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

Forensic Accounting
by Jeff Johns 08 Aug '20

08 Aug '20

Do any of the legacy, BoDs or Officers, who are running for re-election against me want to join me to call for a full forensic accounting of AMSAT’s finances? Many members want this to occur. No matter the cost, it seems to me this would help to remove the cloud that is currently hovering over AMSAT. Anyone? If elected, I would make a motion for this to occur. I am committed to full transparency for the organization. A full financial audit including an full inventory of all assets of AMSAT would go a long way towards rebuilding the trust of members. Jeff WE4B http://we4bravo.com

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who Let THIS Info Out?
by Bruce Perens 08 Aug '20

08 Aug '20

On Fri, Aug 7, 2020, 2:11 PM Joseph Armbruster via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > This sure makes me wonder, why didn't AMSAT ever do this against me or the > tons of volunteers and engineers before me? You can't tell me this is the > first case of some problem... > Joseph, And no police officer ever kneeled on _your_ neck, or your friends, so it must be the Black person's problem, right? It's the exact same argument. There has been no shortage of conflict between AMSAT management and volunteers. I have a long list of people whom I know were the major developers of previous AMSAT missions, who we don't see here any longer. As I said previously, no one hired lawyers against you because you did not act as opposition to the incumbent board. >

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FS: 2019-2020 AMSAT Journal (4 issues)
by John Geiger 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

I have for sale 4 issues of the AMSAT journal from 2019-2020, which include the July/August 2019, September/October 2019, November/December 2019, and January/February 2020 issues. These are all in good condition and contain lots of good information about the satellites and amateur radio in space. I am asking $12 shipped for the set and can take paypal/check/MO. 73 John AF5CC

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who Let THIS Info Out?
by Bruce Perens 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

I made "numerous legal threats"? I don't think so. Given what a tremendous whopper that one is, I can't attach any credibility to the rest of your statement, except for one thing: It is true that Michelle and Patrick, and for that matter I, feel that AMSAT's NDAs prevent it from being able to achieve a workable ITAR strategy. You simply can't use the ITAR 120.11 and EAR 734.7 carve-outs AND have secret or proprietary portions of any technology listed under the United States Munitions List. Once there is secret or proprietary technology, all of the nasty restrictions of ITAR are unavoidable. It is possible to deal with secrets outside of the technology, such as launch schedules, and it is possible to compartmentalize some ITAR-protected information, for example technology specific to the launch which is not necessary for broader cooperations such as designing and constructing a satellite. Thus it is necessary for AMSAT to examine all existing NDAs, separate itself from ones that are no longer necessary, and carefully compartmentalize any which need to stand for the moment. Michelle and Patrick attempted to initiate this process, but have been blocked. Thanks Bruce

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Re: [amsat-bb] FT-736 power supply part
by Gregory Beat 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

DL7VHF placed the FT-736R SMPS schematic diagram on Last Pages http://www.catlog.net/_Descarregas/Manuals/03-Yaesu/Yaesu%20FT-736R-PS-Repa… SCR21 : marked: TH21 5P4M NEC 5P4M, 5A, 400V Thyristor in a TO-220 case, == Possible substitutes: Phillips BT258-500R , STMicroelectronics TYN608 https://www.digikey.com/products/en/discrete-semiconductor-products/thyrist… NTE 5424 appears to be suitable substitute. https://www.nteinc.com/specs/5400to5499/pdf/nte5424.pdf Digi-Key F7250-ND (Littlefuse S4008LTP) SCR 400V, 8A Standard Recovery, TO-220AB-L, Isolated Tab https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/littelfuse-inc/S4008LTP/F7250-ND/… Littlefuse Data Sheet https://www.littelfuse.com/~/media/electronics/datasheets/switching_thyrist… greg w9gb === Date: Fri, 07 Aug 2020 16:04:16 -0600 From: "Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL" <vlfiscus(a)mcn.net> To: AMSAT-BB Subject: [amsat-bb] FT-736 power supply part Hi All, I walked into the shack about a month ago and smelled something really hot like the smell from a hot resistor. Turned off all the equipment waited a while then turned everything back on. The FT-736 didn't come back on, so I assumed the power supply, as this is a common problem with the rigs as they get older. Bought a repair replacement kit for the electrolytic caps in the power supply, which is normally the problem. They get baked and fail. Got the power supply out last night to do the repairs and I discovered it was the SCR in the power supply that had totally burned up. Weird. Does anyone here have or know a Digi-key or Mouser part number for the SCR or an equivalent compatible part? It labeled SCR21 on P.C. board. Thanks Vince

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FT-736 power supply part.
by Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

Hi All, I walked into the shack about a month ago and smelled something really hot like the smell from a hot resistor. Turned off all the equipment waited a while then turned everything back on. The FT-736 didn't come back on, so I assumed the power supply, as this is a common problem with the rigs as they get older. Bought a repair replacement kit for the electrolytic caps in the power supply, which is normally the problem. They get baked and fail. Got the power supply out last night to do the repairs and I discovered it was the SCR in the power supply that had totally burned up. Weird. Does anyone here have or know a Digi-key or Mouser part number for the SCR or an equivalent compatible part? It labeled SCR21 on P.C. board. Thanks

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Who Let THIS Info Out?
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

No Directors are being muted, censored, or censured. Directors, Officers, and volunteers make statements about their work for the corporation on social media, blogs, or the AMSAT-BB. With or without regard for diplomacy, certain Directors have taken an approach to make their opinions public before bringing items up for discussion via the internal Board of Directors mailing list. There is no majority or minority "party" at AMSAT. There are no political parties defined by AMSAT. Continued claims about "incumbents" sounds very divisive. All sitting Directors are incumbents. AMSAT is about shared interest in amateur radio and space - not personal interests, vengeance, and politics. Directors should be aware of how minutes of the Corporation work. The Secretary writes them, the Board approves them, and then they are made public. As of August 4th, the Secretary has not provided any draft minutes for meetings after February 4th. The claim about not having any Board Meetings for an entire year is false. AMSAT has held three Board of Directors meetings plus an informal working session in 2020. There will be at least one more formal Board of Directors meeting before the 2020 Directors election concludes. The bylaws clearly state the mechanics of calling a Board of Directors meeting. Historical Board of Directors meetings held per year: 2019 (2), 2018 (3), 2017 (4), 2016 (3) Ref: https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/ I refuse to engage in endless disputes via this email list out of respect for its members, AMSAT's mission, and my love for amateur radio. Despite exaggerated claims to the contrary, the reality is AMSAT remains committed to success with new and existing partners. AMSAT succeeds as a team or fails as a team. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who Let THIS Info Out?
by Bruce Perens 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

> I’m glad that they have been transparent :-) We need to remain aware of the difference between frankness and transparency. What we saw was a frank admission of conduct that many of us found to be an inappropriate means of dealing with opposition. People also confuse frankness with honesty.

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Yaeus G-5500 rotator boom mounting
by Bob Hammond 07 Aug '20

07 Aug '20

How do others attach their fiberglass boom to the elevation rotor on a G-5500? Just use the boom clamps provided? Make a sleeve to fit between the smaller fiberglass boom and elevation rotor inside diameter? Drill a hole and pin it? All ideas appreciated. Bob W7OTJ

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GridMaster Award in GridTracker
by Don KB2YSI 06 Aug '20

06 Aug '20

N0TTL has added the GridMaster Award as an award layer in his GridTracker software ( https://tagloomis.com/downloads/ ). It is awesome when developers work with users to help make their software appeal to a broader audience! Once you get your log into the software, there are many ways to do this. Press J and it will highlight in your QSL'ed grids for GMA. Press B to get the grid #'s to be filled in. Move the map to how you want it, press SHIFT+F5 to save the position. At any time press F5 and it will return to that position! Press K to take a screenshot. If you forget something, press F1 and a help screen with all of the key presses is displayed; this is the #1 key press to remember! I have posted my newest map here: https://twitter.com/kb2ysi/status/1291408711987200002 If you happen to be an FT8 junkie and have not given the package a try, you should check it out. There are many award layers available and a load of features that I barely know how to utilize; check out the Callable Roster. If you want to join the Discord server: https://discord.gg/j9Cv9XU -- 73, Don KB2YSI https://www.hamqth.com/kb2ysi

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