AMSAT-BB February 2020

115 participants
190 discussions

Listened to ISS 2/20/20 l8:20 UTC
by Jackie Dander 21 Feb '20

21 Feb '20

Thanks, AMSAT, for the supporting info you provided regarding the just completed pass of the ISS. A crew member spoke to a school in Ohio. I am at FM14 in N.Carolina and latched onto full throated signal right after AOS time locally, 2 minutes after AOS in Ohio. I had squelch at zero and when crew spoke all was clear, then static as the next question was asked on the uplink, then the clear answer on the downlink. I don't think we are supposed to hear uplink? I recorded the entire pass from local AOS until signoff at end. My antenna is a homemade 2 element hand-held yagi with #6 copper wire for elements. (WA5VJB designed) Radio connected to yagi was Baofeng UV5R, $20. A second Baofeng UV5R with factory duck antenna was in my other hand. I alternated between radios held near my recorder and there was no difference between the two receiving methods. Clear speech in both radios. I have not put any analysis on my yagi, so it could be poorly matched thereby explaining its performance equal to duckie antenna. All in all, very excited to have experienced the ISS session. Thanks again. If any info needed or the recorded audio, let me know. Isaac W4ITC (end of week three of my LEO learning adventure.)

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-02-20 21:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-02-20 21:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Maple Dale Elementary School, Cincinnati, OH, direct via K8SCH The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact was successful: Thu 2020-02-20 18:20:28 UTC 48 deg (***) Watch for live stream at https://facebook.com/ohkyinars Kittredge Magnet School, Atlanta, GA, direct via KQ4KMS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Mon 2020-02-24 18:23:55 UTC 31 deg Celia Hays Elementary, Rockwall, Texas, direct via W5SO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Tue 2020-02-25 17:35:18 UTC 31 deg Watch for live stream at https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=NWM5NW (***) The ARISS webpage is at https://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 https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) 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 2020-02-20 21:30 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. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-02-20 21:30 UTC. (***) https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://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 https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. 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 ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) 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. ******************************************************************************** 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: https://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) https://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 https://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? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. 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 The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** 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. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1381. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1314. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://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: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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CW on the Birds--QRP
by Wes Baden 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

I've been a CW op since 1957, though I am a relative newbie on satellites (6 weeks now). Hasan has helped me realize how little uplink power is needed for successful contacts. (Translation = I was using too much power the first week or so.) Part of the problem was inexperience. Another factor, however, was my shiny new Icom 9700, which controls output with a knob and "percentage" indications. What does 10% output mean, actually? I hooked up my Bird wattmeter to find out. On 2M, percentages corresponded pretty much with output. 5% = 4W, 50% = 48W. But on 70 cm, percentages do not correspond, given less reduced output to begin with. Here, for instance, 5% = 2W. Also, realize that you're still putting out power at 0%! 900mW on 2M, it turns out to be, 100 mW or so on 70 cm. The latter explains why I've made contacts with power supposedly cranked all the way down to zero. I operate U/V, by the way. I calculate that I have 9 dB gain with my Cushcraft A449-6S, 33 feet of LMR 400, and three lossy UHF connectors. This means, on uplink on 70 cm, 0% = 800 mW ERP, 3% = 8W, 5% = 16W, 7% = 24W, 10% = 48W, and 20% = 80W. Bottom line is that I have no trouble making Mode B contacts with the knob on the 9700 set at somewhere between 0% and 7%, and usually at the lower end of that range. Hopefully this information is of help to other CW ops, especially new ones with 9700s. Keep a hand on or near that power output knob, reducing power when not needed and especially when your waterfall is looking as strong as the beacon waterfall. Other ops in the bandpass will appreciate this courtesy. Wes NA1ME

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NEMO-1 Buoy Report
by Amsat Argentina 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

On January 30th at noon, AMSAT ARGENTINA launched the NEMO-1 buoy into the Atlantic sea, callsign LU7AA. It was transported 70 km east of Mar del Plata by the fisherman's ship 'Porteño', from Sandokan. The buoy, which emits in WSPR mode at 14095.6 KHz and FM VHF in APRS mode, navigated drifting free for 12 days traveling about 1100 kilometers, until on February 11th it was sighted and taken out of the water by the tuna vessel 'Juan Pablo II'. The captain of the ship, Rinaldi Yaco, considered that the buoy was sailing semi-sunk and decided to rescue it, informing Amsat Argentina of that event. The NEMO-1 then traveled eight more days aboard the tuna vessel, continuing its mission of data capture and broadcasting, until on Feb-19 it arrived at the port of Mar del Plata, where colleagues from the Mar del Plata Radio Club picked it up and kept in custody. A group of AMSAT-LU is traveling to recover NEMO-1. The buoy will be reconditioned and a new launch is planned. It will be tried to take it, on this occasion, to more than 200 km offshore, so that it will continue to navigate freely, reaffirming the commitment and contribution of radio amateurs to QRPp propagation research also helping navigation and the community. AMSAT ARGENTINA especially thanks the Captains and crews of the 'Porteño', the 'Juan Pablo II' ships and the Mar del Plata RClub in the persons of its Secretary, Jose Luis Hermida (LU9DHJ) and Jorge Garelli (LU5EOR) for the help provided and to the more than 100 'travelers' in NEMO-1, who supported this project helping to carry it out. http://amsat.org.ar?f=ce Adventure photos: http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy 73, LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina http://amsat.org.ar https://facebook.com/AMSAT.LU

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My 2 Cents on L/V
by Brad Smith 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

<It's always the same people anyway. Generally those are the same people whospend all day everyday beside their radio so it doesn't matter what dayit's on. Weekends are where new people with their dual band rig decide togive the birds a try typically, keeping U/v gives them more chances to makea first QSO.> We satellite hams are a small proportion of the ham community. Some satellite hams have to work during the week, but have time after work to work satellites. Only a small portion of the satellite hams work 92 in L/V, which is why the same people are heard. The weekends have rovers who give new grid squares to us grid square collectors. My vote is to leave L/V on Wednesdays, to leave the two main birds open on weekends for ALL hams to enjoy, no matter if they have a permanent base station with a 9700 or an Arrow/Elk antenna and an HT. I am ready to try L/V, with my Alinco HT and a Yaesu HT and my handheld antenna. But I need winter to go away in Wisconsin before I try it, for obvious reasons. Brad KC9UQR

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Google Summer of Code 2020 Application - announcement
by Michelle Thompson 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

Today is the day for Google Summer of Code "Accepted Organizations", and I got the extremely kindly written rejection notice for Open Research Institute's application a few minutes ago. There are a *lot* more organizations applying than spots, this was our first year, and we will 100% try again. Also, there are also designated "umbrella" groups that we can potentially move underneath and still participate. I'm going to reach out and see if we can't get that rolling! If you know of one that would be a good match, let me know. This is the first year applying, and it resulted in the creation of a much more publicly accessible list of project content than we had with the task board on GitHub. So, we are going to fully use this list and tackle all the jobs! The content will go straight over the The Ham Calling, a new site designed specifically for connecting high-tech ham work with high-tech hams! Here's the current lineup: https://openresearch.institute/google-summer-of-code-2020/ I'm writing up an article for the Journal as well. What other projects do you think should be added? This list best serves as a "base" of potential work to advance the radio arts in the community. Thank you very much to those that volunteered to be mentors! Several of you volunteered to be mentors for the first time, ever. That is a big step and greatly appreciated. In several cases, hams contacted me with anxiety over being "technical enough" to mentor students. Yes, some of these projects are complex, but mentorship is much much more than being able to answer a student's technical questions. Being supported while taking risks, learning about amateur satellite operation, learning about the amateur "code", and how to fail and start over or roll back to what most recently worked - these are foundational things. Encouragement and steady support are, in the long run, of greater value than being able to substitute in for a Wikipedia article on FEC. Next year, assuming things continue to improve, TAPR, AMSAT, and ARRL will all apply to be mentoring organizations along with ORI and GNU Radio and others. Amateur radio is uniquely qualified to serve a meaningful and significant role in open source technical advancement, and I cannot wait to see the future results. -Michelle W5NYV

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO92 L/V mode??
by Fernando Ramirez 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

> Hi Perry! > > AO-92 was kept in U/V mode in order to allow operators more opportunities > to work N6O/mm from rare grid DM02. The operation will last only one day. > > The decision was announced over the AMSAT Twitter and Facebook accounts. I > don't recall or can't find if it was posted on the -BB. Might be a good > idea for next time. > > 73 > Fernando KF7R > > On Sun, Sep 22, 2019, 12:52 AM Perry Yantis via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > >> I stayed up late tonight to work AO92 L/V mode only to find that it was >> still in L/V mode.Then I got on EO88 a few minutes later and was told that >> L/V mode would be on Wednesday this week.It would be nice it this >> information was posted on the BBS BEFORE the weekend gets here.Also why the >> change anyway????? >> Perry WB8OTH >> >> py41(a)att.net >> sent from my Apple Macbook Pro >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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AO92 L/V mode??
by Perry Yantis 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

I stayed up late tonight to work AO92 L/V mode only to find that it was still in L/V mode.Then I got on EO88 a few minutes later and was told that L/V mode would be on Wednesday this week.It would be nice it this information was posted on the BBS BEFORE the weekend gets here.Also why the change anyway????? Perry WB8OTH py41(a)att.net sent from my Apple Macbook Pro

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Re: [amsat-bb] Curious -- Frequency of SO-50 downlink at the bird?
by Roy Dean 20 Feb '20

20 Feb '20

> > Just wondering if anyone has measured the frequency of the SO-50 downlink > at the bird recently? I've noted it appears to be a bit lower than I would > expect, about > 436.793.5. The frequency wobble I saw over the pass was due to my step > size in the Doppler correction. Obviously well within the capture range > for 435.795 FM, but mostly curious. 73, Bob, WB4SON https://network.satnogs.org/observations/1725800/ Looks like your observation is spot on. SatNogs is tracking it at 436.793 - and it actually looks like (from the waterfall), that that half kHz may be there, too. --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO92 L/V mode??
by Ronald Parsons 19 Feb '20

19 Feb '20

I'd like to suggest another factor. The early passes on Wednesday UTC have been moving slowly later in time. Last night's passes were after "my bedtime." So I was able to participate only on this morning's two passes. Perhaps someone could look at the passes for, say, the next six months, to choose a UTC day where the passes would be more balanced in "normal" awake times. Another question: Are we restricted to a UTC day for the L/v operation? Ron W5RKN

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AMSAT-BB February 2020