March 2020 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Get SatPC32 back to center
by Tom Schaefer 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

If I turn the VFO manually (via VFO knob), is there an easy way to get SatPC32 back to the center of the passband? Is there a button that cancels the effects of the manual tuning? This would be for full Doppler tuning. Thanks Tom NY4I Principal Solutions Architect Better Software Solutions, Inc. 727-437-2771

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FOX LEADERBOARD
by James Jipping 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Good Morning! What do the headings "TOTAL" and "LAST 7 DAYS" mean on the FOX TELEM LEADERBOARD. "LAST 7 DAYS" is obvious. My numbers keep bouncing around, that's expected. But, NOW, my "TOTAL" number bounces around too. Shouldn't they be constantly increasing. Also at the end of February I had number about 12500 after several months of ever increasing numbers. But on March 3, I had only 8600 and they have been bouncing ever since. On March 10 I have 8533 after 1845 frames/payloads. In March, thanks to the kind and expert help of Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, I started using a FIAB setup. Does that have anything to do the drop and bounce ?? Thanks, I'm going back to bed. Jim JIpping, W8MRR

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AO-92 L band on the weekends
by Jeff Johns 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

When can we expect to see AO-92 L band activations on the weekend again? When it was moved to Wednesdays, it was touted as temporary. How long is temporary? Usage of L band on Wednesdays is minimal at best. AO-92 (to the best of my knowledge) is the only amateur satellite with an L band uplink. I would think as more amateurs get Icom 9700s that they might like to give it a try. I understand not everyone can be pleased but a majority of people work during the week or have other family duties, such as childrens’ school nights that might limit their access to the satellite during the week. Can we expect the “temporary” Wednesday activations to return to the weekends any time soon? After all, all AMSAT members should have a fair chance at using the L band uplink to test/use their equipment. It can always go back to Wednesdays after a while. Jeff WE4B

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-09 21:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-09 21:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia. telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-13 08:56:53 UTC 32 deg Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg (***) 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 2020-03-09 21:00 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. 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 2020-03-03 17:30 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 133 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 1385. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1318. 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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DM51/DM52 on Friday (13 March) is still on...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

Hi! Although my planned trip to Tucson for the ScienceCity science fair next weekend has been cancelled, my plans to operate from the DM51/DM52 grid boundary in southeastern Arizona on Friday (13 March 2020) are unchanged. I still plan on making the drive to that grid boundary, as previously mentioned here on the AMSAT-BB list: https://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2020-March/076547.html 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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ARISS contact mentioned in article about W. VA radio quiet zone
by John Brier 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/green-bank-west-virginia-quiet-zone.h… I love it when I'm reading a random article and ARISS is mentioned. "The observatory has long worked to share its scientific and engineering expertise with local schools, a partnership that has paid off most recently with the announcement that the Green Bank Elementary-Middle School was one of 10 schools nationwide selected to host HAM radio contacts with International Space Station crew members later this year." The text in the article also links to an ARRL page about the selected schools: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/ariss-announces-hosts-for-space-station-ham-r… 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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CANCELLED - AMSAT at ScienceCity in Tucson AZ (14-15 March 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

Hi. Last week, I mentioned AMSAT would be supporting the K7UAZ radio club's presence at the ScienceCity science fair next weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 14-15 March 2020) on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson. I have just received a notice that ScienceCity has been cancelled, due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. 73. Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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CP antenna feed
by Tim N8DEU 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

There was an article written several years about feeding the cable off the end of a CP antenna versus running the cable up the boom the center with the results. Does anybody recall what edition of the Amsat Journal this was published? I am looking to forward this is to new satellite operator to help with his decision. I spent 4 hours looking for that article and came up empty. Thanks in advance, Tim - N8DEU

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HuskySat telemetry
by Jeff 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

I've been collecting HuskySat-1 telemetry for a while and recently my collected data isn't being accepted by the Fox Telemetry site. I see this 'Only real time data being processed' message the the Fox Telemetry site, but see 4 or 5 other stations getting their data uploaded. Does anyone know what's going on here? As my, others data isn't being accepted I see no reason to collect any more data. 73 Jeff kb2m

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Minor bug fixes for FoxTelem
by Chris Thompson 08 Mar '20

08 Mar '20

I have updated FoxTelem and the latest version is here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/ This is not a mandatory upgrade. It fixes some minor bugs that caused crashes and corrects the calculation of the bit SNR for the Dot Product BPSK detector. If you use the Dot Product detector and you care about the measured bit signal to noise ratio, then you want to upgrade. Note that if you use Find Signal in IQ mode then the bit SNR level is used to determine if the signal is found. Because the level has changed you will need to adjust the threshold value. Email me if you need more information. Please let me know if you see any issues, or log them on github here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues 73 Chris -- Chris E. Thompson chrisethompson(a)gmail.com g0kla(a)arrl.net

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