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

Noise on 2 Meter Attic Antenna
by Les Rayburn 17 Apr '19

17 Apr '19

I live in a very crowded, suburban neighborhood with a strict HOA. No outside antennas allowed. Luckily, I have a large attic with plenty of height. This has allowed me to mount a Az-El rotor with a 4 element 2 Meter Yagi, and an 11 Element 432 Yagi. Also found room a 15 element loop Yagi for 1.2 GHz. Everything works great except when I’m operating birds with a 2 Meter downlink. Noise in some directions can be very high on that band. I’ve eliminated all noise sources inside my own home, but have neighbors that are putting out a lot of noise across the VHF spectrum. This basically limits me to passes above about 20 degrees for those birds. Once I get up to a high enough elevation angle, the noise goes away. Anything else I can try? Would a 2 Meter band filter help? 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF Maylene, AL EM63nf AMSAT #38965, ARRL Life Member, CVHS Life Member, SVHF Member

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ARISS News Release (ANR) No. 19-08
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 17 Apr '19

17 Apr '19

ARISS News Release No. 19-08 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org April 16, 2019 All, It is with great sadness that the ARISS team recognizes the passing of our great friend and colleague Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL (SK). Owen Garriott died at his home in Huntsville, Alabama on April 15, 2019. A passionate amateur radio operator and ionospheric physics researcher, Owen inspired the amateur radio community to reach for the stars. His multi-decade vision to bring amateur radio with him as part of his journey in space was realized in 1983 on the STS-9 Space Shuttle Columbia mission, where hams the world over for the first time heard a fellow ham call CQ from space. As the first to operate ham radio in space, Owen blazed a trail that has enabled countless people from around the world to experience what it is like to journey into space and explore our universe. As a result, he inspired the international amateur radio community to extend his modest ham station on STS-9 into an international human spaceflight ham radio program that has spanned the Space Shuttle, Mir Space Station, and International Space Station. A member of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, Owen Garriott was a pioneer and innovator in all his endeavors.including amateur radio. Selected as a NASA scientist-astronaut in 1965, Garriott was the science-pilot for Skylab 3, the second crewed Skylab mission. Skylab was the first U.S. space station, housing 3 different crew expeditions from May 1973-February 1974. Owen spent approximately 60 days on Skylab, doing solar physics research, human physiological research and conducting 3 spacewalks to repair Skylab and extend its research capabilities. Owen's next flight into space, as part of an international crew on the STS-9 Space Shuttle Columbia mission, cemented amateur radio's future as part of the human spaceflight experience. STS-9 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on November 28, 1983. Onboard Columbia was an internationally developed space laboratory, Spacelab-1, which pioneered international spaceflight research with over 70 separate experiments---a precursor to the research currently being accomplished on the International Space Station (ISS). Onboard also was a Motorola 2-meter handheld radio with a window mounted antenna to facilitate ham radio contacts between W5LFL and hams on the ground. On December 1, the third day of his mission, Owen donned his headset and made history by communicating with Lance Collister, WA1JXN, in Frenchtown, Montana. In W5LFL's own words, here is an excerpt of his first contact: "W5LFL in Columbia is calling CQ and standing by. Go ahead. Hello WA1JXN, WA1 Juliet X-ray November, this is W5LFL. I picked up your signals fairly weakly. I think our attitude is not really the best as yet, but you're our first contact from orbit. WA1 Juliet X-ray November, how do you read? Over." Owen's ham contacts on STS-9 were trailblazing for many reasons. They represented the first ham radio contact from a human in space to someone on Earth. They allowed the general public to directly listen and communicate with an on-orbit crew where, prior to this, only NASA mission control personnel or heads of State (U.S. Presidents, etc.) could talk to astronauts from space. And the mission also demonstrated that a group of volunteers could successfully build a ham radio station for a human spaceflight vehicle and get it formally approved by a space agency. Owen spent decades attempting to carry out ham radio on one of his missions, employing gentle assertiveness and steadfast patience to realize his dream. In 1965, when NASA was considering Owen for a planned lunar flight on Apollo 18, 19 or 20, Project MOONRAY was proposed by the Project OSCAR team. Project MOONRAY would support amateur radio operations from the surface of the moon. This initiative was scuttled when Apollo lunar expeditions ended at Apollo-17. Prior to his flight on Skylab, AMSAT submitted a proposal to NASA called SKYLARC (Skylab Amateur Radio Communications). Unfortunately, this proposal was turned down. But, as they say, the 3rd time was a charm on STS-9 and ham radio is now a human spaceflight reality. Also, it should be noted that an ARISS/AMSAT international team is pursuing Owen's plans to fly ham radio to the moon via several lunar proposal initiatives, including the Lunar Gateway. Owen inspired legions of amateur radio operators, world-wide, to support human spaceflight amateur radio endeavors and for countless individuals to become ham radio operators. This includes his son, Richard, W5KWQ, who together with Owen became the first multi-generational American ham radio operators to communicate from space. On behalf of the ARISS International Team, we would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Garriott family, including Owen's son Richard, W5KWQ and Owen's wife Eve. As Owen has inspired the amateur radio community to reach for the stars may we wish Owen Garriott Godspeed and a wonderful journey amongst the stars. Ad Astra! 73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS International Chair AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs _______________________________________________ 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: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb 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 public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. Also join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Media Contact: Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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AISAT-1 and LOTW
by alex weimer 16 Apr '19

16 Apr '19

I was wondering when AISAT-1 will be on TQSL/LOTW ? Digipeater has been working now and qso's made . It would be nice if we could enter them in LOTW .. Thank You JACK KC7MG

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DM58 Rove
by Bob Keating 16 Apr '19

16 Apr '19

I’m going to try and work the 1910 UTC pass of AO-91 and the 1924 UTC pass of SO-50 today, sandwiching then in between sightseeing in Canyonlands NP and another mountain bike ride. Travel day tomorrow, DM48 on Thursday. 73, Bob N6REK Sent from my iPhone

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Icom 9700
by Richard Lawn 16 Apr '19

16 Apr '19

I'd love to hear from anyone who already has their hands on the new Icom radio and any early impressions they have of it. 73 Rick, W2JAZ

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W5LFL (SK)
by B J 16 Apr '19

16 Apr '19

Dr. Owen Garriott W5LFL becomes a silent key: http://parabolicarc.com/2019/04/15/nasa-astronaut-owen-garriott-passes-88/ 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: [amsat-bb] ISS SSTV weekend
by sean fay 16 Apr '19

16 Apr '19

Entitled choosing beggars the lot of you On Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 6:03 PM Tom Schuessler <tjschuessler(a)verizon.net> wrote: > The only time I got to listen this weekend was on a 1455z AOS for me this > morning and as reported have the BB all weekend long modulation levels were > down in the dirt. I had my HT volume cranked almost all the way up. That’s > not normal for these activities. Just trying to understand why a whole > weekend can go with that situation and not a solution was to be had. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Apr 14, 2019, at 15:26, sean fay <spatrickfay(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Sometimes it's the Wizard not the wand... I had no issues decoding > > > > On Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 1:44 PM Tom Schuessler via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > >> Quoting the news release promoting the transmissions this weekend. >> >> “This event uses a computer in the ISS Russian Segment, which stores >> images that are then transmitted to Earth using the ARISS amateur radio >> station located in the Service Module which employs the Kenwood TM D710E >> transceiver.” >> >> Well while trying fruitlessly this morning to decode cleanly, the images >> from the ISS, I heard the collective scream of hams all over the world, >> “TURN THAT COMPUTER SOUND CARD OUTPUT VOLUME UP PLEASE!” >> >> Next time. >> >> >> Tom, N5HYP >> _______________________________________________ >> 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: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> >

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PSAT restored to normal operations - Seems OK
by Robert Bruninga 15 Apr '19

15 Apr '19

Mike Rupprecht DK3WN control operator has restored PSAT digipeater operations

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 14, Issue 146
by ka3hdo＠gmail.com 15 Apr '19

15 Apr '19

Responding to this and other e-mails on the SSTV event this weekend: > The only time I got to listen this weekend was on a 1455z AOS for me > this morning and as reported have the BB all weekend long modulation > levels were down in the dirt. I had my HT volume cranked almost all > the way up. That?s not normal for these activities. Just trying to > understand why a whole weekend can go with that situation and not a solution was to be had. > Please remember that ARISS is not the prime activity on ISS. There are over 300 international experiments currently operational on ISS on this expedition. I just heard in a teleconference last week that that number will go to about 500 experiments in the next 1-2 years. Because of the vast number of experiments going on at the same time, we can only occasionally get suggestions to the crew to make changes to our payload. Any work arounds on any experiment/payload will compete with the crew's already fully booked schedule. Several ARISS team members, particularly our teammate in Russia, were out of pocket this past weekend. Our Russian colleague was informed of the issue early-on and acknowledged the issue. But he also needs to get tied into Mission Control. That is difficult from afar. And even if we ask for a change, it is challenging to get the crew time to make this happen. Especially if it is outside the flight planning stage. Once we have the Interoperable Radio System on ISS, we plan to augment our radio system with a ground commandable capability. We have already developed a concept for this capability. Once in place, we will be able to do many things with our radio without crew intervention, including mode changes to support SSTV, APRS, Voice Repeater, etc.. This capability will also be important if we fly ham radio on the Lunar Gateway, which will not have crew on it 24/7. Please note that to keep ARISS alive and implementing new capabilities requires a great deal of funding. As an example, ARISS currently has two individuals on travel to NASA Johnson running tests for the interoperable radio system. This is one of three travel trips required to get the radio system ready for flight. Each one of these trips will cost ARISS about $3000 in travel---nearly $10,000 for these three testing events. Also, this past week, we spent $1,100 to transport the HamTV that was returned from ISS back to Italy to undergo troubleshooting to potentially repair the anomaly we experienced on ISS. We have a Fundrazr activity right now to prepare the Interoperable Radio System for Launch. We need $150,000 by the end of this year and are well short of our goal right now. If you really want to see improvements in the ISS radio system from where it is today, please strongly consider donating to ARISS. Push the donate button at www.ariss.org. You can donate at several levels and even a little at a time on a monthly basis. At some donation levels, your callsign and name will be included on the interoperable radio system that will fly to ISS! Thanks for all your interest and support to ARISS. I hope this helps explain a little about what is happening on ISS. 73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS International Chair AMSAT VP for Human Spaceflight Programs

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(no subject)
by aj9n＠aol.com 15 Apr '19

15 Apr '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-04-15 20:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Sorry, I didn't post this sooner but we just found out today. (***) About Gagarin From Space. Conducting The Session Of The Radio Loving Communication With SUSU Students (G.Celyabinsk), South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia, direct via RY9AAA (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Aleksey Ovchinin (***) Contact was successful for 2019-04-15 08:06 UTC (***) Congratulations to the SUSU students and Aleksey! (***) 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 successful: Mon 2019-04-15 15:39:46 UTC 52 deg (***) Park Co. Public Library with Boys & Girls Club of the High Rockies, Fairplay, CO, direct via WØW The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Nick Hague KG5TMV Contact was successful: Mon 2019-04-15 17:15:53 UTC 51 deg (***) École internationale de Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, direct via VE2GHO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Wed 2019-04-17 18:55:09 UTC 69 deg The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. International Space Station Astronauts are Calling CQ Students ARISS-US program’s education proposal window is open April 1 - May 15, 2019 March 24, 2019: The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking proposals beginning April 1, 2019, 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, 2020 and June 30, 2020. Each year, ARISS provides tens of thousands of students with learning opportunities about space technologies, communications, and much more through the exploration of Amateur Radio and space. The ARISS program connects students to astronauts on the ISS through a partnership between NASA, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, the American Radio Relay League, other Amateur Radio global organizations and the worldwide space agencies. The program’s goal is to inspire students to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in Amateur Radio. Educators report regularly that student participation in the ARISS program stimulates interest in STEM subjects and STEM careers. One educator wrote, “Many of the middle school students who took part in and attended the ARISS contact have selected science courses in high school as a result of that contact.” Educators are setting up ham radio clubs in schools and learning centers because of students’ interest. 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 other STEM subjects. 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 a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students. The proposal window opens April 1, 2019 and the proposal deadline is May 15, 2019. For proposal guidelines and forms and more details, go to: http://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2019.eventbrite.com Proposal webinars for guidance and getting questions answered will be offered April 11, 2019 at 7 pm Eastern Time and April 16, 2019 at 9 pm Eastern Time. Advance registration is necessary. To sign up, go to https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2019.eventbrite.com **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** 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, go to: http://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) http://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** 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 114 (***) **************************************************************************** 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 2019-04-15 20:00 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 1302. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1245. (***) 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 2019-04-15 20:00 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 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 Exp. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Aleksey Ovchinin Nick Hague KG5TMV **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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