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

Re: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 Doppler problem
by Mark Johns 23 Oct '16

23 Oct '16

Thank you to all for your responses. I've been out of town, so I haven't had the chance to check other satellites besides FO-29 (and AO-73, but that one is always shifting around due to issues with the satellite). I'm going to try more experimenting with Pedro's Doppler.SQF line and Erich's correction procedure. Yes, I've checked location and time, and they are all as they should be. I do have a theory that something has become corrupt in the program files themselves, and I'm going to try a new download and clean installation of SatPC32 to see if that fixes things. -- 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 ----- Original Message ----- From: Erich Eichmann <erich.eichmann(a)t-online.de> To: Mark Johns <mjohns(a)luther.edu>; Mark Johns <mjohns166(a)yahoo.com>; AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2016 5:00 AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 Doppler problem Hello Mark, try the following: Track a FO-29 pass and find your signal using the "Upl. Corr." up/down controls in menu "CAT". Fine tune the uplink for best audio (best around the middle of the pass). Then click the "Change/Store Data File" in menu "CAT" and in the little window that opens click on "Upl. Correction". That will save the correct uplink frequency. That is easier and more reliable than to enter observed frequencies manually in Doppler. SQF. At the next program start you should immediately hear your signal. Little deviations (100 ... 300 Hz) may remain due to temperature differences at the sat or the radio. You can easily correct them using the +/- keys of the numerical pad with a few hits in steps of 100 Hz. (The keys work only if SatPC32 must be the active program - blue header line). 73s, Erich, DK1TB.. Am 22.10.2016 um 22:32 schrieb Mark Johns via AMSAT-BB: > For some reason, my SatPC32 has stopped correctly compensating for Doppler shift on FO-29. I'm continually having to "find myself" all over the passband, making adjustments throughout the pass, just like the old days when everything was manual. > > I've updated the Keps. I marked the uplink and downlink freqs at time of closest approach on a high-elevation pass, and re-edited my Doppler.SQF with those numbers. > > SatPC32 is talking to the rig, and it does make regular changes to both uplink and downlink frequencies -- they just happen not to be correct. > > I'm stumped! Any thoughts?-- > > 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 > _______________________________________________ > 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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Software Problems
by Joe 23 Oct '16

23 Oct '16

I am really excited about getting back on the Birds after a 40+ year absence. I've done EME, MS, AU, and all sorts of weak signal stuff on 144Mhz. I've played the DX and contesting on HF. All has been fun, but none except for the EME has given the most happiness than the memories of playing with the birds in the late 70's Now let me know, I can take this off list if members here want me to, But This excitement is quickly turning into disgust. To the point I'm just about to say screw it and forget about Sat work again. I am in the need of help with prediction programs. Man in the late 70's it was the ARRL bulletin with keps etc. and a Oscar Locator. Now we got ultra cool software programs that all are incredible! Except for me, I can not trust ANY of them. I have been testing several to see what I will make my primary program. BUT...... and there always is a "BUT" isn't there? I can not say what one to "Trust" The four I have installed are... SatLookDown1_28 HRDSatTrack Orbitron SatPC32 Now of course they all use the same computer clock. And it is accurate to less than a tenth of a second. Each one periodically ask to Up-Date the TLE's and I say "YES" and let them do it all on their own. I change NOTHING on where they get their data. The run them. The, SatLookDown1_28 & HRDSatTrack, both agree very closely. Almost to the second. But the Orbitron, is off, WAY off. like 15 minutes off. And the SatPC32 is even worse the sat is like 1/2 an orbit off! Now the ones that agree also match the page http://www.amsat.org.ar/pass.htm# So my guess they are the ones showing correct data. Now what to do about the other two. How can I make them show correct passes? Remember I can take this off list if no one wants to read about this... Just let me know, Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

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SatPC32 Doppler problem
by Mark Johns 23 Oct '16

23 Oct '16

For some reason, my SatPC32 has stopped correctly compensating for Doppler shift on FO-29. I'm continually having to "find myself" all over the passband, making adjustments throughout the pass, just like the old days when everything was manual. I've updated the Keps. I marked the uplink and downlink freqs at time of closest approach on a high-elevation pass, and re-edited my Doppler.SQF with those numbers. SatPC32 is talking to the rig, and it does make regular changes to both uplink and downlink frequencies -- they just happen not to be correct. I'm stumped! Any thoughts?-- 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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Crossed polarity dual band single feed yagi
by pedro＠dutrasousa.name 23 Oct '16

23 Oct '16

Hi all, The best of ham radio is that you can build and experiment. My current portable yagi is a dualband single fed (VHF element) home built, from DK7ZB designs, 4+5 elements version. VHF has 9.25dB gain 1.03SWR, UHF 8.67dB 1.12SWR. It works like a charm. Now that I'm on the final stages of condo permits for a tower - although it's a tower on top of the building there are still space limitations - my goal is to build a crossed polarity set of my portable antenna. Something similar to what Gulf Alpha had, but instead of 4 feed points, one for each band/polarisation, I'll have only two, combined into one impedance matched feed line to the shack. Due to the required materials for the feed points and the elements positions I came up with 2 versions where the vertical antenna is ahead of the horizontal by 3 inches and 16 inches. My understanding is that circular polarisation would require a specific position for the vertical antenna plus the proper cable circuit for it. I'm aware that RHCP would give me a stable signal reception, rather than my setup even tilted 45 degrees instead of plain horizontal/vertical. I saw PU3GUO report on his VHF only antenna while receiving ANDE. I've ran the model in 4nec2 for the two options, 145MHz and 435MHz, and using 5W. Here are my findings. 3 inches separation: VHF Both antennas 1.03SWR Combined gain 9.25dB UHF Both antennas 1.12SWR Combined gain 8.67dB 16 inches separation: VHF Both antennas 1.03SWR Combined gain 9.24dB UHF Horizontal antenna 1.12SWR; Vertical antenna 1.49SWR Combined gain 8.27dB My conclusion is that advancing the vertical antenna by so many inches will result in interference from the horizontal one in such way that the gain is lower and SWR increases. Gain in UHF is lower, expected as same happens in my current portable antenna, and that's because it's being fed in the VHF element. Has anyone built something similar that can share any comments? Would there be any other configuration possible for a single boom? Thanks in advance. 73s de Pedro CU2ZG, HM77 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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ANS-297 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-297 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: * VHF Handheld Radio Failed, ARISS Contacts Moved to Kenwood Radio on Board the International Space Station (ISS) * New ARISS Equipment Completes Major Milestone, Donations Still Needed * ESEO Satellite Project * iCubeSat 2017 Workshop * 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium at Sea Registration Still Open * ARISS Proposal Window Closes November 1, 2016 * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.01 ANS-297 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 23, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-297.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- VHF Handheld Radio Failed, ARISS Contacts Moved to Kenwood Radio on Board the International Space Station (ISS) The VHF handheld radio model that has been used by the ARISS program to connect students worldwide with astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) for over 16 years has given an error message and is unusable at this time. While the ARISS technical team evaluates the best path to restore operation from the Columbus module, ARISS contacts will be supported using the Kenwood radio in the Russian Service Module. During this period, the packet digipeater will be unavailable. Switching to the 70 cm radio capability on board the Columbus module for some operations is being coordinated. Expect further updates as we work to resolve this problem. 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), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and 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 www.arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Dave Jordan, AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New ARISS Equipment Completes Major Milestone, Donations Still Needed Yesterday, October 21, 2016, the ARISS hardware team accomplished a very major milestone — the successful completion of the Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM)for the Interoperable Hardware System, which includes the JVC Kenwood D710 Radio and the Multi Voltage Power Supply. The TIM was conducted as an ARISS hardware milestone from the Technical Evaluation and Support (TES) Committee and our international members from TES were present. The TIM also had subject matter experts from NASA attending and providing advice as well as a former (retired) chief engineer from the NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) organization. All in all, ARISS received great advice and suggestions on how to move forward with the hardware development. I am most proud that we have completed this first major milestone in the development of the next ARISS hardware upgrade to fly on ISS. On behalf of the ARISS International team, I would like to thank TES co-leads Mark Steiner and Lou McFadin for their leadership in getting the important milestone accomplished. I would also like to thank Kerry Banke, the Multi Voltage Power Supply developer, Bob Davis who is developing the mechanical enclosure for the system, and Bob Bruninga and Dave Taylor for their help on the D710 programming modes. And, of course, special thanks goes to JVC Kenwood and Aota Shin and Phil Parton for their support, equipment and engineering that will serve ARISS and the ham community for years to come. With this milestone completed, we will move forward with the design process and finalize the design with a TIM in the next few months. Our next hurdle will be the Phase 0 safety review which we hope to complete before the end of this year. While aggressive, we are still working with NASA towards an October 2017 launch of the hardware system. The costs and effort to develop and certify equipment for human spaceflight missions is very high. The bulk of this cost is for safety certification testing and hazard reporting expertise. We have estimated that from beginning to end (a 3 year development cycle), the costs for the new hardware system are in the $200k range. Note that we are aggressively pursuing real dollar and in-kind donations to address this. But, as you know, every bit of funding helps. That is why we started the ARISS Challenge Coin Donation Campaign this year at the Dayton Hamvention. As you communicate this important milestone to your friends, please remind them that we cannot complete this effort without funding. Human spaceflight hardware developments are always expensive. They are most welcome to donate towards the hardware development by pushing the “ARISS Donate” button at www.amsat.org. Those that donate $100 or more will receive a special ARISS Commemorative Coin. I thank all of you for all your sustained support and efforts to our ARISS cause over the years. It is hard to believe that we are nearing 20 years of ARISS being a team. [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Chairman for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ESEO Satellite Project Here is a brief update on the ESEO Satellite project which may be of interest. "A team of 3 from AMSAT-UK and Surrey Space Center visited Forli in Italy this week where the engineering model of the ESEO satellite is being assembled. During the visit, the team began work integrating the AMSAT payload into ESEO, confirming successful 2 way communication communication via the satellites CAN bus. They also checked the transmission of educational telemetry at 1200 and 4800 bits per second and tested the L band to VHF FM transponder. ESEO, The European Student Earth Orbiter, is a 50kg satellite from ESA Education incorporating payloads from AMSAT-UK and Universities around Europe." [ANS thanks David, G0MRF, and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- iCubeSat 2017 Workshop iCubeSat 2017 - the 6th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop will be held 30-31 May 2017 in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The full call for papers and presentations can be found at www.iCubeSat.org iCubeSat 2017, the 6th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop, will address the technical challenges, opportunities, and practicalities of interplanetary space exploration with CubeSats. The workshop provides a unique environment for open wide ranging practical collaboration between academic researchers, industry professionals, policy makers and students developing this new and rapidly growing field. The papers and presentations from previous workshops at Caltech, Cornell, Imperial, MIT and Oxford may be found at: https://icubesat.org/ You can see the presentations from this years workshop at Oxford at the following link: https://icubesat.org/archive/2016-2/icubesat-program-2016 [ANS thanks Micheal, iCubeSat 2017 Committee for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium at Sea Registration Still Open If you are an Individual attending Symposium on board the CARNIVAL LIBERTY departing Galveston, TX on November 10, you must register to attend the AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual Meeting through AMSAT. Cruise arrangements made through Carnival Cruise Lines does not include the registration fee for the Symposium itself. There are three options to register for Symposium: -Complete and mail to the AMSAT Office the 2016 Symposium Registration Form that was sent to all AMSAT members back in July along with the BoD ballot along with payment; -Call the AMSAT Office (301-822-4376) and speak with AMSAT Office Manager Martha Saragovitz ; or -Use the AMSAT Store (store.amsat.org) by selecting the “2016 AMSAT-NA Symposium Registration” link found under “Bestsellers” on the right hand side of the store’s main page. Registration for the Symposium is $40.00 and includes a copy of the “Proceedings” that contains papers written for the Symposium as well as technical documentation that AMSAT is placing in the public domain. The “Proceedings” will be available to attendees onboard ship. In addition, the registration provides a means to confirm the number of individuals in your party planning to attend the AMSAT Banquet as well as an opportunity to reserve seats for the Field Ops Breakfast. Both meals are open to anyone wishing to attend (AMSAT Registration is not necessary) and there is no charge for either event as food is included in your cruise package. However, by indicating how many individuals will be attending, it helps to ensure that sufficient seating is made available for each activity. As the AMSAT Office will not be open after Monday, 7 NOV 16 through that week, we ask that your Symposium Registration be received at the AMSAT office by Friday, 4 NOV 16. [ANS thanks 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium Committee for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Proposal Window Closes November 1, 2016 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is November 1, 2016. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Thursday-Monday, 10-14 November 2016 – 2106 AMSAT Space Symposium, Symposium at Sea, on Carnival Liberty, Galveston TX to Cozumel and return *Saturday, 12 November 2016 – Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Marana AZ *Saturday, 3 December 2016 – Superstition Superfest in Mesa AZ *Saturday, 14 January 2017 – Thunderbird Hamfest 2017 in Phoenix AZ *Saturday, 4 February 2017 – Palm Springs Hamfest in Palm Springs CA *Friday-Sunday, 10-12 February 2017 Orlando HamCation in Orlando, FL *Friday and Saturday, 17-18 February 2017 – Yuma Hamfest in Yuma AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * Howell L. Watkins Middle School, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida direct via N4J. The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut is Takuya Onishi KF5LKS Contact was successful: Mon 2016-10-17 16:08:00 UTC Right from AOS full quieting! All 20 questions asked and a farewell by all the students transmitted. Contact duration 9 mins 30 seconds. At 16:15 UTC not sure if it was low audio or a signal issue but question 20 had to be repeated. Live streamed over the school network to about 900 students. Media coverage was 2 newspapers and TV station. There were about 90 students present. * University of Nebraska's Peter Kiewit Institute, Omaha NE, telebridge via VK4KHZ. The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut was Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Contact was successful: Sat 2016-10-15 14:00:08 UTC 29 deg This was a JOTA event. An estimate of audience was 5,750. We had 19 of 20 scouts interview Dr. Rubins. The last question was at LOS, but Astronaut Mike Fossum (who was at the event) answered for Dr. Rubins. There was low audio from the event, but Shane, VK4KHZ relayed the questions to the ISS. * Stephen F. Austin Elementary School, Brazosport ISD, Jones Creek, Texas, telebridge via VK5ZAI The ISS callsign was scheduled to be NA1SS. The scheduled astronaut was Takuya Onishi KF5LKS Contact was successful: Mon 2016-10-10 16:46:00 UTC Takuya Onishi answered 24 questions. About 400 students, teachers and parents were in the audience. Reporters from two small local newspapers were also in attendance. Upcoming Contacts * Istituto Comprensivo “Marco da Melo”, Mel, Italy, direct via IQ3FL The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS. The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD. Contact is presently scheduled for: Sat 2016-11-05 09:32:10 UTC 76 deg Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT's Around the World A new link has been created under the AMSAT pull-down tab at http://www.amsat.org or directly http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=5618 which list the links to all the other AMSAT's around the world. A webpage like this was on the old AMSAT site and never got migrated over. A new webpage has been created. Check it out! [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT BOD Member 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, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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Outernet L-Band Service
by Mike Hoblinski 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

I purchased the setup from Amazon and used the Raspberry Pi 3 board. Its only been running for about a day and its downloaded some of the WX info, APRS Lists, Pics, News. and Wiki lists. I am looking for a more suitable enclosure for outdoors. Its setup on a shelf about a foot in front of the window with Vertical plastic blinds closed and plastic window screen on the outside and it manages to get enough of a signal to download the packets. I do see a problem once my computer and monitor are powered up and possibly with the TV as well. I am powering it from the Raspberry PI wall wart for now but after a few days I want to try out my portable power pack and outdoor locations. The patch antenna is mounted on a plastic sheet with the L-Band Amp, SDR dongle, and Pi-3 on the other side. I have a tablet stand from the 99 cent store to tilt and aim the board for now. I was wondering what other users are seeing signal wise from their setup. Mine shows a SNR of only 2.8 and signal quality of around 3 to 4 on their setup screen but appears to do the job. Mike N6IMF

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Logger32 Help
by Chad Phillips 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

Hello everyone, I have a bunch of contacts to enter into Logger32 and I am trying to figure out how to enter my grid square for my location. Any help? I'm also curious how you all log your contacts. Do you keep a separate log just for sats or lump it all together with your hf stuff. I've made a number of contacts activating other grids and just trying to find smooth way to keep track of my contacts and VUCC Thanks, Chad KG0MW Sent from my iPhone

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ARISS Major Milestone Completed
by KA3HDO 22 Oct '16

22 Oct '16

All, You all were asking about the ARISS new hardware status. I sent the missive below to the ARISS team this morning, so here you go. We greatly appreciate the substantial donation from JVC Kenwood of hardware and engineering to realize the next ARISS station. As Dan Cussen noted in an earlier post, the costs and effort to develop and certify equipment for human spaceflight missions is very high. The bulk of this cost is for safety certification testing and hazard reporting expertise. We are estimating that from beginning to end (3 year development cycle), the costs for the new hardware system will be in the $200k range. Note that we are aggressively pursuing real dollar and in-kind donations to address this. But, as you know, every bit of funding helps. That is why we started the ARISS Challenge Coin Donation Campaign this year at the Dayton Hamvention. If anyone has ideas on garnering funds to support the ARISS hardware initiative, please contact me directly at my ka3hdo(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]> address. Thanks for all your interest and support to ARISS. 73, Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs ARISS International Chair ***** Yesterday, October 21, 2016, the ARISS hardware team accomplished a very major milestone-the successful completion of the Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) for the Interoperable Hardware System, which includes the JVC Kenwood D710 Radio and the Multi Voltage Power Supply. The TIM was conducted as an ARISS hardware milestone from the Technical Evaluation and Support (TES) Committee (TES) and our international members from TES were present. The TIM also had subject matter experts from NASA attending and providing advice as well as a former (retired) chief engineer from the NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) organization. All in all, ARISS received great advice and suggestions on how to move forward with the hardware development. I am most proud that we have completed this first major milestone in the development of the next ARISS hardware upgrade to fly on ISS. On behalf of the ARISS International team, I would like to thank TES co-leads Mark Steiner and Lou McFadin for their leadership in getting the important milestone accomplished. I would also like to thank Kerry Banke, the Multi Voltage Power Supply developer, Bob Davis who is developing the mechanical enclosure for the system, and Bob Bruninga and Dave Taylor for their help on the D710 programming modes. And, of course, special thanks goes to JVC Kenwood and Aota Shin and Phil Parton for their support, equipment and engineering that will serve ARISS and the ham community for years to come. With this milestone completed, we will move forward with the design process and finalize the design with a TIM in the next few months. Our next hurdle will be the Phase 0 safety review which we hope to complete before the end of this year. While aggressive, we are still working with NASA towards an October 2017 launch of the hardware system. As you communicate this important milestone to your friends, please remind them that we cannot complete this effort without funding. Human spaceflight hardware developments are always expensive. They are most welcome to donate towards the hardware development by pushing the "ARISS Donate" button at www.amsat.org <http://www.amsat.org> . Those that donate $100 or more will receive a special ARISS Commemorative Coin. I thank all of you for all your sustained support and efforts to our ARISS cause over the years. It is hard to believe that we are nearing 20 years of being a team. 73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO

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Lindenblad 2m / 70 cm Satellite Omni Antenna for sale
by Rafael Peña 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

I've bought this dual band system with the hope that I will work my first birds. It did not do too well for me. It might be my area QTH (QRI / QRM broadcasting TV/Radio stations) in DC but I could not hear too well the satellites even if they were at very good elevation. Up for sale it goes.... It is impossible to disassemble the elements on this antenna. So shipping will be kind of delicate particularly for the mast as well. Prefer DC area pickup. There are two sections (2m / 70cm) mounted on an aluminum mast...there is a Super-Amp SP-7000 (430-440MHz) and a Comet CF-4160 (Duplexer, 1.3-170 MHz Low Pass, 350-540 MHz High Pass, 60 dB Isolation, Each) attached to the mast as required for this Lindenblad. You provide your coax. I didn't think to offer it back for sale but rather than keeping it on the back yard...here it goes: Antenna system with Amp / Comet $400 OBO I can make good use of the Amp / Comet if not needed, antenna system only $200 OBO 73 Rafael / NN3RP

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Re: [amsat-bb] Mirage Mast Mounted Preamp(s)
by Steve Appleton 21 Oct '16

21 Oct '16

I agree that MFJ puts out a inferior product in general. In some cases they put out a product that performs reasonably well for considerably less money. You recommended the SSB product and that would be my first choice if it didn't cost $159 more. I think I can power the Mirage / MFJ preamp from my Yaesu FT-847 directly so the control box isn't a consideration. I have not as yet made a contact with the preamp so I'm still evaluating. Thanks for letting me know about the crosstalk problem. I'll be on the lookout for it. If I find that is the case, I will return and just bite the bullet. QST reviewed the SSB products recently and they were impressed enough to run them at W1AW so that's probably a safe bet. Thx, -Steve KC2LNC

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