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

Re: [amsat-bb] FT-736R vs. TS-2000X
by Edward R Cole 14 May '16

14 May '16

I've offered to buy the FT-736R from Chris. But he has other's interested once he makes a decision on which radio to keep. The radio has 144, 432, and 1200 modules. However, I am only interested in 144/432 and the 1200 module would be extra cost for me. So my question is whether anyone would be interested in buying the 1200 module? All is tentative depending on Chris' figuring out what he wants. I already have a DEMI 1296-28 25w transverter which I use on eme and also have a DEMI 144-1268 15w Tx converter for mode-L that I bought for AO-40. I had planned to buy an FM dual-band duplex radio ($350) but then thought maybe spending a little more would get all-mode satellite capability. I previously had a FT-847 sold in 2012. Both it and IC-910H sell used at around $1K (and up) which is more than I wish to spend. The FT-736R looks like a good fit for me. 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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Re: [amsat-bb] Subject: Wasilla AK hamfest, Saturday (14 May) on SO-50
by Edward R Cole 14 May '16

14 May '16

Craig - KL4E and Dale - KL7XJ will be hosting the Amsat table (as far as I know), so one of them will be operating. I know they would appreciate stations to work for the demo during the hamfest. There are only three hamfests in Alaska and this is the closest to Anchorage which has half the population of the state! Your participation may excite some newcomers to get involved in hamsats; more KL7 stations for you to work! Dale - KL7XJ is the AK Amsat Field Op (probably well known to many of you). I did that from 1997 until about 2002 under my old callsign AL7EB. Mostly, I worked AO-10 and AO-40. I've been involved in eme since 1998 that took my attention away from satellite. I planning a come back to satellite operation once I can fit into my busy sched putting my station back into operation (looking at radios at present). 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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Saturday West - Sunday East for DN00/10
by Kevin M 14 May '16

14 May '16

Because of pass times, low elevations of some passes, mountainous terrain and travel schedule, I have decided to split up the passes for DN00/10 over two days. Basically, Saturday will be for the western half of the US because the eastern passes appear too low for the terrain here. (If I get out there early enough, I may listen and see if I can't get in on at least part of the eastern passes over the mountains on Saturday.) Then Sunday will be a mid-US pass and reach the east a bit better. Normally, I would just wait until Sunday and work everyone, but I think there will be better chances to work as many as possible if there are two passes, especially since it's a weekend. On Saturday, there is another wrinkle... SO-50 overlaps the end of FO-29 on the western pass by seven minutes. SO, I will work the FO-29 pass starting at 1945z UNTIL callers are exhausted or SO-50 is up to a copy-able elevation and then I will switch over as quickly as possible. I will then work any callers on SO-50 until the end of the pass or until any other traffic becomes insurmountable. THIS WILL BE IT FOR SATURDAY. If you can work linear sats, I suggest you work me on FO-29 as early in the pass as possible. Barring that, by all means try me on SO-50, but again, as early in the pass as possible. If Saturday and Sunday passes are both open to you, please consider working me on Saturday and leave the Sunday passes open for the eastern stations that will have lower elevations and shorter windows. Sunday, will be one SO-50 pass starting at 1842z and then one FO-29 pass at 1851z... Yet again, there is an overlap in pass times, but it is only 3 minutes and highly likely that I will lose copy on SO-50 before FO-29 gets very readable. After that, I need to go directly back to the motel to pack up and head out. (At the very most, I MIGHT try AO-7 if someone gets missed, but I am not planning on it) I will definitely not work the western SO-50 or FO-29 passes on Sunday. And I will probably not get to doing Sunday's logs until later that night, or maybe even the next day. We will be staying in DN21 on Sunday night. If all works out, I will try getting on one of the XW birds as they will be passing over around 0100-0200z (technically Monday UTC time). But this is tentative at best. Then AFTER SUNDAY, I will not be working ANY passes for several days. My daughter has been very accommodating in regards to satellite ops throughout the first two weeks of our trip, but Monday begins a section of our travels that involves my daughter's well being and interests and I plan to devote all my time and attention to that. Perhaps later in the week, there may be time for a few more grids on our way home. My thanks for understanding... Hope to see you all on the birds one more time from Nevada... it's been a great trip so far and the rover ops have been a blast! 73, Kevin

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Wasilla AK hamfest, Saturday (14 May) on SO-50
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 14 May '16

14 May '16

Hi! Craig KL4E e-mailed me with a schedule for demonstrations planned for the Matanuska Amateur Radio Association's hamfest in Wasilla, Alaska, on Saturday (14 May). More information about the club and its hamfest is available at: http://www.kl7jfu.com/ Craig mentioned three SO-50 passes that are planned for the demonstrations: 1805-1825 UTC 1950-2005 UTC 2130-2145 UTC Craig didn't mention who would be on the mic for these passes, so listen for KL7 calls or Craig's KL4E if you are in the footprints at these times. The hamfest crowds would appreciate hearing contacts with stations in western Canada or parts of the "Lower 48" during these SO-50 passes. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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UT1FG/MM
by A. Kevin Arber 13 May '16

13 May '16

Yuri was active in grids GM12 and GM01 today and was on XW-2F and XW-2C. Unfortunately he must have been listening on the wrong band when operating -2C as could not hear replys to his CQ, that I heard. Good luck with the WET grids! Kevin/W3DAD

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Re: [amsat-bb] FT-736R vs. TS-2000X
by Mark Spencer 13 May '16

13 May '16

Hi, I've owned a FT-736 for years and have several acquaintances who have (or used to have) TS 2000's. For satellite work I was happy with my FT736 (That being said I haven't been on the Hamsats in years..) I seem to recall it worked nicely with sat32PC (and also seem to recall helping test a program change that enhanced the functionality with PL tones. I may be miss remembering this..) As others have mentioned the built in AC supply on the FT736 can be a weak spot but the radio will run from an external DC power supply. If I ever get back into working the Hamsats I would plan on using my FT736 along with Sat32pc. I mostly use my FT736 for 222 and occasionally 1.2 GHz weak signal work. It's performance on 144 and 432 is okay in my view but not spectacular. It's my only SSB / CW radio for 222 and 1.2 GHz so I have nothing else to compare it to on those bands. The existence of the optional 222 module may make the FT736 fairly desirable to those who want to use SSB / CW on that band. If I was mostly into Hamsats and had a fT736 and a TS2000 I'd be inclined to try both of them and if I was happy with the TS2000 I'd look at selling the FT736. Hope this helps Mark S VE7AFZ Sent from my iPhone

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Friday DN01/11 FO-29 ~18:56z & SO-50 ~19:31z maybe more
by Kevin M 13 May '16

13 May '16

My rover plans for tomorrow are to drive up to the DN01/11 line and operate the FO-29 pass starting at 18:56z and SO-50 at 19:31z. It will be a bit hotter than it has been and participation on far western passes has been minimal. If conditions permit, I may try to stay for the later FO-29 & SO-50 passes and possibly AO-7 Mode B. I would be far more likely to do so if I know that someone will be on those passes needing the DN01 or DN11 grids. I do not know if I will have data connectivity from the op location... I have been lucky so far, but no way to know if it will happen again and I may also be close to running out of data on my plan. I'll check my e-mail before leaving the motel in the morning. I am also not sure about any ops on Saturday. A couple of the passes are low elevation (and there are mountains here blocking low passes) and the other two have a time overlap. I will consider whether an effort to work one or the other of the FO-29 or SO-50 western passes on Saturday would be fruitful. There may also be an AO-7 pass on Saturday that could work, if the transponder cooperates. On Sunday there appears to be one good SO-50 pass at 1842z and one FO-29 pass at 1851z. However, any later passes are in doubt as we are checking out of the motel here on Sunday and heading east again. I've been made aware that XE1AY has ops planned for Friday through Sunday on the FM birds from a rare grid down south. I'm sorry, but there is little to nothing I can do about this; I planned my operations months ago, have had motel reservations in place for some time and it's not something I can easily change. I can only encourage anyone who is able to contact me on FO-29 to look for me there instead and leave SO-50 to the FM only ops. I will be on the early (northern part) of the SO-50 passes. I will continue until callers cease or the traffic becomes insurmountable. Hope to work you 'from the high desert!' 73, Kevin N4UFO

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-05-13 06:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 13 May '16

13 May '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-05-13 06:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact was successful: Thu 2016-05-12 08:11:20 UTC 79 deg (***) AstroNuts Kids Space Club Academy, David Dunlap Observatory, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-05-14 17:37:12 UTC 33 deg Essex Heights Primary School, Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia, telebridge via VK5ZAI (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-05-20 08:35:16 UTC 30 deg **************************************************************************** ** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** *** 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 118 (***) 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 2016-05-13 06:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1056. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1021. (***) 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,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 2016-05-13 06:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 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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Re: [amsat-bb] FT-736R vs. TS-2000X
by Andrew Glasbrenner 13 May '16

13 May '16

The TS-2000 by a mile, which is indeed full duplex. The only issue is the birdie on SO-50's downlink, and there are workarounds for that. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: Christopher Maness <christopher.maness(a)gmail.com> >Sent: May 12, 2016 9:54 AM >To: Tony Langdon <vk3jed(a)gmail.com> >Cc: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FT-736R vs. TS-2000X > >Let me restate the question in a different way. Say you had both radios, and your wife walks into your shack and says you don’t need two satellite radios. Shaking her finger, she says you need to sell one. Which one would go? > >(My wife knows nothing about these radios — the fiction is for effect :D ) > >Thanks, >Chris KQ6UP >_______________________________________________ >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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Saturday (7 May) at Sierra Vista AZ hamfest & other operating/travels report (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 12 May '16

12 May '16

Hi! Sorry for the delay in posting this report. A project at the office has consumed a lot of my time this week - not just during the workdays, but also a couple of very late evenings and early mornings. Last Saturday's Cochise Amateur Radio Association hamfest in Sierra Vista, Arizona, was another good event for AMSAT. This is a small, half-day hamfest in southern Arizona, which had a good turnout on a great day. No rain or heavy winds to deal with. After the hamfest, the afternoon and evening was nice for some sightseeing and - of course - more operating. After I drove down to Sierra Vista the night before the hamfest, I only had a 15-minute drive to reach the hamfest on the edge of town. The gate for the hamfest site was open when I arrived a few minutes after 5am (1200 UTC). I started to set up my AMSAT table, knowing there was an SO-50 pass an hour or so after that. Even though the hamfest didn't officially start until 7am (1400 UTC), I still had a small crowd on hand for that pass that went to the west of the hamfest. Seven QSOs went in the log on that pass, 6 from stations in the western USA plus XE2BHL in Tijuana. A good start to the morning. The hamfest site is in grid DM41, not a rare Arizona grid with some active satellite operators in the area (NP4JV, W7JPI, W7JSD). I missed the passes for the XW-2 satellites after SO-50, as I had been talking with people walking around my AMSAT booth, outside the buildings at the club's "Green Acres" site. After the crowds eased, I set up for a demonstration on AO-73 around 1535 UTC. I moved the VFO on my receiver through the transponder and down to the telemetry around 145.935 MHz, so the crowd could hear the SSB activity as well as the data that comes from this satellite. I was able to work 3 stations, AA5PK in Texas followed by XE1AO and XE1AU (a club station at XE1AO's university in central Mexico). Omar, as always, greeted the crowd in English as I talked to him in Spanish. Some time passed before another satellite pass, the first of two AO-85 passes that have probably become the best for demonstrations. With the stronger 2m downlink from AO-85 compared to SO-50's 70cm downlink, many are now able to hear the satellite with almost any 2m FM radio they may have at a hamfest. The first of the two AO-85 passes Saturday morning came a little after 10am (1700 UTC), which provided for 14 QSOs from coast to coast. A great way to show off the capabilities of AMSAT's newest satellite, and for several in the crowd to hear the satellite for themselves on HTs with either duckie antennas or (in one case) a telescoping whip antenna. The later AO-85 pass, just before 12 noon (1900 UTC) and the official end of the hamfest, came up from the west and wrapped around the north. This wasn't as busy as the earlier AO-85 pass, but still enough activity for most of the pass. Stations in the western USA and Canada, and as far east as K8YSE in Cleveland, made up the 8 QSOs logged on this pass. The shortest QSOs were made with Fernando NP4JV, who was across the field from the AMSAT booth, and with Sid W7JSD who worked me from his house a few miles away. Sid had been out to the hamfest earlier in the morning, and I asked him if he could possibly try working this pass when he returned home. On the two AO-85 passes, John K8YSE figured prominently in both passes. Not that John made lots of QSOs on each pass, but that he initially made QSOs with me as K8YSE/7 from his Arizona station, and then made QSOs with me as K8YSE from his station in Cleveland. He was physically in Arizona at his home in the Phoenix area, and remotely operating his Cleveland station later in each of these passes. The crowd was impressed with the ability to be on from two different stations at the same time. They were also happy with the extremely long-distance QSO with NP4JV. :-) Along with talking with John through both of his stations and seeing both Fernando and Sid, Fernando had his daughter Yalitza ("Yali") with him at the hamfest. Yali took the Technician license exam at the hamfest, and passed. Yali has not received a call sign from the FCC yet, but hopefully she does soon, and we can hear her on the satellites from DM41 in the near future. Unlike most of my hamfest road trips, I had not made definite plans to go anywhere after the hamfest. Talking with Fernando and Yali at lunch after the hamfest, I wanted to try working at least one pass from the nearby Coronado National Memorial. This memorial is south of Sierra Vista, at the USA/Mexico border. It is so close to the border that my mobile phone made the switch to a Mexican carrier, until I left the memorial. The best place to work an SO-50 pass just after 3pm (2200 UTC) was just inside the east entrance of the memorial, near the large Coronado National Memorial sign at a parking area in front of that sign. I set up my station, took pictures of it and my GPS receiver, and proceeded to work 13 stations on that pass across the USA and Mexico. I think some were hoping another station was going to show up, so that helped me in making at least 10 QSOs to have this pass count as an activation for the ARRL's National Parks on the Air activity. This was my second NPOTA activation, and the first for me at a National Park Service site in Arizona following my operating from Lake Mead in Nevada the previous weekend (29 April-1 May). Like with the hamfest, this memorial is also in grid DM41. After working the SO-50 pass, I stopped at the visitor center to get the obligatory stamps in my passport to show I was at this location, and then took my time heading back to Sierra Vista. My drive home took several hours, with a drive through another scenic part of southern Arizona to Nogales along another portion of the USA/Mexico border, and then up through Tucson back home. I stopped to work one AO-85 pass in the evening, around 8.25pm (0325 UTC), logging 4 QSOs from a spot northwest of Tucson in grid DM42 before finishing my drive home. Between the hamfest and operating from the Coronado National Memorial, this was a fun day in southern Arizona. I'll be on the road for another hamfest in eastern Arizona on 4 June, plus I hope to operate from more National Park Service sites around Arizona during the summer. Thanks to the Cochise Amateur Radio Association for their hospitality in providing AMSAT a space at their annual hamfest, and to all of the stations that worked WD9EWK during the hamfest and later in the day at the other locations! 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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