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

Re: [amsat-bb] Modulating UHF Retro Reflector at RF?
by Ross Whenmouth 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

Years ago I built a "moving target simulator" for a K-band CW (homodyne) radar. I simply took the Gunnplexer module out of a K-band automatic door opener (a 24.125 GHz resonant cavity complete with feed horn, Gunn diode local oscillator and RX mixer diode) and fed my simulated doppler AF signal into it's RX mixer diode (I did not energise the Gunn diode - so the microwave oscillator was NOT operating). When I illuminated it with 24 GHz RF from the radar, it produced good reflections at RF + AF and RF - AF. I did not have access to good K-band microwave test equipment so I was unable to quantify the strength of the reflections or mixing conversion loss, etc. So I would say that yes, subject to sufficient link budget, if you had an antenna in orbit, coupled to a mixer diode, and you drove that mixer diode with AF modulation, then that antenna will re-radiate the mixing products of the RF illumination and AF modulation. Would this be an interesting experiment for an ulta-low-power bird that does not have the power budget to run an RF transmitter? 73 ZL2WRW Ross Whenmouth

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Nusat-1 and Nusat2
by Vincenzo Mone 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

Hi folks, I want to know if the Nusat-1 and Nusat-2 are active. Also I read that Nusat-1 and Nusat-2 has a beacon at 38k4 baud. I would like to know if it is the same 38k4 baud of the old satellites Like MO-46 and UO-36 or if there anyone active at that velocity. Thanks 73 de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ******************************************* ****** GSM +39 328 7244294 ****** ***** SMS +39 328 7244294 ***** *******************************************

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Upcoming ARISS contact with OK2KJT Radioclub, Valasska Polanka, Czech Republic
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at OK2KJT Radioclub, Valasska Polanka, Czech Republic on 10 Aug. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:56 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR1ISS and OK2KJT. The contact should be audible over the Czech Republic 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 International Electronic and Ham Radio Camp is a volunteer project led by the members of three radio clubs: OK2KJT, OK2KFJ and OK2KDJ. The summer camp is located in the Czech Republic (locator: JN78XW) and lasts 11 days. The objective is to get 44 children between 10 and 16 years interested in electronics and to demonstrate to them a fantastic world of amateur radio. The camp stuff is composed of experienced and enthusiastic semiconductor industry professionals who are also volunteer during the school year, leading children's free time electronic groups every week. Children make electronic equipment, build antennas, participate in HF and VHF ham radio contests, listen to amateur satellites and try the Amateur Radio Direction Finding (abr. ARDF). Except a technical programme, sport, games, competitions and various activities promoting sense of community and team spirit - these activities are performed in the camp and its surrounding forest. Some children had already been interested in amateur radio and obtained their own licenses. The camp started in 2012 and this year, it is already its 5th edition. It is a completely self-financed venture (no grants, no funding needed). A lot of photos from the last year(s) can be seen on this website: http://www.elektrotabor.cz/2015. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What is the temperature inside and outside the ISS? 2. What would you compare the smell of the stations recycled air which you breathe to? 3. What percentage of all the buttons, keypads and switches on the ISS do you perfectly know in terms of functionality? 4. Could the human eye see a strong light source, like a car high beam, from Earth pointing out the ISS at night? 5. Is there any component or device currently deployed in operation on the ISS which has been completely made by 3D printing? 6. How often do you operate a ham radio station, except the ARISS project? 7. Based on your personal experience, do you believe people could successfully sustain very long space travels, for example to Mars, in small spacecrafts? 8. Do you work on changing shifts on the ISS? 9. If necessary, how do you scratch your face while you are in the space suit in the open space? 10. Is the taste of food on the ISS as on Earth or synthetic? 11. Is the travel from Earth to the ISS and back survivable for an ordinary person? 12. What is your opinion about the progress in the space industry since the first Moon landing 50 years ago, up till now when humans are just orbiting Earth? 13. Do you have any program for making and growing own food on the ISS? 14. How long would it take to prepare for the emergency exit? 15. Do you believe that today or in nearest future there could be manufactured and launched new generation satellite entirely made by 3D printing? 16. How much free time do you have every day? 17. When you are watching Earth from the ISS window, have you changed your mind regarding your personal opinions on humans, human society, ecology and other local and global problems? 18. Do you feel the infinite size of the space? 19. How much exercise do you need to keep yourself fit? 20. How do you communicate from the space with your family? 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): 1. U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville AL, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Contact is a go for: Thu 2016-08-11 14:48:24 UTC 2. Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal NY, direct via K2ZRO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Thu 2016-08-18 16:24:42 UTC 3. Daisen Elementary School, Saihaku-gun, Japan, direct via 8J4DISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Takuya Onishi KF5LKS Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-08-20 08:50:19 UTC 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), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and 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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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-08-08 22:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-08-08 22:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: OK2KJT Radioclub, Valasska Polanka, Czech Republic, direct via OK2KET The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Takuya Onishi KF5LKS Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-08-10 18:56:17 UTC 90 deg U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville AL, telebridge via IK1SLD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Contact is a go for: Thu 2016-08-11 14:48:24 UTC 83 deg (***) Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal NY, direct via K2ZRO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ (***) Contact is a go for: Thu 2016-08-18 16:24:42 UTC 29 deg (***) Daisen Elementary School, Saihaku-gun, Japan, direct via 8J4DISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Takuya Onishi KF5LKS Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-08-20 08:50:19 UTC 42 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. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. **************************************************************************** *** 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 120 Francesco IKØWGF with 117 **************************************************************************** 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 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-08-08 22:30 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 1076. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1041. 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 2016-08-06 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. 47 on orbit Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Oleg Skripochka RN3FU Aleksey Ovchinin Exp. 48 on orbit Anatoly Ivanishin Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Takuya Onishi KF5LKS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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wsjt help
by James Brown 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

I am looking for help with set up of wsjt-10 with signalink and IC-910H. Thanks Jim KI6WJ

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Trackbox and 2 meters problem
by Vincenzo Mone 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

Hi folks, I own from a long time the Trackbox for satellites tracking. >From a while I cannot work any 3 meter downlink satellite when it is switched on as I can hear on the 2 meters downlink a noise like a ciuf ciuf train coming from the Trackbox CPU clock. Please anybody can tell me how to eliminate the problem or can suggest me something like a trackbox that do not have the CPU clock problem like the trackbox has? Any help will be really appreciated 73 de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ******************************************* ****** GSM +39 328 7244294 ****** ***** SMS +39 328 7244294 ***** *******************************************

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Modulating UHF Retro Reflector at RF?
by Robert Bruninga 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

At the SMALLSAT conference there are always presentations on modulating optical retroreflectors so very low power passive pspacecraft can still communicate telemetry by simply modulating the mirror of a laser reflector. Can we do this at RF? Unfortunately the 218 MHz megawatt radar fence in Texas is now shut down... But, now with the amateur radio announcement of the return of the HAARP ionosphere transmitters in Alaska, there too is another high power CW system. But it is at HF. http://www.arrl.org/news/haarp-facility-to-reopen-in-2017-under-new-ownersh… So what other HUGE power continuous RF emitters are there that transmits straight up that could be used by a passivle ON/OFF modulation of a resonant dipole in space to convey a few bits of data from a piece of wire in space? I assume this is a 1/R^4 range equation. If I do the numbers right, a passive dipole only 200 miles up with a 10 megawatts ERP transmitter at 300 MHz could be detected by a good low noise CW receiver using a 15 dBi receive antenna at -128 dBm in a CW bandwidth? How many dB can this be improved with DSP processing? Its just a mind game. A small matchbox size satellite with dipole antenna could at least report a few bits of data per pass over the radar beam? I think the Airforce is re-building the radar fence but at S band. At that frequency some gain can be added with multi passive dipoles on a cubesat size satellite gravity gradient stabilized to keep it pointed down. If it could be made to work, what could we do with it? Just thinking... Bob, WB4APR

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DO44
by Chris Vernon 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

I will be active on SO50 19.55utc pass Chris VE6CMV DO44 Cold Lake Alberta.

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Ceuta & Melilla and grid IM76 in FM Sats 12th-16h August
by Félix Páez 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

Hi Friends, As promised I will actívate the autonomous city of Ceuta (DXCC entity Ceuta & Melilla) between days 12th-16th. I don’t know how many passes I will be able to work. Most of the time I will be in Algeciras city (gid IM76) that I will also activate. It is a family trip so I don’t have all the free time I would like. Anyway most probable passes will be on Friday / Saturday / Sunday. Callsign will be EA9/EA4GQS. Activations from grid IM76 will be worked as EA4GQS/P Thanks and I hope I can give you the entity! Felix – EA4GQS

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NO-84 questions
by Mark Lunday 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

2315Z pass. I could see someone in the passband, but it showed as 6 traces rather than one. Does that mean the transponder was overdriven with PSK? I attempted to see if I could get through and at least see my downlink, but no luck. I figured even without the Doppler-compensated software, I should see my signal..30 watts to an off-center-fed dipole at 56 feet. Thoughts/suggestions welcome. Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com

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