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

Upcoming ARISS contact with Ecole primaire Elie Desplan, Boissières, France and Marie Castang, Saint Dionisy, France
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ecole primaire Elie Desplan, Boissières, France and Marie Castang, Saint Dionisy, France on 23 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:31 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F4HHV. 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. We are two small schools in pretty twin villages in the South of France, Boissières and Saint-Dionisy. Enjoying very beautiful surroundings, we are located just 15 km from Nîmes and 40 km from Montpellier, in the Occitanie region, on the threshold of the Camargue wetlands and the Cevennes mountain range. Our villages are nestled at the foot of a hillside covered with evergreen oak trees, juniper bushes, thyme, "capitelles" (dry-stone cabins) and with a well-preserved "oppidum" (iron-age settlement) at its summit. >From the top, one can marvel at the splendid view over the plain of Vaunage (stretching between Caveirac and Calvisson), the Pic Saint Loup and the Mediterranean Sea on the horizon, and to the recognisable architecture of the Grande Motte (seaside town). On a clear day, one can even discern the peaks of Mont Lozère, Mont Aigoual and Mont Ventoux. Our two little schools, served by a single school-bus-run, work closely together within an inter-town educational grouping ("Regroupement Pédagogique Intercommunal") and maintain a privileged relationship with all of the children. The Boissières school welcomes 61 pupils from infants ("maternelle") to first grade ("Cours Préparatoire") - in three classes and the Saint-Dionisy school receives daily 73 children from second grade ("Cours Elémentaire 1re Année") up to fifth grade ("Cours Moyen 2e Année") - also in three classes. The pupils are delighted to work together on a common theme between the two schools. They are charmed by this wonderful project of being able to communicate with Thomas Pesquet from space. They have been carrying out lots of learning work and are making discoveries about astronomy, the International Space Station and communication. We can be sure that many are already dreaming of becoming the next Thomas Pesquet! Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Est-ce qu'il fait nuit dans l'espace? 2. Qu'est-ce qui a été le plus difficile dans ta préparation? 3. Est-ce que la Terre est belle vue de l'espace? 4. A quoi as-tu pensé juste avant le décollage? 5. Est-ce que tu manges bien? 6. Tu réalises ton rêve. alors à quoi rêves-tu là-haut? 7. Est-ce que c'est bien d'être dans l'espace? 8. Un des plus beaux cadeaux de notre enfance serait que tu viennes nous voir : penses-tu pouvoir réaliser notre rêve? 9. Qu'as-tu fait pendant le trajet jusqu'à la station spatiale? 10. Est-ce difficile de vivre en apesanteur? 11. Est-ce qu'il pleut parfois? 12. Quelles émotions ressens-tu lorsque tu travailles à l'extérieur de l'ISS? 13. Avais-tu un sapin de Noël dans l'ISS? 14. Pourquoi fais-tu des expériences sur les végétaux dans l'ISS? 15. Y a-t-il des radiateurs dans l'ISS? 16. Est-ce qu'il y a de la vie dans l'espace? 17. Est-ce que tu peux manger glacé ou chaud? 18. Es-tu pressé de revenir sur Terre? 19. Comment es-tu habillé dans la station? 20. As-tu déjà vu passer une météorite par une fenêtre de l'ISS? Translated: 1. Is it dark in space? 2. What was the hardest thing in your training? 3. Is the Earth beautiful from space? 4. What did you think just before liftoff? 5. Do you eat well? 6. You fulfilled your dream...so what do you dream about up there? 7. Is it good to be in space? 8. The greatest gift of our childhood would be to have you visit us: do you think our dream might come true? 9. What did you do during the trip to the Space Station? 10. Is it difficult to live without gravity? 11. Does it rain sometimes? 12. What emotions do you feel when you work outside the ISS? 13. Did you have a Christmas tree in the ISS? 14. Why do you do experiments on plants in the ISS? 15. Are there heaters on the ISS? 16. Is there life out in space? 17. Can you eat cold or hot things? 18. Are you in a hurry to come back to Earth? 19. What do you wear in the station? 20. Have you already seen a meteorite from through the window of the ISS? 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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Returning to the Birds, need SatPC32 Files [ ANOTHER REQUEST ]
by Les Rayburn 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

I need to second Mike Thompson’s request. After an absence of over a year from the birds, I’d love to get back on but time is at a minimum. I’d love to simply be able to update SatPC32 and be ready to go with the new crop of satellites. I’m running an Icom IC-910 and SatPC32. Fixed elevation, so just a simple azimuth rotor on this end. Pre-amps on the antennas, switched from the rig. It worked well before, hopefully it will again. If someone can help, I know I’d appreciate (and so would Mike!) 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL EM63nf From: Mike Thompson <zryder94(a)gmail.com <mailto:[email protected]>> Subject: [amsat-bb] Returning to the Birds, need SatPC32 files Date: February 21, 2017 at 6:18:27 PM CST To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]> A while back when I was somewhat active on satellites, I found a few of the frequencies in SatPC32 were slightly off, needing a little adjustment here and there. In an effort to get up and running as smoothly as possible, I would like to know if anyone can share their files to enable me to get up and running with the most recent crop of birds. Specifically looking for Doppler, satfiles, subtone, amsatnames, and celestrak files. Thanks everyone!

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Fwd: NO-84 spin rate
by mbdittmar＠comcast.net 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

Hi Bob- I've been watching many of the passes of NO-84 this last month. I didn't realize that its high spin rate may be some of the issues I'm having with it. I basically can't get reasonably consistent reception long enough to possibly complete a QSO ! I've been able to copy my own downlink OK at times and using DopplerPSK with no issue. And I have copied your call a number of times. Does NO-84 go into a "low-power" mode when it is in eclipse ? My antenna is limited to an "Alaskan Arrow" which is rotor mounted on my roof and tracks the satellite. Using an IC9100 and an inverted L for the uplink antenna. Hopefully condx will improve, as this is a very interesting satellite ! Someday perhaps we can have a regular QSO on NO-84 - 73 Mark AB0CW ----- Original Message ----- From: "KO6TZ Bob" <my.callsign(a)verizon.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:58:21 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] NO-84 spin rate It looks like the spin rate of NO-84 has slowed down to where it is somewhat easier to copy the PSK-31 signals. Now only if 10 meters conditions improved a bit more, things could return to the "good ol'e days". Recently I have seen / worked a couple of new calls on the satellite. I would like to welcome WB9SBD and AB0CW to my NO-84 PSAT log book, joining the regulars, WN9M and KC9ELU. KO6TZ BOB _______________________________________________ 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

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NO-84 spin rate
by KO6TZ Bob 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

It looks like the spin rate of NO-84 has slowed down to where it is somewhat easier to copy the PSK-31 signals. Now only if 10 meters conditions improved a bit more, things could return to the "good ol'e days". Recently I have seen / worked a couple of new calls on the satellite. I would like to welcome WB9SBD and AB0CW to my NO-84 PSAT log book, joining the regulars, WN9M and KC9ELU. KO6TZ BOB

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Returning to the Birds, need SatPC32 files
by Mike Thompson 22 Feb '17

22 Feb '17

A while back when I was somewhat active on satellites, I found a few of the frequencies in SatPC32 were slightly off, needing a little adjustment here and there. In an effort to get up and running as smoothly as possible, I would like to know if anyone can share their files to enable me to get up and running with the most recent crop of birds. Specifically looking for Doppler, satfiles, subtone, amsatnames, and celestrak files. Thanks everyone!

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Re: [amsat-bb] HRD Track Error
by Joe 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Here is the error, http://i68.tinypic.com/t9fode.jpg Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 2/21/2017 10:56 AM, Daniel Cussen wrote: > I know nothing about HRD. Send it to everyone! > > On 21/02/2017, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net> wrote: >> Ok, here is the image of the error, >> >> http://i68.tinypic.com/t9fode.jpg >> >> Joe WB9SBD >> Sig >> The Original Rolling Ball Clock >> Idle Tyme >> Idle-Tyme.com >> http://www.idle-tyme.com >> On 2/21/2017 6:20 AM, Daniel Cussen wrote: >>> attachments are automatically removed from amsat bb. Describe the >>> error better or link to an image stored on a website or dropbox etc. >>> >>> On 20/02/2017, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net> wrote: >>>> Greetings. >>>> >>>> I have a question I'm using as one of my prediction programs HRD Sat >>>> rack. t has worked flawlessly every time I run it. BUT.... And there >>>> always seems to be a BUT isn't there? >>>> >>>> When starting it gives this error box popup every time. I tell it "OK", >>>> it goes away and all is fine. Just wondering what the error is about >>>> and what can be done o fix it, >>>> >>>> Here is the error >>>> >>>> Joe WB9SBD >>>> -- >>>> Sig >>>> The Original Rolling Ball Clock >>>> Idle Tyme >>>> Idle-Tyme.com >>>> http://www.idle-tyme.com >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> 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 >>>> >>> >> > >

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Re: [amsat-bb] Automated reception of AO-73, UKUBE-1 & Nayif-1?
by Graham Shirville 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Hi Dave, The situation is as follows: All Dashboards will track and decode tlm from any of FUNcube-1, UKube and Nayif1. They will also, without the operator having to take any particular action, upload that data correctly to the data warehouses and these uploads will be correctly recorded on the "Upload Ranking" tab. The use of the "wrong" Dashboard when uploading data to the Warehouse causes the no problems:) Although the FUNcube dashboard will display data from the other two spacecraft, and vice versa, much of the data is invalid as the tlm sequences and some of the formats are different between the various spacecraft. We are presently working on two Dashboard upgrades: A) creating a "Display the tlm ONLY from the satellite specific to the particular Dashboard in use" tickbox to select. This will mean that, for instance, the FUNcube-1 dashboard will not display or store Nayif-1 data. This will ensure that all the graphs etc only relate to FUNcube-1. Again thsi would not stop the software decoding tlm from one of the other spacecraft and forwarding it to the Data Warehouse. B) creating a single Dashboard which combines all the existing ones into one "unified" version. We cannot at this time confirm when either of these "upgrades" will be available but we appreciate their importance..... Thanks for all your support 73 Graham G3VZV -----Original Message----- From: Dave Remnant Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 10:57 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Automated reception of AO-73, UKUBE-1 & Nayif-1? Did I read somewhere that all 3 birds, AO-73, UKUBE-1 & Nayif-1 can be decoded on the same dashboard software and the uploads will route themselves correctly? I have to leave my station automated & at present it's either AO-73 & UKUBE-1 (using the same dashboard) or Nayif-1 on its own dashboard. I want to support all 3 birds with telemetry reception & upload but don't want to "dump" incorrect data on the wrong server. Can anyone please clarify the situation & if there is any workaround if a common dashboard can't be used. I use a FCD & SatPC32. Thanks Dave (M0SAT) _______________________________________________ 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

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Automated reception of AO-73, UKUBE-1 & Nayif-1?
by Dave Remnant 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Did I read somewhere that all 3 birds, AO-73, UKUBE-1 & Nayif-1 can be decoded on the same dashboard software and the uploads will route themselves correctly? I have to leave my station automated & at present it's either AO-73 & UKUBE-1 (using the same dashboard) or Nayif-1 on its own dashboard. I want to support all 3 birds with telemetry reception & upload but don't want to "dump" incorrect data on the wrong server. Can anyone please clarify the situation & if there is any workaround if a common dashboard can't be used. I use a FCD & SatPC32. Thanks Dave (M0SAT)

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Nayif-1 Keps
by Graham Shirville 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

Hi All, Whilst we still do not have any keps for Nayif-1, the Celestrak database is showing numbers for object 2017-008F. These are being updated regularly by JPsOC and checks using the doppler facility in the Dashboard suggest that Nayif-1 is currently approximately 90 secs AHEAD of this tracked object. Nayif-1 is currently still operating nominally and switches between amateur/educational modes when entering/leaving eclipse. The ADCS/iMTQ system is not presently active. The telemetry indicates that all is well on board. The Data Warehouse has the latest telemetry and also shows Whole Orbit and High Res data. http://data.amsat-uk.org/nayif1/index Thanks for all the contributions. 73 Graham G3VZV

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Rotor wire
by Keith McDonnell 21 Feb '17

21 Feb '17

I too use sprinkler wire. I've had the same wire outside for 12 years now and it's in great condition. And it cost me about 75% less than rotor wire.

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