- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Dragon first stage recovery?
by Alan 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

Is there any information on how they are going to secure the first stage for return? Doing so on land is, as such things go, trivial, but on an autonomous ship in rough waters adds many complications. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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Upcoming ARISS contact with National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York on 01 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:34 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 OR4ISS and IK1SLD The contact should be audible over Italy 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. The National Soaring Museum sits atop Harris Hill, overlooking Elmira, New York, the "Soaring Capital of America". The National Soaring Museum was established in 1969, and underwent expansions in 1979 and 1989. The Soaring Museum is home to the Soaring Hall of Fame, and the Soaring Society of America's Archives. By collection, the NSM is the largest museum in the world dedicated to motorless flight. In 1972, the New York State Department of Education chartered the Museum as a non-profit educational institution. Its role as an educational institution provides youth with unique experiences to learn about the science and history of aviation. The Museum offers overnight soaring encampments for youth groups, and two summer camps: the Summer Soaring Academy, and Eileen Collins Aerospace Camp (ECAC). The Summer Soaring Academy is in its fourth year, and offers local students a hands-on look at aviation and engineering, capping off the week with a glider ride for all students. The Eileen Collins Aerospace Camp - named for the Elmira native who would become the first woman to command a space shuttle mission - is a weeklong adventure in aviation and space exploration. The week is filled with hands-on activities, trips, and rides in a sailplane and power plane. ECAC is one of the few in the United States that gives students an opportunity to fly in airplanes. This Harris Hill remains an active gliderport, with a strong Junior and Senior program. Several youth who attended this camp have joined the Harris Hill Juniors to become glider and power pilots themselves. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What made you want to become an astronaut? 2. Have there been any injuries on board? 3. What's a day in space like? 4. How do you stay stationary on space walks if the ISS is moving? 5. How far can you be from Earth and still talk to Mission Control? 6. Have you ever been on a mission that's gone badly? 7. How does microgravity feel? 8. How fast does the ISS go, and can you feel it moving? 9. Has there been any "unearthly" sightings? 10. What are you studying? 11. Were you scared when you went into space? 12. How do you talk to your family? 13. What courses in school do you have to take to be an astronaut? 14. What does it feel like to enter and exit the atmosphere? 15. Are space walks difficult? 16. Is microgravity difficult to deal with? 17. Do you bring something with you to remind you of home? 18. How long does it take to become an astronaut? 19. How do you control the rocket that takes you to the Space Station? 20. What's the most rewarding thing about being an astronaut? 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), and the 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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Re: [amsat-bb] Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats
by Edward R Cole 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

John, etal: Hope someone tests this and gives a report. Cost is quite reasonable for this kind of power at 5-GHz. Note that the DEMI 5670-144 transverter output is +16 dBm (200mw) so one could obtain 2w with drive from one. ERA-5 was common mmic used for this level. Getting 600mw is a bit harder. Most of these run class-A so do dissipate a lot of heat; most of the power becomes heat and not RF. 10-dB RF gain is respectable at microwave. Comment on az-el suitable for 1m dishes at 5 and 10-GHz. The Yaesu satellite rotators do not resolve pointing angle less than 7-1/2 degree so probably not adequate. There are some inexpensive telescope drives that might work at reasonable prices. 73, Ed - KL7UW Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 13:24:40 -0500 From: John Toscano <tosca005(a)umn.edu> To: n1jez(a)burlingtontelecom.net Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats Looking forward to testing mine too. I found another web site that claims that 600mW of input drive would give nearly 5W of output. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Power-Microwave-TXPA58002W5-5-… He has a few pictures showing him taking power measurements himself, making this a bit more believable. Would have to watch the heat dissipation closely, since they quote 20 watts of supply power (so 15 or more watts of heat). John 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 113
by dfall＠btinternet.com 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Original Message From: amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org Sent: Monday, 11 April 2016 00:12 To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Reply To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 113 Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to amsat-bb(a)amsat.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org You can reach the person managing the list at amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." Today's Topics: 1. SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet (Bob) 2. Re: SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet (Dave Webb KB1PVH) 3. Re: Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? (Daniel Cussen) 4. Re: Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats (Edward R Cole) 5. Re: FUNcube-1 (J. Boyd (JR2TTS)) 6. Re: FUNcube-1 (Graham Shirville) 7. Re: FUNcube-1 (J. Boyd (JR2TTS)) 8. Re: SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet (Bob) 9. Re: Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? (Ted) 10. Re: Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats (Jim Barbre) 11. Re: Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? (Greg D) 12. Upcoming ARISS contact with Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania (n4csitwo(a)bellsouth.net) 13. TAPR Digital Forum Schedule at Dayton Hamvention, Friday, 5/20 (Mark Thompson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 17:16:55 -0400 From: Bob <WB4SON(a)gmail.com> To: AMSAT-BB <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet Message-ID: <CAPonRZ9UZDpEV_Ud86S3zt-LRnVXnELr3Eag_raYpZ-Y8oq6Xg(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Hi all, I've been using SatPC32 with my Icom IC-9100 for several years, I have always been using it with cross-band birds like AO-73, FO-29, etc. For these satellites the Main is set to one band and the Sub to another. I have the Doppler.sqf file set correctly for the 145.825 Packet Robot, and I can see the SatPC32 display show me both the uplink and downlink frequency with logical doppler corrections. However, If the radio is in Satellite mode, it insists on transmitting on 70cm, or if I take it out of satellite mode, only the downlink frequency is actually corrected (it will transmit on the downlink frequency as well). Does anyone have any experience using SatPC32 with a Icom radio on the ISS Packet Robot? 73, Bob, WB4SON ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 17:21:14 -0400 From: Dave Webb KB1PVH <kb1pvh(a)gmail.com> To: Bob <WB4SON(a)gmail.com> Cc: AMSAT-BB <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet Message-ID: <CAEMY9FcFBc2Fkn+Rp90DSENHnU0+JqJhKDn8DCJyv5x52f7nkQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Bob, Use SatPCISS because it puts the radio in same band split mode. Dave-KB1PVH Sent from my Samsung S4 ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 22:22:55 +0100 From: Daniel Cussen <dan(a)post.com> To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? Message-ID: <CAF3DnKgLJDn7+QxySn3QB1m8uaM0iWZb3eUV3rOom+kiN52z7A(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Lots more photos of the site here: http://www.landsofamerica.com/property/721-SHATZER-ROAD-Brandonville-West-V… It includes photos of generators, batteries and control panels. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 13:43:06 -0800 From: Edward R Cole <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats Message-ID: <201604102143.u3ALh7pw010306(a)mail41c28.carrierzone.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed John, etal: Hope someone tests this and gives a report. Cost is quite reasonable for this kind of power at 5-GHz. Note that the DEMI 5670-144 transverter output is +16 dBm (200mw) so one could obtain 2w with drive from one. ERA-5 was common mmic used for this level. Getting 600mw is a bit harder. Most of these run class-A so do dissipate a lot of heat; most of the power becomes heat and not RF. 10-dB RF gain is respectable at microwave. Comment on az-el suitable for 1m dishes at 5 and 10-GHz. The Yaesu satellite rotators do not resolve pointing angle less than 7-1/2 degree so probably not adequate. There are some inexpensive telescope drives that might work at reasonable prices. 73, Ed - KL7UW Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 13:24:40 -0500 From: John Toscano <tosca005(a)umn.edu> To: n1jez(a)burlingtontelecom.net Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats Looking forward to testing mine too. I found another web site that claims that 600mW of input drive would give nearly 5W of output. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Power-Microwave-TXPA58002W5-5-… He has a few pictures showing him taking power measurements himself, making this a bit more believable. Would have to watch the heat dissipation closely, since they quote 20 watts of supply power (so 15 or more watts of heat). John 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2016 07:11:02 +0900 From: "J. Boyd (JR2TTS)" <the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FUNcube-1 Message-ID: <20160411070644.C631.THE2BELO(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" On Sun, 10 Apr 2016 22:14:26 +0100, "Graham Shirville" <g.shirville(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > FUNcube-1 is now changing mode autonomously again. In sunlight ? > Educational Mode and in eclipse ? Amateur mode. > > The FUNcube operations team really appreciates the telemetry that we > continue to receive from stations around the globe. This data is proving > invaluable in helping us understand exactly what the status is of all > the on board systems and we are very grateful for everyone?s support. > > If you have the opportunity to leave a receiver running on the > 145.935MHz nominal downlink frequency with FUNcube Dashboard running we > would be very pleased to have the data you receive. Full details of the > FUNcube Dashboard and the associated Data Warehouse can be found at the > https://funcube.org.uk/ website. On a related note, what is the status of UKube-1 as far as the transponder goes? I am regularly switching back and forth to send telemetry on both birds using the Dashboard (even though it's not really optimized for Ukube-1) and hope that one day I can eventually make a contact or two through it. 73 -- J. Boyd, JR2TTS/NI3B the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp http://www.flickr.com/photos/the2belo/ http://www.qrz.com/db/JR2TTS Twitter: @Minus2_C ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 23:42:11 +0100 From: "Graham Shirville" <g.shirville(a)btinternet.com> To: <the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FUNcube-1 Message-ID: <881E953A10A3431892EC96DC9C9902D2(a)allgood.local> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8"; reply-type=original Hi Jeff, Firstly, many thanks for forwarding the telemetry from both FUNcube-1 and FUNcube-2! Sadly it is not possible at the moment to directly answer your question about possible transponder operations on FUNcube-2 but we hope that it will be possible in the fairly near future. In the meantime, the FC2 transmitter is currently continuously downlinking valid real time telemetry. This provides a good overview of the on board systems and thanks, to the many stations regularly listening (using the normal Dashboard), this data is available on the FUNcube Data Warehouse. Of course we can be looking forward to the launch of the 1U CubeSat - Nayif-1 around the middle of the year. This will also carry a FUNcube transponder and is presently being prepared for insertion into its QuadPack deployer. This operation will take place within the next few days and is in preparation for launch in mid summer on the same launcher as Fox1-C and Fox1-D. 73 Graham G3VZV -----Original Message----- From: J. Boyd (JR2TTS) Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2016 11:11 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FUNcube-1 On Sun, 10 Apr 2016 22:14:26 +0100, "Graham Shirville" <g.shirville(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > FUNcube-1 is now changing mode autonomously again. In sunlight ? > Educational Mode and in eclipse ? Amateur mode. > > The FUNcube operations team really appreciates the telemetry that we > continue to receive from stations around the globe. This data is proving > invaluable in helping us understand exactly what the status is of all > the on board systems and we are very grateful for everyone?s support. > > If you have the opportunity to leave a receiver running on the > 145.935MHz nominal downlink frequency with FUNcube Dashboard running we > would be very pleased to have the data you receive. Full details of the > FUNcube Dashboard and the associated Data Warehouse can be found at the > https://funcube.org.uk/ website. On a related note, what is the status of UKube-1 as far as the transponder goes? I am regularly switching back and forth to send telemetry on both birds using the Dashboard (even though it's not really optimized for Ukube-1) and hope that one day I can eventually make a contact or two through it. 73 -- J. Boyd, JR2TTS/NI3B the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp http://www.flickr.com/photos/the2belo/ http://www.qrz.com/db/JR2TTS Twitter: @Minus2_C _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2016 07:51:18 +0900 From: "J. Boyd (JR2TTS)" <the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FUNcube-1 Message-ID: <20160411074932.C634.THE2BELO(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" On Sun, 10 Apr 2016 23:42:11 +0100, "Graham Shirville" <g.shirville(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > Of course we can be looking forward to the launch of the 1U CubeSat - > Nayif-1 around the middle of the year. This will also carry a FUNcube > transponder and is presently being prepared for insertion into its QuadPack > deployer. This operation will take place within the next few days and is in > preparation for launch in mid summer on the same launcher as Fox1-C and > Fox1-D. Great, looking forward to it. Gee, with all these new birds going up, perhaps constant coverage is no longer a far-off dream.... :D -- J. Boyd, JR2TTS/NI3B the2belo(a)msd.biglobe.ne.jp http://www.flickr.com/photos/the2belo/ http://www.qrz.com/db/JR2TTS Twitter: @Minus2_C ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 19:08:24 -0400 From: Bob <WB4SON(a)gmail.com> To: Dave Webb KB1PVH <kb1pvh(a)gmail.com> Cc: AMSAT-BB <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet Message-ID: <CAPonRZ_L=Xyv=PGaJmYw0vG7ntbOP--crZXQ3eX6STygWcis5g(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 And of course Dave's advice to use SatPCISS was spot on. Working just grand now. 73, Bob, WB4SON On Sun, Apr 10, 2016 at 5:21 PM, Dave Webb KB1PVH <kb1pvh(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Bob, > > Use SatPCISS because it puts the radio in same band split mode. > > Dave-KB1PVH > > Sent from my Samsung S4 > ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 15:59:06 -0700 From: "Ted" <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> To: "'John Brier'" <johnbrier(a)gmail.com>, "'AMSAT BB'" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? Message-ID: <005d01d1937c$96ca1970$c45e4c50$(a)charter.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" CC&R's ?? K7trk -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Brier Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2016 11:24 AM To: AMSAT BB Subject: [amsat-bb] Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160409/perfect-man-cave-awaits-buyer-in- rural-preston-county 73, KG4AKV _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 16:30:46 -0700 From: Jim Barbre <jbarbre(a)xmission.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats Message-ID: <570AE226.8030800(a)xmission.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed Hello all, Has anyone considered this? It is a bit more expensive, but it looks like it will deliver 4W (36dBm) with 100mW (20dBm) input. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUNHANS-5-8GHz-4000mW-36dBm-Router-WiFi-Signal-Boos… 73 Jim Barbre KB7YSY On 4/10/2016 2:43 PM, Edward R Cole wrote: > John, etal: > > Hope someone tests this and gives a report. Cost is quite reasonable > for this kind of power at 5-GHz. Note that the DEMI 5670-144 > transverter output is +16 dBm (200mw) so one could obtain 2w with > drive from one. ERA-5 was common mmic used for this level. Getting > 600mw is a bit harder. > > Most of these run class-A so do dissipate a lot of heat; most of the > power becomes heat and not RF. 10-dB RF gain is respectable at microwave. > > Comment on az-el suitable for 1m dishes at 5 and 10-GHz. The Yaesu > satellite rotators do not resolve pointing angle less than 7-1/2 > degree so probably not adequate. There are some inexpensive telescope > drives that might work at reasonable prices. > > 73, Ed - KL7UW > > Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 13:24:40 -0500 > From: John Toscano <tosca005(a)umn.edu> > To: n1jez(a)burlingtontelecom.net > Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats > > Looking forward to testing mine too. I found another web site that claims > that 600mW of input drive would give nearly 5W of output. > > http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Power-Microwave-TXPA58002W5-5-… > > > He has a few pictures showing him taking power measurements himself, > making > this a bit more believable. Would have to watch the heat dissipation > closely, since they quote 20 watts of supply power (so 15 or more > watts of > heat). > > John > > > > 73, Ed - KL7UW > http://www.kl7uw.com > "Kits made by KL7UW" > Dubus Mag business: > dubususa(a)gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 19:16:29 -0700 From: Greg D <ko6th.greg(a)gmail.com> To: Ted <k7trkradio(a)charter.net>, 'John Brier' <johnbrier(a)gmail.com>, 'AMSAT BB' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? Message-ID: <570B08FD.4090201(a)gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Zoning, perhaps, but I doubt there'd be any neighbors close enough to complain. And if they did, just aim the antenna in their general direction... :) I'd make a great retirement project, only I'm not ready to retire, and it's on the wrong coast. Greg KO6TH Ted wrote: > CC&R's ?? > > K7trk > > -----Original Message----- > From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Brier > Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2016 11:24 AM > To: AMSAT BB > Subject: [amsat-bb] Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat? > > http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160409/perfect-man-cave-awaits-buyer-in- > rural-preston-county > > 73, KG4AKV > _______________________________________________ > 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 ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 23:37:51 -0400 From: <n4csitwo(a)bellsouth.net> To: <ariss-press(a)amsat.org>, "amsat-edu" <amsat-edu(a)amsat.org>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Upcoming ARISS contact with Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania Message-ID: <6114B95C5B774F99A216CD020DB8D792@DHJ> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania on 12 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 13:48 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and YO9INI. The contact should be audible over Romania 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. The University Valahia of Targoviste (UVT) and its partners are organizing the first Romanian ARISS contact in this historic capital of Wallachia, where ruled Vlad the Impaler, also known as Vlad Dracula. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology started its activity in 1995 and it is known for electronics, telecommunications, automation, computer science, electrical engineering and power energy, providing eleven bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs for over 780 students. It has a chapter for IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (Romanian section). We are proud of our students' involvement in several international challenges, conferences and various research events. For the ARISS contact UVT trained 20 pupils aged 12 to 18 who were recruited from different high schools in the county. Their training was offered through the European Space Education and Resource Office ESERO-Romania, which is a collaboration between ESA and national partner s (ROSA). The ARISS event was also supported by several companies and associations, namely Vodafone Romania and Start-Tech Association. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What are the qualities that define an astronaut? 2. What is the worst and the best part of your job? 3. Have you ever felt the impact of space debris hitting the ISS? 4. What was the most difficult test that you took during your astronaut training? 5. What is an everyday thing which is extremely difficult on ISS? 6. What is the most beautiful thing that you can see from space? 7. Have you ever observed solar radiation affecting ISS radio comm? 8. Is radio comm a passion or a job obligation? 9. What is the most interesting discovery made on ISS using plasma? 10. What's the biggest difference between expectation and reality when living in space? 11. Has food the same taste in space? 12. What is the first thing you will be doing when you come back to Earth? 13. What is your most challenging task on the ISS? 14. How did your know you had a passion for exploration? 15. Do you think spaceflight will be accessible for the masses in the future? 16. Given the chance, would you live exclusively on Earth, or on the ISS? 17. Has space travel changed your life? 18. Is it true that after coming back you shouldn't expose yourself to sunlight? 19. What do you do in your free time? 20. What is the coolest thing that you've done in microgravity? 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. Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 2. USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 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), and the 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.a rrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2016 04:11:03 +0000 (UTC) From: Mark Thompson <wb9qzb_groups(a)yahoo.com> To: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, "hpsdr(a)lists.openhpsdr.org" <hpsdr(a)lists.openhpsdr.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] TAPR Digital Forum Schedule at Dayton Hamvention, Friday, 5/20 Message-ID: <1282703824.576371.1460347863481.JavaMail.yahoo(a)mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 2016 Dayton Hamvention? TAPR Digital Forum? Friday, May 20, 2016 Forum Room #1 Forum Schedule Moderator: Scotty Cowling, WA2DFI 9:15 to 9:25 am Introduction by Steve Bible, N7HPR, TAPR President 9:25 to 9:35 am "Write for QST/QEX" by Kai Siwiak KE4PT, QEX Editor 9:35 to 10:00 am "SatNOGS - A network of open source satellite ground stations". by Corey Shields KB9JHU Abstract: Cubesat operators tend to have few ground stations of their own and rely on amateur operators to help collect telemetry. With cubesat deployments on the rise, more and more data is lost as there are not enough ground stations listening. The SatNOGS Project is a Network of Open Source Satellite Ground Stations, focusing on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. In this presentation, we introduce SatNOGS as a way to increase the amount of data collected from these satellites and returned to their operators. Learn what the SatNOGS project is, how it works, and what we have planned for the future of amateur radio satellite reception. 10:00 to 10:25 am "HamWAN High Speed IP Radio Network" by Bryan Fields, W9CR Abstract: Presented will be an amateur radio high-speed IP backbone concept (HamWAN) with an emphases on building regional highly available networks. Utilizing the same techniques which enable the Internet, Amateur Radio networks may be built connecting projects to the Internet or other sites. Included will be an update on the regional HamWAN network deployments. 10:25 to 10:50 am "SDR Disrupt" by Chris Testa, KD2BMH Abstract: Tools and techniques for software defined radio continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and we'll go over the landscape and advancements in SDR technologies this past year. Numerous technologies are driving the power-price-performance curve to a new level of efficiency. We'll take a look at John Stephensen, KD6OZH's mesh project (part of TAPR), which helps pave the way for next-generation wireless links. Latest developments in digital voice will also be discussed. 10:50 to 11:15 am "Spectrum Monitoring with Software Defined Radio" by Mike Ossmann, AD0NR Abstract: Having developed HackRF One, the world's lowest cost wideband Software Defined Radio transceiver, the HackRF project continues to produce open source hardware designs for SDR. Find out about our designs in development now and our ideas for future boards that will enable the next generation of SDR enthusiasts. More information about TAPR activities at the Dayton Hamvention at:? http://www.tapr.org/dayton.html ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ 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 member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb ------------------------------ End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 113 *****************************************

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Satellite Show in Moreno Valley, CA 05/05/16
by Clint Bradford 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his "How to Work the FM Amateur Satellites With Your HT" session at the Moreno Valley Amateur Radio Association on Thursday, May 5, 2016. ALL are welcome to attend. “The MVARC has been a LONG-time supporter of the ARRL, quite active in their communities, and I am honored that they are asking me back for another presentation,” Clint writes. Attendees will be shown everything needed to work the FM voice ham satellites - with a re-occurring theme of, "Most hams already have most of the necessary equipment ... " Attendees can download a four-page tutorial beforehand at ... http://www.work-sat.com ... and Clint welcomes pre-presentation questions. Call him at 909-999-SATS (909-999-7287), or send email to clint(a)clintbradford.com . May 5, 2016 Lake Perris State Recreation Area 17801 Lake Perris Drive Perris, CA 9257 Meeting Room at Parking Lot Number 9 Call-in frequency 146.500 simplex once you are in the park. (Just tell the Ranger at the gate you are going to the MVARA ham radio meeting - you won’t need to pay admission at the gate.)

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Will this antenna work for the potential new GEO sat?
by John Brier 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160409/perfect-man-cave-awaits-buyer-in… 73, KG4AKV

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TAPR Digital Forum Schedule at Dayton Hamvention, Friday, 5/20
by Mark Thompson 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

2016 Dayton Hamvention TAPR Digital Forum Friday, May 20, 2016 Forum Room #1 Forum Schedule Moderator: Scotty Cowling, WA2DFI 9:15 to 9:25 am Introduction by Steve Bible, N7HPR, TAPR President 9:25 to 9:35 am "Write for QST/QEX" by Kai Siwiak KE4PT, QEX Editor 9:35 to 10:00 am "SatNOGS - A network of open source satellite ground stations". by Corey Shields KB9JHU Abstract: Cubesat operators tend to have few ground stations of their own and rely on amateur operators to help collect telemetry. With cubesat deployments on the rise, more and more data is lost as there are not enough ground stations listening. The SatNOGS Project is a Network of Open Source Satellite Ground Stations, focusing on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. In this presentation, we introduce SatNOGS as a way to increase the amount of data collected from these satellites and returned to their operators. Learn what the SatNOGS project is, how it works, and what we have planned for the future of amateur radio satellite reception. 10:00 to 10:25 am "HamWAN High Speed IP Radio Network" by Bryan Fields, W9CR Abstract: Presented will be an amateur radio high-speed IP backbone concept (HamWAN) with an emphases on building regional highly available networks. Utilizing the same techniques which enable the Internet, Amateur Radio networks may be built connecting projects to the Internet or other sites. Included will be an update on the regional HamWAN network deployments. 10:25 to 10:50 am "SDR Disrupt" by Chris Testa, KD2BMH Abstract: Tools and techniques for software defined radio continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and we'll go over the landscape and advancements in SDR technologies this past year. Numerous technologies are driving the power-price-performance curve to a new level of efficiency. We'll take a look at John Stephensen, KD6OZH's mesh project (part of TAPR), which helps pave the way for next-generation wireless links. Latest developments in digital voice will also be discussed. 10:50 to 11:15 am "Spectrum Monitoring with Software Defined Radio" by Mike Ossmann, AD0NR Abstract: Having developed HackRF One, the world's lowest cost wideband Software Defined Radio transceiver, the HackRF project continues to produce open source hardware designs for SDR. Find out about our designs in development now and our ideas for future boards that will enable the next generation of SDR enthusiasts. More information about TAPR activities at the Dayton Hamvention at: http://www.tapr.org/dayton.html

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 11 Apr '16

11 Apr '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania on 12 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 13:48 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and YO9INI. The contact should be audible over Romania 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. The University Valahia of Targoviste (UVT) and its partners are organizing the first Romanian ARISS contact in this historic capital of Wallachia, where ruled Vlad the Impaler, also known as Vlad Dracula. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology started its activity in 1995 and it is known for electronics, telecommunications, automation, computer science, electrical engineering and power energy, providing eleven bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs for over 780 students. It has a chapter for IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (Romanian section). We are proud of our students' involvement in several international challenges, conferences and various research events. For the ARISS contact UVT trained 20 pupils aged 12 to 18 who were recruited from different high schools in the county. Their training was offered through the European Space Education and Resource Office ESERO-Romania, which is a collaboration between ESA and national partners (ROSA). The ARISS event was also supported by several companies and associations, namely Vodafone Romania and Start-Tech Association. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What are the qualities that define an astronaut? 2. What is the worst and the best part of your job? 3. Have you ever felt the impact of space debris hitting the ISS? 4. What was the most difficult test that you took during your astronaut training? 5. What is an everyday thing which is extremely difficult on ISS? 6. What is the most beautiful thing that you can see from space? 7. Have you ever observed solar radiation affecting ISS radio comm? 8. Is radio comm a passion or a job obligation? 9. What is the most interesting discovery made on ISS using plasma? 10. What's the biggest difference between expectation and reality when living in space? 11. Has food the same taste in space? 12. What is the first thing you will be doing when you come back to Earth? 13. What is your most challenging task on the ISS? 14. How did your know you had a passion for exploration? 15. Do you think spaceflight will be accessible for the masses in the future? 16. Given the chance, would you live exclusively on Earth, or on the ISS? 17. Has space travel changed your life? 18. Is it true that after coming back you shouldn't expose yourself to sunlight? 19. What do you do in your free time? 20. What is the coolest thing that you've done in microgravity? 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. Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 2. USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 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), and the 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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Re: [amsat-bb] SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Bob, Use SatPCISS because it puts the radio in same band split mode. Dave-KB1PVH Sent from my Samsung S4

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FUNcube-1
by Graham Shirville 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Hi All, FUNcube-1 is now changing mode autonomously again. In sunlight – Educational Mode and in eclipse – Amateur mode. The FUNcube operations team really appreciates the telemetry that we continue to receive from stations around the globe. This data is proving invaluable in helping us understand exactly what the status is of all the on board systems and we are very grateful for everyone’s support. If you have the opportunity to leave a receiver running on the 145.935MHz nominal downlink frequency with FUNcube Dashboard running we would be very pleased to have the data you receive. Full details of the FUNcube Dashboard and the associated Data Warehouse can be found at the https://funcube.org.uk/ website. Many thanks and 73 Graham G3VZV

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SatPC32 Setup for ISS Packet
by Bob 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Hi all, I've been using SatPC32 with my Icom IC-9100 for several years, I have always been using it with cross-band birds like AO-73, FO-29, etc. For these satellites the Main is set to one band and the Sub to another. I have the Doppler.sqf file set correctly for the 145.825 Packet Robot, and I can see the SatPC32 display show me both the uplink and downlink frequency with logical doppler corrections. However, If the radio is in Satellite mode, it insists on transmitting on 70cm, or if I take it out of satellite mode, only the downlink frequency is actually corrected (it will transmit on the downlink frequency as well). Does anyone have any experience using SatPC32 with a Icom radio on the ISS Packet Robot? 73, Bob, WB4SON

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STATIONS WITH DISTORTED AUDIO ON AO-85
by jeffory broughton 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

I hear many stations with grossly distorted uplink audio on AO-85. A- Be sure your keps are up to date. B- use the newest doppler.sqf files C- use N.B. tx ,if your rig does not have It,back off the mic and reduce the mic gain while monitoring your down link for clean audio. D- it is possible to have crystal clear audio on AO-85 with a little fine tuning. Jeff ,WB8RJY jeff broughton

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AO-7 MODE A AGAIN TODAY !
by jeffory broughton 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Caught Oscar 7 in mode A again this afternoon.Was on with WN9M on 29.450.He was smart enough to listen for the beacon I n 29.502 and heard it ! I was not so smart. Discovered a secrete, listen on mode B, if you don't hear the typical transponder noise Oscar generates ,it's in mode A ! jeff broughton. WB8RJY

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Link budgets for upcoming HEO/GEO sats
by Jim Barbre 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Hi all, Given that people are currently working on groundstations for the upcoming HEO/GEO sats, I am in hopes that at least some of the following questions can be answered. What kind of power will be required on the 5GHz uplink? Does anyone currently make a linear amp or upconverter that can be mounted at the antenna for the 5GHz uplink? Will I be able to use a helix antenna on the uplink or will I be limited to using a dish? Same question with regards to antenna usage for 10GHz downlink. What size dish? With AO-10 and AO-13 I could point my antennas at the satellite and not have to move them for an hour or longer. These new sats will be using microwave frequencies. What kind of realistic expectation do I have of being able to point a dish at the satellite before having to tweak it? Otherwise said, will a rotator be absolutely necessary? Thanks for the info. Looking forward to working the next generation of HEO/GEO sats. 73 Jim Barbre KB7YSY

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Satellite Connection
by Rupert Hamblin 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Hi All, Would be grateful for any advice or your thoughts on the following...! Ok, so I have my station virtually completed now. I have the rotator setup correctly and with the LVB Tracker interface unit and SatPC32 now tracking SATs correctly (it appears). I have a 4 ELE (2M) and 9 ELE (70cm) on the rotator. I can receive very good copy of downlinks from quite low passes on both 2M & 70CM, and I have recently had the FT-847 lab repaired and tested on output - which I know are working ok. The problem I have is - whichever satellite i try to work, low pass / high pass, SSB or FM, high power or low power - I am unable to hear my own signal on the downlink and hence so far have no QSO's ....Any suggestions or clues as to what I may be doing wrong or have setup incorrectly...? Would appreciate any clues / tips here ! :-) Cheers RH / G0TKZ

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JAISAT-1 linear transponder CubeSat + D-STAR Satellite launch
by M5AKA 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

JAISAT-1 linear transponder CubeSat update in RAST April Meeting Report https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/09/rast-april-meeting-report/ ISS Slow Scan TV transmissions on 145.800 MHz FM in April https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/09/iss-sstv-april/ Elementary School SSTV CubeSat to deploy from ISS in mid-May https://amsat-uk.org/2016/03/03/school-sstv-cubesat-to-deploy-from-iss/ UK Space Agency say Ham Radio in Top 10 https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/07/uk-space-agency-ham-radio-in-top-10/ The Derby High School to speak to ISS https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/03/derby-high-tim-peake/ EngineerIT magazine article on quest for amateur Geostationary satellite payloads https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/07/geostationary-ham-radio-satellites/ D-STAR transponder satellite to launch from Kourou April 22 https://amsat-uk.org/2016/04/05/d-star-satellite-to-launch-from-kourou/ 73 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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Yesterday HamTv from ISS
by Fer 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

good video/audio signal from ISS during Belgium telebridge station test 09 april 2016 16:24-16:34 UTC pass over Europehere my recording from .TS file ISS Hamtv 09apr16 from .TS file | | | | | | | | | | | ISS Hamtv 09apr16 from .TS file | | | | 73 de Fer IW1DTU

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FS: LL Grace - Kansas City Tracker/Tuner Satellite Antenna Controller
by Joe Leikhim 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

More spring cleaning! http://www.ebay.com/itm/162033584998?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p398… -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Icom IC-W32 Power Supply Assistance
by Kevin M 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

Hello Oliver, Icom HTs are center positive... I have a W32A and the official Icom wall charger (BC-110A) that came with it is 12 VDC 200 mA output and the plug appears to be 3.3 or 3.4mm OD with a 1.0 mm pin, but verify that. (Most Icom HTs use the same size plug, I believe.) There are simple DC cables, regulated DC cables and noise filtered DC cables. I also have a cig ltr plug that runs to an 'empty' battery pack that connects to the HT. I have more battery/power solutions than I need for mine... (Li-Ion & charger, two AA dry cell packs and 10 NiMH AAs with charger) If you want to contact me off list, I can give you details on what I have and discuss a trade or something. =^) 73, Kevin N4UFO I just received a well loved ic-w32 from ebay. I need to get a new battery and a charger for it though. Both are expected. Before I do, though I'd like to make sure it _actually_ works. I have a variable DC power supply I was thinking of either bypassing the battery with or powering via the external dc jack. I don't know what the contact middle contact does though, so I'm hesitant to try that idea. Need to keep the magic smoke in ... Does anyone have experience doing this? Maybe information on the DC jack polarity? The service manual I found online doesn't mention much about powering it up. Any others tips or pointers on the w32a I should know? Thanks for your time.

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ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 10 Apr '16

10 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-101 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: * ARISS commemorative event (April 11-14) * AMSAT KEPs Redistribution Approved for 2016-2017 * IN81 and IN82 Grid Activation via FM Sats 22 and 24 April * Upcoming Satellite DX * ARISS Contacts and Events * Geostationary / Geosynchronous Amateur Satellite Transponders * AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.01 ANS-101 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 080.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. April 10, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-101.01 ARISS commemorative event (April 11-14) Looks like all the pieces are starting to fall into place for the long awaited SSTV event. The schedule is shaping up to look like this: * Setup and activation on April 11 about 18:25 UTC. * Paused April 12 from 12:15 until 14:15 UTC to allow for a school contact with Romania. * Paused April 13 from 12:45 until 14:30 UTC to allow for a school contact with Argentina. * Deactivation on April 14 at 11:35 UTC. This opportunity should cover most of the world during the operational period.The image transmissions should be on 145.800 MHz and the mode is planned to be PD180. In addition, MAI-75 will be conducting two sessions afterwards. The first one is April 14 from 14:45 until 18:00 UTC. The second session is on April 15 from 14:10 until 19:00 UTC. These times do not cross N. America but will provide opportunities for Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and S. America. As always, all operations aboard the ISS are subject to change and everyone interested in this activity should be vigilant and patient." John KG4AKV has an "ISS SSTV Reception Hints" webpage which may help: https://spacecomms.wordpress.com/iss-sstv-reception-hints/ [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT KEPs Redistribution Approved for 2016-2017 AMSAT's request to re-distribute US Air Force Space Command Keplerian elements from SpaceTrack has been approved for the period April 1, 2016 to April 1, 2017. Our USSTRATCOM ODR (Orbital Data Request) to distribute the KEPs was approved on March 17, 2016. Thanks to AFSPC, Perry Klein, W3PK and Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for their help in this process. We are "good to go" for another year. [ANSS thanks Ray, WA5QGD, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IN81 and IN82 Grid Activation via FM Sats 22 and 24 April Felix, EA4GQS reports that he plans to activate grids IN81 and IN82 as EA4GQS/P via the FM satellites. He will be be traveling to these grids during April 22-24. He said he will post his available passes on the Satellite and Space Communications forum at QRZ.com. He will confirm via LoTW. [ANS thanks Felix, EA4GQS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite DX 4A. MEXICO (Bird Op, Special Event). Operators Ismael/XE1AY and David/XE3DX will be active using the special event callsign 4A1DX between now and June 14th. Activity is to celebrate 11th anniversary of the Grupo DXXE, Mexico's top contest and DX radio club. Operations will be on the satellite, FM only (**SO-50, AO-85 y Lilacsat-2). The QSL Manager is Dick, N7RO, direct or by the Bureau (Make sure your Bureau QSL card is clearly marked via N7RO). Don't send your QSL cards to the Mexican Bureau; they will not be answered because they have no QSLs. They will be uploading the log to LoTW and ClubLog at the end of their operation (June 2016). QSOs with this station are also good for the DXXE Award. ADDED NOTE: The special event callsign 4A1DX is also active on all HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31, JT65 and EME. QSL Manager is also N7RO. See QRZ.com under 4A1DX for more details VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. John, NW4JG, informs OPDX that he is a resident of the Turks and Caicos Island of Providenciales (NA-002) and has just received the callsign VP5VJG (about a week ago). He mentions, "It is very difficult to get a VP5 callsign. About 5 years working with a tourist temporary permit on island." His also states [edited], "I operate with an Icom 7200 with PW-1 amp. Antennas are Force 12 (40-10m), M2 (6 meters), and a Alpha Delta dipole (160-10 meters). We live on a hill and the antennas are about 150' above the Southern Atlantic Ocean. I also work all Digital modes. Have finally received on the island all the gear for satellite and EME with Yaesu FT736R, 5500 antenna control... etc." IMPORTANT QSL INFO: John, informs OPDX to QSL via John, Graves, 3075 Ohio Street, Miami, FL 33133, when on island. There is no mail from the island. Also, during the summer he will be in a condo in Montreal: QSL via John Graves, 1605 Rue Docteur-Penfield #601, Montreal,QC, Canada H3H 1B2. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1258 for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contacts and Events Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ TBD UTC (***) Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg ******************************************************* The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Geostationary / Geosynchronous Amateur Satellite Transponders EngineerIT magazine reports on the quest by radio amateurs to get transponders on geostationary satellites. The article quotes President of AMSAT DL, Peter Gülzow DB2OS, and describes the transponders planned for the geostationary Es’Hail-2 satellite, expected to be operational in 2017 at 26 degrees East. Also mentioned is a project to build a transponder for a US satellite which could be in a geosynchronous orbit around 74 degrees West. Read the EngineerIT article at http://www.ee.co.za/article/radio-amateurs-quest-geostationary-satellites.h… Es’Hail-2 http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/ AMSAT Phase 4 Update for Palomar Amateur Radio Club November 4, 2015 http://www.ntms.org/files/Feb2016/PARC_4on4.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites The AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites has become internationally recognized as the premier conference on small satellites. The annual gathering provides a forum for the best minds in the small satellite community to review recent successes, explore new directions, and introduce emerging technologies in small spacecraft development. In addition to creating an excellent environment for networking and talking with experts in military, science, and academic fields, the Conference offers a program of international relevance, focusing on the key challenges and opportunities facing the small satellite community today. Proceedings from 1987 to 2015 are available online and can be accessed at: http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/smallsat/ [ANS thanks AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites amd Utah State University 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, In memory of my Mom. Her tireless efforts to help my independent study of math and electronics in high school set me on the path to broadcast engineering, Amateur Satellites, and eventually working as the Eastern Range's Superintendent of Range Operations. Thank's Mom. Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

1 0

HEO/GEO analog beacon
by Jim Barbre 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

Will there be an analog beacon on the upcoming HEO/GEO sats to help with tracking? Will a meter, like the one currently used to position FTA Ku band dishes, work? Thanks. 73 Jim Barbre KB7YSY

1 0

[Video] Rainy SO-50
by John Brier 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

https://youtu.be/ApvgwlB4Isw This is from the 2016-03-27 2111Z SO-50 pass over North America. Here are the all the stations heard on this pass, when they were first heard. There were 19 in all: 00:02 KG5CCI 00:06 K4FEG 00:13 N8HM FM18 00:28 N4UFO 00:45 KM4RTS EM90 01:01 W4DTA EM55 01:40 KA4H FM17 01:58 KI4RO 02:09 WA5KBH EM30 02:22 KG4AKV FM05 03:38 W5PFG EM21 04:01 KC1EXK FN41 04:55 W4HH FM17 06:33 ??3GNF EN82 (partial callsign heard, full call heard at 08:20) 06:43 N0VVV FN33 06:47 ???QJQ FN30 (partial callsign heard, full call heard at 07:09) 06:57 W2JV 07:09 WA2QJQ (full callsign heard) 08:20 VE3GNF (full callsign first heard) 09:27 KA3RLZ FN42 09:42 K8II EM79 73, John KG4AKV P.S. If I got any information wrong let me know and I can overlay annotations on the video using YouTube.

2 1

Hello de 9H5G
by John, 9H5G 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

Hello, I'm a recent (read inexperienced hi hi) satellite op working only FM at the moment and always /P. I'm currently in RE45 (ZL - South Island) but have heard no activity so far on SO-50. I'd be interested to know if this is normal down here. 73 de John, 9H5G

2 1

Oscar 7 Mode A
by jeffory broughton 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

WB8RJY EN72 CENTRAL MICHIGAN jeff broughton

1 0

Space-X CRS-8 Dragon Launch Video
by Eric Rosenberg 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

For those who may have missed yesterday's launch, it's available on Livestream: http://livestream.com/spacex/crs8/videos/118668484?origin=digest&mixpanel_i… Don't miss the landing of the first stage on the "Of Course I Still Love You" floating platform at ~27 minutes into the video. Way Cool! Enjoy & 73, Eric W3DQ

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Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar (a)
by Edward R Cole 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

I have been thinking about adding solar. Of course up here in the sub-arctic winter nights are long and summer nights short, so seven months of the year solar provides quite a bit. Doing co-generation with the utility definitely reduces your personal utility costs if you do not need battery banks. I already have a standby gasoline generator (6500w Honda) for power outages. Up here its quite normal to have five or so episodes lasting up to twelve hours/each per year. Very nice to be able to push button for electric start and resume normal life when the power goes out. I can even run my kilowatt amp if I desired. We live in the country so have own well and septic so having backup power keeps everything running. Heat is natural gas but furnace needs power for blower and ignition. I inquired at the local power office when recently paying the bill and they support co-gen so all I need to is do my research and save some pennies. BTW I installed solar panels at work before I retired so have a bit of background. Solar insolation on a cloudy day is only 70% down from a clear day. If enough private solar power were built it probably would offset building some of the utility infrastructure in the future. That might even lower the utilities' cost. Up here one utility installed several large windchargers out on a island which has reliable sustained wind which is supplementing the grid (25Mw I believe). There is ample hydro power so solar might depend on the small private sector to build? 73, Ed - KL7UW Nikiski, AK BP40iq Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2016 17:31:21 -0400 From: <jmfranke(a)cox.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar (a) Message-ID: <20160408173121.S6MF2.63087.imail@fed1rmwml301> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 And the price of commercial electricity will go up because the power companies will still have to support the infrastructure to supply the full load at night or during cloudy weather yet have it sitting idle when as they say "The Sun is shining." John WA4WDL ----snipped the rest of the long thread that everyone has already read - right/ 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar
by Greg D 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

I haven't tried it in a while, but it seemed that the battery UPS units needed a "real looking" mains before letting go of the batteries and getting out of the way. Chaining two UPS units, for example, the second one never kicks in. Has this changed? Will a generator's output be seen as clean enough to satisfy the UPS to let the load run off it, and to recharge their own batteries? Regarding using the electric vehicle's battery, I think the safest way is to limit your use to the "Accessory" outlet, pulling no more than its rated 8-amps or so. Plenty to charge your HTs, laptops, cell phones, flashlights, and so forth. Greg KO6TH Stephen Nelson wrote: > Since we are "poor", we do not have solar.... or a house, only an > apartment. > > The plan we have is to use a Honda inverter type generator, supplying a > 2.2kW APC UPS rack unit which has all the toys plugged into that shuts off > the computer automatically when the batteries get below a threshold. That > gives me ~40 mins to change over to the generator if I am home, or start > the generator when I get home if needed, for radios and fridge. Batteries > are not super expensive when bought online. I get mine from here, > http://www.tempestbatteries.com/. This is not to run the house, just take > the slack between switch over if I am at home for sensitive equipment, or > from surge issues from high winds, which we have here...and no... the > fridge is not on the UPS. > > I have pushed a similar design at our radio sites, because there is a small > amount of time which site generators start and the UPS do wonders to take > up the slack between power loss, and when the generator fully up and switch > over. Computers, POE devices like microwave links, AIS receivers, etc, do > not like small brownouts and get "confused' which usually resulted in a > drive to the site for a power reset. > > Love the apocalypse ideas...and never thought to feed switchers 300V DC > before, but that makes sense, and a darn good idea. For myself, high > voltage DC is the last thing I would want to play with in an emergency. > > -Stephen N. > KD6VEX > > > On Fri, Apr 8, 2016 at 4:04 PM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > >>> Newer grid-tie inverters allow for AC power (1.5 kW per inverter) >>> to be drawn without primary power. >> True. And the newer models from SMA with the built-in 15 amp grid-down >> inverter cost $60 LESS than their previous model of the same 3 kW wattage >> without the backup (and weighs 30 lbs less!) >> >> >> http://sunelec.com/inverters/inverters-grid-tie/string/sunny-boy-3000tl-us-… >> >> >> http://sunelec.com/inverters/inverters-grid-tie/string/sunny-boy-3000w-inve… >> >> But even when the grid goes down, you still have all that DC power from >> dozens of solar panels operating at 30VDC each usually connected in series. >> So, my Armageddon plan is to just tap into my 14 pannel array at the 300 >> volt point (10 panels) and these days, 300 VDC will power almost every >> modern electronics piece of equipment AS IS. >> >> Just look at your laptop, cell charger, TV, stereo, PC, and most every >> plugin supply and you will see most have universal supplies operating from >> 100-to-240VAC and if it is lightweight (has no 60 Hz heavy iron >> transformer) >> by definition, that means it is actually a DC/DC switching power supply >> that >> can run just as well on DC as AC, since all they do is first rectify to DC >> before doing all their switching magic. I have plugged in every such >> supply >> and device into the 200 VDC of my preius battery and ALL work just fine. >> >> In fact, I did a recent test of a half dozen laptop type plug in supplies >> and they all worked down below 70 volts DC input! Amazing supplies able to >> deliver full rated output with ANY input from 70 VDC to 330 VDC and 100 VAC >> to 240 VAC and not know the difference! >> >> Remember, a full wave rectified 240 VAC source becomes 330 VDC at the first >> input capacitor and that is why ANY DC from around 100 volts to over 300 >> VDC >> can be used as is on any of these supplies. And you can distribute >> almost >> TEN TIMES the power at 300 VDC than at 100 V AC because the current is >> 1/3rd >> and hence the I-squared- wire loses are 1/9th over the same wire. >> >> CAUTION: Although it is trivial, it is also dangerous if you don’t >> understand what you are doing. Do not do this at home. A few cautions: >> >> 1) MOST of what you really need in a power outage WILL NOT RUN on DC. >> Furnace, refrigerator, well pump, anything with a 60 Hz motor or >> transformer >> 2) Unless you add a snubber circuit to EVERY SWITCH in every device, you >> will destroy the switch the first time you try to turn the device off on >> DC. >> You cannot open a circuit with DC, because the arc will just keep flowing >> and melt/burn everything in reach. Including your house. >> 4) NEC requires ALL in-house DC wiring over 50v or so to be in METAL >> CONDUIT >> for this reason. >> 5) Workaround is to UNPLUG quickly and be amazed at the large Arc-Flash. >> 6) Shock hazard >> >> SOoooo... here is my safe suggestion. Keep your eyes open for BODACIOUS >> surplus DC/DC power supplies from server racks and anything else with huge >> power supplies. At last night's radio club, a guy showed me one the size >> of >> a cigar box that was not only 100Amps at 5 volts but also 30 amps at 12v. >> And its input was the universal 100-240VAC. Meaning it would run perfectly >> fine on 300 VDC from my solar array tap. In fact your modern shack DC/DC >> supply of 25A at 12 v will run from the 100-330 VDC input. >> >> Then hook this to a 12v battery to provide some surge capacity and then >> hook >> it to a 1500W standard 12v-to-120 VAC 60 cycle inverter from any store >> (about $150). Bingo, you have 1500W AC with the grid down for $150 (and >> the big DC/DC suppl you found at the last Hamfest to give you the 12 vdc at >> high amperage from the HV DC at low amperage from your array.. >> >> Oh, also, EVERY HYBRID car (now there are 60 on the market) also has a >> similar 100 AMP at 12v DC/DC supply to power the accessories in the car >> from >> the 200 to 400 VDC car hybrid battery. Get one of these from a junk yard, >> and there too is a huge source of high power, high voltage DDC/DC supply >> that can then run conventional 12v-to-120 VAC 60 hz inverters. >> >> The ten panel tap at the 300v point in an 8 amps string can supply over >> 2400 >> W continuous power to this arrangement. Use two supplies and two inverters >> to make full use of this string. >> >> SO again, just because the grid goes down does not mean your solar array >> stops producing. It just means it stops producing grid-tie-energy. You >> still have all that DC to do all kinds of things with... including >> converting back to AC off grid and/or burning your house down through >> stupid >> tricks. >> >> Bob, WB4APR >> >> >> On Fri, Apr 8, 2016 at 1:47 PM, Stephen Nelson >> <steve.motorola.uranium(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> Talking solar with my non Ham friends and there is a misconception that >>> solar can be used for emergency power, which at least in my area, it >>> cannot be. Solar inverter shuts down once the utility main sense is lost. >>> >>> I have also heard strange rumors that the panels go bad just after the >>> cost of the system has paid for itself. This might be a wives tail, as >>> remote sites I have seen, the solar panels last much longer than 10 >> years. >>> Sent via iPhone 5s.....73's KD6VEX >>> >>> Stephen N. >>> >>>> On Apr 8, 2016, at 9:35 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: >>>> >>>> Solar Rant: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power >>>> (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the >>>> same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not… except >>>> get older).. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I began “How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?” Most >>>> hands went up >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> “How many of you went solar since my last talk?” (one hand went up). >>>> “Why not?” I ask. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> General response was, “.. it costs too much…” >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I went on, “Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize >>>> you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and >>>> did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over >>>> $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another >>>> $200 a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown >>>> away every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)…” >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> “Don’t tell me it costs too much…. It costs too much to do nothing!” >>>> >>>> “This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years >>>> or the rest of his life!” >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Most people in the room said they would probably go solar “someday”. >>>> But now they are starting to realize that every single month they >>>> send another >>>> $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away… when instead >>>> it could have gone for their solar investment which remains EQUITY in >>>> their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which pays back over >>>> 10% annual return on the investment every year for the rest of their >>>> life. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going >>>> to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility >>>> forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it >>>> now and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR >>>> Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 >>>> electric bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have >>>> not taken the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are >>>> you going to throw away good money every month and do nothing? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your >>>> trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can >>>> still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited >>>> to your bill. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some >>>> remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your >>>> solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% >>>> credit to your own home bill. Neat! Its called “virtual-net-metering”. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> It’s a whole new world of energy changing under your feet…. Every day.. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Bob, WB4APR >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> 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 > >

1 0

HORYU-4, DigiSinger today
by Mineo Wakita 09 Apr '16

09 Apr '16

Perhaps I think that the ground station transmit the command to the satellite only over Japan. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/hordigsi.htm JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

1 0

Satellites and Solar
by Robert Bruninga 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Solar Rant: Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not… except get older).. I began “How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?” Most hands went up “How many of you went solar since my last talk?” (one hand went up). “Why not?” I ask. General response was, “.. it costs too much…” I went on, “Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another $200 a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown away every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)…” “Don’t tell me it costs too much…. It costs too much to do nothing!” “This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years or the rest of his life!” Most people in the room said they would probably go solar “someday”. But now they are starting to realize that every single month they send another $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away… when instead it could have gone for their solar investment which remains EQUITY in their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which pays back over 10% annual return on the investment every year for the rest of their life. Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it now and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 electric bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have not taken the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are you going to throw away good money every month and do nothing? Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited to your bill. Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% credit to your own home bill. Neat! Its called “virtual-net-metering”. It’s a whole new world of energy changing under your feet…. Every day.. Bob, WB4APR

3 3

Icom IC-W32 Power Supply Assistance
by Oliver 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

I just received a well loved ic-w32 from ebay. I need to get a new battery and a charger for it though. Both are expected. Before I do, though I'd like to make sure it _actually_ works. I have a variable DC power supply I was thinking of either bypassing the battery with or powering via the external dc jack. I don't know what the contact middle contact does though, so I'm hesitant to try that idea. Need to keep the magic smoke in ... Does anyone have experience doing this? Maybe information on the DC jack polarity? The service manual I found online doesn't mention much about powering it up. Any others tips or pointers on the w32a I should know? Thanks for your time.

1 0

ISS SSTV Event April 11th - 14/15th
by John Brier 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

@RF2Space tweeted this earlier today: http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/2016/04/ariss-commemorative-event-april-11-1… "ARISS commemorative event (April 11-14) Looks like all the pieces are starting to fall into place for the long awaited SSTV event. The schedule is shaping up to look like this: Setup and activation on April 11 about 18:25 UTC. Paused April 12 from 12:15 until 14:15 UTC to allow for a school contact with Romania. Paused April 13 from 12:45 until 14:30 UTC to allow for a school contact with Argentina. Deactivation on April 14 at 11:35 UTC. This opportunity should cover most of the world during the operational period.The image transmissions should be on 145.800 MHz and the mode is planned to be PD180. In addition, MAI-75 will be conducting two sessions afterwards. The first one is April 14 from 14:45 until 18:00 UTC. The second session is on April 15 from 14:10 until 19:00 UTC. These times do not cross N. America but will provide opportunities for Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and S. America. As always, all operations aboard the ISS are subject to change and everyone interested in this activity should be vigilant and patient." I have an "ISS SSTV Reception Hints" webpage which may help: https://spacecomms.wordpress.com/iss-sstv-reception-hints/ Also I just made a PD180 test recording: https://youtu.be/fGBmUTESnC8 https://soundcloud.com/spacecomms/pd180-sstv-test-recording https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgp5gtkzjdvm0m3/Space_Comms_PD180_SSTV_Test_Recor… Good luck and 73! John KG4AKV

1 0

AO-7 MODE A !
by jeffory broughton 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

What a nice suprise to find Oscar 7 in mode A this morning at 1300 utc.It was a max El pass of 4.8 degrees for me in central Michigan, but I was able to hear my 10m downlink from AOS to LOS. What fun ! jeff broughton

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar (a)
by Robert Bruninga 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

> Talking solar with my non Ham friends... That's a problem, Anything they were sure they knew before, is these days almost obsolete a year later. I too had misconceptions all based on my 50 year ham experience with solar (and batteries) for remote digipeaters, etc. My historical background was WRONG on the most basic concepts or modern solar..., hence my sounding "born-again! " That is, FORGET the batteries. The economical revolution in solar is grid-tie. Has nothing to do with batteries (and nothing to do with backup power). Getting rid of the batteries got rid of half the cost and all the lifetime maintenance. It also greatly relaxed the pointing requirements and angles... A true revolution. Solar generation now costs less than a coal plant. Even the Saudi's are building all new energy as solar. Since solar is cheaper than coal or oil, they want to use Solar for all their own energy needs because they can save their oil for export where they can sell it for higher prices. > and there is a misconception that solar can be > used for emergency power... Solar inverter > shuts down once the utility main sense is lost. Yep, same as always. The backup power issue has nothing to do with economical power. Providing emergency power is a totally different function and financial problem no different from what you currently do. Around here the grid is 99.95% reliable. That means, it goes out on average about 4 hours a year. For a 1kW average house load, that is about 60 cents of power loss per year. Adding TEN THOUSAND dollars of "whole house backup battery system" to replace that 60 cents of power per year is not economical... Especially since 5 years later, you will have to replace all those batteries after having only used them maybe 20 hours in 5 years.. No, The answer to "backup" is no different whether one has solar or not. One easy way to do backup, is the same $200 generator and $6 can of gas one might use now. Or plug into the 50kW generator in your Hybrid car, or the 24 kWh battery in your EV, or maybe $400 worth of marine batteries and a $200 inverter form Home depot. All far-far less than a whole house battery system added to solar for 60 cents worth of back up power once a year. AND... the knowledgible Ham who still has 10kW of DC solar power can always find lots of ways to use it even if the grid is down. See http://aprs.org/alternative-energy.html > I have also heard.. rumors that the panels go bad > just after the cost of the system has paid for itself. Solar panels degrade over time. After 25 years they will have lost 20% of their capacity. But, in 25 years I think I can guarantee that one's appliances and electric loads will be 20% more efficient. Hence no change in life style. Just look at the 4-to-1 drop in power needed for lighting in just the last few years. Anyway, yes, they degrade, but less than 1% per year. But they are still producing power. After another 25 years (50 years from now) there will be another 20% loss down to 60% of original power.... but in 50 years you'll be dead or one probably won't need all the power we waste now. And lastly, the cost of 20% more panels to bring your array back up to snuff 25 years from now will cost pennies. Hope that helps. Solar power is cheap, clean power (now costs less than coal. Even the Saudi's are going to all new solar power Bob, WB4APR > On Apr 8, 2016, at 9:35 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > Solar Rant: > > Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power > (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the > same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). > > But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not. > except get older).. > > I began "How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?" Most > hands went up > > "How many of you went solar since my last talk?" (one hand went up). > "Why not?" I ask. > > General response was, ".. it costs too much." > > I went on, "Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize > you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and > did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over > $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another $200 > a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown away > every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)." > > "Don't tell me it costs too much.. It costs too much to do nothing!" > > "This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years or > the rest of his life!" > > Most people in the room said they would probably go solar "someday". > But now they are starting to realize that every single month they send > another $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away. > when instead it could have gone for their solar investment which > remains EQUITY in their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which > pays back over 10% annual return on the investment every year for the > rest of their life. > > Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going > to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility > forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it now > and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. > > See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html > > AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR > Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 electric > bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have not taken > the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are you going > to throw away good money every month and do nothing? > > Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your > trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can > still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited to your bill. > > Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some > remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your > solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% credit > to your own home bill. Neat! Its called "virtual-net-metering". > > It's a whole new world of energy changing under your feet.. Every day.. > > Bob, WB4APR

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] Satellites and Solar (a)
by jmfranke＠cox.net 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

And the price of commercial electricity will go up because the power companies will still have to support the infrastructure to supply the full load at night or during cloudy weather yet have it sitting idle when as they say "The Sun is shining." John WA4WDL ---- Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > Talking solar with my non Ham friends... > > That's a problem, Anything they were sure they knew before, is these days > almost obsolete a year later. I too had misconceptions all based on my 50 > year ham experience with solar (and batteries) for remote digipeaters, > etc. My historical background was WRONG on the most basic concepts or > modern solar..., hence my sounding "born-again! " > > That is, FORGET the batteries. The economical revolution in solar is > grid-tie. Has nothing to do with batteries (and nothing to do with backup > power). Getting rid of the batteries got rid of half the cost and all the > lifetime maintenance. It also greatly relaxed the pointing requirements > and angles... A true revolution. Solar generation now costs less than a > coal plant. Even the Saudi's are building all new energy as solar. Since > solar is cheaper than coal or oil, they want to use Solar for all their > own energy needs because they can save their oil for export where they can > sell it for higher prices. > > > and there is a misconception that solar can be > > used for emergency power... Solar inverter > > shuts down once the utility main sense is lost. > > Yep, same as always. The backup power issue has nothing to do with > economical power. Providing emergency power is a totally different > function and financial problem no different from what you currently do. > Around here the grid is 99.95% reliable. That means, it goes out on > average about 4 hours a year. For a 1kW average house load, that is about > 60 cents of power loss per year. > > Adding TEN THOUSAND dollars of "whole house backup battery system" to > replace that 60 cents of power per year is not economical... Especially > since 5 years later, you will have to replace all those batteries after > having only used them maybe 20 hours in 5 years.. No, The answer to > "backup" is no different whether one has solar or not. One easy way to do > backup, is the same $200 generator and $6 can of gas one might use now. > > Or plug into the 50kW generator in your Hybrid car, or the 24 kWh battery > in your EV, or maybe $400 worth of marine batteries and a $200 inverter > form Home depot. All far-far less than a whole house battery system added > to solar for 60 cents worth of back up power once a year. AND... the > knowledgible Ham who still has 10kW of DC solar power can always find lots > of ways to use it even if the grid is down. > > See http://aprs.org/alternative-energy.html > > > > I have also heard.. rumors that the panels go bad > > just after the cost of the system has paid for itself. > > Solar panels degrade over time. After 25 years they will have lost 20% of > their capacity. But, in 25 years I think I can guarantee that one's > appliances and electric loads will be 20% more efficient. Hence no change > in life style. Just look at the 4-to-1 drop in power needed for lighting > in just the last few years. > > Anyway, yes, they degrade, but less than 1% per year. But they are still > producing power. After another 25 years (50 years from now) there will be > another 20% loss down to 60% of original power.... but in 50 years you'll > be dead or one probably won't need all the power we waste now. And > lastly, the cost of 20% more panels to bring your array back up to snuff > 25 years from now will cost pennies. > > Hope that helps. Solar power is cheap, clean power (now costs less than > coal. Even the Saudi's are going to all new solar power > Bob, WB4APR > > > On Apr 8, 2016, at 9:35 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> wrote: > > > > Solar Rant: > > > > Last night I gave a talk to a local Ham club about Emergency Power > > (solar) for the Ham. Turns out, I had given a similar talk on the > > same topic to the same group 6 years ago (2010). > > > > But the world has CHANGED (and most of us (and them) have not. > > except get older).. > > > > I began "How many of you pay about $200/mo for electricity?" Most > > hands went up > > > > "How many of you went solar since my last talk?" (one hand went up). > > "Why not?" I ask. > > > > General response was, ".. it costs too much." > > > > I went on, "Do the rest of you with the $200/mo electric bill realize > > you have spent almost $15,000 to the utility since my last talk, and > > did not also take the $5000 tax credit, so you have wasted over > > $20,000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except another $200 > > a month for the rest of your life, and another $24,000 thrown away > > every ten years (probably twice that with inflation)." > > > > "Don't tell me it costs too much.. It costs too much to do nothing!" > > > > "This other solar guy hardly pays anything now, or the last 6 years or > > the rest of his life!" > > > > Most people in the room said they would probably go solar "someday". > > But now they are starting to realize that every single month they send > > another $200 to the utility, that is another $200 thrown away. > > when instead it could have gone for their solar investment which > > remains EQUITY in their hands, on their roof, or in their yard and which > > > pays back over 10% annual return on the investment every year for the > > rest of their life. > > > > Sorry for the rant. Every AMSAT station needs power. Are you going > > to continue to burn coal to supply your energy and pay the utility > > forever, at higher cost, or are you going to do something about it now > > and start getting free power forever and breath cleaner air. > > > > See http://aprs.org/solar-now.html > > > > AMSAT TOO: I just looked it up. I gave this talk at the AMSAT/TAPR > > Dayton Banquet in 2011. In the 5 years since, you (with $200 electric > > bills) have spent over $12,000 in electric bills and have not taken > > the over $3600 tax credit either. How many more years are you going > > to throw away good money every month and do nothing? > > > > Sorry, if you have shade, you are out of solar luck, but hug your > > trees and birds instead! In some states, such as Maryland, you can > > still invest in community solar where your solar panels will be credited > to your bill. > > > > Also in Maryland and some other progressive states, if you have some > > remote land or antenna farm somewhere else, You can install your > > solar panels there, and get that electric meter to provide 100% credit > > to your own home bill. Neat! Its called "virtual-net-metering". > > > > It's a whole new world of energy changing under your feet.. Every day.. > > > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > 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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Dragon Underway To ISS
by B J 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

It was a smooth launch and the spacecraft's photovoltaic arrays have been deployed. The first stage made a safe touchdown on its recovery barge even though there were some whitecaps on the waves. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: [amsat-bb] Icom IC-W32a, Heil Mic, Arrow SMA Diplexer, AMSAT magazines ...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Hi! On the QRZ.com satellite forum, Clint posted that he made a mistake with regard to his auction posting of the Puxing PX-UV973 HT, and that he corrected it. Unfortunately, what he did to "correct" the misstatement in the auction posting was anything but a correction. Clint removed the original auction listing for the Puxing HT, created a new listing, and the new listing still has the same incorrect description. https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/24686/auctions/29310/auction_items… Again, if the PX-UV973 was truly capable of working SO-50 full-duplex, we would have probably heard about it in 2013 after he bought one. We would have definitely heard about that when he was selling them in late 2013 and early 2014. This is coming from the same person who prided himself on being honest (among other things), when he sold these radios a couple of years ago. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/uv973/conversations/messages/288 A shame... Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK > > https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/24686/auctions/29310/auction_items… > > >

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SatPC32 V12.8C updated?
by Eric Knaps, ON4HF 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Hello all, I had some minor issues with satpc32 (V12.8c) and I wanted to uninstall and install the program again. So I decided to download the latest program version from the website. I had the latest version but downloaded it anyway to be sure to have a good copy. http://www.dk1tb.de/indexeng.htm It was also V12.8c. But to my surprise that program had some nice improvements. In the satellites menu you can change the window size now to see the complete satellite name. In that same menu there is an extra button : "Display Data" to show more data from the selected satellite. In the "options" menu you can change a setting to update the map (every...seconds) That value changed with me everytime i started the program, now it stays on every 1 sec. To control my sat antennas I use the ServerSDX program delivered with SatPC32. That window also changed (more info on it) Maybe there are more things that have changed, need to find out... Maybe others have that latest version already but I didn't know there were some changes made to the program. 73, Eric. -- Amateur radio station ON4HF Satellite manager UBA Member Amsat-NA #39595 Member Amsat-UK Member Amsat-ON http://www.on4hf.be

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-08 02:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-08 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-04-08 02:00 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 Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1040. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1005. 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-04-06 20:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP Exp. 47 on orbit Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Oleg Skripochka RN3FU Aleksey Ovchinin **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Tracking Software
by Pete Moscatt 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

G'Day To All, OK..... I am entering the wonderful world of Satellites and in the process of setting up the station.I predominantly run Apple PCs (iMac & iOS). Are there preferred applications that I can run under these environments without having to run Windows in the background? Pete VK4CCV

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Colorado Amateur Satellite net Begins in 1 hour
by Skyler F 08 Apr '16

08 Apr '16

This is a reminder that the Colorado Amateur Satellite net will begin in 1 hour from now (7PM mountain time Thursday). 6PM Pacific 7PM Mountain 8PM Central 9PM Eastern Please visit us on *AMSATNET.INFO <http://amsatnet.info/>* *IRLP* 9870, the Denver Reflector *ALLSTAR LINK* 40764, direct hookup to the repeater here. 41715, KC9ZHV hub at a data center if I am out of bandwidth. More info on AllStar - amsatnet.info/#node *ECHOLINK* *AMSAT* unless there is an ARISS contact, then go direct to KD0WHB-L *LOCAL RF* 449.625 (-) 141.3 ( WØKU Lookout Mountain) 447.225 (-) 141.3 (The STEM school repeater we set up) 447.850 (-) 141.3 (ACØKQ's repeater where he lives on TOP of saddleback mountain) 147.450 SIMPLEX (Aurora, CO) 446.275 (-) 100.0 Galena St. Local repeater at my house, giving a whopping 5 blocks of great coverage *REMOTE RF* Your Repeater here!, Email me if you want to link in or me to link your echolink or allstar repeater in automatically (no automatic IRLP linking supported) Skyler Fennell amsatnet.info KDØWHB electricity440(a)gmail.com

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Reuse, Interoperability, Portability, Code Complexity - New Survey
by Brandon Shirley 07 Apr '16

07 Apr '16

Dear AMSAT community members, I'm Brandon Shirley, I am conducting a set of surveys about space systems and software development for my PhD research at Utah State University. I really need your participation. There is a chance to win some gift cards. Please see below for more information and the link to take the survey. The survey should only take about 10 minutes. Reading this wordy email will probably take more time than actually taking the survey. Thanks. I sent you this email because I thought you might have relevant experience and greatly need your participation. The second part of the survey has background questions that will give context to your answers. Try to fill the background out the same way if you take more than one of the surveys. You can you use the link below to access the Reuse, Interoperability, Portability, Code Complexity Survey. https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_79TOgGac3B4Z77f Answer as many of the questions as you want and as much of each question as you want, partial surveys may still be very helpful. At the end of this survey, you will be redirected to a webpage that asks for an email address. You must enter a valid email address to be considered for survey drawings or the overall survey set drawing We are currently on the 5th survey, Reuse, Interoperability, Portability, Code Complexity. You have a chance at receiving a gift card for participating in this survey as well as a chance at receiving a gift card for your overall participation in the entire survey set. There will be 2 winners of $25 gift cards for each survey and 2 winners of $200 gift cards for the survey set. The surveys are as follows and will be distributed in the following order: (participate as you see fit) SISDPA : Core Concepts SISDPA : Development Preferences SISDPA : Open Systems Architecture and Modularity SISDPA : Security SISDPA : Reuse, Interoperability, Portability, Code Complexity <========= We are here ========= SISDPA : Network V/R, Brandon Shirley b.l.s(a)aggiemail.usu.edu See http://brandon.bluezone.usu.edu/Files/LOISpaceSoftwareAttitudes_Final.pdf for the Letter of Intent (LOI) that explains your role as a participant should you choose to participate. This is a legitimate request for you participation, if you have any questions about the validity of this email you may refer to the Letter of Intent, contact Brandon Shirley via email at b.l.s(a)aggiemail.usu.edu, or contact Utah State University's Internal Review Board administrator at (435) 797 - 0567 or email irb(a)usu.edu.

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Icom IC-W32a, Heil Mic, Arrow SMA Diplexer, AMSAT magazines ...
by Clint Bradford 07 Apr '16

07 Apr '16

The list of items up for an auction that benefits two humanitarian organizations is growing ... AMSAT-NA - Orbit Magazine - 7 Issues Talk about satellite history!!! Asus Zenwatch 2 - GREY case, brown LEATHER band New, open box, warranteed Fossil Seller photograph - 11x14" print National first-place winner. Icom IC-W32a - LOW SERIAL NUMBER - Immaculate Was this the BEST true full-duplex amateur HT??? Puxing UV973 Dual-band, true full-duplex HT Crossband repeater, too! SECRET Stamp Commemorating John Glenn Own a piece of USPS -AND- NASA history! Shuttle Approaches ISS Expedition 22 11x14" photograph on photo board. 1971 Space Achievement Plate Block Celebrating US achievements in space. Arrow Antenna Diplexer - SMA VERSION! Instead of BNC, this one terminates in SMA First Man on the Moom Commemorative 1969 Fulfilling JFK's goal ... Heil Gold Elite Microphone Ham radio mic extraordinaire Heil HS-2 Ergonomic Hand Switch New in box ... iRig Voice - high quality vocals for iOS devices With EZ Voice app US Space Achievement Commemoratives Celebrating the Shuttles, the Moon Walk, and more. https://www.32auctions.com/K6LCS Clint Bradford K6LCS (909) 999-SATS (909) 999-7287

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Eo-79
by jeffory broughton 06 Apr '16

06 Apr '16

Anybody know what happened to EO-79 ? Worked good for the few days it was around.Been off for quite a while now. jeff broughton

2 1

Uhf pa stage
by jeffory broughton 06 Apr '16

06 Apr '16

You can usually get for nothing or next to nothing an old UHF commercial radio, remove the pa unit off the rear of the radio,throw the rest away.they drive with as little as 100 mw and come in several sizes,30 ,50 75,100 watts output.cheap power !jeff WB8RJY jeff broughton

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help with pic programming on LVB tracker
by Ed K9EK 06 Apr '16

06 Apr '16

Hi, all: Several years ago I bought the G6LVB tracker board and finally got around to building it. All went well until trying to program the pic. I followed Gould Smith's instructions (would have been impossible without them; thanks Gould). Things seem to go OK until it tries to run the picprog software script. It starts, then simply stops at the second line "reading hex file...". It drops to the next line and there it sits (blank with flashing cursor). Hardware: using an XP laptop with a new StarTech FTDI USB-to-serial converter. Could not get the converter to be recognized by either of two WIN 10 laptops, but the old XP machine is fine with it. I have tried all combinations of power on, off, when to plug in, boot up, etc. Same result every time. I did see some cryptic on-line messages of difficulties getting the script to run on anything except an ancient machine with a real live RS232 interface. Surely there is another way.... Humm. Does anyone have any idea on how to make this thing run? Thanks! Ed K9EK EL98

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-06 20:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 06 Apr '16

06 Apr '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-06 20:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact was successful: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg (***) H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ TBD UTC (***) Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-04-06 20:00 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 Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1040. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1005. (***) 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-04-06 20:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP Exp. 47 on orbit (***) Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Oleg Skripochka RN3FU Aleksey Ovchinin **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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RF Designers? 30W UHF Transistor PA?
by Robert Bruninga 06 Apr '16

06 Apr '16

Asking AMSAT RF experts. What is the cheapest garden variety UHF Power Transistor good to 450 MHz and suitable for 20, 30W or more? Im finding transistors can cost $30 and up. That’s steep for an idea we are pursuing… Bob, WB4APR

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-05 23:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-05 23:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ (***) Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC 26 deg Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for : Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-04-05 23:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1039. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1004. 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-04-02 02:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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AMSAT VTAPR EasyTrak Interface on E Bay
by Joe Leikhim 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

Cleaning out shack for spring! 2 more days Now at $59.50 http://www.ebay.com/itm/162021666834?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p398… -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Re: [amsat-bb] CW straight key nowadays (and PSAT)
by Robert Bruninga 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

And also PSAT, with its 28.120 linear uplink and FM downlink. Although someone has to be transmitting PSK31 for the auto-transponder to come up, any weak CW in the same spectrum should be heard. Although I should not recommend such use, so as not to disrupt normal band plan operations, it is a nice experiment and since the PSK31 transponder is usually never more than about 5% loaded (1 user maybe?) it's a shame not to experiment with it... -----Original Message----- From: Paul Stoetzer Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] CW straight key nowadays > <snip> ...the following satellites have linear transponders available for use: FO29 AO-7 AO-73 XW-2A XW-2C XW-2F [PSAT 28.121 up and 435.350 FM down.] Watch your power on CW - especially on AO-7 [and PSAT]. A very strong CW signal can make the transponder useless for others, and in the case of AO-7, cause it to mode jump at certain times of the year. 73, Paul, N8HM On Sunday, April 3, 2016, andy thomas via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Hi > Just sorting out the garden and antennas this Spring day. I have my > preamps wired into the feed lines and want to get on air with a > challenge a bit more than FM. > > So I'm wondering what is currently available to work in CW (Only > straight key and I'm not very fast!)? FO-29, I suppose, but anything else? > 73 de andy G0SFJ > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <javascript:;>. 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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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-05 17:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-05 17:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC 26 deg Note: this contact might get rescheduled. (***) Valahia University of Targoviste, Targoviste, Romania, direct via The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for : Tue 2016-04-12 13:48:06 UTC 79 deg (***) Colegio Santa Rosa, Yerba Buena, Argentina, direct via LU1KCQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is a go for: Wed 2016-04-13 14:02:54 UTC 34 deg (***) USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C., telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Sat 2016-04-16 18:19:28 UTC 78 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-04-05 17:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1039. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1004. 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-04-02 02:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Space Security Survey - Reminder
by Brandon Shirley 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

Dear AMSAT community members, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the Security survey; the Security survey has now closed. If you were planning to take the survey, but have not yet completed it, then please let me know via email and I can keep it open for another day or so. I will notify the winners of this survey's drawing within 1 week. The winners of the overall survey set will be notified after the entire survey set closes. *** The next survey will start today or tomorrow. The next survey will be the Reuse, Interoperability, Portability, Code Complexity Survey. *** V/R, Brandon Shirley b.l.s(a)aggiemail.usu.edu

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New User
by Pete Moscatt 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

blockquote, div.yahoo_quoted { margin-left: 0 !important; border-left:1px #715FFA solid !important; padding-left:1ex !important; background-color:white !important; } Hi To All, Ok, I am just getting myself into the world of Satellites and need a little guidance. Up until now I have been reading through Getting Started on the Amateur Radio Satellites by Keith Baker. He makes reference to AO-51 as the satellite to cut ones teeth on. >From what I understand, this bird no longer exists, so, what is now considered as being a beginners satellite? Pete. VK4CCV

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 05 Apr '16

05 Apr '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada on 06 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:02 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 VK4KHZ The contact should be audible over portions of Australia 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. Cambridge Bay is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is named for Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, while the Inuinnaqtun name for the area is Iqaluktuttiaq meaning "good fishing place".This ancestral region of Nunavut has been inhabited for 4,000 years. It is rich in archaeological history and blessed with abundant fish, seals, geese, muskoxen and caribou. Kiilinik High School is one of two public schools located in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. The school has a population of approximately 200 students and provides education from grades 7 to 12. For this event the Primary School will pair up with the high school for the event. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Can you change the orbit and speed of Space Station? 2. What is your favorite part of being an astronaut? 3. Is the passage of time on Space Station different than Earth? 4. What time zone do you follow on Space Station and Why? 5. What do you do in your spare time, do you have the internet? 6. What would happen if a crew member was sick while in space? 7. Do you think we will ever travel outside our solar system and is Space Station helping to solve the issues? 8. How is sleep impacted on Space Station and zero Gravity? 9. You are 400 kms up, zero gravity, far away from family, friends, watching the universe and earth go by, looking and pondering into the universe - what is that like? 10. We understand fire burns differently in space, how do you deal with a fire emergency? 11. Are you doing any research related to travel to other worlds like Mars? 12. Was being an astronaut a childhood dream or did you decide later? 13. What were your first impressions when you arrived on the space station and what will you miss from space? 14. How many people can live on space station at one time and for how long with no supply vessel? 15. How advanced or how far and where can we go during the next 100 years in space and space research? 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. H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri, 08Apr2016 08:17 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), and the 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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SECRET John Glenn Postage Stamp
by Clint Bradford 04 Apr '16

04 Apr '16

Did you know that the release of that famous Project Mercury 4-cent US postage stamp was a SECRET government project? For the first and only time in the country's postal history, the United States Post Office Department (since 1971, known as the "U.S. Postal Service") surprised the public with the release of a "secret" stamp celebrating Glenn's successful mission. The 4-cent "Project Mercury" postage stamp was revealed and immediately put on sale in 305 post offices within an hour of Glenn's triumphant return to Earth at 2:43 p.m. EST (1943 GMT) on Feb. 20, 1962. Here's an opportunity for you to own a 50-stamp, complete plate block set of this historic project - suitable for framing for your home or office. Or, in my case, my home office (grin). https://www.32auctions.com/K6LCS There's also arguably the BEST true, full-duplex HTfor the FM birds available there, too - the Icom IC-W32a - WITH a highly desireable early serial number. Clint Bradford K6LCS (909) 999-SATS (909) 999-7287

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CW straight key nowadays
by andy thomas 04 Apr '16

04 Apr '16

Hi Just sorting out the garden and antennas this Spring day. I have my preamps wired into the feed lines and want to get on air with a challenge a bit more than FM. So I'm wondering what is currently available to work in CW (Only straight key and I'm not very fast!)? FO-29, I suppose, but anything else? 73 de andy G0SFJ

4 4

FUNcube-1 Mode
by Graham Shirville 04 Apr '16

04 Apr '16

Hi All, FUNcube-1 is now switching between education and amateur modes autonomously and is planned to do so until Friday evening (UTC) thanks Graham G3VZV

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Ham Talk Live Webcast Tonight - ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO
by JoAnne Maenpaa 04 Apr '16

04 Apr '16

Reposting from QRZ.com: Ham Talk Live! Episode #7 - ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO - Thursday at 9pm ET Coming up this week on Ham Talk Live!, Rosalie White, K1STO will be here to talk about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program sponsored by ARRL, AMSAT, and NASA! We will have a look back at the start of the program, the 1000th QSO that was just completed, and the future of the program. We will feature some messages from the ISS, and tell you about a way you can help! Join us Thursday night at 9 pm Eastern time on hamtalklive.com, and call in with your questions! If you can't listen live, you can hear the replay on our web site. Or, you can find us on Spreaker, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, YouTube, SoundCloud, or TuneIn. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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FUNcube Warehouse Outages
by David Johnson 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

Hi, The ISP where the servers are hosted are doing some network maintenance and there will be some short lived outages. The dashbaords will pick up when the servers reappear. 73 - Dave, G4DPZ

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HORYU-4, DigiSinger
by Mineo Wakita 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/hordigsi.htm JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Re: [amsat-bb] LMR-400 direct to antenna or no?
by Edward R Cole 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

I can support what Greg stated. I have ten foot of LMR-400UF to go around my az-el system between my Relay/Preamp box and the 4-way divider that feeds my four 2m-eme yagis (21-foot long booms). There is another 18-foot of LMR-400 to each yagi so plenty of coax loss even in an eme array. I figure my loss from antenna to preamp at 0.45 dB. I get away with that much loss because my preamps are 0.1 dB NF vs the typical satellite preamp that has 0.5dB NF. My overall Rx system NF is est. 0.57 dB. on my 6m long-boom yagi I have about 2 turns of LMR-400 that wind around the mast before connecting to my relay/preamp box. This allows enough flex not to break the LMR-400. Ten foot of LMR-400UF would not be significantly more loss so up to 2m it should work fine. The real key to getting good Reception is the preamp at tower top. Most 2m radios have NF of 6 to 10 dB. Transverters are better at about 1.5-2 dB NF. But both benefit with a preamp close to the antenna. I think there is a recent version of Belden 9913 which has solid foam core vs the polyethyline spiral bead with air core that was so susceptible to moisture. I think its called 9913F. But I use LMR-400 as its about the same cost and much better with moisture if you do good sealing at the connectors. 73, Ed - KL7UW ------------ From: Greg D <ko6th.greg(a)gmail.com> To: w4upd <updwrb(a)bristor-assoc.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] LMR-400 direct to antenna or no? Hi Reid, I understand the desire for minimal use of connectors, but the coupling between the rigid cable coming from the shack to the rotor, and the flex cable going to the antenna, is a good place to put a nice little preamp. Think of it as a barrel connector with attitude. Yes, putting it at the antenna feed point is better, but unless you're working EME, the practical difference is pretty small. Your luck with 9913 and water ingress is significantly better than mine ever was. I had one 60' run that kept getting worse over time. It got so bad that I drilled a hole in the lower end connector so I could suck out the water until I could find some hardline to replace it. Never used the stuff ever again. Greg KO6TH 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-094 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: * Replay Available Ham Talk Live! ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO * AMSAT Dayton Booth Volunteers Needed * AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2016 * The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop * 2016 VHF SUPER CONFERENCE * STMSat-1 and MinXSS CubeSats Featured on Public Radio * Irvine Students Are On a Mission to Launch a Satellite * Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-094.01 ANS-094 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 094.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. April 3, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-094.01 Replay Available Ham Talk Live! ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO If you missed this past Thursday evening's Ham Talk Live! show featuring, Rosalie White, K1STO talking about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program sponsored by ARRL, AMSAT, and NASA, a replay of the recorded show is available on http://www.hamtalklive.com. The discussion took a look back at the start of the ARISS program, the 1000th QSO that was just completed, and the future of the program. Also featured were some messages from the ISS. Rosalie also told of a way you can help. Ham Talk Live! airs on the web on Thursday nights at 9PM eastern time. In addition to their hamtalklive.com web site the show can be found on-line via Spreaker, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, YouTube, SoundCloud, or TuneIn. [ANS thanks Ham Talk Live! For the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Dayton Booth Volunteers Needed Call for Volunteers for the AMSAT Booth at Dayton 2016 The 2016 Dayton Hamvention®, sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association will be held this year on May 20-22. “Dayton” is the largest hamfest in the United States, and AMSAT will be there again this year. You can assist AMSAT by volunteering to help staff the booth. While there, you will meet other AMSAT members, interact with the satellite designers, builders, and operators, and enjoy all that Dayton has to offer. People are needed to assist with the setup of the booth on Thursday, May 19 (A few people to move the equipment from the storage area leaving the hotel at 9 am, most at the Arena from 11am to 4 pm), to staff the booth Friday (9 am to 6 pm), Saturday (9 am to 5 pm), and Sunday (9 am to 1 pm), and pack up on Sunday (1 pm to 3 pm). If you are leaving late Sunday, or Monday morning, please consider helping transport the display to the storage area on the south side of Dayton. This is normally completed by 5 pm. Most people volunteer for one or more 2 hour shifts in the booth. Please send an e-mail to Steve Belter, N9IP, n9ip (at) amsat.org, if you are willing to help AMSAT at the Hamvention. Please let Steve know as soon as possible if you're available to assist. If you missed the Hamvention the last few years, there were some changes in the Ball Arena, and the AMSAT exhibit was part of that change. We now have a 3 X 3 booth arrangement, with the engineering,education, ARISS, and software display on one side of the aisle, and the membership and Beginner¹s Corner on the opposite side. The booth numbers are now 444-446 and 433-435. We will be very near the old exhibit area, within sight of the ARRL exhibit. [ANS thanks AMSAT.org for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT SA SPACE SYMPOSIUM 2016 The annual AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria on 28 May 2016. The theme is “Make Space Sciences part of your development and free time activity” The conference programme will include a real time review on the SA AMSAT Kletskous CubeSat and papers on other projects, technology and space science subjects. This is a call for papers to be included in the proceedings and for presentation at the conference. The closing date for synopsis has been extended to 6 April. The final paper will be required in word format by 30 April 2016. Synopsis must be in word format and should be sent to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za . [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop The 13th Annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop (April 20-22, 2016) at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA is just three short weeks away !! Don’t delay: register now before our Early Bird prices expire! You can register by following the link, here, or following the link on our website, cubesat.org. Please note: The prices for professional attendees will INCREASE in just 6 days, on April 5, 2016!! [ANS thanks The CubeSat Workshop Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 VHF SUPER CONFERENCE The upcoming Amateur Radio Technical Conference sponsored by the Southeastern VHF Society, Northeast Weak Signal Group, and Mt. Airy Radio Club will be held at the Holiday Inn Washington Dulles Airport on April 15 to 17. - This year, one large conference is being held in Lieu of three Eastern conferences. The aim of the educational conference is to share with our fellow VHF, UHF, and Microwave enthusiasts, technical achievements and developments. The technical conference is followed by a dinner, recognition of door prize contributors, and a drawing for door prizes. Conference Web-site: http://vhfsuperconference.com The Conference is affiliated with the ARRL. Contacts Mickie Clement, W1MKY Telephone: 603-428-3840 Email: dpclement at tds.net Gary Hitchner, WA2OMY Email: gary.hitchner at momentumdynamics.com [ANS thanks Gary WA2OMY and Mickie W1MKY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- STMSat-1 and MinXSS CubeSats Featured on Public Radio Elementary school, St. Thomas More's, satellite STMSat-1 and University of Colorado's Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS)CubeSat were featured in an interview on Colorado Public Radio. The interview of Doug Duncan, director of the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder by Colorado Matters' host Ryan Warner. The interview can be heard at http://tinyurl.com/ANS094-CPR The interview is a good overview of cubsats and their capability. Both satellites are expected to be launched from the ISS in early April [ANS thanks Colorado Public Radio for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Irvine Students Are On a Mission to Launch a Satellite The los Angeles Times reports that over a hundred students from five Irvine high schools and another dozen from a local middle school have begun a year long collaboration to engineer, launch and place an operational nanosatellite in orbit. Teachers from Beckman, Irvine, Northwood and Woodbridge high schools developed curriculum for teams of 20 to 25 students from each school to handle the CubeSat mission. Students from Irvine's new Portola High School will be brought into the program when the campus opens in the fall. Students from Rancho San Joaquin Middle School are involved in the project as a STEM feeder program. Organizers of the Irving project are in discussions with a Russian company and have targeted a March 2017 launch date. Irving Public Schools Foundation have granted $150,000 in seed money to launch the project. The schools are planning for three years of missions with a goal of rolling over in perpetuity depending on funding and future support. The project is the brain child of Brent Freeze and Kain Sosa, neighbors in Irvine's Quail Hill subdivision, who have children in the school district. Their goal is to support education that requires specialized science backgrounds and recognize that developing talent could start with STEM programs in local high schools. Read the full article at http://preview.tinyurl.com/ANS094-Irvine [ANS thanks the LA Times for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is offering tours that take visitors behind the scenes and inside certain research facilities. Glenn scientists and engineers serve as guides. Tours and open house events will be held each month through October 2016. Tours are free for groups and individuals, but to guarantee admission, reservations are required. Visitor parking is also free. On the days of the tours, a bus departs from Glenn's main gate every hour, beginning at 10 a.m. The last tour departs at 1 p.m. Each tour lasts about 45 minutes and is followed by a stop at Glenn's Gift Shop. Glenn's 2016 Tour Schedule April 2, 2016 -- Piloted Control Evaluation Facility and Distributed Engine Control Laboratory: Visit two laboratories that showcase how researchers evaluate propulsion control and aircraft engine control. Tour the Piloted Control Evaluation (Flight Simulator) Facility to see where researchers evaluate the effect of propulsion control on aircraft performance. Visit the Distributed Engine Control Laboratory to learn how NASA evaluates new hardware architectures for aircraft engine control. May 21-22, 2016 -- Open House at NASA's Glenn Research Center: NASA Glenn is opening its doors to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour many of the center's world-class facilities and see how the center improves aviation and fosters exploration to benefit everyone on Earth. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians who work on space programs. Registration for this event is not required. June 11-12, 2016 -- Open House at NASA's Plum Brook Station: NASA Glenn is opening the doors of Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour the station's world-class facilities and step inside the world's largest vacuum chamber, which has tested parts of rockets, Mars landers and Orion hardware. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians. Registration for this event is not required. July 9, 2016: Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory: See how NASA emulates the electrical characteristics of a spacecraft system in the Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory. RPS is a source of electricity for NASA space missions from the surface of Mars to the realm of the outer planets. Aug. 6, 2016 -- See Things a Different Way: Check out Glenn's Graphics and Visualization, or GVIS, and the Reconfigurable User- interface and Virtual Reality Exploration, or GRUVE, Laboratories. The GVIS lab uses advanced computer input and output devices paired with a variety of natural user interface devices and 3-D displays. The GRUVE lab is used to analyze data obtained either by computer simulation or from research test facilities. Sept. 10, 2016 -- Vibration Testing: Join us on a tour of Glenn's Structural Dynamics Laboratory, where things get shaken to verify their survivability. Several experiments that currently are operating on the International Space Station were tested in this lab. Oct. 1, 2016 -- Prepare for Impact: Come explore Glenn's Ballistic Impact Facility. See the laboratory that helped to identify the cause of the space shuttle Columbia accident and return NASA's shuttle fleet to flight. Tours are open to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. To guarantee admission, reservations are required. For more information on tours and how to make reservations, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/events/tours.html. Please direct questions about the tours to Sheila Reese at sheila.d.reese(a)nasa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- March 31, 2016 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan and Astronaut Tim Kopra KE5UDN using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-03-28 11:07 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8N370H. ARISS Mentor was Satoshi 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, USA and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was Dave AA4KN. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact in the United States is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. 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. 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 Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1038. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1003. 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 The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Schools in these entities are encouraged to apply for a contact. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + JSatTrak Satellite App Released Developed by Shawn Gano KB3OJE, JSatTrack is written in Java and allows you to predict the position of any satellite in real time or in the past or future. It uses advanced SGP4/SDP4 algorithms developed by NASA/NORAD or customizable high precision solvers to propagate satellite orbits. The program also allows for easy updating of current satellite tracking data via CelesTrak.com. Because this application was written in Java, it should run on almost any operating system or directly off the web using java web start! Questions and comments are welcome at the JSatTrack Forum http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/forum The JSatTrack App can be downloaded from http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/ [ANS thanks Shawn KB3OJE for the abiove information] + Proposal windows for ARISS school contacts are still open in the United States and Europe. For more information about scheduled US contacts visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact For more information about scheduled European Region contact visit http://www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] + Current profiles of the crew currently aboard the ISS, Expedition 47, can be found at: http://www.ariss.org/current-iss-crew.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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 (former KC8YLD) kc8yld at amsat dot org

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LMR-400 direct to antenna or no?
by Scott 03 Apr '16

03 Apr '16

I hope to put up my first rotating antenna soon and just received a nice length of LMR-400 to use. (regular, not "super-flex") Having never seen LMR-400 before, I did not know how flexible it would be. I would call it "medium"... not stiff as a pipe but not floppy, either. My question is whether anyone using LMR-400 can recommend whether I should attach it directly to my antenna (with slack loops, of course)? Or, should I get a few meters of something more flexible to attach to an antenna that needs to be free to rotate 360 degrees? If a jumper is recommended, I would appreciate suggestions on what cable would work best for the task. The frequency for this project is 70cm. Thanks! -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA

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ARISS Contact Audio - Wednesday
by John Spasojevich 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

Please join us in listening to the ISS contact with participants at the Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada on Wednesday April 6. AOS is anticipated at 18:02 UTC The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and VK5KHZ in Australia. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Audio from this contact will be fed into the: EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) IRLP Node 9010 Discovery Reflector Streaming Audio at: https://sites.google.com/site/arissaudio/ Audio on Echolink & web stream is generally transmitted around 20 minutes prior to the contact taking place so that you can hear some of the preparation that occurs. IRLP will begin just prior to the ground station call to the ISS. ** Contact times are approximate. If the ISS executes a reboost or other manoeuvre, the AOS (Acquisition Of Signal) time may alter by a few minutes ** 73, John - AG9D ARISS Audio Distribution

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FG8OJ ON A07
by jeffory broughton 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

What fun to work Bert ,FG8OJ on AO7 from my little earth station up At the lake in the woods at 2057 utc Suprise ! jeff broughton

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Xw2a,xw2c,XW2F
by jeffory broughton 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

If I can work those from the middle of a pine Forrest with 8 ft tall pine trees at 15-20 degree passes here in. Northern michigan,than ANYBODY can.Those birds have great receivers with nice loud tx audio.73 WB8RJY jeff broughton

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Re: [amsat-bb] XW-2A, C and F Operation
by Clayton W5PFG 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

There was no shortage of activity on the XW-2A,C, and F transponders this morning. On the passes around 1300 UTC, stations were heard and worked from the east to west coasts of the USA and Canada. These are some of the easiest transponders to hear. They are very workable with the most modest of antennas and low power. 73 Clayton W5PFG > > On 3/29/2016 18:17, Richard Lawn wrote: >> I'm confounded by the lack of activity on these satellites which are >> functioning quite well. I just called and called with no takers until >> close >> to the end of the pass I thought I heard a French Canadian trying to call >> me but it was getting too low to my horizon. More operators should be >> using >> these birds while they are still functioning. >> >> 73 >> Rick, W2JAZ

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FUNcube-1 Mode
by Graham Shirville 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

Hi All, Just to report that FUNcube-1 is now in amateur mode for the rest of the weekend. Transponder and low power tlm as usual. In view of the late mode change this morning we will leave her in this mode until Monday morning 73 Graham G3VZV

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-02 02:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 02 Apr '16

02 Apr '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-04-02 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact was successful: Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC 34 deg (***) Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC 26 deg ****************************** ************************************************ The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-04-02 02:00 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 Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1039. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1004. (***) 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-04-02 02:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps
by Rick Tejera 01 Apr '16

01 Apr '16

yes, but apparently, both satellites have failed and have no t been heard in quite some time, thus their removal from the element sets. The Aggiesat website has nothing of value on it. IT's more a list of credits of those who worked on it than anything else Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 9:58 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps WHOOP! From: Marius Strom [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 12:37 PM To: Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Yes, you're correct on the sponsorships. Gig 'em! Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10 From: Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 8:10 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps I'm been out of the loop on AMSAT for a long time (need to re-join). AGGISAT wouldn't happen to be Texas A&M sponsored and BEVO-2 UT? Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE EL09uf Eagle Creek Observatory http://www.eaglecreekobservatory.org I am Voltohm of Borg! Resistance is E/I, you will be attenuated! -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alan Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 7:18 PM To: 'Rick Tejera'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Rick, >From the list AMSAT Keps distribution notes: The following satellites have been removed from the AMSAT KEP Distribution: AAUSat-5 (NORAD CAT ID 40948) Decayed 3-15-2016. AGGIESAT-4 (NORAD CAT ID 41313) Has not shown any signs of life and is considered dead. BEVO-2 (NORAD CAT ID 41314) was prematurely deployed from AGGIESAT-4 and never activated. BEVO-2 was never listed in the AMSAT KEP Distribtuion. 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Tejera <Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 6:17 PM <To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps < <All, < < < <In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed <in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? < < < <Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) < <Saguaro Astronomy Club < <www.saguaroastro.org < <Thunderbird Radio Club < <www.w7tbc.org < <623-572-0713 < <623-203-4121 (cell) < <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net < < < <_______________________________________________ <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 _______________________________________________ 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

2 1

Aggiesat keps
by Rick Tejera 01 Apr '16

01 Apr '16

All, In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net

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Re: [amsat-bb] LMR-400 direct to antenna or no?
by Dino Papas 01 Apr '16

01 Apr '16

I run LMR400 out to the preamps just below the rotator then LMR240 for the short run from the preamps to the antennas; the 240 is quite flexible and the additional loss in that short run is negligible. 73 - Dino KL0S > On Mar312016, at 2135 PM, Scott <scott23192(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > I hope to put up my first rotating antenna soon and just received a nice length of LMR-400 to use. (regular, not "super-flex") > > Having never seen LMR-400 before, I did not know how flexible it would be. I would call it "medium"... not stiff as a pipe but not floppy, either. > > My question is whether anyone using LMR-400 can recommend whether I should attach it directly to my antenna (with slack loops, of course)? > > Or, should I get a few meters of something more flexible to attach to an antenna that needs to be free to rotate 360 degrees? > > If a jumper is recommended, I would appreciate suggestions on what cable would work best for the task. The frequency for this project is 70cm. > > Thanks! > > -Scott, K4KDR > Montpelier, VA USA

1 0

Colorado Amateur Satellite net Begins in 1 hour
by Skyler F 01 Apr '16

01 Apr '16

This is a reminder that the Colorado Amateur Satellite net will begin in 1 hour from now (7PM mountain time Thursday). 6PM Pacific 7PM Mountain 8PM Central 9PM Eastern Please visit us on *AMSATNET.INFO <http://amsatnet.info/>* *IRLP* 9870, the Denver Reflector *ALLSTAR LINK* 40764, direct hookup to the repeater here. 41715, KC9ZHV hub at a data center if I am out of bandwidth. More info on AllStar - amsatnet.info/#node *ECHOLINK* *AMSAT* unless there is an ARISS contact, then go direct to KD0WHB-L *LOCAL RF* 449.625 (-) 141.3 ( WØKU Lookout Mountain) 447.225 (-) 141.3 (The STEM school repeater we set up) 447.850 (-) 141.3 (ACØKQ's repeater where he lives on TOP of saddleback mountain) 147.450 SIMPLEX (Aurora, CO) 446.275 (-) 100.0 Galena St. Local repeater at my house, giving a whopping 5 blocks of great coverage *REMOTE RF* Your Repeater here!, Email me if you want to link in or me to link your echolink or allstar repeater in automatically (no automatic IRLP linking supported) Skyler Fennell amsatnet.info KDØWHB electricity440(a)gmail.com

1 0

Transceiver with UHF/VHF and S-Band or upto 3GHz support
by shakeel -ur-rehman 31 Mar '16

31 Mar '16

We are in process of development of Student Satellite Ground station for amateur satellite. we need to select rotor and antenna s for amateur satellite ground station. We Currently Have ICOM 9100 but this transceiver doenot support High speed data download e.g 64Kbps or more. Can Any one please advice another module /transciver which can add s-band support to ICOM 9100. or what other transceivers available in market which can provide us up 3 GHz frequency band reception. Thanks and Regards Shakeel

4 3

Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 101
by james.4.savage＠bt.com 31 Mar '16

31 Mar '16

UNSUBSCRIBE -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org Sent: 31 March 2016 16:10 To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 101 Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to amsat-bb(a)amsat.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org You can reach the person managing the list at amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Do I need to figure in declination adjustment for my array? (hdskullfire2 .) 2. Re: Do I need to figure in declination adjustment for my array? (Dave Webb KB1PVH) 3. Xw-2a (jeffory broughton) 4. Aggiesat keps (Rick Tejera) 5. Re: Aggiesat keps (Scott) 6. Re: Aggiesat keps (Alan) 7. Re: Aggiesat keps (Rick Tejera) 8. WD9EWK @ Radio Society of Tucson hamfest, & other operating on 26-27 March (long) (Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)) 9. Transceiver with UHF/VHF and S-Band or upto 3GHz support (shakeel -ur-rehman) 10. Re: Transceiver with UHF/VHF and S-Band or upto 3GHz support (Alan) 11. Ham Talk Live Webcast Tonight - ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO (JoAnne Maenpaa) 12. Re: Aggiesat keps (Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 06:40:38 -0400 From: "hdskullfire2 ." <hdskullfire2(a)gmail.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Do I need to figure in declination adjustment for my array? Message-ID: <CAJNgRRaRL64B25pGAhYhtWt9fZVWH2TBSPAF2iv-9cAVnA=DKA(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 If using a compass for initial mechanical line up, do I have to compensate & make the required declination adjustment? Right now mine would be 13 degrees for my location in eastern Pennsylvania? Steve NS3L ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 06:58:56 -0400 From: Dave Webb KB1PVH <kb1pvh(a)gmail.com> To: "hdskullfire2 ." <hdskullfire2(a)gmail.com> Cc: AMSAT -BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Do I need to figure in declination adjustment for my array? Message-ID: <CAEMY9FfWahQEQ7Tjhm05HUU_=h5rHRAnTUDH3KVafO8N7d1DDQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Steve, You want true North. Dave-KB1PVH Sent from my Samsung S4 On Mar 30, 2016 6:41 AM, "hdskullfire2 ." <hdskullfire2(a)gmail.com> wrote: > If using a compass for initial mechanical line up, do I have to > compensate & make the required declination adjustment? Right now mine > would be 13 degrees for my location in eastern Pennsylvania? > > Steve NS3L > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 13:52:50 -0400 From: jeffory broughton <jefforybroughton(a)gmail.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Xw-2a Message-ID: <CACm2je2QGt3_E10ObtVrtMUq3w9hmA03cjjpmqih_RRzf5orWg(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Another problem is ,a lot folks work during the day and are not around . These birds see lots of activity during the weekends.Try listening then. Jeff WB8RJY jeff broughton ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 16:17:05 -0700 From: "Rick Tejera" <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Message-ID: <004801d18ada$4653b690$d2fb23b0$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" All, In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 19:25:32 -0400 From: "Scott" <scott23192(a)gmail.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Message-ID: <4EAAD560644844E4BC0DEF57C495FDB6@OPT755> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Rick, I can't answer your question directly regarding the TLE's, but not long after launch I decoded telemetry on one pass and forwarded it to the team, of course. Despite monitoring for the next couple of weeks at every opportunity, I was never able to receive a signal from it again. I've not done a thorough web search, but I'm not aware that it has communicated since. So, at this point I don't know if it's still considered "active". -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Tejera To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 19:17 Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps All, In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 19:17:50 -0500 From: Alan <wa4sca(a)gmail.com> To: "'Rick Tejera'" <saguaroastro(a)cox.net>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Message-ID: <000001d18ae2$c30f3210$492d9630$(a)GMAIL.COM> Rick, >From the list AMSAT Keps distribution notes: The following satellites have been removed from the AMSAT KEP Distribution: AAUSat-5 (NORAD CAT ID 40948) Decayed 3-15-2016. AGGIESAT-4 (NORAD CAT ID 41313) Has not shown any signs of life and is considered dead. BEVO-2 (NORAD CAT ID 41314) was prematurely deployed from AGGIESAT-4 and never activated. BEVO-2 was never listed in the AMSAT KEP Distribtuion. 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Tejera <Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 6:17 PM <To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps < <All, < < < <In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed <in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? < < < <Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) < <Saguaro Astronomy Club < <www.saguaroastro.org < <Thunderbird Radio Club < <www.w7tbc.org < <623-572-0713 < <623-203-4121 (cell) < <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net < < < <_______________________________________________ <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 ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 19:08:20 -0700 From: "Rick Tejera" <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> To: <APBIDDLE(a)MAILAPS.ORG>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Message-ID: <005f01d18af2$32fa53c0$98eefb40$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Well that answers that. Thanks. Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net -----Original Message----- From: Alan [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 5:18 PM To: 'Rick Tejera'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Rick, >From the list AMSAT Keps distribution notes: The following satellites have been removed from the AMSAT KEP Distribution: AAUSat-5 (NORAD CAT ID 40948) Decayed 3-15-2016. AGGIESAT-4 (NORAD CAT ID 41313) Has not shown any signs of life and is considered dead. BEVO-2 (NORAD CAT ID 41314) was prematurely deployed from AGGIESAT-4 and never activated. BEVO-2 was never listed in the AMSAT KEP Distribtuion. 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Tejera <Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 6:17 PM <To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps < <All, < < < <In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed <in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? < < < <Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) < <Saguaro Astronomy Club < <www.saguaroastro.org < <Thunderbird Radio Club < <www.w7tbc.org < <623-572-0713 < <623-203-4121 (cell) < <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net < < < <_______________________________________________ <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 ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 03:52:19 +0000 From: "Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)" <amsat-bb(a)wd9ewk.net> To: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] WD9EWK @ Radio Society of Tucson hamfest, & other operating on 26-27 March (long) Message-ID: <CAN6TEUfe7N0CVMmRUnNUsXrJtTaM3+iK5a+OE+indgZYBcH0FA(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Hi! Last Saturday (26 March), I had an AMSAT table at the Radio Society of Tucson's annual hamfest. This year's hamfest was at a new location, at a Target store on the east end of that city. Even with the new location, there was a nice turnout. And, unlike most hamfests in Arizona, the organizers were most truthful with the hours for the hamfest - 6am (1300 UTC), which was just before sunrise, until 11am (1800 UTC) when most are leaving for lunch or to pick up with the rest of their weekends. I took advantage of this, and will go into my post-hamfest activities in a bit. I arrived in Tucson the night before the hamfest, and saw a tweet asking if anyone would be on an AO-85 pass just before 0500 UTC. I had arrived in Tucson about 90 minutes before that pass, saw a Wal-Mart store near my motel, and decided to give it a try. A nice pass, where I worked Fernando NP4JV about 60 miles south of me and Paul N8HM in Washington DC. I also copied telemetry, which I uploaded after the pass back in the motel room. A good pass, and a good way to start this rapid-fire trip to Tucson and beyond. The hamfest had a crowd showing up just after 5am (1200 UTC), including me. I had my AMSAT table ready, and my station set for the first of two AO-85 passes at 1330 UTC. I worked stations from coast to (almost) coast, using my IC-2730A FM mobile radio as the transmitter and my SDRplay SDR receiver and 8-inch Windows tablet as the receiver. As with other recent events, using an SDR receiver brings out lots of questions. For Saturday morning, this meant I missed working the 3 XW-2 satellites that were passing by after this pass. After talking about SDR, and mentioning I would use the SDRplay on the second AO-85 pass a few minutes after 1500 UTC, I had a larger crowd around for that pass. Not as many stations on as with the earlier pass, but still enough to demonstrate satellite operating and how well the SDR receiver worked with the AO-85 downlink. With the earlier ending time for the hamfest, I saw an AO-73 pass after 1630 UTC that would be another pass I wanted to work as a demonstration. Even though the Tucson morning was comfortable outside, not requiring a jacket, I left my Windows tablet outside in the sunlight. By the time of the AO-73 pass, it shut down due to overheating. Instead of using the SDRplay on another pass, I quickly brought out my second Yaesu FT-817ND to go with the FT-817ND I already had out as my transmitter on the AO-73 pass. I was able to work a few stations, and then answer the differences in operating on a linear transponder in SSB compared to an FM satellite. I worked 3 stations, almost coast to coast across the continental USA, on this AO-73 pass. With the early end to the hamfest, I was able to start driving a little earlier toward my goal for the afternoon - a point about 15 miles/25km west of the New Mexico town of Deming, on the DM52/DM62 grid boundary. On the way out there, I made two stops to work FO-29 passes. The first FO-29 pass, just after 1900 UTC, was a quick stop in the hopes of working Paul N8HM on the National Mall in Washington DC. I stopped at an exit off I-10 about 25 miles/40km southeast of Tucson, still in the same grid DM42 as the hamfest, and was able to work Paul and Clayton W5PFG on that pass. I did not stick around to work the entire pass, as I was trying to make the 200-mile/320km drive from Tucson to that spot outside of Deming in time to work some SO-50 passes starting in the mid-afternoon. Just after crossing the Arizona/New Mexico state line, a few minutes before 2100 UTC, was another FO-29 pass. I stopped at a place I have operated from in the past, the small "town" of Road Forks, about 5 miles/8km east of the state line. Road Forks is pretty much what the name implies - a fork in the road for the old US-80, which ran through this part of the country before the interstate highways were built. I parked at an old truck stop, and worked a few stations from here. Road Forks is in grid DM52, just over 60 miles/100km west of the DM52/DM62 grid boundary, so I still had to do more driving to reach the grid boundary. I made it to the DM52/DM62 grid boundary in a little less than an hour's drive from Road Forks, and spent a few minutes getting situated to take the obligatory photos to document my location on the grid boundary. Along with photos I tweeted, my TH-D72A HT was able to transmit my location to the APRS network in this part of the country showing where I parked. In doing this, I did not have a chance to work an AO-7 pass that started just after 2200 UTC, but was definitely able to work an SO-50 pass starting around 2222 UTC. In fact, I was able to wake up SO-50 very early in the pass, as I was in a location where the nearest hills and mountains were very far in the distance. In the next 10 minutes, I worked 13 stations from coast to coast in the continental USA, and Dani TG9AMD in Guatemala City. A mostly good pass, with my activity along with Dave KG5CCI and Clayton W5PFG also working portable (KG5CCI in EM24/Oklahoma, W5PFG in EM02/Texas). With a heavy wind blowing across the desert, and not wanting to be out in the southwestern New Mexico desert after dark, I decided to only work one other pass, a western SO-50 pass just after 0000 UTC. But before that pass, I saw a tractor-trailer come off the I-10 freeway with its trailer heavily damaged. The center of the trailer looked like something heavy dropped on top of it, collapsing the trailer's roof. I also saw an interesting car chase speed by on the I-10, with 3 New Mexico state troopers chasing a Fiat westbound - and I'd see those troopers, and a couple of others, with that car later on when I started driving back to Arizona. The later SO-50 pass started around 0004 UTC, 6.04pm local time in New Mexico. Although I only worked stations as far east as Arkansas and Tennessee, I was able to work a total of 12 stations on this pass. Mostly stations along the west coast and west of the Rockies. It was nice to hand out contacts with these stations, since almost nobody gets on the birds from these two grids any more unless someone travels to or through them. After this SO-50 pass, I started my drive back home - a drive of over 250 miles/400km. After passing by the spot where that car chase ended a few miles west of the DM52/DM62 grid boundary (the Fiat looked like it spun out into the median, where the state troopers surrounded it), I kept going west on I-10 about 150 miles/250km until I reached the small Arizona town of Benson. This town, about 40 miles/65km southeast of Tucson, was a good place for me to get a late dinner, fuel for my car, and there were two more passes I wanted to work to wrap up my operating on this trip. Benson is on the north edge of grid DM41, and I saw I could work both AO-73 and AO-85 in the span of about 25 minutes around 0330 UTC from this spot. The AO-73 pass was quieter than I expected, but I worked 3 stations - Nick KE8AKW in Ohio, Hector W5CBF in Louisiana, and Brent VE5SWL in Saskatchewan who had tweeted he would be on this pass. AO-85 came by a few minutes after the AO-73 pass, and I added two more stations to the log (Jerry N0JY in Texas, Frank K6FW in California). With this, and that late dinner I needed, I went back on the I-10 to finish my drive. Benson was almost exactly the halfway point between the DM52/DM62 grid boundary and home, and the last 150 miles/250km went by in about 2 hours. Speed limits on the rural parts of I-10 in Arizona and New Mexico are 75mph or 120 km/h, in case anyone was concerned that I tried to set new land speed records for my driving on I-10. :-) Thanks to everyone who called and worked WD9EWK during the passes I worked from the hamfest! I do this on a regular basis, and many of you already give more than just a call sign and grid locator - your city/town and state, a brief rundown on your station, etc. which the crowd is listening to and appreciates hearing. All of my QSOs from this trip to southern Arizona and over to New Mexico are in Logbook of the World from 4 different grid locators (DM41, DM42, DM52, DM62), and I am happy to send QSL cards to anyone interested in a confirmation of a QSO from this trip. Please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. If you're in my log, I will be happy to send you a card. No need to first send me a card or SASE to get my card from this trip. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 10:47:51 +0000 (UTC) From: shakeel -ur-rehman <shakeelj2k(a)yahoo.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Transceiver with UHF/VHF and S-Band or upto 3GHz support Message-ID: <190028395.193239.1459421271969.JavaMail.yahoo(a)mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 We are in process of development of Student Satellite Ground station for amateur satellite. we need to select rotor and antenna s for amateur satellite ground station. We Currently Have ICOM 9100 but this transceiver doenot support High speed data download e.g 64Kbps or more. Can Any one please advice another module /transciver which can add s-band support to ICOM 9100. or what other transceivers available in market which can provide us up 3 GHz frequency band reception. Thanks and Regards Shakeel ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 06:47:06 -0500 From: Alan <wa4sca(a)gmail.com> To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Transceiver with UHF/VHF and S-Band or upto 3GHz support Message-ID: <000e01d18b43$0d14c630$273e5290$(a)GMAIL.COM> Shakeel, Just curios, which university are you with? 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of shakeel -ur-rehman via <AMSAT-BB <Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 5:48 AM <To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <Subject: [amsat-bb] Transceiver with UHF/VHF and S-Band or upto 3GHz support < < We are in process of development of Student Satellite Ground station for amateur satellite. we need to <select rotor and <antenna s for amateur satellite ground station. We Currently Have ICOM 9100 but this transceiver <doenot support High speed data download e.g 64Kbps or more. < <Can Any one please advice another module /transciver which can add s-band support to ICOM 9100. < <or what other transceivers available in market which can provide us up 3 GHz frequency band <reception. < < <Thanks and Regards < <Shakeel <_______________________________________________ <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 ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 09:41:39 -0500 From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm(a)comcast.net> To: "'AMSAT BB'" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Ham Talk Live Webcast Tonight - ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO Message-ID: <000f01d18b5b$6fb51c00$4f1f5400$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Reposting from QRZ.com: Ham Talk Live! Episode #7 - ARISS with Rosalie White, K1STO - Thursday at 9pm ET Coming up this week on Ham Talk Live!, Rosalie White, K1STO will be here to talk about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program sponsored by ARRL, AMSAT, and NASA! We will have a look back at the start of the program, the 1000th QSO that was just completed, and the future of the program. We will feature some messages from the ISS, and tell you about a way you can help! Join us Thursday night at 9 pm Eastern time on hamtalklive.com, and call in with your questions! If you can't listen live, you can hear the replay on our web site. Or, you can find us on Spreaker, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, YouTube, SoundCloud, or TuneIn. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 10:09:07 -0500 From: "Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" <kevin(a)eaglecreekobservatory.org> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Message-ID: <008101d18b5f$46afb7d0$d40f2770$@org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm been out of the loop on AMSAT for a long time (need to re-join). AGGISAT wouldn't happen to be Texas A&M sponsored and BEVO-2 UT? Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE EL09uf Eagle Creek Observatory http://www.eaglecreekobservatory.org I am Voltohm of Borg! Resistance is E/I, you will be attenuated! -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alan Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 7:18 PM To: 'Rick Tejera'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Rick, >From the list AMSAT Keps distribution notes: The following satellites have been removed from the AMSAT KEP Distribution: AAUSat-5 (NORAD CAT ID 40948) Decayed 3-15-2016. AGGIESAT-4 (NORAD CAT ID 41313) Has not shown any signs of life and is considered dead. BEVO-2 (NORAD CAT ID 41314) was prematurely deployed from AGGIESAT-4 and never activated. BEVO-2 was never listed in the AMSAT KEP Distribtuion. 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Tejera <Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 6:17 PM <To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps < <All, < < < <In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed <in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? < < < <Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) < <Saguaro Astronomy Club < <www.saguaroastro.org < <Thunderbird Radio Club < <www.w7tbc.org < <623-572-0713 < <623-203-4121 (cell) < <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net < < < <_______________________________________________ <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 ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ 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 member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb ------------------------------ End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 101 *****************************************

1 0

WD9EWK @ Radio Society of Tucson hamfest, & other operating on 26-27 March (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 31 Mar '16

31 Mar '16

Hi! Last Saturday (26 March), I had an AMSAT table at the Radio Society of Tucson's annual hamfest. This year's hamfest was at a new location, at a Target store on the east end of that city. Even with the new location, there was a nice turnout. And, unlike most hamfests in Arizona, the organizers were most truthful with the hours for the hamfest - 6am (1300 UTC), which was just before sunrise, until 11am (1800 UTC) when most are leaving for lunch or to pick up with the rest of their weekends. I took advantage of this, and will go into my post-hamfest activities in a bit. I arrived in Tucson the night before the hamfest, and saw a tweet asking if anyone would be on an AO-85 pass just before 0500 UTC. I had arrived in Tucson about 90 minutes before that pass, saw a Wal-Mart store near my motel, and decided to give it a try. A nice pass, where I worked Fernando NP4JV about 60 miles south of me and Paul N8HM in Washington DC. I also copied telemetry, which I uploaded after the pass back in the motel room. A good pass, and a good way to start this rapid-fire trip to Tucson and beyond. The hamfest had a crowd showing up just after 5am (1200 UTC), including me. I had my AMSAT table ready, and my station set for the first of two AO-85 passes at 1330 UTC. I worked stations from coast to (almost) coast, using my IC-2730A FM mobile radio as the transmitter and my SDRplay SDR receiver and 8-inch Windows tablet as the receiver. As with other recent events, using an SDR receiver brings out lots of questions. For Saturday morning, this meant I missed working the 3 XW-2 satellites that were passing by after this pass. After talking about SDR, and mentioning I would use the SDRplay on the second AO-85 pass a few minutes after 1500 UTC, I had a larger crowd around for that pass. Not as many stations on as with the earlier pass, but still enough to demonstrate satellite operating and how well the SDR receiver worked with the AO-85 downlink. With the earlier ending time for the hamfest, I saw an AO-73 pass after 1630 UTC that would be another pass I wanted to work as a demonstration. Even though the Tucson morning was comfortable outside, not requiring a jacket, I left my Windows tablet outside in the sunlight. By the time of the AO-73 pass, it shut down due to overheating. Instead of using the SDRplay on another pass, I quickly brought out my second Yaesu FT-817ND to go with the FT-817ND I already had out as my transmitter on the AO-73 pass. I was able to work a few stations, and then answer the differences in operating on a linear transponder in SSB compared to an FM satellite. I worked 3 stations, almost coast to coast across the continental USA, on this AO-73 pass. With the early end to the hamfest, I was able to start driving a little earlier toward my goal for the afternoon - a point about 15 miles/25km west of the New Mexico town of Deming, on the DM52/DM62 grid boundary. On the way out there, I made two stops to work FO-29 passes. The first FO-29 pass, just after 1900 UTC, was a quick stop in the hopes of working Paul N8HM on the National Mall in Washington DC. I stopped at an exit off I-10 about 25 miles/40km southeast of Tucson, still in the same grid DM42 as the hamfest, and was able to work Paul and Clayton W5PFG on that pass. I did not stick around to work the entire pass, as I was trying to make the 200-mile/320km drive from Tucson to that spot outside of Deming in time to work some SO-50 passes starting in the mid-afternoon. Just after crossing the Arizona/New Mexico state line, a few minutes before 2100 UTC, was another FO-29 pass. I stopped at a place I have operated from in the past, the small "town" of Road Forks, about 5 miles/8km east of the state line. Road Forks is pretty much what the name implies - a fork in the road for the old US-80, which ran through this part of the country before the interstate highways were built. I parked at an old truck stop, and worked a few stations from here. Road Forks is in grid DM52, just over 60 miles/100km west of the DM52/DM62 grid boundary, so I still had to do more driving to reach the grid boundary. I made it to the DM52/DM62 grid boundary in a little less than an hour's drive from Road Forks, and spent a few minutes getting situated to take the obligatory photos to document my location on the grid boundary. Along with photos I tweeted, my TH-D72A HT was able to transmit my location to the APRS network in this part of the country showing where I parked. In doing this, I did not have a chance to work an AO-7 pass that started just after 2200 UTC, but was definitely able to work an SO-50 pass starting around 2222 UTC. In fact, I was able to wake up SO-50 very early in the pass, as I was in a location where the nearest hills and mountains were very far in the distance. In the next 10 minutes, I worked 13 stations from coast to coast in the continental USA, and Dani TG9AMD in Guatemala City. A mostly good pass, with my activity along with Dave KG5CCI and Clayton W5PFG also working portable (KG5CCI in EM24/Oklahoma, W5PFG in EM02/Texas). With a heavy wind blowing across the desert, and not wanting to be out in the southwestern New Mexico desert after dark, I decided to only work one other pass, a western SO-50 pass just after 0000 UTC. But before that pass, I saw a tractor-trailer come off the I-10 freeway with its trailer heavily damaged. The center of the trailer looked like something heavy dropped on top of it, collapsing the trailer's roof. I also saw an interesting car chase speed by on the I-10, with 3 New Mexico state troopers chasing a Fiat westbound - and I'd see those troopers, and a couple of others, with that car later on when I started driving back to Arizona. The later SO-50 pass started around 0004 UTC, 6.04pm local time in New Mexico. Although I only worked stations as far east as Arkansas and Tennessee, I was able to work a total of 12 stations on this pass. Mostly stations along the west coast and west of the Rockies. It was nice to hand out contacts with these stations, since almost nobody gets on the birds from these two grids any more unless someone travels to or through them. After this SO-50 pass, I started my drive back home - a drive of over 250 miles/400km. After passing by the spot where that car chase ended a few miles west of the DM52/DM62 grid boundary (the Fiat looked like it spun out into the median, where the state troopers surrounded it), I kept going west on I-10 about 150 miles/250km until I reached the small Arizona town of Benson. This town, about 40 miles/65km southeast of Tucson, was a good place for me to get a late dinner, fuel for my car, and there were two more passes I wanted to work to wrap up my operating on this trip. Benson is on the north edge of grid DM41, and I saw I could work both AO-73 and AO-85 in the span of about 25 minutes around 0330 UTC from this spot. The AO-73 pass was quieter than I expected, but I worked 3 stations - Nick KE8AKW in Ohio, Hector W5CBF in Louisiana, and Brent VE5SWL in Saskatchewan who had tweeted he would be on this pass. AO-85 came by a few minutes after the AO-73 pass, and I added two more stations to the log (Jerry N0JY in Texas, Frank K6FW in California). With this, and that late dinner I needed, I went back on the I-10 to finish my drive. Benson was almost exactly the halfway point between the DM52/DM62 grid boundary and home, and the last 150 miles/250km went by in about 2 hours. Speed limits on the rural parts of I-10 in Arizona and New Mexico are 75mph or 120 km/h, in case anyone was concerned that I tried to set new land speed records for my driving on I-10. :-) Thanks to everyone who called and worked WD9EWK during the passes I worked from the hamfest! I do this on a regular basis, and many of you already give more than just a call sign and grid locator - your city/town and state, a brief rundown on your station, etc. which the crowd is listening to and appreciates hearing. All of my QSOs from this trip to southern Arizona and over to New Mexico are in Logbook of the World from 4 different grid locators (DM41, DM42, DM52, DM62), and I am happy to send QSL cards to anyone interested in a confirmation of a QSO from this trip. Please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. If you're in my log, I will be happy to send you a card. No need to first send me a card or SASE to get my card from this trip. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps
by Rick Tejera 31 Mar '16

31 Mar '16

Well that answers that. Thanks. Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net -----Original Message----- From: Alan [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 5:18 PM To: 'Rick Tejera'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps Rick, >From the list AMSAT Keps distribution notes: The following satellites have been removed from the AMSAT KEP Distribution: AAUSat-5 (NORAD CAT ID 40948) Decayed 3-15-2016. AGGIESAT-4 (NORAD CAT ID 41313) Has not shown any signs of life and is considered dead. BEVO-2 (NORAD CAT ID 41314) was prematurely deployed from AGGIESAT-4 and never activated. BEVO-2 was never listed in the AMSAT KEP Distribtuion. 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Tejera <Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 6:17 PM <To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <Subject: [amsat-bb] Aggiesat keps < <All, < < < <In noticed when updating my leps yesterday that Aggisat4 is no longer listed <in the Nasabare set. Any ideas where it went? < < < <Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) < <Saguaro Astronomy Club < <www.saguaroastro.org < <Thunderbird Radio Club < <www.w7tbc.org < <623-572-0713 < <623-203-4121 (cell) < <SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net < < < <_______________________________________________ <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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Xw-2a
by jeffory broughton 30 Mar '16

30 Mar '16

Another problem is ,a lot folks work during the day and are not around . These birds see lots of activity during the weekends.Try listening then. Jeff WB8RJY jeff broughton

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Do I need to figure in declination adjustment for my array?
by hdskullfire2 . 30 Mar '16

30 Mar '16

If using a compass for initial mechanical line up, do I have to compensate & make the required declination adjustment? Right now mine would be 13 degrees for my location in eastern Pennsylvania? Steve NS3L

2 1

Is it me?
by Rick Tejera 30 Mar '16

30 Mar '16

All, While planning upgrades to the shack, I've decided to try my hand at the linear birds again, taking myb TS-2000 outside and operating Semi portable. So far it has been a lesson in frustration. I've yet to find my downlink. Tonight I tried to get on XW-2C on the 0100UT pass which was 70 degrees from DM33. First let me describe how I set up. (I finally solved the memory storage issue I wrote about a few weeks ago). basically it's just the radio into an ELK on my equatorial tripod mount and the laptop (Still waiting for the USB-->Serial converter to get SATPC 32 talking to the radio). So I started at the center of the passband and using the doppler corrections in SAtPC, tuned the UHF uplink down to where Sat POC said it would hear at the sat and moved around bit trying to hear myself. Kept adjusting the uplink and also played with the other way Calling CQ on the uplink and moving the downlink trying to find myself.self Didn't hear jack the whole pass. I did record the pass and thought I might have heard myself, but it was toow eak to discern my call or grid, (though it did kinda sound like me). So, I guess I have two questions: 1) Is my methodology correct? if not what am I doing wrong? 2) Did anyone hear me? I'm hoping once I get the Cable and SATPC talking to the radio, it might make it easier, but I think knowing how to do this manually should be skillset i should have. Thanks in advance. Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net

6 5

XW-2A, C and F Operation
by Richard Lawn 30 Mar '16

30 Mar '16

I'm confounded by the lack of activity on these satellites which are functioning quite well. I just called and called with no takers until close to the end of the pass I thought I heard a French Canadian trying to call me but it was getting too low to my horizon. More operators should be using these birds while they are still functioning. 73 Rick, W2JAZ

5 5

Re: [amsat-bb] Is it me?
by Rick Tejera 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

It's,satellite ready. Essentially in sat mode, adjustments to the down link are match to the uplink. So if you want to operate 5kz below the center of the passband. You adjust the uplink and the downlink will track up 5kz. Once you're their you unlink them and correct gor the doppler. At least that's how it's supposed to work.... The USB to serial cable I ordered is delayed, so at least another week before I can get the laptop to talk to the radio. Rick Tejera K7TEJSaguaroAstro(a)cox.net623-203-4121 -------- Original message -------- From: Jeff Moore <tnetcenter(a)gmail.com> Date: 03/29/2016 11:33 (GMT-07:00) To: Amsat BB <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Is it me? I thought the TS-2000 had all the doppler correction built in. Why aren't you using that since your laptop isn't attached to the radio???? Jeff Moore -- KE7ACY On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 8:41 PM, Rick Tejera <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: > All, > > > > While planning upgrades to the shack, I've decided to try my hand at the > linear birds again, taking myb TS-2000 outside and operating Semi portable. > So far it has been a lesson in frustration. I've yet to find my downlink. > Tonight I tried to get on XW-2C on the 0100UT pass which was 70 degrees > from > DM33. > > > > First let me describe how I set up. (I finally solved the memory storage > issue I wrote about a few weeks ago). basically it's just the radio into an > ELK on my equatorial tripod mount and the laptop (Still waiting for the > USB-->Serial converter to get SATPC 32 talking to the radio). > > So I started at the center of the passband and using the doppler > corrections > in SAtPC, tuned the UHF uplink down to where Sat POC said it would hear at > the sat and moved around bit trying to hear myself. Kept adjusting the > uplink and also played with the other way Calling CQ on the uplink and > moving the downlink trying to find myself.self Didn't hear jack the whole > pass. > > > > I did record the pass and thought I might have heard myself, but it was > toow > eak to discern my call or grid, (though it did kinda sound like me). > > > > So, I guess I have two questions: > > > > 1) Is my methodology correct? if not what am I doing wrong? > > 2) Did anyone hear me? > > > > I'm hoping once I get the Cable and SATPC talking to the radio, it might > make it easier, but I think knowing how to do this manually should be > skillset i should have. > > > > Thanks in advance. > > > > > > Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) > > Saguaro Astronomy Club > > www.saguaroastro.org > > Thunderbird Radio Club > > www.w7tbc.org > > 623-572-0713 > > 623-203-4121 (cell) > > SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] Is it me?
by Rick Tejera 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

I'm running off battery power. Either my 12 ah agm or, if i'm not too lazy, a,110ah deep cell marine battery. Rick Tejera K7TEJSaguaroAstro(a)cox.net623-203-4121 -------- Original message -------- From: Norm n3ykf <normanlizeth(a)gmail.com> Date: 03/29/2016 05:43 (GMT-07:00) To: Rick Tejera <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> Cc: "&lt,amsat-bb(a)amsat.org&gt," <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Is it me? More from the stupid question file: What kind of power supply are you using? Is it providing enough current? I don't trust the power output indicator on a radio. Use an IC-7000 and an 857d portable. The 857d has a voltmeter that indicates B+. Keeping an eye on it before, duing and after key down gives me a feel for what the battery is producing. Could also be desense. If you've got a cavity handy and a way to make a return loss measurement (tune it), it's worth a try! My Times Technologies T-100 has this function. Present generation is 200$ on my fave-rave auction site. Find the bug, prove the bug, shoot the bug. On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 11:41 PM, Rick Tejera <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: > All, > > > > While planning upgrades to the shack, I've decided to try my hand at the > linear birds again, taking myb TS-2000 outside and operating Semi portable. > So far it has been a lesson in frustration. I've yet to find my downlink. > Tonight I tried to get on XW-2C on the 0100UT pass which was 70 degrees from > DM33. > > > > First let me describe how I set up. (I finally solved the memory storage > issue I wrote about a few weeks ago). basically it's just the radio into an > ELK on my equatorial tripod mount and the laptop (Still waiting for the > USB-->Serial converter to get SATPC 32 talking to the radio). > > So I started at the center of the passband and using the doppler corrections > in SAtPC, tuned the UHF uplink down to where Sat POC said it would hear at > the sat and moved around bit trying to hear myself. Kept adjusting the > uplink and also played with the other way Calling CQ on the uplink and > moving the downlink trying to find myself.self Didn't hear jack the whole > pass. > > > > I did record the pass and thought I might have heard myself, but it was toow > eak to discern my call or grid, (though it did kinda sound like me). > > > > So, I guess I have two questions: > > > > 1) Is my methodology correct? if not what am I doing wrong? > > 2) Did anyone hear me? > > > > I'm hoping once I get the Cable and SATPC talking to the radio, it might > make it easier, but I think knowing how to do this manually should be > skillset i should have. > > > > Thanks in advance. > > > > > > Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) > > Saguaro Astronomy Club > > www.saguaroastro.org > > Thunderbird Radio Club > > www.w7tbc.org > > 623-572-0713 > > 623-203-4121 (cell) > > SaguaroAstro(a)cox.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] Is it me?
by Rick Tejera 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Didn't think of that, will give it a go next time, hopefully later tonight. Thanks Rick Tejera K7TEJSaguaroAstro(a)cox.net623-203-4121 -------- Original message -------- From: Perry Yantis <py41(a)att.net> Date: 03/29/2016 04:54 (GMT-07:00) To: Amsat bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Is it me? Look at your display on the TS2000. Above the first digit on the freq display you should see “PRE” meaning the preamp is on. On my TS2000 setup with the preamp on I hear all sats just fine. But every now and then I notice that the “PRE” is not on and as a result I don’t hear the sats or they are very weak. I have now got into the habit of looking for the “PRE” every time I turn on the sat tracking program (MacDoppler on my Apple computer). This may be the only problem you are having and is easily fixed. Perry WB8OTH py41(a)att.net Sent from my Apple Macbook Pro _______________________________________________ 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

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] Is it me
by PA3GUO 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Hi Doppler shift depends on where you are (on earth) relative to the satellite. A radio cannot know this, also not a TS2000. This is what software like satpc32 is used for. What a TS2000 and some other radios can do is apply a fixed ratio between uplink and downlink of a transponder. Excluding doppler. Btw also excluding eg a freq shift (drift) during a pass like AO73 has. That is something also satpc32 cannot compensate for. Enjoy the challenge! Henk PA3GUO <I thought the TS-2000 had all the doppler correction built in. Why aren't you using that since your laptop isn't attached to the radio????

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-03-29 18:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-03-29 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan, direct via 8N370H The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact was successful for: Mon 2016-03-28 11:07:49 UTC 56 deg (***) National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC 34 deg Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC 26 deg **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 117 (***) Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-03-29 18:00 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 Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1038. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1003. (***) 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-03-29 18:00 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Space Security Survey - Reminder
by Brandon Shirley 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Dear AMSAT community members, This is a reminder email for my Security Survey. So far about 25 participants have completed the survey, and if you have, I am very grateful. I would ideally want about 100-200 respondents, but I have had about ~50 participants on the previous surveys. If I could get another 15-25 participants that would be great. At present I plan to close the survey next Monday. I was informed that the Pro, Con, Neutral question is difficult to take because of how Qualtrics has implemented the question and because I added definitions to the terms that take up more space. Unfortunately, I cannot change that for this survey. I have similar question types on the remaining two surveys and I have switched to a mouse hover for displaying the definitions. I will also include them in a pdf for those taking the survey on a touch based device. My apologies. I show about 16 partially complete surveys, if that is all of the survey you planned to take then that is fine, if want to finish it you can by visiting the link with the same browser, as long as you have not cleared you cookies you should be able to resume. Thanks. There is a chance to win some gift cards. Please see below for more information and the link to take the survey. The survey should only take about 10 minutes. Thanks. Please note that the link is anonymous, so you are getting this reminder even if you have already taken the survey. I would like to thank everyone that has participated thus far, I really appreciate it, I know it is an inconvenience and that everyone is really busy. The second part of the survey has background questions that will give context to your answers. Try to fill the background out the same way if you take more than one of the surveys. You can you use the link below to access the Security Survey. https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cwoPwnnqVbUG1hz Answer as many of the questions as you want and as much of each question as you want, partial surveys may still be very helpful. At the end of this survey, you will be redirected to a webpage that asks for an email address. You must enter a valid email address to be considered for survey drawings or the overall survey set drawing. We are currently on the 4th survey, Security. You have a chance at receiving a gift card for participating in this survey as well as a chance at receiving a gift card for your overall participation in the entire survey set. There will be 2 winners of $25 gift cards for each survey and 2 winners of $200 gift cards for the survey set. The surveys are as follows and will be distributed in the following order: (participate as you see fit) Core Concepts Development Preferences Open Systems Architecture and Modularity Security <========= We are here ========= Reuse, Interoperability, Portability, Code Complexity Network V/R, Brandon Shirley b.l.s(a)aggiemail.usu.edu See http://brandon.bluezone.usu.edu/Files/LOISpaceSoftwareAttitudes_Final.pdf for the Letter of Intent (LOI) that explains your role as a participant should you choose to participate. This is a legitimate request for you participation, if you have any questions about the validity of this email you may refer to the Letter of Intent, contact Brandon Shirley via email at b.l.s(a)aggiemail.usu.edu, or contact Utah State University's Internal Review Board administrator at (435) 797 - 0567 or email irb(a)usu.edu.

1 0

Is it me?
by Perry Yantis 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Look at your display on the TS2000. Above the first digit on the freq display you should see “PRE” meaning the preamp is on. On my TS2000 setup with the preamp on I hear all sats just fine. But every now and then I notice that the “PRE” is not on and as a result I don’t hear the sats or they are very weak. I have now got into the habit of looking for the “PRE” every time I turn on the sat tracking program (MacDoppler on my Apple computer). This may be the only problem you are having and is easily fixed. Perry WB8OTH py41(a)att.net Sent from my Apple Macbook Pro

1 0

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-03-29 06:30 UTC Quick list of schedu
by AJ9N＠aol.com 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2016-03-29 06:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan, direct via 8N370H The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-03-28 11:07:49 UTC 56 deg National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC 34 deg Kiilinik High School, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Jeff Williams KD5TVQ (***) Contact is go for: Wed 2016-04-06 18:02:20 UTC 55 deg (***) H.A.L. School, Lucknow, India, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN (***) Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-08 08:17:46 UTC 26 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** The next window to submit a proposal for an upcoming contact is now open. The window is open from 2016-02-15 to 2016-04-15 and would be for contacts between 2017-01-01 and 2017-06-30. Check out the ARISS website http://www.ariss.org/ or the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact for full details. **************************************************************************** ** 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. **************************************************************************** *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Ericsson 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: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 116 Francesco IKØWGF with 116 **************************************************************************** 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 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2016-03-29 06:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1037. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1002. 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, Rhode Island, 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 2016-03-19 05:30 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. 46 on orbit Tim Kopra KE5UDN Timothy Peake KG5BVI Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Yaesu G5500 Rotator
by Edward R Cole 29 Mar '16

29 Mar '16

Not currently operational for satellite but checkout my antenna arrangement: http://www.kl7uw.com/sat.htm I have a single top section of Rohn-25g tower mounted on a hinge base with the B5400 mounted just above the tower. The old set up had too much wind area and weight too high for the aluminum mast (see the bent over photo). For antenna work I just unbolt and layover the tower on its hinges using my lawn tractor holding a guy wire. New trimmed down array is with part of M2 436CP42 array (using 26 element back part of boom) and a 2M7 yagi from M2. I also have a small 2.4 GHz patch antenna not is use. I had all this mounted on the roof of our old house on a TV tripod tower (no photos). Some day I will get it all restored and figure how to utilize my K3 and KX3 for a mode-UV station. I am too involved in eme at present and running small ham business. Hoping for a Heo or Geo style satellite for the future. 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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FUNcube-1 mode
by Graham Shirville 28 Mar '16

28 Mar '16

Hi All, FUNcube-1 is now changing mode autonomously (eclipse/sunlight switching) and will do so until Friday evening. 73 Graham G3VZV

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AO-85
by Thomas Doyle 28 Mar '16

28 Mar '16

Did anyone copy the AO-85 pass over the US this morning around 1230 UTC ? W9KE Tom Doyle

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Re: [amsat-bb] Yaesu G5500 Rotator
by Michael 28 Mar '16

28 Mar '16

Thanks much for the picture although I'm still a bit confused. A lot of folks say I need the separation kit and you said I don't. I'm about to make the purchase soon and I want to get this right. I know a lot of folks say an elevation rotor is not even needed these days but I have wanted and coveted one of these rotor systems a very long time and the XYL and CFO finally authorized the funds for purchase. Thanks again for the pic and the advice. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 3/26/2016 9:35 AM, Norm n3ykf wrote: > Was out of town when this was posted. Wished to photograph it as the > installation is hard to do in reality. Nothing like torching $$$$$. > Pic of the G-5500 installation split is here: > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/n3ykf/25430099854/in/dateposted/ > > On Mon, Mar 14, 2016 at 1:46 PM, Michael <Mat_62(a)charter.net> wrote: >> I want to mount a small HF beam on a mast and rotate it using the azimuth >> portion of the G5500 to point it. Then I'd like to install sat antenna's up >> above the HF beam using the elevation rotator. Is this where using the >> "separation kit" comes into play? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head >> around the installation parameters. >> Thanks and 73, >> Michael W4HIJ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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ANS-087 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 27 Mar '16

27 Mar '16

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-087 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: * EO-79 transponder ACTIVE * Digital Communications Conference Call for Papers * Call for Papers - CSVHFS 50th Anniversary Conference * AMSAT at Scottsdale AZ and Radio Society of Tucson Hamfests * Upcoming AMSAT Events * Proposal Window for Scheduled US Contacts is Still Open * SA AMSAT Gets New Name * 40 Students Learn About Amateur Radio and Satellites * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-087.01 ANS-087 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 087.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 27, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-087.01 EO-79 transponder ACTIVE On the 25th of March 2016, the EO-79 transponder was activated for a prolonged period. The FUNcube transponder subsystem on QB50p1 (EO-79) had been provided by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL and is a similar subsystem as on FUNcube-1, but without the telemetry downlink circuitry. The current software running on EO-79 does experience occasional reboots. When these reboots happen, the transponder is automatically turned off and will have to be turned back on by a command station. The FUNcube team has selected a few command stations to do so, but be advised the transponder may be off. TLEs: AMSAT keps name: EO-79 Celestrak keps Name: QB50P1 Celestrak file: cubesat.txt NORAD # 40025 COSPAR designator 2014-033-R Frequencies: Uplink: 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB Downlink: 145.935-145.965 MHz USB EO-79 has been set to only beacon the normal AX.25 beacon every 30 seconds instead of 10 seconds. The beacon frequency is 145.815MHz and consists of AX.25 frames on BPSK. more details about the downlink can be found on the ISIS HAM page at http://isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html Just like FUNcube-1, the crystal oscillator circuits exhibit drift with temperature. This means manual tuning will probably work best. Lastly, the commanding team availability will be limited over Easter, so please report the transponder being on or off on the status page of AMSAT: http://www.amsat.org/status/ It does not appear in the table, but it does in the reporting drop- down. [ANS thanks Wouter PA3WEG AMSAT-NL and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Communications Conference Call for Papers Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 35th Annual ARRL/TAPR<http://www.tapr.org/> Digital Communications Conference (DCC) http://www.tapr.org/dcc.html, to be held September 16-18 in St Petersburg, Florida. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is July 31, 2016. The ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference is an international forum for technically minded radio amateurs to meet and present new ideas and techniques. Paper/presentation topic areas include -- but are not limited to -- software defined radio (SDR), digital voice, digital satellite communication, digital signal processing (DSP), HF digital modes, adapting IEEE 802.11 systems for Amateur Radio, Global Positioning System (GPS), Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS), Linux in Amateur Radio, AX.25 updates and Internet operability with Amateur Radio networks. Submit papers to via e-mail<mailto:[email protected]> or via post to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Papers will be published exactly as submitted, and authors will retain all rights. [ANS thanks Steve WBIMY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Papers - CSVHFS 50th Anniversary Conference The Central States VHF Society is soliciting papers, presentations, and Poster displays for the 50th Annual CSVHFS Conference to be held in Rochester, Minnesota on 28 - 31 July, 2016. Papers, presentations, and Posters on all aspects of weak-signal VHF and above amateur radio are requested. You do not need to attend the conference, nor present your paper, to have it published in the Proceedings. Posters will be displayed during the two days of the Conference. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): * Antennas, including Modeling/Design, Arrays, and Control * Construction of equipment, such as Transmitters, Receivers, and Transverters * RF amplifiers (power amps), including Single-band and Multiband Vacuum Tube and solidstate * Pre-amplifiers (low noise) * Propagation, including Ducting, Sporadic E, and Meteor Scatter, etc. * Test Equipment, including Homebrew, Using, and making measurements * Regulatory topics * Operating, including Contesting, Roving, and DXpeditions * EME * Digital Signal Processing (DSP) * Software-defined Radio (SDR) * Digitial Modes, such as WSJT, JT65, etc. Generally, topics not related to weak signal VHF, such as FM Repeaters and packet radio, are not accepted for presentation or publication. However, there are always exceptions. Please contact either the Technical Program Chairman, or the Proceedings Chairman, at the the e-mail addresses below. DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSIONS: For the Proceedings: SUNDAY, 22 MAY 2016 For Presentations to be delivered at the conference: TUESDAY, 5 JULY 2016 For Posters to be displayed at the conference: THURSDAY, 29 JULY 2016. Further information is available at the CSVHFS web site (www.csvhfs.org), "The 2016 Conference," "Guidance for Proceedings Authors," "Guidance for Presenters," "Guidance for Table-top/Poster Displays." CONTACTS: (Note: (replace '(at)' with the @-sign to use the e-mail addresses) Technical Program Chairman: Barry Malowanchuk, ve4ma (at) shaw.ca Proceedings Chairman: Glen Overby, kc0iyt (at) arrl.net [ANS thanks Donn Baker, WA2VOI for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Scottsdale AZ and Radio Society of Tucson Hamfests Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) staffed a table at the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club's "Springfest" hamfest, held in a church parking lot Saturday, 19 March). This hamfest is one of the 3 major hamfests for the Phoenix area in the non-summer season, and the good weather helped to bring the crowds out. Lots of buyers and sellers, and lots of interest in AMSAT and amateur satellites. With the launches of AO-85 and the 9 Chinese amateur satellites in the past 6 months, many hams are taking a closer look at this part of the hobby. For some, the recent launches and projects currently in the pipeline are bringing some back to the satellites. Along with talking about satellites, many copies of AMSAT's "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" flew off my AMSAT table. Demonstrations 6am (1300 UTC) and 11am (1800 UTC), had nice crowds. Patrick reports "It was nice to have AO-85 available during the morning, as SO-50 was not passing by during the morning. I also had 4 other satellites that were used for demonstrations - AO-73, XW-2A, XW- 2C, and XW-2F. The three XW-2 satellites were passing by in the first couple of hours, and AO-73 and AO-85 came by later in the morning. For all of these passes, I used my SDRplay SDR receiver for the downlinks, connected to an 8-inch Windows10 tablet and HDSDR software running on the tablet. As I have seen at other recent events, using an SDR receiver makes for more conversations - and not just in the context of working satellites. With all of these satellites employing a 70cm uplink and 2m downlink, I didn't have to worry so much about the sunlight making the tablet's LCD panel unreadable. Once I set my downlink frequency on the tablet, and for AO-85 activate AFC in HDSDR to track the downlink, I only had to worry about using the wheel on a Bluetooth mouse for fine-tuning. Despite some QRM in the area of the hamfest site, northeast of a nearby airport, the SDRplay did a decent job hearing all of these downlinks. For AO-73 and AO-85, I was able to play back the RF recordings I made with HDSDR later at home, so I could upload telemetry to each satellite's telemetry server from those passes. By the way, HDSDR's recordings do a much better job picking up AO-73 telemetry than I ever saw when I used the FUNcube Dashboard to directly receive the telemetry and then upload the data to the FUNcube data warehouse server. Same thing for copying AO-85 telemetry - HDSDR's RF recordings do better for capturing the data than I saw when using the FoxTelem software to directly control my FUNcube Dongle Pro+." For those who worked WD9EWK during those demonstrations, Patrick thanks you! The demonstrations make a positive impression on this part of the hobby for the crowds. His mockup of the AO-85 satellite - a 4-inch cube of wood, with two whips representing the antennas coming out of two sides, also helped to reinforce that small satellites can do more than "beep" in orbit. AO-73 and AO-85, in particular, are great examples of what we can do with small satellites. Patrick's contacts from these demonstartions were uploaded to his log to Logbook of the World. He will be happy to send QSL cards to anyone who would like one for QSOs during the hamfest (just e-mail Patrick with the QSO details - no need to send him a card or self-addressed stamped envelope). Patrick will have an AMSAT table at the Radio Society of Tucson's annual hamfest on Saturday morning, 26 March 2016. The hamfest will be at the Target store on Old Spanish Trail, near the intersection of 22nd Street and Harrison, in Tucson AZ. The hamfest is scheduled to run from 6am to 11am (1300 to 1800 UTC). More information about the hamfest is available at the club's web site at: http://www.k7rst.org/ Afterwards he plans on making a long drive east to a point along I- 10 on the DM52xf/DM62af grid boundary, west of Deming in New Mexico. He hopes to work a few passes from there in the mid- to late- afternoon, and possibly into the evening. If he is not at the grid boundary in time for FO-29 and/or AO-7 passes, he may stop to work those passes wherever he might be - likely somewhere in grid DM52, in either Arizona or New Mexico. He definitely plans on being at this grid boundary in time for SO-50 passes starting just after 2200 UTC Saturday afternoon. Weather and law enforcement permitting (this area is near the USA/Mexico border), He may try to stick around into the early evening before making the 300-mile/500km drive home from that area. While on the road, his location should be visible via APRS. There is good APRS coverage in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. He will use WD9EWK-9 as his call sign for APRS, which should show up online at (among other sites): http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 He will use my @WD9EWK Twitter feed to post updates during the afternoon and early. For those who don't use Twitter he can be followed using a web browser: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Contacts will be uploaded to his log to Logbook of the World, and will ensure QSOs from the grid boundary carry both grids. If you would like a QSL card for a QSO with WD9EWK, please e-mail Patrick directly with the QSO details. If you're in the log, he will be happy to mail you a card without you having to send him a QSL card or SASE. [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming AMSAT Events 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). + Saturday, 26 March 2016 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ + Friday through Sunday, 29 April-1 May 2016, ARRL Nevada State Convention in Las Vegas NV + Saturday, 7 May 2016 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ + Saturday, 14 May 2016 – Matanuska Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in Wasilla AK + Friday through Sunday, 20, 21, 22 May 2016 - AMSAT at Dayton Hamvention. There will be the usual activities including a booth in the Ball Arena, demonstrations from an area outside the Ball Arena, and a forum on Saturday (21 May). We will also have a number of both formal and informal social activities including the popular get-together at Tickets Thursday evening, and the TAPR/AMSAT banquet Friday night at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center. + Saturday, 4 June 2016 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Proposal Window for Scheduled US Contacts is Still Open Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 – April 15, 2016 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, 2017 and June 30, 2017. 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, 2016. 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 and educators 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 contact dates and times. 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. 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. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SA AMSAT Gets New Name SA AMSAT has changed the SA in its name around and will now be known as AMSAT SA. The amateur radio satellite group made the decision to line up its name with the organisation's web address. It was confusing having the name and web address different. It now also follows the international trend of other AMSAT organisations. AMSAT SA has also been registered as a non-profit company and is in the process of applying for tax exemption status with SARS. Membership conditions of the organisation remain the same. To get more information visit the www.amsatsa.org.za or down load a free copy of the March 2016 Ezine available from Monday 28 March 2016 [ANS thanks the South African Radio League (SARL) News for Sunday 27 March 2016 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 Students Learn About Amateur Radio and Satellites On Wednesday last week 40 leaners from schools around Pretoria attended a morning workshop about amateur radio and satellites. The workshop was part of the Innovation Hub holiday programme during which grade 10 and 11 leaners are exposed to various work and science situations. AMSAT SA was invited to talk about space related activities. The workshop was presented by Nico van Rensburg ZS6QL and Hans van de Groenendaal ZS6AKV. The workshop started with a talk about amateur radio illustrated by short video clips. During practical demonstrations the learners were shown how a transponder works, how satellites orbit around the world and how antennas are used to track satellites including using smartphone applications. [ANS thanks the South African Radio League (SARL) News for Sunday 27 March 2016 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Booker T. Washington Senior High, Miami, Florida, USA and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-03-14 15:48 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via W4SVI. ARISS Mentors were Steve W1HQL and Ryan W4NTR. + A Successful contact was made between Walter Jackson Elementary, Decatur, Alabama, USA and Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2016-03-18 13:53 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via N8DEU. ARISS Mentor was John K4SQC Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan, direct via 8N370H The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra KE5UDN Contact is a go for: Mon 2016-03-28 11:07:49 UTC 56 deg National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-04-01 18:34:03 UTC [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over International Space Station Panoramic Tour This 360° panorama allows you to explore the International Space Station’s third module, Zvezda. Launched on 12 July 2000, the Russian module supplies life support for the Station and crewquarters. All five of Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicles docked with the module. The images to create this view were taken by ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti during her Futura mission in 2015; the cosmonaut in the picture is Gennady Padalka. http://tinyurl.com/ANS087-Zvezda [ANS thanks the European Space Agency 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 (former KC8YLD) kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 27 Mar '16

27 Mar '16

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Hirano Junior High School, Kobe, Japan on 28 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:07 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and 8N370H. The contact should be audible over Japan 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. The Hirano Junior High School which is located in the western port of Kobe-city has 564 students now. It was founded in 1947, and was transferred to Kasugadai of the Seishin new town at the present in 1983. We can see the Awaji Island and Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge from our school. Mr. Genki Roderick Dean who graduated from this school took part in the London Olympic Games in 2012. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What is the distance between the earth and ISS? 2. What is the most memorable thing you saw from the ISS? 3. Is it true that you are doing research to find new medicines for disease at the ISS? 4. What is the mental aptitude required to stay in space for 6 months? 5. Is the ISS big or small compared to where you live? 6. What sort of research are you doing in space? 7. Did you find that things were different from your expectations when you first got to the ISS? 8. What is the most amazing thing about going to space between leaving the earth and returning and how do you feel about it? 9. Have you ever experienced any dangerous things while in the ISS? 10. Have you ever been sick in the ISS because of living in space? 11. When did you think that you wanted to be an astronaut? 12. What kind of jobs do you do around the ISS? 13. What is the most amazing thing in space unrelated to earth? 14. What makes you want to become an astronaut? 15. What is the most enjoyable thing when you are in the space station? 16. What is the worst trouble you have had when you were in the space station? 17. What is the average temperature in the ISS? 18. If ordinary people could travel to space, what would you recommend that they do? 19. What did you think about space when you first got to the ISS? 20. Do the moon and stars look the same from space as they do from the earth? 21. Do you find anything more convenient than living on the earth? 22. What is the first thing you want to do when you return to the earth? 23. Did you make any mistakes in training before you flew to space? 24. What kind of things have you done so far, and what was the best thing? 25. What is the feeling of living in space every day? What do you normally think while you stay there? 26. How many nations are represented in the ISS right now? 27. What is the most important thing for you when you work? 28. How long have you stayed in the ISS? 29. Without morning noon and night, how do you maintain your body clock? 30. How do you feel when you sleep in space? 31. What is the most important thing that astronauts need to do? 32. What is the most inconvenient thing about living without 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. National Soaring Museum, Elmira, New York, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI Contact is a go for: Fri, 4-1-2016, 18:34:03 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), and the 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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FUNcube-1 transponder now continuously active
by Graham Shirville 26 Mar '16

26 Mar '16

Hi All, FC1 is now in continuous transponder mode for the holiday period. Normal autonomous operation will recommence from late MONDAY evening. As reported earlier today, the transponder payload on EO-79 has also been switched on and, so long as the on board bus voltage stays up above its safe mode setting, then this should also be active. Have a great FUN weekend and enjoy the birds. 73 Graham G3VZV

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ARRL NPOTA Activation - National Mall (DZ06) - FO-29 at 1724Z 26-Mar
by Paul Stoetzer 26 Mar '16

26 Mar '16

Good morning, Tomorrow I will activate the National Mall (DZ06) on the FO-29 pass at 1724Z tomorrow. Unfortunately I can't stay for more than the one pass, but will return several times in the future. The National Mall is about three quarters of a mile north of my apartment, so I will walk there with my normal satellite gear (2 Yaesu FT-817s and a Microset VUR-30 amplifier) and Elk antenna. Since I am carrying everything on me, not setting anything up, and have a relatively discrete location in mind, I do not anticipate any problem with the authorities, but one can never tell! Check my Twitter @PRStoetzer for real time updates. I will be around 435.865 MHz +/- Doppler. I will try to activate as many of the feasible NPOTA sites in the District of Columbia as possible on satellite during the rest of the year. 73, Paul, N8HM

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EO-79 transponder ACTIVE
by Wouter Weggelaar 26 Mar '16

26 Mar '16

Hi All, Today, 25th of March 2016, the EO-79 transponder has been turned on for a prolonged period. The FUNcube transponder subsystem on QB50p1 (EO-79) had been provided by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL and is a similar subsystem as on FUNcube-1, but without the telemetry downlink circuitry. The current software running on EO-79 does experience occasional reboots. When these reboots happen, the transponder is automatically turned off and will have to be turned back on by a command station. The FUNcube team has selected a few command stations to do so, but be advised the transponder may be off. TLEs: AMSAT keps name: EO-79 Celestrak keps Name: QB50P1 Celestrak file: cubesat.txt NORAD # 40025 COSPAR designator 2014-033-R Frequencies: Uplink: 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB Downlink: 145.935-145.965 MHz USB EO-79 has been set to only beacon the normal AX.25 beacon every 30 seconds instead of 10 seconds. The beacon frequency is 145.815MHz and consists of AX.25 frames on BPSK. more details about the downlink can be found on the ISIS HAM page at http://isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html Just like FUNcube-1, the crystal oscillator circuits exhibit drift with temperature. This means manual tuning will probably work best. Lastly, the commanding team availability will be limited over Easter, so please report the transponder being on or off on the status page of AMSAT: http://www.amsat.org/status/ It does not appear in the table, but it does in the reporting drop-down. 73 and have FUN Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG AMSAT-NL AMSAT-UK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Magazines
by Clint Bradford 26 Mar '16

26 Mar '16

I will pay you to ship them to your local public library - if they all accept them! Clint K6LCS 1-909-999-SATS

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Walter Jackson Elementary School - ARISS contact
by Tim N8DEU 25 Mar '16

25 Mar '16

Walter Jackson Elementary School in Decatur, Alabama had a successful ARISS radio contact this past Friday morning. All 20 students received an answer to their questions with full quieting reception for 90-95% of the pass. Many thanks to the ARISS team for making these contacts a reality in Amateur Radio and in the development of the minds of young students growing to be our future leaders. Here is a link to a short article with some video of the event by our local newspaper: http://www.decaturdaily.com/news/local/walter-jackson-students-speak-to-spa… We are looking for some video from space during the Walter Jackson Elementary School contact if there is anything with Timothy Peake. It would also be nice to find pictures or video on things he talked about like performing experiments, drawing blood, floating around the ISS, lighting on Earth, the aurora viewed from ISS, and the exterior view of the ISS with Earth in background. This would be really meaningful in assembling a video for those students and the school. If you know where any of these things can be found or obtained we would like to hear from you. We had members from several groups participating in the event from AMSAT, the Decatur Amateur Radio Club, the Huntsville Amateur Radio Club, and the Marshall Space Flight Center Amateur Radio Club. At the Huntsville ARC club meeting on Friday night, one of the members played an 8 minute recording captured on the downlink from the ISS using only an HT and a hand held beam antenna. The signal quality was very good on this simple setup demonstrating what can be accomplished. This has really turned out to be a fantastic event to promote interest in Amateur Radio Satellite Communications. Several hams throughout the state have made inquiries about our equipment setup. What a great way to promote interest in Amateur Radio and satellite communications. 73's, Tim - N8DEU

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