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

Satellites and Solar
by Robert Bruninga 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Solar Rant: Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not… except get older).. I began “How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?” Most hands went up “How many of you went solar since my last talk?” (one hand went up). “Why not?” I ask. General response was, “.. it costs too much…” I went on, “Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another $200 a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown away every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)…” “Don’t tell me it costs too much…. It costs too much to do nothing!” “This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years or the rest of his life!” Most people in the room said they would probably go solar “someday”. But now they are starting to realize that every single month they send another $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away… when instead it could have gone for their solar investment which remains EQUITY in their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which pays back over 10% annual return on the investment every year for the rest of their life. Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it now and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 electric bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have not taken the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are you going to throw away good money every month and do nothing? Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited to your bill. Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% credit to your own home bill. Neat! Its called “virtual-net-metering”. It’s a whole new world of energy changing under your feet…. Every day.. Bob, WB4APR

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Icom IC-W32 Power Supply Assistance
by Oliver 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

I just received a well loved ic-w32 from ebay. I need to get a new battery and a charger for it though. Both are expected. Before I do, though I'd like to make sure it _actually_ works. I have a variable DC power supply I was thinking of either bypassing the battery with or powering via the external dc jack. I don't know what the contact middle contact does though, so I'm hesitant to try that idea. Need to keep the magic smoke in ... Does anyone have experience doing this? Maybe information on the DC jack polarity? The service manual I found online doesn't mention much about powering it up. Any others tips or pointers on the w32a I should know? Thanks for your time.

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ISS SSTV Event April 11th - 14/15th
by John Brier 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

@RF2Space tweeted this earlier today: http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/2016/04/ariss-commemorative-event-april-11-1… "ARISS commemorative event (April 11-14) Looks like all the pieces are starting to fall into place for the long awaited SSTV event. The schedule is shaping up to look like this: Setup and activation on April 11 about 18:25 UTC. Paused April 12 from 12:15 until 14:15 UTC to allow for a school contact with Romania. Paused April 13 from 12:45 until 14:30 UTC to allow for a school contact with Argentina. Deactivation on April 14 at 11:35 UTC. This opportunity should cover most of the world during the operational period.The image transmissions should be on 145.800 MHz and the mode is planned to be PD180. In addition, MAI-75 will be conducting two sessions afterwards. The first one is April 14 from 14:45 until 18:00 UTC. The second session is on April 15 from 14:10 until 19:00 UTC. These times do not cross N. America but will provide opportunities for Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and S. America. As always, all operations aboard the ISS are subject to change and everyone interested in this activity should be vigilant and patient." I have an "ISS SSTV Reception Hints" webpage which may help: https://spacecomms.wordpress.com/iss-sstv-reception-hints/ Also I just made a PD180 test recording: https://youtu.be/fGBmUTESnC8 https://soundcloud.com/spacecomms/pd180-sstv-test-recording https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgp5gtkzjdvm0m3/Space_Comms_PD180_SSTV_Test_Recor… Good luck and 73! John KG4AKV

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AO-7 MODE A !
by jeffory broughton 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

What a nice suprise to find Oscar 7 in mode A this morning at 1300 utc.It was a max El pass of 4.8 degrees for me in central Michigan, but I was able to hear my 10m downlink from AOS to LOS. What fun ! jeff broughton

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Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar (a)
by Robert Bruninga 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

> Talking solar with my non Ham friends... That's a problem, Anything they were sure they knew before, is these days almost obsolete a year later. I too had misconceptions all based on my 50 year ham experience with solar (and batteries) for remote digipeaters, etc. My historical background was WRONG on the most basic concepts or modern solar..., hence my sounding "born-again! " That is, FORGET the batteries. The economical revolution in solar is grid-tie. Has nothing to do with batteries (and nothing to do with backup power). Getting rid of the batteries got rid of half the cost and all the lifetime maintenance. It also greatly relaxed the pointing requirements and angles... A true revolution. Solar generation now costs less than a coal plant. Even the Saudi's are building all new energy as solar. Since solar is cheaper than coal or oil, they want to use Solar for all their own energy needs because they can save their oil for export where they can sell it for higher prices. > and there is a misconception that solar can be > used for emergency power... Solar inverter > shuts down once the utility main sense is lost. Yep, same as always. The backup power issue has nothing to do with economical power. Providing emergency power is a totally different function and financial problem no different from what you currently do. Around here the grid is 99.95% reliable. That means, it goes out on average about 4 hours a year. For a 1kW average house load, that is about 60 cents of power loss per year. Adding TEN THOUSAND dollars of "whole house backup battery system" to replace that 60 cents of power per year is not economical... Especially since 5 years later, you will have to replace all those batteries after having only used them maybe 20 hours in 5 years.. No, The answer to "backup" is no different whether one has solar or not. One easy way to do backup, is the same $200 generator and $6 can of gas one might use now. Or plug into the 50kW generator in your Hybrid car, or the 24 kWh battery in your EV, or maybe $400 worth of marine batteries and a $200 inverter form Home depot. All far-far less than a whole house battery system added to solar for 60 cents worth of back up power once a year. AND... the knowledgible Ham who still has 10kW of DC solar power can always find lots of ways to use it even if the grid is down. See http://aprs.org/alternative-energy.html > I have also heard.. rumors that the panels go bad > just after the cost of the system has paid for itself. Solar panels degrade over time. After 25 years they will have lost 20% of their capacity. But, in 25 years I think I can guarantee that one's appliances and electric loads will be 20% more efficient. Hence no change in life style. Just look at the 4-to-1 drop in power needed for lighting in just the last few years. Anyway, yes, they degrade, but less than 1% per year. But they are still producing power. After another 25 years (50 years from now) there will be another 20% loss down to 60% of original power.... but in 50 years you'll be dead or one probably won't need all the power we waste now. And lastly, the cost of 20% more panels to bring your array back up to snuff 25 years from now will cost pennies. Hope that helps. Solar power is cheap, clean power (now costs less than coal. Even the Saudi's are going to all new solar power Bob, WB4APR > On Apr 8, 2016, at 9:35 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > Solar Rant: > > Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power > (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the > same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). > > But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not. > except get older).. > > I began "How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?" Most > hands went up > > "How many of you went solar since my last talk?" (one hand went up). > "Why not?" I ask. > > General response was, ".. it costs too much." > > I went on, "Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize > you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and > did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over > $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another $200 > a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown away > every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)." > > "Don't tell me it costs too much.. It costs too much to do nothing!" > > "This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years or > the rest of his life!" > > Most people in the room said they would probably go solar "someday". > But now they are starting to realize that every single month they send > another $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away. > when instead it could have gone for their solar investment which > remains EQUITY in their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which > pays back over 10% annual return on the investment every year for the > rest of their life. > > Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going > to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility > forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it now > and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. > > See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html > > AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR > Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 electric > bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have not taken > the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are you going > to throw away good money every month and do nothing? > > Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your > trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can > still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited to your bill. > > Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some > remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your > solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% credit > to your own home bill. Neat! Its called "virtual-net-metering". > > It's a whole new world of energy changing under your feet.. Every day.. > > Bob, WB4APR

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Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar (a)
by jmfranke＠cox.net 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

And the price of commercial electricity will go up because the power companies will still have to support the infrastructure to supply the full load at night or during cloudy weather yet have it sitting idle when as they say "The Sun is shining." John WA4WDL ---- Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > Talking solar with my non Ham friends... > > That's a problem, Anything they were sure they knew before, is these days > almost obsolete a year later. I too had misconceptions all based on my 50 > year ham experience with solar (and batteries) for remote digipeaters, > etc. My historical background was WRONG on the most basic concepts or > modern solar..., hence my sounding "born-again! " > > That is, FORGET the batteries. The economical revolution in solar is > grid-tie. Has nothing to do with batteries (and nothing to do with backup > power). Getting rid of the batteries got rid of half the cost and all the > lifetime maintenance. It also greatly relaxed the pointing requirements > and angles... A true revolution. Solar generation now costs less than a > coal plant. Even the Saudi's are building all new energy as solar. Since > solar is cheaper than coal or oil, they want to use Solar for all their > own energy needs because they can save their oil for export where they can > sell it for higher prices. > > > and there is a misconception that solar can be > > used for emergency power... Solar inverter > > shuts down once the utility main sense is lost. > > Yep, same as always. The backup power issue has nothing to do with > economical power. Providing emergency power is a totally different > function and financial problem no different from what you currently do. > Around here the grid is 99.95% reliable. That means, it goes out on > average about 4 hours a year. For a 1kW average house load, that is about > 60 cents of power loss per year. > > Adding TEN THOUSAND dollars of "whole house backup battery system" to > replace that 60 cents of power per year is not economical... Especially > since 5 years later, you will have to replace all those batteries after > having only used them maybe 20 hours in 5 years.. No, The answer to > "backup" is no different whether one has solar or not. One easy way to do > backup, is the same $200 generator and $6 can of gas one might use now. > > Or plug into the 50kW generator in your Hybrid car, or the 24 kWh battery > in your EV, or maybe $400 worth of marine batteries and a $200 inverter > form Home depot. All far-far less than a whole house battery system added > to solar for 60 cents worth of back up power once a year. AND... the > knowledgible Ham who still has 10kW of DC solar power can always find lots > of ways to use it even if the grid is down. > > See http://aprs.org/alternative-energy.html > > > > I have also heard.. rumors that the panels go bad > > just after the cost of the system has paid for itself. > > Solar panels degrade over time. After 25 years they will have lost 20% of > their capacity. But, in 25 years I think I can guarantee that one's > appliances and electric loads will be 20% more efficient. Hence no change > in life style. Just look at the 4-to-1 drop in power needed for lighting > in just the last few years. > > Anyway, yes, they degrade, but less than 1% per year. But they are still > producing power. After another 25 years (50 years from now) there will be > another 20% loss down to 60% of original power.... but in 50 years you'll > be dead or one probably won't need all the power we waste now. And > lastly, the cost of 20% more panels to bring your array back up to snuff > 25 years from now will cost pennies. > > Hope that helps. Solar power is cheap, clean power (now costs less than > coal. Even the Saudi's are going to all new solar power > Bob, WB4APR > > > On Apr 8, 2016, at 9:35 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > > > Solar Rant: > > > > Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power > > (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the > > same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). > > > > But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not. > > except get older).. > > > > I began "How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?" Most > > hands went up > > > > "How many of you went solar since my last talk?" (one hand went up). > > "Why not?" I ask. > > > > General response was, ".. it costs too much." > > > > I went on, "Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize > > you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and > > did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over > > $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another $200 > > a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown away > > every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)." > > > > "Don't tell me it costs too much.. It costs too much to do nothing!" > > > > "This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years or > > the rest of his life!" > > > > Most people in the room said they would probably go solar "someday". > > But now they are starting to realize that every single month they send > > another $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away. > > when instead it could have gone for their solar investment which > > remains EQUITY in their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which > > > pays back over 10% annual return on the investment every year for the > > rest of their life. > > > > Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going > > to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility > > forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it now > > and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. > > > > See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html > > > > AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR > > Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 electric > > bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have not taken > > the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are you going > > to throw away good money every month and do nothing? > > > > Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your > > trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can > > still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited > to your bill. > > > > Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some > > remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your > > solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% credit > > to your own home bill. Neat! Its called "virtual-net-metering". > > > > It's a whole new world of energy changing under your feet.. Every day.. > > > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > 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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Dragon Underway To ISS
by B J 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

It was a smooth launch and the spacecraft's photovoltaic arrays have been deployed. The first stage made a safe touchdown on its recovery barge even though there were some whitecaps on the waves. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: [amsat-bb] Icom IC-W32a, Heil Mic, Arrow SMA Diplexer, AMSAT magazines ...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Hi! On the QRZ.com satellite forum, Clint posted that he made a mistake with regard to his auction posting of the Puxing PX-UV973 HT, and that he corrected it. Unfortunately, what he did to "correct" the misstatement in the auction posting was anything but a correction. Clint removed the original auction listing for the Puxing HT, created a new listing, and the new listing still has the same incorrect description. https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/24686/auctions/29310/auction_items… Again, if the PX-UV973 was truly capable of working SO-50 full-duplex, we would have probably heard about it in 2013 after he bought one. We would have definitely heard about that when he was selling them in late 2013 and early 2014. This is coming from the same person who prided himself on being honest (among other things), when he sold these radios a couple of years ago. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/uv973/conversations/messages/288 A shame... Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK > > https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/24686/auctions/29310/auction_items… > > >

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SatPC32 V12.8C updated?
by Eric Knaps, ON4HF 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Hello all, I had some minor issues with satpc32 (V12.8c) and I wanted to uninstall and install the program again. So I decided to download the latest program version from the website. I had the latest version but downloaded it anyway to be sure to have a good copy. http://www.dk1tb.de/indexeng.htm It was also V12.8c. But to my surprise that program had some nice improvements. In the satellites menu you can change the window size now to see the complete satellite name. In that same menu there is an extra button : "Display Data" to show more data from the selected satellite. In the "options" menu you can change a setting to update the map (every...seconds) That value changed with me everytime i started the program, now it stays on every 1 sec. To control my sat antennas I use the ServerSDX program delivered with SatPC32. That window also changed (more info on it) Maybe there are more things that have changed, need to find out... Maybe others have that latest version already but I didn't know there were some changes made to the program. 73, Eric. -- Amateur radio station ON4HF Satellite manager UBA Member Amsat-NA #39595 Member Amsat-UK Member Amsat-ON http://www.on4hf.be

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-08 02:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-08 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson radio unless otherwise noted. **************************************************************************** *** 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 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 2016-04-08 02:00 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 1040. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1005. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. 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, Rhode Island, South Dakota, 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 2016-04-06 20:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP Exp. 47 on orbit Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Oleg Skripochka RN3FU Aleksey Ovchinin **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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