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

Audio file to .kss file - part 2
by Hans BX2ABT 18 Jul '18

18 Jul '18

I got one step further, but haven't succeeded yet. I have some recorded telemetry from XW2D and the decoded program from DK3WN up and running on Linux using Wine. The telemetry program needs a .kss file to give some useful data. This is how far I got: 1) run a PulseAudio null sink with this command: pactl load-module-null-sink sink-name=virtual-cable 2) play the audio with Audacity 3) run Dire Wolf 4) use pavucontrol to set the output (Playback tab) for Audicity and the input (Recording tab) for Dire Wolf to the null sink 5) Dire Wolf will now happily take the audio from Audacity, which you can see by checking the VU meter in pavucontrol That's it. Dire Wolf has the -l command line option to set a directory for log files, but no option to set the file name or any other hint on how to save data as a file. I know it is mainly used as a pipe to decoding programs, but what is the option to save to file? It is not always feasible to decode from a live signal, so what I try to achieve is to decode from recorded material. Any hints appreciated. 73 de Hans BX2ABT

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Misassembled May/June Journal
by Glenn Little WB4UIV 18 Jul '18

18 Jul '18

In looking at my May/June AMSAT Journal, I find mine has pages missing and others duplicated and out of order and others missing. Is mine the only one like this, or is this a batch problem? Thanks 73 Glenn WB4UIV -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417 Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv(a)arrl.net AMSAT LM 2178 QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI LM NRA LM SBE ARRL TAPR "It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class of the Amateur that holds the license"

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Re: [amsat-bb] Additional comments on VHF QHA antenna project
by Richard Tejera 18 Jul '18

18 Jul '18

You should be able to access the article on line from the ARRL website. A good resource for those wanting to build one at a different frequency is here: http://jcoppens.com/ant/qfh/calc.en.php Rick Tejera K7TEJ Saguaro Astronomy Club www.SaguaroAstro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org On July 16, 2018, at 13:32, Francis Geraci <fgeraci14(a)gmail.com> wrote: Hello again, Sat Heads - WB1FXX I had quite a few comments/questions on this antenna. First : I have to give a HUGE "Shout-out" to David P. Finell, N7LRY for his extremely concise article in the May, 2018 issue of QST. David is the 2nd place winner in the 2017 QST Antenna Design Competition. He is "amazingly" quick to answer my Emails with questions I had during the Project. Thank You again, David. I don't have a lot of performance reports yet. My Sat Shack is down for some house renovations. The station is under plastic sheets. Yes, It's a pretty exacting build. David does most of the dimensions in MM / CM . I had to "re-calibrate" my brain for the metric system. I'll never go back to inches / feet. I had a great time building the antenna. It WAS a challenge to my metalworking skills. Installing the "phasing harness" was the toughest part. Very small space to work in. Patience Preservers. Take your time, walk away when You get frustrated and "admire" your progress. As an "aside", my YL, K3FXX said it's the coolest antenna I've built, which is many. Calls it "A work of Art". I agree. I hope all can find the QST article and consider building one. Maybe David will "weigh-in" and provide a copy of the article to the Amsat group. Best to Group - WB1FXX _______________________________________________ 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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Re: [amsat-bb] Completed QFH Ant project - WB1FXX
by Richard Tejera 18 Jul '18

18 Jul '18

Nice, is that based on the plans in a recent issue of QST? Whatvfrequency is it cut for? Most folks build them for 137kHz to receive the NOAA ad sats. Rick Tejera K7TEJ Saguaro Astronomy Club www.SaguaroAstro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org On July 15, 2018, at 14:48, Francis Geraci <fgeraci14(a)gmail.com> wrote: Hello Sat Heads Just wanted to "share" a project I just finished. It was a really fun VHF satellite antenna project. Great looking and NO "pointy" antenna elements to poke You in the Eye. Here's the kink to the photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CAfYxyosnRe3c3zVA Best to the Sat community. WB1FXX _______________________________________________ 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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ANS-198 SPECIAL BULLETIN: 2018 Corrected Board of Directors Ballots
by E.Mike McCardel 18 Jul '18

18 Jul '18

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-198 SPECIAL BULLETIN: 2018 Corrected Board of Directors Ballots The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * 2018 Corrected Board of Directors Ballots SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.01 ANS-198 SPECIAL AMSAT News Service Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. July 17, 2018 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.01 2018 Corrected Board of Directors Ballots To Be Mailed Due to a printing error, the beige-colored ballots mailed to AMSAT- NA members for the 2018 Board of Directors election on July 15, 2018 have been declared void. Any of these voided ballots received at the AMSAT-NA office will not be counted. New ballots labeled "CORRECTED BALLOT 7/20/2018" and printed on yellow-colored cardstock will be mailed to all AMSAT-NA members. Please vote for no more than three of the 2018 candidates: Tom Clark, K3IO Mark Hammond, N8MH Scott Harvey, KA7FVV Bruce Paige, KK5DO Peter Portanova, W2JV The Directors positions will go to the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be two alternate members chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. [ANS thanks Clayton W5PFG AMSAT-NA Corporate Secretary for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org

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Re: [amsat-bb] seeking info on AMSAT (any platform) utilization of >2 GHz frequencies
by David G0MRF 17 Jul '18

17 Jul '18

Hi Samudra. The Geostationary satellite Eshail-2 is due to be launched by Space-X shortly. It will have a 10GHz downlink and 2.4GHz uplink amateur radio transponder. It's position will be apx 26 East, so not in range for the USA. Satellite is apparently completed. Launch date is unknown, but SpaceflightNow are the latest to add it to their listing for August.......Then we add the usual delays and then sprinkle on a few more delays for good measure. 73 David G0MRF Hi, I am experimenting with RF carriers above 2 GHz in my lab. According to FCC and ITU tables there are several AMATEUR-SATELLITE bands allocated above 2 GHz, to very very high frequencies. What is the status of those frequencies in terms of past, present or planned utilization on AMSAT / other satellites ? If those bands haven't been used, should they be not used or plans to use them to protect them from being de-assigned to other services? Is there room for experimental RF super high frequency and extremely high frequency payloads on any mission to make some use of these great resource? 73 de Samudra N3RDX

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-07-17 18:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 17 Jul '18

17 Jul '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-07-17 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Essex Heights Primary School, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Contact was successful: Tue 2018-07-17 08:24:52 UTC 85 deg (***) 7th International Aerospace School. I.N. Sultanova Rep. Bashkortostan, Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Artemyev Contact is a go for 2018-07-20 20:15 UTC Shinoda Elementary School, Izumi City, Japan, direct via 8N3SD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Ricky Arnold KE5DAU Contact is a go for: Mon 2018-07-23 09:47:14 UTC 43 deg (***) ISS R&D Conference-San Francisco, CA, (CASIS#2), participating school Quest Institute for Quality Education, San Jose, CA, telebridge via VK5ZAI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Contract is a go for: Thu 2018-07-26 20:22:10 UTC 48 deg (***) ****************************************************************************** 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 129 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 103 **************************************************************************** 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 2018-07-17 18:00 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 1238. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1186. (***) 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 2018-07-17 18:00 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 on orbit 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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2018 Board of Directors Mailed Ballots
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 16 Jul '18

16 Jul '18

There was an error on the printed ballots mailed out for the 2018 AMSAT Board of Directors election. There are three open Board of Directors positions in this 2018 election cycle. The verbiage on the left side of the ballot indicating the selection of three candidates is correct. Please disregard the incorrect verbiage on the right side of the ballot indicating to select four candidates. An announcement via AMSAT News Service (ANS) will be forthcoming. Thank you, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT-NA Corporate Secretary

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BOD ballot
by Stan Horzepa 16 Jul '18

16 Jul '18

I received my AMSAT BOD ballot today. The left side of the ballot reads, "Select no more than three of the five listed candidates..." The right side of the ballot reads, "SELECT NO MORE THAN FOUR." The accompanying letter reads, "This year AMSAT-NA will be electing three voting members of the Board of Directors." So which is it? 3 or 4? 73, Stan, WA1LOU

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Activation of CN87 and 97
by johnv＠frontier.com 16 Jul '18

16 Jul '18

Thank you for hearing me and responding. It seems strange to me that the descending side of the overpass is the one that always works but give you less time to work others. I believe I worked 4 stations and will download to LOTW this evening. If we don't connect with LOTW, please email me off the BB. I am trying to get permission to work from the four corners (CN 87,88,97 and 98) but the lady of the house which the grid 4 corners are on, so far does not approve. The four are so close, it makes all the others at least a couple to three hours away and a ferry ride to get to, so I am doing some planing for different grids. Thank you and 73, JohnN7AMEEverett, WA

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