AMSAT-BB February 2017

145 participants
237 discussions

Upcoming ARISS contact with Student Space Technology Association, Knoxville, TN
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 27 Feb '17

27 Feb '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Student Space Technology Association, Knoxville, TN on 01 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:08 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and AA4UT. The contact should be audible over the middle and eastern U.S 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 University of Tennessee Knoxville is an amazing school located in the hills of Tennessee. It is the largest campus in the state, hosting more than 30,000 students. This school is known for its engineering and science heritage, having close ties with research facilities such as Oak Ridge National Lab and companies like Alcoa. Also, included in our alumni are 9 astronauts including the recent ISS inhabitant Scott Kelly. Our school is filled with thousands of eager students seeking to pursue careers in the space industry. With our vision of becoming a top-tier research school, our students are set to become the next leaders in STEM industries. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Is it difficult to remain up to date on recent events on Earth? 2. Have there been any recent advancements made in ISS biological research that could be applied on Earth? 3. How do you feel about riding on a commercial spacecraft like SpaceX's Dragon Capsule as opposed to a government agency's craft? 4. When doing research, or any other investigation, what kind of cleaning processes do you use on your equipment, or even yourself, to avoid contamination of material and equipment? 5. Has there been any research that has been done with the possible application of zero g therapy to joint diseases such as arthritis. 6. Having used current NASA spacesuits, are you excited about the new space clothing developments being made like the Skinsuit? 7. Why does the vegetable growth experiment chamber have a pink-looking light rather than a white light? 8. Are there any items/tools that are "lost" inside ISS? 9. Can you tell us about the recent software updates to the ISS computers? 10. Are there any experiments related to additive manufacturing going on at the moment? 11. Using the Haptics-2, how close do you think the technology is to application on Mars? What kind of applications could you see the technology being used for? Anything memorable from the experiment? 12. How often, and how, do you launch satellites from the ISS? 13. Are there plans to test means of producing artificial gravity in the near future? 14. Can you talk about the inflatable module that was delivered to the ISS in April of 2016? 15. Would there be any foreseeable benefits in performing complex medical operations (such as open heart surgery) in a zero g environment. 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 Ecole Albert Camus, Rueil-Malmaison, France, College Marcel Pagnol, Rueil-Malmaison, France
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 27 Feb '17

27 Feb '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ecole Albert Camus, Rueil-Malmaison, France, College Marcel Pagnol, Rueil-Malmaison, France on 01 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:04 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F6KFA. 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. RUEIL-MALMAISON is a lovely city surrounded by a large forest, parks and gardens, for the happiness of its 80,000 inhabitants. In the 17th century, the Cardinal of Richelieu, minister of King Louis the 13th, was the lord of RUEIL. In 1799, Napoleon the 1st and his wife Josephine lived in the nice castle of MALMAISON. At the end of the 19th century, famous impressionist painters like Renoir, Manet and Monet used to find scenery inspiration at the banks of the river Seine nearby. 3 schools of Rueil-Malmaison are involved in this ARISS contact: The "Robespierre-B" Elementary school is named after Maximilien Robespierre, a famous character of the French revolution in 1789. This entity includes 10 classrooms, ranging from 1st grade to 5th grade, with a total of 256 children's, aged from 6 to 11. The Albert Camus Elementary School is named after famous French philosopher, author, and journalist in early 20th century. The school presents 4 classrooms from 5th to 6th grade. The Marcel Pagnol College is named after famous French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker of the mid 20th century. One classroom (7th Grade) is involved in this ARISS contact. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Quand vous sortez de l'ISS, est-ce que vous ressentez la vitesse? 2. Est-ce que vous sentez la même sensation dans l'espace que dans l'eau? 3. Vous postez beaucoup de photos sur les réseaux sociaux, laquelle est votre préférée? 4. Avez-vous repéré un endroit de là-haut que vous voulez visiter en rentrant sur Terre? 5. Peut-on vite avoir le vertige dans l'espace? 6. Êtes vous tombé malade et si vous tombez gravement malade que se passe-t- il? 7. Pourquoi avez-vous emporté un volant de badminton? 8. Depuis l'espace est-ce que vous voyez les rayons du soleil comme sur la terre? 9. Est ce que l'on voit depuis l'espace les signes du changement climatique? 10. Quand vous rentrerez sur terre, quelle sera la première chose que vous ferez? 11. En cas d'alerte astéroïdes, comment réagissez-vous? 12. Avez vous déjà fait un cauchemar à bord de l'ISS? 13. Que manque-t-il aux hommes pour aller sur Mars dès maintenant? 14. Qu'est ce qui vous manque le plus, que vous aviez sur Terre? 15. Est-ce que vous prévoyez d'aller sur la Lune? 16. Quel est le plus gros danger dans l'espace et avez vous fait un entraînement en cas d'évacuation? 17. Qu'auriez-vous emporté en plus dans l'ISS si cela avait été possible? 18. Nous avons lu que lors de la sortie extravéhiculaire, le cerveau marchait au ralenti, est ce que vous l'avez ressenti lors de votre sortie? 19. Avez-vous fait des bêtises depuis que vous êtes sur l'ISS? 20. Pouvez vous être attiré par un astéroïde lors des sorties comme le capitaine Haddock à été attire par Adonis dans "Objectif lune "? translation: 1. When you went out on spacewalk, did you feel the speed of the aircraft? 2. Do you feel the same things in space and weightlessness as in water? 3. We know you post a lot of pictures on social media. Which one is your favorite? 4. Have you noticed a place from up there that you absolutely want to visit once you are back to earth? 5. Is it possible to feel dizzy and experience vertigo in space? 6. Have you been sick in the ISS? If you are in a serious condition in the ISS, what are the plans? Who takes care of you? 7. Why did you take a shuttlecock with you onboard? 8. From the ISS, can you see sun rays the same way we can see them from the earth? 9. Can we see the negative impact of global warming on earth, from space? 10. In case of asteroid alert, what are you supposed to do? 11. In case of asteroid alert, what are you supposed to do? 12. Have you ever had a nightmare onboard the ISS? 13. What is lacking to astronauts to be able to go to Mars nowadays? 14. What do you miss most? What's the biggest thing you miss from earth? 15. Do you plan on going to the moon? 16. What's the biggest danger in space? Have you been trained to evacuate the ISS in case of emergency? 17. What would you have taken with you in the ISS if it would have been possible? 18. We have read that when you exit the ISS, the human brain slows down. Have you felt that when you walked outside the spacecraft on January 13th? 19. Have you made mistakes/ taken bad decisions onboard the ISS since your departure? 20. Can you be attracted to asteroids when you exit the ISS, as it happened to Captain Haddock with Adonis in Tintin ' Destination Moon'? 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. Student Space Technology Association, Knoxville, TN, direct via AA4UT The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-01 19:08 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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LUSAT calls home
by Pedro Converso 27 Feb '17

27 Feb '17

Proud to inform that on Feb-20 15:45z LUSAT LO-19 on Orbit 141493 had been heard with strong carrier on 437.125 +/- Doppler. LUSAT had been in space last 27 years and still emits his CW carrier un-modulated with 900 mW. Now and then comes alive, it is useful to test reception and demonstrate Doppler, check antennas, etc. Try to listen, on http://amsat.innova-red.net/pass you will find easy way to locate, receive and thanks if reported. 73, lu7abf, Pedro

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Belize on Satellite
by Gabriel Zeifman 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Good evening to my fellow people of the birds, The time has come. I will be venturing to the land of Belize March 11-19 and will be on the satellites with the call V31NJ. I will operate from various grids and possibly some islands (a side trip to Roatan, Honduras is possible with operations from there, not positive yet). This is gonna be a vacation style op (going with my little brother for his spring break), so don't expect me on every pass. If I can get a permit for Guatemala TG/NJ7H may also be on a few passes, though I'm not sure if from any grids different than in Belize. QSLing will be via LoTW. If there is a demand, I can get some cards printed when I'm back. 73, Gabe V31NJ/NJ7H

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LUSAT calls home
by Pedro Converso 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Thanks Tony !! Excellent video and audio, you copied up to 0 degrees !! Wow! 73, LU7ABF, Pedro >Pedro: > >Good signal (carrier) from LO-19 today. > >See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFjLTtVyGR8 > >Tony -K2MO > On 2/20/2017 12:10 PM, Pedro Converso wrote: > Proud to inform that on Feb-20 15:45z LUSAT LO-19 on Orbit 141493 had > been heard with strong carrier on 437.125 +/- Doppler. > > LUSAT had been in space last 27 years and still emits his CW carrier > un-modulated with 900 mW. > > Now and then comes alive, it is useful to test reception and > demonstrate Doppler, check antennas, etc. > > Try to listen, on http://amsat.innova-red.net/pass you will find easy > way to locate, receive and thanks if reported. > > 73, lu7abf, Pedro >

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Re: [amsat-bb] Solid State conversion (tube equivalents)?
by Robert Bruninga 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

You know, you are right. The three tubes would need 6.3v at 1 amp. I could get the plate voltage from a simple voltage doubler from 60 Hz.. Since 5v 1A switching wall-warts are throwaways, they would be a great filament supply except that 5v on the filament vs 6.3 is like a 37% reduction in filament power. Humm... Ill have to look for a 6v DC/DC supply... Our use two 5v's in series and use a series regulator down from that. Bob On Sat, Feb 25, 2017 at 11:57 PM, James Duffey <jamesduffey(a)comcast.net> wrote: > This is probably not the answer you are looking for, but why bother > converting to solid state? The LM/BC-221 frequency meters are, as you > note, very nice frequency meters/sources. They don’t drift when warmed up > and are very solid mechanically. They age well and you are likely to have > performance now very close to what they were new. The cal books are usually > only off by a small amount these days. The tubes are available and although > not cheap, are not outrageous either. I do not think that the tubes are > highly stressed and should last a long time. The picture you linked to > shows a cal sticker from 1976, which demonstrates the commercial/military > utility of the unit well into the solid state age. It would probably make > sense to put a digital readout on it though. That would take care of the > cal book being off a bit, if it is in fact off, and make reading the > frequency a simple project. > > If you insist on converting it to solid state, here is one article > describing how: > > < http://www.hanssummers.com/images/stories/bc221t/bc221.pdf > > > with more information here: > > < http://hanssummers.com/bc221t.html > > > including schematics and the manual. > > But I doubt performance will be substantially better, if any, than the > tube unit you start out with. The original was designed for thermal > performance assuming the thermal mass of the tubes and the heat that each > produces. I think switching to something that does not dissipate the same > amount of power would alter the thermal performance substantially and it > may be that thermal equilibrium may never be reached and drift performance > may be worse. > > Now if you really want to talk sacrilege, that unit has one of the nicest > variable capacitor/vernier units you will ever see which will make a jim > dandy VFO or tuning cap for a home-brew transceiver. Somewhere on the web > are plans for making a regenerative receiver out of an LM/BC-221. But you > really shouldn’t do either unless the unit has already been butchered or > hacked. There is a nice High Q 1MHz crystal in there too. Several would > make a nice crystal IF filter, but you don’t want to do that either. > > Enjoy it. Technologically it is a wonderful thing to have just the way it > is. It is still a very useful laboratory quality instrument. - Duffey KK6MC > > > On Feb 25, 2017, at 2:07 PM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > > About 40 years ago, the topic of tube-to-FET conversions was popular for > > making 1-for-1 conversions of old tube stuff to solid state. > > > > Anyone feel good at doing this these days? Or am I just wallowing in > > nostalgia...? > > > > Today at a small hamfest, (40 tables only) there were at least 4 of the > old > > high quality FREQ meters (9" cube boxes) that could give frequency > accuracy > > to 0.01% anywhere from 125 KHz to 20 MHz. > > https://www.pa3esy.nl/military/us/meet/LM20/pics/LM20-front.jpg > > > > Going rate was about $10. What an absolutely astonishing piece of 1930 > > engineering when you open it up. , with 3 tubes. (6A7, 76 and a 77) > > > > I can do just about anything with bi-polar transistors... (my coming of > > age...) but I PRE-dated FET's which are good direct substitutes for tubes > > since they are both transconductance devices . > > > > There is an excellent 1969 QST article on doing tube conversions, but it > > assumes one already knows more about it than I do. And one of the tubes > is > > a penta-grid tube which does oscillator and mixer all in one... > > http://www.qsl.net/kh6grt/page4/tubesters/MOSFETs%20for%20Tubes.pdf > > > > I would have thought that a solid state conversion of this simple 3 tube > > but very useful device would be out there somewhere... But haven't even > > found a schematic on line... > > > > Thought I'd ask before all the old fuds are gone... > > > > Bob, Wb4APR > > _______________________________________________ > > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. > Opinions expressed > > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of > AMSAT-NA. > > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite > program! > > Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > -- > KK6MC > James Duffey > Cedar Crest NM > > > > > >

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Finding my uplink on SSB birds
by Mike Thompson 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Good morning all. as some of you may remember, I am recently returning to satellites, and I want to make sure I am doing this properly. I will eventually have a pair of eggbeater antennas on the roof, (no room for yagi's on this rental property) but for now, I am operating only with a collinear vertical. I have a TS-2000, and SatPC32. Thanks to other ham's, I have the satellite's "nominal" transponder frequencies in my doppler.sqf file, but I have found that I have a hard time hearing myself on the downlink. SatPC32 control's both the uplink and downlink frequencies, and it seems to track perfectly fine with VFO changes on the downlink, and set's the uplink to the appropriate match, but when I use my RIT knob on the TS-2000 to change the uplink frequency offset, SatPC32 overwrites it. What do you guys find is the quickest and easiest method for finding your uplink? Thank you! Mike, AE0MT.

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SatPC32 V12.8C Win10 Fodtrack
by vk1kw＠amsat.org 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Dear All, Wonder if you have heard anything about the problem that occurs with 32bit Windows 10 and the Fodtrack interface with SatPC32. My SatPC32 registered copy works fine with Fodtrack on XP but gives an error when SatPC32 accesses the fodtrack.exe file using Win10. The error is "Exception EOLISysError in Module ServerFODTrack.exe bei 0005E909. Class not registered." The new motherboard I am using does not have a parallel port on board so I have been trying both PCI and a PCIe cards without success. I also have changed the required bits in SatPC32 config ParPort.SQF file to suit but no luck. Tried calling other rotator interfaces and they seem to run ok given I don't have that hardware. Also tried running SatPC32 in compatibility modes but no luck there either. It does not drive the fodtrack box but otherwise runs ok. I would rather ask before playing around with the PC's REGEDIT stuff which could be terminal. Regards Rob VK1KW

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Nayif-1 Doppler.sqf
by ingejack＠cox.net 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Bob the Beacon freq. is 145938.5,0,usb,0,1.2K BPSK JACK KC7MG

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Nayif - 1
by jeffory broughton 26 Feb '17

26 Feb '17

Sorry I was not on ! We should try for Sunday sometime.it is a super duper super bird.stable as heck and man does it work !love it ! jeff broughton

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AMSAT-BB February 2017