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

XW-2C status
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 08 Jul '16

08 Jul '16

It appears XW-2C is experiencing "issues." The CW beacon, the transponder and the telemetry are very erratic. The transponder is on very briefly during breaks in the telemetry transmissions. The CW beacon hardly gets a single dit out. May have battery problems. Glenn / AA5PK

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LL Grace - Kansas City Tracker/Tuner Satellite Antenna Controller/Doppler CI-V
by Joe Leikhim 07 Jul '16

07 Jul '16

Now cleaning my closets out. I have this Kansas City Tracker /Tuner controller for auction now $59.97 plus shipping US and international. Like New, Complete and ready to use. See details http://www.ebay.com/itm/162121167759?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p398… Thanks K4SAT -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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FCC License Question
by Thomas Doyle 07 Jul '16

07 Jul '16

Has anyone renewed their ham license recently. I renewed mine online and it appeared to work. I received two very official looking letters from the FCC within a week of submitting the application. First one was "Ref: CORES Registration Update". Second one was "Ref: PSQ Request for your CORES FRN:xxxxxxxxx". This letter indicates "Entity Type: INDIVIDUAL ENTITY" which is reassuring. Neither letter indicates anything is wrong nor does it mention anything about a license. I realize that the federal government is drowning in the paper work mess they have created to give them something to do but this is a bit much. Do they ever send you an actual paper license ? I need to send a copy to the DMV to renew my ham plates. It has been almost 4 weeks. I sent in a request for duplicate license after three weeks. TNX W9KE Tom Doyle

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time is running out - field day submissions
by Bruce 07 Jul '16

07 Jul '16

If you participated in Field Day and you plan on submitting your group's score, you have until 23:59 PM on Monday, July 11th to get those submission sheets in to me. AMSAT's deadline is sooner than the ARRL deadline for Field Day. Send them to kk5do(a)amsat.org or kk5do(a)arrl.net. I will send a reply email when I have received them (usually that day or the next day). If you do not receive an email that I have received your submission, try again. Sometimes electrons in free space are lost for no apparent reason. I will be at a conference all day Monday and might not have a chance to send your confirmation email until the evening. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Alternate 2015-2016 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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W5PFG/p mode J VU V/U V/u 144/435 2/70 today
by Clayton Coleman 07 Jul '16

07 Jul '16

I'll work two more satellite passes from the DM66/67 grid line today, July 7, concluding operations from the mountains of Southern Colorado. FO-29 at 17:32 UTC SO-50 at 20:17 UTC I will QSL regardless of the designator you use for these satellites. :-) 73 Clayton W5PFG

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Email/Text miscommunications
by Robert Bruninga 07 Jul '16

07 Jul '16

[EMAIL] I’m beginning to realize the problems we have in AMSAT-BB and other reflectors communication is caused by the bifurcation of email into two categories. Email and Texts. We see the problem crop up daily… One liner posts that make no sense and have no context, and long emails that few take the time to digest before fat-fingering a one line response. It is frustrating to have a complex problem being addressed by a multi-paragraph email discussing all the options and permutations and considerations and background on a problem and then having spent an hour presenting a well laid out treatise on the issues, to have the response come back as a fat finger “yes” or “no”. You can see it in the emails. The one-line TEXTS which have given the issue about as much thought as an eye blink. Or that was digested on a smart phone while walking across the street. I’m not complaining, just observing. Hence the first line of my email above. Giving the recipient a heads up that this email is not a knee jerk shot from the hip TEXT. Wouldn’t it be nice if EMAILS could generally only be read on full screen PC’s and all concise TEXTs are displayed only on tiny 2” screens. That would force the sender and receiver into the same “communications environment” to better understand the context. Just a thought. Bob, WB4APR

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[Video] Coolest ISS SSTV Image!
by John Brier 07 Jul '16

07 Jul '16

https://youtu.be/VSFAlGfvPPc If you liked this video please subscribe to me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SpaceComms1?sub_confirmation=1 This is my favorite image from the July 2015 International Space Station (ISS) Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event, at least of the images I received. I love how each cosmonaut and astronaut is smiling and holding their nation's respective flag, and that they are doing it together. This Slow Scan TV event celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Apollo and Soyuz docking together, and I think this image symbolizes that the best. First video from this series: https://youtu.be/5PJJixog12A For more info on ISS SSTV see my "ISS SSTV Reception Hints" article: https://spacecomms.wordpress.com/iss-sstv-reception-hints/ Links to videos featured at the end: TOMSK Bandit ISS Repeater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svnB7h_k7_M My First Perfect ISS SSTV Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7to9uX1sWC4 Equipment I use for ISS Reception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3JwOwjYIkM ISS Reception (Kopernik Observatory): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGFEanljOG8 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Re: [amsat-bb] Band designators, Modes (age and stubborn)
by Robert Bruninga 06 Jul '16

06 Jul '16

> It takes approximately 20 seconds to memorize a table > of both the old and new designations and the frequencies > they represent. Just learn them and move on. Easy for you to say. I've been in AMSAT and worked lots of the birds for 40 years and still would have to look up any of them to be sure. I know A is 29 MHz down, but what uplink? I know mode J is 435 down and 2m up. And I think mode B is the opposite. But even those I have to look up TO MAKE SURE. Then there is K, KN, KS, X, C, Ka, Ku, L, S (which S?) Why should I have to look anything up, if we would just ID the frequency band in the first place. > A few letters to represent frequencies isn't a big deal. Depends on how old you are and how stubborn. Im' at the end of the scale on both. Bob, WB4APR

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Band designators, Modes
by Peter Laws 06 Jul '16

06 Jul '16

I thought AMSAT was moving away from Modes A, B, J, etc, but they seem too entrenched and still appear in current pubs. Regardless, the band designations, loosely based on microwave band designators (later "codified" by IEEE), were for whatever reason interesting to me so I made a chart. It started out as just the microwaves ... then I added the satellite stuff ... then I added the stuff that is microwave, but non-amateur/non-satellite but in the same neighborhood. It's mostly microwave-centric but I put all the FCC bands designated for space station use in there, too, and as some of you know, that goes down as low as 40 m (which is *not* microwave :-) ). Anyway, the only "name space collision" between AMSAT designators and IEEE designators is the AMSAT R band (47000 - 47200 MHz), which is part of the IEEE V band (40000 - 75000 MHz). That happens because AMSAT's V band is 144 - 146 MHz. The only other anomaly is that we amateurs have two allocations within the what the IEEE calls the S-band (2000 - 4000 MHz), which are 2400 - 2450 MHz (13 cm) and 3400 - 3410 MHz (9 cm) -- both ham bands are wider but these are the FCC space station allocations. I've seen the amateur allocation at 9 cm referred to as "S2" but I don't know how official that is. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oJV0Bv24mHhq_eICUp3L6g4pTy-wItUWfky… Anyway, I keep stumbling on allocations that seem relevant so I keep adding them. I need to add the historical notes, too, like where the K and X letters came from as well as the "hopefully-but-not-quite-yet-obsolete" satellite mode designators. Some of that info is linked to the page. Looking forward to the Mode CX satellites ... -- Peter Laws | N5UWY | plaws plaws net | Travel by Train!

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Re: [amsat-bb] Band designators, Modes
by Rick 06 Jul '16

06 Jul '16

>Count me in STRONGLY for FREQUENCY, not even meters and centimeters. My > radio front panel reads in MHZ, not meters or centimeters. And absolutely > none of the alphabet soup. > > IMHO > Bob, WB4APR > Getting older and more forgetful every day... I agree with Bob, especially the part about getting older and more forgetful! Rick, KE6LL

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