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

DX KEEPER
by alex weimer 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

Paul: In dx keeper software, how do you show the qso as satellite ?? There is no entry in the pull down box as Satellite Thanks Jack kc7mg

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Sat Logbook / TQSl
by MrToby 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

Stefan's post about there being an updated version of TQSL got me wondering. What, if any, logging program is available that is really suitable for logging Satellite contacts? I've just been using Microsoft EXCEL but would like something more dedicated that can produce files to upload to TQSL. Thanks in advance for your recommendations. Marshall, AA0FO

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CT8/DL7VTX in HM58/68
by Pedro Dutra Sousa 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

Hi all, Jens, DL7VTX, is back in the Azores. He is now is São Jorge island which covers both HM58 and HM68. As usual in his trips he is equipped with a 5/8 whip, but this time he brought the TH74d, so he’s complaining about not being full duplex. So far is active is SO-50 and worked EB1AO. He’ll remain in São Jorge island until November 7, then will be in Terceira island on the 8th, returning next to Germany. Will be announcing soon my HM58 Christmas activation for this year. It’ll be a 4-5 days activation. Details later. For now, ears open for DL7VTX. 73 Pedro CU2ZG HM77 Sent from my iPhone Please excuse any typos or briefness -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Satreporter update
by Andrew Rich 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

Hello Added little floppy disk icon to the right Takes you to the satellite data Regards Andrew vk4tec http://59.167.159.165/satreporter/index2.html Sent from my iPhone

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-11-04 06:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-11-04 06:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Liceo Scientifico ‘Francesco Cecioni”, Livorno, Italy and Liceo Artistico Melotti, Lomazzo, Italy, direct via IQ5LI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact was successful: Fri 2017-11-03 09:27:26 UTC 87 deg (***) Watch for HamTV Watch for live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFXXIuThuTU Istituto di Istruzione Superiore “Leonardo Da Vinci”, Lanusei, Italy, direct via ISØBWM The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-11-04 10:12:16 UTC 34 deg Watch for HamTV South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, West Palm Beach, FL, direct via WS4FSC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact is a go for: Mon 2017-11-06 16:17:10 UTC 35 deg Liceo Statale “Ilaria Alpi”, Rutigliano, Italy, I.I.S.S. “T.Fiore-C.Sylos” , Terlizzi, Italy, and Liceo Scientifico “Valdemaro Vecchi”, Trani, Italy telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact is a go for 2017-11-11 11:16:29 UTC 56 deg Watch for HamTV **************************************************************************** ** International Space Station Astronauts are Calling CQ Students – ARISS-US program education proposal deadline is November 15, 2017 September 18, 2017: The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations to host radio contacts with an orbiting crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS) between July 1 and December 31, 2018. Each year, ARISS provides tens of thousands of students with oppor- tunities to learn about space technologies and space communications through the exploration of Amateur Radio. The program provides learning opportunities by connecting students to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through a partnership between NASA, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation and other Amateur Radio organizations and worldwide space agencies. The program’s goal is to inspire students worldwide, to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through Amateur Radio. Educators overwhelmingly report that student participation in the ARISS program inspires an interest in STEM subjects and in STEM careers. Ninety-two percent of educators who have participated in the program have indicated that ARISS provided ideas for encourag- ing student exploration, discussion, and participation, and 78 percent said that ARISS was effective in stimulating student interest in STEM. ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. Students can learn about satellite communications, wireless technology, science research conducted on the space station, what it is like to work in space, radio science, and any related STEM subject. Students learn to use Amateur Radio to talk directly to an astronaut and ask their STEM-related questions. ARISS will help educational organizations locate Amateur Radio groups who can assist with equipment for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students. The proposal deadline for 2018 contacts is November 15, 2017. The ARISS website has additional details on expectations, proposal guidelines, and the proposal form. See: http://www.ariss.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact-in-the-us.html **************************************************************************** ** 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 Kenwood 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: Francesco IKØWGF with 126 (***) Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 124 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 100 **************************************************************************** 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 2017-11-04 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 http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1180. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1134. (***) 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 2017-11-04 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. 52 on orbit Randy Bresnik Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Sergey Ryazanskiy Exp. 53 on orbit Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Alexander Misurkin Joe Acaba KE5DAR **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Kenwood TS-710 for Falconsat?
by Tony 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

On 11/3/2017 5:03 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: > If I get it working, yes! The command line tools are cumbersome and > not as nice as using WiSP, though. 73, Paul, N8HM Paul: I had company this evening so missed the first 2 Falconsat passes. I'll post your BBS message on the next pass which begins at 02:17z. Tony -K2MO

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Getting Ready for RadFxSat (Fox-1B)
by Paul Stoetzer 03 Nov '17

03 Nov '17

INTRODUCTION RadFxSat (Fox-1B) is scheduled for launch on November 10, 2017. RadFxSat is one of four CubeSats making up the NASA ELaNa XIV mission, riding as secondary payloads aboard the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-1 mission. JPSS-1 will launch on a Delta II from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. RadFxSat is a partnership with Vanderbilt University ISDE and hosts four payloads for the study of radiation effects on commercial off the shelf components. RadFxSat features the Fox-1 style FM U/v repeater with an uplink on 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink on 145.960 MHz. Satellite and experiment telemetry will be downlinked via the “DUV” subaudible telemetry stream and can be decoded with the FoxTelem software (https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/). LAUNCH AND EARLY ORBIT PHASE (LEOP) RadFxSat will launch at 01:47 PST (09:47 UTC) on November 10, 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At this time, pre-launch Keplerian elements are not expected to be available. However, based on the Local Time of the Ascending Node (LTAN) of the primary payload, 13:30, stations should expect to have their initial ascending passes starting around noon local time. The estimated time of “First Veronica,” the initial beacon after deployment, is 12:07 UTC. Due to the tight constraints on the primary payload deployment, the secondary payloads may be delayed slightly, so this should be considered the soonest the transmitter will be enabled. Orbital elements will be published as soon as they are available on the AMSAT website. Stations in Europe, South America, and North America should point your beams south and have FoxTelem running while awaiting the initial post-launch Keplerian elements. Participation in telemetry collection by as many stations in as many parts of the world as possible is essential as AMSAT Engineering looks for successful startup and indications of the general health and function of the satellite as it begins to acclimate to space. If you are capturing telemetry with FoxTelem please be sure that "Upload to Server" is checked in your settings, and that your “Ground Station Params” are filled in as well. You can help AMSAT and everyone waiting to get on the air with RadFxSat tremendously by capturing RadFxSat telemetry. About 60 minutes after deployment, or 140 minutes after launch, the satellite will start up in Beacon Mode. In this initial mode, the transmitter is limited to 10 seconds on time and then will be off for two minutes. For those of you capturing telemetry, that means that you will only see Current frames and no High or Low frames. The High and Low frames are truncated as it takes just over the 10 second limit to send two frames. Veronica may also be cut off before she gets to say her whole ID string as the full ID, “RadFxSat Fox-1B Safe Mode,” is a bit longer than the approximately 3.5 seconds she has in Beacon Mode. If the voice ID is cut off, the satellite is still in Beacon Mode. If AMSAT Engineering is seeing nominal values from the telemetry you gather, the satellite will be commanded from Beacon Mode to Safe Mode on the first good pass over the United States. In Safe Mode, the satellite transmits a full two frames of telemetry (one Current frame followed by, and alternating each ID cycle, a High or a Low frame). Veronica now has time to make the whole ID announcement in Safe Mode. The on-orbit checkout procedure for RadFxSat is similar to Fox-1A/AO-85 and could be completed in as little as a few days if users cooperate. It is very important, and good amateur operating practice, to refrain from using the transponder uplink so the on-orbit tests can be performed, including when the satellite is switched into Transponder Mode for testing. AMSAT will make it broadly known when the tests are complete and the transponder is available for all to use. If you hear someone on the transponder, please do not assume that it is open for general use - check AMSAT’s website, Facebook, and Twitter before transmitting to be sure you do not interfere with testing. AMSAT asks all satellite operators to contribute just a little bit of your time by gathering telemetry, not using the transponder uplink, to help complete the last few days of getting RadFxSat operating for the amateur radio community. Lots of hams put thousands of volunteer hours of their time into making RadFxSat happen. Just like any ham radio project you might undertake, AMSAT builds satellites. AMSAT volunteers do it because they like to, and when they are done, AMSAT freely shares their project with hams everywhere as is the spirit of amateur radio. Thank you very much and see you on the bird! RADIO PROGRAMMING CHART RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Doppler Shift Correction Memory 1 (AOS) - Transmit 435.240 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), Receive 145.960 MHz Memory 2 (Approaching) - Transmit 435.245 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), Receive 145.960 MHz Memory 3 (TCA) - Transmit 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), Receive 145.960 MHz Memory 4 (Departing) - Transmit 435.255 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), Receive 145.960 MHz Memory 5 (LOS) - Transmit 435.260 MHz (67.0 Hz Tone), Receive 145.960 MHz Frequencies are subject to change post-launch. SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP OFFER As part of the preparations for the launch of RadFxSat, AMSAT is making the “Getting Started With Amateur Satellites” book available for a limited time as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The 182 page book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT’s other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you’ll never see an option to add your free gift.

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N4KGL needs some Qs on F0-29 Pass 1403 UTC Nov 4th
by Greg Lane 03 Nov '17

03 Nov '17

I am doing the Nov 4th RaDAR Challenge from St Andrews State Park, FL at EM70DC. I would be greatful for one to five contacts. I will shoot for 435.850 downlink using the frequency at satellite option on satpc32. Thanks, Greg Lane N4KGL FO-29 will be visible from Panama City, on Saturday, November 4 09:03:16 AM CDT Starting in the S (172°) Ending in the NNW (345°) at 09:19:43 AM CDT Maximum elevation: 66° http://issdetector.com

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Falconsat-3 Antenna, PreAmp, SDR
by vk4tec＠internode.on.net 03 Nov '17

03 Nov '17

I am going to give this a try Get rid of any coax http://59.167.159.165/satreporter/falcon_sdr.jpg Andrew

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Re: [amsat-bb] Kenwood TM-710 for Falconsat?
by Tony 03 Nov '17

03 Nov '17

Paul: > I'm going to be trying the BBS, not the digipeater. Please feel free > to leave me a message! That makes things easier - just finished typing up a short message. I should make the 23:00z pass. > > I'll be using a laptop with Linux and PB/PG, but when i figure it all > out and get some scripts written to automate the lengthy number of > commands you have to type in to get it all working, I'm going to be > trying it with my PocketCHIP. An extremely portable way of sending and > receiving messages via FalconSAT! 73, Paul, N8HM PocketChip looks interesting - certainly small enough for portable work. Any chance of recording a short video while accessing Falconsat with this setup? Tony -K2MO > > > On Fri, Nov 3, 2017 at 4:17 PM, Tony <dxdx(a)optonline.net > <mailto:dxdx@optonline.net>> wrote: > > Paul: > > The TM-D710 can do full duplex with it's internal TNC. Include > "FU ON" in the KISS initialization string (which essentially > just turns off DCD sense). > > > Sounds similar to how the TS-2000's internal TNC to worked when I > used it to work Pacsats years ago. I guess the only obstacle would > be tuning steps i.e., does the TM-710 allow small tuning steps in > 5 KHz or less on 70cm. > > I plan to attempt this with my TH-D72 either tonight or later > this weekend. The TH-D7A will do full duplex in standalone > APRS mode, but not in packet mode. 73,Paul, N8HM > > > If you specify which pass, I'll send you a short APRS message Paul. > > Tony -K2MO > > >

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