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

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-02-14 05:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-02-14 05:30 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 is a go for: 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 2018-02-14 05:30 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 1206. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1155. 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 2018-02-06 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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Controller for SAT Antennas
by Gerald Witalec 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

Hi everyone, Is anyone using Arduno Uno with stepper motors and HRD to control the AZ/El antennas for the Sats? Jerry...W8RQM

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Re: [amsat-bb] Controller for SAT Antennas
by Bob Freeman 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

Here is a link for the Arduino Sketch we have been using for a stepper system. Good success has been reported by several users: http://ki4sbl.dodropin.org/CNCTRK/Arduino/RAZEL-duino_2016-05-28.ino Change the scale factors and max velocity to match your steppers. See the credits in the notes for the original work by Tom, W9KE. Any errors on the above link are all my fault!! Have fun! Bob KI4SBL

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Smartphone (compass) apps which show true north?
by Philip Jenkins 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

I'd rather not wade through the process of downloading and installing the various multitudes of compass apps to see which of them can indicate true north (handy for doing satellite demos when you're not at home, and don't know or don't have the magnetic declination of that location). My phone doesn't seem to have a magnetometer anyway (from the error messages I'm getting when I've tried a few compass apps). Do any of these apps use GPS to show true north, and not just magnetic north (or both)? Philip N4HF P.S. I have an Android phone and tablet, but I'm sure iPhone users could find this info useful as well.

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K4T EL84 trip planned July 6-8
by Matthew Stevens 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

Now that we've got our plans finalized, I figured it would be good to get this one on everybody's radar a few months ahead of time. This coming July (6-8) myself, Robert KE4AL, and Rich, N4ESS will be staging a multi day trip (using the callsign K4T) to the last remaining Florida grid we've never activated: EL84. This trip has been about 2 years in the making, and we hope to make it a good one. Primary focus for myself will be 6m, with an emphasis on the digital modes as band openings during peak Es season allow. Robert's focus will be satellites, and Rich will be operating HF (primarily CW) for the International Grid Chase. We will be arriving on Garden key mid-morning on the 6th, and leaving about the same time on the 8th. This will give us 2 full days (and nights) to operate as much as possible. Robert and I can both easily work horizon to horizon on FM and linear sats, and will have 2 full sat stations along. Between the two of us, it should be possible to cover a large number (if not most) of the passes that will occur while on the island. We want to give everybody within range the opportunity to work EL84! QSLs will be via LOTW, with paper cards upon request. We are working on a couple of options to allow communications via twitter, email, and text message while on the island for sked purposes. This should be a great help for 6m, and could possibly allow for some tight satellite skeds into EU and South America. Over the next few months, we'll be working on ironing out all possible kinks in our stations, and do our best to make this trip a success for everyone needing the grid! Pass schedules and plans will be updated here, on twitter, and submitted to the AMSAT Upcoming Ops page as we approach time for the trip. In the meantime, you can follow our team on twitter at https://twitter.com/k4t_el84. We'll post updated plans and info there. Be sure and follow us, as that will be one of our primary channels for communications while on the island! 73, - Matthew nj4y

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FoxTelem on a Mac
by Peter Green 13 Feb '18

13 Feb '18

I am trying to run FoxTelem on a Mac without success currently. I would very much like to contribute to the telemetry warehouse. Using an Icom 910 with iMac running Sierra. Is there anyone on the list that is achieving this successfully who could give me a few pointers, perhaps of list would be best? Many thanks Pete G0ABI

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Los Angeles Academy Middle School, Los Angeles, CA
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 13 Feb '18

13 Feb '18

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Los Angeles Academy Middle School, Los Angeles, CA on 15 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:45 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and W6RVD. The contact should be audible over portions of the state of California 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. We at Los Angeles Academy Middle School are pleased and very grateful to have this wonderful opportunity to speak live with an astronaut onboard the International Space Station. To tell the truth, we are not only pleased but quite ecstatic! Our school serves low-income students in the Central Los Angeles area. The ethnic makeup of our school is approximately 90% Latino, 9% African-American, and 1% other. Many of our students originally spoke Spanish as a first language, and we currently have about 350 English Language Learners. Over 90% of our students are from economically disadvantaged families. We currently have about 1250 students in attendance. The children who will be asking the questions are represented by a widely inclusive cross-section of our student population, and they are anxious to participate and become a part of this deeply rich community of caring individuals from the fields of science and technology. We hope, that together with you, we might just change a few lives through this experience! We have been working on this project for over a year, and it has truly become a team effort involving students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. And it is certainly a labor of love! We have a school amateur radio club, W6RVD, which has talked to people as far away as Mexico, Japan, and South America. The Hughes Amateur Radio Club, CSULA, ARISS, and the California Science Center have all been working with us. Many of these folks attended our Community Law Day to share the project. The event, as well, was attended by our local congresswoman. Our radio club members, additionally, have taken a field trip to JPL in Pasadena. Again, thank you for your diligence and your efforts to touch young lives! Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How does Los Angeles look from the International Space Station? 2. What is it like inside the Soyuz Spacecraft? 3. When you fly over your own town or city, do you recognize it? Does it make you feel a little homesick? [IN SPANISH: Cuando vuelas sobre tu pueblo o ciudad, la puedes reconocer? Extrañas tu hogar?] 4. Do you ever just look out the window, feeling amazed? If you can see out the window right now, what do you see? 5. When plants grow in space, how are they affected by weightlessness? 6. My Birthday is coming up in a few days. How do you celebrate birthdays on the International Space Station? 7. The youngest person in space was 25 years old. I am 13 years old. Could someone like me ever go into space? 8. Do you ever listen to AM or FM broadcast stations from Earth in space? If so, how do they sound? 9. Can humans really live on Mars? If so, what is necessary for them to do so? 10. Do you think you?ll miss being in space when you come back to Earth? 11. When you look down on Earth, how do you feel? Are you optimistic for humanity? 12. What was your favorite subject in school and did that help you to become an astronaut? 13. Do you or any other astronauts ever sing or play a musical instrument in the ISS? Do you ever sing together? 14. Can you talk to your family at home from the ISS? How do you do it? [IN SPANISH: Puedes hablar con tu familia desde el ISS? Come lo haces?] 15. Where do you go if you want to be alone? Is there a place you can go? 16. If you couldn?t be an astronaut, what else would you like to do? 17. How has being in space changed who you are? 18. Can you take a picture of you talking to us? Is this possible? 19. What do you do to keep your life spiritually centered? 20. What celestial bodies are you studying and how? 21. Have you seen the new Star Wars movie? If you did, what did you think of it? 22. What experiment in the International Space Station most interests you? 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. 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 2. "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 3. 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 4. 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 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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VE3HLS Heavy: Schedule for FN38/39/48/49 This Weekend
by Ken Alexander 13 Feb '18

13 Feb '18

Hi Folks! "VE3HLS Heavy" will launch this Friday morning for Quebec. Below is the schedule for this weekend's activities. Note that I have included several FM satellite passes despite my grumbling on my last rove. I promise to be there and ready for those passes, but I won't think twice about pulling the plug if things are so unruly that I can't get a word in edgewise. If you can govern yourselves accordingly then maybe you will score a few new grids that get activated very rarely, if at all. It's up to you. As always, the weather dictates what actually happens. The trip to the FN39/49 boundary is 2+ hours on what appears to be an unpaved logging road (I'll find out when I get there). I have found that Quebec keeps their roads very well plowed in winter. Hopefully, this will be the case here too. The weather forecast looks good, so I am hoping I won't have to invoke the Weather Permitting Clause of my service contract to the satellite community. I had planned to activate FN46 for VE2FU, who needs his home grid. It turns out he won't be able to get on the air so we have put that plan aside. However, please get back to me if you do need FN46. We can do it early Saturday morning. Now, the good stuff. As always, if I have left your region out of my schedule then please get back to me. 17.02.2018 FN38/48 from nr Dolbeau-Mistassini, QC AO-07 20:38 CA XW-2B 21:27 AO-73 22:06 EU CAS-4B 22:26 AO-07 22:40 CA XW-2B 23:02 FO-29 23:29 EU 18.02.2018 FN39/49 from boundary AO-07 14:09 EU ** AO-73 14:37 CA AO-85 14:51 EU AO-07 15:57 EU AO-85 16:32 AO-07 17:45 EU AO-85 18:13 CA - Pass favouring the U.S. west coastEU - Pass favouring Europe (eastern N.A. too)** - This is an early pass. Will try to make it but no guarantees Passes with no notes are passes that provide goodcoverage to most of North America, but not as faras the west coast. 73, KenVE3HLS

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BP41/51 Tomorrow
by Gabriel Zeifman 13 Feb '18

13 Feb '18

Hello fellow people of the birds, Tomorrow (Feb 14) I will be returning to Alaska from a little visit to New York. As long as all goes as planned, my intended flight arrives at Anchorage at about 1400Z and I will have several hours on the ground there. The BP41/51 line is on the airport so I'm planning to head over there, or at least activate both grids separately (there are parks either side of the line). Weather looks like it should cooperate, hopefully. Ops will probably more centered around BP51, but I'll try to do as much from BP41 as possible. I will have info on specific passes on my twitter more near-in, @AL6D_Alaska. I'll be back to ninja-portable on this visit with my FT-817NDs. 73, Gabe AL6D/VE6NJH

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Scott Tilley VE7TIL Discovers "Image" Lost NASA Sat
by CEE 13 Feb '18

13 Feb '18

good interview with Scott on his discovery of Image, lost NASA satellite: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05wtzw1

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