February 2023 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

ARISS News Release No. 23-05
by David Jordan 06 Feb '23

06 Feb '23

ARISS News Release No.23-05 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at Colegio Diocesano Santa María Nuestra Señora,Écija, Spain February6, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboardthe International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Santa María NuestraSeñora Diocesan School located in Écija, Spain. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each yearbetween students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboardthe ISS. Founded in 1935, Santa María Nuestra Señora Diocesan School islocated in the city of Écija (40.000 inhabitants), in the province of Seville(SPAIN) and offers pre-school, primary and secondary education with a studentbody ages 3 to 16 years. The school provides educational innovation in, STEAM,PBL (Project-based learning), programming and robotics. During the three yearsleading up to this ARISS contact, students learned about space explorationthrough hands-on activities that included constructing models of planets in oursolar system, radio communications with members of the URE Seville (Union ofSpanish Radio Amateurs) and completed projects from the European SpaceEducation Resource Office-Spain (ESERO). These activities also showed studentswhat it is like to live and work in the ISS, and included visits to the scienceand technology park to discover how this helps us in our daily live. This will be a telebridge contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask theirquestions of Astronaut Josh Cassada, amateur radio call sign KI5CRH. The downlinkfrequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners thatare within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the telebridge station. The ARISS amateur radio ground station(telebridge station) for this contact is in Casale Monferrato, Italy. Theamateur radio volunteer team at the station will use the callsign IK1SLD, toestablish and maintain the ISS connection. TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 8, 2023 at 11:13:59 am CET (Spain)(10:13:59UTC, 5:13 am EST, 4:13 am CST, 3:13 am MST, 2:13am PST). Thepublic is invited to watch the live stream at: http://www.ariotti.com/. They are also streamingat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nYFP7qzUtk . _______________________________ Astime allows, students will ask these questions: 1.Is it cold in space? 2.How do astronauts sleep in space? 3.How can data be transmitted from space to Earth in real time? 4.What do you spend your time on? Are you always working on experiments? 5.What happens if you get injured, hurt or sick in the space? Are there doctors on board? 6.How do astronauts eat and drink without gravity? 7.How do astronauts take a shower and go to the wc? 8.How can you breathe at the international station if there is noatmosphere/oxygen in space? 9.What is your main mission on the International Space Station? 10.How do you protect from orbital debris, or “space junk”? 11.What do astronauts like most about living in space? 12.Do you feel anything special as you go past the atmosphere and you stop feelingthe Earth’s gravity? 13.How do you want or expect your mission to affect society? 14.What is the maximum time to stay on a space station? 15.Do your legs get numb being weightless? 16.Can plants and trees be grown on the space station? 17.How many astronauts can be on the space station? 18.Are unexplained UFO phenomena studied from the ISS? 19.What do you like most about being in space? 20.What kind of training is required to work on the ISS? About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the InternationalSpace Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radiosocieties and the space agencies that support the International Space Station(ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur SatelliteCorporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS NationalLab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) andNASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN). The primary goal ofARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts,and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts viaamateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before andduring these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities takepart in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org MediaContact: DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR Findus on social media at: Twitter:ARISS_Intl Facebook:facebook.com/ARISSIntl Instagram:ariss_intl Mastodon:ariss_intl@mastodon.hams.social Checkout ARISS on Youtube.com.

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IO 117 (53106) TLEs
by Nico Janssen 06 Feb '23

06 Feb '23

Unfortunately no more TLEs are published for Greencube aka Italy-OSCAR 117, object 53106 (2022-080B), which is fully operational. Fortunately doppler measurements show that the latest available TLE (2022-12-20) is still very accurate. 73, Nico PA0DLO

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2023-02-06 19:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 06 Feb '23

06 Feb '23

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2023-02-06 19:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: About Gagarin From Space, "Secondary secondary school No. 2 named after A.V. Suvorov" and the Center for Children's Creativity, Dinskaya, Russia, direct via RY6AAC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled crewmember is Anna Kikina Contact was successful for Sun 2023-02-05 14:25 UTC (***) Congratulations to all of the Dinskaya students and Anna! (***) Cache County School District, Millville, UT, direct via W7IVM The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information or on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled crewmember is Josh Cassada KI5CRH Contact is go for: Tue 2023-02-07 18:45:54 UTC 32 deg Both of these links have a link to the actual contact Livestream. Astronomy students prepare to talk live with an astronaut on the International Space Station The PodCACHE: Making Contact with the International Space Station Or you can watch at the ARISS channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxm5Ca2y0HD_NxXlZWXv11A (***) Colegio Diocesano Santa María Nuestra Señora, Écija, Spain, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The scheduled crewmember is Josh Cassada KI5CRH Contact is go for: Wed 2023-02-08 10:13:59 UTC 74 deg Starting about 15 minutes before AOS, watch for Livestream at http://www.ariotti.com/. They are also streaming at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nYFP7qzUtk The crossband repeater continues to be active. If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. 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 2023-02-06 19:30 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 2023-02-06 19:30 UTC.(***) https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf ####################################################################################################################################### Comments on making general contacts I have been seeing a lot of traffic on Facebook and I suspect on other social media sites with people asking why they are not hearing the crew make general contacts. First off the crew is very busy on the ISS and they simply may not have the time to just pick up the microphone and talk. Also, one needs to be aware of their normal daily schedule. I have listed below the constraints that we at ARISS have to follow in order to schedule the school contacts. Hopefully this will help you better schedule your opportunities. Typical daily schedule Wakeup to Workday start= 1.5 hours Workday start to Workday end=12 hours Workday end to Sleep= 2 hours Sleep to wakeup= 8.5 hours The crew's usual waking period is 0730 - 1930 UTC. The most common times to find a crew member making casual periods are about one hour after waking and before sleeping, when they have personal time. They're usually free most of the weekend, as well. SSTV events are not that often. So please check out https://www.ariss.org/ for the latest information or watch for the ARISS announcements. And don’t forget that the packet system is active. As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. 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 ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. **************************************************************************************************************************************** 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. Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements at https://www.ariss.org/ The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools **************************************************************************************************************************************** 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) Call for Proposals The proposal window for US schools and educational organizations to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS for contacts to be scheduled for July 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023 has closed. Watch for the next opportunity for proposals for the first half of 2024 sometime in the springtime period of 2023. (***) Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. 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. 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 unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* 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 congratulates the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Sergey RV3DR with 195 (***) Francesco IKØWGF with 149 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 148 Gaston ON4WF with 124 Peter IN3GHZ with 115 Steve VE3TBD with 103 **************************************************************************** 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 1602. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1511. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. 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, 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, FXØISS, GB1SS, 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. 68 on orbit Sergey Prokopyev Francisco Rubio Dimitri Petelin SpaceX Crew-5 on orbit Josh Cassada KI5CRH Nicole Mann Anna Kikina Koichi Wakata KI5TMN **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: Detail on Cache district school contact
by aj9n＠aol.com 06 Feb '23

06 Feb '23

Hi Loren and all, The times that are being posted are being given by ARISS to the schools. The schools are to confirm the times themselves using the very latest Kep data that they have acquired on the day of their contact. The schools have to realize that things can change a few minutes plus/minus from what they may have planned for the event. My latest prediction that I get using the very latest files from Celestrak are showing: AOS 18:45:31 UTC LOS 18:56:12 UTC Max elevation 32 degrees. I am using the exact coordinates that the school gave us for where the event is being held. The software I am using for this prediction is Nova. So it looks like your predictions are very close. Like I have said in earlier emails, the times that show up on the AMSAT-BB are really to be thought of as more of a planning/placeholder time. If there is a major change in the contact time, then the bulletins get updated to reflect that change. I have lost count how many times I have done that. Again, I always say to either run your own Keps or to plan on starting to listen about 10 minutes ahead of what gets posted. I don't try to keep the times updated every day; I am simply too busy with all of the ARISS work to do that. If there is something major, then I posted something. Please also note that depending on the local school location versus terrain, the ISS antenna versus the ISS superstructure itself maybe blocking the signal, and a zillion other reasons; the actual conversation might start 30 to 60 seconds beyond predicted AOS. And the contact might end sooner than expected. We have had a few times where the contact actually got started before predicted AOS. So I always recommend to my schools to start calling the ISS 30 to 60 seconds ahead of predicted AOS and to have the squelch fully off so that they can hear the faintest of signals. Believe it or not, you should hear a slight decrease in the background noise as the signal is working towards full quieting but hear no audio just yet. That's when I know we probably got them, they are calling us, but we just don't hear the audio yet. Wait a few more seconds and then there they are. Once a school hears some actual audio, then you can usually sense a big sigh of relief from the audience. Also in my earlier email, I mention that our lead orbital guy is using Kep data that is not in the public domain. So yes, he is getting data from NASA on what is happening and what is planned to happen. As the contact date and time approaches real time, the latest public domain Kep set is what is in command of the actual prediction. And of course, the ISS is the one really in command as to where it is traveling. Hope this helps. 73,Charlie Sufana AJ9NOne of the ARISS mentors In a message dated 2023-02-06 12:06:27 Eastern Standard Time, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org writes: I actually took the time to set the home location to the GPS coordinates of K7IVM as the home location and I took a screen shot from the website when I was preparing last Tuesday. It clearly shows the home location somewhere near Millville, UT and the AOS being 20-30 seconds before 18:42. Pulling up that same pass today, I see the AOS is 18:45:40 and it still shows the house on K7IVM's location near Millville. I'm pretty certain they've updated their prediction, but I'm just not sure if their earlier prediction was based on a less reliable or older source than the original ARISS announcement, or if the ARISS announcement, when it was first written up (since I've never seen the time waiver) was just lucky to be closer to these more recent predictions from N2YO. I'm not sure where they get their information from, but I just found it a curiosity as I can imagine ARISS having access to more insider info like future burns than would be in public TLEs. -LorenK7IW On Sun, Feb 5, 2023, 03:50 Mark Johns, K0JM <k0jm.mark(a)gmail.com> wrote: N2YO is giving you the AOS time for. your location -- assuming you have it set up properly. ARISS is giving the time for the contacting ground station. I'm not sure how much time ARISS schedules after AOS to begin the contact.--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 On Sun, Feb 5, 2023 at 12:50 AM Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: Are the questions for Tuesday's ISS School contact posted somewhere or possibly a live feed? Also, I had noticed last week that the beginning of contact time as predicted on N2YO.com was about 4 minutes earlier than the ARISS bulletin had it. Now that it's a few days later, N2YO has an updated AOS time that is much closer to the time on ARISS which hasn't changed. I originally assumed that N2YO would be more accurate than the time posted on a static timeline, but now I'm wondering if ARISS has more insider details than are available from the public TLEs or if N2YO was just using an older data source. -LorenK7IW ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/amsat-bb@amsat.org To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/amsat-bb@amsat.org To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: Detail on Cache district school contact
by Mark Johns, K0JM 06 Feb '23

06 Feb '23

N2YO is giving you the AOS time for. your location -- assuming you have it set up properly. ARISS is giving the time for the contacting ground station. I'm not sure how much time ARISS schedules after AOS to begin the contact. -- 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 On Sun, Feb 5, 2023 at 12:50 AM Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Are the questions for Tuesday's ISS School contact posted somewhere or > possibly a live feed? > > Also, I had noticed last week that the beginning of contact time as > predicted on N2YO.com was about 4 minutes earlier than the ARISS bulletin > had it. Now that it's a few days later, N2YO has an updated AOS time that > is much closer to the time on ARISS which hasn't changed. I originally > assumed that N2YO would be more accurate than the time posted on a static > timeline, but now I'm wondering if ARISS has more insider details than are > available from the public TLEs or if N2YO was just using an older data > source. > > -Loren > K7IW > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > 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. > Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at > https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ > > View archives of this mailing list at > https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/amsat-bb@amsat.org > To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org > Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at > https://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: LVBTracker firmware modified to allow for more azimuth calibration points.
by alex＠kr1st.com 06 Feb '23

06 Feb '23

Thanks, Jorge! I checked out your blog about the homebrew AZ-EL rotator. That’s a really nice project! 73, --Alex KR1ST From: Jorge via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Sunday, February 5, 2023 3:58 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [AMSAT-BB] Re: LVBTracker firmware modified to allow for more azimuth calibration points. Great job Alex! It looks like a good update for my old tracker. 73, Jorge LU1DA El 4/2/2023 a las 2:43 a. m., Alex Krist via AMSAT-BB escribió: Hi there, A while ago, perhaps almost two years ago, I modified the LVBTracker firmware in my Fox Delta ST2-USB so that it would allow for more calibration points than just the min and max for azimuth. I had added a remote-control option to an old Yaesu G-450XL, but the output voltage was very non-linear, which led to terrible aiming of the antennas. With the mods I made to the firmware it now allows me to calibrate the controller at 0, 90, 180, 270, and 360 degrees and aiming is now rather accurate. I wrote about it here: https://thehamlab.com/2023/02/02/fox-delta-st2-lvbtracker-calibration-mods/ If you feel this could be useful for you, the source code for the project can be found on GitHub: https://github.com/TheHamLab/LVBTracker.KR1ST 73, --Alex KR1ST ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/amsat-bb@amsat.org To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: LVBTracker firmware modified to allow for more azimuth calibration points.
by Jorge 05 Feb '23

05 Feb '23

Great job Alex! It looks like a good update for my old tracker. 73, Jorge LU1DA El 4/2/2023 a las 2:43 a. m., Alex Krist via AMSAT-BB escribió: > > Hi there, > > A while ago, perhaps almost two years ago, I modified the LVBTracker > firmware in my Fox Delta ST2-USB so that it would allow for more > calibration points than just the min and max for azimuth. I had added > a remote-control option to an old Yaesu G-450XL, but the output > voltage was very non-linear, which led to terrible aiming of the > antennas. With the mods I made to the firmware it now allows me to > calibrate the controller at 0, 90, 180, 270, and 360 degrees and > aiming is now rather accurate. I wrote about it here: > > https://thehamlab.com/2023/02/02/fox-delta-st2-lvbtracker-calibration-mods/ > > If you feel this could be useful for you, the source code for the > project can be found on GitHub: > > https://github.com/TheHamLab/LVBTracker.KR1ST > > 73, > > --Alex KR1ST > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > 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. > Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available athttps://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ > > View archives of this mailing list at > https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/amsat-bb@amsat.org > To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org > Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences athttps://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: Detail on Cache district school contact
by aj9n＠aol.com 05 Feb '23

05 Feb '23

Hi Loren and all, The announcements I post to the AMSAT-BB are a shortened version of a much bigger file. I try not to clutter up the announcements to the AMSAT-BB too much. I do try to keep things updated in near-real time since everything in ARISS happens very very quickly. Within that announcement, I present the schools that have their confirmed contact times (more about that in a moment). In the announcement you will also find a few lines that I am repeating below from my Saturday posting to address the comment about finding the questions: The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2023-02-04 17:30 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 (A side note, Bob Bruninga WB4APR asked me many years ago if I could also have a text file so the file could be sent through easily on a hamsat. I keep this per his request.) If you download one of these 2 files, then you will see the complete listing of the scheduled contact times, the school questions if I have them, and the complete list of the schools that are on our near-term scheduling queue. Some of these schools are about 5 months away from their contact week, some are only a few days out. Just a short word, sometimes I get the questions after the school contact has happened, I post things within 8 to 10 hours of receiving something. The questions are also sent out a few days in advance by Dave AA4KN; another one of the ARISS mentors and PR person. The latest one he sent is labeled ARISS News Release No. 23-04. These releases have the questions as well as a bit more information about the school. Please note, that ARISS does not publish the student names with the questions. We do try to protect the students as much as possible. Now for your question about the contact time that is listed in my announcements. The times you usually see are to be thought of as more of a planning time for the ISS planners. Let me explain more about the process of how a school progresses through our system. When a school gets accepted into the ARISS program to have a scheduled contact, they are first placed into what is known as our Waiting Page (currently there are about 40 schools on this list). These are schools that are often many months to possibly a year or 2 out from a contact. On our Schedule Page (currently there are about 20 schools on this list) are the schools that have waited their turn for other schools to have their contact. These are the ones that we have slotted into a mutually agreed upon week to try and schedule a contact. Think of the Schedule Page as our more near-term contacts list. Roughly about 6 months worth of schools are on this list. We try for 1 contact per week, sometimes that happens, sometimes we get more, sometimes we get none. About a month to 1.5 months out from a school's contact week, the school gets presented a list of date and time options for them to prioritize or reject. So depending on the school location and availability time, the crew schedule, and the ISS orbital mechanics; there may be 2 or 3 possibilities or maybe 7 or 8 or none (in which case we have to change the week). These option times are generated from our ARISS orbital guru (retired NASA) who is actually working with Kep data that is not totally in the public domain. You should think of the times as more of a placeholder/planning time for the ISS planners. As the contact date approaches, the actual contact time starts to jell to a time that might be off from what has been published in the announcements but is using the very latest public domain Kep data. Each school is told to make sure that they keep checking the contact time (our ARISS telebridge stations already know to do this); especially on the day of the actual contact. The latest Kep data that they download is what is in command for the actual time. The ISS is pretty big and thus there is drag which lowers the orbit. So every once in awhile, the ISS gets reboosted; that changes the orbit. And sometimes, the ISS needs to do a collision avoidance maneuver. Hence the Kep data is changing on a daily basis. And sometimes that change happens only a few hours before a contact. Sometimes that change is unplanned. In my postings, I do include this line: 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. I just ran the orbital track using data from Celestrak for Cache County and this is what I am getting: Tuesday 2023-02-07 AOS 18:45:33, LOS 18:56:14 Max elevation 32 degrees. (I will not be able to hear the ISS during this contact time as I am in the Melbourne, FL area.) Here is what I have posted in my latest posting: Contact is go for: Tue 2023-02-07 18:45:54 UTC 32 deg If you want to hear the ISS from your location, then you will need to run your own predictions using your own software (like SatPC32) or any of the on-line prediction sites. Obviously for your own location, you will need to know your longitude, latitude, and elevation. If you want to see the prediction from the school's or telebridge station location, then use the town data that is closest to them. You may be off a few seconds from the school's actual location. By the way, I will not release the actual longitude, latitude, and elevation information that the school is using. The Cache County contact is going to be Live-streamed. Check my postings for the latest link URLs that I have. As always, I do sometimes get very last minute changes that I will try to post for everyone if that happens. I hope this explains things a bit. If you have any questions, please let me or any of the other ARISS mentors and officers know. ARISS is an all volunteer program and many of us put in a large number of hours into the program. With all of the duties I do for ARISS, I spend about 2 to 3 hours average every day (many times it is more like 8 to 9). All of this for about 10 minutes of talk time with a crewmember on orbit and maybe, just maybe changing a student's thinking that this STEM/STEAM stuff might actually be sort of cool and not that nerdy. By the way, ARISS has a booth at the Orlando Hamcation next weekend. Stop by and say hi. If you think this ARISS work is something you might want to be more involved with, just let us know. We always need other behind the scenes folks. 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS mentors ARISS mentor for Cache County In a message dated 2023-02-05 09:18:17 Eastern Standard Time, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org writes: Loren, I have to run but I will give you a complete explanation when I get back home. 73,Charlie AJ9NARISS Mentor for Cache County Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device -------- Original message --------From: "Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>Date: 2/5/23 12:50 AM (GMT-05:00)To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>Subject: [AMSAT-BB] Detail on Cache district school contact Are the questions for Tuesday's ISS School contact posted somewhere or possibly a live feed? Also, I had noticed last week that the beginning of contact time as predicted on N2YO.com was about 4 minutes earlier than the ARISS bulletin had it. Now that it's a few days later, N2YO has an updated AOS time that is much closer to the time on ARISS which hasn't changed. I originally assumed that N2YO would be more accurate than the time posted on a static timeline, but now I'm wondering if ARISS has more insider details than are available from the public TLEs or if N2YO was just using an older data source. -LorenK7IW ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/amsat-bb@amsat.org To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: Detail on Cache district school contact
by Clint Bradford 05 Feb '23

05 Feb '23

As time allows, students will ask these questions: 1. What is your biggest, personal goal in relation to space? 2. What keeps you pushing your limits when you are struggling to find motivation? 3. Was there a specific book, movie, or show that inspired you to become an astronaut? 4. How excited do you feel about the Artemis program and its upcoming missions? 5. How fast are you able to spin in a weightless environment? 6. Despite all your training and preparation for space, what is something about living in space you didn't expect? 7. What is your favorite part about the ARISS program? 8. What are you currently researching? 9. What is the part of your job you look most forward to? 10. What is the most fun or interesting experiment you have conducted in space? 11. Does sleeping in the sleeping bag trigger insomnia? 12. Do you ever get claustrophobic? 13. Which NASA project do you feel is the most important to us as human beings? 14. When did or what made you first realize you wanted to be an astronaut? 15. What's the most beautiful view you've seen from space? 16. How many repairs do you usually do to/on the space station daily? 17. If able to access music in space, what types do you usually listen to? 18. Is there a food you think is better in space than Earth? 19. Are plants grown aboard the ISS similar in size as the same plant grown on Earth? 20. What is your favorite 'trick' to do in a weightless environment?

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Re: Detail on Cache district school contact
by aj9n 05 Feb '23

05 Feb '23

Loren,I have to run but I will give you a complete explanation when I get back home. 73,Charlie AJ9NARISS Mentor for Cache CountySent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device -------- Original message --------From: "Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Date: 2/5/23 12:50 AM (GMT-05:00) To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [AMSAT-BB] Detail on Cache district school contact Are the questions for Tuesday's ISS School contact posted somewhere or possibly a live feed?Also, I had noticed last week that the beginning of contact time as predicted on N2YO.com was about 4 minutes earlier than the ARISS bulletin had it. Now that it's a few days later, N2YO has an updated AOS time that is much closer to the time on ARISS which hasn't changed. I originally assumed that N2YO would be more accurate than the time posted on a static timeline, but now I'm wondering if ARISS has more insider details than are available from the public TLEs or if N2YO was just using an older data source.-LorenK7IW

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