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

FUNcube Warehouse Outages
by David Johnson 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

Hi, The ISP where the servers are hosted are doing some network maintenance and there will be some short lived outages. The dashbaords will pick up when the servers reappear. 73 - Dave, G4DPZ

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HORYU-4, DigiSinger
by Mineo Wakita 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/hordigsi.htm JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Re: [amsat-bb] LMR-400 direct to antenna or no?
by Edward R Cole 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

I can support what Greg stated. I have ten foot of LMR-400UF to go around my az-el system between my Relay/Preamp box and the 4-way divider that feeds my four 2m-eme yagis (21-foot long booms). There is another 18-foot of LMR-400 to each yagi so plenty of coax loss even in an eme array. I figure my loss from antenna to preamp at 0.45 dB. I get away with that much loss because my preamps are 0.1 dB NF vs the typical satellite preamp that has 0.5dB NF. My overall Rx system NF is est. 0.57 dB. on my 6m long-boom yagi I have about 2 turns of LMR-400 that wind around the mast before connecting to my relay/preamp box. This allows enough flex not to break the LMR-400. Ten foot of LMR-400UF would not be significantly more loss so up to 2m it should work fine. The real key to getting good Reception is the preamp at tower top. Most 2m radios have NF of 6 to 10 dB. Transverters are better at about 1.5-2 dB NF. But both benefit with a preamp close to the antenna. I think there is a recent version of Belden 9913 which has solid foam core vs the polyethyline spiral bead with air core that was so susceptible to moisture. I think its called 9913F. But I use LMR-400 as its about the same cost and much better with moisture if you do good sealing at the connectors. 73, Ed - KL7UW ------------ From: Greg D <ko6th.greg(a)gmail.com> To: w4upd <updwrb(a)bristor-assoc.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] LMR-400 direct to antenna or no? Hi Reid, I understand the desire for minimal use of connectors, but the coupling between the rigid cable coming from the shack to the rotor, and the flex cable going to the antenna, is a good place to put a nice little preamp. Think of it as a barrel connector with attitude. Yes, putting it at the antenna feed point is better, but unless you're working EME, the practical difference is pretty small. Your luck with 9913 and water ingress is significantly better than mine ever was. I had one 60' run that kept getting worse over time. It got so bad that I drilled a hole in the lower end connector so I could suck out the water until I could find some hardline to replace it. Never used the stuff ever again. Greg KO6TH 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-094 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: * Replay Available Ham Talk Live! ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO * AMSAT Dayton Booth Volunteers Needed * AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2016 * The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop * 2016 VHF SUPER CONFERENCE * STMSat-1 and MinXSS CubeSats Featured on Public Radio * Irvine Students Are On a Mission to Launch a Satellite * Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-094.01 ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 094.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. April 3, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-094.01 Replay Available Ham Talk Live! ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO If you missed this past Thursday evening's Ham Talk Live! show featuring, Rosalie White, K1STO talking about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program sponsored by ARRL, AMSAT, and NASA, a replay of the recorded show is available on http://www.hamtalklive.com. The discussion took a look back at the start of the ARISS program, the 1000th QSO that was just completed, and the future of the program. Also featured were some messages from the ISS. Rosalie also told of a way you can help. Ham Talk Live! airs on the web on Thursday nights at 9PM eastern time. In addition to their hamtalklive.com web site the show can be found on-line via Spreaker, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, YouTube, SoundCloud, or TuneIn. [ANS thanks Ham Talk Live! For the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Dayton Booth Volunteers Needed Call for Volunteers for the AMSAT Booth at Dayton 2016 The 2016 Dayton Hamvention®, sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association will be held this year on May 20-22. “Dayton” is the largest hamfest in the United States, and AMSAT will be there again this year. You can assist AMSAT by volunteering to help staff the booth. While there, you will meet other AMSAT members, interact with the satellite designers, builders, and operators, and enjoy all that Dayton has to offer. People are needed to assist with the setup of the booth on Thursday, May 19 (A few people to move the equipment from the storage area leaving the hotel at 9 am, most at the Arena from 11am to 4 pm), to staff the booth Friday (9 am to 6 pm), Saturday (9 am to 5 pm), and Sunday (9 am to 1 pm), and pack up on Sunday (1 pm to 3 pm). If you are leaving late Sunday, or Monday morning, please consider helping transport the display to the storage area on the south side of Dayton. This is normally completed by 5 pm. Most people volunteer for one or more 2 hour shifts in the booth. Please send an e-mail to Steve Belter, N9IP, n9ip (at) amsat.org, if you are willing to help AMSAT at the Hamvention. Please let Steve know as soon as possible if you're available to assist. If you missed the Hamvention the last few years, there were some changes in the Ball Arena, and the AMSAT exhibit was part of that change. We now have a 3 X 3 booth arrangement, with the engineering,education, ARISS, and software display on one side of the aisle, and the membership and Beginner¹s Corner on the opposite side. The booth numbers are now 444-446 and 433-435. We will be very near the old exhibit area, within sight of the ARRL exhibit. [ANS thanks AMSAT.org for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2016 The annual AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria on 28 May 2016. The theme is “Make Space Sciences part of your development and free time activity” The conference programme will include a real time review on the SA AMSAT Kletskous CubeSat and papers on other projects, technology and space science subjects. This is a call for papers to be included in the proceedings and for presentation at the conference. The closing date for synopsis has been extended to 6 April. The final paper will be required in word format by 30 April 2016. Synopsis must be in word format and should be sent to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za . [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop (April 20-22, 2016) at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA is just three short weeks away !! Don’t delay: register now before our Early Bird prices expire! You can register by following the link, here, or following the link on our website, cubesat.org. Please note: The prices for professional attendees will INCREASE in just 6 days, on April 5, 2016!! [ANS thanks The CubeSat Workshop Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 VHF SUPER CONFERENCE The upcoming Amateur Radio Technical Conference sponsored by the Southeastern VHF Society, Northeast Weak Signal Group, and Mt. Airy Radio Club will be held at the Holiday Inn Washington Dulles Airport on April 15 to 17. - This year, one large conference is being held in Lieu of three Eastern conferences. The aim of the educational conference is to share with our fellow VHF, UHF, and Microwave enthusiasts, technical achievements and developments. The technical conference is followed by a dinner, recognition of door prize contributors, and a drawing for door prizes. Conference Web-site: http://vhfsuperconference.com The Conference is affiliated with the ARRL. Contacts Mickie Clement, W1MKY Telephone: 603-428-3840 Email: dpclement at tds.net Gary Hitchner, WA2OMY Email: gary.hitchner at momentumdynamics.com [ANS thanks Gary WA2OMY and Mickie W1MKY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- STMSat-1 and MinXSS CubeSats Featured on Public Radio Elementary school, St. Thomas More's, satellite STMSat-1 and University of Colorado's Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS)CubeSat were featured in an interview on Colorado Public Radio. The interview of Doug Duncan, director of the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder by Colorado Matters' host Ryan Warner. The interview can be heard at http://tinyurl.com/ANS094-CPR The interview is a good overview of cubsats and their capability. Both satellites are expected to be launched from the ISS in early April [ANS thanks Colorado Public Radio for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Irvine Students Are On a Mission to Launch a Satellite The los Angeles Times reports that over a hundred students from five Irvine high schools and another dozen from a local middle school have begun a year long collaboration to engineer, launch and place an operational nanosatellite in orbit. Teachers from Beckman, Irvine, Northwood and Woodbridge high schools developed curriculum for teams of 20 to 25 students from each school to handle the CubeSat mission. Students from Irvine's new Portola High School will be brought into the program when the campus opens in the fall. Students from Rancho San Joaquin Middle School are involved in the project as a STEM feeder program. Organizers of the Irving project are in discussions with a Russian company and have targeted a March 2017 launch date. Irving Public Schools Foundation have granted $150,000 in seed money to launch the project. The schools are planning for three years of missions with a goal of rolling over in perpetuity depending on funding and future support. The project is the brain child of Brent Freeze and Kain Sosa, neighbors in Irvine's Quail Hill subdivision, who have children in the school district. Their goal is to support education that requires specialized science backgrounds and recognize that developing talent could start with STEM programs in local high schools. Read the full article at http://preview.tinyurl.com/ANS094-Irvine [ANS thanks the LA Times for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is offering tours that take visitors behind the scenes and inside certain research facilities. Glenn scientists and engineers serve as guides. Tours and open house events will be held each month through October 2016. Tours are free for groups and individuals, but to guarantee admission, reservations are required. Visitor parking is also free. On the days of the tours, a bus departs from Glenn's main gate every hour, beginning at 10 a.m. The last tour departs at 1 p.m. Each tour lasts about 45 minutes and is followed by a stop at Glenn's Gift Shop. Glenn's 2016 Tour Schedule April 2, 2016 -- Piloted Control Evaluation Facility and Distributed Engine Control Laboratory: Visit two laboratories that showcase how researchers evaluate propulsion control and aircraft engine control. Tour the Piloted Control Evaluation (Flight Simulator) Facility to see where researchers evaluate the effect of propulsion control on aircraft performance. Visit the Distributed Engine Control Laboratory to learn how NASA evaluates new hardware architectures for aircraft engine control. May 21-22, 2016 -- Open House at NASA's Glenn Research Center: NASA Glenn is opening its doors to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour many of the center's world-class facilities and see how the center improves aviation and fosters exploration to benefit everyone on Earth. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians who work on space programs. Registration for this event is not required. June 11-12, 2016 -- Open House at NASA's Plum Brook Station: NASA Glenn is opening the doors of Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour the station's world-class facilities and step inside the world's largest vacuum chamber, which has tested parts of rockets, Mars landers and Orion hardware. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians. Registration for this event is not required. July 9, 2016: Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory: See how NASA emulates the electrical characteristics of a spacecraft system in the Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory. RPS is a source of electricity for NASA space missions from the surface of Mars to the realm of the outer planets. Aug. 6, 2016 -- See Things a Different Way: Check out Glenn's Graphics and Visualization, or GVIS, and the Reconfigurable User- interface and Virtual Reality Exploration, or GRUVE, Laboratories. The GVIS lab uses advanced computer input and output devices paired with a variety of natural user interface devices and 3-D displays. The GRUVE lab is used to analyze data obtained either by computer simulation or from research test facilities. Sept. 10, 2016 -- Vibration Testing: Join us on a tour of Glenn's Structural Dynamics Laboratory, where things get shaken to verify their survivability. Several experiments that currently are operating on the International Space Station were tested in this lab. Oct. 1, 2016 -- Prepare for Impact: Come explore Glenn's Ballistic Impact Facility. See the laboratory that helped to identify the cause of the space shuttle Columbia accident and return NASA's shuttle fleet to flight. Tours are open to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. To guarantee admission, reservations are required. For more information on tours and how to make reservations, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/events/tours.html. Please direct questions about the tours to Sheila Reese at sheila.d.reese(a)nasa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- March 31, 2016 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan and Astronaut Tim Kopra KE5UDN using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-03-28 11:07 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8N370H. ARISS Mentor was Satoshi 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, USA and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was Dave AA4KN. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule 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 is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact in the United States 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. 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 1038. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1003. 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 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. Schools in these entities are encouraged to apply for a contact. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + JSatTrak Satellite App Released Developed by Shawn Gano KB3OJE, JSatTrack is written in Java and allows you to predict the position of any satellite in real time or in the past or future. It uses advanced SGP4/SDP4 algorithms developed by NASA/NORAD or customizable high precision solvers to propagate satellite orbits. The program also allows for easy updating of current satellite tracking data via CelesTrak.com. Because this application was written in Java, it should run on almost any operating system or directly off the web using java web start! Questions and comments are welcome at the JSatTrack Forum http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/forum The JSatTrack App can be downloaded from http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/ [ANS thanks Shawn KB3OJE for the abiove information] + Proposal windows for ARISS school contacts are still open in the United States and Europe. For more information about scheduled US contacts visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact For more information about scheduled European Region contact visit http://www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] + Current profiles of the crew currently aboard the ISS, Expedition 47, can be found at: http://www.ariss.org/current-iss-crew.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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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LMR-400 direct to antenna or no?
by Scott 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

I hope to put up my first rotating antenna soon and just received a nice length of LMR-400 to use. (regular, not "super-flex") Having never seen LMR-400 before, I did not know how flexible it would be. I would call it "medium"... not stiff as a pipe but not floppy, either. My question is whether anyone using LMR-400 can recommend whether I should attach it directly to my antenna (with slack loops, of course)? Or, should I get a few meters of something more flexible to attach to an antenna that needs to be free to rotate 360 degrees? If a jumper is recommended, I would appreciate suggestions on what cable would work best for the task. The frequency for this project is 70cm. Thanks! -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA

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ARISS Contact Audio - Wednesday
by John Spasojevich 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

Please join us in listening to the ISS contact with participants at the Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada on Wednesday April 6. AOS is anticipated at 18:02 UTC The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and VK5KHZ in Australia. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Audio from this contact will be fed into the: EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) 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. ** 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 Distribution

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FG8OJ ON A07
by jeffory broughton 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

What fun to work Bert ,FG8OJ on AO7 from my little earth station up At the lake in the woods at 2057 utc Suprise ! jeff broughton

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Xw2a,xw2c,XW2F
by jeffory broughton 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

If I can work those from the middle of a pine Forrest with 8 ft tall pine trees at 15-20 degree passes here in. Northern michigan,than ANYBODY can.Those birds have great receivers with nice loud tx audio.73 WB8RJY jeff broughton

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Re: [amsat-bb] XW-2A, C and F Operation
by Clayton W5PFG 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

There was no shortage of activity on the XW-2A,C, and F transponders this morning. On the passes around 1300 UTC, stations were heard and worked from the east to west coasts of the USA and Canada. These are some of the easiest transponders to hear. They are very workable with the most modest of antennas and low power. 73 Clayton W5PFG > > On 3/29/2016 18:17, Richard Lawn wrote: >> I'm confounded by the lack of activity on these satellites which are >> functioning quite well. I just called and called with no takers until >> close >> to the end of the pass I thought I heard a French Canadian trying to call >> me but it was getting too low to my horizon. More operators should be >> using >> these birds while they are still functioning. >> >> 73 >> Rick, W2JAZ

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FUNcube-1 Mode
by Graham Shirville 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

Hi All, Just to report that FUNcube-1 is now in amateur mode for the rest of the weekend. Transponder and low power tlm as usual. In view of the late mode change this morning we will leave her in this mode until Monday morning 73 Graham G3VZV

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