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

Re:1.2 gig
by Ronald G. Parsons 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

> Does 1.2 require mast mounted preamps? It’s my understanding that in IARU Region 2, the 23cm Satellite sub-band is transmit-only. Ron W5RKN

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Looking for north Texas AMSAT volunteers
by Tom Schuessler 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

I will be running an AMSAT table at the Irving Texas ham fest this coming weekend, Saturday, March 2 from 8 AM to 1 PM. I am looking for others in the north Texas, DFW area to help. The Irving Fest is small but fun. Please contact me off list if you can assist. Tom, N5HYP N5hyp(a)arrl.net

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JY1SAT (JO-97) Update
by Scott 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

Correction on my previous JY1SAT (JO-97) post regarding today's digital image downloads... The second "image" file was not a picture, it was a placeholder for the underlying digital media file. You can click the little "Play" button under that graphic to play the audio file right in the dashboard. Here is the audio that was in the file I downloaded today: https://www.qsl.net/k/k4kdr//files/2019-02-27--1522--JY1SAT--audio.mp3 -Scott, K4KDR

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JY1SAT (JO-97) Transmitting Images
by Scott 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

Greetings! The JY1SAT (JO-97) satellite started transmitting digital image files today on 145.840 USB. Decoding is accomplished with the “Funcube” type dashboard which can be downloaded at: https://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/ This morning’s pass was out over the Atlantic, so I got half of one picture and one complete image download: https://twitter.com/scott23192/status/1100780080459104258 73! -Scott, K4KDR

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Lotw use
by James McIrvin 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

Good morning, I am wondering why there are not more folks on the birds using LOTW? I have a couple of people that show as LOTW users, however, they have not uploaded there Sat contacts, or I have a bad miss match which can happen. Being new I am still learning how some of this is working and have been using LOTW for years and I find it quite easy to work with depending on the software that is being used for logging. I know that this subject most likely has been addressed before, however, in this day and age with the cost of cards, postage and envelopes it gets quite costly to be sending out many cards to obtain awards. Another thing that I have not seen is if for some of the Amsat awards if LOTW could be used for the awards if you can show a screenshot of the matches via there system. The reason I ask is when you look at the cost of cards, then postage and envelopes, the cost can be quite high and if doing SASE the cost even goes higher. I know if your working non-USA contacts you can use the bureau which is fine, just domestic stuff it is thru the roof. In many cases, you could be 2 to 3 dollars per confirmation. Jim <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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And the winner is...
by Michael Carper, Ph.D. 27 Feb '19

27 Feb '19

AA5PK became my very first satellite QSO tonight on AO-92. (After 45 years as a ham.) Thanks, Glenn! This is helpful because it helps me validate that we're making good progress with Ham Radio Deluxe. (I was using an FT-991A, a Portable Rotation PR12SAT Az/El rotor and controller, and Elk Antennas... all controlled by Ham Radio Deluxe.) Progress! 73 de Mike, WA9PIE

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Activating Northern Maine Grids - March 2-3
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Between ~03:00 UTC March 2 thru ~17:00 UTC March 3, I will operate satellites /TM (Tobaggan Mobile) thru grids FN54, FN55, FN56, FN57, FN66, and FN67. I plan to activate the FN54/55, FN56/66, and FN57/67 grid lines I've used on previous Maine expeditions. This will be a fast-paced trip and I don't anticipate working every bird or every pass. I will stop to sleep, drink, and eat. Weather will be a huge factor. Like many of my activations, it's recommended you monitor my @w5pfg Twitter feed for the latest information. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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HRD rotor settings
by James Brown 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Just downloaded the HRD 6.5-0-196 revision to satellite tracker.Dont see any visable changes to the program yet! I am using a REC-m/G5500 rotator. What settings needed to make HRD rotator software work? Jim KI6WJ

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-02-26 02:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-02-26 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Huntington High School, Huntington, TX, direct via KI5AJL The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact was unsuccessful: Mon 2019-02-25 19:39:52 UTC 25 deg (***) ARISS is attempting to determine what happened and welcomes your SWL reports. (***) Ceip Nuestra Señora Del Carmen, Torre De La Reina, Spain, direct via EG7NSC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Tue 2019-03-05 09:50:56 UTC 48 deg ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2019-02-26 02:00 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 1292. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1235. 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: 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 2019-02-14 16:30 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. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Startin' to come together!
by IAN PARSONS 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Some of you may recall my 'trials and tribulations' post from last week. This is a follow up of sorts. I'm down in DM37 burning a week of vacation time. Prior to leaving home (CN85), I decided to bring my TH D72 and Arrow II along with me -probably to see if getting out of the urban environment would help things. I had a go at one of the FM birds yesterday but was met with more of the same: inability to hear myself on the DL. Spent a good chunk of time last night (re)reading articles and watching videos on everything from compass basics to smartphone tracking apps -HamSat in my case. Must've paid off, as I finally achieved success today on both AO-91 and SO-50! For the AO-91 pass, I skipped the voice memo app on my iPhone and focused on using HamSat. As a result, I had a MUCH better idea of where to point the antenna -both in terms of az and el- but I'm afraid I've no idea what time I made my two Qs! Later in the day I repeated this approach during the SO-50 pass and again had to estimate the time of the two Qs I made during that pass. But one thing did not change. I still had great difficulty hearing myself on the DL. Actually, let me clarify that just a bit. There was one point during the AO-91 pass when I caught the briefest of blip)s in my headset. You know... not at all unlike what you'd hear on HF when quickly spinning the VFO up or down the band. (In this case, the 'VFO' was me flipping the antenna round trying to account for Doppler). Unfortunately, by the time I flipped it round the other way, I'd finished my transmission! I *think* I heard it a bit better later in the day during the SO-5O pass. It went from sounding 'normal' to sounding as though I were speaking while having a head cold. I dunno, maybe I was expecting something a bit louder. My roots are in HF contesting and DXing (cw and rtty) so maybe that was working against me ;) Observations: 1. There's a LOT to pay attention to during a pass! 2. It's not as easy as John (KG4AKV) makes it look in his videos!! ;) 3. I really need to go the patch cable/splitter route so I can put a voice recorder inline. 4. Even an Arrow II gets heavy after 14 minutes. Gonna have to think about a tripod mount. 73 Ian, K5ZM

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