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

AMSAT Online Store
by Bruce 28 Jun '17

28 Jun '17

The AMSAT online store is once again open for business. It has been a long road moving all the inventory from one store to another and adding a few new items. Paul, N8HM, and I have been working hard at it and we think we have it ready for you. Added a few minutes ago, 2017 Getting Started in Satellites 2017 Tee Shirts 2017 Polo Shirts As the store is linked to your account, if you have not already done so, you need to log in and change your password. The first time, select forgot password and the system should (if things work right) send you an email with instructions to change your password. If you do not get the email, the problem might be that the email address we had from the old computer system is not your current email. If that is the case you can drop an email to webmaster(a)amsat.org and let us know what your old and current email address is and we can change it for you. If you just do not exist in the system, you can create an account. Then you can log in and manage your own profile. You can change your address, add a shipping address, change your password. Then in the store, that is where you will purchase your membership to AMSAT. You can do it at your leisure and the system will automatically update your membership when you hit submit on the payment screen. Several nice features are coming... we want to bring you downloadable items. We have not decided what they will be but you will be able to purchase them and download right away without waiting for one of humans to do something. Keep watching for more things to come. We have to get more comfortable with all the features of the new store and as we do, we will add things that it is capable of doing. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2018 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 athttp://www.amsatnet.com Podcast athttp://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitterhttp://www.twitter.com/amsat

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K8BL Rover Grids - LoTW
by R.T.Liddy 27 Jun '17

27 Jun '17

Gridders, I had a problem recently with my Rover Grids getting botched-up in LoTW when I uploaded Q's from the ARRL VHF Contest. Somehow, my Logging Program re-sent recent SAT Rover Q's to LoTW as being on 40M!!! LoTW re-wrote the original Q's also as being from my home Grid EN91 and folks needing my Rover Grids lost them. After some good advice from Bruce KK5DO and many hours of editing the original files and reloading them to LoTW, they appear to be corrected. If you see that there are still some that escaped correction, let me know in an e-mail and I'll check them out. BTW, it appeared that my Canadian Rover Grids did not get botched, only US. Thanks for your patience & 73, Bob K8BL P.S. 92 Rover Grids & counting. Thinking about FN12/22 in mid-July.

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AMSAT Field Day Summary Sheets
by Bruce 27 Jun '17

27 Jun '17

Field Day is all over. However, you are not done. Not at least until you get an email from me confirming I have received your AMSAT Field Day Summary Sheet. Deadline is 11:59PM on Monday July 10, 2017. This is earlier than the ARRL submission deadline. I need the extra time to get the article ready and off to the journal editor so everything will appear in the next issue. Do not forget to send me some photos of your site or operators. I try to get at least one for every group into the journal. This was the first field day I have been able to actually participate in for some 13 years as I worked on Saturday and Sunday. I took my M2 Leo Pack to the Texas Emergency Amateur Communications (TEAC) site in Kingwood, Texas and set up there. First pass of SO-50 for field day and I snagged a contact right after V31CI left the window. He was having a pretty good amount of activity at the start of the pass over the Houston area. I was using my Wouxun KG-UV9D HT for 70cm receive and my Icom 2200H 2m mobile for TX. Packed everything up and drove to the the Sam Houston Amateur Radio Klub (SHARK) site in Cleveland, Texas. I set everything up there and waited for the second pass of SO-50. This time, the armstrong rotors were not pointing at the right spot for a contact. Only a 22 degree pass for me, pretty much horizon shot and they kept wanting to point at 60 degrees...urgh. They missed out on their satellite contact. They enjoyed hearing the satellite nevertheless. Packed everything up and home I went. That was enough field day fun for me for one day :-). By the way, bought some nice new cables for the M2 Leo Pack for field day.... 15 feet long. I was thinking of when I use my Arrow antenna and have a 4 foot long cable. Was not really thinking the Leo Pack are much larger antennas and 15 feet does not allow for much turning of the antennas. Will need to go for at least maybe 30 feet for next year. oops 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2018 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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G4HUP TAP board onold FT-847
by Dave J 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

Hello all, I am trying to install a G4UP tap board in my older FT-847. One issue I came across is the instructions call for attaching the VCC line to L3102. Only problem is my unit does not have L3102. Has anybody found a suitable point of attachment on the older FT-847's? Thanks, Dave WB9YIG

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V31CI
by John KI4RO 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

Today, 26 Jun, will be David's last day on the air. 27 Jun will be a travel day....get him while you can! 73 John KI4RO <https://mailtrack.io/> Sent with Mailtrack <https://mailtrack.io/install?source=signature&lang=en&referral=johnki4ro@gm…>

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V31CI
by John KI4RO 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

Dave is having gamma match problems on 70cm...says travel is hell on the equipment at times. hi hi Hopes to be back on later today (22 June) 73 John KI4RO <https://mailtrack.io/> Sent with Mailtrack <https://mailtrack.io/install?source=signature&lang=en&referral=johnki4ro@gm…>

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QB50 PL and others
by Roland Zurmely 26 Jun '17

26 Jun '17

New sats from PSLV-C38 launch <http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/c38.htm> 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ

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Water as Primary Method of Spacecraft Propulsion
by Davidoff, Martin R. 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

NASA has just awarded a launch and a construction grant to Cornell University for a CubeSat designed to orbit the moon. Launch is scheduled for 2019. The core spacecraft technology involves a water electrolysis propulsion thruster which Cornell has been working on since 2009. http://cornellsun.com/2017/06/22/nasa-to-send-cornell-groups-satellite-into… Makes me recall an article I read many years ago ... J. King, "Using Water as a Primary Method of Propulsion for Spacecraft Modifying Standard STS Orbits," Orbit, no. 19, Nov/Dec 1984, pp 5-8. This article is available at http://www.ka9q.net/AMSAT-ORBIT-19.pdf (Thank you Phil!) Martin Davidoff, K2UBC

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Nocturnal sun and light pollution
by Arthur Feller, W4ART 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/science/bright-nights-nocturnal-sun-zona… <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/science/bright-nights-nocturnal-sun-zona…> 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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Congratulations to AMSAT on Field Day
by Ronald G. Parsons 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

I’ve operated my home satellite station each of the past few Field Day’s but 2017 out shined them all. Each pass was nearly filled with stations calling “CQ Field Day.” It was music to my ears although cacophonous at times. Even though I was limited by family events, I managed to log 33 Satellite Field Day contacts Saturday and a few more today when time permitted. Even AO-7 stayed up and gave me quite a few contacts on Saturday. I think my favorite pass was on XW-2A 25 June 2017 around 0130Z. It brought that old hymn to mind with a new title “Let’s all gather at the center.” See the following link for the waterfall spectrum. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Jez46MB5RaQ0xHLVRGblNLMTQ/view?usp=shari… As expected, the FM satellites were overloaded with traffic but the current crop of linear satellites more than made up for it. Looking back at a great 2017 and forward to an even better 2018. Congratulations AMSAT! Ron W5RKN

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