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Weekend Roving
by Gabriel Zeifman 24 Mar '17

24 Mar '17

Hello fellow bird talkers, As is usual, I will be venturing on a roving trip this weekend departing tomorrow (hooray for a random three day weekend). The plan is to head to the Detroit/Windsor area. Because I can't resist crossing international borders, expect to hear NJ7H/VE3 at some point, hopefully with a terminus of EN92 or EN83 this trip. I'll try to hit as many new /r grids in MO, IL, IN, MI as time allows, but as usual I'll expect to be in a good time crunch on the way home. Skeds available, hit me up on Twitter or email for whatever you need. I'll try to be on general good passes (AO-7, FO-29, FM, good full continent stuff). Feel free to watch my every movement on APRS NJ7H-9, or when that doesn't work I can still be watched and harassed via iridium share.garmin.com/gz. Have fun, and keep the power down. 73, Gabe NJ7H/V31NJ/C6AGZ/CRAZY

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-24 04:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 24 Mar '17

24 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-24 04:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact was successful: Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg (***) Council of State Science Supervisors, Los Angeles, CA, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-29 18:03:38 UTC 21 deg Russia School TBD, direct via TBD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS (***) The scheduled astronauts are Andrei Borisenko, Sergey Ryzhikov, Oleg Novitskiy (***) Contact is a go for 2017-04-01 21:10 UTC (***) Special contact with the Earhart Research Vessel, direct via NYØV (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronauts are Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD and Sergey Ryzhikov (***) Contact was successful 2017-03-17 20:07 UTC (***) **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-24 04:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1127. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1088. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-24 04:00 UTC. (***) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Question about separate antennas
by CT2IWW . 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

Hello everyone, I just got a couple crossed dipoles, one VHF, the other UHF, for some satellite work. How far apart should they be for proper operation and minimal influence on each other? I remember reading somewhere that it should be one wavelength of the lowest band, in this case, two meters. Thoughts? Thanks Paulo, CT2IWW

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Sat APP
by JHBRTOO＠aol.com 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

Someone suggested I share- SOOOOO----- http://LU7ABF.com.ar/pass.htm Works on my Windows7 and more importantly on my Kindle (when I get it back up or replace it)

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Sat program
by JHBRTOO＠aol.com 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

Had an answer just now- is so good to have that APP back again and I have written it down in two places. Thanks all Dave

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EO88 Included in LoTW TQSL Config File 11.0
by Sean K. 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

Hi all- LoTW TQSL Config File V11.0 was released today. Among other things, it adds EO88 (Nayif-1) to the satellite list. You should get a popup window announcing the new config file the next time you open TQSL. Sean Kutzko Amateur Radio KX9X

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EO-79
by Ken Alexander 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

Just reading up on EO-79, trying to understand it. The Amsat website says: "The transponder will commence operation 27 minutes after the spacecraft enters sunlight and will stay on for a period of 25 minutes." I take that to mean that the transponder will stay ON for 25 minutes regardless of whether the satellite is in sunlight or darkness during that 25 minute period. Is that correct? I also read: "This schedule may be modified over the forthcoming weeks as a result of experience." Have there been any changes to the schedule? 73 and many thanks in advance! Ken Alexander VE3HLS

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Wanted: Amsat Symposium Proceedings from 2014 and 2015
by Douglas Quagliana 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

Friends, I am looking for a copy of the Amsat symposium proceedings from 2014 and 2015. If you have an extra copy, or a copy that you don't want anymore, then please contact me. 73, Douglas KA2UPW/5

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Info request
by JHBRTOO＠aol.com 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

I had the satellite schedule app on my Kindle and it gabolled. Of course I didn't write it down. It's the one from LU?- that ties to the Amsat predictions but is a one page sheet with maps/ frequencies and AOS/LOS times/ azimuths. - I loved it for the ability to have it on my KINDLE, small portable, easy to use and read. Would someone send me the link info please Dave WA6EKR-- jhbrtoo @aol.com Thanks

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[Video] LIVE French Astronaut and Translator! [repost]
by John Brier 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gS-PiVt7bU I posted this a couple of weeks ago on a Friday and it didn't get a lot of views possibly because "Fridays are slow news days." I got permission from the amsat-bb list owner to repost it. It's a pretty cool video where I got a French student to translate a French astronaut's answers to students in Belgium. The contact was through K6DUE telebridge station in Maryland, which is why we were able to hear the ISS talk to a school in Belgium from North Carolina. 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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ARISS contact with "School of Trois Paletuviers", Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 22 Mar '17

22 Mar '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at "School of Trois Paletuviers", Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana on 23 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:42 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible over the west coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Inventory Trois Palétuviers is a small Native people village of French Guyane, set between the Amazonian forest and the majestic Oyapock River, natural border with Brazil. It is accessed only by dugout and the journey takes place in one hour. On site, no electricity during the day, internet and telephone recently; But a quality of life preserved; Which in no way excludes projects and achievements in order to help envisage the future in a dynamic and optimistic way.The village comprises a population of 180 inhabitants, exclusively Native Americans and many of whom have strong ties with Brazil. A dynamic The school hosts about fifty students divided into 2 classes: A kindergarten from the PS to the GS, an elementary from the CP to the CM2. In addition to the usual teachings, the school offers activities that enable you to travel and make contact with the outside of the village. So : The "chess game for academic success" has been helping since 2006 to reason and confidence in its abilities, The theater club has already performed several times in French Guiana. A highly eclectic choir gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves. In addition, there are urban dance classes, numerous programs and projects related to the environment, space, health and so on. Another peculiarity is that a school for parents has been in place since 2011. For the liaison with the ISS, the pupils will have 1 hour of canoe motor and 3 hours of road. 1: Est-ce qu'on peut écrire avec un stylo dans l'espace? 2: Est-ce qu'on peut jouer de la guitare dans l'espace? 3: Comment vous allez faire pour rentrer sur terre? 4: Comment vous chauffez la nourriture? 5: Comment vous faites pour vous laver? 6: Si tu joues aux échecs, quel sera ton 1er coup avec les pièces blanches? 7: Est-ce qu'on peut facilement jouer au jeu de go dans l'espace? 8: Est-ce que c'est vrai que les lits sont debout contre un mur? 9: Est-ce qu'on entend quelque chose quand on a mis le scaphandre? 10: Est-ce qu'on pourrait faire un élevage de poules dans la station? 11: Est-ce que la nourriture de l'espace a bon goût? 12: peut-on planter des fruits dans l'ISS? 13: Qu'avez-vous ressenti arrivés dans l'espace? Avez-vous eu peur? 14: De là où vous êtes, voyez-vous toutes les planètes du système solaire? 15: quand vous êtes malades, qui vous soigne? 16: arrivez-vous à voir le village de Trois Palétuviers depuis l'espace? 17: Nous avons quitté notre village de Trois Palétuviers pour aller en Europe à Cologne et à Toulouse, pour marcher dans vos pas. Viendriez-vous nous rendre visite à Trois Palétuviers en Guyane? Translated: 1: Can we write with a pen in space? 2: Can we play the guitar in space? 3: How are you going to go back to earth? 4: How do you heat the food? 5: How do you wash? 6: If you play chess, what will be your first shot with the whites? 7: Can we easily play the go game in the Station? 8: Is it true that the beds are standing against a wall? 9: Do we hear anything when we put the space suit? 10: Can we do a chicken breeding in the Station? 11: Does the food of the space taste good? 12: can we plant fruit in the ISS? 13: How did you feel in space? Were you afraid? 14: From where you are, do you see all the planets of the solar system? 15: when you are sick, who is treating you? 16: can you see the village of Trois Palétuviers from space? 17: "We left our village of Trois Palétuviers to travel to Europe and visit Cologne and Toulouse to walk in your footsteps. Would you visit us at Trois Palétuviers in French Guiana?" PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Council of State Science Supervisors, Los Angeles, CA, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-29 18:03 UTC 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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WTB: Icom 910
by Wyatt Dirks 21 Mar '17

21 Mar '17

I have decided I want to get another Icom 910 for a backup/portable radio if you have one you'd like to sell or know of one for sale please contact me direct. Thanks Wyatt AC0RA

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Nayif-1 Data Warehouse Update
by David Johnson 21 Mar '17

21 Mar '17

Hi, First of all thanks to all those who have been providing us with data, it's really appreciated. We are now displaying the minimum and maximum values for all the telemetry channels where the value varies. The min-max are reset on a weekly basis so that we can get the trend from the database. http://data.amsat-uk.org/nayif1/index.html <http://data.amsat-uk.org/nayif1/index.html> Next on the list of jobs: Display the fitter messages CSV dump of WOD CSV dump of HiRes If you have any specific requests for data for STEM outreach please let us know. 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-21 06:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 21 Mar '17

21 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-21 06:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg Council of State Science Supervisors, Los Angeles, CA, telebridge via IK1SLD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD (***) Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-29 18:03:38 UTC 21 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-21 06:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1126. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1087. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-16 06:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Landwehr Pre-amps
by Mark Johns 20 Mar '17

20 Mar '17

I have a pair of old Landwehr RF switched receive pre-amps (one 2m and one 7cm) taking up space in my basement. They were working when removed from service about seven years ago, but they have been sitting around a long time and I have no means of testing them at the moment. Strictly "as is." They *DO* have the rare power/control cable connectors with them. Contact me off list if you are interested in making a deal on these. -- Mark D. Johns, KØMDJ Decorah, Iowa USA EN43 ----------------------------------------------- "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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Fwd: Sequencers
by Fred Castello 20 Mar '17

20 Mar '17

> Begin forwarded message: > > From: Fred Castello <fredcastello(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Fwd: Sequencers > Date: March 20, 2017 at 5:09:28 PM EDT > To: amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org > > Hello Folks, > > I am trying to "bulletproof" my setup. My setup is a Kenwood TS-790A, preamps at the antennas for both 2 meters and 70 cms. powered through a separate control line (not via coax) and some M2 antennas (pictures and more details at my QRZ page: HERE <https://www.qrz.com/db/KF4FC>). I have a sequencer with up to 5 control points available. It seems that our implementation for sequencers is a bit different that most applications in that we have the possibility of needing to: > > A) Transmit on 2 meters while listening on 70cms- i.e. 70 cm preamp on, 2 meter preamp off > B) Transmit on 70 cms while listening on 2 meters. i.e. 2 meter preamp on, 70 cm preamp off > > and this can change rather rapidly if multiple opportunities for passes are close. The way I am operating now is that I selectively turn on the preamp that I need for each pass and turn the other off. This is working, but even though I have rf sensing preamps, I do not want to chance transmitting SSB into either preamp. I am only transmitting 30 watts maximum and usually significantly less. > > The Kenwood TS-790A has an “External Connector” on the back where I can access the PTT as well as having pins that can tell me when either 2 meters or 70 cms are being transmitted. All this said, it seems that I am in a bit of catch 22 because even though I can separate the PTT and for instance use a foot pedal to trigger the sequencer, the pins on the back of the rig will only change their signal AFTER the transmission has already started, so this signal is not helpful to determine which preamp to turn off and which to turn on. I realize that I could have a manual switch to go back and forth between using 2 meters and 70cms but that is essentially what I have now. > > I am sure that I am missing something that somebody out there will suggest is very obvious. Help me understand how to implement a sequencer when we have two frequencies that can be in use at one moment in time and easily switch the next pass in an effort to make the station bulletproof so that I don’t blow up preamps. > > Much Appreciated, > Fred - KF4FC

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(no subject)
by Frank Staffa Jr. 20 Mar '17

20 Mar '17

Looks like my TS-2000 needs to go back to HRO for warranty service. I have no problem on FO-29 with the 2 meter uplink and 70cm downlink, but reversed for other sats I get a cw message (UL) PLL Unlock and rig goes dead with dashes on screen. After turning the rig off and on again it comes back to life. But as soon as I transmit on 435mhz again, it cuts out. No problem transmitting on 2 meter uplink. Anyone else experience that with their TS2000? Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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short notice: activating EM85 today SO_50 2114z
by Kevin M 20 Mar '17

20 Mar '17

Hi all, I have some time, so heading over to EM85 to catch the SO-50 pass at 2114z to fulfill a request. The pass doesn't cover the west coast, sorry; might try a pass favoring that side of the country another day. Could be some other activity on from the Gulf of Mexico or the Yucatan, so patience as always will be key. I'll do my best to work everyone that needs the grid, but we all know how it can go. 73 and see you on the birds, Kevin N4UFO

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Re: [amsat-bb] Hard times for satellite radio buyers?
by Edward R Cole 20 Mar '17

20 Mar '17

Anyone experimenting with the Lime-SDR? 0.1 to 3800 MHz with multiple Rx and Tx. $289 https://www.crowdsupply.com/lime-micro/limesdr For now I have use of venerable FT-736R. 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com Dubus-NA Business mail: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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Kam Plus TNC Modem - AGWPE - UISS
by Kurt Heernaert 20 Mar '17

20 Mar '17

Dear All, Who can helping me a little to make a start in UISS with next Items, Modem : Kam Plus alle mode modem AGWPE UISS Tnx in Advance Vy 73 ON4CGW Kurt

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ANS-078 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joe Spier 19 Mar '17

19 Mar '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-078 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, 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 at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Ground Terminal Weekly Report for March 7, 2017 * AMSAT SA to Sponsor SDR Workshop in Cape Town * CAS-4A and CAS-4B Linear Transponder Frequencies Announced * IARU Page Proposed South Korean Satellite * ARISS Closer to Launching New Radio System * AMSAT Awards Update * 6E3MAYA on Satellites March 18-21 * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-078.01 ANS-078 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 078.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 19, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-078.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Ground Terminal Weekly Report for March 7, 2017 We kick off this week’s report with two demonstrations of DVB-S2 transmission from the LimeSDR. The first from Charles Brain G4GUO, and the second from Paul KB5MU and Michelle W5NYV. Charles has live video and Paul and Michelle are transmitting a pre-recorded work of art called Adventure Time. Mike Seguin N1JEZ has some LimeSDR spectral analysis to report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZNshry3sZU First, 850 MHz Phase Noise 10 kHz offset 1 kHz resolution bandwidth -58.36 – 10LOGBW = -88.36 dBc/Hz If I read the LMS7002M Spec sheet right, it should be down around -96 dBc/Hz? PDF is in the Phase 4 Ground Github link is in the show notes. https://github.com/…/d…/tree/master/Engineering/SDRs/LimeSDR Second, 2850 MHz Phase Noise 10 kHz offset 1 kHz resolution bandwidth -49 – 10LOGBW = -79 dBc/Hz spec around -87 dBc/Hz? Third image is at 2850 MHz ±200 kHz Check out those curious 200 kHz spurs Fourth image is 2850 MHz 100 MHz Span A broader view – we need to go digging deeper. Final image is 2850 MHz 388 kHz spur small spur on the low side? Output power varies. He’s seen upwards of +15 dBm. He is powering the LimeSDR board off an external supply. He is using LimeSuite to set up the transmit output on TX1-1. There are so many settings it’s possible/probable we’re missing something. He has also have done rudimentary noise figure measurements. Paul, W1GHZ loaned him a homebrew noise head he had built from his QEX article in 1996? on Noise Figure. He used it to measure the NF, but had to rely on a chart for ENR. So assumptions!!! He found he definitely had to use a preamp in front of the Lime. He used an AD6IW wideband pre for testing. “I need to do more real world tests on the bands….” -Mike Seguin In the next segment of this report Paul described how to use the examples folder in GNU Radio to get to the DVB flowgraphs we’ve been using for experiments. Charles G4GUO shares his plan for next steps for DVB-S2 receive. He is looking at how to do the front end that finds the start of a frame and compensates for frequency error. He is pondering how to do this and has some ideas. He also has the low density parity check (LDPC) decoder to do but has not yet planned it out. He has the BCH decoder done and the bit that decodes the preamble code FEC. Charles explains that the whole of DVB-S2 has been designed for the parallel processing powers of ASICs/FPGAs/GPUs. He has decided to attack the problem using GPUs. He asserts that GPUs don’t have such a steep learning curve as some of the other technologies. He believes that the symbol tracking and root raised cosine filtering is best done in the FPGA on the LimeSDR. His thoughts are to re-write some of the Lime code so he can alter the ADC sample rate in fractions of a symbol. Then use the host to calculate the timing error and send the correction to the Lime FPGA code. The Lime can also do fine frequency error correction using a complex mixer. The error can be calculated in the host from the phase change in the preamble sequence. The central question is how to fit it into the memory model of the GPU to keep all the threads fully occupied. This means properly balancing the combination of LDPC decoding, parallel thinking and NVIDIA GPU programming. One of the many questions he has is how to cope with the final XOR of the parity bit for each block as that makes every bit in the whole thing dependent on every other bit. He believes that there must be a short cut so you can break the problem at the receiver down into a load of independent blocks (divide and conquer). It is all very DVBS2 specific but when a sub block of the code meets a condition where all its parity check equation are correct it can be marked as finished and the decoder can then move on to the next sub block. It requires a lot of thinking about and Charles welcomes your feedback. So! Lots of programming! We are here to help with this effort! It’s going to be a big one. Please join AMSAT, TAPR, ARRL, and any other local or regional club that is helping advance the state of the art in amateur radio. Projects like ours cannot exist without your membership. http://www.amsat.org/?p=5875 [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV and the AMSAT Ground Terminal Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA to Sponsor SDR Workshop in Cape Town SDR workshop in Cape Town on 22 April. Following on a very successful symposium on Software Defined Radio held in Gauteng towards the end of last year, a similar event will be presented by AMSAT SA in the Cape on Saturday 22 April 2017 at the Bellville Campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. To register visit http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ [ANS thanks the South African Radio League News for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAS-4A and CAS-4B Linear Transponder Frequencies Announced CAMSAT has worked closely with a Beijing Government aerospace contractor to build two satellites with amateur radio linear transponder payloads. IARU record a launch had been planned for March 31, 2017 from Taiyuan into a 524 km orbit with an inclination of 42 degrees. Both will carry a 435/145 (U/V) 20 dBm (100 milliwatt) SSB/CW linear transponder, a 2m CW 17 dBm (50 mW) telemetry beacon and an AX.25 4.8 kbps GMSK 20 dBm (100 mW) telemetry downlink. The two micro-satellites will also carry optical remote sensing missions. Planned to be 494x499x630 mm dimension regular square shape and approximately 50 kg mass with three-axis stabilization system. These frequencies have been coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel: CAS-4A • Linear transponder downlink 145.870 MHz, emission designator 20K0V8WWF, output power 20 dBm • Linear transponder uplink 435.220 MHz • CW telemetry beacon 145.855 MHz, emission designator 100HA1AAN, output power 17 dBm • GMSK telemetry 145.835 MHz, emission designator 16K0F1DCN, output power 20 dBm CAS-4B • Linear transponder downlink 145.925 MHz, emission designator 20K0V8WWF, output power 20 dBm • Linear transponder uplink 435.280 MHz • CW telemetry beacon 145.910 MHz, emission designator 100HA1AAN, output power 17 dBm • GMSK telemetry 145.890 MHz, emission designator 16K0F1DCN, output power 20 dBm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Page Shows Proposed South Korean Satellite K2SAT The Republic of Korea Air Force Academy has applied to the IARU for coordination of its' K2SAT satellite frequencies. Headline Details: A 3U CubeSat. The missions of the K2SAT are to demonstrate satellite imaging and transfer, and secondly to test voice repeating capability. The payloads: 1. On-board camera 2. On-board voice repeater. Attitude control will be performed with 3-axis reaction wheels and magnetorquer. The satellite surface that contains the main payload(Camera) shall be aligned to the nadir direction of the satellite. Requesting coordination for a V/U transponder. The TX would also be capable of downlinking AX25 telemetry at 9k6 using BPSK. Planning a 2018 launch into a 500 or 600km SSO. [ANS thanks the IARU Page for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Closer to Launching New Radio System March 13, 2017: The ARISS team took a giant step closer to flying the new ARISS Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station, having met a major milestone. Lou McFadin, W5DID, and Kerry Banke, N6IZW, travelled to the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, in mid-February for preliminary testing of Banke's breadboard version of the ARISS Multi-voltage Power Supply. The two worked alongside JSC engineers and JSC EMC lab personnel, putting the specially built power supply through its paces, checking against US and Russian space specifications for Power Quality and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) preliminary tests. The result: Outstanding news-the ARISS Team can move on to the next step, fabrication of prototype and flight units. The JSC engineers disclosed that the ARISS breadboard power supply was the first hardware to have passed all of the space agencies' tests! They said the very professional ARISS Team certainly knew hardware development and design. ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer thanked Banke and McFadin for the multiple days spent putting the unit through the serious battery of NASA and Russian preliminary electrical tests. Banke expressed pleasure with the results: "I was looking to come away with what we needed to move forward. We achieved that." He was impressed with the support he and McFadin received from the testing group, and said key players on those teams who are also ham radio operators, commented that they find equipment brought in that is supported by ham radio operators, to earn particularly good marks. McFadin asserted that the Multi-voltage Power Supply's fine test results are due to ARISS's team working very well together and being very experienced. The completed testing of the breadboard unit means McFadin can now purchase expensive space-certified parts so the final prototype/flight power supplies can be fabricated. He and Banke now know that when the final, even more rigorous tests are done, the units will pass with flying colors. Watch for more news stories on the hardware and the fundraising campaign to help support the costs associated with designing, building, and testing the new ARISS radio system-the Kenwood D710GA and Multi-voltage Power Supply. Those wishing to contribute toward the final fabrication and flight tests are highly appreciated and asked to go to the AMSAT website, www.amsat.org, to click on the "ARISS Donate" button. Or visit the donation page on the ARISS website, http://www.ariss.org/donate.html. Contributions are tax deductible. Those who contribute $100 or more will receive the handsome ARISS Challenge Coin. If you or your ham club or place of employment wish to make a highly substantial contribution, contact Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, at ka3hdo(a)verizon.net. 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) / Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status [ANS thanks David Jordan, AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update This is the first posting of awards for 2017. The year started slow and then picked up with the following earning their awards. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Christopher Hobbs, KD5RYO Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV Milan Stancel, OM4MX ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, #575 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #576 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #577 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Ronald Parsons, W5RKN, #178 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #179 ------ AMSAT Century Club Award Frank Westphal, K6FW, #49 Toralf Renkwitz, DJ7MS, #50 Ronald Oldham, N8RO, #51 ------ South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, #US202 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #US203 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #US204 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Cleber Rodrigues, PY3TX, #88 Paul Stoezter, N8HM, Upgrade to 4000 Frank Westphal, K6FW, Upgrade to 2000 John Papay, K8YSE/7, Upgrade to 3000 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Ronald Parsons, W5RKN, #89 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #90 ------ To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com/awards.html [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6E3MAYA on Satellites March 18-21 Mexico trip includes satellite operating plans: XE, Mexico: A group of Mexican amateurs plans to visit archaeological sites of Maya culture in Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Quintana Roo from the 18th to 21st. QRV with the call 6E3MAYA on 80-6m on SSB, CW, digital modes and via satellites. QSL via XE3N, LoTW. [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter DXNL 2032 March 15, 2017 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Friday through Sunday, 31 March–2 April 2017, NVCON in Las Vegas NV *Wednesday, 5 April 2007 – presentation for Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club in Scottsdale AZ *Friday and Saturday, 7-8 April 2017, Green Country Hamfest in Claremore OK *Saturday, 6 May 2017 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ *19-21 May 2017, HamVention in the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, Dayton, Ohio *Friday and Saturday, 9-10 June 2017, HAM-COM in Irving TX *Saturday, 10 June 2017 – Prescott Hamfest in Prescott AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * A direct contact with students at McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, USA was successful Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC 25 deg. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG answered all 19 questions prepared by students. Upcoming Contacts * A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students at “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, is presently scheduled Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg. with Astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG. Trois Palétuviers is a small native people village of French Guyane, set between the Amazonian forest and the majestic Oyapock River, a natural border with Brazil. It is accessed only by dugout and the journey takes place in one hour. On site, no electricity during the day, internet and telephone recently, but a quality of life preserved, which in no way excludes projects and achievements in order to help envisage the future in a dynamic and optimistic way. The village comprises a population of 180 inhabitants, exclusively Native Americans and many of whom have strong ties with Brazil. The school hosts about fifty students divided into 2 classes: a kindergarten from the PS to the GS, an elementary from the CP to the CM2. In addition to the usual teachings, the school offers activities that enable you to travel and make contact with the outside of the village. So : The "chess game for academic success" has been helping since 2006 to reason and confidence in its abilities, The theater club has already performed several times in French Guiana. A highly eclectic choir gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves. In addition, there are urban dance classes, numerous programs and projects related to the environment, space, health and so on. Another peculiarity is that a school for parents has been in place since 2011. For the liaison with the ISS, the pupils will travel 1 hour of canoe motor and 3 hours of road. * A direct contact via AA4UT with students at the Student Space Technology Association, Knoxville, TN, USA will be rescheduled. The University of Tennessee Knoxville is an amazing school located in the hills of Tennessee. It is the largest campus in the state, hosting more than 30,000 students. This school is known for its engineering and science heritage, having close ties with research facilities such as Oak Ridge National Lab and companies like Alcoa. Also, included in our alumni are 9 astronauts including the recent ISS inhabitant Scott Kelly. Our school is filled with thousands of eager students seeking to pursue careers in the space industry. With our vision of becoming a top-tier research school, our students are set to become the next leaders in STEM industries. ********************************************************************** 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. ********************************************************************** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is ; looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. ********************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 ********************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 ********************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-09 05:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1116. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1080. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS ********************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-02-23 05:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio… Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 ********************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy ********************************************************************** Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over Help Wanted - Russian Space Agency If you know what this means, "Mukhnem na Lunu: Rossiya ishchet novykh kosmonavtov"*, you may be able to apply at Russia's space agency, who on Tuesday announced a recruitment drive for young would-be cosmonauts who it hopes will become the country's first on the Moon. And women are welcome, an official stressed. In the first such drive for five years, Roscosmos space agency said it is looking for 6 to 8 cosmonauts who will operate a new-generation spaceship now in development and "will become the first Russians to fly to the Moon". The full story is posted at: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Fly_me_to_the_Moon_Russia_seeks_new_cosmo… *Translation: Fly me to the Moon: Russia seeks new cosmonauts [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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 stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org -- -73, k6wao AMSAT Vice President Educational Relations AMSAT News Service Co-Editor ARISS-NA Education 2017 AMSAT Space Symposium Chairman

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ANS-057 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joe Spier 19 Mar '17

19 Mar '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-078 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, 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 at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Ground Terminal Weekly Report for March 7, 2017 * AMSAT SA to Sponsor SDR Workshop in Cape Town * CAS-4A and CAS-4B Linear Transponder Frequencies Announced * IARU Page Proposed South Korean Satellite * ARISS Closer to Launching New Radio System * AMSAT Awards Update * 6E3MAYA on Satellites March 18-21 * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-078.01 ANS-078 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 078.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 19, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-078.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Ground Terminal Weekly Report for March 7, 2017 We kick off this week’s report with two demonstrations of DVB-S2 transmission from the LimeSDR. The first from Charles Brain G4GUO, and the second from Paul KB5MU and Michelle W5NYV. Charles has live video and Paul and Michelle are transmitting a pre-recorded work of art called Adventure Time. Mike Seguin N1JEZ has some LimeSDR spectral analysis to report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZNshry3sZU First, 850 MHz Phase Noise 10 kHz offset 1 kHz resolution bandwidth -58.36 – 10LOGBW = -88.36 dBc/Hz If I read the LMS7002M Spec sheet right, it should be down around -96 dBc/Hz? PDF is in the Phase 4 Ground Github link is in the show notes. https://github.com/…/d…/tree/master/Engineering/SDRs/LimeSDR Second, 2850 MHz Phase Noise 10 kHz offset 1 kHz resolution bandwidth -49 – 10LOGBW = -79 dBc/Hz spec around -87 dBc/Hz? Third image is at 2850 MHz +/-200 kHz Check out those curious 200 kHz spurs Fourth image is 2850 MHz 100 MHz Span A broader view – we need to go digging deeper. Final image is 2850 MHz 388 kHz spur small spur on the low side? Output power varies. He’s seen upwards of +15 dBm. He is powering the LimeSDR board off an external supply. He is using LimeSuite to set up the transmit output on TX1-1. There are so many settings it’s possible/probable we’re missing something. He has also have done rudimentary noise figure measurements. Paul, W1GHZ loaned him a homebrew noise head he had built from his QEX article in 1996? on Noise Figure. He used it to measure the NF, but had to rely on a chart for ENR. So assumptions!!! He found he definitely had to use a preamp in front of the Lime. He used an AD6IW wideband pre for testing. “I need to do more real world tests on the bands….” -Mike Seguin In the next segment of this report Paul described how to use the examples folder in GNU Radio to get to the DVB flowgraphs we’ve been using for experiments. Charles G4GUO shares his plan for next steps for DVB-S2 receive. He is looking at how to do the front end that finds the start of a frame and compensates for frequency error. He is pondering how to do this and has some ideas. He also has the low density parity check (LDPC) decoder to do but has not yet planned it out. He has the BCH decoder done and the bit that decodes the preamble code FEC. Charles explains that the whole of DVB-S2 has been designed for the parallel processing powers of ASICs/FPGAs/GPUs. He has decided to attack the problem using GPUs. He asserts that GPUs don’t have such a steep learning curve as some of the other technologies. He believes that the symbol tracking and root raised cosine filtering is best done in the FPGA on the LimeSDR. His thoughts are to re-write some of the Lime code so he can alter the ADC sample rate in fractions of a symbol. Then use the host to calculate the timing error and send the correction to the Lime FPGA code. The Lime can also do fine frequency error correction using a complex mixer. The error can be calculated in the host from the phase change in the preamble sequence. The central question is how to fit it into the memory model of the GPU to keep all the threads fully occupied. This means properly balancing the combination of LDPC decoding, parallel thinking and NVIDIA GPU programming. One of the many questions he has is how to cope with the final XOR of the parity bit for each block as that makes every bit in the whole thing dependent on every other bit. He believes that there must be a short cut so you can break the problem at the receiver down into a load of independent blocks (divide and conquer). It is all very DVBS2 specific but when a sub block of the code meets a condition where all its parity check equation are correct it can be marked as finished and the decoder can then move on to the next sub block. It requires a lot of thinking about and Charles welcomes your feedback. So! Lots of programming! We are here to help with this effort! It’s going to be a big one. Please join AMSAT, TAPR, ARRL, and any other local or regional club that is helping advance the state of the art in amateur radio. Projects like ours cannot exist without your membership. http://www.amsat.org/?p=5875 [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV and the AMSAT Ground Terminal Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA to Sponsor SDR Workshop in Cape Town SDR workshop in Cape Town on 22 April. Following on a very successful symposium on Software Defined Radio held in Gauteng towards the end of last year, a similar event will be presented by AMSAT SA in the Cape on Saturday 22 April 2017 at the Bellville Campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. To register visit http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ [ANS thanks the South African Radio League News for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAS-4A and CAS-4B Linear Transponder Frequencies Announced CAMSAT has worked closely with a Beijing Government aerospace contractor to build two satellites with amateur radio linear transponder payloads. IARU record a launch had been planned for March 31, 2017 from Taiyuan into a 524 km orbit with an inclination of 42 degrees. Both will carry a 435/145 (U/V) 20 dBm (100 milliwatt) SSB/CW linear transponder, a 2m CW 17 dBm (50 mW) telemetry beacon and an AX.25 4.8 kbps GMSK 20 dBm (100 mW) telemetry downlink. The two micro-satellites will also carry optical remote sensing missions. Planned to be 494x499x630 mm dimension regular square shape and approximately 50 kg mass with three-axis stabilization system. These frequencies have been coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel: CAS-4A • Linear transponder downlink 145.870 MHz, emission designator 20K0V8WWF, output power 20 dBm • Linear transponder uplink 435.220 MHz • CW telemetry beacon 145.855 MHz, emission designator 100HA1AAN, output power 17 dBm • GMSK telemetry 145.835 MHz, emission designator 16K0F1DCN, output power 20 dBm CAS-4B • Linear transponder downlink 145.925 MHz, emission designator 20K0V8WWF, output power 20 dBm • Linear transponder uplink 435.280 MHz • CW telemetry beacon 145.910 MHz, emission designator 100HA1AAN, output power 17 dBm • GMSK telemetry 145.890 MHz, emission designator 16K0F1DCN, output power 20 dBm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Page Shows Proposed South Korean Satellite K2SAT The Republic of Korea Air Force Academy has applied to the IARU for coordination of its' K2SAT satellite frequencies. Headline Details: A 3U CubeSat. The missions of the K2SAT are to demonstrate satellite imaging and transfer, and secondly to test voice repeating capability. The payloads: 1. On-board camera 2. On-board voice repeater. Attitude control will be performed with 3-axis reaction wheels and magnetorquer. The satellite surface that contains the main payload(Camera) shall be aligned to the nadir direction of the satellite. Requesting coordination for a V/U transponder. The TX would also be capable of downlinking AX25 telemetry at 9k6 using BPSK. Planning a 2018 launch into a 500 or 600km SSO. [ANS thanks the IARU Page for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Closer to Launching New Radio System March 13, 2017: The ARISS team took a giant step closer to flying the new ARISS Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station, having met a major milestone. Lou McFadin, W5DID, and Kerry Banke, N6IZW, travelled to the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, in mid-February for preliminary testing of Banke's breadboard version of the ARISS Multi-voltage Power Supply. The two worked alongside JSC engineers and JSC EMC lab personnel, putting the specially built power supply through its paces, checking against US and Russian space specifications for Power Quality and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) preliminary tests. The result: Outstanding news-the ARISS Team can move on to the next step, fabrication of prototype and flight units. The JSC engineers disclosed that the ARISS breadboard power supply was the first hardware to have passed all of the space agencies' tests! They said the very professional ARISS Team certainly knew hardware development and design. ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer thanked Banke and McFadin for the multiple days spent putting the unit through the serious battery of NASA and Russian preliminary electrical tests. Banke expressed pleasure with the results: "I was looking to come away with what we needed to move forward. We achieved that." He was impressed with the support he and McFadin received from the testing group, and said key players on those teams who are also ham radio operators, commented that they find equipment brought in that is supported by ham radio operators, to earn particularly good marks. McFadin asserted that the Multi-voltage Power Supply's fine test results are due to ARISS's team working very well together and being very experienced. The completed testing of the breadboard unit means McFadin can now purchase expensive space-certified parts so the final prototype/flight power supplies can be fabricated. He and Banke now know that when the final, even more rigorous tests are done, the units will pass with flying colors. Watch for more news stories on the hardware and the fundraising campaign to help support the costs associated with designing, building, and testing the new ARISS radio system-the Kenwood D710GA and Multi-voltage Power Supply. Those wishing to contribute toward the final fabrication and flight tests are highly appreciated and asked to go to the AMSAT website, www.amsat.org, to click on the "ARISS Donate" button. Or visit the donation page on the ARISS website, http://www.ariss.org/donate.html. Contributions are tax deductible. Those who contribute $100 or more will receive the handsome ARISS Challenge Coin. If you or your ham club or place of employment wish to make a highly substantial contribution, contact Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, at ka3hdo(a)verizon.net. 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) / Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status [ANS thanks David Jordan, AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update This is the first posting of awards for 2017. The year started slow and then picked up with the following earning their awards. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Christopher Hobbs, KD5RYO Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV Milan Stancel, OM4MX ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, #575 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #576 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #577 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Ronald Parsons, W5RKN, #178 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #179 ------ AMSAT Century Club Award Frank Westphal, K6FW, #49 Toralf Renkwitz, DJ7MS, #50 Ronald Oldham, N8RO, #51 ------ South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, #US202 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #US203 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #US204 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Cleber Rodrigues, PY3TX, #88 Paul Stoezter, N8HM, Upgrade to 4000 Frank Westphal, K6FW, Upgrade to 2000 John Papay, K8YSE/7, Upgrade to 3000 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Ronald Parsons, W5RKN, #89 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #90 ------ To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com/awards.html [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6E3MAYA on Satellites March 18-21 Mexico trip includes satellite operating plans: XE, Mexico: A group of Mexican amateurs plans to visit archaeological sites of Maya culture in Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Quintana Roo from the 18th to 21st. QRV with the call 6E3MAYA on 80-6m on SSB, CW, digital modes and via satellites. QSL via XE3N, LoTW. [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter DXNL 2032 March 15, 2017 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Friday through Sunday, 31 March–2 April 2017, NVCON in Las Vegas NV *Wednesday, 5 April 2007 – presentation for Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club in Scottsdale AZ *Friday and Saturday, 7-8 April 2017, Green Country Hamfest in Claremore OK *Saturday, 6 May 2017 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ *19-21 May 2017, HamVention in the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, Dayton, Ohio *Friday and Saturday, 9-10 June 2017, HAM-COM in Irving TX *Saturday, 10 June 2017 – Prescott Hamfest in Prescott AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * A direct contact with students at McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, USA was successful Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC 25 deg. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG answered all 19 questions prepared by students. Upcoming Contacts * A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students at “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, is presently scheduled Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg. with Astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG. Trois Palétuviers is a small native people village of French Guyane, set between the Amazonian forest and the majestic Oyapock River, a natural border with Brazil. It is accessed only by dugout and the journey takes place in one hour. On site, no electricity during the day, internet and telephone recently, but a quality of life preserved, which in no way excludes projects and achievements in order to help envisage the future in a dynamic and optimistic way. The village comprises a population of 180 inhabitants, exclusively Native Americans and many of whom have strong ties with Brazil. The school hosts about fifty students divided into 2 classes: a kindergarten from the PS to the GS, an elementary from the CP to the CM2. In addition to the usual teachings, the school offers activities that enable you to travel and make contact with the outside of the village. So : The "chess game for academic success" has been helping since 2006 to reason and confidence in its abilities, The theater club has already performed several times in French Guiana. A highly eclectic choir gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves. In addition, there are urban dance classes, numerous programs and projects related to the environment, space, health and so on. Another peculiarity is that a school for parents has been in place since 2011. For the liaison with the ISS, the pupils will travel 1 hour of canoe motor and 3 hours of road. * A direct contact via AA4UT with students at the Student Space Technology Association, Knoxville, TN, USA will be rescheduled. The University of Tennessee Knoxville is an amazing school located in the hills of Tennessee. It is the largest campus in the state, hosting more than 30,000 students. This school is known for its engineering and science heritage, having close ties with research facilities such as Oak Ridge National Lab and companies like Alcoa. Also, included in our alumni are 9 astronauts including the recent ISS inhabitant Scott Kelly. Our school is filled with thousands of eager students seeking to pursue careers in the space industry. With our vision of becoming a top-tier research school, our students are set to become the next leaders in STEM industries. ********************************************************************** 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. ********************************************************************** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is ; looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. ********************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 ********************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 ********************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-09 05:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1116. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1080. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS ********************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-02-23 05:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio… Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 ********************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy ********************************************************************** Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over Help Wanted - Russian Space Agency If you know what this means, "Mukhnem na Lunu: Rossiya ishchet novykh kosmonavtov"*, you may be able to apply at Russia's space agency, who on Tuesday announced a recruitment drive for young would-be cosmonauts who it hopes will become the country's first on the Moon. And women are welcome, an official stressed. In the first such drive for five years, Roscosmos space agency said it is looking for 6 to 8 cosmonauts who will operate a new-generation spaceship now in development and "will become the first Russians to fly to the Moon". The full story is posted at: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Fly_me_to_the_Moon_Russia_seeks_new_cosmo… *Translation: Fly me to the Moon: Russia seeks new cosmonauts [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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 stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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MI6GTY IO54 26March
by John Papay 18 Mar '17

18 Mar '17

George MI6GTY is planning to operate from IO54 on 26March on possibly two FO-29 passes, 1158 and 1351 utc. The first pass will cover extreme northeast USA but the second pass will cover more than half of the US. As before, he would like to be sure that there will be enough interest to warrant the trip. So if you can be there, please drop him an email and let him know. The second pass provides a very short window for southern States like Texas and Florida etc. So if you live in the north, please wait a bit before calling and let the south get a contact first. The second pass is only 2.2 degrees max for George. He was very successful with low elevation at IO65 and let's hope he can be just as successful in IO54. 73, John K8YSE --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-17 05:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 18 Mar '17

18 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-17 05:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-17 05:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1126. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1087. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-11 06:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Selection of satellite (ham and non-ham) frequencies
by Philip Jenkins 17 Mar '17

17 Mar '17

I'm helping teach a Technician licensing class, and one of the students has asked a question I can't answer :-) (And please correct any misinformation in this email) My understanding is that agencies/governments - by gentleman's agreement? policy? - are supposed to request frequency coordination for satellites with inputs/outputs in the amateur bands from IARU, whether the primary payload is ham radio or not. I remember an entity a couple of years ago which launched a satellite(s) who did NOT go through IARU for satellite downlink(s) on the ham bands, and there was some dust-up over this. (Again, please help me understand this better if I'm mistaken.) My student's question is this; who is responsible for frequency assignments for non-ham satellites, specifically, missions like Cassini and Voyager/Pioneer? Is it ITU? I'm sure the military - and government (and commercial interests) - in other countries have their own satellite frequencies, but for scientific payloads, who is responsible for frequency allocation/coordination in near Earth orbits and intra-galactic ones? Is is ITU? (This started a whole new thought bubble in my head about what would be the best/appropriate frequencies for missions like Cassini (antenna size and Doppler considerations, but that is for a different email, as I want to wrestle with those questions in my head first :-) ) Thanks Philip N4HF

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WG: Call for Interest: "Open Source CubeSat Workshop"
by Mike Rupprecht 17 Mar '17

17 Mar '17

fyi ... Von: librecube(a)googlegroups.com [mailto:[email protected]] Im Auftrag von Artur Scholz Gesendet: 17 March 2017 14:37 An: librecube(a)googlegroups.com Betreff: Call for Interest: "Open Source CubeSat Workshop" Dear All, there is the likely possibility to hold an open source CubeSat workshop at the premises of ESOC, the European Space Operations Center of ESA, located in Darmstadt, Germany (where Rosetta was commanded from!). Preliminary, the parameters are: - Oct/Nov timeframe - 1-2 days workshop (+hackathon?) - zero fees - around 15 presentations - around 50-100 participants Interested? --- Artur Scholz LibreCube Initiative Email: artur.scholz(a)librecube.net Web: www.librecube.net -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "librecube" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to librecube+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to librecube(a)googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

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AMSAT @ Scottsdale AZ SpringFest hamfest - Saturday (18 March)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 17 Mar '17

17 Mar '17

Hi! I will have an AMSAT booth at the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club's SpringFest hamfest on Saturday morning, 18 March 2017. The hamfest will be held at the Mountain Valley campus of Scottsdale Bible Church on Perimeter Drive, west of the AZ-101 freeway exit 36, and north of Princess Drive, in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is a half-day hamfest, since everyone has to clear out of the church's parking lot by 1pm (2000 UTC). The hamfest officially starts at 8am (1500 UTC), but I expect people to be roaming around the parking lot before sunrise. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://www.scottsdalearc.org/spring-fest I plan on doing a series of on-air demonstrations of satellite operating during the morning as WD9EWK. There are a bunch of passes for FM, SSB, and packet operations that I could show up on. If you hear or see WD9EWK on a pass Saturday morning, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. Any QSOs attempted via NO-84 and the ISS will also use WD9EWK as my call sign, without the -9 SSID I have used for demonstrations in the past. All QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World after the hamfest. If you'd like a QSL card for a QSO, please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. During the hamfest, I will post updates from the hamfest, along with photos, on my @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you want to see these updates and you do not use Twitter, do not worry. You can use a web browser to follow along, at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-16 06:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 16 Mar '17

16 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-16 06:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, direct via K6MHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG (***) Contact was successful: Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC 25 deg (***) “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-16 06:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1126. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1087. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-11 06:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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6E3MAYA Includes Satellites March 18-21
by JoAnne K9JKM 15 Mar '17

15 Mar '17

News about a Mexico trip that includes satellite operating plans - more timely to get the news out ahead of the usual weekend news cycle ... XE, Mexico: A group of Mexican amateurs plans to visit archaelogical sites of Maya culture in Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Quintana Roo from the 18th to 21st. QRV with the call 6E3MAYA on 80-6m on SSB, CW, digital modes and via satellites. QSL via XE3N, LoTW. Thanks to the DARC DX Newsletter DXNL 2032 March 15, 2017 for the above information. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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ARISS News Release 17-04
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 14 Mar '17

14 Mar '17

ARISS NEWS RELEASE no. 17-04 Mar. 14, 2017 David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org ARISS Closer to Launching New Radio System March 13, 2017: The ARISS team took a giant step closer to flying the new ARISS Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station, having met a major milestone. Lou McFadin, W5DID, and Kerry Banke, N6IZW, travelled to the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, in mid-February for preliminary testing of Banke's breadboard version of the ARISS Multi-voltage Power Supply. The two worked alongside JSC engineers and JSC EMC lab personnel, putting the specially built power supply through its paces, checking against US and Russian space specifications for Power Quality and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) preliminary tests. The result: Outstanding news-the ARISS Team can move on to the next step, fabrication of prototype and flight units. The JSC engineers disclosed that the ARISS breadboard power supply was the first hardware to have passed all of the space agencies' tests! They said the very professional ARISS Team certainly knew hardware development and design. ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer thanked Banke and McFadin for the multiple days spent putting the unit through the serious battery of NASA and Russian preliminary electrical tests. Banke expressed pleasure with the results: "I was looking to come away with what we needed to move forward. We achieved that." He was impressed with the support he and McFadin received from the testing group, and said key players on those teams who are also ham radio operators, commented that they find equipment brought in that is supported by ham radio operators, to earn particularly good marks. McFadin asserted that the Multi-voltage Power Supply's fine test results are due to ARISS's team working very well together and being very experienced. The completed testing of the breadboard unit means McFadin can now purchase expensive space-certified parts so the final prototype/flight power supplies can be fabricated. He and Banke now know that when the final, even more rigorous tests are done, the units will pass with flying colors. Watch for more news stories on the hardware and the fundraising campaign to help support the costs associated with designing, building, and testing the new ARISS radio system-the Kenwood D710GA and Multi-voltage Power Supply. Those wishing to contribute toward the final fabrication and flight tests are highly appreciated and asked to go to the AMSAT website, www.amsat.org, to click on the "ARISS Donate" button. Or visit the donation page on the ARISS website, http://www.ariss.org/donate.html. Contributions are tax deductible. Those who contribute $100 or more will receive the handsome ARISS Challenge Coin. If you or your ham club or place of employment wish to make a highly substantial contribution, contact Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, at ka3hdo(a)verizon.net. 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) / Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Contact: David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR , aa4kn(a)amsat.org --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Nayif-1 heard on FO29
by PY5LF 14 Mar '17

14 Mar '17

Hi I`ve heard the Nayif-1 (EO88) on the downlink of FO29 ; https://youtu.be/1_6okYzLi0E 73

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Podcast: Frank Bauer KA3HDO Discussed ARISS Radios on Ham Radio Live
by JoAnne K9JKM 14 Mar '17

14 Mar '17

Frank Bauer, KA3HDO was on the Ham Talk Live podcast discussing ARISS and the gear aboard the ISS. The link to the podcast is: http://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-55-ham-radio-on-the-iss-wi… -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-13 23:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-13 23:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, direct via K6MHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG (***) Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC 25 deg “School of Trois Paletuviers”, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guyana, telebridge via W6SRJ (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG (***) Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-03-23 12:42:26 UTC 61 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-13 23:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1125. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1086. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-11 06:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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AMSAT Awards Update
by Bruce 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

This is the first posting of awards for 2017. The year started slow and then picked up with the following earning their awards. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Christopher Hobbs, KD5RYO Frank Garofalo, WA2NDV Milan Stancel, OM4MX ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, #575 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #576 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #577 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Ronald Parsons, W5RKN, #178 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #179 ------ AMSAT Century Club Award Frank Westphal, K6FW, #49 Toralf Renkwitz, DJ7MS, #50 Ronald Oldham, N8RO, #51 ------ South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, #US202 Matthew Stevens, KK4FEM, #US203 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #US204 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Cleber Rodrigues, PY3TX, #88 Paul Stoezter, N8HM, Upgrade to 4000 Frank Westphal, K6FW, Upgrade to 2000 John Papay, K8YSE/7, Upgrade to 3000 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Ronald Parsons, W5RKN, #89 Milan Stancel, OM4MX, #90 ------ 73...bruce To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com/awards.html Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0200z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2018 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Upcoming ARISS contact with McBride High School, Long Beach, CA
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at McBride High School, Long Beach, CA on 15 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 16:28 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and K6MHS. The contact should be audible over the west coast of the U.S. and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Ernest S. McBride High School (McBride) opened its doors on September 4, 2013 to an incoming class of 204 freshmen. During the course of the past four school years, we have grown to 735 students, and we are preparing to graduate our first class of seniors. All students are part of one of the following pathways: Criminal Justice and Investigation (CJI), McBride Engineering (ME), and Health and Medical (HM). Our campus is located in a middle-class residential neighborhood and, through our School of Choice process have students who live throughout the cities of Long Beach and Lakewood. We are fortunate to have a student body that is both ethnically and socio-economically diverse. Over thirty-eight percent of our student population are eligible for free or reduced lunch, and over seventy percent of the populations are from ethnic minorities. In opening a new school, we have had many unique opportunities. The first class of McBride student chose our mascot, the Wolf, and have decided that we are collectively known as the Wolf Pack. Our daily announcements are closed with the proclamation, "Goooo Wolfpack!" All three of our pathways share a strong focus on math and science, learning by doing, and a preparation for both college and career. As a sample of our project-based learning approach, our students have built solar powered boats, resolved disputes in Teen Court, earned awards for analyzing crime scenes, and conducted studies on concussions in sports. We are fortunate to have access to updated and professional level equipment, including CNC Milling Machines, a Scanning Electron Microscope and Simulated Patient Manikins. Long Beach is the 36th most populous city in the United States and the 7th most populous in California. It is located on the Pacific Coast of the United States, within the Greater Los Angeles area of Southern California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257. Long Beach is the second largest city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and the third largest in Southern California behind Los Angeles and San Diego. The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports. Manufacturing sectors include those in aircraft, automotive parts, electronic equipment, audiovisual equipment, petrochemicals, precision metals and home furnishings. Long Beach lies in the southeastern corner of Los Angeles County and borders Orange County. Downtown Long Beach is approximately 22 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles. Our school district, Long Beach Unified has earned a reputation as one of America's finest school systems, winning many awards as a national and international model of excellence. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What do you do during your free time in space? 2. Do you ever feel afraid up there in space, as you look down at the Earth, and ponder how our whole world is just one grain of sand in the ocean, and how our individual actions do so little to affect the course of the universe? 3. What is the most used equipment when you are in space? 4. How many miles and how long does it take to break atmosphere? What did that feel like? 5. Why did you give up your regular life on earth to be in space for a long period of time? It seems like a big commitment. Why did you make it? 6. When I grow up I want to be an astronaut, so do you have any important advice you could give to a future astronaut that helped you through your journey in order to become an astronaut? 7. What could you say about climate change that others couldn't that would change a climate change deniers view on the subject? 8. What happens if you run out of food? 9. What were the training requirements you went through to become an astronaut? Can you explain what you do when you are actually in space? Can you explain what you do when you are NOT in space? 10. What is something you wish you would have known before becoming an astronaut? 11. What do you think the benefits of having traveling exhibits like Facing Mars are for young people? 12. What psychological issues have arisen in the astronauts who have spent an extended time on the ISS? How are you prepared mentally to handle your time in space? 13. What are you enjoying the most in the space station? 14. Have you had a birthday on the ISS? If so, did anyone sing happy birthday to you on ham radio? 15. Have you seen ""Hidden Figures?"" Could the ISS be navigated if all the calculations were done by hand? 16. We sometimes wonder if there is more than just us out there in the universe, now that you're up there, has your opinion changed? 17. How different is time in space? 18. Could you imagine a musical being performed in orbit? 19. What do you think about the planned Space X trip around the moon? 20. What is the coolest trick you have done on the ISS with apparently zero gravity? 21. Do you ever regret going to space? 22. How are you brave enough to risk your life to see earth from a cool view? 23. Did you know the people you currently work with on the space station before you went into orbit? How do you get along? 24. Have you ever worked on the outside of the space station? 25. How old were you when you first seriously considered being an astronaut? 26. Is there any art you have seen on Earth that is more beautiful than the Earth itself? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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CAS-4A and CAS-4B Linear Transponder Frequencies Announced
by M5AKA 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

Frequencies for the CAS-4A and CAS-4B Linear Transponder satellites have been announced by IARU - launch was planned for March 31, 2017 https://amsat-uk.org/2017/03/13/cas-4a-cas-4b-transponder-sats-2/ Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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RT Systems Programming Data
by Jay Garlitz 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

If any of our group use this programming product and have data definition files you have created for the following radios I would appreciate you saving me a lot of time! I have recently purchased it for the Yaesu FT-817, Kenwood TH-D7G , Yaesu FT-60R, Yaesu FT-8800, and would be very appreciative of the data files. Please e-mail to jay.aa4fl(a)gmail.com. 73, Jay AA4FL

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NASA software relesse
by Robert McGwier 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/02/nasa-released-a-ton-of-software-for-free-… Bob -- Bob McGwier Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc Research Professor Virginia Tech Chief Scientist: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY Faculty Advisor Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn. (K4KDJ) Director of AMSAT and member of PVRC, TAPR, and life member of ARRL and AMSAT

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ANS-071 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins (In its Entirety)
by E.Mike McCardel 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

E. Michael McCardel, AA8EM, former KC8YLD Rotating Editor for AMSAT News Service, AMSAT-NA Have you donated to get your Fox-1 Challenge Coin Yet? http://AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-071.02 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, 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 at amsat.org. In this edition: * Editor's Note: * US ARISS Proposal Window Remains Open Through April 15, 2017 * First Moon Bounce using Opera * NEON - NASA Educators Online Network - ANNOUNCEMENTS * Cubesat Developers Workshop 2017 * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-071.02 ANS-071 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 071.02 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 12, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-071.02 Editor's Note: Todays ANS was sent missing content, as I am sure most who read it observed. This is a re-bublication of the Bulletin including its full contact. I apologize for any problems. EMike, AA8EM --------------------------------------------------------------------- US ARISS Proposal Window Remains Open Through April 15, 2017 Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an- ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- First Moon Bounce using Opera On Tuesday, March 7, Luis EA5DOM and Jose EA3HMJ made a test using the amateur radio weak-signal data mode Opera for 1296 MHz Moon Bounce (EME) Luis EA5DOM posted the following: We are both using an small 180cm offset dish. Jose is 400w, so he was transmitting and I was trying to decode. The trace was visible but too weak for an Op05 decode. So tried Op1 switching band to 70MHz. After some trying we got one decode at -24dB 2017-03-07 23:31:17 EA3HMJ JN11AN EA5DOM IM98WN 381 70.093 - 23 Op1__~24dB Switched to Op2 and tried some times without success. I was getting problems to keep an accurate tracking, so the signal was not optimal and close to the decoding limit We will keep testing, But at least one decode was worth the effort. Here is EA5DOM screenshot: http://tinyurl.com/ANS071-EA5Dom-Screenshot And EA3HMJ Screenshot: http://tinyurl.com/ANS071-EA3HMJ-Screenshot You can download Opera from https://rosmodem.wordpress.com/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEON - NASA Educators Online Network - ANNOUNCEMENTS Free STEM Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development Audience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative (EPDC) at Texas State University is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the webinar description. March 13, 2017, at 4:00 p.m. ET: Earth Right Now: Engineering at NASA (Grades K-12) -- Engineers at NASA come from a multitude of backgrounds such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, materials science and physics. This webinar allows participants to hear from one of NASA's Planetary Protection engineers. These unique engineers support projects that have to be biologically clean before launch so that they do not contaminate another planet or moon with Earth life. Join us to discover NASA educational activities related to engineering and help inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/209358 ********** March 14, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. ET: Earth Right Now -- GLOBE Atmosphere (Grades K-12) -- NASA’s fleet of satellites, its airborne missions and researchers address some of the critical challenges facing our planet today. Learn about clouds and contrails using the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE, program. This international science and education program provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/229949 ********** March 16, 2017, at 8:00 p.m. ET: Astrobiology and Looking for Life (Grades 6-12) -- In this webinar, we will discuss how NASA has turned the search for alien life from science fiction to a quickly growing research field. Topics in Earth and space science linked to biology will help us understand the most current theories for how life came to be here on Earth and where we could find it next. Classroom activities for numerous grades will put this exploration into the hands of the next generation of scientists. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/234109 ********** For the NASA STEM Educator Professional Development webinar schedule, go to: http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/ ********** For US Educators: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station-- Students Talk to Astronauts Call for Proposals -- Window is February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crewmember on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the radio contact would be held between Jan 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits determine the exact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. Students learn about technology, communications, and science studied on board the ISS. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. For proposal information and details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and days/times of Information Sessions, go to www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl.org . [ANS thanks NASA Educators Online Network (NEON) for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cubesat Developers Workshop 2017 Cubesat Developers Workshop 2017, April 26-28, 2017, San Luis Obispo, CA -- New Venue - Cal Poly Performing Arts Center. #CubeSatDW2017 * http://www.cubesat.org/workshop-2017-information The CubeSat Workshop Team is honored to welcome Mr. James L. Reuter (http://www.cubesat.org/james-reuter), Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs within the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters, as one of our Keynote speakers for the upcoming workshop. If you are as interested as we are to hear what he has to say, you can follow up with Registration and Workshop Information on our website: http://www.cubesat.org/workshop-2017-information/ Early Bird Registration for the 14th Annual CubeSat Developers Workshop ends in just TEN DAYS on *March 17, 2017*. Register before the prices increase! You can register by following the link below. https://calpoly.irisregistration.com/Home/Site?code=cubesat-2017 If you have any questions regarding workshop, or are interested in being a sponsor this year, don't hesitate to contact us at: cubesat-workshop at calpoly.edu [ANS thanks The CubeSat Workshop Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN, USA and Astronaut Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began Thu 2017-03-09 15:21:33 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via WD9GIU. ARISS Mentor was Charlie AJ9N. + A Successful contact was made between 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece and Astronaut Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via SV7APQ. ARISS Mentor was Bertus PE1KEH. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, direct via K6MHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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 stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org www.amsat.org/?p=3275

1 0

Flex6500 and Satpc32
by David Warnberg 13 Mar '17

13 Mar '17

Discovered something tonight, when satpc32 is on and controlling frequencies and the rotor I get interference on the display in SmartSDR on the 70cm side mainly .. any ideas on what might be causing this? I have a ERC USB inside the Yaesu G-450A control box could that be the cause? Something being picked up across the USB cable? Thanks David KK4QOE Sent from my iPad

1 0

ALSAT 1N no TX ?
by John Mac 12 Mar '17

12 Mar '17

Hi all. Has anyone had a copy on the sat ALSAT 1N . The last two times I have tried , there has been no signal. All the sites say its still operational. ?? John

2 1

Satpc32 calibration Help
by Don 12 Mar '17

12 Mar '17

Yaesu GS232B and G5500 did calibration in manual, all is OK. 180 and 450 Using Satpc32 with Yaesu Gs-232 rotor interface selected. Settings 2-60-N-0 selected as options...... Stored. Quit and restarted program. Go to Rotor control and manually set elevation to 90 degrees and azimuth to 90 degrees. Execute settings. Results are about 12 degrees low. Used the correction buttons to bring up the rotor directions to 90 degrees and saved the corrected values. Quit and restarted program. Back to rotor control, and send rotor to Park position (both set to 0 degrees park position) Both the elevation and azimuth go to about 12 degrees - not zero. Try to correct values by zeroing, save and quit. restart and send back to 90 degrees again result in low readings. What am I missing? Thanks Don.

1 0

ungulige gleitkommaoperation
by Bob- W7LRD 12 Mar '17

12 Mar '17

Hello Getting un gl again when I put in a grid square for "observer 2 DM90 in this case. help. 73 Bob W7LRD

2 2

ANS-071 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 12 Mar '17

12 Mar '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-071 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, 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 at amsat.org. In this edition: * US ARISS Proposal Window Remains Open Through April 15, 2017 * First Moon Bounce using Opera * NEON - NASA Educators Online Network - ANNOUNCEMENTS * Cubesat Developers Workshop 2017 * ARISS News SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-071.01 ANS-071 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 071.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 12, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-071.01 US ARISS Proposal Window Remains Open Through April 15, 2017 Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an- ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN, USA and Astronaut Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began Thu 2017-03-09 15:21:33 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via WD9GIU. ARISS Mentor was Charlie AJ9N. + A Successful contact was made between 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece and Astronaut Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via SV7APQ. ARISS Mentor was Bertus PE1KEH. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, direct via K6MHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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 stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org

2 1

International Crystal MFG closing
by Alan 11 Mar '17

11 Mar '17

I was surprised to see that ICM is closing. I bought crystals from them back in my days as a Novice, and most recently for my mode-L transverter. They have supplied crystals for many satellites. According to their website, icmfg.com, they will be honoring all existing orders, and some new orders depending on material availability. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

4 3

DM90 Sunday, 12 March
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 11 Mar '17

11 Mar '17

I'll operate portable from DM90 on the following FO-29 passes: My AOS at 1600Z My AOS at 1745Z Xmit ~145.960 to avoid possible conflict with V31NJ. QSL via LoTW or hard copy by email request. 73 Glenn AA5PK

1 0

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-11 06:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 11 Mar '17

11 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-11 06:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece, direct via SV7APQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact was successful: Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC 28 deg (***) Watch for live stream at http://sv7apq.blogspot.gr/2016/10/as-amateur-radio-enthusiast-i-have.html McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, direct via K6MHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG (***) Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC 25 deg **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-11 06:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1125. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1086. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-11 06:00 UTC. (***) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Best HT for satellite operation?
by JoAnne K9JKM 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

Pointing out another resource containing a huge amount of discussion of "best HT" or "arrow vs elk" topics can be found at: https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?forums/satellite-and-space-communications.… Watch the line wrap in case the -bb mangles the URL. I learn lots reading what the guys post on there. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

1 0

Best HT for satellite operation?
by Clayton Coleman 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

I've seen a lot of great recommendations for satellite HT's. I really prefer the Icom IC-910h. Since it is a little heavy for neck straps, and the belt clip is made of 3/8" steel plate, I'd probably recommend the BABYBJÖRN carrier approach. You can buy a 15 year old one at a bargain price of $1000-1500 at most hamfests. TGIF Clayton W5PFG

4 3

Opinions on improving receive for portable ops
by Ka9p＠aol.com 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

I've just started getting on the linear transponders in the last month or so after a 30 year absence from sat work, necessarily with a portable setup, and would be eager to hear experienced opinions on what to do next to improve receive. I'm running Cheap Yagis on V(3 el) and U(6 el), diplexers, about 10 feet of RG8X, and receiving on an FT817 or 897, usually on FO29 and the XW's, and have up to 25 watts available for the uplink. Q's are: 1) with those radios and only about 10 feet of feed line, will a preamp help much on 432? 2) If it will, is the 50$ preamp on the AMSAT site a good start? Or? and 3) With relatively short yagis, will it make a noticeable difference going to circular polarization? WRT to 3, I've pretty much exhausted what I can find the internet, but just don't have a pragmatic sense for what it will do in terms of evening out reception over, say, an FO 29 pass - I read that you nominally lose 3 dbs most all the time but may pick up a lot on the deep fades, but still not sure how that translates to the real world. Or is the answer that the set up is marginal enough I need to do it all of the above if I want reliable communications above about 5 degrees or so? Thanks for the bandwidth and any input. Scott ka9p

2 1

AO-73/FUNcube Mode change
by Jim Heck 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

Hi folks, I have just changed the sat into amateur (continuous transponder) mode. Plan is to switch back to auto mode on Sunday pm UTC as usual. Pls see below for other FUNcube transponder info Have FUN with the transponder. 73s Jim G3WGM and the FUNcube team. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FUNcube frequencies and other details ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ AO-73 FUNcube-1 The transponder is normally operational only when the satellite is in eclipse, ie the solar panels are NOT being illuminated. During weekends (from pm Fridays UTC to PM Sundays UTC) the transponder is operational 24/7. When the transponder is switched off, the telemetry beacon is on full power, when the transponder is on the beacon it is on low power. During holidays, eg Christmas, New Year, Easter, etc, the transponder maybe activated for extended periods. Watch AMSAT-BB for announcements which are usually made on Friday evenings (UTC) The nominal transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.150 - 435.130 MHz LSB (Inverting) Downlink: 145.950 - 145.970 MHz USB Telemetry Tx: 145.935 MHz BPSK (The passband may be up to 15kHz higher depending on on-board temps. Low temperatures give higher freqs!) FUNcube-2 aka FUNcube on UKube The FUNcube-2 sub-system continues to operate autonomously and, almost continuously, in amateur mode. The transponder is operational and the telemetry downlink is functioning with about 70mW output. The FUNcube-1 Dashboard does not correctly display the telemetry but it does correctly decode the data and uploads it to the FUNcube Data Warehouse from where it can be examined. Most of the real time data channels are operational and these include battery voltages, temperatures and ADCS data coming via the main On Board Computer (OBC). The transponder is interrupted for a few seconds every 2 minutes when the other transmitter sends its CW beacon and, occasionally, for a few seconds when the main OBC reboots (approx seven times each orbit). The nominal transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.080 - 435.060 MHz LSB (Inverting) Downlink: 145.930 - 145.950 MHz USB Telemetry Tx: 145.915 MHz BPSK (The passband may be up to 10kHz higher depending on on-board temps. Low temperatures give higher freqs!) EO79 FUNcube-3 Due to power budget constraints the transponder cannot be operational 24/7 and an orbit specific schedule has been developed. The transponder will commence operation 27 minutes after the spacecraft enters sunlight and will stay on for a period of 25 minutes. This schedule may be modified in future months as a result of experience. The nominal transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.0723-435.0473 MHz LSB (Inverting) Downlink: 145.946-145.971 MHz USB Further detailed info on EO79 transponder frequencies is at: https://amsat-uk.org/2016/11/10/eo79-funcube-3-transponder-commences-regula… EO88 Nayif-1 FUNcube-5 EO88 is presently operating in autonomous mode. The transponder is operational when the satellite is in eclipse, ie the solar panels are NOT being illuminated. When the transponder is switched off, the telemetry beacon is on full power, when the transponder is on the beacon it is on low power. The transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.045 – 435.015 MHz LSB (inverting) Downlink: 145.960-145.990 MHz USB Telemetry Tx: 145.940MHz All FUNcube transponders are sponsored by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL. We are very grateful for the assistance given by Innovative Solution In Space Bv, The Netherlands.

1 0

Best HT for satellite operation?
by Dale Kubichek 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

Message: 10 Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2017 14:17:14 -0500 From: Tucker McGuire <tucker(a)mcguireland.com> To: Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> Cc: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Best HT for satellite operation? This is a loaded questions and every HAM I've ever met has opinions... It is better to ask what HT's fit SAT OPs functionality: Everyone wants 'full duplex', I've not seen a dual-band HT that can do 'real' RX while the PTT is pushed, period! Nest shoot for - What dual-band HT can program SAT offsets (in the SAME single memory)? My definition: in one memory can program both 2m-RX AND 70cm-PTT or vice-versa. Why: you only need say 4 or 5 memories per SAT for AOS/LOS OPs - one less hand needed and far less hassle. I know Yaesu and Wuoxon can do this via PC Program. Kwood TH-F6, Icom IC-91/T8, Alinco G7 cannot they can do it only via flipping the A/B Bands (pain in the butt) - they do not allow cross band offsets in memory. Now another BAD issue with Yeasu & Wuoxun is they both have a high discharge rate of battery when in the OFF state. I found if I leave my HT's on the shelf for +60days I must isolate the battery for the radio to eliminate wasteful discharging dropp[ing a B-Meter bar. I do this by using a 'paper' business-card cut it to size, sandwich between the battery and HT - isolating the battery contacts. Easy, simple, effective, cheap - what HAM Radio is all about. Best regards, Dale Kubichek, MS-EET, N6JSX Sidney, OH 45365 EN70vh http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HAM-SATs http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RDF-USA

11 11

Kenwood TS-2000X on satellite
by Vincenzo Mone 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

Hi folks, Is there anybody using a TS-2000X for automatic satellites operations? If yes please what are using to automate all? Thanks 73 de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ******************************************* ****** GSM +39 328 7110193 ****** ***** SMS +39 328 7110193 ***** *******************************************

1 0

FM25/26 Portable operation
by Tucker McGuire 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

Hi All, I will be portable in FM25 for the 1656z FO-29 pass tomorrow 3/11. Will possibly try 2228z SO-50 pass from FM26 as well later in the day if plans align. Cheers & 73, Tucker W4FS

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-10 03:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-10 03:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN, direct via WD9GIU The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact was successful: Thu 2017-03-09 15:21:33 UTC 80 deg (***) 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece, direct via SV7APQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC 28 deg Watch for live stream at http://sv7apq.blogspot.gr/2016/10/as-amateur-radio-enthusiast-i-have.html McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, direct via K6MHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG (***) Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-03-15 16:28:44 UTC 25 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** ARISS congratulates Frank Bauer KA3HDO on being named Dayton Hamvention 2017 Amateur of the Year. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classroo ms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-10 03:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1124. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1085. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-10 03:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

Radios and Satellites
by John KI4RO 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

I've had a lot of cheap fun. I only have Baofeng rigs. They work great on all the FM birds. To me, and maybe its just me, but it is very offputting to be told I "must" go full duplex in order to get on the birds. It would be really nice if I could, but $$$ are definitely a problem for me. I cannot afford 2 $300+ HTs or 2 $200+ HTs or 2 $100+ HTs and 1 or 2 MFJ diplexers at $30 each and then coax jumpers at $20 each and then an Arrow at $160. That's a lot of $$$ for a retiree on a fixed income. I'm not trying to turn this into a pity party but I'm just trying to get folks to understand that jumping on the sats in full duplex mode ready to kick butt and take names is not always possible. Yes, it is a nice goal but not always achievable by everybody. 73 John KI4RO

5 4

best Ht for satellites
by Kevin M 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

And before someone posts erroneously that all 5 digit serial number W32As will do mode J, while SOME of them will, it actually has to do with whether or not it can be soft modded to receive 800 MHz. I know this from going through several 5 digit serial number W32As that still have/had desense. If you come across a W32A and want to know, try this... - Turn off radio - Press and hold the band and squelch buttons - Turn on the radio while holding these buttons, wait for 5 seconds before releasing them. - Step through the bands... if you discover it now has an 800 MHz, good chance you have one that will not desense in Mode J As always, your mileage may vary. Me, I'll be keeping an eye out for a 530 this weekend at the hamfest... I hear good things. =^) The tricky thing with the W32A is that newer models of it desensed in Mode J. 73, Paul, N8HM On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 18:49 <ingejack at cox.net> wrote: > Hey Guys: Don't forget the old ICOM IC W32A Also Full duplex 73 > JACK-KC7MG > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB at 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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best Ht for satellites
by ingejack＠cox.net 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

Hey Guys: Don't forget the old ICOM IC W32A Also Full duplex 73 JACK-KC7MG

2 1

Best HT for satellite operation?
by Devin L. Ganger 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

All, I'll be heading to the Mike & Key Hamfest this weekend in Puyallup, WA, with enough spare change that I hope to be able to pick up my second HT. My first is a Baofeng UV5RA, which is nice for hitting local repeaters, but I have heard is not a great choice for hitting the birds. I have a very nice Elk log periodic dual-band antenna my family got me for Father's Day last year, so I'd really like a HT to pair with it. What's a good radio for working satellites? Is the Kenwood TH-D72a still the acme? -- Devin L. Ganger (WA7DLG) email: devin(a)thecabal.org<mailto:[email protected]> web: Devin on Earth<http://www.devinonearth.com/> cell: +1 425.239.2575

4 5

Kx9x/0 and /4 for a few days
by Sean K 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

Will be on SO50 as times permits from EM48 this afternoon/evening, then tomorrow on the road between St Louis and Nashville. Nothing super-rare. Will also try from Em66 in Nashville Friday/Saturday as time permits. Sent from my iPhone

1 0

FO29 13:36 UTC
by Jose Elias Diaz 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

Hi i´ll be on FO29 pass 1336 UTC from IN52PE only 0,6 max elevation. Frecuency TX 145930 EB1AO

1 0

Antenna better when NOT pointing directly at TX source?
by Scott 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

Hello everyone. While my question is not directly satellite related, I hope that it's a general antenna question that might be of benefit for satellite reception as well. I have developed an interest in tracking the 400 MHz radiosonde transmitters used by the (U.S.) National Weather Service office on the other side of the state for their twice-daily weather balloon launches. When the wind carries one anywhere in my general direction, it's a lot of fun to try to receive & decode the position & altitude telemetry being sent by the thing. Maybe one day I'll even hit the road and track one down! Anyway, my question is in regard to the pointing of my antenna, which is a 70cm X-Quad connected for RHCP. The elevation is fixed at 45°. I have confirmed that my antenna is pointing in the compass direction indicated by the indoor control box. The radiosonde is telling me via telemetry what its location is. From that, it's easy enough to plot on Google Earth and see exactly what the compass heading is from my location to the balloon at any given time. The catch, even considering the ~ 10° declination at my location, is that it's very common for me to receive a MUCH stronger signal with my antenna pointing 45 or 90 degrees away from what should be the correct heading! I sweep back and forth and it varies... and also depends on how close the balloon is to my location. But for much of a flight, especially at greater distance, it's quite common to receive a huge signal off-heading... where if I point directly at the transmitter, it's barely out of the noise. I don't know if this is a polarity issue, an issue caused by the transmitter wildly swinging around under the balloon (much like a tumbling satellite?), or an issue caused by the characteristics of my particular antenna. So that's my dilemma; I can't tell you anything about the TX side because for this particular aspect of the hobby, I'm only concerned with reception. But is there any legitimate reason for me to be seeing these massive differences in receive SNR when I am turned so far away from the transmit source? Anyone ever seen this in other situations? Thanks! -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA

3 2

ARISS News Release no. 17-05
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

ARISS NEWS RELEASE no. 17-05 March 8, 2017 David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org Frank Bauer, KA3HDO 2017 Dayton Amateur of the Year Winner The Dayton Hamvention has selected ARISS International Chair, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for its top award, Amateur of the Year for 2017. Each year, Hamvention recognizes radio amateurs known for making major contributions to the art and science of amateur radio, and it's no surprise why Bauer was chosen. A few things from his lengthy list of achievements follow. In 1995, Bauer proposed an experiment for the AMSAT Phase 3D satellite (AO-40) to measure the strength of the signal from the GPS satellite constellation. For years after, the aerospace industry cited this experiment because the results helped engineers improve the GPS system, led to new applications for GPS, and changed navigation at High-Earth Orbit (HEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) altitudes, allowing new missions to operate in these orbits. Prior to NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, flying in space and taking along ham radio in 1983, Bauer came up with a plan for, and helped set up and operate, the worldwide retransmission of space shuttle air-to-ground communications by the Goddard Amateur Radio Club station, WA3NAN (now K6DUE). Tens of thousands of hams enjoyed listening to most every shuttle mission's astronaut communications, and amateurs used these to help them make ham contacts with crewmembers who had their amateur licenses. Bauer's work with this system also let to his becoming part of the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment) team. Bauer attended Purdue University where he earned its prestigious bachelor's degree and master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics. This led to a long and full career with NASA followed by a move to the private aerospace industry. He earned his amateur radio license in 1974, and has been the AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human Spaceflight for many years. What Bauer has spent, and now spends, the most time and energy on is the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. He helped set up the very first meeting of worldwide volunteers at NASA's behest in 1996, working as AMSAT's representative, alongside Rosalie White, K1STO as ARRL's representative. People from the world's AMSAT societies and IARU organizations answered their calls to attend the meeting at NASA Johnson Space center in Houston, and the rest is history--20 years of growing ARISS into how it is today...still growing! White wrote, "Frank didn't just think about where amateur radio in space should be; he always thought about where it was headed--he still does. His multi-faceted background and experience in aerospace, NASA, and amateur radio is the ideal combination resulting in effectively spearheading the ARISS team in offering to hams, students, and the general public, ARISS success after ARISS success." Very hearty congratulations from the ARISS team to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, on his new title, Dayton Hamvention 2017 Amateur of the Year! 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Contact: David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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ARISS News Release no. 17-05
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

ARISS NEWS RELEASE no. 17-05 March 8, 2017 David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org Frank Bauer, KA3HDO 2017 Dayton Amateur of the Year Winner The Dayton Hamvention has selected ARISS International Chair, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for its top award, Amateur of the Year for 2017. Each year, Hamvention recognizes radio amateurs known for making major contributions to the art and science of amateur radio, and it's no surprise why Bauer was chosen. A few things from his lengthy list of achievements follow. In 1995, Bauer proposed an experiment for the AMSAT Phase 3D satellite (AO-40) to measure the strength of the signal from the GPS satellite constellation. For years after, the aerospace industry cited this experiment because the results helped engineers improve the GPS system, led to new applications for GPS, and changed navigation at High-Earth Orbit (HEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) altitudes, allowing new missions to operate in these orbits. Prior to NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, flying in space and taking along ham radio in 1983, Bauer came up with a plan for, and helped set up and operate, the worldwide retransmission of space shuttle air-to-ground communications by the Goddard Amateur Radio Club station, WA3NAN (now K6DUE). Tens of thousands of hams enjoyed listening to most every shuttle mission's astronaut communications, and amateurs used these to help them make ham contacts with crewmembers who had their amateur licenses. Bauer's work with this system also let to his becoming part of the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment) team. Bauer attended Purdue University where he earned its prestigious bachelor's degree and master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics. This led to a long and full career with NASA followed by a move to the private aerospace industry. He earned his amateur radio license in 1974, and has been the AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human Spaceflight for many years. What Bauer has spent, and now spends, the most time and energy on is the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. He helped set up the very first meeting of worldwide volunteers at NASA's behest in 1996, working as AMSAT's representative, alongside Rosalie White, K1STO as ARRL's representative. People from the world's AMSAT societies and IARU organizations answered their calls to attend the meeting at NASA Johnson Space center in Houston, and the rest is history--20 years of growing ARISS into how it is today...still growing! White wrote, "Frank didn't just think about where amateur radio in space should be; he always thought about where it was headed--he still does. His multi-faceted background and experience in aerospace, NASA, and amateur radio is the ideal combination resulting in effectively spearheading the ARISS team in offering to hams, students, and the general public, ARISS success after ARISS success." Very hearty congratulations from the ARISS team to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, on his new title, Dayton Hamvention 2017 Amateur of the Year! 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Contact: David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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ARISS News Release no. 17-05
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 09 Mar '17

09 Mar '17

ARISS NEWS RELEASE no. 17-05 March 8, 2017 David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org Frank Bauer, KA3HDO 2017 Dayton Amateur of the Year Winner The Dayton Hamvention has selected ARISS International Chair, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for its top award, Amateur of the Year for 2017. Each year, Hamvention recognizes radio amateurs known for making major contributions to the art and science of amateur radio, and it's no surprise why Bauer was chosen. A few things from his lengthy list of achievements follow. In 1995, Bauer proposed an experiment for the AMSAT Phase 3D satellite (AO-40) to measure the strength of the signal from the GPS satellite constellation. For years after, the aerospace industry cited this experiment because the results helped engineers improve the GPS system, led to new applications for GPS, and changed navigation at High-Earth Orbit (HEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) altitudes, allowing new missions to operate in these orbits. Prior to NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, flying in space and taking along ham radio in 1983, Bauer came up with a plan for, and helped set up and operate, the worldwide retransmission of space shuttle air-to-ground communications by the Goddard Amateur Radio Club station, WA3NAN (now K6DUE). Tens of thousands of hams enjoyed listening to most every shuttle mission's astronaut communications, and amateurs used these to help them make ham contacts with crewmembers who had their amateur licenses. Bauer's work with this system also let to his becoming part of the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment) team. Bauer attended Purdue University where he earned its prestigious bachelor's degree and master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics. This led to a long and full career with NASA followed by a move to the private aerospace industry. He earned his amateur radio license in 1974, and has been the AMSAT-NA Vice President for Human Spaceflight for many years. What Bauer has spent, and now spends, the most time and energy on is the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. He helped set up the very first meeting of worldwide volunteers at NASA's behest in 1996, working as AMSAT's representative, alongside Rosalie White, K1STO as ARRL's representative. People from the world's AMSAT societies and IARU organizations answered their calls to attend the meeting at NASA Johnson Space center in Houston, and the rest is history--20 years of growing ARISS into how it is today...still growing! White wrote, "Frank didn't just think about where amateur radio in space should be; he always thought about where it was headed--he still does. His multi-faceted background and experience in aerospace, NASA, and amateur radio is the ideal combination resulting in effectively spearheading the ARISS team in offering to hams, students, and the general public, ARISS success after ARISS success." Very hearty congratulations from the ARISS team to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, on his new title, Dayton Hamvention 2017 Amateur of the Year! 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status Contact: David Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Ft 847 full duplex
by jeffory broughton 08 Mar '17

08 Mar '17

I have owned 3 of fhem.used them on my m2 array on the roof as well as an arrow on a tripod.in both situations I used a mobil diplexer to clean up my third order vhf harmonic and experience. No intermod.jeff broughton WB8RJY

2 1

Nayif-1 Data Warehouse Outage
by David Johnson 08 Mar '17

08 Mar '17

Hi, The data collection server is back up again after several hours. It is now collecting data from dashboards which were pending. I will be changing the runtime implementation during the day to make it more stable. Apologies for the problem. 73 Dave, G4DPZ

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] NO-84 - more progress
by Brad Schumacher 08 Mar '17

08 Mar '17

I was on the 0410 UTC NO-84 pass tonight and saw nobody else. I was running 5 watts uplink for most of the pass and was able to decode cleanly except at the sub 20 deg elevations. I tried both the 27’ vertical and G5RV Jr. and they both seemed to do just fine even at my lowest power levels. I lowered my uplink frequency to 28.119 Mhz and saw myself at 1250 Hz on the audio spectrum. One change I made was to control my rotor and receive via SatPC32. My Doppler.sqf looks like this: NO-84,435350,28120,FM,USB,NOR,0,0,Wide FM NO-84,435350,0,FMN,,,,Narrow FM I use the first set to get the 28.120 close and manually tune to where I want it then switch to the second one which does not change the uplink Doppler – just the downlink doppler. Ok, not sure if this helps but I am finding this setup to be very reliable and the satellite seems to have a great RX and very strong downlink. An absolute pleasure to work with. Thanks, Brad Schumacher W5SAT --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

EO-88
by skristof＠etczone.com 08 Mar '17

08 Mar '17

Does anyone know the status of the EO-88 (Nayif-1) Data Warehouse? I just downloaded some telemetry but the dashboard is holding the data and reads 0/23 - Error. So, I've got 23 packets of data waiting to go to the warehouse. Maybe the URL changed? Steve AI9IN

2 1

Chinese mobile rigs on Satellites
by John Geiger 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

I see there are quite a few Chinese 25 watt dualband mobile FM rigs out there today at great prices, like under $100. Jetstream, Leixen and quite a few other brands are out there. Has anyone tried these on the FM satellites, and if so, how do they work? 73 John AF5CC

3 3

KG5CCI/P EM54 Tonight!
by David Swanson 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

I've had several requests recently to try and hit Mississippi for some folks' WAS award, so tonight I'll run a few hours down the interstate and operate from Southhaven, MS for a for a bit. For sure passes schedule is as follows: 2017-03-08 XW-2A 0109UTC 2017-03-08 SO-50 0145UTC 2017-03-08 AO-73 0215UTC If I make good time driving I *might* be on some of the XW's before 0100z, and if there are huge piles and I can't get to everyone I *might* stick around for Nayif and FO29 at the end, but plan on being there for those 3. I'll be on APRS KG5CCI-5, and updates via Twitter @KG5CCI. 73, Dave.

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Upcoming ARISS contact with 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece on 10 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:20 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and SV7APQ. The contact should be audible over Greece and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.800 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. The 3rd Junior High School of Komotini is one of the 13 schools of Secondary Education that operate in Komotini, a city in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in the north-east of Greece. Our school is one of the oldest in the Municipality of Rodopi. The current building was constructed in 1992. Its a relatively new building with 16 classrooms, and laboratories for Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Music rooms, multiple-function rooms and a fully-equipped library. There are approximately 350 registered students (age 12-15), and 38 teachers of different fields in our school. One of the main characteristics of our school is its multi-cultural character. 25% percent of our students come from repatriated Greek families who lived for about a century in countries of the Former Soviet Union (Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, etc) and came back to Greece in 1990 after the collapse of the regime in the countries of Eastern Europe. These students speak both the Greek and the Russian language fluently. 16% percent of our students are Muslims. The existence of a Greek Muslim minority in Thrace has been recognized internationally since 1922. Among them, there is a significant number of Pomaks and Roma students. There are integration classes for students with special educational needs and learning disabilities taught by teachers of Special Education. Additionally, every year many national educational programmes, such as Environmental Education, Health Education, Consumer Education and many Cultural programmes (music, dance, theatre, art, radio, astronomy) are implemented. Our school also has a very active cycling club. Students go on various educational trips every year, visiting other parts of Greece and expanding their learning skills and abilities. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What is the most challenging problem of living in space? 2. Can you see the moon closer from Earth, is it different? 3. How do you stabilize the food on the table? 4. How often do you do extravehicular activity? 5. Is it very difficult to become an astronaut? 6. Do you have sufficient oxygen in ISS? 7. If you had just one wish to become true for your job what would it be? 8. If a member of the crew is injured can you give him first aid? 9. When you come back to earth, is it easy for you to walk? 10. Which is the difference between day and night in Earth and in Moon? 11. What is the main target of your expedition? 12. Can you see meteor showers from space? 13. Have you ever seen a comet from space? 14. How long did the preparation for this expedition last? 15. How many hours do you work, do you have shifts? 16. What is the most extreme procedure of your expedition? 17. What is your favorite food in space? 18. How old were you when you decided to become an astronaut and what was the motive of your decision? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN on 09 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:21 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and WD9GIU. The contact should be audible over the state of Indiana and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Blair Pointe Elementary School is in small town, Peru, IN. It is a town that is about 70 miles north of Indianapolis, and is in the same county as Grissom Air Reserve Base. It is a school that houses third through sixth graders. Blair Pointe is part of the Peru Community School Corporation that has approximately 2,150 students in all 5 of its buildings. Our school has a diverse population with students coming from rural areas, apartments, mobile home parks, and low and middle income homes. As a school, we provide many opportunities outside of the classroom to learn. A very high population of our students attend our various after school programs such as our remediation program, choir, art club, and robotics. We also have a high focus on the fine arts and through this we are able to provide a lot of learning across subject areas. This year we were able to bring in astronaut Jerry Ross to speak with our students about his space career. In addition, we have a very strong sports program including baseball, soccer, football, track, golf, cross country, wrestling, basketball, tennis, and volleyball. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Why and when did you become an astronaut? 2. How many people work on the space station at one time? And why? 3. What is your job on the space station? 4. What do you do when someone gets sick while on the space station? 5. Has anyone ever broken a bone on the space station? Do bones break differently in space? 6. What kind of experiments do you do in space and are they safe or dangerous? 7. What happens if something in space hits the space station and damages the ship? How would you fix it? 8. How do you keep track of all the floating debris? 9. Do the other astronauts sometimes get on your nerves? 10. How does it feel to be away from your family? 11. We all know astronauts have months of training, but has there been one thing you were not ready for in your experience? 12. What is a day like on the ISS? What do you do every day? 13. When you are going into space and start feeling less gravity, do you feel light-headed or nauseous? If so, is there anything in your training to prepare you for this? 14. If your space suit gets torn, how would you fix it, and has it ever happened to you before? 15. Do you ever get hot or cold in space and is there air conditioning on the ISS? 16. Is there wifi in space? 17. Are you ever scared that you might run out of oxygen or that your ship goes away from the Milky Way galaxy? 18. Have you ever become unhooked from the space station? What does it feel like to be floating around in space? 19. Is time in space different from time on Earth? 20. Do you have to be a certain age, height, or weight to go into space? 21. How many missions have you gone on? Do you have a favorite one? Why? 22. How many times did you orbit the Earth on your last trip to space? 23. Do you ever get dizzy from floating around all the time? 24. Would you say space is a harsh environment? Why or why not? 25. What is the hardest thing you need to do up in space? Why? 26. What do you see other than stars? Do you see any weird things in space? 27. What do you do in your free time? What is your favorite thing to do in space? 28. Is it hard to adjust to being back on Earth after being in 0 gravity? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece, direct via SV7APQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC Watch for live stream at http://sv7apq.blogspot.gr/2016/10/as-amateur-radio-enthusiast-i- have.html 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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NO-84 - more progress
by Mark Lunday 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Tonight, I am pretty sure I saw my downlink signal. Unfortunately it was very weak using the off-center-fed dipole transmit antenna. And...there was a Doppler shift even though I was using DopplerPSK for transmit. The signal did start and stop as I started and stopped DopplerPSK transmit, so I am pretty confident I am seeing my transmission. Maybe a true ¼ whip is needed for transmit... Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972 _____________________________________________ From: wd4elg(a)outlook.com Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2017 10:54 PM To: AMSAT BB Subject: NO-84 - the investigation continues Making some progress....0335 UTC pass, I decoded the PSK31 beacon AND decoded W5SAT calling CQ. However, I failed to see my signal on the downlink again. I am using 65 watts and an inverted L for 160 that tunes for 10 meters. The thing should be working, I worked several EU stations on 40 meters with just 5 watts tonight, so it's radiating SOMETHING. I am sending PSK31 with DopplerPSK and then trying with FLDIGI, so it's not the software. I am getting power out per the wattmeter, so it's not the transmit setup. EZNEC shows a mostly cloud-warmer type of pattern for the inverted L on 10 meters, with some small gain at lower angles. Maybe I will try the off-center-fed dipole next. What are other folks using for antennas on the uplink? Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net<mailto:[email protected]> http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-06 08:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-03-06 08:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN, direct via WD9GIU The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-03-09 15:21:33 UTC 80 deg 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece, direct via SV7APQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC 28 deg Watch for live stream at http://sv7apq.blogspot.gr/2016/10/as-amateur-radio-enthusiast-i-have.html (***) **************************************************************************** ** ARISS congratulates Frank Bauer KA3HDO on being named Dayton Hamvention 2017 Amateur of the Year. (***) **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2017 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2017. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss(a)arrl.org. **************************************************************************** *** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 123 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Francesco IKØWGF with 119 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2017-03-06 08:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1123. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1084. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2017-03-02 07:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 49 on orbit Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Exp. 50 on orbit Peggy Whitson Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG Oleg Novitskiy **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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NO-84 - the investigation continues
by W5SAT 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Mark, Yep - that was me calling CQ tonight. My first time trying PSK31 on NO-84. I read your posts on the subject and it sounds like you are doing everything right. I was able to consistently seem myself when running 50 watts throughout the pass and as low as 20 watts when the satellite was overhead. Any less and I couldn't make the round trip and decode myself. I mostly used a Zero-Five 10-40 ground plane vertical (27 feet) but I was also able to make the trip with a G5RV Jr. antenna about 15 feet above ground. I might try the G5RV Jr. for the full pass next time since that is a cloud warmer for sure at that height. I am using a TS-2000 for both TX and receive. I assume you are 28.120 Mhz USB on your uplink (never hurts to check) and have configured DopplerPSK with your location and put fresh elements in the tle folder where DopplerPSK is. I noticed it took a few seconds to activate the transponder when I started transmitting. Well, that's all I have to offer at this point since today was my first try using this mode. Thanks, Brad Schumacher W5SAT

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Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1
by Rick Tejera 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Steve, I know how you know... That did the trick. I knew it would be something glaringly obvious. Thanks for pointing it out.. Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org <http://www.saguaroastro.org> Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.W7TBC.org <http://www.W7TBC.org> -----Original Message----- From: Stephen E. Belter [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2017 7:36 PM To: Rick Tejera <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net>; 'AMSAT' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 Rick, Capitalization is important in this case. NAYIF-1 doesn’t match Nayif-1. You need to edit the DOPPLER.SQF file to spell Nayif with upper and lower case letters. Ask me how I know that. ;-) 73, Steve N9IP -- Steve Belter, <mailto:[email protected]> seb(a)wintek.com On 3/5/17, 8:11 PM, "AMSAT-BB on behalf of Rick Tejera" < <mailto:[email protected]%20on%20behalf%20of%[email protected]> amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org on behalf of SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net> wrote: >OK, > > > >I've edited the AMSAT names file as Alan indicated, restarted the >program and still it is not showing the frequencies. > > > >Here is what I have in the files: > > > >AMSAT names: > > > >42017 17008XX Nayif-1 > >42017 17008BX EO-88 > > > >Doppler: > > > >NAYIF-1,145975,435030,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,CW/SSB Transponder > >EO-88,145975,435030,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,CW/SSB Transponder > > > >Now, I figure this works for all the other birds but not this one. Any >ideas would be appreciated> > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: Alan [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] >Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 4:59 PM >To: 'Rick Tejera' < <mailto:[email protected]> SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net> >Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 > > > >Rick, > > > >This is working for me: > > > >42017 17008BX EO-88 > > > >73s, > > > >Alan > >WA4SCA > > > > > ><-----Original Message----- > ><From: AMSAT-BB [ < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> > <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick <Tejera > ><Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 17:55 PM > ><To: 'Paul Stoetzer' < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> n8hm(a)arrl.net> > ><Cc: 'AMSAT' < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>; >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> APBIDDLE(a)mailaps.org; 'Red <Willoughby' < >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> red(a)redwilloughby.com> > ><Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 > >< > ><OK, thanks, now for the next question. I have added the Doppler file, >which I <know is correct, I'm try to add the Sat to the AMSATNAMEs >file. I tried to add <the info from that Since I use the Nasabare >element set, but it's not working <and the frequency is not showing. >Can someone post the proper edit for both <names? > >< > >< > >< > ><Thanks in advance > >< > >< > >< > >< > >< > ><Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) > >< > ><Saguaro Astronomy Club > >< > >< < <http://www.saguaroastro.org%20%3chttp:/www.saguaroastro.org> http://www.saguaroastro.org%20%3chttp:/www.saguaroastro.org> > <http://www.saguaroastro.org> www.saguaroastro.org < <http://www.saguaroastro.org> http://www.saguaroastro.org> < <Thunderbird >Amateur Radio Club < < < <http://www.W7TBC.org%20%3chttp:/www.W7TBC.org> http://www.W7TBC.org%20%3chttp:/www.W7TBC.org> > <http://www.W7TBC.org> www.W7TBC.org >< <http://www.W7TBC.org> http://www.W7TBC.org> < < < < < < < < < <-----Original Message----- > ><From: < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> prstoetzer(a)gmail.com [ >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of ><Paul Stoetzer > ><Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 4:16 PM > ><To: Richard Tejera < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> > <mailto:[email protected]> Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> > ><Cc: < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> APBIDDLE(a)mailaps.org; Red >Willoughby < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> red(a)redwilloughby.com>; ><AMSAT < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > ><Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 > >< > >< > >< > ><Celestrak has it as Nayif-1 (EO-88) now. AMSAT should have as EO-88 >with <tonight's release. > >< > >< > >< > ><73, > >< > >< > >< > ><Paul, N8HM > >< > >< > >< > ><On Thu, Mar 2, 2017 at 6:10 PM, Richard Tejera < << >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: > >< > ><> When will it show as EO-88 the keps? I'm still seeing Nayif-1.. > >< > ><> > >< > ><> Rick Tejera K7TEJ > >< > ><> Saguaro Astronomy Club > >< > ><> < < <http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> <http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> >< <http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> <http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> www.SaguaroAstro.org < <> Thunderbird >Amateur Radio Club < <> andwww.w7tbc.orgle < < <http://www.w7tbc.orgle> http://www.w7tbc.orgle> > <http://www.w7tbc.orgle> http://www.w7tbc.orgle> < <> < <> On March 2, 2017, at 08:00, Alan < < >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> < >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> wa4sca(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >< > ><> > >< > ><> The satellite formerly known as Nayif-1 is now EO-88. > >< > ><> > >< > ><> 73s, > >< > ><> > >< > ><> Alan > >< > ><> WA4SCA > >< > ><> > >< > ><> > >< > ><> <-----Original Message----- > >< > ><> <From: AMSAT-BB [ < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> > <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> < <mailto:amsat-> mailto:amsat-> <mailto:amsat-> mailto:amsat- < >< <mailto:[email protected]]%20On%20Behalf%20Of%20Red%20%3c%20%3c> mailto:[email protected]]%20On%20Behalf%20Of%20Red%20%3c%20%3c> > <mailto:[email protected]> bb-bounces(a)amsat.org] On Behalf Of Red < <> <Willoughby < <> <Sent: >Thursday, March 02, 2017 08:48 AM < <> <To: < >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org < <> <Subject: >[amsat-bb] Nayif-1 < <> < < <> <I see it listed at the top of the >colorful matrix on < <> amsat.org/status, <but it does not seem to >appear in the Select < <> Satellite dropdown box for <posting reports. >Am I just missing it or does it <have another name? > >< > ><> <_______________________________________________ > >< > ><> <Sent via < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: ><http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat- > ><bb> < <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > >< > ><> > >< > ><> > >< > ><> _______________________________________________ > >< > ><> Sent via < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: < >< <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > ><http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > >< > ><> _______________________________________________ > >< > ><> Sent via < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> >< <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: < >< <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > ><http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > >< > ><_______________________________________________ > ><Sent via < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: >< <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >Sent via <mailto:[email protected]> 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: <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

1 0

NO-84 - the investigation continues
by Mark Lunday 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Making some progress....0335 UTC pass, I decoded the PSK31 beacon AND decoded W5SAT calling CQ. However, I failed to see my signal on the downlink again. I am using 65 watts and an inverted L for 160 that tunes for 10 meters. The thing should be working, I worked several EU stations on 40 meters with just 5 watts tonight, so it's radiating SOMETHING. I am sending PSK31 with DopplerPSK and then trying with FLDIGI, so it's not the software. I am getting power out per the wattmeter, so it's not the transmit setup. EZNEC shows a mostly cloud-warmer type of pattern for the inverted L on 10 meters, with some small gain at lower angles. Maybe I will try the off-center-fed dipole next. What are other folks using for antennas on the uplink? Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972

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Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1
by Rick Tejera 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

OK, I've edited the AMSAT names file as Alan indicated, restarted the program and still it is not showing the frequencies. Here is what I have in the files: AMSAT names: 42017 17008XX Nayif-1 42017 17008BX EO-88 Doppler: NAYIF-1,145975,435030,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,CW/SSB Transponder EO-88,145975,435030,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,CW/SSB Transponder Now, I figure this works for all the other birds but not this one. Any ideas would be appreciated> -----Original Message----- From: Alan [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 4:59 PM To: 'Rick Tejera' <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net> Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 Rick, This is working for me: 42017 17008BX EO-88 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick <Tejera <Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 17:55 PM <To: 'Paul Stoetzer' < <mailto:[email protected]> n8hm(a)arrl.net> <Cc: 'AMSAT' < <mailto:[email protected]> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>; <mailto:[email protected]> APBIDDLE(a)mailaps.org; 'Red <Willoughby' < <mailto:[email protected]> red(a)redwilloughby.com> <Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 < <OK, thanks, now for the next question. I have added the Doppler file, which I <know is correct, I'm try to add the Sat to the AMSATNAMEs file. I tried to add <the info from that Since I use the Nasabare element set, but it's not working <and the frequency is not showing. Can someone post the proper edit for both <names? < < < <Thanks in advance < < < < < <Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) < <Saguaro Astronomy Club < < <http://www.saguaroastro.org%20%3chttp:/www.saguaroastro.org> www.saguaroastro.org <http://www.saguaroastro.org> < <Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club < < <http://www.W7TBC.org%20%3chttp:/www.W7TBC.org> www.W7TBC.org <http://www.W7TBC.org> < < < < < < < < < <-----Original Message----- <From: <mailto:[email protected]> prstoetzer(a)gmail.com [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of <Paul Stoetzer <Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 4:16 PM <To: Richard Tejera < <mailto:[email protected]> Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> <Cc: <mailto:[email protected]> APBIDDLE(a)mailaps.org; Red Willoughby < <mailto:[email protected]> red(a)redwilloughby.com>; <AMSAT < <mailto:[email protected]> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> <Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 < < < <Celestrak has it as Nayif-1 (EO-88) now. AMSAT should have as EO-88 with <tonight's release. < < < <73, < < < <Paul, N8HM < < < <On Thu, Mar 2, 2017 at 6:10 PM, Richard Tejera < << <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: < <> When will it show as EO-88 the keps? I'm still seeing Nayif-1.. < <> < <> Rick Tejera K7TEJ < <> Saguaro Astronomy Club < <> < <http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> <http://www.SaguaroAstro.org> www.SaguaroAstro.org < <> Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club < <> andwww.w7tbc.orgle < <http://www.w7tbc.orgle> http://www.w7tbc.orgle> < <> < <> On March 2, 2017, at 08:00, Alan < < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> < <mailto:[email protected]> wa4sca(a)gmail.com> wrote: < <> < <> The satellite formerly known as Nayif-1 is now EO-88. < <> < <> 73s, < <> < <> Alan < <> WA4SCA < <> < <> < <> <-----Original Message----- < <> <From: AMSAT-BB [ < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:amsat-> mailto:amsat- < <mailto:[email protected]]%20On%20Behalf%20Of%20Red%20%3c%20%3c> bb-bounces(a)amsat.org] On Behalf Of Red < <> <Willoughby < <> <Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 08:48 AM < <> <To: < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org < <> <Subject: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 < <> < < <> <I see it listed at the top of the colorful matrix on < <> amsat.org/status, <but it does not seem to appear in the Select < <> Satellite dropdown box for <posting reports. Am I just missing it or does it <have another name? < <> <_______________________________________________ < <> <Sent via < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat- <bb> <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb < <> < <> < <> _______________________________________________ < <> Sent via < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: < <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb < <> _______________________________________________ < <> Sent via < <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]> 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: < <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb < <_______________________________________________ <Sent via <mailto:[email protected]> 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: <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

2 1

NASA seeks payload ideas for mystery satellite (NSTP-Sat)
by Gregory Beat 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

NASA issued a request for information (RFI) Feb. 15 for a proposed spacecraft called the NASA Science/Technology Platform Satellite, or NSTP-Sat. The RFI was the first time NASA had publicly discussed such a mission. The RFI period ends on March 17. March 3rd Space News story by Jeff Foust http://spacenews.com/nasa-seeks-payload-ideas-for-mystery-satellite/?utm_so… Sounds like an opportunity for STEM and communications. w9gb Sent from iPad Air

2 2

Any communication thru CAS-2T/Fengtai-1
by Todd Deckard 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

After the delight of BY70-1, I was wondering if any practical two-way communication was possible with CAS-2T? Any clever schemes to work around the downlink issues? Anybody up to pound out some MCW? ... could just mash it out with the push to talk switch -- my morse is so bad that the ARRL officially recognizes "that gibberish must be coming from Todd" as a valid QSO. Todd

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] Nayif-1 (EO-88) telemetry/transponder switching
by W M Willoughby 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

Very enlightening - thanks Wouter.

1 0

Nayif-1 (EO-88) telemetry/transponder switching
by W M Willoughby 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

Is EO-88 switched to full time transponder mode during the weekends like FUNcube-1?

2 1

ANS-064 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-064 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, 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 at amsat.org. In this edition: * Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, 2017 Dayton Hamvention Amateur of the Year * VUCC Awards for February 2017 * On-line Information Sessions for ARISS-US School Contact Proposals * Ham radio satellite activation of Berry Islands, Bahamas * NASA Explores Opportunity for Smaller Experiments to 'Hitch a Ride' to Mars * Belize on Satellite * October Amateur Radio Satellites Activation of Sint Maarten Announced * Nayif-1 Status Report and New Dashboard * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-064.01 ANS-064 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 064.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 5, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-064.01 Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, 2017 Dayton Hamvention Amateur of the Year The Dayton Hamvention has announced the winners of the 2017 Hamvention Awards. Each year, the Dayton Hamvention honors radio amateurs who have made major contributions to the art and science of amateur radio. AMSAT Vice President for Human Spaceflight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, was named 2017 Amateur of the Year. The award citation reads: “Frank serves as the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) international chairman. In the mid-1990s, Bauer proposed a GPS reception experiment on the AMSAT Phase 3D satellite (AO-40). The experiment was to measure the signal strength of the GPS satellite constellation while Phase 3D was in high-Earth orbit (HEO). The AO-40 experiment subsequently has been cited often in aerospace literature, as it remained the most comprehensive above-the- constellation data source for nearly a decade and led to changes in the system’s specifications and applications. The results of the AO- 40 experiment jump started a game-changing transformation in navigation at HEO/GEO altitudes, enabling new and exciting missions in these orbits. Bauer holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University. His career in aerospace spans 4 decades within NASA and in private industry Bauer has been licensed since 1974. In 1983, in preparation for the space mission of Owen Garriott, W5LFL, he was responsible for setting up and operating the worldwide retransmission of Space Shuttle air-to- ground communications from Goddard Amateur Radio Club station WA3NAN. This initiative provided a critical conduit of information to hams attempting to contact astronaut-hams in the pre-Internet era.” The 2017 Dayton Hamvention Award winners are listed at http://hamvention.org/event-details/awards/ [ANS thanks Dayton Hamvention via the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards for February 2017 Congratulations to the following satellite operators who were awarded endorsements for Satellite VUCC by the ARRL during the period 1Feb2017 thru 1Mar2017: WA4NVM-1413 KD8CAO-1200 W5PFG-982 N8RO-918 N7SFI-829 K4FEG-711 N8HM-608 N4UFO-601 KG5CCI-452 N9IP-417 K5ND-200 W7QL-180 W4DTA-151 AI6GS-136 N6RFM-107 There were 2 new VUCC awards: WI7P - 829 AK4WQ (EN34) - 106 The ARRL VUCC Award is the most prestigious and sought after award for satellite operators. The award is what inspires all of the roving activity here in the United States and around the world. A special thanks to all rovers who make the effort to operate away from home. The Central States VHF Society sponsors the reverse VUCC award for rovers who operate in 100 or more grids away from home. Some of our current rovers are already eligible or close to being eligible for this award. Recipients so far include N7SFI, N5AFV, ND9M and KD4ZGW. (as of 5July2016 www.csvhfs.org) [ANS thanks John K8YSE for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- On-line Information Sessions for ARISS-US School Contact Proposals ARISS-US is accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, radio contact with an orbiting space station crew member between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2018. Proposals are due April 15, 2017. Informational Sessions To help organizations learn about ARISS radio contacts and the proposal process, ARISS offers one-hour online information sessions and welcomes all questions. Attending an online session is not required but strongly encouraged. Informational sessions will be offered March 6, 2017, at 7 p.m. EST and March 16, 2017, at 4 p.m. EDT. Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to sign up for an information session. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal forms, visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please email questions about this opportunity to ariss(a)arrl.org. ARISS-US is offered through a partnership between NASA, the American Radio Relay League, and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ARISS was created and is managed by an international working group. [ANS thanks ARISS and NASA Education Express Message -- March 2, 2017 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ham radio satellite activation of Berry Islands, Bahamas Steve M1ACB, Rob M0VFC and John M0IDA will be active on the FM and SSB amateur radio satellites from Berry Islands in the Bahamas. The trio plan to operate from March 4-10 and will be using hand-held antennas. Since the FM satellites will only cover part of the USA they’ll also be using SSB on FO-29 to reach the British Isles and Europe. They will be operating from Little Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands, IOTA NA-054, Grid Square FL15do. For further information see https://m1acb.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/1527/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Explores Opportunity for Smaller Experiments to 'Hitch a Ride' to Mars NASA's goals for human deep space exploration are complex and ambitious. To maximize resources as it pushes the boundaries of exploration, the agency is exploring opportunities to take advantage of emerging private sector space capabilities. NASA released a request for information Monday regarding possible commercial sources to fly limited payloads on planned, non-NASA missions to Mars. The agency will use the responses to gather market data on the complete spectrum of commercial plans, and identify any excess capacity that may exist for NASA payloads. Furthering NASA's human deep space exploration goals will require a significant amount of scientific research, and opportunities to collect data on Mars have been rare. Only seven successful missions to the surface of Mars have taken place in the history of space flight. Evolving capabilities in the private sector have opened the possibility for NASA to take advantage of commercial opportunities to land scientific payloads on the surface of the Red Planet. Such capability would provide an additional method of acquiring science and engineering data concerning Mars, and would complement NASA's current deep space exploration efforts. [ANS thanks www.marsdaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Belize on Satellite Good evening to my fellow people of the birds, The time has come. I will be venturing to the land of Belize March 11-19 and will be on the satellites with the call V31NJ. I will operate from various grids and possibly some islands (a side trip to Roatan, Honduras is possible with operations from there, not positive yet). This is gonna be a vacation style op (going with my little brother for his spring break), so don't expect me on every pass. If I can get a permit for Guatemala TG/NJ7H may also be on a few passes, though I'm not sure if from any grids different than in Belize. QSLing will be via LoTW. If there is a demand, I can get some cards printed when I'm back. [ANS thanks Gabe V31NJ/NJ7H for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- October Amateur Radio Satellites Activation of Sint Maarten Announced PJ7, ST. MAARTEN. Members of Argentinian DXers Group will be active as PJ7T from Sint Maarten (NA-105) between October 24th and November 4th. Operators mentioned are Dan/LU9FHF, Bob/LU4FBU, Andy/LU2JCW, Wally/LU3FMD and Jose/LU1FM. They plan to have three station on the HF bands and one on the Amateur Radio Satellites. QSL via LU1FM direct, LoTW or eQSL. Look for their Web page to be active soon at: http://www.tarjetasqsl.com.ar/pj7t [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1307 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nayif-1 Status Report and New Dashboard The Nayif-1 (EO-88) CubeSat has now been in orbit for more than two weeks and all systems continue to operate nominally. The power budget is positive, the spin/tumble rate is acceptably low, on board temperatures are perfectly okay and, importantly, the educational/amateur transponder switching is taking place autonomously as planned. More than 250 stations around the world have provided telemetry to the Nayif Data Warehouse and the FUNcube Team are extremely grateful to them for their invaluable support. The experts have now formally allocated Catalog Number 42017 to Nayif-1 (EO88) and the TLEs can now be downloaded from Celestrak – TLEs New Dashboards The FUNcube Team have now updated the Dashboards for both Nayif-1 and FUNcube-1 so that they display only the telemetry received from the individual spacecraft that they are designed for. This will help users to display only the correct information and graphs and reduce confusion. Whilst they only display the data from ONE spacecraft, they will, as now, receive and decode the data from all FUNcube payloads currently in orbit and automatically submit it to the relevant Data Warehouse. The new Dashboard for FUNcube-1 (ver 1044) can be downloaded from here: FUNcube Dashboard Installer 1044 The new Dashboard for Nayif-1 (ver 1040) can be downloaded from here: Nayif-1 Dashboard Installer 1040 Additionally some command line parameters have been added to enable the programmes to auto-start with the desired parameters. These are: /minimized /autostart /source=dongle or /source=soundcard Some notes on how to implement these parameters can be found here: funcube-dashboard-autostart Nayif-1 Data Warehouse http://data.amsat-uk.org/nayif1/ Ham radio satellite transmits Vice President’s message https://amsat-uk.org/2017/02/25/nayif-1-uae-vice-president-message/ Nayif-1 Launched https://amsat-uk.org/2017/02/15/nayif-1-launched/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between ABOUT GAGARIN FROM SPACE. Raduga Space Communication Center of St. Petersburg, Russia and Cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov using Callsign RSØISS. The contact began UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direc via RA1AJN. ARISS Mentor was Sergey RV3DR. + A Successful contact was made between Ecole “Robespierre B.”, Rueil-Malmaison, France and Astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG using Callsign FX0ISS. The contact began 2017-03-01 08:04 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via F6KFA. ARISS Mentor was Joseph F6ICS. + A Successful contact was made between College Marcel Pagnol, Rueil- Malmaison, France and Astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG using Callsign FX0ISS. The contact began 2017-03-01 08:04 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via F6KFA. ARISS Mentor was Joseph F6ICS. + A Successful contact was made between Ecole Albert Camus, Rueil- Malmaison, France and Astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG using Callsign FX0ISS. The contact began 2017-03-01 08:04 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via F6KFA. ARISS Mentor was Joseph F6ICS. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule + Blair Pointe Upper Elementary School, Peru, IN, direct via WD9GIU The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-03-09 15:21:33 UTC + 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece, direct via SV7APQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD Contact is a go for: Fri 2017-03-10 08:20:46 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The AMSAT-NA office was closed Friday March 3 and will remain closed through Monday March 6. Martha will return to office Tuesday March 7. [ANS thanks Martha for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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 stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org

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FT-991a 9600 Baud TNC Capability
by Tony 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

All: The Yaesu FT-991a has 9600 baud packet capability and I was wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to run 9600 via the USB data port with a 9600 baud sound card modem? Tony -K2MO

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m2 eggbeater
by doug49707＠gmail.com 04 Mar '17

04 Mar '17

I have previously been active on the birds.. ao-10 ao-13 ao-40 as well as the rs birds infact Ihave qsl cards from ao-7 the first time it was active My question is will I be able to work the leos with the eggbeaters or do I need something more robust I have a ic-9100 and I would mount them at about 60 feet on top of the tower. I will have a excellent path to the east. I would but a preamps in the uhf and vhf lines at the antenna. Doug WD8Z En85gc Sent from Mail for Windows 10

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Backup SatPC32
by David Maciel (XE3DX) 04 Mar '17

04 Mar '17

I'm going to make a new install on my PC, which files should I back up from SatPC32 to get it back as before ..? I want to avoid reconfiguring the software and recovering my preference .. How are you doing with SatPC32 on Win10 ..? David Maciel XE3DX *http://www.qsl.net/xe3dx/ <http://www.qsl.net/xe3dx/>* *david.xe3dx(a)gmail.com <david.xe3dx(a)gmail.com>*

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Yaesu FT847 question
by John Geiger 04 Mar '17

04 Mar '17

Has anyone used the Yaesu FT847 full duplex on the satellites with a dualband antenna and a diplexer? Is the isolation enough with a good diplexer than you can hear your own downlink without much interference from your transmit signal? 73 John AF5CC

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Re: [amsat-bb] EO-80
by Richard Tejera 04 Mar '17

04 Mar '17

Thanks, that does ring a bell. Too bad. Rick Tejera K7TEJ Saguaro Astronomy Club www.SaguaroAstro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org On March 3, 2017, at 16:26, John Brier <johnbrier(a)gmail.com> wrote: EO-80 and EO-88 have similar names. Simply based on that, seeing one might remind you of the other. Perhaps that wasn't it though... Regardless, the answer to the original question is on amsat.org "Additionally, the satellite carries a AMSAT-F constructed repeater as a return favor for support of the use of the amateur bands for the primary QB50 mission. Unfortunately the primary transceiver was damaged during a test of the repeater, and the repeater is power negative. Further activation of the repeater is unlikely at this time." http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=2948 73, John Brier KG4AKV On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 6:21 PM, Richard Tejera <Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: > I'm not getting what you mean? EO-80 is an FM transponder, EO-88 is a linear Transponder. > > Rick Tejera K7TEJ > Saguaro Astronomy Club > www.SaguaroAstro.org > Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club > www.w7tbc.org > > On March 3, 2017, at 16:12, John Brier <johnbrier(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Maybe because Nayif-1 was just named EO-88? > > 73, John Brier KG4AKV > > On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 6:07 PM, Richard Tejera <Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: >> Funny, I was thinking the same thing this morning... >> >> Rick Tejera K7TEJ >> Saguaro Astronomy Club >> www.SaguaroAstro.org >> Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club >> www.w7tbc.org >> >> On March 3, 2017, at 11:01, Bill Attwood <whattwood(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Anybody know what's happening with EO-80? Wasn't the FM transponder >> supposed to be turned on full-time ages ago? >> >> Cheers, >> Bill >> VE6WK >> _______________________________________________ >> 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: http://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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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NO-84 update, progress on my end
by Mark Lunday 04 Mar '17

04 Mar '17

OK, tonight on the high pass at 0300 UTC over US East Coast, I heard the following with my IC910H tuned to 435.350 MHz FM-Narrow, feeding FLDIGI through a SignaLink USB card: 1. W3ADO beacon. The beacon signal was so strong it was almost like hearing an FM repeater that is "full quieting" with no background noise at all. 2. Someone transmitting early in the pass, but Doppler was moving the signal and I did not decode it because it eventually went right on top of the beacon. I attempted to transmit using DopplerPSK, 50 watts to an inverted L, but I did not see my signal on the downlink at all. I measured 50 watts output, and I listened on a separate receiver (no antenna) on 28.120 and I did hear PSK. Questions: * I am using TS480SAT for transmit. I have the dial on 28.120, which means that the center AF frequency is 2 kHz according to Doppler PSK. Is that correct for the dial frequency? * Any other suggestions on what I should do, or just try again on the next pass? Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972

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Re: [amsat-bb] EO-80
by Richard Tejera 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

I'm not getting what you mean? EO-80 is an FM transponder, EO-88 is a linear Transponder. Rick Tejera K7TEJ Saguaro Astronomy Club www.SaguaroAstro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org On March 3, 2017, at 16:12, John Brier <johnbrier(a)gmail.com> wrote: Maybe because Nayif-1 was just named EO-88? 73, John Brier KG4AKV On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 6:07 PM, Richard Tejera <Saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: > Funny, I was thinking the same thing this morning... > > Rick Tejera K7TEJ > Saguaro Astronomy Club > www.SaguaroAstro.org > Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club > www.w7tbc.org > > On March 3, 2017, at 11:01, Bill Attwood <whattwood(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Anybody know what's happening with EO-80? Wasn't the FM transponder > supposed to be turned on full-time ages ago? > > Cheers, > Bill > VE6WK > _______________________________________________ > 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: http://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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] EO-80
by Richard Tejera 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Funny, I was thinking the same thing this morning... Rick Tejera K7TEJ Saguaro Astronomy Club www.SaguaroAstro.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club www.w7tbc.org On March 3, 2017, at 11:01, Bill Attwood <whattwood(a)gmail.com> wrote: Anybody know what's happening with EO-80? Wasn't the FM transponder supposed to be turned on full-time ages ago? Cheers, Bill VE6WK _______________________________________________ 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] Still trying to decode NO-84 (Doppler)
by Robert Bruninga 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

One thing to remember is that you cannot use normal Doppler correcting software that tunes the radio. The instantaneous radio steps cause Phase discontinuities and that completely destroys PSK31. The only ways to work well is to only try to decode when the bird is coming right at you or right aways from you and the Doppler is not rapidly changing. *** OR *** use the special PSK31 Doppler uplink correcting program written by Andy Flowers found on the PSAT web page… http://aprs.org/psat.html Here is his page: http://www.frontiernet.net/~aflowers/dopplerpsk/dopplerpsk.html This software also allows you to run full duplex so that you can uplink continuously throughtout the pass and independently receive all downlinks at the same time. The radio does not tune, but your uplink audio compensates for the uplink Doppler so that your trace in the downlink appears constant to everyone. Yes, you can run UHF Radio stepped Doppler correction that steps down in the usual 5 KHz steps 4 times during the pass. You may still loose an instant of phase corrupted characters, but only 4 times, not every few seconds as the SSB radio would try to do if the computer program was trying to compensate the SSB uplink radio. That help? Bob *From:* Fer [mailto:[email protected]] *Sent:* Thursday, March 02, 2017 10:25 AM *To:* Mark Lunday; AMSAT BB; Paul Stoetzer; Robert Bruninga *Subject:* Re: [amsat-bb] Still trying to decode NO-84 I am trying too to activate NO-84, 50w on 28.120 MHz with vertical antenna or dipole with FLDIGI (saw no difference, still weak), good downlink signal on UHF with SDR-14+SpectraVue as panadapter at 10.7 MHz, beacon decoded in FLDIGI, my weak signal sometime decoded, strong doppler on my signal despite I correct both with orbitron/wispdde using only fresh keps and GPS computer sync clock. Any idea? 73 Fer IW1DTU here some screenshoot link to dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/s/ec2i14l62u4ij3w/NO-84%202%20mar17%20uno.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/l1k3a3h8atyys5l/NO-84%202mar17%20due.jpg?dl=0 On Thursday, March 2, 2017 2:51 AM, Mark Lunday <wd4elg(a)outlook.com> wrote: 0230 UTC pass, saw the bear claw PSK 31 waveform again. Anyone else able to see the PSK dowllink? I am seeing 7 parallel traces, almost like the transmission is overloading the receiver. Attempting to attach the file to this email with a capture of what my SDR receiver is seeing... On a positive note, APRS is working perfectly on NO84 even at low passes. Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972 _______________________________________________ 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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EO-80
by Bill Attwood 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Anybody know what's happening with EO-80? Wasn't the FM transponder supposed to be turned on full-time ages ago? Cheers, Bill VE6WK

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Ten things I did not know about cube sats. From AMSAT Journal...
by Phillip Lontz 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

It's amazing they ever get into orbit and work! Phil K5SSR Santa Feel Sent from my iPad

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AO-73/FUNcube Mode change
by Jim Heck 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Hi folks, I have just changed the sat into amateur (continuous transponder) mode. Plan is to switch back to auto mode on Sunday 26 Feb 2017 pm UTC as usual. See https://funcube.org.uk/news/ for details of new FUNcube launched last week, and Pls see below for other FUNcube transponder info Have FUN with the transponder. 73s Jim G3WGM and the FUNcube team. AO-73 FUNcube-1 The transponder is normally operational only when the satellite is in eclipse, ie the solar panels are NOT being illuminated. During weekends (from pm Fridays UTC to PM Sundays UTC) the transponder is operational 24/7. When the transponder is switched off, the telemetry beacon is on full power, when the transponder is on the beacon it is on low power. During holidays, eg Christmas, New Year, Easter, etc, the transponder maybe activated for extended periods. Watch AMSAT-BB for announcements which are usually made on Friday evenings (UTC) The nominal transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.150 - 435.130 MHz LSB (Inverting) Downlink: 145.950 - 145.970 MHz USB Telemetry Tx: 145.935 MHz BPSK (The passband may be up to 15kHz higher depending on on-board temps. Low temperatures give higher freqs!) FUNcube-2 aka FUNcube on UKube The FUNcube-2 sub-system continues to operate autonomously and, almost continuously, in amateur mode. The transponder is operational and the telemetry downlink is functioning with about 70mW output. The FUNcube-1 Dashboard does not correctly display the telemetry but it does correctly decode the data and uploads it to the FUNcube Data Warehouse from where it can be examined. Most of the real time data channels are operational and these include battery voltages, temperatures and ADCS data coming via the main On Board Computer (OBC). The transponder is interrupted for a few seconds every 2 minutes when the other transmitter sends its CW beacon and, occasionally, for a few seconds when the main OBC reboots (approx seven times each orbit). The nominal transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.080 - 435.060 MHz LSB (Inverting) Downlink: 145.930 - 145.950 MHz USB Telemetry Tx: 145.915 MHz BPSK (The passband may be up to 10kHz higher depending on on-board temps. Low temperatures give higher freqs!) EO79 FUNcube-3 Due to power budget constraints the transponder cannot be operational 24/7 and an orbit specific schedule has been developed. The transponder will commence operation 27 minutes after the spacecraft enters sunlight and will stay on for a period of 25 minutes. This schedule may be modified in future months as a result of experience. The nominal transponder frequencies are: Uplink: 435.0723-435.0473 MHz LSB (Inverting) Downlink: 145.946-145.971 MHz USB Further detailed info on EO79 transponder frequencies is at: https://amsat-uk.org/2016/11/10/eo79-funcube-3-transponder-commences-regula… All FUNcube transponders are sponsored by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL. We are very grateful for the assistance given by Innovative Solution In Space Bv, The Netherlands.

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[Video] LIVE French Astronaut and Translator!
by John Brier 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gS-PiVt7bU Thank you Arrow Antenna for just becoming a sponsor of Space Comms! I still have my original Arrow II satellite antenna from 2000 and I highly recommend them. Thanks to Dog Park Software for the usage of MacDoppler and MacLoggerDX, sorry for forgetting to include you in the end credits. Thank you of course to Victor for doing the translation. It was a lot of fun working with you. Thank you to Phillip Zucchino at The Wine Feed for hooking me up with SKEMA, and Marie Claire at SKEMA for hooking me up with Victor. Thanks to Max, K2MAX for recently becoming a patron. Good luck working satellites from the San Francisco bay area where you won't have many obstructions on the horizon. Thanks to Frank for the drone footage. And thanks to you for watching! 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Berry Islands Bahamas on Sats + SHERPA SpaceX
by M5AKA 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Amateur radio satellite activation of Berry Islands, Bahamas, March 4-10 FM and SSB satellites https://amsat-uk.org/2017/02/18/berry-islands-bahamas/ GeekWire report: Citing schedule slips, Spaceflight rebooks 89 satellites on SpaceX’s launch list #SHERPA http://www.geekwire.com/2017/spaceflight-sherpa-89-satellites-spacex/ Amateur Radio CubeSat Nayif-1 transmits Vice President’s message https://amsat-uk.org/2017/02/25/nayif-1-uae-vice-president-message/ Nayif-1 is now EO-88 https://amsat-uk.org/2017/02/27/oscar-number-for-nayif-1/ AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium Milton Keynes October 14-15, 2017 https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ Call for speakers https://amsat-uk.org/2017/02/03/international-space-colloquium-first-call-f… Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Shack re-wiring: RTL-SDR options?
by Greg D 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

Hi folks, Has anyone used an RTL-SDR dongle on the 10.7 MHz IF output from another receiver? Is that better than going direct? My cable TV provider is forcing us to go all-digital. With the new "cable box" comes the opportunity to re-wire the shack and simplify the many layers of cables, splitters, and lash-ups that have accumulated over the years. The proverbial camel is crying out for help. What this has to do with Ham Radio is that part of the lash-up mess is an old pre-CATV deep fringe TV antenna that I have in the attic, aimed to the southern horizon. We are well outside the range of any of the digital OTA stations, and never one to leave a perfectly good piece of RF equipment go to waste, I currently have it fed to an old Icom R-7000 scanning receiver (previously used as the AO-40 downlink IF) and to an RTL-SDR dongle by way of a TV 2:1 splitter. I've tried hooking the dongle directly to my 2m ham antenna for satellite use, but for some reason that was less than satisfactory. Never really did hear much of anything, and never could figure out why. At least with the TV antenna, I can copy some stuff with the dongle, though the Icom is generally better. But the Icom doesn't do the various digital modes that are better suited for SDR. Looking at the back of the Icom, I see that it has a 10.7 MHz IF output, so the thought is that the SDR dongle might perform better hooked there (with a DC bias block) instead of to the antenna itself through the splitter. Both receivers have similar frequency coverage, but perhaps the Icom, while somewhat deaf by modern standards, might still make for a better front-end to the dongle? I think the down-side is that the Icom's IF bandpass is narrower than the Dongle's, so I'd lose some flexibility there. I would also lose the ability to software-control the frequency of the receive chain, outside of the IF bandpass. What do you think? Would this be a net win or loss for the RTL-SDR? Thanks, Greg KO6TH

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Still trying to decode NO-84
by Mark Lunday 03 Mar '17

03 Mar '17

The signal looks like a bear claw, 6 parallel signals in the passband. What causes that? Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972

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