AMSAT-BB February 2020

115 participants
190 discussions

09 Feb '20

I have had trouble hearing XW satellites lately.I have a Kenwood ts 2000 and for some reason don't hearing much if anything.I used to hear the beacon pretty loud at least for a few moments and most of the pass okay but not as much.I was wondering if other Op's. are having the same problem.Maybe I need to set up my 706 as a receive radio,It worked good.I dont have any problems with the Kenwood working other modes.It would be nice to use one radio.I run a vertical and realize it's not the best set up but again I haven't had this problem in the past.Just looking for some opinions.Thanks a lot73RichKB1FGC marzo7088(a)yahoo.com

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FoxTelem with RTL-SDR
by Greg D 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

Hi folks, Acknowledged that this is "not supported", but others appear to have had some success using an RTL-SDR dongle under FoxTelem. With the launch of Huskysat-1, I though I'd give it a try. I'm missing something, but can't find any suggestions. I have a Raspberry Pi 2B that I've been using as an RTL-SDR server, connecting Gqrx to it over the home network. rtl_tcp is running there, all just fine. Tried firing up the latest FoxTelem, choosing RTL SDR as the source, but the program says it can't find the dongle. "Insert the device or choose an other source" when I hit Start. Shut down rtl_tcp, of course, so as to not have a fight over access. Tried removing and inserting the dongle. Still no joy. I expect I'm missing some morsel of driver software or configuration to connect FoxTelem to the RTL-SDR dongle, perhaps something similar to rtl_tcp. What am I missing? Thanks, Greg KO6TH

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Re: [amsat-bb] huskysat-1
by Roy Dean 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

> > Noticed today that huskysat stops sending data and sends only a carrier > for about a second then starts back up, saw it do that 4 times last pass. > DAC overflows? Have you actually seen a carrier (like a single frequency spike/birdie)? Or are you talking about when the modulation seems to "hang" between a phase shift? I've noticed that, myself, but just ASSumed that it was normal (like the "dual carrier" tones that you see with the funcubes telemetry). --Roy K3RLD

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icom 7000 help
by Nick Pugh 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

I have an Icom 7000 and using the data jack pin 1 to supply audio to the radio. I use the c-I 17 to key the radio. I am unable to get mixw to mod the radio. What to I get mixw to pass audio?? Nick k5qxj nick Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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huskysat-1
by Kevin 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

Noticed today that huskysat stops sending data and sends only a carrier for about a second then starts back up, saw it do that 4 times last pass. DAC overflows? 73 Kevin wa7fwf

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Re: [amsat-bb] FoxTelem with RTL-SDR
by Roy Dean 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

> > What am I missing? Thanks, Greg KO6TH Greg - I've had zero luck using the rtl-sdr dongle directly with FoxTelem. I can get it to connect, at least - but it decodes almost nothing (it has to be a super powerful signal to get anything). However, if I use the same dongle, with GQRX audio piped into FoxTelem via pulse audio, then it works wonderfully. Not sure why the difference is. I will say that running the GQRX and FoxTelem guis at the same time is a major processor drain. Usually FoxTelem will give up the ghost a few seconds in. If I switch off of the input tab into one of the spacecraft tabs, the processor usage drops dramatically and then I continue on. But this is on a 10 year old laptop so who knows. --Roy K3RLD

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ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 09 Feb '20

09 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-040 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President * Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment * New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following * Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project * 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process * AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-040.01 ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 040.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 09 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-040.01 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President At a special meeting held via teleconference, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President. Coleman previous- ly served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and also served as AMSAT's Secretary during this time. He has also volun- teered in several other capacities for AMSAT, including chairing the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium held aboard the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. Coleman’s first introduction to amateur radio in space was with SAREX and Mir. An interest in setting up an AX.25 BBS and nodes led to him trying out the Mir Personal Message System (PMS) and digipeater to make contacts in the early 1990s. It wasn’t until a visit from a friend in 2011 that Coleman was bitten by the OSCAR bug and began his AMSAT journey chasing operating awards. Having held other leadership roles in his community, nonprofits, and critical infrastructure, Coleman’s desire is working with constituents to improve organizational processes and align them with strategic goals. Professionally, Coleman works in the industrial process con- trol sector as both a consultant and business development manager. He resides in the North Texas area with his spouse and two children. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors and AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment Several CubeSats are scheduled to be deployed from the ISS into orbit on 12 Feb. Among them is the Phoenix CubeSat, which is a 3U CubeSat developed by Arizona State University to study the effects of Urban Heat Islands through infrared remote sensing. Following deployment, the Phoenix operations team would appreciate as much help as possible with identifying the spacecraft and verifying that it is operational. Phoenix is scheduled for a deployment time of *8:30 UTC* on 12 Feb. Please note that two CubeSats being deployed on this date operate on the same frequency. Both Phoenix and QARMAN share the frequency of *437.35 MHz*, and both utilize an AX.25 9600 baud protocol with GMSK modulation. Both CubeSats will also be deployed within 1.5 hours of each other, and will therefore be close to each other in orbit. Please be mindful of this situation, and if you have any doubt about the Cube- Sat that you are receiving, please get in touch with Sarah Rogers, Project Manager, Phoenix CubeSat, sroger13 [at} asu.edu with any ques- tions or concerns. To read more about the Phoenix CubeSat, it's transmitter characteris- tics, and how you can decode the signal, please see the website at http://phxcubesat.asu.edu/content/amateur-operations! [ANS thanks Sarah Rogers, KI7OOY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an Amateur Radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 A video by astronauts Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan posted on the European Space Agency YouTube channel on January 26th, 2020 shows Luca going inside the Cygnus NG-12 vehicle, which took cargo, as well as several satellites, including HuskySat-1, to the ISS. Even more relevant to HuskySat-1 and the the amateur radio satellite community, Luca mentions the "delivery system" they planned to install on the vehicle before it was released, which happened on January 31st. HuskySat-1 was deployed from the delivery system later that day. Luca says he thinks it's really cool that the delivery system provides another way to gain access to space, and I couldn't agree more. The Cygnus tour begins at 24:42 into the video, and the delivery system is mentioned at 26:57. This link to the video goes directly to 24:42: https://youtu.be/Snn1k_qEx20?t=1482 [ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following satellite's NORAD CAT ID has been changed in this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OCULUS-ASR is now object NORAD CAT ID 44348 The following satellites have been deleted from this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OBJECT H - NORAD CAT ID 44346 (non-amateur satellite TEPCE, decayed February 1,2020) OBJECT J - NORAD CAT ID 44347 (non-amateur satellite FALCONSAT-7) TBEX-A - NORAD CAT ID 44356 (non-amateur satellite) The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this week's TLE distribution: HuskySat 1 - NORAD CAT ID 45117 (Cygnus NG-12 Spacecraft deployment, 1/31/2020). (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following Initial reports indicate considerable interest among amateurs in tracking and capturing data from the newly deployed HuskySat-1. The satellite, designed at the University of Washington, was launched to the ISS by Cygnus NG-12 on November 2, 2019. It was deployed to a higher orbit from the ISS by Cygnus on January 31, and began telemetry transmissions on 435.800 MHz. HuskySat-1’s 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT’s FoxTelem software. FoxTelem is available at https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem HuskySat-1 is a CubeSat, and will demonstrate onboard plasma propul- sion and high gain telemetry for low Earth orbit that would be a pre- cursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital inser- tion at the Moon. HuskySat-1 is expected to carry out its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for activation of a 30 kHz wide V/U linear trans- ponder for SSB and CW. Initially it looked like object 2019-071G was HuskySat-1, but our friends at the 18th Space Control Squadron published data on addi- ional objects in recent days, and there is considerable evidence suggesting that HuskySat-1 is actually one of those instead. Element sets for objects 2019-071H and 2019-071J are now distributed in nasabare.txt as candidates for the "Real" HuskySat-1. Usually element sets are good for a week or more, at least for ham purposes where we have fairly wide beam widths. The exception is the ISS, the only spacecraft we have in nasabare.txt that maneuvers, and we keep its element sets "fresh" by applying updates from Johnson Spaceflight Center several times per day. Husky-Sat 1 will be testing a thruster early in its mission, and endeavors to demonstrate a delta- V of 100m/sec or more. This could cause the accuracy of element sets to degrade more quickly than usual. [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project amsatLink is a proposed three-phased program to ultimately establish a constellation of nanosatellites, linked in a peer-to-peer voice commun- ications network for amateur satellite service. As a wireless ad hoc network, future satellites can be added to the network and ground stations, moving in and out of a nanosatellite node’s footprint, can easily join and exit the network. The proposal is to create an IEEE 802.11 wireless ad hoc network, op- erating within the FCC Part 97 amateur radio frequency allocation of the 2.4 GHz microwave band. Individual satellite and ground nodes would connect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate with one another to create one virtual network that can efficiently route data from/to clients. While the idea of cross-link communication between satellites is not new, amsatLink hopes to continue the efforts of NASA’s PhoneSat, EDSN constellation, and NODES missions, by expanding the network to include ground-based nodes, demonstrating the use of voice over internet pro- tocol communications, and organizing nodes into clusters, where each cluster consists of one nanosatellite node and any visible ground nodes. amsatLink will continue NASA’s design philosophy by utilizing commer- cial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objec- tives as simple as possible. Estimated total hardware cost per satel- lite is less than $5,000. Proposed ground stations will also use off the shelf equipment with a total estimated cost of less than $150. For more details, see https://ke4al.github.io/amsatLink/ Robert seeks further discussion of this proposal among AMSAT members. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the schools and host organizations selected for the second half of 2020. Of the proposals submitted during the recent proposal window, 10 were accepted to move forward in the selection process for a scheduled amateur radio contact with a crew member on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities. The schools and host organizations are now engaged in the next step of the acceptance process. When ready, they will be put in the scheduling queue for a contact during the July to December 2020 time period. Al- though ARISS expects to schedule all 10 during this period, changes to NASA crew availability might force some delays to the next time period. The schools and host organizations are: Estes Park Elementary School Estes Park, CO Green Bank Elementary School Green Bank, WV Tecumseh Public School Tecumseh, OK RSU #21 Kennebunk, ME JFK High School Denver, CO Oregon Charter School Mill City, OR Newcastle High School Newcastle, WY Tarwater Elementary School Chandler, AZ Kopernik Observatory Vestel, NY Salem-South Lyon District Library South Lyon, MI [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 AMSAT will be at the Yuma Hamfest, which is also serving as the 2020 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, on Friday and Saturday, 14-15 February 2020. The hamfest will be at the Yuma County Fairgrounds, along 32nd Street, across the street from Yuma International Airport and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, south of Interstate 8. More about the hamfest is available at: http://www.yumahamfest.org/ WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on a pass, please call and join in the demonstration. The hamfest site is in grid DM22, in Arizona's Yuma County. QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on request (please e-mail WD9EWK directly with the QSO details). Patrick will tweet updates from the hamfest using the @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can see the tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK In addition to the WD9EWK demonstration, AMSAT member Dave Bartholomew, AD7DB, will give a presentation "Getting Started on FM Satellites" on Saturday (15 February) morning at the hamfest. Dave's presentation is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ (see details above) February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale (AZ) Amateur Radio Club Hamfest March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. This color brochure is designed to be printed double- sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (@ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) – February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ Key West and Boca Grande Key (EL94, EL84+) February 9-11,2020 Clayton, W5PFG, will be in Key West, Florida (EL94) February 9 through the 11, 2020. Monday, February 10, 13:15-17:30 UTC, Clay- ton will operate FM & SSB satellites from EL84xm, Boca Grande Key. Listen for W5PFG near these dates for additional Florida grids, such as EL79, EL89, EL99, EL86, EL96, & EL95. Keep an eye on Clay- ton’s Twitter feed for announcements https://twitter.com/w5pfg Del Carmen Island (EK48cp) February 9, 2020 Ismael, XE1AY, will operate from Del Carmen Island (DL87th) on Sun- day 9 February, using the callsign 4A2L (see QRZ). Ismael only expects to operate FM satellites for a couple of hours. In addi- tion, they plan to operate CW, SSB, and FT8. Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 – 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Eduardo/XE2YW and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters (possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For updates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + After setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman, NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth on Feb. 6, along with Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. Koch launched March 14, 2019. Her first journey into space of 328 days is the second-longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astro- naut and also places her seventh on the list of cumulative time in space for American astronauts. Full story: https://bit.ly/386BTrc (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) + SpaceX has been garnering all the headlines when it comes to satel- lite constellations. Their Starlink system will eventually have thou- sands of tiny satellites working together to provide internet access. But on Thursday, Feb. 6, OneWeb launched 34 satellite from the Bai- konur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz launch vehicle. Eventually, OneWeb intends to have as many as 5,000 satellites in orbit. (ANS thank universetoday.com for the above information) + An industry report forecasts demand for 14,000 to 20,000 new satel- lites to be launched in the next decade. The report suggests that launch slot availability will be a challenge for satellite operators, and that delays due to longer lead times and additional costs will put pressure on research, commercial, and military operators. (ANS thanks satmagazine.com for the above information) + NASA declared the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16-year mission complete on Thursday, Jan. 30 after sending final commands for the spacecraft to enter hibernation as it drifts farther from Earth. The Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA’s original four “Great Observatories,” studied the most distant galaxy ever observed in the universe, gathered data on the characteristics of planets around other stars, and detected a new ring around Saturn. (ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information) + Finnish amateur photographers have discovered a new auroral form. Named 'dunes' by the hobbyists, the phenomenon is believed to be caused by waves of oxygen atoms glowing due to a stream of particles released from the Sun. In the study, published in the journal AGU Advances, the origins of the dunes were tracked to a wave guide formed within the mesosphere and its boundary, the mesopause. (ANS thanks astrowatch.net for the above information) + The JAMSAT general meeting and space symposium will take place at the Tokyo, Odaiba, Science Museum on March 14 and 15. (ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information) + Bob Atkins KA1GT has documented his recent observations of interfer- ence to 1296 EME from the Galileo navigation satellites' E6 mode. Read Bob's article at https://bobatkins.com/radio/galileo-1296.html (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information) + Minutes of the 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors meeting are now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/ The December 2018 Annual Financial Review report is also now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/ (ANS thanks the AMSAT Office 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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org

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UHF Reference frequency for setting ppm offset in SDR.
by Roy Dean 08 Feb '20

08 Feb '20

I did a google search on how I could better calibrate my el-cheapo SDR to receive HuskySat-1 (I use NOAA weather stations to calibrate roughly to VHF), and I found this article by WA1CYB: https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2017Symposium-SD… Sure enough, Channel 17 had a strong pilot tone at 488.309441 for me to use as a half-way decent reference! Hoping this can help others in the future. --Roy K3RLD

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WD9EWK @ DM31, next Thursday (13 February 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 08 Feb '20

08 Feb '20

Hi! On my way to the Yuma Hamfest on Thursday, 13 February, I will visit grid DM31 in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. Depending on traffic leaving Phoenix and the weather, I hope to be down there between 1430 and 1600 UTC. I plan on working passes until it gets dark down there, which should be around 0100 UTC, as I still need to be in Yuma that evening in advance of the hamfest. I will work satellites in FM, SSB, and packet, depending on availability. I will probably operate from the national monument's visitor center, which is in grid DM31ow. I will run APRS in my car using WD9EWK-9 for the drive, but APRS coverage doesn't normally extend into the national monument and around the USA/Mexico border in that area. You can follow my drive at: http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 I hope to be able to tweet updates from DM31, which would appear on my @WD9EWK Twitter account. For those who do not use Twitter, you can see my tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK QSOs from DM31 will be uploaded to Logbook of the World. QSL cards are available on request - please e-mail me with the QSO details. No need to first send me a QSL card and/or SASE. If you are in my log, I will be happy to send a QSL card. Thanks, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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FoxTelem Version 1.08z released
by Chris Thompson 08 Feb '20

08 Feb '20

This is a bug fix release for FoxTelem to fix an issue with the IQ decoder for PSK. If everything is working for you, then you do not need to upgrade. This has been tested for a couple of days but has not had the long regression testing that we usually do. I'm releasing it now (quickly) because if you are using the internal SDR in FoxTelem, in IQ mode, then this is a mandatory upgrade. It does not work well with weak signals currently and this fixes that. It worked fine in the lab, hi hi. It should now perform as well as a separate SDR. I personally am still getting much better performance from my old FT736R and others are getting good results with modern radios. But this raises the performance of SDR based decodes. http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/ One thing worth considering. Doppler tracking works better than FindSignal but you have to be using the latest keps and you need to consider exactly what the downlink frequency needs to be set to for your situation. Note that FoxTelem already offsets by 1.4kHz to put set the center of the PSK signal in the sideband. You don't need to offset it. (You do if you are using a seperate SDR and feeding the audio to FoxTelem). If you are running in FindSignal mode (without keps) then the bit SNR level at the bottom of the window is critical. For COSTAS it needs to be about 1.5 for Dot Prod it MUST be lower, say 0.5, Otherwise it will never lock on. Yea, lots of settings to get wrong. Have fun playing. Please send reports and let me know how it works for you. 73 Chris g0kla / ac2cz -- Chris E. Thompson chrisethompson(a)gmail.com g0kla(a)arrl.net

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AMSAT-BB February 2020