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

Yaesu G-5400 Rotators with Yaesu G-5500 Control Box
by Vincenzo Mone 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

Hi folks, I own the Yaesu G-5400 rotators ( Azimuth and Elevation ) and the Yaesu G-5500 complete with the Control Boxes. As I have problems with both the G-5500 Azimuth and Elevation Rotors and as I still have both the G-5400 ones, I would like to know if I can use both the G-5400B rotators with the G-5500 Control Box or I need by force the original ones? I saw that the difference between the two Control Box is the Azimuth Display, that the G-5400B one has on the left and on the right side of the display: 180 S, while the G-5500 one has on the left side of the display: 0 N and on the right side of the display 90 E. Please anybody can help me to avoid any damage? Any help will be really appreciated. Thanks in advance 73's de Enzo IK8OZV ************************************ ****** GSM +39 328 7244294 ***** ***** SMS +39 328 7244294 ***** ************************************

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Re: [amsat-bb] New Satellite Grid Tool
by Ken Alexander 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

This is fantastic! It will help greatly with grid expedition planning. The white lines separating the major grids from each other are off by a row or two, but maybe that's just my browse? 73, Ken VE3HLS -------------------------------------------- On Thu, 4/27/17, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: Subject: [amsat-bb] New Satellite Grid Tool To: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Date: Thursday, April 27, 2017, 10:33 AM Bertrand Demarcq, FG8OJ, has created an interesting tool on his website. The tool aggregates satellite logs and shows you which grid squares have been active and who has been active in those squares. He encourages satellite operators to upload their ADIF logs to improve the data set. https://sat.fg8oj.com/satgrid.php 73, Paul, N8HM _______________________________________________ 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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New Satellite Grid Tool
by Paul Stoetzer 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

Bertrand Demarcq, FG8OJ, has created an interesting tool on his website. The tool aggregates satellite logs and shows you which grid squares have been active and who has been active in those squares. He encourages satellite operators to upload their ADIF logs to improve the data set. https://sat.fg8oj.com/satgrid.php 73, Paul, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] Pair of Advanced Receiver Preamps for Sale
by g.lee.barnett＠gmail.com 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

I found an old post on AMSAT BB. Did you ever sell the preamps? 73, Lee AA4LB

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Lycée Hélène Boucher, Thionville, France
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 26 Apr '17

26 Apr '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Lycée Hélène Boucher, Thionville, France on 27 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:52 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F8KGY. 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. Thionville is a commune in the Moselle department in north-eastern France, close to the Luxembourg border. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle. Thionville is well-known for the Steelmaking activity until years 1970, and for the Malbrouck Castle nearby (15th Century). More than 1000 pupils from 11 to 18 attend Helene Boucher High-School in Thionville. The school is preparing students for the "Baccalauréat Littéraire, Economique et Scientifique" Some students, aged 15, have preparing their HAM-radio license to be able to use the equipment on D-Day. Other students aged 15, are also working on an educational model project which will allow them to show how to use the equipment necessary to get in touch with ISS, to younger students. These same students would also like to present this educational model and the project itself to compete for "Olympiades de Physique", a prestigious challenge, open to all French high-school students. A scientific club called "Objectif Mars" (Mars Objective) has existed for three years at Hélène Boucher high-school. It work's on: The computer programming of self-sufficient robots, The making and the launching of micro-rockets, The making and the use of an astronomical telescope. Getting in touch with ISS is part of the same project "Objectif Mars". Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Comment les passagers de l'ISS s'arrangent-ils pour leurs cycles de sommeil? 2. Comment réagit l'horloge biologique face à la disparition du repère jour/nuit? 3. Comment la station ISS parvient-elle à être autonome en électricité? 4. Quand vous transpirez après une séance de sport, comment vous douchez- vous? 5. Pouvez-vous nous montrer un objet en apesanteur? (camera HAM-Video) 6. Est-ce que la micro pesanteur ressentie lors d'un vol zéro-G est la même que l'apesanteur ressentie dans la station? 7. Est-ce que l'entraînement suffit pour supporter l'accélération subie lors du décollage de la fusée? 8. Quel avantage l'apesanteur vous procure-t-il lors de vos expériences scientifiques? 9. Comment la station ISS et vous-mêmes êtes affectés par une éruption solaire? 10. Comment la station est-elle protégée contre les rayonnements cosmiques et les vents solaires? 11. Comment faites-vous pour vous soigner en cas de besoin? (maladie, blessure, etc..) 12. Comment fonctionne la centrale inertielle de la station? (angles d'inclinaisons) 13. Quelles sont les sensations lors d'une sortie extra-véhiculaire? 14. Comment est affectée l'oreille interne par le manque de pesanteur? (tournis, mal de l'espace) 15. Peut-t-il y avoir des conflits entre vous? Si oui comment les gérez-vous? 16. Si on vous propose de participer à une mission vers Mars, le feriez-vous et si oui, pourquoi? 17. Comment ressentez vous le fait d'être au milieu de l'espace? Translated: 1. How do ISS passengers manage their sleep cycles? 2 How does the biological clock react to the disappearance of the day / night mark? 3. How does the ISS succeed in being autonomous in electricity? 4. When you sweat after a sport effort, how do you shower? 5. Can you show us an object in weightlessness? (with the HAM-video active) 6. Is the micro gravity felt on a zero-G flight the same as the weightlessness felt in the station? 7. Is the training sufficient to withstand the acceleration experienced during takeoff of the rocket? 8. What is the advantage of weightlessness in your scientific experiments? 9. How is the ISS station and yourself affected by a solar flare? 10. How is the station protected from cosmic rays and solar winds? 11. How do you treat yourself if needed? (Illness, injury, etc.) 12. How does the inertial station operate? (Inclination angles) 13. What are the sensations during an extra-vehicular exit? 14. How is the inner ear affected by the lack of gravity? (dizzy spell, space sickness) 15. Can there be conflicts between you all? If yes how do you manage them? 16. If you are offered to participate in a mission to Mars, would you do it and if so, why? 17. How do you feel about being in the middle of 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): 1. Orel, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Novitskiy Contact is a go for Sat 2017-04-29 06:05 UTC 2. 14th Elementary School Katerini, Greece, direct via SX2ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Fyodor Yurchikhin RN3FI Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-04-29 12:02 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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ISS Packet Frequency?
by Stewart Todd Morgan 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

I used an Alinco DJ-X11T receiver in SDR mode to record an 80 degree ISS pass at 13:33:53 UTC this morning. The packet signals did appear on the expected frequency given Doppler shift (centered on 145.825 MHz). However, there does appear to be an issue with the packet transmissions. Scott's Dropbox image of the pass over several minutes compressed the packet transmissions to the point that the issue is not visible in his image, but it is quite apparent in my waterfall which only shows about 20 seconds at a time in KGSDR. Namely, the centerlines of all packet transmissions describe a "J" shape, even at AOS and LOS when Doppler should not be noticeable at all. In other words, there is a rapid increase in transmitted frequency at the start of a packet transmission, and this frequency change rate diminishes toward the end of the transmission. This phenomenon could very well cause some receiving systems to fail to decode packets. I tested my system against local terrestrial packet stations just prior to the pass, and the packets show vertical lines in the waterfall, so this is not some systemic issue in my receiving system. Todd AL0I

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Want to buy: Yaesu FT-817
by Tucker McGuire 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

Hi Group, I'm looking for a cheap Yaesu FT-817. Can be one with blown finals (Receive only) or a fully functioning one. If you have one you'd like to sell let me know. Cheers & 73, Tucker W4FS

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ISS Packet Frequency?
by Scott 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

Hi everybody. This is essentially a request for what I believe the scientific folks call "peer review"... I continue to try to understand why none of my equipment has been receiving the ISS digipeater very well since the switch back to 2 meters, despite the fact that the same hardware does well on terrestrial packet and in the case of 145.825 in particular, I have even received packets from PSAT since re-configuring for VHF reception on my Raspberry Pi / RTL-SDR iGate. So, my point is that it isn't that NOTHING is working on 2-meter packet or 145.825 here. And as I've mentioned in the past, I hear from others with similar stories so we're not sharing hardware or location. This evening there was a favorable pass here and I see on ariss.net that several stations were digipeated while the ISS was over the U.S. Great news! I monitored that pass in receive-only mode with the same type of TXCO version-3 RTL-SDR that I use for my iGate. The results were very strange and I hope incorrect. I certainly would appreciate it if someone might repeat my test when time permits. Here is an image showing my SDR tuned to the local NOAA Weather Radio on 162.475. By all appearances, my frequency display is accurate in the VHF band. https://www.dropbox.com/s/w1dll06xwinteap/NOAA-Wx-Radio-on-freq.png?raw=1 ... without changing any settings other than frequency, the following image shows a Spectra-Vue plot of my reception of the packet transmissions from the ISS on this evening's pass: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s46o3pi87yk9t2h/spec-view.png?raw=1 ... I took a ballpark stab at the center point of closest approach and unless I did something awfully wrong, it's roughly 5 KHz above the expected 145.825 frequency. If by any chance this is accurate, it explains why I've been seeing poor reception here. (On the other hand, if my observations are completely wrong and flawed, this makes just over 1000 times that I've looked foolish!) Anyway, if anyone is setup to make similar observations, I would imagine that we would all like to know if there is a frequency issue up there. If not, then of course I'm sorry to tie up the mailing list! 73! -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA

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SDRplay RSP1 for sale
by Stefan Wagener 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

Selling a like new unit. $90 incl. shipping to US and Canada. Email me offline at : "mycallsign"@ gmail.com Thanks, Stefan, VE4NSA

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Don't say TOMORROW
by Ronald G. Parsons 24 Apr '17

24 Apr '17

If you are announcing an event, don’t say “tomorrow.” Give a date including the day of the week. It can be hard to determine the reference date. For example, an announcement on the digest will have two base dates – the date it was posted and the date of the digest. And they can be different. Please be specific. Ron W5RKN

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