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

Icom 9100 data on receive port
by shakeel -ur-rehman 08 May '17

08 May '17

Hi All I am ICOM 9100 user and I have read that it has many control commands which can be used command icom 9100. How to execute that control commands. can I execute it through windows hyperterminal. I have tried to run local radio AM band on icom 9100. I am interested to read the data on receive port of the icom 9100 and put it in my text file. anyone can help the steps which i need to accompish thi task. I have connected Icom 9100 through USB cable. and com3 and com4 are being shown in the control panel of my windows system. any help will be appreciated please. Regards shakeel

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K3IO email problems
by Tom Clark 08 May '17

08 May '17

Sometime in April, my old "K3IO(a)VERIZON.NET" email address went extinct due to Verizon making a unilateral decision to get out of the email business. They had an ill-conceived (and IMHO quite user hostle) scheme to hand over all their responsibilities to AOL.COM. As a result, all my old Verizon email archives were lost and I am no longer getting any mail thru the Verizon hose. As of immediately, use "TOM.K3IO(a)GMAIL.COM <mailto:[email protected]>" for any future mail, and also please resend anything of importance to me from April. 73 de Tom, K3IO

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Operations from EM97
by Tucker McGuire 07 May '17

07 May '17

Greetings space bird enthusiasts, I will be in EM97 this coming weekend May 13 afternoon until May 14th morning. Planning to operate as many passes on all satellites as time allows while I'm there. Been practicing operating the mode B linear transponder satellites only recently, so bear with me if you try and work me on those satellites. Cheers & 73, Tucker W4FS

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DM02 Resked
by Mike Diehl 07 May '17

07 May '17

Just got confirmation of rescheduling the DM02 trip. We have been rescheduled to the first weekend of June. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the weather is spectacular. At the very least it should be a little warmer out there. So long as we don't run into 15' waves again we will be good to go. 73, Mike Diehl AI6GS

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Lapan IO86
by PY5LF 07 May '17

07 May '17

Hi I short video of my first time on Lapan 2 IO86. Signal very good! https://youtu.be/nvBuLloQtXY 73

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Field case recommendations for FT-817ND?
by Ken M 07 May '17

07 May '17

Hello all, Any thoughts on field cases for FT-817ND radios? - Protective but slim. I'd rather have a slimmer case, and put the whole thing in the pack of my choice, than have a manpack specifically designed for the FT-817ND. - Because I will have two FT-817ND's at times, I want two cases, so I can easily bring just one radio if I'm doing QRP, or two radios if I'm doing satellite. - It might be convenient if the case will hold a second device like an auto-tuner for HF, or a tablet or small device for digital modes. - Able to operate the radio while it's in the case. I've looked at a few: - The Yaesu vinyl case looks a bit flimsy and is expensive for what it is (but not bulky, so might be the best choice I've seen). - The products from PortableZero are too heavy-duty and bulky for my needs. - The HamSource pack is too bulky and overkill (if I were to carry two of them). I suppose I'd like something that resembles the Yaesu case, possibly with a second tuner/device pocket, but made from a heavier duty nylon pack-cloth, or padded in some way. Thanks & 73, Ken - VA7KBM

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ANS-127 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 06 May '17

06 May '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-127 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention -- Call for volunteers * Hamvention Instructor's Forum to Feature Space Weather and AMSAT-NA * 2017 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice * RadFxSat/Fox-1B Launch Moves Left * UBSEDS24 Balloon with SSDV – 2nd Launch Attempt, 8 May * AMSAT Sweden Celebrates 35 Years * Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, and ARISS-UK Team Awarded the Louis Varney Cup SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-127.01 ANS-127 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 127.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE May 7, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-127.01 AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention -- Call for volunteers The Dayton Hamvention is less than two weeks away, May 19-21! If you’ve been waiting to volunteer until you’d firmed up your plans, we need to hear from you ASAP! If you're an experienced satellite operator, we can use you and your experience. If you've never operated a satellite before, we can use your help too. Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please send an e-mail to Steve, n9ip(a)amsat.org if you can help. Thank you! [ANS thanks Steve, N9IP, Dayton Team Leader, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamvention Instructor's Forum to Feature Space Weather and AMSAT-NA Carole Perry, WB2MGP, who may be Amateur Radio's premier supporter of youth, will moderate her 30th Hamvention Youth Forum later this month, when Hamvention® convenes for the first time at its new venue in Xenia, Ohio, May 19-21. The Youth Forum is set for Saturday, May 20, 9:15 AM until noon, in Room 2. She's lined up nine young presenters who will speak on a variety of topics of interest to radio amateurs of all ages. The Youth Forum is open to all. AMSAT-NA will donate Gould Smith's just revised "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" (book printed in color) to the Youth Forum presenters. Carole will also conduct her Hamvention Instructors' Forum on Friday, May 19, 10:30-11:30 AM, in Room 3. "Space Weather Woman" Dr. Tamitha Skov will speak on "Teaching Space Weather" and AMSAT-NA Vice President, Educational Relations, Joe Spier, K6WAO, will present "NxtGen Crystal Radio". Joe will have 10 kits consisting of RTL-SDRs, pre-amps, connectors, cables, 2M EZ-Lindenblad antennas, FoxTelem software, and instructions to create a FOX Telemetry Ground Station for educators at the Instructors' Forum on Friday. [ANS thanks the Hamvention 2017 Team, the ARRL Letter for May 4th, and Carole Perry, WB2MGP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election. Four directors' terms expire this year: Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, and Bob McGwier, N4HY. In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one year terms. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for Director. Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individual's names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895-2526. In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, fax, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to martha(a)amsat.org or faxed to (301)822-4371. No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. [ANS thanks Paul, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RadFxSat/Fox-1B Launch Moves Left In the world of secondary payloads we're all used to launches moving to the right as issues with the primary payload and launch vehicles or their schedules often occur. But what is a move to the left? The RadFxSat/Fox-1B launch had been recently announced as NET September 23, 2017. Today, the primary payload JPSS-1 moved to the left and we can now announce a new launch date of NET September 21, 2017 for RadFxSat and all of the other ELaNa XIV mission payloads. That's "only" two whole days earlier, true, but with all of our Fox-1 launches having been on a steady march to the right since (and including, at the time) AO-85/Fox-1A was launched, we'll take what we can get! [ANS Jerry, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UBSEDS24 Balloon with SSDV – 2nd Launch Attempt, 8 May Richard Meadows M0SBU reports there will be a second attempt to launch the Raspberry Pi Zero equipped 434 MHz balloon UBSEDS24 early Monday morning. On the UKHAS Google Group Richard writes: There’s going to be another attempt to launch this flight from Bristol this Monday, May 8 between 0500 and 0530 BST [0400-0430 GMT]. This is weather permitting, but the forecast looks okay at the moment. This launch is using a 1.9m envelope and longer payload train, and so there’s a NOTAM in place. This tracker has a Raspberry Pi Zero V1.3 attached, which transmits images when solar power is available. It’s a different design to our launch last August; in this case the tracker will continue to operate even if the pi fails. For the curious the ‘pi status’ telemetry values are: 0 = off, 1 = on, 2 = PITS started, 3 = SSDV started). There will hopefully be a cutdown mounted between the balloon and the tracker. We’ll be testing the 434 MHz uplink to this whilst it’s still in range of Bristol; if it returns over the UK at a convenient time and place we will attempt to trigger the cutdown. The tracker has several transmissions: – 434.635 MHz USB Telemetry – Contestia 16/1000 with pips and RSID, transmitting telemetry. Once per minute below 8km altitude and every two minutes otherwise. – 434.637.5 MHz SSDV – Two modes: (1) While balloon over UK and English channel GMSK at 12 ksymbol/s. 4×4 interleaved, R=1/2 convolutional K=5, HDLC framing, whitened etc. as per the AX5043 manual. Concatenated with RS(255,223) to mop up some burst errors. (2) Outside UK 300 baud RTTY, 850 Hz shift, 8N2. If you are listening to the RTTY, remember to turn off the ‘RxID’ button on the top right of dl-fldigi. Rather than the usual JPEG SSDV, this is transmitting Better Portable Graphics (BPG) images. This is experimental, and ssdv.habhub.org doesn’t support it just yet. Hence receivers should upload to http://ssdv.bristol-seds.co.uk instead, please read the instructions on this site. You’ll need dl-fldigi release 3.2, as explained on the site. James Coxon M6JCX has made the dl-fldigi release available at: https://github.com/jamescoxon/dl-fldigi/releases/tag/3.2 The flight is expected to head south towards France. Many thanks to everyone who attempts to track this. Track the balloon online at https://tracker.habhub.org/ Listen to the balloon online with the SUWS WebSDR link at https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/balloons/ UBSEDS http://www.bristol-seds.co.uk/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Sweden Celebrates 35 Years AMSAT-SM (Sweden) has been active in 35 years 2017. AMSAT-SM was founded April 24:th 1982 by a group of swedish hams. The first AMSAT-SM president was SM5IXE Thomas Johansson. One AMSAT-SM's objectives is to inform Swedish hams about the fun with amateur satellites! Not many SM hams are active via satellite at the moment. With the help of their Swedish webpage and HF-net it is hoped that more Swedish hams should be using amateur satellites. The AMSAT-SM annual meeting is held every spring. Some weeks on Sundays we have a HF-net on 80 meters with lots of news about satellites and space. Today AMSAT-SM has aprox. 200 members and we have an active news feed via web, Twitter and Youtube. So, we are still alive and kicking! http://www.amsat.se/english-info/ https://twitter.com/amsat_sm https://www.youtube.com/AMSATSM [ANS thanks Lars, SM0TGU, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, and ARISS-UK Team Awarded the Louis Varney Cup Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, and the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) UK Team were awarded the Louis Varney Cup on April 22 at the RSGB 90th Annual General Meeting in Cardiff, Wales. RSGB recognized Morgan and the ARISS- UK team for advances in space communications. Accepting the trophy were Graham Shirville, G3VZV; Noel Matthews, G8GTZ, and John Cariss, G7ACD. The award’s namesake, Louis Varney, G5RV, was the inventor of the world-famous G5RV antenna and an RSGB member for 74 years. Varney died in 2000. Morgan and the ARISS-UK team have also been fundraising on behalf of ARISS. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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Can QSO's be manually input to LOTW?
by Kevin M 06 May '17

06 May '17

I might share a trick that I use for satellite logging using TQSL. Instead of creating a new file each time you can click on: File > Edit Existing ADIF File... > then open a previously created file. What file? Well instead of just using a single file for ALL satellite contacts, I have a file for each bird. That way, after a pass, I merely open the file for the corresponding satellite, then I click the >>| button that takes me to the end of the file. I click ADD QSO and then I enter the callsign, change the time and date and save. By having one file for each satellite, when I add a new QSO, I don't have to re-enter the bands, prop mode, satellite, etc. It may not be as easy for everyone, but for me it makes logging after a pass, extremely simple. Just a note, this method is for home logging only... for rover ops, I have to keep separate files for each location. But those details for another time. also, I archive my files at the end of every year to keep size down. 73, Kevin N4UFO

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MJ MU MD on Sat
by Gabriel Zeifman 06 May '17

06 May '17

Hello fellow bird talker sky tracking peoples, I have arrived in Jersey! I will be on the 0142Z pass of FO-29 as my first North America bound pass. Tomorrow (May 7) I will be on whatever AO-7 (if it somehow manages to be in mode B or C) and FO-29 passes that will work for NA and other passes for EU. On the 8th (around 1100Z) I will be heading to Guernsey, and on the 10th to Isle of Man, with similar goals from all three. I should have a great horizon to the west from all these places, sea cliffs over the ocean. See everyone on the birds! 73, Gabe NJ7H

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-05-06 06:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 06 May '17

06 May '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-05-06 06:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Collège Georges Brassens, Saint-Venant, France, Collège René Cassin de Lillers, Lillers, France, and Lycée Polyvalent Anatole France, Lillers, France, direct via TM1ØISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact was successful: Fri 2017-05-05 09:58:56 UTC 39 deg (***) Ecole College Park School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jack Fisher K2FSH Contact is a go for: Mon 2017-05-08 18:19:40 UTC via W6SRJ **************************************************************************** ** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **** *************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. **************************************************************************** *** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2017-05-06 06:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1137. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1096. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-05-06 06:30 UTC. (***) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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EL94/95 May 6th
by Matthew Stevens 05 May '17

05 May '17

I'm considering a trip to EL94 and 95 this Saturday, depending on my work schedule. If I go I'd be getting down there around 1500z, and can stay for a few hours, working anything that goes overhead. If anyone is interested give me a heads up. It's a 5+ hour drive each way. Still not certain at this point, I'll update on twitter.com/kk4fem. Just wanted to give anyone that needs those grids advance warning just in case. 73 - Matthew kk4fem Sent from my iPhone

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AO-85 Question
by R.T.Liddy 05 May '17

05 May '17

I've seen some commentary about the best freqs to use for AO-85. What should I program for UP & Down for that Satellite? TNX, Bob K8BL

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Ecole College Park School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 05 May '17

05 May '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ecole College Park School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on 08 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:19 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible over the west coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. École College Park School is a dual-stream Kindergarten to grade 8 English and French Immersion School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city and has more sunshine than any other major city in Canada. We have been told that, but we do not always believe it! We have the best school in Canada! Our school is lucky to have students from all over the world. We take great pride in our highly multicultural school community. We have approximately 500 students from Canada and around the world. Over 35 different languages are spoken in our school. Most of the countries that are partners in the Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), are represented in our school. Our school offers students many extracurricular activities. We have a Space Club, track program, skipping club, chess club, math club and a circus club. You should see us on stilts and unicycles juggling in the hallways. We are good! Last year our school won a "Stand up" rally from the Family channel. We won it because our school does a great job of making students feel incredibly welcome, accepted, and kids try to stand up to bullying. Our school was on the Family Channel through November 2016. It was very cool to see ourselves on TV. Our school prides itself on giving back to the community. Our Me to We Club empowers students to make positive changes in our school, community and world. We raise money for the local food bank, Ronald McDonald house and Christmas hampers for our school families in need. Our iGen program sees students working with and learning from Elders. iGen is the place for a student to grow and develop his/her interests while learning to care and share with others. There is a mutual sharing of values and the two generations serve and support one another. This year marks our schools 50th anniversary and we will celebrate it by hosting a Pow wow and celebrating our cultural diversity. What a great way to celebrate our 50th school anniversary with a link up to the ISS. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Who or what was your inspiration to be an astronaut? 2. What is your favorite meal in space? 3. How long did you train to be prepared for your ISS mission? 4. What advice would you give to aspiring astronauts? 5. What subjects do I need to focus on in school if I want to be an astronaut? 6. What has been your favorite part of the ISS mission so far? 7. What do you do if you and someone on your ISS crew need "space" from one another? 8. How do you stay connected to your family while you are on the ISS? 9. How do you go to the bathroom in Space? 10. What is your role on the ISS? 11. Besides your family, what do you miss most about being on Earth? 12. Have you ever seen any alien lifeform? 13. How do you handle an astronaut getting sick or hurt on the ISS 14. How would you deal with something happening to the ISS structure? 15. How much free time do you get while on the ISS? 16. What do you not like about being on the ISS? 17. What words would you use to describe leaving the earth's atmosphere? 18. How would you deal with a fire on the ISS? 19. What personal item did you bring to Space? 20. Do you prefer Star Wars or Star Trek? 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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WD9EWK AZ/NM road trip on 5-6 May 2017
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 04 May '17

04 May '17

Hi! IF all goes well tomorrow afternoon, I will leave Phoenix for southern Arizona, but with a detour to the rarely-heard grid DM53. If things go really well, I hope to park on the DM52/DM53 line along US-70, about 20 miles northwest of Safford AZ, for the two AO-85 passes starting around 0045 UTC. I may also be able to work other passes. Since US-70 passes through a lot of my home grid (DM43), and much of that on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, I won't make any stops until I reach DM53. US-70 cuts through the southwest corner of DM53 only for a couple of miles, connecting the southeast corner of DM43 with the northwest corner of DM52. Saturday morning will be the Cochise Amateur Radio Association's annual spring hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ, in grid DM41. I'll be on the air working various satellite passes for demonstrations. After the hamfest, my target is the DM52/DM62 grid boundary along I-10 west of Deming NM. Among other passes I'd like to work from the DM52/DM62 boundary would be the Saturday evening AO-85 passes, and other satellites that pass by around that time. I will not be able to stay out there for late night passes or anything on Sunday, as I need to return home sometime late Saturday evening - or maybe very early on Sunday morning, but don't tell my dog. :-) All QSOs from anywhere I operate will end up in Logbook of the World. QSL cards will also be available on request - please e-mail me with the QSO details. I will squawk WD9EWK-9 to the terrestrial APRS network as I drive around Arizona and New Mexico, and this should appear on sites like aprs.fi: http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 When I work the digipeaters on either the ISS or NO-84, I will use WD9EWK without the "-9" as my call sign. Updates over the next couple of days will be available on my @WD9EWK Twitter account. You don't need to be a Twitter user to see those updates; just visit this link: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Thanks, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Can QSO's be manually input to LOTW?
by Graham 04 May '17

04 May '17

Thank you everyone for the suggestion of using TQSL. I was hoping that there was way to do this directly on the ARRL lotw web site but alas it seems not. cheers, Graham ve3gtc On 2017-05-04 01:26, Sean Kutzko wrote: > The TQSL software has an ADIF file creator. I use it all the time for uploading satellite QSOs from multiple locations. Input QSO data, sign it with you station location, and upload. Easy. > > Sean KX9X > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On May 3, 2017, at 8:53 PM, Graham <planophore(a)aei.ca> wrote: >> >> I am currently not using a computer based logging program and I am not interested in collecting awards or QSL's. >> >> However, I know that others are. >> >> Is it possible to manually enter QSO details into LOTW? >> >> cheers, Graham ve3gtc >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022
by Arthur Feller, W4ART 04 May '17

04 May '17

Interesting read. Free PDF available. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13117/vision-and-voyages-for-planetary-science-… <https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13117/vision-and-voyages-for-planetary-science-…> Enjoy!! 73, art….. W4ART Arlington VA To thrive in life, you need three bones: a wish bone, a back bone, and a funny bone. - Reba McEntire http://afeller.us <http://afeller.us/>

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Fox Delta ST2 Rotor Controller problem
by Paul Baldock 04 May '17

04 May '17

I have a new ST2. It worked fine for a couple of weeks. Now the display displays very strange messages, such as the word "warning" . From day to day these odd messages change. Through all of this the unit continues to perform correctly via RS232 including maintaining calibration factors. The display will change from one power up to the next even without RF being present so it is not RF getting into the unit. According to Dinesh of Fox Delta I must reprogram the PIC (or buy a new preprogrammed one) to get it back to the factory default. I have a feeling this is not the issue as it still works fine via RS232. Has any body else experienced this? - Paul KW7Y

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North Texas AMSAT participation at Ham-Com in Irving / Moon Day in Dallas
by Tom Schuessler 03 May '17

03 May '17

Hello all, Looking for volunteers from anywhere but especially North Texas to help at the AMSAT booth/demos at Ham-Com at the Irving Convention Center this coming June 9 and 10. Please contact Keith Pugh, W5IU or myself for more information. If nothing else make sure you stop by and say hi. Also looking for AMSAT participation with the Dallas Amateur Radio Club at an annual STEM event called "Moon Day" at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, Love Field, Dallas, TX. This year's event will be July 22nd . DARC has an inside table with demonstrations of Amateur Radio and interesting technology. See http://www.flightmuseum.com/moon-day/ for information on the event. Since it is a space themed technology event, AMSAT satellite demos and contacts fit in quite nicely. I had an outdoor setup on the Museum grounds last year and made quite a number of contacts and got some young people on the air. This is a great outreach of Amateur Radio to the general public. Unfortunately, I will be out of town this year and cannot participate. As a result, I am putting a call out to others to team up with the DARC folks to demonstrate how we develop and use space technology for communications. For more information you can contact me off list at n5hyp(a)arrl.net and I will put you in touch with Tom General, KE5ICX of the Dallas Amateur Radio Club. I have one firm commitment so far to help but there is a need for several others to help fill the day. Tom Schuessler N5HYP

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Can QSO's be manually input to LOTW?
by Graham 03 May '17

03 May '17

I am currently not using a computer based logging program and I am not interested in collecting awards or QSL's. However, I know that others are. Is it possible to manually enter QSO details into LOTW? cheers, Graham ve3gtc

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AO-85 23:52Z EN83
by Ruth 03 May '17

03 May '17

I am hoping to be on the 23:52Z pass of AO-85 this evening (May 3rd) from EN83 if anyone needs the grid square. I’ve only made a few QSOs on AO-85 so I’m still learning how it works. 73, Ruth KM4LAO

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Collège Georges Brassens, Saint-Venant, France, Collège René Cassin de Lillers, Lillers, France, and Lycée Polyvalent Anatole France, Lillers, France
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 03 May '17

03 May '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Collège Georges Brassens, Saint-Venant, France, Collège René Cassin de Lillers, Lillers, France, and Lycée Polyvalent Anatole France, Lillers, France on 05 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 09:58 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and TM10ISS. 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 with portions translated into Englsh. Collège Georges Brassens The village of Saint Venant is located in the Pas-de-Calais, at 40 Km west of Lille. The college Georges Brassens includes 435 pupils supervised by 32 teachers. These students are between 11 and 15 years of age. In 2015, 91% of the students obtained their diplomas, 61% of which were awarded, which enabled the college to obtain a distinction. Scientific projects are regularly conducted at the college: balloon probes, BIA project ... They allow students to develop their scientific culture and discover many trades. These projects also provide a link with the general and technological high school of Lillers where the same projects are continued. Collège René Cassin The city of Lillers is only 8 Km distant from St Venant. The college René-Cassin, located on the edge of the town of Lillers, is a semi-rural college. It accommodates 382 pupils from 10 to 15 years of socio-professional origins very varied from a part of the city and the neighboring villages and hamlets. The college wants to open up to its environment and offer its students the opportunity to enrich themselves through activities that will allow a cultural and scientific opening in connection with the continuity towards high school. Lycée Polyvalent Anatole France The Lycée Anatole France is located in the downtown of Lillers and is well known in the Pas-de-Calais department as it is regularly ranked among the first high schools of the department for his success in the baccalauréat. It accommodates 940 students from 15 years to 20 years. Since 8 years, the secondary school participates, with the classes of second and the CSRAL, to scientific projects like the launch of a stratospheric balloon or to a parabolic flight in 2014. For 8 years, a preparation for the certificate of initiation to the Aeronautics (BIA) is open to pupils of 10th Grade. A preparation for the amateur radio licence is also proposed since this year to students of 11th Grade. All these activities allowing them to discover the universe of aviation (BIA), the effects of The zero-gravity (parabolic flight), the stratosphere and space (ISS orbital station) is to bring students back into contact with the space station. The high school will have a radioclub with a station able to make contacts via satellites. School exchange program with Denver, Colorado: The Lycee Anatole France is partner with the STEM High School, a semi-public school with a four-year curriculum that was founded in 2011. they are ranked eleventh in the ranking of 342 schools in Colorado. their enrollment includes 1600 high school students, with 25% ethnic diversity. Their students are selected by lottery each year. STEM provides a high-quality academic standard with an infusion of STEM (science, technology, technical education and mathematics) present in all subjects taught. they also focus on teaching business, as well as personal responsibility, teamwork and the ability to solve problems with creativity. The school is located in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, USA and have many connections with high-tech companies in the Denver area. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Vos expériences ont-elles pour but une future colonisation de l'espace? 2. Parmi les clichés pris depuis l'ISS, quelle photo préférez-vous ? 3. Est-ce que l'alternance jour/nuit plus courte a une influence sur certaines de vos activités ou sur votre organisme ? 4. Due to the constant free fall of the ISS around the earth's orbit, do you continue to feel the physical symptoms of the free fall, and if so, how do you adapt to this feeling? 5. Votre alimentation a t'elle des conséquences sur votre santé? 6. Maximilien (13): De combien avez-vous grandi depuis votre départ ? 7. En raison de l'apesanteur, est ce que tu as souvent des vertiges ou la sensation d'être désorienté ? 8. How much social interaction do you have on a given day with earth or with other ISS astronauts? 9. Avez vous ressenti une certaine atrophie musculaire pendant votre séjour? 10. Les sensations ressenties lors de votre sortie dans l'espace et lors de vos déplacements dans la station sont-elles les mêmes que lors des entrainements en piscine ? 11. Qu'est ce que tu as ressenti lorsque tu as vu la terre pour la première fois depuis l'ISS? 12. Who inspired you to become an astronaut? 13. Quels sont les êtres vivants qui ont été apportés pour vos expériences? 14. Pensez-vous repartir en mission dans l'espace? 15. Quelle est ton activité préférée à bord de l'ISS lors de ton temps libre ? 16. Do you see items entering the earth's atmosphere or burning upon entering? What does it look like? 17. Quelles ont été vos sensations lors du décollage de la fusée Soyouz? 18: Où avez vous prévu d'atterrir ? 19: Est ce qu'il y a un endroit ou un phénomène sur terre que tu n'as pas encore photographié et que tu souhaites avoir tout particulièrement ? 20: Sous quelle forme préférez-vous déguster vos aliments? Translated: 1. Are your experiments aiming at a future colonization of space? 2. Among the pictures taken from the ISS, Which photos do you prefer? 3. Does the shorter day / night alternation affect some of your activities or your organism? 4. Due to the constant free fall of the ISS around the earth's orbit, do you continue to feel the physical symptoms of the free fall, and if so, how do you adapt to this feeling? 5. Does Your Diet Affect Your Health? 6. How much have you grown since you left? 7. Due to weightlessness, do you often feel dizzy or feel disoriented? 8. How much social interaction do you have on a given day with earth or with other ISS astronauts? 9. Have you experienced any muscular atrophy during your stay? 10. Are the sensations felt when you are out in space and when you are moving in the station the same as during swimming training? 11. What did you feel when you saw the earth for the first time from the ISS? 12. Who inspired you to become an astronaut? 13. What are the living beings that have been brought in for your experiments? 14. Do you think you will be going back to space? 15. What is your favorite activity aboard the ISS during your free time? 16. Do you see items entering the earth's atmosphere or burning upon entering? What does it look like? 17. What were your feelings during the takeoff of the Soyuz rocket? 18: Where do you plan to land? 19: Is there a place or phenomenon on earth that you have not photographed yet and want to have especially? 20: In what form do you prefer to taste your food? 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. Ecole College Park School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jack Fisher K2FSH Contact is a go for: Mon 2017-05-08 18:19 UTC via W6SRJ 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 Schedule as of 2017-05-02 06:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 02 May '17

02 May '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-05-02 06:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Collège Georges Brassens, Saint-Venant, France, Collège René Cassin de Lillers, Lillers, France, and Lycée Polyvalent Anatole France, Lillers, France, direct via TM1ØISS (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is a go for: Fri 2017-05-05 09:58:56 UTC 39 deg (***) Ecole College Park School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, telebridge via W6SRJ (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Jack Fisher K2FSH (***) Contact is a go for: Mon 2017-05-08 18:19:40 UTC via W6SRJ (***) **************************************************************************** ** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** *** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. **************************************************************************** *** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2017-05-02 06:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1134. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1095. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-04-29 23:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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VUCC Awards/Endorsements for April 2017
by John Papay 01 May '17

01 May '17

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period March 30, 2017 through April 1, 2017. There was no update on March 31st. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL GRIDS KB1RVT 1493 WC7V 1101 W5PFG 1039 N8HM 904 AA5PK 825 N9IP 481 W5RKN 400 W4FS 374 KK4FEM 353 K5ND 276 AI6GS 211 W7QL 211 NS3L 200 VE7CEW 127 MI6GTY 110 (NEW VUCC) FG8OJ 100 (NEW VUCC) This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for March 30th and April 1st, 2017. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! 73, John K8YSE --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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AO85 2 May 0053Z AA9FL( ??)
by Philip Jenkins 01 May '17

01 May '17

I think I almost worked AA9FL(??), but since I didn't get/confirm your grid square, it doesn't count :-) (And not sure of your call, since I wanted to get familiar with this particular sat before I start recording.) This was my* first* attempt at AO-85, and didn't hear myself until about 10 deg before LOS. I also noticed I'm getting some desense when I transmit (using D72A into Arrow antenna) I might try the 2 May 0225Z pass, but that one is only 16 degrees from EM85tm. Philip N4HF

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Interesting quad grid point in Northern Maine, + FN87
by Brent Taylor 01 May '17

01 May '17

As I plan my semi-annual trek from Atlantic Canada to Deerfield, NH for NEAR-Fest, I have been corresponding with a few hams who badly need FN55, FN56, FN65, and FN66. I used to live in FN66 when I operated as VE1JH in NB and remember it being quite popular back in the AO-27/UO-14 days. Just for kicks, I took a look to see where those four grids intersect and, lo, they all come together just steps from the side of a "Fire Road" that branches off from Route 2A not too far south of Houlton, ME. While the pass times don't work well for a Quad-Point expedition on my trip later this week, I'm wondering if this 4-point has ever been activated in the past. The terrain looks fairly clear, and not too hard to get to (if you're already that part of Maine, of course). If there is a bad need for that, and if I find I'm able to travel back that way over the summer or fall this year, I may do a dedicated activation. I think it would be fun. I may need bug repellent, though. As well, I am still planning to activate FN87 in the very near future. This grid is almost entirely over water, and only a thin sliver touches the shore of Prince Edward Island. As small as the Island is, FN87 is still close to a 2-hour drive from my place. I'm close to having multi-mode receive through an SDRPlay-Android Tablet combination, and when I get that working well I'll schedule the trip. If anyone has a RX-only FT-817 that they would part with for fair $$$, maybe I can arrange these travels a little sooner, hi hi. 73 Brent Taylor VY2HF, W1PJ -- Brent Taylor, VY2HF / W1PJ Stratford, PEI, Canada

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