the: EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) server IRLP Node 9010 Discovery Reflector Streaming Audio at: https://sites.google.com/site/arissaudio/ Audio on Echolink & web stream is generally transmitted around 20 minutes prior to the contact taking place so that you can hear some of the preparation that occurs. IRLP will begin just prior to the ground station call to the ISS assuming no issues with the local node or reflector. Please note that all breaks are manual approximately after every third question, connected repeaters may time out. ** Contact times are approximate. If the ISS executes a reboost or other maneuver, the AOS (Acquisition Of Signal) time may alter by a few minutes ** 73, John - AG9D ARISS AUDIO

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Neophyte SSB transponder operation follies
by Jeff A. Boyd 03 Jan '16

03 Jan '16

Today weather and winds were favorable (seriously, it was T-shirt weather in January) so I set up camp along a suburban road with wide sky coverage, put up my Arrow antenna with homebrew tripod mount, and put in a full schedule of SSB sat passes interspersed with the domestic JA New Year's QSO Party on 2m. http://i.imgur.com/cJcu6PY.jpg I am a complete newbie at SSB birds so you'll have to bear with my abject failure at making any QSOs through any of them so far. Dealing with trying to find my own downlink signal *and* continually adjusting the antenna has proven a handful. But I'm making baby steps and am still confident that I'll eventually figure this all out. 1. AO-73 (https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/ao-73-pass-jan-3n-2016-0954jst) The good: I successfully heard the telemetry beacon at S9 signal strength, immediately upon AOS. This told me I was doing something right. Also, at 4:50 in the above recording, I heard my own downlink signal at long last, although it was a fleeting moment of triumph. I suppose I should have taken note of what both frequencies were. The bad: No QSOs. Also the FUNCube Dashboard doesn't seem to want to run on Wine, so I couldn't actually decode the telemetry, only listen to it howl at me. 2. AO-7, mode B (https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/ao-7-pass-jan-3-2016-1410-jst) The good: Hey, it's AO-7 mode B on a day I'm actually listening! I heard plenty of CW traffic, as well as station UA9UIZ in eastern Russia calling CQ. The bad: I'm not allowed to tx to AO-7 in mode B. The JA band plan doesn't permit transmitting on 432MHz to satellites. I have to wait until it's in mode A, and then I need to be able to listen on 10 meters. (Ignore for a moment the fact that you hear JS3QBP calling on CW, I think he shouldn't be.) 3. FO-29 (https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/fo-29-pass-jan-3-2016-1440-jst) The good: Well I heard UA9UIZ calling CQ again. The bad: Pretty much everything else. I heard nary a single peep of my own signal. I'm seriously wondering whether this old IC-706 is having problems transmitting LSB, because this is my fourth attempt at this bird by now and I haven't been able to get into it no matter how many times I tune up, down, and sideways while saying OOOOOOOOOOOOO into the mic. Sigh. And then the day was over. Christmas over. Vacation over. Back to work on Monday. I'll try again next weekend. 73 J. Boyd JR2TTS -- J. Boyd, JR2TTS/NI3B the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp http://www.flickr.com/photos/the2belo/ http://www.qrz.com/db/JR2TTS Twitter: @Minus2_C

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