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

FM signals heard on RS-44
by Mark Johns, K0JM 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

There was an FM QSO taking place on about 145.95 just now (about 14:45z) that was coming through the RS-44 downlink at about 435.655. The bird was up toward the Pole, so New England would have been in the footprint, as well as Canada and some northern states to the west. No callsigns heard, but it sounded like amateurs and English was being spoken. -- Mark D. Johns, KØJM AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd ----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ---Mark Twain

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-06-03 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 03 Jun '20

03 Jun '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-06-03 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit (***) Welcome aboard! Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No additional schools Cancelled: No additional schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. 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 2020-06-03 22:00 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 2020-05-17 11:30 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 ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future 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 1389. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1322. 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. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit (***) Welcome aboard! Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Dino is the Man!
by Rafael Pena 03 Jun '20

03 Jun '20

David and all: I would also like to commend Dino for being honest / kind / unselfish / experienced on the subject of G-5500. Dino has helped me immensely to get my controller back in business. He, like with you, spent an enormous amount of time assisting me. He recommended me to purchased additional op amps (they cost but a few cents) and I have use a few here and there. He also suggested, highly recommended, the use of IC sockets so that the OpAmp can be made plug and play. It seems as though the controller's OpAmp are pretty susceptible to RF and mother nature. I ended up placing a trailer's 6 connector set 12" long between each EL/AZ cables at the controller for easy quick disconnect. Watch out for your HF station power as RF might get into the G-5500 controller as well. Recently, I had issues with the controller's AZ needle doing the jumping jack. Dino to the rescue!!! He pin pointed to several areas to test for finding the solution which I took. But it ended up being water inside the AZ cable at the rotator connector (some how my sealing of it, from recent work, was not too good). Replacing the cable and connector took care of business. I hope you can get your system in place soon. G-5500 is one of the most affordable, easy to fix, system out there for satellites. PS: Dino is not for hire :) Rafael / NN3RP *********************************************************************** Message: 4 Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2020 20:03:08 -0400 From: David Worboys <kg4zlb(a)icloud.com> To: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] G5500 issue Message-ID: <EAFEED68-BF61-41DE-B757-493BFE32A76A(a)icloud.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Evening all!, Further to my original posting I just wanted to take time to thank profusely everyone who contacted me with help but specifically I would like to mention Dino (VE7XDT) who patiently helped me diagnose the problem by way of a huge amount of emails back and forth and me prodding at wires with a new multimeter bought especially for this. His ultimate diagnosis of failed op amps in the box was confirmed by Yaesu after another hour on the phone performing the same tests to answer their questions. A quality company, they took their time to ensure that I was totally aware of the issues. Unfortunately the same can't be said about HRO in Atlanta (where I purchased the rotator two weeks ago plus a hell of a lot of other equipment). The implied irritation level that permeated down the phone line was palpable; i asked them to send me a new one today, take a hold on my credit card for the full value and I would send them back the defunct one using their packaging and then they could release my credit card hold. Keep a good customer happy ? No chance. He actually tried to sell me a new complete G5500 and would then give me store credit once i sent everything back - I am not taking down the equipment and sending it all back and then have to put everything back up again. So the controller is now on its way to Atlanta and the Store Manager said that he had no stock of the controller on its own but could take out the controller from the complete kit and send that - somehow I doubt that will happen and this will drag on and on. Sorry to rant, I just hate bad customer service. Anyway, thanks everyone again - I look forward to working some of you on the satellites It's about 11 years since the last time I was active but HRO may drag that out even further. I hope not. 73?s David KG4ZLB

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Re: [amsat-bb] Terrible Repeater QRM on AO-92
by Ted Krempa 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

Hi Andrew, any update on this issue? Thanks and 73 Ted, K7TRK -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Andrew Glasbrenner via AMSAT-BB Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2020 5:51 PM To: 'Roy Dean' Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Terrible Repeater QRM on AO-92 at 15:40z Roy, Thanks for the audio. In the weeks since this QRM came to light, with the help of recordings from users, we have found the club whose repeater audio is being retransmitted over AO-92. I do not believe this to be intentional. Despite the coincidence of frequencies involved, I also do not believe it to be a third harmonic. The audio is too clear, the signal is too strong, and repeaters have too much filtering for that to be happening. I reached out to the board of directors and the repeater trustees, sent links to the audio including callsigns and their net ID. I explained that based on experience that this was likely someone crossbanding into their repeater with a poor choice of UHF frequency, and we could use their help in finding the QRM source, and my goal was to educate and remove it, not point fingers and place blame. The responses ranged from virtual shrugs, to claims of atmospheric conditions, to "there must be something wrong on the satellite end." A few suggested going to the repeater site and listening on UHF while the repeater is active, which is a pretty good idea. Supposedly they would make announcements about it on their nets. I haven't given up on getting the club to help us find the QRM, but we may need some more convincing. I'll send the new recordings and ask again. Meanwhile, Is there anyone in the Gloucester, MA area that would like to do a little foxhunting for AMSAT? 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Roy Dean via AMSAT-BB Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2020 12:12 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Terrible Repeater QRM on AO-92 at 15:40z > > Yes, terrible QRM during this pass. Have recording as well but no call > signs from repeater chatter. Cal / N3CAL https://youtu.be/4439iHT4vtM --Roy K3RLD _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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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G5500 issue
by David Worboys 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

Evening all!, Further to my original posting I just wanted to take time to thank profusely everyone who contacted me with help but specifically I would like to mention Dino (VE7XDT) who patiently helped me diagnose the problem by way of a huge amount of emails back and forth and me prodding at wires with a new multimeter bought especially for this. His ultimate diagnosis of failed op amps in the box was confirmed by Yaesu after another hour on the phone performing the same tests to answer their questions. A quality company, they took their time to ensure that I was totally aware of the issues. Unfortunately the same can't be said about HRO in Atlanta (where I purchased the rotator two weeks ago plus a hell of a lot of other equipment). The implied irritation level that permeated down the phone line was palpable; i asked them to send me a new one today, take a hold on my credit card for the full value and I would send them back the defunct one using their packaging and then they could release my credit card hold. Keep a good customer happy ? No chance. He actually tried to sell me a new complete G5500 and would then give me store credit once i sent everything back - I am not taking down the equipment and sending it all back and then have to put everything back up again. So the controller is now on its way to Atlanta and the Store Manager said that he had no stock of the controller on its own but could take out the controller from the complete kit and send that - somehow I doubt that will happen and this will drag on and on. Sorry to rant, I just hate bad customer service. Anyway, thanks everyone again - I look forward to working some of you on the satellites It's about 11 years since the last time I was active but HRO may drag that out even further. I hope not. 73’s David KG4ZLB

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Re: [amsat-bb] Source for Affordable bias-Tees?
by MICHAEL WILLIAMS 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

Check out: EME168-2-70 KIT at minikits.com.au. You can by it as a kit of assembled. The dollar exchange rate is real good. GL, Mike (K9QHO)

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Hack-a-Sat Call for Participation
by Michelle Thompson 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

Greetings all! I've put out the call for participation for the Hack-a-Sat competition in the past, and would like to bring you all up to date on the developments and opportunities that have developed since. The website is here: https://www.hackasat.com/ Hack-a-Sat is an activity that was scheduled to happen at the in-person DEFCON event. As of today, yes, it's true. DEFCON has been cancelled. Those of you that have volunteered at Ham Radio Village in the past are familiar with the event. For those of you that are not, it's a long-running hacking and cybersecurity event that has enthusiastically adopted everything RF and amateur radio. The United States Air Force, in conjunction with the Defense Digital Service, organized this year’s Space Security Challenge, called Hack-A-Sat. This challenge asks hackers from around the world to focus their skills and creativity on solving cybersecurity challenges on space systems. This competition is going to be held! It's now a virtual event. Security in the amateur radio sense of the word is fundamentally different from commercial and military applications. We have an advantage here, mainly due to the enormous leverage we have due to our context being completely different from what the Air Force and commercial interests assume. This is, essentially, a diversity advantage. If you want to participate on an experienced Capture The Flag (CTF) team, then I am here to extend an invitation. Anyone that reads through the rules and can afford to spend some time during the event is invited to apply to join Vaporsec. This is a team that has a majority of information security professionals. There are some satellite industry people, some amateur involvement, and I'd like to make sure that anyone interested in competing from AMSAT-BB gets a chance to join a competitive team. The benefits to amateur radio are primarily technical, with policy and security a close second. The Air Force has some agendas here in terms of improving satellite security. Exposure to the challenges alone is a an excellent opportunity to learn more about modern satellite technology... and what a significant player in space wants to find out more about. Don't assume that that the challenges in the competition are going to be "too hard". What is trivial for one viewpoint is unsolvable for another. I'll be writing about the event and what we learned when it is over, so this sort of knowledge will not be secret. However, there is no replacement for participation, and you could very well have the practical knowledge, gained from operating real satellites, that wins the competition. As you can see from the website, there is some real money involved and opportunities for technical writing. Let me know at w5nyv(a)arrl.net if you would like to talk more about joining a CTF team for this really neat and unique event. Know someone that you think should participate? Please forward to them. -Michelle W5NYV

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Source for affordable bias-tees?
by k0ekl＠frontier.com 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

I'm purchased 2m and 432 preamps for my satellite antenna system and both will require external bias-tees for power. Looking around on both US and UK/EU websites I've found bias-tees that cost almost as much or more than the preamps did. The inexpensive devices I've found are receive-only and meant for SRD users. Does anyone know of a source of bias-tees that cost less than $100.00 each, have decent specs on 2m and 432 and can withstand a transmit power of 50 or 100 watts. (Yes, I know I don't need to run 50 or 100 watts for satellite work but I don't want devices that will fail the first time I accidentally transmit "QRO". Thanks

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Yaesu FT847
by alex weimer 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

Thank You !! The FT847 is no longer available.. Decided to keep it !!! 73 JACK KC7MG

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Kantronics KPC-9612+ and Icom 910h
by wb7qxu＠juno.com 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

I want to be able to work Falconsat-3. It is a store and forward. I have a Icom 910h. To use 9600bd I have a Kantronics KPC-9612+ Has anyone used this to do 9600bd pacsats? Or Has anyone used Icom 910h to Signalink using the two data ports in the back which are for 9600bd? 73s Mike ____________________________________________________________ Sponsored by https://www.newser.com/?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_tag… Twitter Suspends Police Union Account Over De Blasio Post http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5ed55cdd916955cdd4a01st02duc1 Obama Has Message for Violent Protesters http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5ed55cddac3f05cdd4a01st02duc2 Trump to Governors: 'Most of You Are Weak' http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5ed55cddc6cb35cdd4a01st02duc3

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