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

Satpc32 control IC910
by Jim White 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

I'm trying to set up an IC910 with SatPC32 to work with a VHF up / UHF down satellite. I've built a doppler.sqf entry with 435xxx as the downlink and 145xxx as the uplink. The 910 will only transmit on the main band so that needs to be the VHF uplink. But SatPC32 puts the RX freq there, and the TX freq in the sub band. Also, what should be checked in the options in the radio setup window. I have none checked at this time. Is there a setting to change the main/sub tx/rx or can I just swap the up and down freqs in the doppler.sqf entry? Jim

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Trip to VE6
by Eric Rosenberg 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

I'll be vacationing in VE6 in early June and might be enticed by fellow Washingtonian Paul, N8HM, and permitted by family to bring my Arrow and TH-D7A(G). Other than one QSO from KP2 with this setup, I haven't spent any time on the LEOs. My satellite operating from home and as DX ended with the demise of AO-13 many years ago. I'll be in DO10, DO11, DO21 and DO29. Will it be worth the effort? 73 & Thanks, Eric W3DQ

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WinListen32 V12.8C printer Problem
by w4upd 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

Forget the ramblings below. I found that I have to close the pass info windows first. After that, I can increment to match the values in WinAOS. Sorry for the band with. Reid, W4UPD Anyone else seeing a problem trying to send the display to a printer? WinAOS appears to work just fine. When checking the printer format in WinAOS, it shows a window called Seitenformat and has the value of 66 for Zeilen pro Seite (I assume lines per page 66) for Leerzeilen oben (blank lines below which is 06) for linker rand (zeichen) (left border which 08) Under WinListen32, this three lines are all 00, and I am not able to change the contents. Hence, it tries to print one line per page (lots of pages). How can I get access to the WinListen printer format (Seitenformat( page format)) window? FYI, the WinAOS values can be changed but not WinListen32. Reid, W4UPD Amsat 17002 P.S. I used Google to translate the above German lines.

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WinListen32 V12.8C printer Problem
by w4upd 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

Anyone else seeing a problem trying to send the display to a printer? WinAOS appears to work just fine. When checking the printer format in WinAOS, it shows a window called Seitenformat and has the value of 66 for Zeilen pro Seite (I assume lines per page 66) for Leerzeilen oben (blank lines below which is 06) for linker rand (zeichen) (left border which 08) Under WinListen32, this three lines are all 00, and I am not able to change the contents. Hence, it tries to print one line per page (lots of pages). How can I get access to the WinListen printer format (Seitenformat( page format)) window? FYI, the WinAOS values can be changed but not WinListen32. Reid, W4UPD Amsat 17002 P.S. I used Google to translate the above German lines.

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(no subject)
by Frank Staffa Jr. 28 Apr '17

28 Apr '17

Missing my TS 2000. HRO washed their hands with my transceiver which is under warranty and have ignored the entire situation. Rig has been back to Kenwoods service center in Virginia twice already for the same PLL Unlock problem on the 440 uplink, and they are also ignoring my emails. They scratched the top of the transceiver the first time around, and now its been a week and no report, no response. Last time I deal with HRO for anything, and as far as "Kenwood Service", they have also lost customer care along with HRO. Miss working the birds. $2000 antenna system collecting pollen! Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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Upcoming ARISS contact with 14th Elementary School Katerini, Greece
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 28 Apr '17

28 Apr '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at 14th Elementary School Katerini, Greece on 29 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:02 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between RS0ISS and SX2ISS. The contact should be audible over Greece and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in Greek. The 14th Elementary School is a mid-size school in the centre of Katerini city. It is a three floor building with 16 classrooms established in 1977. Many residents have attended it all these years. It has won prizes and honors in various fields (culture, athletics, etc.) and its graduates have successfully continued their education in a higher level. Teachers' effort is to engage kid's mind in a research for knowledge in various fields like science, technology including space, engineering and arts. For this reason, in the flexible zone program, the school kids are engaged in projects such as an exhibition of their drawings with themes from space and planets, paper handicrafts with related themes, presentations about space exploration and how satellites are staying in orbit. Their activities include visits to the local amateur radio club to find out how telecommunications work. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What is your current mission aboard ISS? 2. What age did you first realize that you wanted to become a cosmonaut? 3. What are your thoughts when you look at Greece from space? 4. Are there any debris in Space? 5. How do you brush your teeth? 6. How do you get a shower? 7: How many times did you walk in space? 8. What do you eat and drink in space? 9. How do you have fun in the Space Station? 10. How fast do you travel? 11. How much time do you need to get in to the space suit? 12. How long does it take to get to space? 13. What are your thoughts during your mission? 14. How do you prepare for your space travel? 15. How long do you stay in space for every mission? 16. How many times have you travelled in space? 17. What words describe a man's effort to become a cosmonaut? 18. What does an astronaut feel when he observes the Earth from space? 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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Activation EK57 (TODAY)
by David Maciel (XE3DX) 28 Apr '17

28 Apr '17

Today at the FO29 0309z last night activation from EK57, I can attend SKED if you need it. Only Today. David Maciel XE3DX Sent From Iphone

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DM02 WX delay
by Mike Diehl 28 Apr '17

28 Apr '17

I have been informed by the captain that Gale warnings with waves to 15 feet have caused them to delay our trip as the safety of us and the vessel would be in serious risk. I will be working with them to reschedule in the morning. I'm truly disappointed that weather has forced us to delay but the seas are unforgiving and all of us need to make it back home. As soon as a new date is set I will notify everyone. I hope to have the new date figured out by tomorrow. 73, Mike Diehl AI6GS

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Saint Barts satellite operation
by Jim White 28 Apr '17

28 Apr '17

See the below announcement of our DXPedition to St. Barts in October. I plan to operate several satellites this time and to concentrate on evening passes when they are available. Equipment will be (as it was on Montserrat in 2015) an IC910H and Arrow. I'll again announce the passes I'll operate here on amsat-bb in advance with updates during the expedition. Callsign will be FJ/N0KV. Satellite QSOs will be uploaded to LOTW either during or immediately after the trip and paper QSLs will be available from N0KV; please provide an SASE. Jim, WD0E AI5P, N0KV, W0ZA and WD0E plan to operate from Pointe Milou, St. Barthelemy Island (IOTA NA-146/Grid Square FK87) from October 17 - 26. Operation will be on 80-10 meters (SSB/CW/RTTY) with satellite operation by WD0E. Conditions may largely limit most activity to 20 meters and down. Operating 160 meters is being considered; however, no antenna option is yet finalized. Satellite operation will take place on several satellites. A satellite and pass schedule will be announced on the AMSAT-bb in advance. Equipment includes three Elecraft K3's and two 500 watt Elecraft amps. Antennas include a SteppIR crank IR vertical for 80-10 meters, a folding hexbeam by Folding Antennas (Germany) on 20-10 meters, LPDA's on 20 and 17 meters and verticals on 30 and 40 meters. Operation will be as continuous as conditions warrant. The Colorado operators have decided to use FJ/N0KV as their callsign while AI5P will be active as FJ/AI5P. FJ/N0KV logs will be updated to LOTW while Rick's logs (FJ/AI5P) will not since he continues to be an analog guy with an actual key and pen/paper log. Paper QSLs will be available from both N0KV and AI5P direct and via the buro. US addressees send SASE; addressees outside the US should send SAE plus $2 for return postage. Use of Club Log is not anticipated. Further information will be published as the trip approaches.

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ISS Packet Frequency?
by Stewart Todd Morgan 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

Since I have been using both a Kenwood TH-D72A and other less-than-optimal gear for packet and APRS over the last several years, I decided to do a side-by-side packet decoding test this afternoon during a 38 degree ISS pass at 2048 UTC. Both ground stations were connected via a splitter to the same antenna (an old analog TV antenna at 0 degree elevation and covering all 360 degrees azimuth). Both ground stations also shared the same Pentium dual-core laptop computer for software. The less-than-optimal station included the following: Icom IC-02AT HT Unified Microsystems SCI-6 Sound Card Interface AGWPE UI-View32 The Kenwood TH-D72A was in packet mode and decoding through the latest version of Yet Another APRS Client (YAAC). Both stations were tested prior to the pass on terrestrial APRS with almost identical decoding results. Tuning during the pass was done in 5 kHz increments on both stations (145.830 MHz, 145.825 MHz, 145.820 MHz). Reception during the ISS pass was less than stellar due to local noise, but both stations decoded the same number of packets (13), although they didn't always decode the exact same packets. So even with the non-linear frequency shift noted previously by K4KDR and myself, there does not seem to be any appreciable difference between my ISS packet decoding ability now and any point in the past, even with non-packet hardware. Perhaps a couple of other stations could share their experience in this regard. Todd AL0I

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