January 2017 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Kenwood D710 firmware ?
by PA3GUO 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

.. I am a bit in trouble :-) For APRS (ISS, PSAT, ..) I have recently put a Kenwood D710 in my car. Worked fine. I used the MCP2 program to program memories & settings. Until I decided today to update the firmware: from 2.01 --> 2.10. After that I could not use the MCP2 software anymore. Doesn't read any data from the radio any longer, it sticks at 0%. Re-did the firmware update, same result, still doesn't read. Doesn't write either btw. ('model / market code does not match') Tried to also update the Panel Firmware (maybe this was a combo ?). Doesn't work either: says cannot find Panel. ..but the panel is connected and works fine ! Cannot find anything on Google reporting the same (apart from G4ILO, but the poor man is SK). Any clue anyone - there must be plenty of D710's installed for satellite operations. Or else: does someone have a previous version of the firmware, such that I can try if a downgrade would work ? Thanks Henk Pa3GUO

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AMSAT CW Activity Day
by Zeljko Ulip 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

Hello, During AMSAT CW Activity Day 01.01.2017. I worked: 1. 21.21 UTC EB5YF, Juan Jose on FO-29 2. 21.26 UTC 9A2KI, Ico on FO-29 3. 23.02 UTC EA1BYA, Andoni on FO-29 4. 23.11 UTC HA1SE, Laci on FO-29 Best regards and Happy New Year 73 de Zeljko 9A2EY

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conifer/andrews 2.4 ghz "BBQ" grid dish for sale
by Scott Olitsky 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

This has been sitting in the shed for a number of years. If interested, please email me. Scott AC3A

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Rainbow Middle School, Rainbow City, AL
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Rainbow Middle School, Rainbow City, AL on 04 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:29 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between N4ISS and K4JMC. The contact should be audible over the state of Alabama 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. Our school is located in North East Alabama. We are a 6th - 8th grade school of about 700 students. This is an exciting adventure for our students to learn more about the challenges and opportunities of space exploration. We hope to enliven their curiosity and interest through efforts and experiences before, during, and after the ARISS contact. This also provides our students the occasion to learn about amateur radio and how it works. We have completed a variety of activities and lessons which have heightened our anticipation for our contact date. Many of our students did not understand the International Space Station or what it is used for before we started this process. On October 19, and November 18, our 6th grade classes joined to watch a replay of both ISS launches. It was very exciting to watch Expedition Crew 49 and 50 begin their journey into orbit. We have viewed tours of the ISS and have watched recent interviews with crew members aboard the ISS. Many students have downloaded a NASA app to keep up with current news and happenings. We are currently researching the crew members of Expeditions 49 and 50 to understand their background and interests. Half of the 6th grade curriculum focuses on the Sun Earth Moon System and Planetary Systems. Various lab activities are helping us to explore gravity on different planets, construct and utilize scale models of our solar system, simulate different planetary and solar system processes, and expand our student's overall knowledge of the Solar System. After our contact in January we will be continuing activities and research of space exploration, the ISS, and amateur radio. As teachers we have been energized as we have learned more and more about the ISS and NASA. It has been exciting to share with our students in this process of learning and preparation. We are amazed as we study our Earth and beyond. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What made you want to become an astronaut? 2. How does it feel to achieve something as cool as being in space? 3. Who did you look up to when you were young? 4. What was the hardest thing you went through while training to become an astronaut? 5. During blast off, did you feel any physical pain or sickness? 6. Before launch what were you thinking? 7. How does being in space affect blood pressure? 8. Because it takes two days to get to the ISS, how do you eat? 9. What was the hardest challenge for you to overcome knowing that you would be in space for a long period of time? 10. How, and how often, do you communicate with your family while aboard the ISS? 11. Now that you have been in space a while, what simulations on Earth did you find to be most helpful? 12. What's the most fun thing you do for entertainment while aboard the ISS? 13. Does the change in gravity cause your daily chores and work to be easier or harder? 14. What happens if you were to get sick in space? 15. Are the astronauts able to vote while in space? 16. How do you wash your dirty laundry while aboard the ISS? 17. While on ISS, do you miss Earth's ways of doing life? 18. Is there a minimum age limit for space travel? 19. What is one thing that you enjoy doing in space that you can't do on Earth? 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), 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 with Collège Mathilde Marthe Faucher, Allassac, France
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Collège Mathilde Marthe Faucher, Allassac, France on 04 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:16 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F1IMF. The contact should be audible over France and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in French. Allassac is a French town in the corrèze department, in the new Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes aera. There are 3.869 inhabitants. It is 20 kilometers north of Brive-la-gaillarde and 200 km north of Toulouse. The Mathilde Marthe FAUCHER public middle school currently hosts 400 of students in 16 classes. It is the students of 6th graduate participating in the ARISS project. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Doit-on avoir la citoyenneté française pour devenir spationaute français? 2. Préférez-vous être chez vous ou dans l'espace? 3. Est-il important de savoir nager pour devenir spationaute? 4. De combien de centimètres avez-vous grandi depuis que vous êtes dans la station? 5. A quelle fréquence les spationautes mènent-ils des expériences scientifiques à bord de l'lSS? 6. Est-il physiquement possible de pleurer en apesanteur? 7. Quelle est la plus belle chose que vous avez-vu dans l'espace? 8. Comment lavez-vous vos vêtements? 9. Quel est le danger que vous redoutez le plus à bord de la station? 10. Les spationautes peuvent-ils entendre des impacts de météorites sur la station? 11. Comment organisez-vous vos soirées? 12. Est-ce que les spationautes éteignent les lumières la nuit? 13. Les spationautes peuvent-ils utiliser leur téléphone mobile dans l'espace? l4. Comment les astronautes peuvent-ils utiliser twitter ou les réseaux sociaux depuis l'espace? 15. Peut-on voir la pollution sur la terre depuis la station? 16. Produisez-vous beaucoup de déchets par jour? 17. Est-ce que les spationautes se sentent seuls à bord de l'lSS? 18. Quel est votre plus grand rêve? l9. Comment l'eau parvient-elle à la station? 20. Souhaitez-vous aller sur une autre planète? 21. Quel est le fuseau horaire adopté dans l'espace? 22. Les spationautes sont-ils plus stressés lors des sorties dans l'espace? Translated: 1. Do you need to be a French citizen to become a French spationaut? 2. Do you prefer being at home or in space? 3. Is it essential skill to know swimming to become an astronaut? 4. How many centimeters did you gain in height since you are in the Station? 5. How frequently do you run experiments in the ISS? 6. Is it physically possible to cry in micro-gravity? 7. What is the most beautiful thing you have seen in space? 8. How do you wash your clothes? 9. What is the hazard you fear the most in the station? 10. Is it possible to hear meteorite impacts on the Station ? 11. How do you spend your evenings after work? 12. Do you switch off the lights during your sleeping time? 13. Is it possible to use your mobile phone in the ISS? l4. How could the astronauts use twitter or other social networks from space? 15. is the earth pollution visible from the ISS? 16. Are you producing a lot of waste per day? 17. Could the astronauts feel alone onboard the ISS? 18. What is your most important dream? l9. : How do you get water in the station? 20. Would you like to travel to another planet? 21. Which Time zone is used in space? 22. Are the spationauts particularly stressed during EVAs? 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. Rainbow Middle School, Rainbow City, AL, direct via K4JMC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-01-04 17:29 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 with Collège Mathilde Marthe Faucher, Allassac, France
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Collège Mathilde Marthe Faucher, Allassac, France on 04 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:16 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F1IMF. The contact should be audible over France and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in French. Allassac is a French town in the corrèze department, in the new Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes aera. There are 3.869 inhabitants. It is 20 kilometers north of Brive-la-gaillarde and 200 km north of Toulouse. The Mathilde Marthe FAUCHER public middle school currently hosts 400 of students in 16 classes. It is the students of 6th graduate participating in the ARISS project. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Doit-on avoir la citoyenneté française pour devenir spationaute français? 2. Préférez-vous être chez vous ou dans l'espace? 3. Est-il important de savoir nager pour devenir spationaute? 4. De combien de centimètres avez-vous grandi depuis que vous êtes dans la station? 5. A quelle fréquence les spationautes mènent-ils des expériences scientifiques à bord de l'lSS? 6. Est-il physiquement possible de pleurer en apesanteur? 7. Quelle est la plus belle chose que vous avez-vu dans l'espace? 8. Comment lavez-vous vos vêtements? 9. Quel est le danger que vous redoutez le plus à bord de la station? 10. Les spationautes peuvent-ils entendre des impacts de météorites sur la station? 11. Comment organisez-vous vos soirées? 12. Est-ce que les spationautes éteignent les lumières la nuit? 13. Les spationautes peuvent-ils utiliser leur téléphone mobile dans l'espace? l4. Comment les astronautes peuvent-ils utiliser twitter ou les réseaux sociaux depuis l'espace? 15. Peut-on voir la pollution sur la terre depuis la station? 16. Produisez-vous beaucoup de déchets par jour? 17. Est-ce que les spationautes se sentent seuls à bord de l'lSS? 18. Quel est votre plus grand rêve? l9. Comment l'eau parvient-elle à la station? 20. Souhaitez-vous aller sur une autre planète? 21. Quel est le fuseau horaire adopté dans l'espace? 22. Les spationautes sont-ils plus stressés lors des sorties dans l'espace? Translated: 1. Do you need to be a French citizen to become a French spationaut? 2. Do you prefer being at home or in space? 3. Is it essential skill to know swimming to become an astronaut? 4. How many centimeters did you gain in height since you are in the Station? 5. How frequently do you run experiments in the ISS? 6. Is it physically possible to cry in micro-gravity? 7. What is the most beautiful thing you have seen in space? 8. How do you wash your clothes? 9. What is the hazard you fear the most in the station? 10. Is it possible to hear meteorite impacts on the Station ? 11. How do you spend your evenings after work? 12. Do you switch off the lights during your sleeping time? 13. Is it possible to use your mobile phone in the ISS? l4. How could the astronauts use twitter or other social networks from space? 15. is the earth pollution visible from the ISS? 16. Are you producing a lot of waste per day? 17. Could the astronauts feel alone onboard the ISS? 18. What is your most important dream? l9. : How do you get water in the station? 20. Would you like to travel to another planet? 21. Which Time zone is used in space? 22. Are the spationauts particularly stressed during EVAs? 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. Rainbow Middle School, Rainbow City, AL, direct via K4JMC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-01-04 17:29 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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CW ACTIVITY DAY REPORT
by rsoifer1＠aol.com 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

I worked Mike, WA6ARA, and Wayne, NM3B, on FO-29. Tnx to both, and Happy New Year to all. 73 Ray W2RS

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BY70-1 keps update
by Matthew Stevens 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

I've noticed a lot of people tweeting that they weren't able to hear BY70-1 on recent passes. Most of the issue probably lies with the fact that the low orbit of the sat is causing wide variations in pass times. The TLEs in the Amsat kep file aren't updated often enough to keep up with these variations, so you might try the keps from Celestrak https://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt These are updated several times a day, and should provide better tracking than the Amsat keps. - Matthew KK4FEM Sent from my iPhone

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Bad Tracker EEPROM
by Joel Kandel 01 Jan '17

01 Jan '17

Fellow members, I am getting a "Bad EEPROM data" message on my Tracker readout. I queried the office about a fix and Martha forwarded it to the appropriate Individuals. It's been a couple of months since my inquiry and have not heard back. Is there anyone out there who can tell me where to find a new chip, or do I have to scrap the unit and use a different tracking source? My unit was purchased around 2008. The readout says Firmware version 0.9. The board indicates version 1.2. Thanks in advance for your help and Happy New Year. Joel Kandel, KI4T Carried by dog sled

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WINDCAMP CHARGE PROBLEM FIXED
by jeffory broughton 01 Jan '17

01 Jan '17

Win camp charging problem solved. I never saw a RED charge light on the wall wart,only green.The charger had no 12 volt output ! the green light was battery voltage feeding back.I have asked the supplier to replace it .if not,they are on EBAY for $7.29 and free ship front Chicago !Since this appears to be a common problem,I ordered two ! jeff broughton

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