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

FUNcube Warehouse outage
by David Johnson 16 Feb '18

16 Feb '18

Hi, The server was rebooted at the hosting company during the night for maintenance. dashboards are now catching up. Due to this event, the outage we had recently and with the support of other satellites being planned I am looking at changing the hosting arrangements. More details to follow. 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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Re: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 12.8d is released
by Steve Nordahl 16 Feb '18

16 Feb '18

Based on what I see, the poster claims 12.8d is available for download from the link supplied. However that does not appear to be the case. In review of the SatPC32 site, Only a demo version is available and there's no "Update(r)" version that can be applied to current versions that I can find. What is really the case? Is this going to be available as an update for current registered users of SatPC32 12.8c, or do we have to pay for a full blown program via the AMSAT store? From what I see the AMSAT store does not provide a update link, only to purchase a new program entirely. I don't see any indication that the AMSAT store is providing the 12.8d version updater. As a matter of fact, it does not even say what version of SatPC32 is being offered. Steve NS3L

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Upcoming ARISS contact with University of the Philippines Integrated School, Quezon City, Philippines
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at University of the Philippines Integrated School, Quezon City, Philippines on 17 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:23 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and DX1ISS. The contact should be audible over the Phillippines 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. The UP Integrated School (est. 1976) is the laboratory school of the UP College of Education. It offers an integrated curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 12. It is one of the country's pioneer integrated schools and has been offering an integrated curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 10 since its inception until the mandatory implementation of the Department of Education's K-12 program in 2012. The UPIS is the product of the merging of three schools whose functions it inherited. These are the UP High School (est. 1916), the UP Elementary School (est. 1936), and the UP Preparatory High School (est. 1954). Age of students is 14 and 15. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What are the challenges that astronauts face while working inside the international space station? How are these issues addressed? 2. What can you give as advice or words of inspiration to young aspiring Filipinos dreaming of becoming involved in NASA's (or International) space programs? 3. The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone (typhoon, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions) countries in the world. What researches does the ISS have to help these countries (or the Philippines, in particular) minimize risks related to such disasters? 4. Which of the recent breakthroughs/discoveries in your research in the ISS is your team's favorite and why? 5. Given the latest discoveries/experiments your team has done in the ISS, which field in science and technology do you think has the most promising advancement in the upcoming years? 6. How can the youth have a more active participation in space programs? (Skills training, seminars, etc.) 7. How long does it take to get use to the weightlessness in space? 8. What did you do before you became an astronaut? 9. Compared to Earth-based monitoring programs, how does the ISS facilities and equipment help in monitoring environmental disasters? 10. What can the Philippines do if it wants to participate in international space programs? 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. "Galaxy - Children and Youth Center for Space Education", Kaluga, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Misurkin Contact is a go for 2018-02-18 10 UTC 2. Agrupamento de Escolas do Fundão, Fundão, Portugal, direct via CS5DBB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Scott Tingle KG5NZA Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-02-21 09:38 UTC 3. Museum of Science & Technology - Danforth Middle School, Syracuse, NY, direct via K2MST The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Fri 2018-02-23 14:08 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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FUNcube-1/AO73
by Graham Shirville 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

Hi All,The spacecraft is now in amateur mode with the transponder active until Monday morning (UTC)73GrahamG3VZV

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WH6XM on FO29
by alex weimer 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

Nice surprise this morning on FO-29 satellite,, WH6XM Bob in Hilo HI Grid BK29 was on at 1606Z which is very early for him in HI. Bob is always looking for contacts so anyone needing HI for WAS or his grid be on the lookout for him. He works FO29 and always has a great signal JACK KC7MG

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ARISS contact LA Academy live stream URL
by aj9n＠aol.com 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

Hi all, Here is the LA Academy live stream URL. The contact starts 17:45 UTC today, in about 30 minutes. http://youtu.be/mfzPAMMZyxQ The live stream will also be on our Instagram page. @laacademyms 73, Charlie AJ9N

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SatPC32 12.8d is released
by Wayne Estes 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

The English version of SatPC32 12.8d is now available for download on the author's web page. http://www.dk1tb.de/downloadeng.htm Here's What's New in the 12.8d version: 1. The CAT commands of the IC-9100 have been extended again. The program now also controls the DV mode (DV for 'Digital Voice') of the radio. The operating mode must be entered as DV in the file Doppler.SQF. With the FT-817 the program now additionally supports the CWR mode. 2. All SatPC32 programs now process significantly larger Keplerian element source files. Especially because of the numerous new Cubesats, the number of data sets contained in the source files has increased significantly. For example the file Cubesat.txt currently contains data for nearly 400 satellites. The previous version of the SatPC32 programs could only read up to 320 data sets (only SatPC32 itself up to 500). All SatPC32 programs have been expanded to handle sets of up to 1500 satellites. 3. In all programs (SatPC32, SatPC32ISS, Wisat32, WinAOS and WinListen), the list of satellites contained in the source file ('Available' list in menu Satellites) is now displayed in alphabetical order to facilitate locating individual satellites. 4. The program SatPC32ISS now also allows the creation of up to 12 satellite groups. The new Cubesats have also increased the number of 'in-band' satellites. Originally, in-band operation in amateur radio was only available at the ISS. 5. In order to accelerate a change between the individual satellite groups, the 'Groups' window can now be called up by clicking on vacant areas of the main window, except in the Satellite menu. Such free positions are located on the right and left of the frequency window. Editing the groups (create or delete a group, add or remove satellites) can only be done in the Satellites menu. 6. In the Satellites menu the data sets of the satellites contained in the active source file can now be displayed. When called, the data set of the currently selected satellite is displayed. The feature helps you to immediately know the identifier of the satellite. This allows you to add an entry to the file 'AmsatNames.txt' (menu '?' > 'Auxiliary files'), so that the satellite can be displayed in the entire program with its AMSAT name or with a user defined name. 7. The program has improved control of the sub-audible tone required by some satellites. For many years SO-50 was the only such satellite. Switching sub tone was no issue. Now we have several (AO-85, AO-91, AO-92) The program can now automatically switch the sub tone on/off when switching between PL tone satellites and others, changing between u/v and v/u satellites, changing the group, closing the program etc. 8. In addition, numerous minor changes and error corrections have been made Some people have complained about the difficulty of manually adding a new satellite and its corresponding tuning information. The Programs menu can now launch the W9KE DopplerSqfEditor to aid this process. Please read the instructions before installing or updating the program. You probably want to run the DataBackup program before updating an existing version. Existing registration codes work with the new version. Thanks to Erich Eichmann DK1TB for donating this software to AMSAT. Sale of registration codes and CDs is a major fund raiser for AMSAT. And thanks to Erich for providing user support on amsat-bb and updating the program for 20 years. No other satellite tracking program provides such comprehensive radio Doppler tuning. Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-02-15 05:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-02-15 05:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Vilniaus Jono Basanaviciaus Gymnasium together with Vilniaus Jono Basanaviciaus Progymnasium, Vilnius, Lithuania, direct via LY1BWB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR Contact was successful: Wed 2018-02-14 12:37:44 UTC 49 deg (***) Los Angeles Academy Middle School, Los Angeles, CA, direct via W6RVD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR Contact is a go for: Thu 2018-02-15 17:45:19 UTC 80 deg University of the Philippines Integrated School, Quezon City, Philippines, direct via DX1ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Sat 2018-02-17 10:23:00 UTC 70 deg "Galaxy - Children and Youth Center for Space Education", Kaluga, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Misurkin Contact is a go for 2018-02-18 10:45 UTC Agrupamento de Escolas do Fundão, Fundão, Portugal, direct via CS5DBB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Scott Tingle KG5NZA Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-02-21 09:38:11 UTC 33 deg Museum of Science & Technology - Danforth Middle School, Syracuse, NY, direct via K2MST The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Fri 2018-02-23 14:08:52 UTC 28 deg School in Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is TBD Contact is a go for Sat 2018-02-24 08:45 UTC Watch for possible time update ****************************************************************************** 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: Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 128 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 100 **************************************************************************** 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 2018-02-15 05:00 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 1207. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1156. (***) 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 2018-02-15 05:00 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. 53 on orbit Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Alexander Misurkin Joe Acaba KE5DAR Exp. 54 on orbit Scott Tingle KG5NZA Norishige Kanai Alexander Skvortsov **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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DJ-G7T and full-duplex satellite operating - the 2018 sequel
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

Hi! After dusting off my old Alinco DJ-G7T for use with AO-92's L/V configuration, I have been using it for AO-92's U/V mode and on other satellites. I wanted to see how it would do with U/V satellites in particular, given how it performed with V/U satellites like AO-27 and AO-51 when I bought the radio in 2009. I have also seen some recent comments online stating that this radio is good for satellite work. It can be, but only in certain situations. Back in 2009, I was able to make the DJ-G7T work full-duplex with AO-51, with a post titled "DJ-G7T and full-duplex satellite operating": http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2009-May/019177.html I turned off the extended (non-ham) receive coverage in my DJ-G7T, and it worked. I remember that, even at the city park I used for much of my operating then, the radio would be very sensitive to other signals way outside the 70cm band when working the U/V FM satellites of that time. I never was able to work SO-50 full-duplex then, with its weaker downlink compared to AO-51 and AO-27. After almost 9 years, nothing has changed there. I just tried to work SO-50 this morning with the DJ-G7T and Elk log periodic, yet I never even heard the downlink once during a 39-degree pass. The downlink VFO's S-meter was pegged for most of the pass, probably from some other RF the radio was receiving. Even using the clock- shift menu setting didn't improve things. I won't bother using my DJ-G7T with SO-50 in the future, unless I have another radio for the downlink. In the past couple of years, we have had some U/V FM satellites (AO-85, AO-91, AO-92) that we never had back in 2009. Simply switching the uplink and downlink bands has been a cure for receiver desense in other radios like the Icom IC-W32 or Wouxun KG-UV9D when trying to work full-duplex, but it's not so simple with the DJ-G7T. Depending on the pass and the antenna I'm using, I can still have receiver desense on 2m while transmitting on 70cm to any of these satellites. When I am able to overcome the receiver desense on 2m, the DJ-G7T works fine for the U/V FM satellites. This normally means I am using my Elk, and not other antennas like the MFJ-1717 long duckie I have used with a few other HTs. For higher passes, I am able to use the DJ-G7T with the MFJ-1717 and hear myself while transmitting through AO-91 or AO-92, but not near AOS or LOS when the receiver desense covers up the downlink. If I am only receiving the 2m downlinks from the 3 current Fox-1 satellites, and not trying to transmit to the satellite, the DJ-G7T can be a good receiver. All of this is dependent on the surrounding RF that the DJ-G7T might pick up, of course. What works in one location, may not work the same in another location. I demonstrated this with two videos I recently posted on YouTube. Here is an AO-91 pass from 6 February: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSK_v3L_RHk And an AO-92 pass, earlier on the same day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3nfO4tKEAI I have also posted some audio recordings and pictures of the DJ-G7T used with these two antennas on AO-91 and AO-92 passes in my Dropbox space. Go to http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ and look for the "DJ-G7T" folder. In there, I have subfolders for different passes I have worked with this radio. Some of the U/V passes were worked with the Elk as the antenna, and some with the MFJ-1717. As an uplink radio, the DJ-G7T has performed well with the U/V FM satellites and for AO-92's L-band uplink. I had to increase the mic gain from 3 to 4 (maximum), and I have only received good reports on my transmitted audio. My signals may be down a bit on 1.2 GHz if my tuning isn't keeping up with the Doppler and AO-92's uplink AFC is having to work, but I have been getting through with this HT (1W on 1.2 GHz) and an old 5-band Yagi mounted on the antenna connector. I have not tried using this radio for the uplink with SO-50, but I am confident that using a DJ-G7T with a different radio for the downlink would also be acceptable for SO-50. I went back and read through the QST review of this radio from April 2010. The review mentioned trying this radio on AO-27. The reviewer mentioned hearing slight interference when working full-duplex. That must have been done from a very RF-quiet location, and on a very high pass. When I heard any non-ham intermod on 70cm, that would tend to cover up the downlinks from AO-27 or AO-51. I have liked my DJ-G7T for non-satellite uses, as it is a neat little radio which includes 1.2 GHz. This HT, along with the 5-element Yagi I have had for a long time, has been my uplink setup for AO-92's L/V configuration over the past couple of weekends. For satellite use, I think it would be great as an uplink radio for the 3 bands, and might be useful for full-duplex operation on the U/V satellites, but comes up way short with the only V/U FM satellite we currently have (SO-50). I don't have an antenna that would let me see if the DJ-G7T could work AO-92's L/V configuration full-duplex, but that would be interesting to see. I won't sell my DJ-G7T, and will continue to recommend the TH-D72 for anyone looking for an HT currently in production to work V/U and U/V FM satellites full-duplex. Otherwise, there are many HTs that can work V/U and U/V FM satellites that have been out of production, or there is always the option of using two radios. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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FengMaNiu 1 (FMN 1) identified cross link?
by christy hunter 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

during coinciding coverage with AO-92 can FMN-1 downlink Tx cross link to AO-92 uplink? signals can access AO-92 without a tone when it is open. has anyone heard this? 73 Christy KB6LTY --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. http://www.avg.com

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