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

Hamfest sat demos tomorrow 2018-03-31 on FO-29, AO-91, AO-92
by John Brier 31 Mar '18

31 Mar '18

Hi friends, Philip Jenkins N4HF, and I will be representing AMSAT tomorrow at the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society Hamfest (RARSfest). We will have a booth with AMSAT merchandise and I will be doing satellite demos outside. I am planning on working these passes from grid square FM05: FO-29 @ 1220 UTC AO-92 @ 1519 UTC AO-91 @ 1648 UTC FO-29 is an experiment as I've only worked it once making two contacts so far, but I plan to use my Portable Rotation Az/El rotator so I can focus on tuning the frequency. I only committed to RARS, and they only put on the schedule, the AO-91 and AO-92 passes, so if I can't get things working for some reason on FO-29, it's no big deal, but I am personally excited about the opportunity to make it work so would appreciate any operators who will try to work me. I will probably try to stay in the center of the passband to make it easy for me. One thing to mention is that in order for us to be easily findable/seen by the attendees we will be doing the demos close to the building the hamfest is inside, so for certain parts of the pass we may not be able to get in at all as the bird is behind the building, so hang in there if you don't hear us (really me) immediately. I will be using my callsign for the demos. I may send out updates on any additional passes I might try to do or other changes on my Twitter account: https://twitter.com/SpaceComms1 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Accessory to add CTCSS tone?
by Todd W Deckard 31 Mar '18

31 Mar '18

Greetings! Can a simple circuit or OTS accessory add the 67hz PL tone to a radio mixing w/ microphone in? I purchased an ICOM IC-X2 from ebay to get access to the L-band and my Japanese was pretty rusty and so I didn’t realize it appears the PL tone squelch was optional on non-US variants of the radio. (At least I cannot seem to invoke it thru the menu navigation) It’s an awesome little radio and was a great deal. Is there any way I can build something to inject the 67hz myself? Best Todd Sent from my iPhone

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Windy
by Pedro Converso 31 Mar '18

31 Mar '18

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lm3acxlKZI&feature=youtu.be Path: http://lu7aa.org.ar/vor.asp Charts: http://lu7aa.org.ar/balloonchart.asp?callsign=LU7AA-11 Repeater Voice Contacts: http://amsat.org.ar/glo241.mp4 RepSat-1 UV FM Rptr Test on Balloon Launch 03/24/2018, La Pampa, Argentina. 73, lu7abf, Pedro

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SatPC32
by Mike Seguin 31 Mar '18

31 Mar '18

I'm working on a weird issue here. Using SATPC32 vers 12.8d with Win 10 here. Radio is an FT-847. The program no longer sees a change of the main VFO tuning knob and adjusts my uplink. The uplink up/dwn buttons on the main screen work fine. My radio is an early model, but the serial # is 8Lxxxx so it has the bi-directional CAT port. Also, the rig works fine with OmniRig and HDSDR. HDSDR follows the rig main VFO flawlessly. I had experimented setting the program up to use my FT-736R for 1.2 G as the second radio, but have turned that off. (Radio #2 set to NONE) I have to be doing something incredibly foolish. Any ideas? Tnx, Mike -- 73, Mike, N1JEZ "A closed mouth gathers no feet"

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Tiangong Re-enetry on Heavens bove
by Robert Bruninga 31 Mar '18

31 Mar '18

You can see the live track of Taengong to re-enter in the next 24 hours on http://www.heavens-above.com/ Just remember, as it suffers increased drag, it will speed up and be ahead of classic predictions. But at least you can see when you are under the orbit as to whether it is worth going outside. I 'd go out several minutes before the prediction since we dont know how quickly they are updating the elements as it speeds up. and even if it is daytime, you will see it if it comes in in your area... Bob

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Recent Roving QSOs In LoTW
by R.T.Liddy 31 Mar '18

31 Mar '18

Gridders, etc., All of my EM Grid roving QSOs from 2/20-3/27/18 are now uploaded to LoTW. Direct QSLs with SASE are A-OK, also. Sorry, but no eQSL since registering over 100 different Grids on their system is too much of a PITA. Hopefully, some of you got new ones since that's the primary reason I rove. Personally, I'm not in the chase for U.S. 488, but I endeavor to help those who are. If there are errors or missing Qs, let me know in an e-mail with the details. It's easily possible since folks often do not use phonetics or the proper ones and/or they do not speak numbers individually. Plus, we all know the QRM and lack of courtesy that happens all too often on the FM SATs. See www.qrz.com/db/K8BL for more of my info. GL/73, Bob K8BL (AMSAT # 6593 since 1979) P.S. Hamvention 2018 Fleamarket Space 7640 and volunteering at AMSAT Booth Saturday Noon.

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Any amateur satellires above 70cm band (microwave bands) ?
by Richard Ferryman 30 Mar '18

30 Mar '18

I'm curious to know if there are any amateur satellites active above the 70cm band. I believe 23cm has been stopped but not sure if anything higher up. Dick G4BBH --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. http://www.avg.com

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AO-92 schedule
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Mar '18

30 Mar '18

All, I just updated the AO-92 schedule at https://www.amsat.org/satellite-schedules/ AO-92 operations are scheduled among the U/v FM repeater, L-Band Downshifter, Virginia Tech Camera, and the University of Iowa's High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument (HERCI). Please keep the uplink clear during passes with scheduled mode changes. For the week of 31Mar-6Apr 2018, the following mode changes are scheduled: Approximately 0155UTC 1Apr we will enable the L band uplink for ~24 hours Approximately 1650UTC 5Apr we will enable the VT camera and high-speed data for ~40 minutes. Please be ready to copy high-speed data with FoxTelem, and keep the uplink clear at 1650UTC. All other times the U/v repeater will be open continuously. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-03-30 17:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 30 Mar '18

30 Mar '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-03-30 17:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Valday, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Artemyev Contact is a go for 2018-04-04 TBD UTC Vologda, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Artemyev Contact is a go for 2018-04-10 13:37 UTC Watch for SSTV 2018-04-02 15:05 UTC to 18:30 UTC 2018-04-03 14:15 UTC to 18:40 UTC 2018-04-12 to 2018-04-14 Additional information can be found at http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ ****************************************************************************** International Space Station Astronauts are Calling CQ Students (corrected) ARISS-US program education proposal deadline is April 30, 2018 March 15, 2018: The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking proposals from US schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to host radio contacts with an orbiting crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS) between January 1 and June 30, 2019. Each year, ARISS provides tens of thousands of students with opportunities to learn about space technologies and communications through the exploration of Amateur Radio. The program provides learning opportunities by connecting students to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through a partnership between NASA, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, the American Radio Relay League, and other Amateur Radio organizations and worldwide space agencies. The program’s goal is to inspire students to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and Amateur Radio. A ham recently said, “ARISS shows how Amateur Radio is the most unique hobby/service there is.” Educators overwhelmingly report that student participation in the ARISS program stimulates interest in STEM subjects and in STEM careers. One educator wrote, “It exceeded our expectations--it created a great interest in both amateur radio and in space exploration. Our kids are completely inspired!” Ninety-two percent of educators who have participated in the program have indicated that ARISS provided ideas for encouraging student exploration and participation. An educator even joined the ham ranks, saying, “This chance for our school’s ARISS contact helped me see the great value of the ham world. I just passed my Technician License this weekend and have already signed up to take a General class.” 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 any related STEM subject. 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 this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students. The proposal deadline for 2019 contacts is April 30, 2018. Proposal webinars for guidance and getting questions answers will be offered March 29, 2018, at 7 p.m. EDT and April 16, 2018, at 4 p.m. EDT. Advance registration is necessary. To sign up, go to https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2018.eventbrite.com For more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form, visit: http://www.ariss.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact-in-the-us.html ****************************************************************************** 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 102 **************************************************************************** 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 2018-03-30 17:30 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 1217. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1166. 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 2018-03-28 08:00 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. 54 on orbit Scott Tingle KG5NZA Norishige Kanai Alexander Skvortsov Exp. 55 on orbit Welcome aboard! Drew Feustel Oleg Artemyev Ricky Arnold KE5DAU **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Grand Slam from DM07
by Bob Keating 29 Mar '18

29 Mar '18

With help from many of you, my brother John, AI6LY, and I completed a “Grand Slam” as it were on all four FM satellites today. I was operating from Yosemite National Park on my ht and Arrow antenna. Thank you KB6LTY, last pass of the day on AO-85 was tough, contacted only you and John. 73, Bob N6REK Sent from my iPhone

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