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

Cruise to Nassau and freeport.
by Lee Ernstrom 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

I have packed the radio gear. We will be on the Carnival Liberty so if you want to track us it might be fun. I know I will work sats SO-50 and FO-29. Are there other sats I should consider? We leave Port Canaveral sometime on Sunday (day after tomorrow ) WA7HQD Doc

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ARISS News Release no. 17-01
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Feb. 3, 2017 ARISS Media Advisory 16-14 / ARISS News Release 17-01 Dave Jordan, ARISS PR - aa4kn(a)amsat.org Texas Students to Interview NASA Astronaut on the Space Station Seventh and eighth grade students from the Science Magnet Program at Seabrook Intermediate School, Seabrook, Texas, will use amateur radio on February 9 to interview astronaut Thomas Pesquet while he orbits the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS). This live Earth-to-space radio contact will last for 10 minutes starting at 2:30 pm CST Feb. 9 in Space Center Houston's Mission Briefing Center. The special event is a feature of the nonprofit Space Center Houston's 23rd Space Exploration Educators Conference. The amateur radio interview is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program (ARISS) where excited students can link with astronauts living and working on the ISS. Since the ISS first opened for habitation in 2000, ARISS volunteers have hosted an astounding 1,076 ARISS radio education contacts. This contact should be audible over the US Eastern Seaboard; listeners can tune to 145.80 MHZ. Here is a sampling of students' questions: · Since hair root cells actively divide in a hair follicle, does zero gravity affect this process? · Do you have a time zone in space? · What do you feel is the most important accomplishment performed by the space station that will help science? The three-day conference draws more than 500 hundred educators from around the world to experience hands-on learning in sessions led by rocket scientists, astronauts and renowned educators. Space Center Houston is the cornerstone of the mission of The Manned Space Flight Education Foundation, a 501©3 nonprofit science and space learning center with extensive educational programs. The mission is to inspire all generations through the wonders of space exploration. Space Center Houston is the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center. The mission of Seabrook Intermediate School is to ensure each student explores and discovers unique talents, passions, and abilities through a dynamic system, including the Science Magnet Program. 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 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 crewmembers 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. Join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Satellite VUCC Awards 1/8/2017 - 2/1/2017
by John Papay 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Congratulations to the following Satellite operators who were granted Satellite VUCC Endorsements between 1/8/2017 and 2/1/2017: W5PFG - 950 KK5DO - 779 N4UFO - 564 WD9EWK - 325 KK4FEM - 254 N0JE - 248 W7QL - 144 73, John K8YSE --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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ARISS QSO, Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and South Street School Connecticut 2-2-2017
by Dave Ryan 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Hi All My Daughter and I listened in on an ARISS QSO between Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and South Street School, Danbury, Connecticut USA, The contact was made with ON4ISS, an ARISS telebridge station in Belgium and was audible over South Yorkshire in the UK. Before the contact, we downloaded the list of questions that the students were going to ask, we then tried to think of the answers that Astronaut Shane Kimbrough would give, we got a lot right, and a few wrong. We made a video of the QSO and posted it on youtube :- ARISS QSO, Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and South Street School Connecticut 2-2-2017 | | | | | | | | | | | ARISS QSO, Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and South Street School Connecticut 2-... My Daughter and I listened in on an ARISS QSO between Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and South Street School, Danbury... | | | | Regards EI4HT/M0GIW Dave and Erin Ryan

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Re: [amsat-bb] Cruise to Nassau and freeport.
by Andrew Glasbrenner 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

-----Original Message----- >From: Lee Ernstrom <lee.ernstrom(a)rcwilley.com> > We will be on the Carnival Liberty so if you >want to track us it might be fun. Keep an eye out for my dignity if you see it. I think I lost it somewhere between Guy's Burgers and the 24 hour ice cream machine. 73, Drew KO4MA (formerly HP/KO4MA/MM)

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AO73/FUNcube-1 weekend Operations
by Graham Shirville 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Hi All, Just to confirm that AO73 / FUNcube-1 is in full time amateur mode for the weekend as usual. Please enjoy using this transponder and also the FUNcube-2 and EO79/FUNcube-3 transponders as well. 73 Graham G3VZV

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FT-990 Extender Cards
by Steve Appleton 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

All, I am looking for a set of extender cards for my Yaesu FT-990. The set consists of 3 boards used for troubleshooting and alignment. The Yaesu P/N - A03850001 if anyone has a set they would be able to part with. Thanks, -Steve A

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FM Squelch blocks everything!
by Robert Bruninga 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

Fired up our next PSK31 cubesat card for first test and the ground station got full S9 carrier but signal was full of noise totally masking the PSK31 tones. Turned off. Channel was clear. Then opened squelch and there was S9 noise over 5 Mhz around our UHF downlink. Went down the halls with HT and signal tapered slowly down in all directions. Came back and with 1” of wire in the HT antenna connector narrowed it down to a cheap battery charger. Lesson over and over again, is that a squelch HIDES everything Even 20+S9 noise sources. Zero bars while squelched. Reminded me of when we had local repeater problems. Turns out it was the megawatt balloon radar operating in VHF looking over Washington DC. No one could hear it with their radio squelched. But open the squelch and every channel throughout 2m would show 60+S9 bars on the noisy trash. It was similarly baffling at the peak of packet in the 90’s when some hams would complain that their packet system wasn’t working, and yet they never turned up the volume to listen by ear to the channel to see what was going on. I still see that sometimes in our students who think that all you have to do is hook-up two wireless thingy’s and is should just work… but never think to listen to a channel or use a spectrum analyzer to see what they are dealing with. Turns out, this battery charger (now that I remember) was the SAME one that got me several years ago. I was just too old to remember until I had again done the full DF search through the entire academic building and ended up right back at the same point. The older we get the more we have to learn over and over again ;-) Bob, WB4APR

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Port Canaveral to Nassau
by Lee Ernstrom 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

My wife and I will be cruising to the Bahamas this Sunday and I haven't decided if I'm going to take radios to work the satellites. If I did take them I would probably work So-50 and FO-29 since I would take my FT-897 and FT-817. Any interest in those grids? WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Sent from my iPad

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Product review
by skristof＠etczone.com 03 Feb '17

03 Feb '17

If you are cheap (like me) and trying to download satellite telemetry as inexpensively as possible, you may be using the $20 RTL-SDR dongle. It works but you get the performance that you pay for. If you're willing to part with another $20, you want to consider the Low Noise Amplifier for the RTL-SDR from janieelectronics. I ordered one through eBay and received it yesterday. It ships from Hungary so a little patience is needed with respect to delivery time, but I did get mine a day before the last predicted delivery date. I used it last night and it works! I definitely downloaded more data packets from AO-85 than I have been getting lately. I also tried it on a pass of AO-73 that was at a lower angle than I would normally attempt. I was able to download data from that pass, which I probably would not have gotten without the preamp. I wasn't paid and didn't get a discount for the review. I am just happy that an inexpensive item actually works as promised. If you are as cheap as I am and looking for a preamp for your SDR, consider the janieelectronics Wide-Band LNA. It works for me. Steve AI9IN

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