AMSAT-BB June 2021

108 participants
123 discussions

Re: G5400B meter lamps
by Richard Lawn 12 Jun '21

12 Jun '21

Thanks for the advice. It looks live I need to replace both lamps with 12 v LED with the resistor built in. They shouldn’t be hard to come by. I may even have a couple but probably not white. Im now confident to go ahead and tear it down. 73 Rick, W2JAZ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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ANS-164 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 12 Jun '21

12 Jun '21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-164 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ In this edition: * Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election * CHESS CubeSats Will Not Carry Amateur Transponders * ARISS Offers More Fun to ARRL/AMSAT Field Day Operators * FUNcube Dongle Stock Update * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for May 6, 2021 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.01 To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2021 Jun 13 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Join the 2021 President's Club! Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish, Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag By donating today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ You won't want to miss it! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Call for Nominations – 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following four incumbent Directors expire in 2021 and will be filled by this year’s election: Jerry Buxton N0JY Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK Michelle Thompson W5NYV Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators’ names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary: Jeff Davis, KE9V 1909 S. Batavia Avenue Muncie, IN 47302-2044 ke9v at amsat.org A copy should be sent to Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, at n8hm at amsat.org. The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. The Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials via mail or in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted. No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June. [ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CHESS CubeSats Will Not Carry Amateur Transponders Two CHESS CubeSats had been planned to carry amateur radio linear transponders, however, it was announced on June 10, 2021, there will not be any amateur payload on the satellites. A translation of the press release reads: The CHESS project management, due to funding constraints, had to move the project towards a commercial cubesat platform. Space is scarce on this new platform to accommodate another payload. Subsequently, there is no longer an opportunity to carry a ham radio transponder on board. The CHESS project management has correctly decided not to use frequencies in the amateur satellite service and to use earth exploration or experimental UHF- and X- band frequencies. The ham community, who assured the funding of the transponder, is very disappointed by this decision, but must accept it. Such projects always carry risks of one partner changing its mind. That is what happened here. Many thanks to all who have actively supported the transponder project, especially the AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL team. AMSAT-HB announcement https://www.amsat-hb.org/2021/06/10/chess-fliegt-ohne-amateurfunknutzlast/ January 2021 project announcement https://amsat-uk.org/2021/01/14/chess-cubesat-constellation-funcube/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-HB, and AMSAT-NL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Offers More Fun to ARRL/AMSAT Field Day Operators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has decided to keep its ARISS InterOperable Radio System (IORS) in crossband repeater mode until after ARRL Field Day ends. The IORS ham station is located in the Columbus Module of the International Space Station. ARRL Hq Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, has confirmed that successful radio contacts made through the ARISS IORS, in crossband repeater mode, will count for an ARRL Field Day QSO point, but also for Field Day bonus points! Another fun opportunity for points. Don’t forget the rule limiting stations to 1 QSO per any single channel FM satellite. On-orbit astronauts always have very busy schedules, but if a voice contact were to be made with them, it would count for QSO credit but not for satellite bonus points. Only an ARISS crossband repeater QSO qualifies for the bonus. Crossband repeater contacts are also valid for AMSAT Field Day for satellite operations, held concurrently with the ARRL event. Frequencies for ARISS crossband repeater operation are as follows: 145.990 MHz up, 67 Hz tone and 437.800 MHz down. If you haven’t used the ISS repeater yet, be sure to practice with it before Field Day (June 26-27, 2021). These contacts can be tricky, but hams can practice right now…can you do it? ARISS had planned a mode switch to APRS packet during the second week of June. Now, ARISS is targeting the switch by the astronauts to packet after the first ARISS school contact following ARRL Field Day. In more news for ARISS supporters: the astronauts will power down the ARISS radio station during USA spacewalks on June 16 and June 20, 2021. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FUNcube Dongle Stock Update Over the past month it’s proven difficult to keep stock, but we look forward to having stock ready within the next few days. During the pandemic, we’ve seen a significant uptick in sales of the FUNcube Dongle, and this trend continues. While we’ve managed to maintain stock for most of the past twelve months, it’s not been easy, and for the last month or so unfortunately we’ve been running on empty. The perfect storm combination of increased demand, logistics delays due to the pandemic, and more recently the global parts shortages, have all impacted our ability to maintain stock. On June 10th, it was announced that a limited stock was available for purchase at https://funcubedongle.3dcartstores.com/checkout_one.asp [ANS thanks the FUNcube Dongle Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for June 10, 2021 Rather than continue to send a "No amateur satellite additions or deletions..." report each week, I have decided to send an update message only when an addition or deletion has actually occurred. It seems a waste of bulletin space to send a message when there is really no new news. Please assume that if there is no change message, that means no additions or deletions have occurred. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control, now manifested for launch on NASA's ELaNa 46 mission. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS News Collège Albert Camus, La Norville, France and Université Paris-Saclay, Saint-Aubin, France multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be FXØISS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is go for: Thu 2021-06-17 11:40:45 UTC 84 deg Current Status of ISS Stations IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS - ACTIVE. supporting cross band repeater operation (145.990 up [67 Hz tone] /437.800 down MHz). Next mode change to packet operations targeting after Field Day. Supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops. Service Module radios: Kenwood D710E – STATUS - Radio usually off. Supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts and SSTV. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations WY7AA: FI will be in FN02 starting 6/6 for a few weeks. Operating Sats. holiday style. If you need FN01, FN02, FN03, FN12 please let me know and we can try to set something up. FN01,03, and 12 will likely each be one day roves. FM and SSB EA4M: Hi guys later in June I’ll be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules. VE6WK: DN49: – I’m planning a SOTA rove to DN49 on June 12 and may hit some other grids on the way there/back. AD0DX: FN15/25 FM & SSB ND0C and KE0WPA: In June @kylee_ke0wpa and I, along with our resident photojournalist (Mom/Amy), will be taking a family excursion to the southwest and working some sats as time permits. Here are the less commonly worked grids from which we plan to operate. We will hit other grids too. DM67 6/15 – 6/17, DM56 6/18, DM45 6/19, DN63 7/2, DN64 7/2 & 7/3 AD0DX (VA3IIR) :Long Range Rover plans: VA3IIR in FN15/25 June 18 FM and SSB WA5RR: I’m looking at doing a rove in DL98 with an overnight stay in Eagle Pass, TX around the last week in June. Details to follow. VP2V/K3TRM: I will be operating from Tortola, BVI as VP2V/K3TRM on July 4-17, 2021. Activity will be on 40-6M SSB & digital, and satellite. N5LEX: CN98 last week of June. DM62: K5TA, I’m tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip for me…. EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Sean’s birthday in the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well. Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, reports these upcoming presentations scheduled for … 06/15 - East Massachusetts 10/21 - Conejo Valley CA … and dates for Roseland NJ, Austin TX, Maine, and NH to be firmed up! Think a lively, entertaining, AND educational 75-minute presentation to YOUR club or organization on “Working the Easy Sateliites” would be appropriate for your club? Send me a message or call! Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador, ARRL instructor http://www.work-sat.com k6lcs AT work-sat DOT info (909) 999-SATS (7287) [ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, AMSAT Ambassador, and Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + FO-99's operating schedule for June can be found at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/nexus202106.j… Note that times are listed in Japan Standard Time (UTC +9), so subtract nine hours to get the UTC time for the activations. The transponder is generally active for Friday evening passes over the Eastern United States according to this schedule. + Thanks to Gordon Scannell, KD8COJ, and the Livonia Amateur Radio Club, the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Loaner ison display at the Livonia, MI Public Library for month of June. https://qrz.com/db/kd8coj + AMSAT Director Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, appeared on the June 3, 2021 episode of the ARRL's Eclectic Tech podcast to discuss amateur satellites and provide advice for ARRL/AMSAT Field Day. The episode can be downloaded at http://www.arrl.org/eclectic + Minutes of the March 2, 2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Teleconference are available at https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/ + Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store, including a set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT round logo, and more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase price goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear + All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT’s new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT’s Symposium Proceedings are also available for members. If you’re a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/ + The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted. The print edition is $30 plus shipping and is available at https://tinyurl.com/GS2020Print --------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President’s Club donations may be made at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week’s ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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G5400B meter lamps
by Richard Lawn 12 Jun '21

12 Jun '21

Before I tear into it, does anyone have any detail on what those meter lamps are? I need to replace one on the AZ side. The schematic in the manual simply lists them as PL1 and PL2. Maybe the actual part will be obvious when I open it up, but I thought I’d ask. 73 Rick, W2JAZ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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Re: Hawkeye 360 next three satellites this summer
by Robert Coppock 12 Jun '21

12 Jun '21

Will they be automating the canceling of HAM licenses and AMSAT memberships via this sat feed ? LOL Sorry about that Chief. 73 kfOg cm88pk Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

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PSAT2 coverage improves 10-22 June
by Robert Bruninga 11 Jun '21

11 Jun '21

PSAT2(NO-104) will enter about 2 weeks of good USA coverage between about 10 to 22 June. Normally its low inclination orbit favors the southern USA. But the orbit is also elliptical and so there are times when the elevation angle to more northern stations rises as much as 20 degrees.. Bringing higher latitude stations into the footprint.. Currently it's VHF Xponder has been in DTMF & APRS-to-Voice (A2V) mode but with the ISS digipeater being inactive, we will enable PSAT2 for normal APRS operations plus the A2V feature. its HF/UHF transponder will remain in linear operation for PSK31 SSTV and Voice. We also note that PSAT(NO84) has awakened from poor sun angles and we will try to activate its digipeater. Bob, WB4APR

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Tentatively activating FM25 Friday June 11th
by John Brier 11 Jun '21

11 Jun '21

Hi folks, I'm going on a little road trip up the east coast to visit friends and family and I'll be taking my satellite gear, including my IC-9700, with me. Originally I was planning on leaving on Thursday from Raleigh, NC and spending all Thursday and much of Friday activating various grids like FM15/FM16/FM26/FM27/FM28 and Delaware, before I went to see friends in Fredericksburg, VA, Baltimore, MD, and Philadelphia, PA before coming back to Raleigh, NC around the 20th. I still planning on seeing all my friends and family but the trip will almost certainly start later. Earlier this week some stuff came up and it is pushing my preparation back so I am now targeting to leave on Friday. Also, I found out many people need FM25, including Christy KB6LTY who needs it for #488, and since it seems overall more rare than the others, combined with the fact I have less time I am focusing on just activating FM25 on Friday June 11th. If there is time along the way I may activate other grids like FM15 or FM16, but I don't know how likely that is. One of the things that is affecting my departure date is that part of my preparations include building a mount for my IC-9700 to sit atop a tripod PA speaker stand. Speaker stand: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Proline/LST2BK-Speaker-Stand-Black-12742280768… Basically, I'm trying to build something out of wood that sits on the speaker stand's post that can securely hold/support the IC-9700. This way I will be semi-portable and not anchored to my car. I was planning on starting the build of this on Monday/Tuesday but like I said, something came up. I didn't start working on it until Tuesday afternoon. Additionally, I found out the way I was planning on building this thing isn't going to work exactly like I thought, so I am spending extra time to adapt. There are other things I need to do to prepare for my trip like setting up an old laptop to run DXKeeper and LoTW as well as prepare for the overall trip, so I think at best I will be able to leave by Friday. If somehow I can leave on Thursday, I will reply to this email. Other than that, check my Twitter page for updates and passes. I don't know what passes I will be on but definitely most linear/FM sats that are decent for NA coverage while I'm in FM25. You can view my Twitter page here: https://twitter.com/SpaceComms1 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Using Two Arrow Antennas
by Richard Lawn 11 Jun '21

11 Jun '21

I’ve made phasing lines for two Arrow antennas. I need to shorten the 435 canles just a bit but the 2 meter phasing lines are working great. My question is how best to mount the 2 antennas on the boom. Right now I have them mounted at 90 degrees and it seems to be working real well. Open to suggestions. 73 Rick, W2JAZ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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AO-91 & Field Day
by saguaroastro＠cox.net 10 Jun '21

10 Jun '21

This is really for the ops team, but I suppose it is of general interest. With field day approaching, I'm willing to lay odds that regardless of requests and announcements NOT to use AO-91 in eclipse, the lure of the satellite bonus will entice many to try, either knowingly or not. Has the ops team considered turning it off during Field day to keep it from getting killed? My 39.49 Burundian Francs worth. Rick Tejera Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org

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Re: Ham Spy transmitter in WWII
by Robert Bruninga 10 Jun '21

10 Jun '21

On Thu, Jun 10, 2021 at 4:55 PM Greg D <ko6th.greg(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Interesting find, Bob. I have a copy of the 1948 ARRL Handbook, and > they have a design for a "Self-Contained 60-Watt Transmitter for Three > Bands" (pg 173). Uses a 6V6GT and an 807 (not 804). Covers 3.5, 7, and > 14 megacycle bands (crystal controlled or with an external VFO; CW > only). 5R4GY for the rectifier, 1.2kv center tapped transformer. Yikes! > > Looks like quite a project. Speaking of 807s, I'm getting thirsty... > > 73, > > Greg KO6TH > > > Robert Bruninga wrote: >> I'm reading "the secret wireless war" and am surprised that the entire >> basis for transmitters throughout the British traffic network including >> spy radios and fixed stations transmission of decrypted ULTRA (Enigma) >> traffic to those with need-to-know was handled by a two tube 6V6 and >> 804 arrangement called the MKIII. >> >> The secret service built them all themselves from the design in the >> ham radio handbook to avoid raising suspicions if they began buying >> the few commercial ham equipment. >> >> That is the same arrangement as the first Novice transmitter I >> built back in 1963 in middle school just 18 years after the war. Amazing. >> >> Bob, WB4APR.

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For sale
by Michael Rohwedder 10 Jun '21

10 Jun '21

The TH-D72A HT has been sold. Like new Mirage KP-1/440 meter preamplifier. $75.00 Like new, never been used Diamond SS770R duplexer for dual OSCAR antennas or similar. $25 Shipping is via USPS Priority mail and your cost. Reasonable offers will be considered but these are really good buys. Mike WU9D

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