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

D-Star One Sparrow
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

Out of curiosity - what is the status of this bird? It shows up in the NASA orbital info, but not in the Amateur in the SatPC32 tracking selections. The German Orbital Systems site does not elaborate on some of the details. particularly if one wished to configure a D-Star rig and try it. With IC-9700's proliferating I would expect some noise if it is accessible. Any info or help would be appreciated. Jack Spitznagel - KD4IZ Trustee for NR3DT The Museum Ship USCGC Taney WHEC-37 Amateur Radio Group

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions
by Ben Cook 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

As someone new to satellite operations, I’m finding out that it’s extremely helpful to not only check the AMSAT status page before an upcoming pass, but also check reports from AMSAT and others on twitter. That helps to cut down on the confusion around schedule or mode changes. For example, helps to know that AO-92 was put into L mode an hour before the next pass you’re planning to work. Just thoughts to myself this first week or so on the air. 73, Ben - N6ELF

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AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions
by Loren M. Lang 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

I tried capturing some of the high-speed data from AO-92 today from the final 1750Z pass today when the camera was activated. I believe I had some success, but I am a little confused about what I captured. I did it in two stages using my phone to capture the raw IQ from my SDR during the pass and then playing it back on my computer right after into Foxtelem 108z5. The pass was only 16 degrees at it's peak, but I was able to hear the satellite down to as little as 6 degrees and Foxtelem reported 24 frames successfully decoded. My first point of confusion is I heard QSO what sounded like modem sounds over the FM downlink intermixed with amateur calls coming through. I assume that was the high-speed 9600 data mode I was hearing, but this was starting a few minutes before 1750Z so was the camera mode able to be activated a little early? Second, is the repeater still active while HS mode is running? I thought that repeater operation would be disabled to avoid having voice interfering with the data downlink or is this not an issue? Last question is, why do I not having anything under the Camera (1D) tab for AO-92? That tab is completely blank and doesn't seem to have any data collected. It appears that all frames received are under either the Health tab or HERCI HK (1D). The recent telemetry for HERCI HK is also all zeros it seems. It definitely sounded like there was some high-speed data transfer happening, something besides the 200 bps DUV signal, but it doesn't look like I collected anything particular to the Camera operation. Was it not active during that time or did I just not collect enough frames to assemble anything? I still have the original raw IQ capture from the event today. - Loren K7IW

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amsat-bb reader?
by Douglas Tabor 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

Does anyone know of an -bb ‘reader’ application that can be used with amsat-bb? Back in the usenet days, there were reader clients that could parse entries to make them more human readable. Don’t really care if it’s Linux or MacOS based. I browsed the amsat.org “mailing lists and services” area and didn’t see any mention -or- is this another one of those things that are well known to those that know them well? Many thanks. N6UA, Douglas Tabor dtabor52(a)gmail.com

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AO-92 camera mode more info plse
by Rob Ramsey 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

A little more info please on the camera mode of AO-92 , Is this just a real time transmission as the satellite is overhead or close by? is it stored and sent continuously for a predetermined time? I had my station on remote all day got nothing here in New Zealand ZL3TCM

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Re: [amsat-bb] Repeater interference on AO-92
by Stephen DeVience 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

*Not to get too far off topic, but this is the kind of thing that an SDR in orbit could help hunt down. Imagine one of the GOLFs, with is SDR capability.....* Yes, with its very own NROL-37, AMSAT could make enough money to put a lot of satellites in orbit! Speaking of which, I'm sure there's a recording of the interfering stations *somewhere* already. KV1J, that would be awesome to test. Even just recording the repeater output if someone is talking during the pass might allow it to be correlated with a satellite recording. I was going to try on echolink, but it looks like the nodes are down. Maybe leave a radio on the input frequency sometime as well to see if anyone on baofengs shows up. -Stephen, N8URE

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TLE for QUETZAL-1?
by Mike Lucas 28 Apr '20

28 Apr '20

Anybody have or have a link to element set for the new satellite yet? Thanks! Mike N7ASZ

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Re: [amsat-bb] Repeater interference on AO-92
by Eric Williams 28 Apr '20

28 Apr '20

I ran the experiments for 2 passes. 28Apr 1608 UTC and 29Apr 0245 UTC. The first pass was just a few minutes before it switched to the video mode. The second pass was high elevation and 11 minutes. It was mentioned that the interference might be from a 145.110 MHz repeater due to the 3rd harmonic. Also mentioned were towns heard in the conversation and that there was a courtesy beep. A repeater in our area that fits all those items in the N1CON repeater in Concord MA. For both passes I heard the bird fine and there were ongoing QSOs. During the passes I transmitted periodically on the repeater announcing my call and 'testing' to cause some audio on the repeater. Also had another station transmitting on the repeater. Throughout the test I did not hear any interference on the downlink. So also, I did not listen to the uplink frequency since there did not seem to be any interference at that time. I am using different radios for TX and RX, and antennas that are far apart for the tests. I'll check from time to time listening to the downlink. If I hear the interference, I can both check the uplink frequency and also listen to the local repeaters. There are many in this area. 73, Eric KV1J FN42 (West of Boston MA) -----Original Message----- From: Eric Williams [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 11:14 AM To: 'amsat-bb(a)amsat.org' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: RE: Repeater interference on AO-92 Yes, I am also listening to the uplink freq. Next pass is in about 1 hour. 73 Eric KV1J (I use digest mode for this list so pardon the not including the string of messages) -----Original Message----- From: Eric Williams [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 10:51 AM To: 'amsat-bb(a)amsat.org' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: RE: Repeater interference on AO-92 I am in the area of a suspected repeater. Also in the area of the towns mentioned to could be that machine. I'll watch for the next AO-92 pass and announce my call of the repeater a few times and listen to AO-92. So if you hear "KV1J" it is me testing for the interference. I have not looked at the pass schedule yet but I can try a couple passes. 73, Eric KV1J FN42

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AO-92 Images
by Tom Matthews 28 Apr '20

28 Apr '20

Thinking of AO-82 - Be sure to check out these fantastic images from today: https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4 -- Tom K5SAF

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ARISS News Release (ANR) No. 20-03
by David Jordan 28 Apr '20

28 Apr '20

ARISSNews Release No. 20-03 DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR aa4kn(a)amsat.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Duringthe COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstrations ofSchool Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio Approach April28, 2020—AmateurRadio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased toannounce the first use of a concept called MultipointTelebridge Contact via Amateur Radio,allowing school contacts for Stay-At-Home students and simultaneousreception by families, school faculty and the public. Duringthe last several weeks, efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19virus have resulted in massive school closures worldwide. Inaddition, the Stay-At-Home policies invoked by authorities, initiallyshut down opportunities for ARISS school contacts for the nearfuture. Tocircumvent these challenges and keep students and the public safe,ARISS is introducing the MultipointTelebridge Contact via Amateur Radio concept.First operation of this experimental system will occur during acontact scheduled with a group of Northern Virginia Studentslocated in Woodbridge, VA on Thursday, April 30 at 13:35 UTC (9:35EDT). During this event, an ARISS telebridge radio ground stationwill link to the astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS)ham radio station and each Stay-At-Home student and their teacherwill be individually linked to the telebridge station. Under theteacher’s direction, each student, from their home, takes a turnasking their question of the astronaut. QuotingARISS Chair Frank Bauer, “Thisapproach is a huge pivot for ARISS, but we feel it is a greatstrategic move for ARISS. In these times of isolation due to thevirus, these ARISS connections provide a fantastic psychologicalboost to students, families, educators and the public. And theycontinue our long-standing efforts to inspire, engage and educatestudent in STEAM subjects and encourage them to pursue STEAMcareers.” ARISSis inviting the public to view a live stream of the upcoming contactat its new ARISS YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/Cu8I9ose4Vo. Duringthe contact, participants will ask as many of the following questionsas time allows: 1.What does the sun look like from outer space? 2.How comfortable is it to sleep in space? 3.What is one thing you want to eat when you get back to earth? 4.I've heard that stars are red, yellow and blue. Can you see thosecolors in space when you look at the stars? 5.Besides your family, what do you miss most while being in space? 6.What are your thoughts on our Covid-19 situation right now? Does theEarth look differently over the last 3 months now that many peopleare inside and not creating pollution? 7.How often do you get to go out of the ISS? Have you been on any spacewalks? 8.Who makes the rocket that takes you to the ISS? 9.What does it feel like to float all the time? 10.Do you use flashlights on space walks? 11.How do you exercise in space? 12.How do you get out for space walks safely without the air from theISS coming out into space? How does it feel to walk in space? 13.What do you wear in the space station? 14.How did it feel when you first got to space? 15.How is space different from Earth? 16.What do you study in school to become an astronaut? 17.What do you like the most about being in space? 18.Were you nervous when you launched into space? 19.How do you communicate with loved ones while you are in space? AboutARISS: AmateurRadio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperativeventure of international amateur radio societies and the spaceagencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In theUnited States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation(AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Laband National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primarygoal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduledcontacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS andstudents in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radiocontacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn aboutspace, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information,see www.ariss.org MediaContact: DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR

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