October 2018 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Sat ops from Svalbard
by adrian＠liggins.ca 09 Oct '18

09 Oct '18

Hi folks, Halvard, LA7XK will be on Svalbard Island with a contest station, but will also be working the sats using the call JW7XK and also possibly (JW9DL), as follows: "We will arrive in Longyearbyen early afternoon local time Wednesday 10 We hope to be QRV on FO-29 from orbit 9358 on Wednesday or maybe on the next orbit. We hope to be on the sat both on SSB and CW for as many orbits as possible until Saturday noon local time (around 10:00 UTC) The contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday and ends at 1200 UTC on Sunday. We will have time fore some orbits on Sunday afternoon local time. Monday we are packing up to fly home." Halvard will have email access in Svalbard: hal-erik(a)online.no Adrian VA3NNA

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FUNcube operations
by Graham Shirville 09 Oct '18

09 Oct '18

Hi All, FUNcube-1 As you will know, AO73/FUNcube-1 has been in full sunlight for over one month and has been transmitting continuously high power telemetry for most of that time. This has now been changed to full time amateur mode so the transponder is once again available. With the more stable on board temperatures being experienced, this means that the transponder frequencies are also now more stable. We expect to leave it in this mode for some weeks so that the team can determine whether or not the currents flowing from the solar panels are having any noticeable effect on the spin period. FUNcube-2 The FUNcube-2 transponder on UKube-1 continues to be in full time transponder mode. There are occasional breaks in service for a few seconds when the OBC reboots and the other onboard transmitter sends its CW beacon. FUNcube -3 on Nayif-1 EO88/Nayif-1 continues to perform nominally with high power telemetry when in sunlight and amateur mode when in eclipse. With their slightly different orbital characteristics it is useful that AO73 is now the early bird, EO88 comes over in the mid morning and UKube provides coverage in the afternoon. We have been suffering from some network issues in relation to uploading the telemetry from the Dashboards to the Data Warehouse over the past couple of weeks. Apologies for this, but hopefully everything is now stable again. ie fingers are still crossed. Thank you for all the telemetry that you upload. Like many other teams, we are presently waiting for the next Space-X launch from Vandenberg which is expected to be carrying a number of new amateur payloads, These will provide additional transponder and STEM capabilities for the amateur satellite service. Exciting times ahead. 73 Graham G3VZV

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Zhou Enlai
by Frank G 09 Oct '18

09 Oct '18

Has anyone copied this sat on East Coast USA passes ? Not a lot of information around as to its status. Thanks 73 Frank WA2NDV

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Antennas for AO-92 23cm
by Ronald G. Parsons 09 Oct '18

09 Oct '18

What antennas are being used for AO-92 23cm? Is polarization changing a problem. How much uplink power is required? Ron W5RKN

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Ashford School, Ashford, CT
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ashford School, Ashford, CT on 10 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:39 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and KZ1M. The contact should be audible over the state of Connecticut and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Students at Ashford School are busy learning about Space in preparation for their ARISS contact. The sixth graders made model rockets while learning about force, the elementary students are coding robots on a Giant Mars Map (thanks to the Share Space Foundation), middle school students are creating robotic arms that can take simulated rock samples, and all the students will get to build an FM radio with snap circuits to learn more about how radios work. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Do you wear sunscreen on the International Space Station? 2. Do butterflies just float on the International Space Station or do they use their wings to fly? 4. What is strangest thing you have ever seen in Space? 5. How do you protect yourself from meteors on the International Space Station? 6. What food is the most fun or the messiest to eat in Space? 7. What inspired you to become an astronaut and who do you look up to? 8. What is the hardest thing about having zero gravity? 9. If someone becomes sick, then what do you do? 10. Have you ever been in an emergency situation on the ISS and what was the solution to that problem? 11. What powers rockets? 12. Do you think humans will go to Mars? 13. How long before we go to Mars? 14. What kinds of technology do you use on the Space Station? 15. What does it feel like emotionally to be in Space, and to see the world from such a unique perspective? 16. How many flips have you done in a row? 17. Can you get dizzy in 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. Kursk University, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergei Propopev Contact is a go for Fri 2018-10-12 10:40 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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145.800 - missed a golden chance for live astronaut QSO
by Scott 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

Of course not everyone would have seen my tweet on this subject today, so I thought I'd share to the mailing list as well. During most passes of the ISS where I'm working with the packet digipeater on 145.825, I also monitor 145.800 just in case there is any activity on that frequency. For the first time in my personal experience, today one of the astronauts was randomly calling to see if anybody was listening. Of course I tried to reply on 145.800 simplex, but there are a number of possible uplinks and none of them were programmed into my radio. THEY ARE NOW! FYI, here is a list of uplink/downlink combinations that I found online: https://issfanclub.com/frequencies ... and here is the downlink audio from today with the gaps removed: https://www.qsl.net/k/k4kdr//files/2018-10-06--1858--ISS-voice.mp3 It was a real thrill and like so much of this hobby, a learning opportunity. 73 -Scott, K4KDR

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-10-08 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-10-08 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Allen Park Elementary School, Lee County School District, Ft. Myers, FL, direct via WØCTL The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Contact was successful: Mon 2018-10-08 17:05:17 UTC 59 deg (***) Exp. 55 back on earth (***) Congrats to all for a job well done! (***) Drew Feustel Oleg Artemyev Ricky Arnold KE5DAU Amur University, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergei Propopev Contact is a go for Wed 2018-10-10 08:00 UTC Robert-Mayer-Gymnasium, Heilbronn, Germany and Realschule & Gymnasium Weingarten, Weingarten, Germany, direct via DN1RMG and DN2RV The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be DPØISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-10-10 14:03:32 UTC 61 deg Ashford School, Ashford, CT, direct via KZ1M The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-10-10 18:39:09 UTC 24 deg Kursk University, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergei Propopev Contact is a go for Fri 2018-10-12 10:40 UTC If you are interested in applying for an ARISS contact, please go to http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html The information below is from the ARISS webpage: International Space Station Astronauts are Calling CQ ARISS Students ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 September 25, 2018: ARISS is seeking proposals beginning October 1, 2018 from US schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to host amateur radio contacts with an orbiting crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS) between July 1 and December 30, 2019. Each year, ARISS provides tens of thousands of students with learning opportunities about space technologies, communications, and much more through the exploration of Amateur Radio and space. ARISS has been pleased of late, to be one of many possibilities of interest to educators during NASA’s A Year of Education on Station, which celebrates an almost 12-month presence of a teacher aboard the ISS. The ARISS program connects students to astronauts on the ISS through a partnership between NASA, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, the American Radio Relay League, other Amateur Radio global organizations and the worldwide space agencies. The program’s goal is to inspire students to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in Amateur Radio. Educators report regularly that student participation in the ARISS program stimulates interest in STEM subjects and STEM careers. One educator wrote, “Many of the middle school students who took part in and attended the ARISS contact have selected science courses in high school as a result of that contact.” Educators are setting up ham radio clubs in schools and learning centers because of students’ interest. ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed, exciting education plan. Students can learn about satellite communications, wireless technology, science research conducted on the ISS, radio science, and other STEM subjects. Students learn to use Amateur Radio to talk directly to an astronaut and ask their STEM-related questions. ARISS will help educational organizations locate Amateur Radio groups who can assist with equipment for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students. The proposal window opens October 1, 2018 and the proposal deadline is November 30, 2018. For proposal guidelines and forms and more details, visit: http://www.ariss.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact-in-the-us.html Proposal webinars for guidance and getting questions answered will be offered October 11 and October 23, 2018, both at 8 pm Eastern Time. Advance registration is necessary. To sign up, go to: ariss-proposal-webinar-fall-2018.eventbrite.com/ ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 107 **************************************************************************** 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 2018-10-08 22:00 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 1262. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1208. (***) 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: 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 2018-10-08 22:00 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. 55 back on earth (***) Congrats to all for a job well done! (***) Drew Feustel Oleg Artemyev Ricky Arnold KE5DAU Exp. 56 on orbit Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Sergei Propopev **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Cassini-Huygens talk + Special Event Station GB0AUK
by M5AKA 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

AMSAT-UK Colloquium, Milton Keynes - Cassini-Huygens: Odyssey to Saturn and Titan by Professor David Southwood, Sunday, Oct 14 - web streamed https://amsat-uk.org/2018/10/06/cassini-huygens-odyssey-to-saturn-and-titan… Special Event Station GB0AUK https://amsat-uk.org/2018/10/07/special-event-station-gb0auk/ AMSAT-UK Construction Competition https://amsat-uk.org/2018/09/29/amsat-uk-construction-competition/ FUNcube operations https://amsat-uk.org/2018/10/08/funcube-operations/ 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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L-band question
by David J. Schmocker 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

Everyone: A genuine newby to satellites, I plan to get QRV with U/V bands as soon as I can (likely few months yet) due to difficulty procuring the orbital ring rotors required to clear the trees at my QTH. My goal is to work as many DXCCs over time as possible (and probably WAS too). Given this goal, is L-band helpful (will there be even 1 or more new DXCC QRV on L-band that is easier or not workable on U/V) vs. conventional U/V bands or should I stick with U/V given my interests/goals? Thank you 73, Dave KJ9I On 10/7/18, 5:31 PM, "AMSAT-BB on behalf of Andrew Glasbrenner" <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org on behalf of glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> wrote: >Like most Sundays UTC it is in L/v mode, with an uplink at 1267.358 or so. > >73, Drew KO4MA > >> On Oct 7, 2018, at 5:29 PM, Ross Biggar <ross.biggar(a)outlook.com> wrote: >> >> Hi all, >> Is it my receiver or has the uplink on AO-92 gone silent or not >>receiving any uplink. >> I wan't able to access on the previous pass, and no access on this pass >> (at 10.24 NZtime). >> AO-85 is ok I could access that with a 4 degree pass ok 30 minutes ago. >> >> Comments please. >> Regards >> Ross >> ZL1WN >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > >_______________________________________________ >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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Signalink usb and UISS for 9600 baud packet
by alex weimer 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

I am running an Icom IC821H transceiver and the Signalink usb along with UISS software running the UX7HO High speed packet modem. However I can't seem to get this system to decode 9600 baud packet on falconsat-3 or Elfin A or B satellites. Is anyone using this combination to decode or send packets through the Falconsat-3 digipeater on 9600 baud ?? I have tried varied jumper wire settings on the Signalink and can send and decode 1200 baud packet with no problem. When trying 9600 baud the radio is set for 9600 baud using SET Mode but it still will not decode 9600 baud packets.. Anybody out there have an answer ?? Thanks JACK KC7MG

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