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

13 Colonies K2G on FM satellites!
by Ruth 01 Jul '17

01 Jul '17

Hello Satellite operators, The 13 Colonies Special Event begins tomorrow morning at 9am EST (July 1st 1300UTC) and runs through July 6 at Midnight EST (July 7th 0400UTC)! This is fun event where stations are on the air from each of the original 13 colonies, plus two bonus stations in Philadelphia, PA and Great Britain. It is an incredibly exciting event to participate in. More information is on the event website at http://www.13colonies.net/ <http://www.13colonies.net/> I will be operating during the event as K2G from Georgia. I have found out that valid QSOs for the event can be made through the amateur radio satellites, so I am planning to put K2G on the air through SO-50 and possibly AO-85! In the interest of time, I’ll only be looking for a signal report, state, and grid square if you wish. I have not figured out my entire operating schedule and it is not set in stone, but I have listed below some of the passes that I will try to be on. SO-50 Passes 01 Jul 2017 17:08Z 02 Jul 2017 17:33Z 04 Jul 2017 02:34Z 05 Jul 2017 15:29Z 06 Jul 2017 15:54Z AO-85 Passes 02 Jul 2017 23:08Z 06 Jul 2017 21:29Z I’ll be operating from EM73, which I know is somewhat rare. Unfortunately the organizers for the state of Georgia have not uploaded the event logs to LOTW in the past, although I may enquire about it this year. They are very good at returning QSL cards for confirmation though! I will also be in EM73 periodically on the weekends for the next three months and I upload all my personal contacts to LOTW, so you can get confirmation for EM73 that way if you wish. Good luck! I hope I can hear some of you this week during the event on the HF bands and the FM satellites! 73, Ruth KM4LAO

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W5PFG/p DM66/67 & possibly DM77 July 3-7
by Clayton Coleman 30 Jun '17

30 Jun '17

Next week (July 3-7) I will be on the air via satellites from DM66/67 on wide-coverage SO-50, AO-85, and FO-29 passes. I am not planning any specific passes and posting schedules but if I see a pass that covers North America and fits well into my leisure schedule, I'll be on the birds. If you want to make a schedule on a linear transponder, email me directly and I will try to accommodate your request. If time allows I will operate from DM77 which has been popular in the past. I'll try to post on Twitter as @w5pfg when I am planning a pass in advance. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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IARU Aligns Satellite Coordination Guidelines with ITU WRC-15 Decisions
by M5AKA 30 Jun '17

30 Jun '17

IARU Aligns Satellite Coordination Guidelines with ITU WRC-15 Decisions https://amsat-uk.org/2017/06/30/iaru-satellite-coordination-wrc-15/ Solar-powered UBSEDS25 around-the-world balloon with Slow Scan Digital Video launches July 1 https://amsat-uk.org/2017/06/28/ubseds25-balloon-ssdv/ Satellites feature in syllabus consultation for UK amateur radio exams https://amsat-uk.org/2017/06/16/syllabus-consultation/ Book now for AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium Milton Keynes October 14-15 https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Appalachian Trail Packet Event 15 July
by Robert Bruninga 30 Jun '17

30 Jun '17

On Saturday, 15 July we man-up 15 mountains from Maine to Georgia for the Annual Golden Packet attempt. We still need operators on 4 peaks below that are FULLY familiar with APRS operation from their APRS radios for the 4 hour event. * Mt Washington, New Hampshire * Mt Equinox, Vermont * Sam’s Point state park, New York * Hawksbill, VA on BR parkway All of these are drive-up sites. For more info and all kinds of details, see: http://aprs.org/at-golden-packet.html This will be the 9th year to demonstrate cross-continent packet text-messaging over 2000 miles and 14 hops using no-prior infrastructure. This year we will operate at 9600 baud since last year it worked as well as 1200 but should allow double the message throughput. After getting your paltry 100 points at Field Day. Get some respect, and come have fun with packet radio! OR start up your own LONG-LINEAR packet test anywhere else in the country. Pacific Coast trail? Continental Divide Trail? Lewis&Clark Trail? Bob, WB4APR

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The Gizmo
by Lee Barnett 30 Jun '17

30 Jun '17

I’m working to build a portable satellite setup. Today I read Keith Baker’s article in The AMSAT Journal (May/June 2017). Keith mentions a mount developed by Art VE3GNF. Does anyone have more details about this mount? My Google search points to the Nov/Dec 2013 AMSAT Journal which I don’t have. TNX & 73, Lee AA4LB

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Satellite Antennas For Sale
by Jim Jerzycke 30 Jun '17

30 Jun '17

Hi, everybody As part of our Great Colorado Move, I have a couple of satellite antennas for sale. #1 is a Gulf Alpha dual-band "Easy Satellite Antenna". It has 6 elements on 2 Meters, and 8 elements on 70cm, linear polarized on each band. I used this one year at Field Day to rack up 45 contacts, so it works very well. Never been outside in the weather, as it was my Field Day antenna, so it's in excellent condition. Asking $100, open to offers. #2 is a KLM 40 element circular polarized 70cm antenna, with the polarization switch box. Again, never been outside, but has some minor corrosion from just being so old. Also asking $100, open to offers. I greatly prefer local pick up on these. I suppose I could ship the Gulf Alpha antenna, but I'll have to take it apart and box it. The KLM antenna simply can't be shipped, as if I take it apart I'll destroy the "keepers" that hold the elements in the boom. Antennas are located in Long Beach, CA, and I can drive a reasonable distance to "meet you half way" if you're interested. Thanks, es 73 Jim KQ6EA

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AMSAT Website & Store
by Paul Stoetzer 29 Jun '17

29 Jun '17

As posted last night, we are currently live with a new AMSAT website and store. Please note that all current members as well as anyone with a membership that expired in the last five years already has an account on the new website. Please do not create a new account. When logging in the first time, enter your callsign as the user name and click "forgot password." If your email address is not on file, please email webmaster(a)amsat.org to have your email address updated in the database. These accounts are based on the AMSAT membership database and not on the previous AMSAT store. If you are a new member, please use your callsign as your user name. We have not yet worked out all the kinks with the new website, store, and integrated membership database. Please be patient with us as we work those out. This new system will open up a lot more opportunities for engagement with our membership. Thanks and 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Secretary Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT-NA)

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Filing an AMSAT SPACECAP file with the FCC?
by Robert Bruninga 29 Jun '17

29 Jun '17

FCC just rejected our SPACECAP file because it was in version 7 and now it must be in version 8. The download for version 8 is 217 Megabytes and is taking nearly an hour. Has anyone converted from version 7 to 8? Will it go smoothly or be a disaster like everything else I try to do with SPACECAP. I spent 6 hours on SPACECAP (V7) yesterday just trying to fix a few fields… Bob, WB4APR

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Nova for Windows
by Daniel Cussen 29 Jun '17

29 Jun '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Owen <nlsa(a)nlsa.com> Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2017 18:05:46 -0400 The "latest" copy of Nova for Windows is at http://www.nlsa.com/uploads/nfw2.2c/Full/setup.exe You should also download and install this patch for compatibility with later (post-XP) versions of Windows... http://www.nlsa.com/uploads/nfw2.2c/Patch/Patch.exe Nova has not changed in several years. I can no longer compile it or make any changes. Nova is now freeware. The free license code is NLD-8554457 You are welcome to download and run it to your heart's content. No support, no bug fixes. 73, W9IP

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NIUSAT Tele-metry Support
by Mani [VU2WMY/KJ6LRS] 29 Jun '17

29 Jun '17

Dear Friends, Amateur Radio stations, particularly from the North & South American Continents are kindly requested to help us with the tele-metry reception support from NIUSAT. The tele-metry reports, particularly during the 'Day Passes' (Descending) from around these regions would be of great value to us for evaluation of some critical system parameters. As of now, NIUSAT is presumed to be as 'Object B' with NORAD # 42766 under tle-new group. Frequency:436.000 Mhz Modulation: FSK Data Rate: 1.2 kbps Thanks in advance Mani [VU2WMY/KJ6LRS] Secretary & Station Director Upagrah Amateur Radio Club VU2URC ISRO Satellite Centre HAL Airport Road, Bangalore-560 017. Phone:(Office)91-80-25082598/25082054/25082192 Mobile: 91-9880 341 456 E-mail ID: wmy(a)isac.gov.in vu2wmy.mani(a)gmail.com isrohams(a)yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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