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

One more NPOTA activation, tomorrow...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 31 Dec '16

31 Dec '16

Hi! Weather permitting, I am planning to operate from the Tonto National Monument - east of Phoenix, NPOTA site MN70 - during the day tomorrow. This site is not in a rare grid, but the same grid I live in (DM43). Even though it is in DM43, it will take almost 2 hours to drive out there. I'll work various FM, SSB, and packet satellites throughout the day, hoping to start around 1600 UTC. I have not been out there in a couple of years, but I remember that mobile phone coverage is spotty out there. I hope to be able to use my @WD9EWK Twitter feed to send out updates from the monument, which will show up in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK APRS should cover me at the monument and along the highway that goes past the monument. I'll use WD9EWK-9 as my APRS call sign for the drive to and from the monument, and for any ISS and NO-84 passes I work from there. WD9EWK-9 should be visible at (among other sites): http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 The NPOTA activation will end no later than 2359 UTC, and probably some time before that. Between the drive back to the Phoenix area and wanting to record the WWV broadcast of the leap second at 23:59:60 UTC, I won't try to work every possible pass up to the end of the year on the UTC clock. All QSOs made from Tonto National Monument will be uploaded to Logbook of the World after I return home, except for the QSOs made via BY70-1. BY70-1 QSOs will go into Logbook of the World once ARRL adds that satellite to the system. If you would like to receive a QSL card for any QSOs made with WD9EWK, please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. No need to send me your card or an SASE to get my card. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] Questions On Balloons With Amateur Packages
by Richard Tejera 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Dave, Knowing the weight of the payload, they will fill it with enough gas to become neutrally buoyant at the target altitude. If altitude is the goal, enough gas will be filled to take it to an altitude that will exceed the Burt diameter. Rick Tejera K7TEJ Saguaro Astronomy Club www.SaguaroAstro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org On December 23, 2016, at 11:01, Dave Marthouse <dmarthouse(a)gmail.com> wrote: I have seen posts from time to time on the BB about balloons with amateur radio payloads on them. I've got a question regarding the missions that carry payloads around the world. What stops the balloons from going up until they explode do to the high altitude. How are the packages kept from doing this to achieve such long distance flights? -- Dave Marthouse N2AAM dmarthouse(a)gmail.com _______________________________________________ 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

5 4

Re: [amsat-bb] ] BY70-1 SATPC32 DOPPLER SQ FILE
by PA3GUO 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

BY70-1,436200,145920,FM,FM,NOR,0,0,FM Henk What is everyone using for the doppler Sq file for satpc32 for the BY70-1 SAT ? THANKS jeff WB8RJY jeff broughton ________________________________________

1 0

BY70-1 SATPC32 DOPPLER SQ FILE
by jeffory broughton 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

What is everyone using for the doppler Sq file for satpc32 for the BY70-1 SAT ? THANKS jeff WB8RJY jeff broughton

1 0

Channel settings to work BY70-1
by Mac A. Cody 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Greetings, I'm looking at setting up my hand-held radios to attempt to work BY70-1. Given that my radios have a minimum step size of 2.5 KHz, I'm trying to set them up to account for the frequency sensitivity of BY70-1. I am going to use the channel set listed as follows: CH RX TX TX Tone BY70-1 436.2100 145.9175 67 Hz BY70-2 436.2075 145.9175 67 Hz BY70-3 436.2050 145.9175 67 Hz BY70-4 436.2025 145.9200 67 Hz BY70-5 436.2000 145.9200 67 Hz BY70-6 436.1975 145.9200 67 Hz BY70-7 436.1950 145.9225 67 Hz BY70-8 436.1925 145.9225 67 Hz BY70-9 436.1900 145.9225 67 Hz Does anyone see anything errant is this plan, such as a shift in the base TX or RX frequencies? If so, please let me know. Otherwise, I hope that this channel set may be useful to others. 73, Mac / AE5PH

1 1

BY70-1 Keps Test
by Pedro Converso 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Given comments that BY70-1 Object 41909 is later than expected, Object 41910 shows 4 minutes earlier. This Object 41910 is available for tracking as BY702 as additional alternative. You can use this at http://amsat.org.ar/pass.htm clicking on BY702. Comments, checks, welcome 73, lu7abf, Pedro

1 0

Weekend Rover Trip
by Gabriel Zeifman 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Hello fellow people of the birds, I will once again be venturing into the unknown to activate rare grids. The primary goals of this trip will be EN02 and EN04. Appearances by NJ7H/VE3 and VE4 are possible. States that I will likely visit include KS, NE, SD, NE, MN, IA, MO, and Canadian provinces MB and ON. QRV all sats (linear/FM/packet) and available for requests. Will be on APRS as NJ7H-9 and iridium tracking at share.delorme.com/gz. If I'm in a grid/state you need, shoot me a message. Updates will be posted on twitter NJ7H_Radio. Due to the unpredictable nature of roving, no pass schedule will be made ahead of time. I try to give warning when I am "pass assured". EO30/40 are possible as the very extent of possibilities on the very ambitious side of this trip, as is EN29 from the US side in the US exclave of the Northwest Angle. Hope to see you all on the birds! 73, Gabe NJ7H NJ7H(a)AMSAT.org

1 0

Unsuccessful attempts to make APRS contacts through ISS or NO-84
by hdskullfire2 . 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

I've been trying and trying to make APRS contacts through ISS (UHF) and NO-84 (VHF) for some time now and have been unsuccessful in all attempts even in cases where the bird was plenty high or right over my head. Here's my working conditions.. Icom IC-9100 using a microKeyer II (MKII) as the interface. SatPC32ISS, UISS (Pro Version), UZ7HO Soundmodem. The antenna array is a m2 Leo-Pack and the rotator is a Yaesu G5500 being controlled with a Green Heron AZ-EL unit. All software is the latest. Doppler shifting is working fine as SatPC32ISS, IC-9100, and GH controller are talking to each other without issues. I've listened to the outgoing sound of the packet and did not hear anything unusual. In almost every case I've tried the lowest power and increased power at varying levels without luck. I've monitored the outgoing audio and adjusted the TX on the MKII to varying levels to make sure the audio of the packet was not over cooked. >From what I can tell everything is working well together and I can see incoming packets from other stations decoding on UISS and Soundmodem. However when I TX... No hits whatsoever. When I tested the system on the local APRS frequency it works fine and other stations are digipeating my packet signal. I'm coming to the conclusion that this must be a problem with my settings in either Soundmodem or perhaps UISS. The packets going up never get repeated. On both birds I use CQ & Ariss (Tried others too) during the outgoing TX attempts but nothing. I would really like if someone who uses a similar setup and has things working to contact me. I'm at wits end and now curtailing any further attempts until I get some information on what may be going on.. Steve Nordahl, NS3L Nazareth, Pa. NS3L(at)Yahoo(dot)com

3 2

LVB DB9 Serial to USB Tracker ..
by David Maciel (XE3DX) 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Can anyone know how to convert my LVB Tracker from DB9 Serial to USB ..? I do not want to use adapters .. David Maciel XE3DX *http://www.qsl.net/xe3dx/ <http://www.qsl.net/xe3dx/>* *david.xe3dx(a)gmail.com <david.xe3dx(a)gmail.com>* Before printing, please think about your responsibility and commitment with the* ENVIRONMENT.* *Antes de Imprimir, *piensa en tu responsabilidad y compromiso con el *MEDIO AMBIENTE.*

3 2

AO-85
by skristof＠etczone.com 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Is anyone else having problems getting telemetry out of AO-85? I just had an 83 degree pass and got zero data packets decoded. I saw the satellite signal on the "waterfall" and it was pretty weak. This summer I would get 30 to 40 decoded data packets out of a high pass like that. Is it me or the satellite? Steve AI9IN

1 0