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

ARISS News Release no. 16-07
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 30 Jul '16

30 Jul '16

ARISS NEWS RELEASE no. 16-07 Friday, July 29, 2016 David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org ARISS International Face-to-face Meeting Announced for 2016 Featuring a Special Tour of the NASA Johnson Space Center The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Face-to-face Meeting for 2016 will take place in the Houston, Texas area, hosted by ARISS-US team members who will welcome the worldwide ARISS team. The dates are November 15 - 18, 2016. Meeting attendees can go on a special tour Monday afternoon, November 14 at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). ARISS-International Face-to-face Meetings are always open to the public from around the world as observers, and there is no registration fee. The meeting immediately follows the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium to accommodate symposium attendees who can extend their stay. Meeting dates selected coincide with ARISS's 20th anniversary and the team will be celebrating its 20 successful years. In November 1996, the first international ARISS meeting took place at NASA Johnson Space Center, as well. Many ARISS international team members plan to participate in this year's meeting. The ARISS-International Face-to-face Meeting agenda is being worked and will center around ARISS's hardware development project and future initiatives, sustaining the ARISS program through strategic partnerships and fundraising, and making a quantum improvement in educational outcomes. Other topics and discussions will be on: · how the full ARISS worldwide team can leverage the major outcomes achieved by the ARISS United Kingdom team members during Astronaut Tim Peake's mission, · educating the team on expectations of ARISS's two new benefactors: NASA Space Communications and Navigation and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space · celebrating the 20thanniversary of the establishment of ARISS, and · additional topics critical to the future of ARISS. The ARISS team welcomes all people from around the globe to the ARISS-International Face-to-face Meeting as observers. ARISS hopes attendees new to ARISS will decide to begin volunteering after learning about the many things the ARISS team does. Those interested in coming to the meeting during any part of November 15 - 18 can e-mail Rosalie White (k1sto(a)arrl.org) or Frank Bauer (ka3hdo(a)verizon.net). Information will then be forwarded about the hotel that will offer a special rate . About ARISS 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), and the 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, go to: www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org , and www.arrl.org . Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) / Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Contact: David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR , aa4kn(a)amsat.org --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria IL
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 30 Jul '16

30 Jul '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria IL on 27 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:59 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD. The contact should be audible over Italy and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. The Peoria Riverfront Museum focuses on interdisciplinary learning - a fusion of art, history, science and achievement designed to develop knowledge, critical thinking skills and a lifelong passion for learning. We have a state-of-the-art planetarium to teach astronomy and other science topics, and a giant screen theater that shows educational and feature films. Our mission is to inspire lifelong learning for all - connecting art, history, science and achievement through collections, exhibitions and programs. Peoria is the largest city in Central Illinois, with a population of 115,000 in the city, and about 400,000 in the greater metro area. The surrounding area is rural, with a great deal of farming communities. The questions to the astronaut will be asked by students in our "Space to Ground" club, and by museum visitors and staff. The questions labeled "Staff/Audience Member" were collected from museum visitors, but we are not sure if the person who submitted the question will be at the event, so we do not have names. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What happens when you sneeze in space? 2. What do you miss from Earth most while you are in space? 3. How do the plants grow differently in space than on Earth? 4. From space, what area on Earth looks best? 5. What do you do for fun while on the ISS? 6. Is it true that your spine grows abnormally in space? 7. Would you prefer to go on a spacewalk, or to go for a walk on Earth with gravity? 8. What is the first thing you will eat when you return to Earth? 9. What will you be doing today after you are done talking to us? 10. Which current science experiment on the ISS interests you most? 11. What is the most difficult job you do on the ISS? 12. How many sunsets do you see in a day? 13. What was the most difficult part of adjusting to weightlessness? 14. Where do you see human spaceflight in 50 years? 15. Do you have trouble running into things while moving about the ISS? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD ABOUT ARISS 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), and the 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, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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NPOTA activations via satellite in southern Arizona on 28 July - report (long!)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 30 Jul '16

30 Jul '16

Hi! On Thursday, 28 July 2016, I decided to make a day-trip to southern Arizona. I went to a grid that isn't terribly rare, DM42, and planned to operate from a couple of National Parks on the Air sites around Tucson. I have enjoyed working other satellite operators who have operated from the NPOTA sites, and have tried to do my small part to put NPOTA sites on the satellites. With AO-85 and SO-50 passes during the day, those passes helped me work enough stations at each site to have two more official NPOTA activations. After leaving home early Thursday morning, I drove to the western edge of Saguaro National Park, near Tucson. Saguaro National Park has two sections, on the west and east sides of Tucson. I decided to work from the western half of the park, since that made for a shorter drive, and I was confident I could find locations that would let me work both western and eastern passes. With a fuel stop near Tucson, I made it to the first of the three spots I would operate from - along a road near the western boundary of the national park - in under two hours. The first pass was a western SO-50 pass around 1550 UTC. I expected more stations to show up, even on a Thursday morning. I worked the only two stations I heard: NP4JV in southern Arizona, and VA6OK in Alberta. As I wrapped up working this pass, I had a visitor. Jim KB7YSY, who saw my post to the AMSAT-BB on Wednesday (27 July) evening. Jim lives very close to this part of Saguaro National Park, and had e-mailed me earlier Thursday morning asking where I was planning to go. Jim also saw my APRS track, so he was able to find me easily. We chatted for a few minutes, and Jim mentioned a picnic area that he thought I might want to use. More on that later. After that SO-50 pass, I had about 90 minutes until the next two passes I planned to work. I went to the visitor center, so I could put the stamps for the park in my passport, and then drove along a road on the north side of the park. I needed to find a good spot with a great view to the east, for the passes around 1730-1830 UTC. FO-29 was passing by at a maximum elevation of 11 degrees, and AO-85 was only going up to a maximum elevation of 5 degrees. After about 45 minutes of driving around, I found an intersection where I could pull off the road and have a good view to the east. With the western portion of Saguaro National Park being in the Tucson Mountains, this was no easy task. I was able to hear myself through FO-29, but made no QSOs on the 1735 UTC eastern pass. Maybe I should have tried the western AO-73 pass at that time, which was a 19-degree pass. Then came AO-85 at 1805 UTC... I have been reading on Twitter about how NP4JV has been working low AO-85 passes from southern Arizona. I figured that I could make a try at doing the same thing, if I had a good spot. It turned out that I found a great spot for the 5-degree pass. I made 5 contacts in the middle 3 minutes of the 9-minute pass. It seemed easier for me to work this 5-degree pass, compared to some passes at higher elevations. After the AO-85 pass, I had just over an hour before the next pair of passes, FO-29 and AO-85 again. I grabbed a sandwich at a Subway just outside the national park, and then visited that picnic area Jim KB7YSY mentioned. The picnic area was just inside the national park boundary, and was perfect for these two passes around 1915-2000 UTC. FO-29 was going to rise to a maximum elevation of 76 degrees, followed by AO-85 going up to a maximum elevation of 63 degrees. FO-29 had some activity, and I was able to work Endaf KG6FIY in California and George WA5KBH in Louisiana. Unfortunately, I couldn't work the other 2 or 3 stations I heard, but two contacts were better than zero contacts on the earlier FO-29 pass. AO-85 at 1940-1955 UTC had a great crowd. Once the satellite rose above the mountains south of me, I was able to work 9 stations across the continental USA and Canada. I had a visitor stop by while I was working the pass, wondering if I was tracking animals. I explained that I could track animals, but I wasn't doing that. I also mentioned the National Parks on the Air program, the reason why I was operating from the park. If not for the NPOTA program, I wouldn't have been in the park at midday, with the temperatures already up to 106F/41C outside. With the 9 contacts I made on AO-85, I had a total of 18 contacts with 13 different stations. This made my visit to Saguaro National Park an official NPOTA activation, having worked at least 10 different stations. Instead of trying to work the next AO-85 pass at 2123 UTC from here, I drove north about 40 miles to find a spot for the next NPOTA activation I hoped to make. Northwest of Tucson along the I-10 freeway is Picacho Peak State Park. This park has two bits of history associated with it. Picacho Peak was the site of the westernmost battle in the US Civil War. Not a big battle, but a small bit of US history in Arizona a half-century before becoming a US state. Almost a century before the Civil War battle, the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza led expeditions from Mexico through what is now Arizona and California, up to what would become the city of San Francisco. Picacho Peak was used as a camp for the de Anza expeditions, and is within the corridor defined by the National Park Service for the de Anza National Historic Trail. The 2123 UTC AO-85 pass favored the west coast, with a maximum elevation of 17 degrees. After driving through the Picacho Peak park, I parked at the westernmost trailhead in the park. From there, I worked 5 stations up and down California, and one station in Oklahoma, in about 10 minutes. Logging 6 stations on this pass made me confident I could work 4 more different stations on the later SO-50 pass, so I could count this stop as another NPOTA activation. Now in the mid-afternoon, the outside temperature was up to 109F/43C. I had hoped to go in the visitor center at Picacho Peak to kill some time, and get the NPS passport stamp for the de Anza National Historic Trail at Picacho Peak. I had to wait about 30 minutes for the rangers to come back to the visitor center. I did not care about fuel economy for my car between passes, as I was using my car's air conditioning to have a cool place to escape the heat. When the visitor center opened up, I was able to get those passport stamps. Unlike most national parks, the stamps were kept behind a counter, and I had to ask for them. Not many apparently ask for these stamps, probably not realizing that this state park is also part of a rather large National Park Service unit (the de Anza trail). With the passport stamps out of the way, I found a spot at the eastern edge of the park with a nice view to the northeast. I had an SO-50 pass coming at 2244 UTC, with a maximum elevation of 18 degrees. From Picacho Peak, this meant a pass that would cover almost all of the continental USA. With the earlier AO-85 contacts, I figured I should be able to get 4 contacts on this pass. Not only did I get the 4 I hoped to log (that was done in the first 2 minutes of the pass), I worked a total of 14 stations. Thirteen of these stations were across the continental USA, and one was in Cuba (CO6HLP). This pass alone was more than enough to make this stop an official NPOTA activation. I logged 20 contacts between the two passes, doubling the minimum number I needed for an activation (10). After putting my gear back in the trunk of my car, I drove home. All QSOs made from these two locations have been uploaded to Logbook of the World. If anyone would like to receive a QSL card for a contact made with WD9EWK on Thursday, please e-mail me with the QSO details. Please note that anyone participating in the National Parks on the Air activity must use LOTW, as ARRL will not accept QSL cards for any awards connected with this activity. Thanks to everyone who worked me at these two sites! Despite the hot weather, it was fun to activate two different NPOTA sites in the same day, all via satellite. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Fripp Island Activation
by Nicholas Mahr KE8AKW 30 Jul '16

30 Jul '16

Hello AMSAT members, On around July 30th to around Augest 6th we are going to be working the satellites from Fripp Island South Carolina, EM92 and also will be activating IOTA NA-110 (Fripp Island) on HF 40-10 meters using a FT-857D and either a Buddipole or End fed dipole. As for our satellite work we are working all available satellites SSB/FM, the gear consists of a Arrow antenna and a IC-821. Note that we will be working the satellites and HF casually but will try to get it on air as much as possible. The operators will be Either me or my Dad N8XQM behind the mic. Will try to post updates here either on the BB or my Twitter on how the operations are going. Fripp Island is a small island near the border of Georgia close to Savanna, it is a gated community noted for its nice vacation spot. Hope to hear you from Fripp Island and hope to have fun down here. 73 KE8AKW Nick

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Hara Arena News
by Alan 30 Jul '16

30 Jul '16

According to the ARRL, they are going to put the Arena out of its misery: http://www.arrl.org/news/good-bye-hara-arena-hamvention-to-relocate-in-2017 73s, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- Keep Calm and Carry On

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Sad News Fw: Hara Arena News
by Doug Kuitula 29 Jul '16

29 Jul '16

----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan" <wa4sca(a)gmail.com> To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Friday, July 29, 2016 14:05 Subject: [amsat-bb] Hara Arena News > According to the ARRL, they are going to put the Arena out of its misery: > > http://www.arrl.org/news/good-bye-hara-arena-hamvention-to-relocate-in-2017 > > 73s, > > Alan > WA4SCA > > ----------------------------------- > > Keep Calm and Carry On > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Does EO79/Funcube-3 have telemetry?
by Bob 29 Jul '16

29 Jul '16

Hi, With Graham's announcement that the EO79/Funcube-3 transponder has been activated for a few days, I want to give a listen. I am confused if it has telemetry or not. funcube.org.uk says it is "transponder only", and there is no mention of funcube-3 in the data warehouse. amsat.org says it has telemetry on 148.815. Anybody know for sure? 73, Bob, WB4SON

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EO79 transponder operations
by Graham Shirville 29 Jul '16

29 Jul '16

Hi All, As suggested yesterday, we now expect the transponder to be activated during the upcoming pass over Europe around 10:!5 UTC – it should stay on until the battery safe mode trigger is activated after perhaps 6 or 7 orbits. Saturday will probably be a recharge day and not active. However on Sunday we expect it to again be activated. If you are not able to attend the AMSAT-UK Colloquium tomorrow you can watch a webstream - kindly provided by volunteers from the British Amateur Television Club (BATC). https://beta.batc.tv/live/amsatuk The FUNcube session starts at around 11:10 BST / 10:10 UTC and will provide an update on the plans for the future regular operation of this transponder. 73 Graham G3VZV

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Streaming of AMSAT-UK Colluqiuium Talks this weekend
by M5AKA 29 Jul '16

29 Jul '16

For those unable to join us at Guildford this weekend for the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium there be live streaming of the presentations kindly provided by volunteers from the British Amateur Television Club (BATC). The webstream will be available at this new location: https://beta.batc.tv/live/amsatuk The Live Stream will begin on Saturday morning, July 30 at 10:15 BST with the Official Opening by Professor Sir Martin Sweeting G3YJO. The PDF Programme Schedule, Day-Pass Booking and Travel information are at https://amsat-uk.org/2016/06/30/amsat-uk-international-space-colloquium-201… Recordings of all talks will be posted on the AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel following the event https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK 73 Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Grid activation: EM86 Friday 7/29 - two passes
by Kevin M 28 Jul '16

28 Jul '16

Barring bad weather and the unforeseen, the XYL and I plan to drive up to Johnson City TN tomorrow, Friday 29 July 2016. I hope to be there in time to set up for the western ascending pass of the FO-29 satellite at 1822z. Then after sampling the local Tennessee barbecue, I intend to get the gear out again to operate on a near overhead descending pass of SO-50 at 2130z. I will only be operating with 5 watts, so I'd like to ask people to not pound the satellite with high power or call me needlessly. If I can get into the bird, I will be calling CQ or working someone. Look for me in the lower half of the FO-29 passband around 838-840. I have a small list of calls I will be specifically listening for... if you would like to get on 'my list', send me an e-mail before morning to n4ufo(a)yahoo.com or send me a direct message on twitter to @UFOrover where I will also post any updates when/if I am near a Wi-Fi spot. I also hope to upload my logs to LotW from the field. 73 and hope to work you from the other side of the Appalacians, Kevin N4UFO

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