February 2019 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Re: [amsat-bb] Solar panel inverters--radio noise?
by Mike Lussier 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

I have been running 5.8 Kw system using Kyocera panels and SMA inverters now for 20 years. No noise at all. The inverters are less that 6 feet from my radios. -- *Michael Lussier AE4ML* *Orange County ARES Emergency Coordinator* *W5YI Volunteer Coordinator **CVE #32761*

5 5

Call for Papers - Digital Communications Conference
by Ford, Steve, WB8IMY 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC), to be held September 20-22 at the Marriott Detroit Metro Airport Hotel. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is August 5, 2019. Submit papers to via e-mail to maty(a)arrl.org, or via post to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Papers will be published exactly as submitted, and authors will retain all rights.

1 0

For Sale: TH-72
by Frank Karnauskas 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

I a listing for a friend, K7BAZ, the following full duplex handheld and accessories for sale: Kenwood TH-D72A with rubber duck AC charger 1800 mAh battery PB-45L, Lithium Ion Battery 7.4V 1800 mAh (Extra Battery) Manual USB Interface cable PG-3J, Cigarette lighter charger KSC-32, Drop in desktop charger BT-15, Battery case (6 x AAA) with pouch SMC-34, Speaker Mic with Remote and Volume KHS-26, Clip microphone with earphone SC-55, Soft carry case with swivel belt clip Nifty 24 laminated page, spiral-bound Mini-manual, plus a laminated Quick Reference card for your wallet Go Bag Insulated carry case I know this radio is essentially unused and in mint condition. Please contact Hal directly at cqcqhal(a)gmail.com with your questions. 73, Frank FRANK W. KARNAUSKAS, N1UW 3670 E. KINGLER SPRING PL. TUCSON, AZ 85718 T: 612-644-9174 E: N1UW(a)GOKARNS.COM

1 0

WiSP WIN10 issues
by kb2mjeff＠att.net 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

I rebooted my WIN10 computer after a good Falconsat3 pass this morning. When I brought WiSP back up I'm again having the disappearing sat config information issue. Of course I blew the pass as I don't have enough time to enter the data before the end of the pass. Does anyone have any kind of fix for this behavior? 73 Jeff kb2m

3 3

Upcoming ARISS contact with College Park School, Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at College Park School, Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada on 13 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 20:10 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and VA5ISS. The contact should be audible over Alberta, Canada 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. College Park School is a relatively new school situated in the Town of Lloydminster on the provincial border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It houses over 600 students in a range of grades from Kindergarten to Grade 9. We are fortunate to have a telescope and an observatory on the roof of the school. We study space in both grades 6 & 9 and have many students interested and excited to learn from a Canadian Astronaut. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What was your first thought when you knew that you were going to space? 2. Why did you want to become an astronaut? 3. What went through your head when you're counting down the seconds to blast off? 4. How long does it take to get to the ISS? 5. How do astronauts get aboard the International Space Station given its extreme speed? 6. Do you get to bring a personal item with you and what did you bring? 7. What's your mission on the ISS? 8. What do you if one of you gets sick while in space? 9. Are you able to talk to your family? 10. What do the Northern Lights look like in space? 11. How do you sleep in space? 12. Who inspired you to go to space? 13. What does the Earth look like? 14. Do things get dirty on the ISS and if so, how do you clean them? 15. How do you feel when you're looking down on Earth from space? 16. What jobs do you do in space? 17. What do you do in space if you are bored? 18. How does it feel representing Canada on the ISS? 19. What does an average day on the ISS entail? 20. If you know there is a risk to you when you re-enter the atmosphere why do you go? 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): Faith Christian Academy, Orlando, FL, direct via W9DWJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Thu 2019-02-14 14:30 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

1 0

Es'Hail 2
by Jean Marc Momple 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

Dear All, I just want to share that I copied many NB transmissions on Es’Hail 2 today clean and strong (a few callsigns well noted), however I believed that the HAM’s transmitting through the bird now are not very disciplined and not having at heart the interest of the community at large and acting irresponsibly. AMSAT-DL through many communication channels have requested that we should not do so before the official launch date, good reason for this is that it enable testing but also enable the sponsors to announce this officially and take credit to have offered this facility to the HAM community. If we act lightly we may not find many sponsors in the future. I therefore appeal to the community to abide with the set plan of AMSAT-DL not to jeopardize the future and further opportunities. Therefore guys keep away from Es’Hail 2 Tx for a few days so that you may enjoy same for the 15 next years, more show that as a community we are disciplined and organized. Hope this message will be heard for the benefit of all. 73 Jean Marc (3B8DU)

1 0

Logging QSOs on QRZ.com
by Bob Keating 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

Greeting All, First of all, my hat is off to Casey KI7UNJ and Jonathan KI7BEX for freezing their tails off in order to bring us a bunch of rare grids from BLM land in Nevada, thanks guys!!! Dmitri N6DNM emailed me that he couldn't confirm our satellite QSO on QRZ, even though all the data seemed to be correct. I have noticed this as well, that none of my satellite QSOs have been confirmed on QRZ either. We both uploaded our contact information via TQSL, filling all the information including transmit and receive bands and frequencies and then loaded it up to LoTW. I also use the specific frequency at the middle of the passband, for example, 435.350 and 145.880 for AO-92. I also save the adif file, naming it for the specific satellite and then upload it to QRZ.com and my HRD logbook. Why aren't my satellite QSOs getting confirmed on QRZ? Thanks for your help. 73 Bob N6REK

4 5

Solar panel inverters--radio noise?
by Burns Fisher 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

I think I have heard somewhere that solar panel inverters can be horribly noisy. I think that maybe I heard that the micro inverters are the worst. Does anyone have experience? What bands are worst hit? Any particular inverter brand/type good or bad? How far from the inverter is your shack/antenna? Thanks and 73, Burns Fisher WB1FJ

6 6

ISS reception (WIDE1-1 no-no) - APRS Gospel
by Robert Bruninga 11 Feb '19

11 Feb '19

> BUT according to your log... Bhutan-1 is responding > to Wide1-1, not ARISS / RS0ISS / et al... It is not responding, but it is generating a Beacon from Bhutan-1: >> 1:Fm BIRDBT To APTT4 Via WIDE1-1 <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> >> [16:28:38R] [-++] HELLO! THIS IS APRS-DIGIPEATER OF BHUTAN-1 CUBESAT My APRS recommendation for ALL APRS satellites since 2001 is that they should support these three aliases: Via ARISS - (for backward compatibility with ARISS users) Via APRSAT - (for ALL APRS satellites) Via WIDEn-N - (for those that forget to switch from Terrestrial mode) And, that simple periodic health telemetry from such satellites may be sent "via APRSAT" so that they can be heard beyond the horizon if there is another APRS satellite that is closer. Sending these spacecraft packets via WIDE1-1 is not good for the channel. It has the potential to generate footprint QRM anywhere in the world where a user may have their radios set to also be a fill in digipeater when used terrestrially. Such radios will key up on receipt of this packet and block the satellite for a full packet period. Thus reducing user throughput. All it takes is for one person in the whole country to have his rig set for fill-in digi, and this ueless extra WIDE1-1 will add this useless QRM on the uplink over that entire footprint. And no one except someone living within a few miles of this mistake will ever be able to detect it. Though it impacts everyone. I was certain I had published these settings as APRS SPACE GOSPEL, but just now I looked over all my aprs satellite p[ages and cannot find it anywhere except in the detail settings for each of my satellites. I'm sure it is in an AMSAT paper somewhere... Bob

1 0

ft 817 sstv
by James Brown 10 Feb '19

10 Feb '19

just set up for next ISS pass in 15 minutes . FT 817 signalink and MMSSTV any notes on settings. I have so far failed to decode pictures. I do have audio codex ! Jim KI6WJ

6 6