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Re: [amsat-bb] Cygnus Ready For Launch
by M5AKA 03 Dec '15

03 Dec '15

This launch is carrying two Astro Pi's to the ISS which may be used to provide a video source for the HamTV system. http://amsat-uk.org/2015/10/30/tim-peake-kg5bvi-iss-astro-pis/ As well as @astro_pi the Cygnus also carries the first Elementary School satellite STMsat 437.8 MHz, and other CubeSats such as CADRE intended for later deployment from ISS. IARU info on STMsat http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=460 73 Trevor M5AKA -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 2/12/15, B J <va6bmj(a)gmail.com> wrote: Subject: [amsat-bb] Cygnus Ready For Launch To: "amsat-bb" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Date: Wednesday, 2 December, 2015, 22:50 http://spacenews.com/cygnus-poised-for-atlas-launch-to-iss/ 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL _______________________________________________ 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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Lisa Pahfinder
by D. Craig Fox 03 Dec '15

03 Dec '15

Awesome liftoff

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FAIL
by Mark Lunday 03 Dec '15

03 Dec '15

I heard N8HM very strong on the pass at 0140 UTC. Still not hearing my CW signal. I tried all over the passband. Will try again on the next pass Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com

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Cygnus Ready For Launch
by B J 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

http://spacenews.com/cygnus-poised-for-atlas-launch-to-iss/ 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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NASA Spaceport E-Magazine
by JoAnne Maenpaa 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

Rocket scientists may enjoy the free on-line E-Magazine called Spaceport from NASA: http://issuu.com/spaceportmagazine/docs/spaceport_magazine_____december_201/ 1?e=11448909/31705259 and since that long URL will get mangled by the e-mail here is a tiny URL version for your reading convenience: http://tinyurl.com/qhp7bye -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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HM58 today
by pedro＠dutrasousa.name 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

Hi, CU7BC at HM58qm and myself (HM77fr) will be active today on the following passes: AO-7B 18:32 - 18:50 UTC XW-2F 20:27 - 20:36 UTC 73 de Pedro CU2ZG HM77fr -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Vega Launch Re-Scheduled for This Evening (USA time)
by JoAnne Maenpaa 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

The Vega rocket has been cleared for launch overnight with Europe's LISA Pathfinder technology demo mission, a probe heading to a station a million miles from Earth to test systems for a future gravitational wave observatory. Liftoff from French Guiana is set for 0404 GMT Thursday (11:04 p.m. EST Wednesday). There are no amateur payloads on this launch; enjoy the rocket ... Video will be webstreamed on www.arianespace.tv starting 20 minutes prior to launch. Spaceflightnow.com says they'll also cover the launch at: http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/12/02/vv06-mission-status-center/ and they also provide blog updates during the preparations for launch. Have fun ... -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden on 04 Dec. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:15 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. SPECIAL NOTE: If Cygnus fails to launch on 2015-12-03, then the contact cannot be supported for the date and time noted in this release and will need to be rescheduled for next year. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and LU1CGB. The contact should be audible over portions of Argentina 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. School Information: Dragonskolan is one of the biggest upper secondary schools in Sweden and is located in central Umeå. Currently hosting 1820 students aged 16-19 and 300 staff; it has recently been renovated to meet modern needs in a stimulating learning environment. At Dragonskolan, we have an ethos where we believe we can offer our students three meaningful and enjoyable years. Our core values are "open and bright", referring not only to the physical surroundings but also to the social climate. Dragonskolan is the biggest meeting place for young people in Umeå, A wide range of 3 year programs, college preparatory and vocational, are offered here, ranging from natural science to humanities and technological science. At the core of the school is the Dragonskolan Technology Center where everything is taught from industrial welding technology to electronics, automation, computer science, CAD and much more. With its close ties to the industry, the school keeps in pace with the latest industrial technology ensuring the students get the best education available within their chosen field. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How would you describe the smell in space? 2. Is going to space what you expected it to be? 3. How dark is it dark in space? 4. Have you ever fantasized about seeing an alien life form? 5. Do you have access to internet and social media on the space station? 6. What is the first thing you want to do when you get back home? 7. What is the annual salary as an astronaut? 8. When are humans expected to go to Mars? 9. How does one feel in size aboard the space station? 10. If a person is in the middle of a room in aboard the space station without reaching the walls. How would that person move from that position without throwing something in the opposite direction? 11. Where does the oxygen come from? 12. How has your vision of life changed from being in space? 13. Which time is correct in space? 14. How do you take a shower in low gravity? 15. Do you ever get tired of each other on the space station? 16. Don't you miss your family and friends? 17. Do you think people get another view on our problems on earth after a trip to space? 18. What does it feel like to sleep in space? 19. Was it worth all the training to go to space? 20. What is the best experience you have had so far going to space? 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. Ingushetia, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Volkov RU3DIS Contact is a go for: Sat, 05Dec2015, 16:25 UTC 2. Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski Junior High School, Swietajno, Poland, telebridge via LU1CGB The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Tue, 08Dec2015, 08:19 UTC ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available at ariss.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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Using Cheap radios for Sats ( and APRS)
by Robert Bruninga 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

http://aprs.org/ani.html With the development of QIKCOM-2 APRS DTMF satellite*, we have found a way to encode ANY ham call 3 character suffix into the 5 digit ANI codes of all those cheap radios. And hence, we can use the ANI to place anyone on the APRS map locally and globally. And knowing who is on the air when, where and on what frequency is what APRS brings to Ham radio. This project is part of the overall APRStt, TouchTone project to allow anyone to use any radio for APRS contact and visibility. Especially the cheap Chinese radios. Here is how it works: . User makes VOICE ID and his ANI goes out when he releases PTT . Other repeater users do not hear the DTMF ANI because repeater output is typically muted. . APRS-ANI engine ($50 gizmo) at the repeater receiver decodes the ANI . That repeater APRS-ANI engine has a list of all known callsigns (and their suffix) in that area . APRS-ANI engine responds with SPOKEN CALLSIGN (if needed) for feedback . APRS-ANI engine sends out APRS packet on national APRS channel as follows: . It is from your full call like any other APRS packet . It shows WHEN you keyed the radio (real time) and were on the air . It includes the FREQUENCY and PL of the repeater . It includes any ID or BRAG text associated with that repeater . Your POSITION shows on every APRS radio locally and every map in the world in a table near the repeater And THAT is what APRS is all about. Facilitating human-to-human contact by providing situational awareness of everything going on in Ham radio in the area. What we need: We already have all the pieces needed to do this. We just need to get organized to do it more efficiently. I have working models of the APRS-ANI engine using just the DTMF chip and a Byonics TinyTrack4. But here are some things that can help speed this along: . Programming your ANI radio: Daniel KB3MUN has a good summary on these radios. http://aprs.org/aprstt/DTMF-China.html . CALL/Suffix lists: Need a Smart parser that can take ANY club roster in ANY format and output a simple list of nothing but callsigns in .TXT format for the local ANI engine to use for suffix correlation to full calls. . Tweaking DTMF decoders (such as Byonics) to follow the high speed ANI codes (hardware solution) . All repeater developers to add this to their Controllers! (software solution) And this is just the beginning of what we can do with DTMF and APRS. See http://aprs.org/aprstt.html Bob, WB4APR * http://aprs.org/qikcom-2.html

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A refresher needed...
by Mark Lunday 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

1. Based upon the AMSAT page, I conclude the following birds are active: ISS (FM), LILACSAT-2, AO-73, AO-85, SO-50, NO-44, NO-84, FO-29, XW-2F, AO-07. 2. At the top of the AMSAT satellite status page, there is a blank line for satellite status, with reports. Is this a new satellite that is not yet turned over to operations? 3. Which of the following satellites will work when NOT illuminated? I remember AO-7 and NO-44 won't, and AO-73 will, but not sure about SO-50, FO-29, NO-84, AO-85, XW-2F. 4. What is the best way to tell if a satellite is illuminated? Could be before sunrise at my QTH if the bird is east, or after my sunset if the bird is west. How can I tell? 5. I need more info on APRS. I set it up to relay my position from my car on 144.39 many years ago, but Bob Bruninga has often said APRS capable of so much more. a. Is satellite APRS helpful just for isolated locations, for relaying information? b. How long does the satellite transmit the information packet (what is the lifetime of the packet?) c. What if the amount of packets to be transmitted by the satellite takes longer than the visibility of the satellite at my QTH? I won't hear certain data, right? d. What is everyone else using satellite APRS for? Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com

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AO73, unsuccessful loop test
by Mark Lunday 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

I can hear a WA2, but not my own CW signal on the downlink. Using an Elk for uplink. IC910H. Power at 50%, azimuth only 20 degrees from center of the Elk. Just to confirm, uplink center band is 435.140, downlink center band is 145.960. Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com

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Satellite Breakup and some debris?)
by Robert Bruninga 02 Dec '15

02 Dec '15

Just got this. -------- On 25 November 2015 at approximately 0816z, [multiple objects] were detected in the vicinity of NOAA 16 (#26536), which may indicate a breakup of the non-operational satellite. As of 1830z, 19 associated objects have been cataloged... More pieces may be cataloged as analysis continues... -------- Just a reminder how messy it is up there. Bob, WB4APR

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ARISS Audio for Friday Conatct
by John Spasojevich 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

Please join us in listening to the ISS contact with participants at *Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden* on Friday December 4. AOS is anticipated at 10:15 UTC The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and LU1CGB in Argentina. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. NOTE: Contact is dependent on outcome of the Cygnus launch scheduled for Thursday December 3. If Launch is successful this contact is a go. If the launch fails this contact will be rescheduled for another date due to time constraints. Dragonskolan is one of the biggest upper secondary schools in Sweden and is located in central Umeå. Currently hosting 1820 students aged 16-19 and 300 staff; it has recently been renovated to meet modern needs in a stimulating learning environment. Audio from this contact will be fed into the: EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) Server 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. ** 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 Team

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HM58 on AO-73 at 22:04
by Pedro Sousa 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

Hi all, For those in Europe, on AO-73 pass starting today at 22:04 UTC, CU7BC in HM58qm will be active. I'm "training" him on the job, but go ahead and give him a call if you hear us chatting. 73 de Pedro CU2ZG HM77fr --- Este e-mail foi verificado em termos de vírus pelo software antivírus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Recap on my radio tests with AO-85...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

Hi! Since AO-85 was launched in October, I have been testing different HTs to see which ones can work this satellite full-duplex and writing about those tests here on the AMSAT-BB list. Other than the ISS U/V cross-band repeater, it has been a long time since we have had a U/V FM satellite (going back to SO-35 in 1999-2001). To make it easier to reference my posts, I'm listing the links to them in the AMSAT-BB archive here... For the Wouxun KG-UV9D, I posted my first comments about using that on AO-85 early on the Saturday (10 October) following the launch: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-October/055421.html After additional testing, I wrote more about this radio last week (Monday, 23 November): http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-November/056189.html I first wrote about the Wouxun KG-UV8D with AO-85 on the Sunday (11 October) following the launch: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-October/055462.html and after additional tests, a post late last Saturday (28 November) evening: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-November/056254.html I briefly wrote about the AnyTone TERMN-8R just before the AMSAT Symposium, on 12 October: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-October/055493.html and wrote more about it after testing it last Thursday (26 November) evening: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-November/056232.html I tried a Puxing PX-UV973 last Friday (27 November), and wrote a report about it that morning: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-November/056238.html Not that it really needed to be tested against AO-85, I tried my Kenwood TH-D72A HT the same Friday I had tried the PX-UV973. I posted a report about it late that evening: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-November/056245.html None of these reports include the occasions I varied the transmit power from my Icom IC-2820H 2m/70cm FM mobile radio among its 3 levels (5, 15, and 50W) when working AO-85. With all of these radios, my original comments about the KG-UV9D and being able to work AO-85 when the satellite was above 20 degrees elevation appear to be true for all of these radios when used at the 5-watt transmit power level. I still plan on finding my IC-W32A and DJ-G7T to try with this satellite, as well as trying two-radio combinations. As I try other radios, I'll post my findings here. If anyone else is trying different radios with AO-85, especially HTs (or other radios with low transmitter power levels), please post your findings to this list. The AMSAT-BB archives are open to the public, and searchable via search engines. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Vega Launch Web Streaming
by JoAnne Maenpaa 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

Here is another opportunity to view a web streamed launch video on the evening of December 1 USA time. The European Space Agency's LISA Pathfinder technology demonstrator will be launched by Arianespace on a Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch is planned for 04:15:00, December 2 UTC. This will be the evening of December 1 USA time. Video coverage begins 20 minutes prior to launch at http://www.arianespace.tv/ then click the 'Follow next launch' link. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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First contact on LilacSat-2
by Bill Dillon 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

I was thrilled to make my first contact (with W4CLJ) on the 00:35 z LilacSat-2 pass this evening. Lots of odd tones, and it sounded at times that someone was keying without speaking, but I still was able to get through. I used an HT and Arrow 2 antenna. Unlike AO-85, there wasn't much activity on the sat, I heard just one other station (NP4?? DM41), but couldn't make contact. Good ol' SO-50 is still the easiest of the easy-sats for me to work with my simple gear. --Bill, KG5FQX

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BIas-T Power Supply
by Tony 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

All: I'll be installing new SFH-Elektronik preamps along with Bias-T's to run DC along the coax. I'd like to feed each preamp with one power supply, but I was wondering if this may cause RFI issues? The power supply for the preamps will be separate from the rigs power supply. Thanks 73, Tony

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AO-73, where is everyone?
by Mark Lunday 01 Dec '15

01 Dec '15

0240 pass, I heard W8AB calling CQ on SSB with no replies, and someone sending dits on CW. I have not listened for the birds in about 6 years. Back when I was active, AO-51 and AO-27 were packed to the gills and no one used the linear transponders much (FO-29, VO-52). I expected to hear lots of signals. Is it really that quiet? Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com

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Re" Oscar 6
by Jack Colson 29 Nov '15

29 Nov '15

I worked KH6HLK for the first KH6 to W QSO. My QTH was in Mt. Airy, MD. KH6HLK was in Barbers Point, HI 96611. I believe VE2BYG may hold that record (he and others worked the KH6 station after my initial QSO). Maybe you can check the DX. Maybe I can figure out my exact Lat/Long if you need it. 73 W3TMZ

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SO-50 12:15 UTC
by Pedro Sousa 29 Nov '15

29 Nov '15

Hi all, For those waking up early on a Sunday over the East Coast, I'll be on SO-50 around 12:15 UTC for those willing to log a FM contact to Europe. 73 de Pedro CU2ZG --- Este e-mail foi verificado em termos de vírus pelo software antivírus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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AO-85 and Wouxun KG-UV8D, full-duplex - report (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 29 Nov '15

29 Nov '15

Hi! After testing a few different HTs over the past week using some common settings, I went back to an HT I tried the first weekend we had AO-85 in orbit and gave it a try with those settings. The Wouxun KG-UV8D, which had been on the market since early 2014, was a radio that I thought showed some promise for full-duplex operation with U/V FM satellites. I tried it with the Fox-1A engineering model at the 2014 ARRL Centennial Convention and 2014 AMSAT Symposium. With some adjustments in how I used the HT, trying to simulate working a satellite in orbit, I was convinced last year that this radio would be an option for full-duplex operations with the Fox-1 series of U/V FM satellites. I held onto the KG-UV8D to try it with a U/V FM satellite, whichever one was launched and operational first. Simple question - can the KG-UV8D work AO-85 full-duplex? This was already answered last month, but I'll answer it again here in a word... Yes. This radio is slightly larger than the KG-UV9D I previously wrote about, a fatter HT when held. It has a menu system like most of the Chinese-made HTs, including the KG-UV9D which has replaced the KG-UV8D on the market. There are differences in the menus between the KG-UV8D and KG-UV9D, but I was able to use the same key settings in each VFO of the KG-UV8D: Uplink VFO: STEP (01): 2.5 SQL (02): 9 WN (08): WIDE T-CTC (16): 67.0 Downlink VFO: STEP (01): 2.5 SQL (02): 0 WN (08): NARROW It doesn't matter how each VFO is used. I prefer the upper VFO for the uplink frequency, but that is not mandatory. I plugged an audio splitter into the speaker jack, feeding audio to my Sony audio recorder and an earpiece. Using an earpiece or some sort of earphones is recommended when using a radio for full-duplex operation, to prevent receive audio from feeding back into your microphone. With HTs like the KG-UV8D using receive filtering that is sharper than what is typical in the Icom/Kenwood/Yaesu HTs, I find that using the smaller tuning steps and making adjustments on both uplink and downlink frequencies is recommended. I worked an AO-85 pass Saturday (28 November) afternoon at 2252-2306 UTC, a 67-degree pass to my west. During that 14-minute pass, half of it (just over 7 minutes) saw the satellite at or over 20 degrees elevation, which I found last month as my "magic number" when trying to work AO-85 with less transmit power - like we have with HTs. What was interesting about this pass is that I could quickly change the downlink signal from good copy to poor with a slight twist of my antenna. When I first tried transmitting to AO-85, and if I wasn't lined up with the downlink, I would hear some additional noise and - at some points - it sounded like mixing that yielded the local National Weather Service radio station in my ear. Around the midpoint of the pass, the mixing was not present, but I could tell that the downlink would quickly degrade if I didn't have the antenna lined up with the downlink. I started with 145.980 MHz as my downlink frequency, and during the pass tuned down to 145.9875 and then 145.975 MHz for the last part of the pass. These adjustments were the only times I needed to switch VFOs during the pass. Not many were on the pass, and I was able to work everyone I heard on the pass. John K8YSE/7 was on as the satellite came up from my northwest, and he was joined by a few others - Wyatt AC0RA in Iowa, Frank K4FEG in Tennessee, Ed N7EC north of Phoenix, and Ron N8RO in Texas. As I was using the KG-UV8D and Elk to work these stations, my SDRplay SDR receiver with an 8-inch Windows 10 tablet and HDSDR connected to my AMSAT-UK VHF crossed dipole was making an RF recording of the AO-85 downlink. The RF recording, along with the MP3 audio I recorded from the HT and other files, have been uploaded to my Dropbox space at http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ (look for the folder "20151129-AO85_Fox1A-DM43" and the recordings with names having the time around 2250 UTC). Even after this test of using the KG-UV8D to work AO-85, I won't change my ranking of the Chinese-made HTs I have tried with this satellite: 1. Wouxun KG-UV9D 2. AnyTone TERMN-8R 3. Wouxun KG-UV8D 4. Puxing PX-UV973 Wouxun learned from the issues with the receiver in the KG-UV8D, leading to the improvements I saw using the KG-UV9D on comparable AO-85 passes. If the receiver didn't have the extra noise and mixing taking place when the AO-85 downlink wasn't strong, this could have been tied with the AnyTone TERMN-8R for second on my list. The issues I heard with the KG-UV8D receiver, on the other hand, are not as bad as what I heard from the Puxing PX-UV973 - a small benefit, but still (in my opinion) a reason to rate the KG-UV8D above the PX-UV973. When I saw that the KG-UV8D was able to work AO-85 full-duplex last month, that vindicated my comments last year after testing it against the Fox-1A engineering model. At the same time disproved some comments I saw on the QRZ.com satellite forum from 18 months ago like: "... the '8D - like the Puxing UV973 - although are true dual-receive units, that they are not suitable for U/V nor V/U sat ops ... Considering Alinco couldn't accomplish that with a $250 HT, I wasn't really surprised that these $100 units couldn't do it." I have seen similar comments to the above in other forums, and in reference to other dual-band HTs that I have recently tested against AO-85. This ignores the fact that before AO-85, the last time we had a U/V FM satellite (excluding the ISS U/V cross-band voice repeater) was SO-35, which went silent in 2001. Unless you went rogue and used an HT on a U/V transponder, there wasn't a satellite that could be used for a true real- world test of this HT like I have done with AO-85. As for the reference to the DJ-G7T, that radio arrived on the ham market in 2009, 5 years before the KG-UV8D, and what Alinco was (or wasn't) able to do with the DJ-G7T really isn't relevant to what Wouxun did with the KG-UV8D. Even though none of the Chinese-made HTs I tested are able to work V/U FM satellites like SO-50 and LilacSat-2 full-duplex due to receiver desense, Wouxun certainly learned lessons and improved the receiver from the KG-UV8D to the KG-UV9D. After these tests, I have used 5 different HTs and an Icom IC-2820H 2m/70cm FM mobile radio to make QSOs via AO-85 in the past 7 weeks. It has been fun to try these radios out with similar settings. Having this knowledge helps to answer questions I get via e-mail, in online forums, and at events where I represent AMSAT (i.e., hamfests). After the initial disappointment that HTs would not be able to work this satellite from AOS to LOS, I think it should be clear that HTs are a viable option for working AO-85 during portions of higher passes. Working a U/V FM satellite is different than the V/U FM satellites most have been familiar with, but there are now a few options for using a single handheld radio to work AO-85 full-duplex - and a two-radio setup remains a viable option for full-duplex operation. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 info
by Andrew Glasbrenner 29 Nov '15

29 Nov '15

The AO-73 transponder is on whenever the satellite is in eclipse, and usually continuously during the weekends. An AMSAT-UK command station usually announces the weekend mode change via AMSAT-bb and their Twitter account. The wideband noise you hear is likely the gmsk downlink from xw-2f. Look at http://www.amsat.org/?p=4512 and the links contained within that post. There is an active transponder aboard as well. The -bb archives were moved in 2009. Links to subscribe and the later archives are at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=2348 73, Drew KO4MA Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 28, 2015, at 9:43 PM, Jack Colson <jcolson7(a)tampabay.rr.com> wrote: > > Andrew I was looking to go beyond that page. It seems like there is an operating schedule of some sort, also I hear some relatively wideband data or whatever around 145.960 and having a bandwidth of about 10 KHz. It also seems like the transponder is off for part of passes that are viewed here in EL88 and then comes on for a short bit then gone. I am curious as to what others are experiencing? > 73 and thank you. > Jack, W3TMZ (I have made a few contacts but with the fast doppler shift one needs more hands.) > > At one time on AMSAT-bb you could find current info, now all is see is the archives from 2009 and back. >> On Nov 28, 2015, at 8:50 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> wrote: >> >> http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/funcube-cubesat/ is a good start >> >> 73, Drew KO4MA >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Nov 28, 2015, at 8:41 PM, Jack Colson <jcolson7(a)tampabay.rr.com> wrote: >>> >>> Where does one find current info about AO-73? >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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-333 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 29 Nov '15

29 Nov '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-333 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: * Nov/Dec Edition of AMSAT Journal Sent to Printer * March 2016 Activation of St. Pierre & Miquelon * 2016 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity * ARISS Commemorative Events in the Planning * S7 Sao Tome and Principe Dxpedition Includes LEO Satellites * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-333 ANS-333 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 333 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. [MONTH DAY, YEAR] To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-333 Nov/Dec Edition of AMSAT Journal Sent to Printer AMSAT Journal editor Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK, reports that the November-December editon of the Journal has been sent to to the printers. Expect delivery mid to late December. This is Kornowski's first Journal since accepting the Editorial post last October. The atricles are well done and ‘meaty’ with lots of information. The overall appearance looks great. There is much here for every AMSAT member to enjoy. The line up of articles include: AMSAT Announcements Apogee View, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Engineering Update, by Jerry Buxton, N0JY Fox-1 Satellite Telemetry Part 1: On the Satellite by Burns Fisher, W2BFJ A Raspberry Pi Net Server/Client for Antenna Rotor by Tom Doyle, W9KE Dual Band Low Noise Amplifier for 2 Meters and 70 Centimeters, by Jim Kocsis, WA9PYH ARISS “Out of This World” Update by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO Close Encounters of the Law Enforcement Kind by Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK On the Grids: Working the United States/Mexico Border by Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG [ANS thanks Joseph KB6IGK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- March 2016 Activation of St. Pierre & Miquelon Eric, KV1J, will once again be operating from the Island of Miquelon (NA-032, DIFO FP-002, WLOTA 1417, Grid GN17) as FP/KV1J between March 16-29th (2016). Activity will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY (but primarily SSB and RTTY). He will generally be on the highest frequency band that is open (favoring 12/10m). He will be active in the Russian DX and BARTG RTTY Contests (March 19-20th). Also, look for him to be in the CQWW WPX SSB Contest (March 26-27th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/Assisted entry. QSL via KV1J, direct or by the Bureau. Also eQSL and LoTW. For more details and updates, check out his Web page at: http://www.kv1j.com/fp/Mar16.html PLEASE NOTE: Eric mentions, "I will also be on the analog Satellites when the WX is good enough to operate from outside." [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1241 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity The Louisiana Space Grant Consortium, or LaSPACE, is accepting applications from students at U.S. colleges and universities who want to send experiments to the edge of space on a high-flying scientific balloon. The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and LaSPACE, provides near-space access for 12 undergraduate and graduate student experiments to be carried by a NASA high-altitude research balloon. The flights typically last 15 to 20 hours and reach an altitude of 23 miles. Experiments may include compact satellites or prototypes. The experiments are flown aboard the High-Altitude Student Platform, or HASP, a balloon-born instrument stack launched from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's remote site in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The goals of the project are to provide a space test platform to encourage student researchand stimulate the development of student satellite payloads and other space-engineering products. HASP seeks to enhance the technical skills and research abilities of students in critical science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. The deadline for applications is Dec. 18, 2015. For application information and technical details about the program, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp. Questions about the High-Altitude Student Platform opportunity should be directed to T. Gregory Guzik at guzik (at) phunds.phys.lsu.edu. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Nov. 25, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Commemorative Events in the Planning Over the next couple months, ARISS will be celebrating its 15th anniversary of continuous operations on the ISS. On November 13, 2000 the crew conducted their first ham radio contacts on ISS and on December 21, 2000 ARISS conducted their first school contact with the Burbank School in Burbank, Illinois. An SSTV commemoration of these historic events is tentatively planned for mid to late December. It is possible that the transmission mode will be P120 instead of the P180 mode used in the past. This would allow for more pictures to be transmitted per pass. Because preparations are not final it is suggested that you stay tuned to the AMSAT-BB and the AMSAT and ARISS web site for the latest information on this event and others that ARISS plans to conduct over the next few months [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- S7 Sao Tome and Principe Dxpedition Includes LEO Satellites S7, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE. Operators Lee/WW2DX, Ray/W2RE and Pat/N2IEN will be active as S9TM from Praia between November 28th and December 1st. The team is planning on taking a WRTC tri-band yagi for 10/15/20 as well as a OCF for the lower bands. They will have an Expert 1.3K amp with them for that station. The second station will be K3/KPA500 that will be used on the 30/17/12m bands. A third station will be setup for LEO satellites and they are going to attempt 2m EME, but this is new territory for this group so don't set expectations too high. They will be posting to Twitter https://twitter.com/@ww2dx> and possible live streaming using periscope. QSL via LoTW and paper cards to NR6M. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1242 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy and Astronaut Kimiya Yui KG5BPH using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2015-11-23 09:21 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via VK4KHZ. ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-26 01:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact was not successful: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg ARISS is working to determine what happened. Nanasawa Kibounooka Elementary School, Atsugi, Japan, direct via 8N1NKSG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-12-02 09:33:51 UTC 61 deg Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan, direct via 8N2YAYOI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg Ingushetia, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Volkov RU3DIS Contact is a go for: Sat 2015-12-05 16:25 UTC >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Stay tuned to the AMSAT-BB, The AMSAT website {www.asmat.org) and the ARISS website (www.ariss.org) for information on ARISS commemorative events celebrating 15 years of Amateur Radio on the ISS. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over Eduardo Erlemann PY2RN published a Panoramic view of AO-7 transponder, using FCDP+ for RX and TS-2000 for TX. Although he was late on he bird after 1/2 pass that started at 18:40 UTC, forgot to swap SDR# IQ in the first moment. Max elevation was 64deg TX power 5 Watts all the time and RHCP most of the time. About 2 min before end of recording it is possible to hear what he believes is a CU station calling. Find the recording at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCq0WaEZ9g8&feature=youtu.be [ANS thank Eduardo PY2RN 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, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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AO-73 info
by Jack Colson 29 Nov '15

29 Nov '15

Where does one find current info about AO-73?

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AO-85 and Puxing PX-UV973, full-duplex - report (not so long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Nov '15

28 Nov '15

Hi! Another day, another radio to try on AO-85. I woke up early, and decided to try another HT on a high AO-85 pass starting at 1350 UTC. I wanted to see if it could work the satellite full-duplex. The radio, this morning: the Puxing PX-UV973. After working AO-85 with it this morning, my (low) expectations were met. The Puxing PX-UV973 has been on the market a couple of years. It is supposed to handle cross-band full-duplex operation. This radio is still in production, and I picked mine up from Amazon for about US$ 78. It is less expensive than the other radios I have tested so far for full-duplex operation on AO-85, and it shows. First, the simple question. Can the PX-UV973 work AO-85 full-duplex? Yes, more or less. The radio comes with a duckie antenna, and a 7.4V/1200mAh battery pack. The battery pack is smaller than the standard packs supplied with the other HTs I have tested so far. It is also a little bit smaller than the other HTs. As with the others, I did not program any memory channels to work AO-85. I used the two VFOs, putting the uplink into the upper (A) VFO, and the downlink into the lower (B) VFO. Uplink and downlink can be done from either VFO. I used these VFO-specific settings with this radio, similar to what I have been using with the other HTs: Uplink VFO: SQL (005): 9 N/W (014): WIDE T-CDC? (019): 67.0 STEP ? (020): 2.50 Downlink VFO: SQL (005): 0 N/W (014): NARROW STEP ? (020): 2.50 Another setting I had to enable for full-duplex operation was: DUPLEX (031): ON With the smaller tuning steps, I could get the AO-85 downlink lined up easily on my PX-UV973. It was about 5 minutes into the pass before I made my first QSO, with Glenn AA5PK in west Texas. A couple of minutes later, I made another quick QSO with Ed N7EC north of the Phoenix area. The receive audio while I transmitted was not really good - despite the satellite's elevation heading up to 56 degrees at the midpoint of the pass. The HT was able to operate full-duplex, but the other HTs I have tested with AO-85 have done much better. I could still hear myself through AO-85 a couple of minutes after these QSOs, until the trees in a neighbor's yard started to make it tougher to hear. The CW beacon from XW-2F was also starting to overlap with the AO-85 downlink, also. Using my SDR receive setup (SDRplay receiver, HDSDR on an 8-inch Windows 10 tablet, AMSAT-UK VHF crossed dipole), my transmitted audio sounded OK. Not loud, but it was fine - similar to what I've heard from the other Chinese- made HTs I have tested. I have uploaded the audio recording I made from the HT, the RF recording from the SDR receive setup, and some photos, to my Dropbox space. You can get those files at http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ - look for the folder "20151127-AO85_Fox1A_XW2F-DM43". I also heard XW-2F near the end of the AO-85 pass, and I let HDSDR continue writing the RF recording to cover XW-2F until its LOS. Since the PX-UV973 has been on the market for a couple of years, I did not have high expectations for it working AO-85 full-duplex. I was not surprised to see that it was a poor performer. If I had to rank this with the other 3 Chinese-made HTs I previously tested, this one would be at the bottom of the list by default: 1. Wouxun KG-UV9D 2. AnyTone TERMN-8R 3. Wouxun KG-UV8D 4. Puxing PX-UV973 Don't be drawn in by the low price of the PX-UV973. If you already have it, it can be used as one radio of a two-radio setup, probably as the uplink radio. Or use it for terrestrial repeaters, where it would probably serve that purpose adequately. I now understand why one dealer was hesitant to offer an opinion about this radio's performance for FM satellite work, when I asked about it early last year. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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AO-85 reboots
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Nov '15

28 Nov '15

Earlier this evening I listened to a pass of AO-85 about 2235UTC and the IHU was rebooting repeatedly. You can tell when this happens by the short tone it emits, just before it drops to carrier operated relay (COR) mode. If this hasn't cleared on its own by the next passes in the early AM over the East Coast, we'll try to reset it by command. In the meantime, any reports or telemetry submitted would be wonderful. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-VP Operations

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AO-85 and TH-D72A, full-duplex? Yes, of course!
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Nov '15

28 Nov '15

Hi! I have been trying some Chinese-made dual-band HTs, seeing how well they work with AO-85 full-duplex. I have tried 4 of those radios recently, and have posted my observations in a series of messages here on the AMSAT-BB list. Earlier this afternoon, I did the same with a non-Chinese HT, the Kenwood TH-D72A. I had no concerns about this radio's ability to work AO-85 full-duplex, but I wanted to try it and confirm this for myself. I have had my TH-D72A since it went on sale at the local HRO store in late 2010. Over the past (almost) 5 years, I have upgraded its firmware, used it to make QSOs on various FM and packet/APRS satellites, and used it for APRS on my road trips. It's a great radio, although it is among the most expensive 2m/70cm FM HTs in current production. This was a reason why I have been interested in trying other HTs, seeing if there were any alternatives to the TH-D72A for full-duplex operation on AO-85 and the other upcoming Fox-1 satellites - and especially if they cost less than the TH-D72A. OK, the obligatory question and answer. Can the TH-D72A work AO-85 full- duplex? YES! Unlike with the Chinese-made HTs, the TH-D72A does not have the 2.5 kHz tuning step. Since the TH-D72A doesn't appear to have the sharp receive filtering I have seen with the Chinese-made HTs, this is not an issue. I can leave the TH-D72A's downlink VFO on 145.980 MHz for almost the entire pass, with a quick change to the next lower tuning step (145.975 MHz) for the last few minutes of the pass. I did not use narrow FM on either VFO for this pass. Based on what I saw with the other HTs, I would only consider using narrow FM on the downlink VFO if the receive audio sounded bad. The downlink audio sounded OK in "normal" FM today. Another difference from the Chinese-made HTs is that the uplink VFO must be VFO B (the lower VFO) on the TH-D72A. This is the only way to activate the DUP function, which allows the HT to receive on VFO A while transmitting on VFO B, when these frequencies are in different bands. Other commonly used settings like transmitting the 67.0 Hz CTCSS tone from VFO B, tighten the squelch on VFO B while opening the squelch on VFO A, and balancing the audio so you only hear VFO A (menu 120) made it easy to know I am only hearing audio from the downlink VFO (VFO A). If needed, I could have set the downlink VFO (VFO A) to receive in narrow FM (NFM) with menu setting 131, while transmitting from VFO B in "normal" FM (FM). I used an audio splitter in the TH-D72A's speaker jack, feeding audio to an earpiece and my Sony audio recorder. This recording is an MP3 file, which I put in my Dropbox space along with a larger WAV file (RF recording from HDSDR) and other files related to this pass. These files are available from my Dropbox space at http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ (look for the folder named "20151127-AO85_Fox1A-DM43"). This way, anyone can compare the recordings from this radio against the other recordings I've posted from testing the other Chinese-made HTs. The AO-85 pass this afternoon around 2226-2240 UTC had a series of resets, but I was able to complete 3 QSOs - AA5PK in west Texas, K8YSE/7 not far from me in the Phoenix area, and VE6SMI in Alberta. I had no problems hearing myself while transmitting, and my transmit audio sounded good - from the TH-D72A, and from my SDR receive setup I had in my yard (SDRplay SDR receiver, HDSDR on an 8-inch Windows 10 tablet, AMSAT-UK VHF crossed dipole on an 8-foot mast and tripod). The fact I could use a TH-D72A to work AO-85 is no surprise to me. Even with having to quickly switch VFOs to adjust the downlink frequency, then switching back to the uplink VFO before transmitting, is not a problem. None of the HTs I have tested recently have separate knobs for volume, squelch, and tuning for each VFO. This radio would be number 1 on my list of HTs I have used to work AO-85 full-duplex, going on top of all of the Chinese-made HTs I have tried in the past few weeks. With the TH-D72A, I have a radio capable of working V/U and U/V FM satellites full-duplex. I also have a radio capable of packet and APRS, and I have used mine to make packet QSOs through the ISS, NO-44, and NO-84 when its packet/APRS digipeater was active earlier this year. It is nice to have at least two options for HTs in current production that can work AO-85 full-duplex (TH-D72A, Wouxun KG-UV9D), along with many other HTs that aren't in production but are also capable of working satellites like AO-85 full-duplex. Now, it's time to find my old Icom IC-W32A in my garage, and maybe even an Alinco DJ-G7T I think I still have. I'm not worried about the IC-W32A and its ability to work AO-85 full-duplex, as it handled the ISS cross-band U/V repeater fine in the mid- to late-2000s. It would be interesting to try the DJ-G7T on AO-85. The DJ-G7T was a very poor performer when I tried to use it to work AO-27 and AO-51 full-duplex, satellites with stronger downlinks than SO-50. If I find these radios and can try them on AO-85 passes, I'll post reports for each of them. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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NO-84
by Nicholas Mahr KE8AKW 28 Nov '15

28 Nov '15

Hi, I managed to make 2 contacts on this evenings passes with WN9M and KD7YZ on the PSK31 transponder. The first contact was not so easy due to RX fades. The second contact with much easy with less RX fades. I don't usually hear more than 1 station on if any on any pass and dont see alot of reception reports on the oscar status webpage, so more people should give it a try! Its very rewarding. And maybe Bob should put the bird on a schedule where it switches between the digipeater and PSK31. As far as I can tell from the telemetry, its surviving eclipses fine, but why wear down the battery with both transponders on? See you on NO-84. KE8AKW, Nick

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IO-86 repeater and APRS test
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Nov '15

28 Nov '15

A post in the AMSAT-ID Facebook group indicates IO-86 will be open in repeater and APRS modes from 0200-0800UTC 11/28/2015 (that's late tonight and tomorrow morning in the US) If you are close enough to the equator, roughly +/- 30 latitude, take a listen on 145.825 for APRS, or 145.880 up, 435.880 down, PL 88.5 for the repeater. 73, Drew KO4MA

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BaoFeng BF-F8HP on amazon for black friday
by Bruce 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

I just happened to notice this on amazon.com for their black Friday. I do not know if it is a good buy or not. BaoFeng BF-F8HP 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174Mhz VHF & 400-520Mhz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery $47 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MAULSOK?ref_=gb1h_tit_m-3_2622_dbb908ff… 73...bruce

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Re: [amsat-bb] Flex radio for satellites
by Edward R Cole 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

I guess I should reply to comments by several: When I investigated the Flex-5000 when it first came out, there was no U/V transverter available and no duplex Rx function. I contacted them regarding that and also about their second Rx regarding another project (eme) which does not concern satellite users. After consideration over a couple years I decided on the Elecraft K3/10. I still had my FT-847 and FT-817 at that point. Apparently,Flex subsequently added duplex operation and came out with V/U transverter for the 5000. So maybe you can find a used one if building a satellite station. Now addressing Rick's assertion that one can save money buying a Flex 6000 series radio coupled with Rx downconverter and buying another VHF/UHF capable radio as transmitter. I checked the prices on new Flex: 6300 ... $2399 6500 ... $4099 6700 ... $7199 Not sure where you find VHF or UHF Rx converters these days. price ...? One of the used IC251or 271 (451 or 471) could be used but you would need two to cover both 144 and 432 Or buy a used IC910, FT-847, or TS2000 (but then you do not need the Flex). A couple FT-817 with amplifiers would be cheaper. Compare with Elecraft: K3s/10 ... $2099 K3s/100 ... $2649 KX3 ... $899 2M transverter for KX3 ...$199 DEMI transverters: L144-28 ... $479 L432-28 ... $499 Cheapest Elecraft combo: KX3-2M = $1099 KX3+L432-48 = $1398 total ... $2497 or my proposed sat station: KX3-2M = $1099 KX3s/10+L144-28 = $2598 total ... $3697 both dual Elecraft sat combos are less than a Flex6500. Of course if you also want mode VU then you need a modest power 2m linear. I have RF Concepts 2-30 linear which produces 30w for 2w input. Granted they are rare to find these days but you can substitute the Mirage equivalent. Of course if Flex6700 will have full duplex with second Rx all you need is VHF/UHF amplifiers. I'll leave the comparing to the reader. In my case I have already voted with my dollars: K3/10 (bought in 2010) KX3-2M (bought in 2012) L144-28HP (50w) L222-28 L432-28 (with Apol synth) 1296-28H2 (with A32 synth) 3400-144 10368-144 [no you don't want to total that] ;-) Currently, I mostly do eme: 144: 4x M2 2mXP20 yagis + 8877 PA 1296: 4.9m dish + W6PQL 150w PA soon: 3400: 4.9m dish + 50w Toshiba PA 50: 6-elem yagi + 1000w Harris PA 73, Ed - KL7UW still have all my AO-40 antennas and mw gear. ------------------ Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Flex radio for satellites In answer to your questions, yes the Flex 5000A could be fully equipped with 2 rcvrs and the V/U module, however they discontinued it with the release of their 6000 series radio. For satellites I've used the FT736f, Ts2000 and ft847 and none compare to the ease of operation and rx quality of the Flex5000A, which is why I'm holding on to mine. But you could do what I'm now doing which is to use another radio capable of V/U transmission on all modes as your uplink radio and use a 6000 series radio with inexpensive down converters for rx. I then built a USB relay controlled box that drives antenna switching relays. I found this to be much cheaper than the other alternative which is to buy DEMI transverters or possibly Elecraft. And you also end up with another really useful radio as a backup for HF and other purposes at less cost than the 2 DEMI transverters. I've used this arrangement before (minus the automated relay switching ) I got my tricked out Flex5000. At that time I used the TS2000 as uplink with a Flex 5000A for downlink wth converters and it worked great! Stay tuned for exciting articles by Ron Parsons, W5RKN, and Dave W0DHB in the AMSAT Journal about all this. What I'm doing is a spin off of their ideas and working with them. 73 Rick, W2JAZ 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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AO-85 and AnyTone TERMN-8R, full-duplex - report (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

Hi! After previously trying a couple of Wouxun dual-band HTs with AO-85 in the past few weeks (KG-UV8D, KG-UV9D) on AO-85, I went back to a radio I briefly tested before the AMSAT Symposium last month: the AnyTone TERMN-8R 2m/70cm FM HT. I didn't have much time to try it out then, but I gave it a try this afternoon on a 48-degree AO-85 pass over the west coast. I used the same settings in it that I did with the Wouxun KG-UV9D I tested last weekend, so I could have a baseline to compare this radio against. I was not surprised with the results. The TERMN-8R was briefly on the market in the US earlier this year. This HT was marketed as the first HT that was certified for use in 3 different FCC- regulated services (commercial two-way radio governed by FCC Part 90, along with GMRS and MURS). Its receiver covers much more than the 2m and 70cm bands - broadcast AM and FM, shortwave (HF), and the VHF air band. The FCC revoked the TERMN-8R's certification for use in the GMRS and MURS (license- free 150 MHz VHF) services, and ordered its importer to stop selling this radio. Since amateur equipment other than RF amplifiers operating below 144 MHz sold in the US does not require FCC certification for amateur use, this radio is legal to use in this country on the 2m and 70cm ham bands by licensed radio amateurs when complying with the technical requirements in FCC Part 97. Now that the legalities are out of the way, the simple question. Can the TERMN-8R work AO-85 full-duplex? YES. I worked a pass this (Thursday) afternoon around 2337 UTC. This was a pass with maximum elevation of 48 degrees, a good pass favoring the US west coast. Keeping AMSAT's recent recommendations in mind for working this satellite (low-power stations can get through on higher passes), and my own testing that appears to put the definition of "higher passes" as when AO-85 is at least 20 degrees above the horizon, I had about 7 minutes of this pass where I should have been able to get through. Using the same settings I had used with the KG-UV9D last weekend, I was able to hear the satellite well with narrow FM. I used wide FM on transmit, and I think that seems to work well with these HTs that don't have the deviation that the HTs from the traditional ham manufacturers (Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu) have. Here are some key settings I used with the TERMN-8R, which are specific to each VFO: Uplink VFO: T-CDC (01): 67.0HZ STEP (10): 2.5K W/N (11): 25K TX (17): ON SQL (40): 9 Downlink VFO: STEP (10): 2.5K W/N (11): 12.5K TX (17): OFF SQL (40): 00 As with the KG-UV8D and KG-UV9D, it does not matter which VFO is used for transmit and receive. The settings I used were with the upper (A) VFO as my transmit VFO, and the lower (B) VFO as my receive VFO. This is important for the TX menu setting, where I disabled transmitting from the receive VFO. I did not program any memory channels for use with AO-85, as the VFOs work well for this type of operation. I connected an audio splitter to the speaker jack, and fed the receive audio to an earpiece and my Sony audio recorder. I did not try getting through AO-85 until its elevation was up to about 20 degrees. For my first transmissions as the satellite continued climbing to its maximum elevation of 48 degrees, I was hearing some noise when I transmitted that covered up the downlink. This did not last long, as I was able to hear myself while I transmitted for most of my QSOs. This HT's receiver is pretty good - a little better than the Wouxun KG-UV8D, but not as good as the Wouxun KG-UV9D. Using the 2.5 kHz tuning steps on both uplink and downlink helps a lot. More work for the operator, but the lower- power stations need all the help they can get, and some of that help is finer tuning for the uplink signals than you can do with the 5 kHz tuning steps. I had a separate station set up in my yard to write an RF recording of this pass. I used my SDRplay SDR receiver, 8-inch Windows 10 tablet with HDSDR, and the AMSAT-UK VHF crossed dipole on an 8-foot mast and tripod. I made sure to press Record in HDSDR, so I had an RF recording. I could tell I was transmitting with a different radio, but my transmit audio was not horrible from the TERMN-8R. My transmit audio also sounded OK when I listened to the recording from my Sony audio recorder. With the occasional fades, there were times I had audio for a portion of the pass on one recording, but not the other. I made 5 QSOs on this pass, with all 5 stations in different parts of California (KG6NUB and KB5WIA in northern California, three in southern California - K6FW, N6UK, and KB6LTY). I heard K7TRK in Oregon and N7EC north of Phoenix on as well, but I did not work these two stations. This was an orderly pass, stations leaving gaps between transmissions, which really helps for those using lower transmit power levels. Sawson KG6NUB was using around 2 watts into an Arrow Yagi and getting through for the first half of the pass I heard. I have uploaded the MP3 recording I made from the TERMN-8R, the larger RF recording I made from HDSDR, and some photos plus a screenshot of how the pass looked from AmsatDroid Free on my mobile phone, to my Dropbox space at: http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ Look for the folder "20151126-AO85_Fox1A-DM43", and look for the recordings with file names containing something around 2340 UTC. Photos have file names with timestamps in local time (7 hours behind UTC), if you want to take a look at my setup before AO-85 came up from the horizon. Since I already had the TERMN-8R, it was on my to-do list to try with AO-85. I'm glad I tried it out, since now I can say there are at least 3 Chinese-made 2m/70cm HTs that can work AO-85 full-duplex. I found that I could hear myself while transmitting to SO-50 using the TERMN-8R on very high passes, but in general it is like those Wouxun HTs I previously tried with AO-85 - don't bother trying to use it full-duplex on SO-50 or LilacSat-2 (two V/U FM satellites), without having a second radio nearby. With the TERMN-8R off the market, I wouldn't recommend trying to pick one up for working AO-85. If you want to try a Chinese-made HT with AO-85 and work this satellite full-duplex, the KG-UV9D is a better option. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Flex radio for satellites
by Richard Lawn 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

In answer to your questions, yes the Flex 5000A could be fully equipped with 2 rcvrs and the V/U module, however they discontinued it with the release of their 6000 series radio. For satellites I've used the FT736f, Ts2000 and ft847 and none compare to the ease of operation and rx quality of the Flex5000A, which is why I'm holding on to mine. But you could do what I'm now doing which is to use another radio capable of V/U transmission on all modes as your uplink radio and use a 6000 series radio with inexpensive down converters for rx. I then built a USB relay controlled box that drives antenna switching relays. I found this to be much cheaper than the other alternative which is to buy DEMI transverters or possibly Elecraft. And you also end up with another really useful radio as a backup for HF and other purposes at less cost than the 2 DEMI transverters. I've used this arrangement before (minus the automated relay switching ) I got my tricked out Flex5000. At that time I used the TS2000 as uplink with a Flex 5000A for downlink wth converters and it worked great! Stay tuned for exciting articles by Ron Parsons, W5RKN, and Dave W0DHB in the AMSAT Journal about all this. What I'm doing is a spin off of their ideas and working with them. 73 Rick, W2JAZ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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Re: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio
by Edward R Cole 27 Nov '15

27 Nov '15

David, Transverters are merely used to allow you to operate a radio on another frequency band. They are not duplex as a rule. Since satellite operation is cross-band duplex and not duplexing on two separate frequencies in a single band, you probably will be using two transverters if the radio does not operate either satellite band. If so, then one will Tx on the uplink band and the other will Rx on the downlink band. I assume the FLEX-6000 is a HF/6m radio. The larger question is whether the FLEX-6000 is a duplex radio? Earlier FLEX radios were not duplex. Some had two receivers but one could not transmit while receiving (ie operate duplex). ------------- I own Elecraft radios and will eventually set up for full cross-band duplex by: 1. Tx on my K3+DEMI 28/432 xvtr in the 435-437 band 2. Rx on my KX3-2M (KX3 with internal 2m transverter) I can reverse which Rx and which Tx, so able to operate either mode UV or VU; either will output up to 25w. Both radios are multi-mode permitting CW/SSB/FM/digital operation. Only caveat is 9600-baud data which will require me to use my SDR-IQ or the K3 IF output to separate SDR which I already use for eme. The biggest hurdle will be Frequency control of two radios. Haven't gotten into that, yet. 73, Ed - KL7UW Not currently QRV for satellite. Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2015 08:33:49 -0500 From: "David" <dwarnberg(a)verizon.net> To: "'AMSAT BB'" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio Message-ID: <00f301d12785$edb794a0$c926bde0$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi all and Happy Thanksgiving, Question.. how many of you are doing SAT work with a FLEX-6000 series rig? I'm in the processes of pursuing just that, got my first Transverter to build, while I'm waiting figured I'd start the conversation on how do you have everything setup? I had a 9100 and could do full duplex and am wondering if the FLEX with transverters will allow the same full duplex operation (I'm assuming it will) Keep in mind here I am new to this transverter thing and have never set one up before.. Thanks David 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com "Kits made by KL7UW" Dubus Mag business: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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9Y4D worked on AO-73
by Paul Stoetzer 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Good evening, On the 0153Z pass of AO-73, I worked Chris, 9Y4D, in Trinidad & Tobago (FK90gg). Chris is relatively new to the satellites and has been heard on FO-29, XW-2F, and AO-73. I've worked him on both XW-2F and AO-73. He uses LoTW. 9Y has been relatively uncommon on satellite, so keep an eye out for him if you need it! 73, Paul, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio
by Ronald G. Parsons 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Alan. Dave, W0DHB and I are in the final stages of AMSAT Journal articles on the implementation of a true full-duplex satellite system, in my case, based on a FLEX-6500 and a pair of transverters. It is working very well, supports true full-duplex, and supports SSB and FM satellites. Stay tuned. Ron W5RKN Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2015 15:49:04 -0600 From: Alan <wa4sca(a)gmail.com> To: "'Edward R Cole'" <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SAT work with FLEX radio Message-ID: <000501d127cb$1aa8ced0$4ffa6c70$(a)GMAIL.COM> There is a lively discussion on the Flex Community forum about this very issue right now. Sounds like all the pieces are close, but not quite there, for a convenient satellite operation rig. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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Minimum 10m equipment for NO-84?
by Scott 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

The recent post from KE8AKW Nick, plus previous posts from WB4APR Bob got me thinking... just what would be required to transmit PSK-31 to NO-84? In the Amateur Radio world, I'm sure that I'm in the minority, but I don't even OWN an HF rig. My primary interests are the higher frequencies, including satellite telemetry and the other various data modes. Practically the only time I transmit a signal is packet to the ISS. I'm much more active with SDR's and a computer than I am with conventional radios. But all the data modes interest me, and perhaps others. If someone would be kind enough to list what hardware might be required for the transmit side of NO-84's PSK-31 capability, it sure would be appreciated. (low-cost options preferred!) 73! -Scott, K4KDR Montpelier, VA USA

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NO-84&83
by Nicholas Mahr KE8AKW 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Hi, Question for Bob WB4APR, What is the current status of NO-83? Last I heard we never established communications with it. Also I just worked my first successful pass on NO-84's PSK31 transponder, The down link always stays at about 5-5 to pegging the s meter, so no problems here! I only ran 10W on the uplink and the bird heard me just fine. Unfourtently no one seems to be on, maybe people just think its too hard to work, trust me its really easy to work when you get the software setup! Im using DopplerPsk for the uplink and it works very well, it keeps my uplink 100% stable. The W3ADO beacon comes through very strong as well. I hope more people hop on board NO-84 as its the funnest thing I have worked in a long time. And maybe we can see if we can get NO-83 back. 73's KE8AKW Nick

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-26 01:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 26 Nov '15

26 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-26 01:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact was not successful: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg ARISS is working to determine what happened. Nanasawa Kibounooka Elementary School, Atsugi, Japan, direct via 8N1NKSG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-12-02 09:33:51 UTC 61 deg Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan, direct via 8N2YAYOI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg Ingushetia, Russia, direct via TBD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Sergey Volkov RU3DIS (***) Contact is a go for: Sat 2015-12-05 16:25 UTC (***) **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 115 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-26 01:00 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 1010. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 975. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-24 01:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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New iOS Sat Tracking App
by John Brier 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

From https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/3u2n3g/a_satellite_tracking_… http://satsat.space/ "I've just published a side project called SatSat http://satsat.space, it predicts passes, it's free (with ads), and can work totally offline, predictions and maps are done on the device. It also displays frequencies for the beacons. Comments are welcome, based on interest, I may add more features like doppler at start and end..." John, KG4AKV

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-25 19:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-25 19:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact was not successful: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg (***) ARISS is working to determine what happened. (***) Nanasawa Kibounooka Elementary School, Atsugi, Japan, direct via 8N1NKSG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-12-02 09:33:51 UTC 61 deg Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan, direct via 8N2YAYOI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 115 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-25 19:00 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 1010. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 975. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-24 01:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Hearing AO-85 with a KG-UV9D & dual-band duckie
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Hi! After seeing several people at my demonstration in Goodyear AZ last week used their HTs with standard duckie antennas to hear AO-85 as it passed by, and seeing many positive comments on how easy it is to hear this downlink, I decided to try it for myself. On my way to the office this morning, I stopped at a shopping center parking lot for the AO-85 pass around 1438 UTC to hear this pass. AO-85 went up to a maximum elevation of 41 degrees, which would have been a nice pass to work if I had my Elk log periodic in the car. After about 3 minutes into the pass, I could hear the round- table conversation taking place. Using my Wouxun KG-UV9D HT and a Nagoya NA-701 2m/70cm duckie antenna that is about 8.5 inches/22cm long, and with the squelch open, I was able to listen to the downlink. I had to move the HT around while listening to the downlink, but I was hearing it. I had the HT in narrow FM, as I described in my report on working stations via AO-85 using this HT and my Elk log periodic antenna I sent to the -BB yesterday. I had to adjust the frequency down from 145.980 MHz through 145.9775 MHz to 145.975 MHz near the end of the pass, using one of the HT's VFOs. While I was listening to this pass, I used my mobile phone to make a short video clip of what I was doing. The 4-minute clip I recorded around the middle of the pass is now on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZDpRZHd2FE There is a point in this video clip where I was not hearing the downlink, as I dropped the radio into my car. Once I picked it up and held it outside the car again, I was able to continue hearing the downlink. This is not a professional- grade video (it was recorded in 720p, but I'm not a movie producer), but it shows that we don't need much to hear AO-85. During this pass, I heard several stations, and the video clip has most of them. I was hearing WA6DIR in California, KC7MG in Arizona, AA5PK in Texas, W7SXM in Washington state, and late in the pass I heard KC9ELU in Indiana. If I had planned this out better, I would have tried to record more of the pass, and made sure I didn't drop the radio during the recording. Happy Thanksgiving, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Heavens Above Tracking Program
by Ed Cunningham 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

I started working satellites in April of this year and have been using Heavens Above to track ISS, SO-50 and AO-85. Because of my location (my back yard) SO-50 has not been in a good position during the day for me to work. I have been trying to work AO-85 but have not heard it for the past week. I initially thought that the antenna had a problem but it wasn't since I could hear conversations on various repeaters in the Phoenix AZ area. This morning it downed on me to check AmsatDroid Free on my phone. I found that the information on passes listed on Heavens Above was early, the LOS time was actually the AOS time on AmstatDroid Free. I have been setting up for a pass and getting on early using the Heavens Above information and getting off just as AO-85 was reaching AOS. Up until this past week Heavens Above has been very reliable. Both the Android phone version and the internet software version are giving the same pass times. Using the pass times from AmsatDroid Free I was able to hear conversations on AO-85 this morning but was unable to make contact. That's me being new to AO-85 which, I have read, can be frustrating. 73, Ed, N7EC

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AO 7 Pan View
by w4tas 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

What type of antenna was being used with the FCDP+ when the spectrum was viewed. Thanks, W4TAS

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-7 transponder pan view
by Eduardo Erlemann 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

It is a SNR (signal to noise ratio) matter, if you position your TX on the top of the hill you can hear it stronger but the noise is also stronger, if you slip to the mid of the valley your signal will be weaker but noise as well. In a practical experiment (using my ears) I noticed a better SNR relationship staying in between the valley and the hill, which will be very difficult to find for who uses a regular rig for RX. 73 Ed PY2RN GG66LW -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 11/25/15, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-7 transponder pan view To: "Eduardo Erlemann" <sasb.geo(a)yahoo.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015, 1:25 PM So, For best results you want to place your signal in the valleys true? Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 11/25/2015 8:52 AM, Eduardo Erlemann wrote: I think it is caused due the components age/conditions which is affecting its receiver linearity, noticed even in a such narrow band. 73s Ed PY2RN GG66LW -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 11/25/15, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-7 transponder pan view To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015, 12:08 PM Thats pretty cool. Is it a part of the filtering in this old gal, or what causes it? Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 11/25/2015 3:21 AM, Daniel Estévez wrote: > El 24/11/15 a las 23:20, Joe escribió: >> what are the three hills about? > That's just noise from the passband of AO-7 transponder. It's stronger > in three spots, one on the middle of the passband and two near the > edges. These spots are quite strong, in fact comparable to some of the > stations. If you look closely, you can also see that these spots get > frequency modulated with the strong transmissions. > > This is one of those things that it's quite difficult to see on a > traditional receiver but it's quite apparent on an SDR waterfall. > > 73, > > Dani M0HXM/EA4GPZ. > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-7 transponder pan view
by Eduardo Erlemann 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

I think it is caused due the components age/conditions which is affecting its receiver linearity, noticed even in a such narrow band. 73s Ed PY2RN GG66LW -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 11/25/15, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-7 transponder pan view To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015, 12:08 PM Thats pretty cool. Is it a part of the filtering in this old gal, or what causes it? Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 11/25/2015 3:21 AM, Daniel Estévez wrote: > El 24/11/15 a las 23:20, Joe escribió: >> what are the three hills about? > That's just noise from the passband of AO-7 transponder. It's stronger > in three spots, one on the middle of the passband and two near the > edges. These spots are quite strong, in fact comparable to some of the > stations. If you look closely, you can also see that these spots get > frequency modulated with the strong transmissions. > > This is one of those things that it's quite difficult to see on a > traditional receiver but it's quite apparent on an SDR waterfall. > > 73, > > Dani M0HXM/EA4GPZ. > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Has anyone implemented a panadapter for Icom IC910H?
by Mark Lunday 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg(a)arrl.net http://wd4elg.blogspot.com

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AO-7 transponder pan view
by Eduardo Erlemann 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Panoramic view of AO-7 transponder, using FCDP+ for RX and TS-2000 for TX. I got late on he bird after 1/2 pass that started at 18:40 UTC, forgot to swap SDR# IQ in the first moment :( Max elevation was 64deg TX power 5 Watts all the time and RHCP most of the time. About 2 min before end of recording it is possible to hear I think a CU station calling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCq0WaEZ9g8&feature=youtu.be 73 Ed PY2RN GG66LW

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SAT work with FLEX radio
by David 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Hi all and Happy Thanksgiving, Question.. how many of you are doing SAT work with a FLEX-6000 series rig? I'm in the processes of pursuing just that, got my first Transverter to build, while I'm waiting figured I'd start the conversation on how do you have everything setup? I had a 9100 and could do full duplex and am wondering if the FLEX with transverters will allow the same full duplex operation (I'm assuming it will) Keep in mind here I am new to this transverter thing and have never set one up before.. Thanks David

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Travel Day mobile QSOs
by Robert Bruninga 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Ham Radio Travel day: Don’t forget to monitor 144.39 with CTCSS 100 and get automatic alerts (pings) when you are in mobile simplex range of another mobile traveler (running APRS). It works with ANY mobile radio. As long as you have CTCSS set to 100. It is better than CQ 52 because the other mobiles are sending out a ping once a minute instead of an occasional CQ call on 52. With cars passing each other at a combined 120 MPH, you are only in range of each other for a few minutes. So, you can either call CQ every 2 minutes all day long, or you can sit back and monitor 144.39 with CTCSS 100 and let the radio do the work. For more info, see http://aprs.org/VoiceAlert3.html Happy Travels. Bob, WB4APR

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Using PowerSDR to copy AO-85 DUV telemetry
by Alan 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

All, There are several users on this list who use Flex rigs, pre-6k series, for satellite operations. There is a problem with the Flex PowerSDR FM implementation because it lacks a way to bypass the audio filtering. (Fixed in SmartSDR.) The low frequency attenuation is good enough to prevent using the normal audio to decode DUV, but poor enough you can hear the DUV rumble, or the PL tones on a normal repeater. However, there is a way, suggested by Dave, W0DHB to make this work for DUV telemetry. Fortunately the PowerSDR I/Q output bypasses the filtering, and FoxTelem can accept I/Q inputs. (According to the Flex people, the convention for I/Q is reversed in PowerSDR, but I have had no problem interfacing it to FoxTelem.) If your only interest is telemetry, there are alternate approaches which are probably better. I wanted to be able to copy telemetry, but also be able to communicate at the same time. I will assume users have already installed Virtual Audio Cables, know how to hook software programs together, and are familiar with FoxTelem. All have good documentation. Additionally, different choices for sampling and buffers may well work, as well as different procedures for tuning, but these are what I am using successfully. In PowerSDR, go to VAC 1 and select 48k sampling, 1024 buffers. (Under Primary Audio, I use my normal 192k sampling, 1024 buffers.) Check both boxes in the Direct I/Q box. The VAC audio level control does not have any effect on I/Q signal levels. Enable VAC 1. In FoxTelem, select the correct cable to get the audio from PowerSDR, 48k sampling, and tick I/Q and low speed. I use SatPC32 to drive the Flex VU-5K. Tweak the downlink to center up the display, as you do for ordinary voice. Start FoxTelem. You will see the characteristic AO-85 display in the lower FFT pane. Do NOT use the Find Signal or Track Doppler, yet. Instead, click on the FFT display to tune FoxTelem. You should be rewarded with a nice eye pattern, and SNR of 5-10. If you have a strong signal, select the Track Doppler. It will hunt briefly, and then settle down to something close to optimum. Generally leaving Doppler Track checked is the most flexible since it will adapt to the slight changes in the downlink frequency. You may miss a few packets around AOS however. If you uncheck it, the "sweet spot" will not change since SatPC32 will keep it tracking, so long as you adjust for the current downlink frequency. I normally leave my checked. This technique gives nearly 100% copy without compromising voice operations. In principle it should work for high speed telemetry, but to date I have not been successful. Probably a sample rate/buffer issue. 73s, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- Keep Calm and Carry On

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W5PFG/P EL16, EL15, EL06 - November 2015
by Clayton Coleman 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

November 22-26 I will operate portable from South Padre Island, Texas in EL16. I plan to operate several passes a day from EL15, covering the southernmost tip of Texas. An operation from EL06 is possible sometime in the beginning of that week. You can follow my operation on Twitter @w5pfg starting November 21. It's possible I will operate once or twice while en route. I will try to work as many different satellites as possible. I tend to favor FO-29, typically 15-20 kHz above the center of the transponder. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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AMSAT Office Closed
by Martha 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

The AMSAT Office will be closed from Wednesday, November 25th through Monday, November 30th. -- 73- Martha

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Outernet good on Raspberry Pi 2B
by Thane Richard 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

We recently released a new image for our ORxPi software that lets a Raspberry Pi function as an Outernet receiver when plugged into a DVB-S tuner. You can download the image here: https://archive.outernet.is/images/ORxPi2/0.2.9/ You can read instructions on how to build the receiver on our wiki here: https://wiki.outernet.is/wiki/ORxPi -- Thane Richard <https://twitter.com/thanerichard> Content and Business Development Lead Outernet <http://outernet.is/> *Outernet in the press:* WIRED <http://www.wired.com/2015/07/plan-beam-web-3-billion-unconnected-humans/>, Inc.com <http://www.inc.com/dev-aujla/a-library-for-all.html>, TechCrunch <http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/13/outernet-joins-the-space-race-for-internet…> , Gizmodo <http://gizmodo.com/what-is-the-outernet-and-is-it-the-future-of-the-intern-…> , BBC <http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29593734>, CNN <http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/tech/internet-for-everyone/>, Fast Company <http://www.fastcolabs.com/3027663/all-about-google-loons-low-cost-space-bas…> , LA Times <http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-g-outernet-explained-20140…> , Motherboard <http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-the-outernet-plans-to-broadcast-free-i…> Our receiver, Lighthouse, is now available! To show how revolutionary Lighthouse is, we installed one in a remote school in Uganda. Watch the video here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQFoGK1aWQ>.

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New Shepard Flies
by B J 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blog/historic-rocket-landing http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/11/24/blue-origins-shepard-vehicle-suborbi… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Testing my e-mail
by Farrell Winder 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

Farrell Winder, W8ZCF

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Help needed please
by Aayush Yadav 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

Hello all, As a part of a student satellite project from India, I have a few questions regarding how can i improve my reception of data on the ground station. We have a TS2000 and have designed a few yagi antennas for uhf and vhf band. I would like to know some satellites on which we can practice receiving any signal. We are totally new to this system and have practiced some failed attempts of the same. Further, we would really appreciate If anyone could help on how we can increase our reception power. Any other help or advice would also be appreciated. Thank you. Aayush Yadav, Team Pratham, IIT Bombay.

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AO-85 Not Included in Keps?
by Clint Bradford 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

Did I read somewhere that a particular set of commonly used Keplerian data sets did NOT include AO-85 - due to the fact that that mission's primary payload was "military" in nature? If so - which set does NOT include AO-85? Clint K6LCS

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AO-85 & Wouxun KG-UV9D - more testing (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

Hi! Starting just after the launch of AO-85 last month, I have been using different radios to work this satellite. Some of my experiments have been with HTs, along with my Icom IC-2820H mobile radio at different power levels. During the first weekend we had AO-85 in orbit, I had used my Wouxun KG-UV9D to work the satellite, and found that it was usable to work AO-85 when it was above 20 degrees elevation. The KG-UV9D can also work U/V FM satellites like AO-85 full-duplex, although the reverse is not true (there is too much desense when trying to work SO-50 or LilacSat-2, two V/U FM satellites, full-duplex). After working AO-85 over the past 6 weeks or so, I wanted to see if I could refine my suggestions from posts I made here on the AMSAT-BB and on the QRZ satellite forum last month. Here goes... When I did my tests last month, I set the tuning step for the uplink VFO to 5 kHz, and the downlink VFO at 2.5 kHz. Most Chinese-made HTs have sharper receive filters than the HTs from the traditional ham equipment manufacturers, so I have used the smaller tuning step for the downlink frequencies when working FM satellites. For this weekend, I went with the 2.5 kHz tuning steps for both VFOs. This means still more adjustments when working these passes compared to other radios that have 5 kHz as their smallest tuning step in FM, but I think being able to make smaller adjustments on the uplink VFO helps get through. I started with the uplink VFO at 435.165 MHz, and then prepare to tune this VFO higher throughout the pass. The downlink VFO is usually set to 145.9825 MHz initially, but it does not take long for me to tune it down to 145.980 MHz, on its way down to 145.975 MHz near LOS. At the time I did my tests last month, I had set the KG-UV9D to "wide" FM in both VFOs. Since then, there have been suggestions on working AO-85 in narrow FM. Transmitting to AO-85 in narrow FM ensures the uplink signals aren't overdeviated, and for the downlink it filters out most of the noise that comes with the data being transmitted with the FM voice downlink. With the KG-UV9D, it seems that its "wide" FM setting doesn't transmit a signal with deviation that matches what comes from radios made by the traditional ham manufacturers. The "wide" FM setting for the transmit VFO made a big difference for me getting through and making more QSOs during the passes I worked last weekend. As with my tests last month, I did not program any memories. The KG-UV9D's VFOs are ideal for this type of operating. Since operators can transmit from one VFO and receive with the other VFO, memory channels aren't really needed. An earpiece plugged into the speaker jack ensures no receive audio feeds back into the microphone. There are moments where I have to switch VFOs, so I can tune the downlink VFO down to the next tuning step, and then switch back to the uplink VFO. This is not a huge issue, as I have had to do this with my Kenwood TH-D72A. Here are some key menu settings I have used with my KG-UV9D, for each VFO: Uplink VFO: STEP (03): 2.5 W/N (04): WIDE SQL-LE (08): 9 Tx-CTC (17): 67.0 Downlink VFO: STEP (03): 2.5 W/N (04): NARROW SQL-LE (08): 0 I normally put the uplink frequency in the upper VFO, and the downlink frequency in the lower VFO. This is my preference; it does not appear that I have to use the VFOs in a particular way for full-duplex operation. I set the squelch as tight as possible on the uplink VFO, and wide open on the downlink VFO, to ensure I am hearing only the static from the downlink VFO. Since many Chinese-made HTs use menus that are similar to what I have in the KG-UV9D, I plan on using these settings in the other Chinese-made dual- band HTs I plan on trying with AO-85 (Wouxun KG-UV8D, AnyTone TERMN-8R, Puxing PX-UV973). I already had a successful test of full-duplex operation on AO-85 with the KG-UV8D, and hope to try the other two HTs soon and see how they handle full-duplex operation on this satellite. I have a couple of other HTs that I'll try on AO-85 from "traditional" ham manufacturers (Icom IC-W32A, Alinco DJ-G7T). I will also try my Kenwood TH-D72A, a radio that should have no issues working AO-85 full-duplex, as it can be used with SO-50 full-duplex. Now, the AO-85 passes I worked with the KG-UV9D... I worked three AO-85 passes from my back yard this weekend with the KG-UV9D and my Elk log periodic antenna - a Saturday afternoon pass to my west with maximum elevation of 61 degrees, a western pass Sunday morning with maximum elevation of 70 degrees, and an eastern pass Sunday afternoon with maximum elevation of 37 degrees. All 3 passes had several minutes where AO-85's elevation was at least 20 degrees. I plugged an audio splitter into the KG-UV9D's speaker jack, and split the receive audio between an earpiece and my Sony digital audio recorder. This allowed me to have MP3 recordings of the audio received by the HT while I heard the downlink, safe from having receive audio feeding back into the HT's mic. For the two passes on Sunday, I made an RF recording from my SDR receive setup - SDRplay SDR receiver, 8-inch Windows 10 tablet, HDSDR software, and the AMSAT-UK VHF crossed dipole on an 8-foot mast and tripod. I forgot to make an RF recording of the pass I worked on Saturday afternoon, or I would have had 3 RF recordings to go with the 3 MP3 recordings from the HT. Oops. The SDR receive setup allowed me to hear myself through AO-85 from an independent receiver, as well as upload telemetry to the AMSAT server. I logged 3 QSOs on the Saturday afternoon AO-85 pass, 6 QSOs on the Sunday morning pass, and 3 more QSOs on the Sunday afternoon pass. The KG-UV9D did a great job, even at 5 watts. The last QSO I completed on the pass Sunday afternoon, with Drew KO4MA in Florida, was made with AO-85's elevation down to 21 degrees. Shortly after this QSO, I was not able to hear myself through the satellite. My audio from the satellite sounded OK on the HT and my SDR receive setup, although not as loud and strong as other stations. I had to twist my Elk antenna around, which helped to improve the downlink signal and (when transmitting) improve my chances of AO-85 hearing me. I was also able to upload telemetry to the AMSAT server from the two Sunday passes I worked with the HT from the SDR receive setup out in the yard. If you want to see pictures of my setup for these passes, or hear the audio and/or RF recordings I made from these passes, you can visit my public Dropbox space at http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ and look for the folder named "20151122-AO85_Fox1A-DM43". If the folder listing doesn't appear when going to that link, press F5 or Refresh to force your web browser to make another try at accessing the link. I'll post more to the -BB, and upload more files to my Dropbox space, as I test other HTs for their ability to work AO-85 full-duplex. I plan on trying the KG-UV8D again, with the same settings as I used on the KG-UV9D, to see if it does any better than it performed last month. The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend should allow for many passes that are usable with 5-watt radios. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-24 01:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 24 Nov '15

24 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-24 01:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact was successful: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg (***) Watch for live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFhGc2nes4 Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg Nanasawa Kibounooka Elementary School, Atsugi, Japan, direct via 8N1NKSG (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-12-02 09:33:51 UTC 61 deg (***) Yayoi Elementary School, Yatomi, Japan, direct via 8N2YAYOI (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Fri 2015-12-04 09:25:46 UTC 57 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 115 (***) Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-24 01:00 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 1010. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 975. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-24 01:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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IC-821h no full duplex in satellite mode
by sergej kindsvater 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

I have recently bought a second hand ICOM ic-821h, that doesn't seem to be capable of the full duplex in the satellite mode. Once transmitting on the sub band, I have no receive on the main one. Does anybody have any idea as to how to remedy? Thanks

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Fw: Looking for Teletec DXP-U150 Amplifier
by Farrell Winder 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

From: Farrell Winder Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 9:10 AM To: AMSAT Subject: Looking for Teletec DXP-U150 Amplifier I am trying to locate a Teletec DXP-U150 amplifier for sale. Please reply off line . Thanks. Farrell Winder, W8ZCF

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IC-821h no full duplex in satellite mode
by Nicholas Mahr KE8AKW 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

Hello, Do you have the Squelch level on the side you are receiving on all the way down? Have you activaed satellite mode by press the FUNC key and one of the keys on the bottom right of the radio that says REV or NOR? 73's KE8AKW

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden on 25 Nov. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 09:44 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 VE4ISS. The contact should be audible over portions of Canada 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. Dragonskolan is one of the biggest upper secondary schools in Sweden and is located in central Umeå. Currently hosting 1820 students aged 16-19 and 300 staff; it has recently been renovated to meet modern needs in a stimulating learning environment. At Dragonskolan, we have an ethos where we believe we can offer our students three meaningful and enjoyable years. Our core values are "open and bright", referring not only to the physical surroundings but also to the social climate. Dragonskolan is the biggest meeting place for young people in Umeå, A wide range of 3 year programs, college preparatory and vocational, are offered here, ranging from natural science to humanities and technological science. At the core of the school is the Dragonskolan Technology Center where everything is taught from industrial welding technology to electronics, automation, computer science, CAD and much more. With its close ties to the industry, the school keeps in pace with the latest industrial technology ensuring the students get the best education available within their chosen field. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How would you describe the smell in space? 2. Is going to space what you expected it to be? 3. How dark is it dark in space? 4. Have you ever fantasized about seeing an alien life form? 5. Do you have access to internet and social media on the space station? 6. What is the first thing you want to do when you get back home? 7. What is the annual salary as an astronaut? 8. When are humans expected to go to Mars? 9. How does one feel in size aboard the space station? 10. If a person is in the middle of a room in aboard the space station without reaching the walls. How would that person move from that position without throwing something in the opposite direction? 11. Where does the oxygen come from? 12. How has your vision of life changed from being in space? 13. Which time is correct in space? 14. How do you take a shower in low gravity? 15. Do you ever get tired of each other on the space station? 16. Don't you miss your family and friends? 17. Do you think people get another view on our problems on earth after a trip to space? 18. What does it feel like to sleep in space? 19. Was it worth all the training to go to space? 20. What is the best experience you have had so far going to space? 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): ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available at ariss.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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W5PFG/P (EL15/EL16) - SO-50 @ 1757 UTC
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

Good afternoon, Clayton, W5PFG, will be on the EL15/EL16 line on the SO-50 pass at 17:57 UTC. 73, Paul, N8HM

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Good Day all.
by Phillip Townsend Lontz 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

Newbie here... And as such I will ask some dumb ass questions. So I will thank you in advance... Thank you. Phil K5SSR Santa Fe, New Mexico 505 466 7575 I have never contacted a Sat or even heard one. I mostly work SOTA guys using CW. My station for the low bands is built around Elecraft radios and a simple vertical antenna. I don't own a radio for sat com yet. I would like to be able to work FM, CW, SSB. I am a EE and MBA... Not a great EE but a better MBA. Now retired... Yea! So long for now 73 Es dit dit.. What Me Worry?

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NO-84 sunlight?
by Jerry Pixton 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

When will NO-84 have enough sunlight that we can use PKS-31 again? -- ----------------------------------------------- Dr. Jerry R. Pixton, PIXOS Designs http://www.shentel.net/pixosdesigns/RadioTuner/ jpixton(a)shentel.net -----------------------------------------------

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-23 05:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-23 05:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is go for: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg Watch for live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFhGc2nes4 Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-23 05:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1009. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 974. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-17 19:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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High Performance Portable Rotor
by Bob Freeman 23 Nov '15

23 Nov '15

Tom, Well done and thank you for sharing your experience with the RPi and Arduino. I have only recently started looking at the Arduino since being exposed to it at HamJam (http://hamjam.info/) here a week ago. One of our speakers, via Skype, was Glen Popiel, KW5GP, of “Arduino for Ham Radio” fame. Lots of good stuff in his presentation. Also, good to see you have found the AccelStepper library. If I pursue an Arduino interface for my CNCTRK AZ/EL positioner (for SatPC32 folks who are not quite ready to dive into LinuxCNC) this library looks like the way to go for motion control. Thanks again. 73 Bob KI4SBL Subject: [amsat-bb] High Performance Portable Rotor > Message-ID: > < > CAHnRQRJX6JcuxkSu-1zttLT0twVRD6ULirp0PZ03byVL32q+5w(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Hi, > > http://www.tomdoyle.org/hpr > > 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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FUNcube-1 Operations report
by Graham Shirville 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

Hi All, FUNcube-1 is now back in autonomous mode for the week. High power tlm when in sunlight and transponder with low power tlm when in eclipse. 73 Graham G3VZV

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WD9EWK @ DM33/DM43 yesterday (Saturday, 21 November 2015)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

Hi! After my demonstration for a local radio club last Monday evening, when I operated from grid DM33, I received a request from Carl KA4H asking if I could go back to DM33 again. Since the DM33/DM43 grid boundary, 112 degrees West, is only a few miles west of my house, I suggested that I could go over there on Saturday (21 November) morning. After identifying a couple of passes that were good on both ends, I made the plan to go to the Phoenix city park that straddles the grid boundary. For those who have been on the satellites for the past several years, I used to operate from this park (grids DM33xp and DM43ap) regularly between 2007 and 2011. The park is about 15 miles from my house, not a long drive. After making a stop for breakfast on my way to the park, I made it there with almost an hour to spare. I went to the west edge of the park, where I could park and be on the DM33/DM43 line, took the obligatory photos to establish my location. After I had set up my two FT-817NDs, I decided to put one 817 away, and use the SDRplay SDR receiver and my 8-inch Windows tablet for the downlink receiver. Then I waited for AO-73 to come up, just after 1600 UTC. Once I heard the satellite, I did not call CQ. I made directed calls for KA4H, and after a couple of transmissions I heard Carl. We made the quick QSO, and then I proceeded to work two other stations before LOS. Almost as soon as AO-73 went away, there was an AO-85 pass moving across my northwest. I set up my IC-2820H mobile radio, SDRplay SDR receiver, and 8- inch Windows tablet to work that pass. This pass went up to a maximum elevation of 23 degrees. I was able to work a couple of stations on that pass, heard another station IDing and giving his grid locator, but not responding to me. I hope his downlink receiver was working, as his uplink signals were decent. I made an RF recording with my tablet that captured 51 frames, which I uploaded to the AMSAT server later in the day. A shallow (5-degree) SO-50 pass just after 1700 UTC was a nice surprise. I was able to work 5 stations in about 5 minutes, despite the satellite barely clearing the mountains to the northeast. I used only the IC-2820H on this, and a later SO-50 pass, without the SDR receiver for the downlink. Then another AO-73 pass at 1738 UTC, and a better SO-50 pass an hour later, to put more QSOs in the log. These 5 passes put a total of 26 QSOs in the log, for almost 3 hours of activity. Not bad for not advertising my plan to operate from the DM33/DM43 grid boundary. All QSOs have been uploaded to Logbook of the World, and I have seen a few QSLs already. I posted audio and RF recordings of the AO-73 and AO-85 passes (the passes where I used my SDRplay receiver and Windows tablet as my downlink receiver) to my Dropbox space at http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ if anyone is curious. Look for the folders with names starting with 20151121, and containing the two grids DM33 and DM43 at the end of the folder names. If anyone needs a QSO with grid DM33, or a few other grids around the metro Phoenix area (DM32, DM34, DM42, DM44), I can usually make a trip to these locations on a weekend. They are about an hour away from my house, give or take. If I'm doing this on a schedule with another ham, I might not post any advance public notice of my intentions, but will certainly post my presence at these locations on Twitter and/or this list once I completed my main objective for the quick road trip. On other occasions, I will gladly give advance notice of my plans for a trip to these locations, on this list and via Twitter, and hope to work lots of stations. :-) 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Tracking Demo (active satellites!)
by Robert Bruninga 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

> I seem to recall that you had a nice paper on using a fixed elevation antennas with the satellites. I believe the angle of 20 degrees or so was suggested. If it is still around I would appreciate a link. here it is: http://aprs.org/LEO-tracking.html The angle is 15 degrees. That retains all your gain on the horizon but gives you better gain higher and closer. But if your horizon is blocked say all the way up to 10 deg, then you can raise it by the same amount. Answered via AMSAT-bb... Bob, Wb4APR

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NO-84 Sunlight
by Nicholas Mahr KE8AKW 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

Is the APRS digipeater on? Or is it off due to negative power budget on NO-84?

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Re: [amsat-bb] SPROUT SSTV + Nayif-1 at YouthConnect
by Eduardo Erlemann 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

22/NOV 14:15 UTC pass of SPROUT in south Atlantic / S. America: https://youtu.be/DmYprKse1pg 73 de Ed PY2RN GG66LW -------------------------------------------- On Sun, 11/22/15, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SPROUT SSTV + Nayif-1 at YouthConnect To: "Daniel Estévez" <daniel(a)destevez.net> Cc: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Date: Sunday, November 22, 2015, 12:04 PM It was on during the 0350 UTC and 0425 UTC passes over North America. I recorded the 0350 UTC pass and the audio/SSTV image is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDKW5Qv5-Vw&feature=youtu.be On the 0425 UTC pass, I had strong local interference at 437.605 MHz that wiped out my reception and I didn't wait for later in the pass to get clear of it. 73, Paul, N8HM On Sunday, November 22, 2015, Daniel Estévez <daniel(a)destevez.net> wrote: > El 20/11/15 a las 23:30, M5AKA escribió: > > > SPROUT SSTV and Digitalker active every Sunday > > http://amsat-uk.org/2015/11/19/sprout-sstv-active-sundays/ > > Is anyone listening for the SSTV on SPROUT? I was listening on the > 12:20UTC pass and heard the CW beacon on 437.525 fine, but no trace of > any other signal. > > 73, > > Dani M0HXM/EA4GPZ. > _______________________________________________ > 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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SPROUT SSTV + Nayif-1 at YouthConnect
by M5AKA 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

Second Birthday of FUNcube-1 http://amsat-uk.org/2015/11/20/second-birthday-of-funcube-1/ SPROUT SSTV and Digitalker active every Sunday http://amsat-uk.org/2015/11/19/sprout-sstv-active-sundays/ Updated SSETI Express Observation Report http://amsat-uk.org/2015/11/19/updated-sseti-express-observation-report/ Nayif-1 at YouthConnect http://amsat-uk.org/2015/11/14/nayif-1-at-youthconnect/ 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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ANS-326 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-326 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: * AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations * The Second Birthday of FUNcube-1 (AO-73) * FM Repeater Test at IO-86 Satellite * AMSAT-LU announces transponder satellite payload and launch * Space Brazilian Agency With Amateur radio PY2SDR LABRE/AMSAT-BR * United Launch Alliance Reveals Transformational CubeSat Launch Program * Nayif-1 at UAE YouthConnect * DeorbitSail Update and Initial Camera Image * SPROUT SSTV and Digitalker active every Sunday * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.01 ANS-326 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 326.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE November 22, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-326.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations AO-85 has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT Operations, who are now responsible for the scheduling and modes. The following guidelines are provided for users: Uplink power should be on the order of minimum 200 W EIRP for full quieting at lower antenna elevation angles. Your mileage may vary. With an Arrow, 5 W has been used successfully to make contacts. Polarity is important. The satellite antennas are linear. So, if you are using linearly polarized antennas, you will need to adjust throughout the pass. Full duplex operation facilitates these adjustments while transmitting and is highly recommended. The downlink is very strong and should be heard well with almost any antenna. Downlink audio is 5 kHz deviation, as expected. Many will perceive that the audio is "low." This is an effect of the filtering below 300 Hz, which provides for the DUV telemetry, coupled with any noise on the uplink signal resulting from lack of full quieting or being off frequency. That makes for less fidelity than a typical receiver in terms of audio frequencies passed. Transmit (downlink) frequency varies with temperature. Due to the wide range of temperatures we are seeing in the eclipse cycle, the transmitter can be anywhere from around 500 Hz low at 10°C to near 2 kHz low at 40°C. Receive frequency has been generally agreed to be about 435.170 MHz, although the AFC makes that hard to pin down and also helps with the uplinks that are off frequency. Probably the most notable observations about AO-85 are an apparent lack of sensitivity and difficulty in turning on the repeater with the 67 Hz CTCSS when it is not yet activated, or holding it on by the presence of the CTCSS. We have determined a probable cause for the sensitivity issue and while that can't be fixed on AO-85 we are taking steps to prevent similar issues on the rest of the Fox-1 CubeSats. The tone detection threshold along with the receive sensitivity issue makes it hard to bring up the repeater. This is being addressed by adjusting the values for a valid tone detection in the other Fox-1 CubeSats now that we have on orbit information about temperatures and power budget. Full details will be in the Nov/Dec AMSAT Journal. It is important to remember that science is the reason behind the Fox-1 satellites. Not only does science help with the launch cost, it provides a great amount of educational value both from the science payload and in amateur radio itself. The data-under-voice (DUV) telemetry is an excellent way to provide the science without sacrificing the use of the satellite for communications, which would be the case if higher speed downlinks were needed. DUV provides constant science as long as the repeater is in use, which in turn provides more downlink data for the science - a mutually beneficial combination. Fox-1A is AMSAT-NA's first CubeSat. Many new techniques are incorporated and lessons will be learned, as with any new "product." The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be built and flown. Launches are scheduled for three more, and a new NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative proposal will be submitted for the fifth. We will incorporate changes from what we learn in each launch, to the extent possible, in subsequent Fox-1 CubeSats. Of the four NASA sponsored CubeSats on the ELaNa XII launch October 8, we are sad to report that ARC1 was never heard from and BisonSat was lost after a few weeks of operation. AMSAT extends our deepest sympathy to the people who worked so hard on these projects. To our members, we want to say that the Fox Team is very proud and pleased that our first CubeSat is very successful and hopefully will be for some time. [ANS thanks AMSAT's Vice President of Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Second Birthday of FUNcube-1 (AO-73) The FUNcube-1 Ops Team reports: FUNcube-1 was launched into space two years ago on November 21st 2013. We are delighted to be able to report that more than 900 stations, including many schools around the world, have received the telemetry from the spacecraft since launch. Our Data Warehouse is storing more than 750 MB of data from almost 1 million data packets. We are very grateful to everyone who has been contributing to the success of this mission. Please continue to keep the data flowing as it will provide a valuable resource for students in the future. The stats continue – speeding along at around 17,500 mph, FUNcube-1, which had a launch mass of just 982 grams, has completed more than 10,500 orbits of the earth. This means a total distance travelled of more than 260 million miles. All telemetry sensors continue to provide valid data, real time, whole orbit and high resolution channels alike. The flight code is really robust and we have only had three unexpected “events” since launch. Two of these we believe to have been caused by noise of the command receiver being incorrectly interpreted as a command and only one appears to have been caused by a RAM error. The battery and solar panels also continue to work perfectly and provide a very positive power budget. We have sent out many Fitter messages for school and other similar events. Earlier this week there was a demonstration at Thorne Green Top School in Yorkshire. Here is a report from Dave EI4HT/M0GIW: Good Morning All Firstly -thanks to all for your help, we had a great morning at Green Top and the highlight was FUNcube. I started with a slide show talking about communications from cave paintings all the way up to smartphones, we looked at space communications and travel from Sputnik to Astra and Apollo to the Millennium Falcon! We spoke about satellites and how they are used every day and how we all got to watch “I’m A Celebrity” via Satellite last night from Australia. I brought in lots of props too, some old Motorola MX330 radios, some PMR 446, and a marine band radio .I also had a small model of a CubeSat that I knocked up over the weekend, I also passed around some NOAA images from last week’s Abigail storm and I had a few QSL cards from ISS and MIR from years ago when I lived in Ireland. The FUNcube pass was great, really strong signals, I had my turnstile and FCD set up and had audio through speakers and used the class projector to show Satpc32 and the Dashboard. There was a great buzz of excitement when we got the first packet and even more when the Fitter messages came through. The kids were fascinated to see the signal arrive just as the software predicted and then hear the telemetry and the decode. After the pass we were able to look at the Warehouse online and print off the QSL card and certificate. I didn’t get a chance to take many pics but Mrs Overson will update the School Blog and she took lots of pics. http://greentopschool.co.uk/blog Once again thanks to all at FUNcube, looking forward to Tim Peake on the ISS in the New Year and planning another visit to the School then. Regards Dave EI4HT / M0GIW PS: I was back dropping my own kids off this morning and Mrs Overson told me they have printed a QSL card and Certificate for each of the students and they have used them for their class journals. As well providing a great educational resource, FUNcube-1 operates at night and generally at weekends with the linear transponder active for radio amateurs to use for communications. The transponder continues to provide an excellent service. As users will be aware, the transponder uplink frequencies vary with receiver temperature. The RX temp telemetry channel is the best one to use for tracking this effect. This does make it quite difficult to use full computer control for transponder operations and we have already developed new oscillator circuits to improve this performance for future missions. For the telemetry uplinked to the Data Warehouse, it is possible to download special Certificate or QSL Card here http://amsatuk.me.uk/on/funcube_qsl.php and, for transponder users, the “73 on 73 award” continues at http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/ The Nayif-1 CubeSat mission, which includes a full FUNcube payload, is expected to be launched into a similar orbit in the first half of next year and will provide an additional level of service to the community. Meanwhile we hope everyone will continue to have fun with FUNcube-1! See: http://funcube.org.uk/2015/11/20/the-second-birthday-of-funcube-1/ [ANS thanks Graham, G3VZV and the FUNcube-1 Ops Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FM Repeater Test at IO-86 Satellite A confirmation for the upcoming test of the FM Repeater on IO-86 Satellite (LAPAN-A2/ORARI), has been announced and would be conducted this weekend: - Saturday, 21 Nov 2015, at 02:30 UTC - 04:50UTC - Sunday, 22 Nov 2015, at 02:55 – 05:00 UTC Voice Repeater info: - Uplink 145.880 Mhz tone 88,5 - Downlink 435.880 Mhz AMSAT Keplerian data 0 IO-86 1 40931U 15052B 15316.15776324 .00001070 00000-0 60618-4 0 9994 2 40931 6.0030 69.3893 0012877 275.6206 84.2533 14.76374433 6653 As the satellite was designed for emcomm using handheld radio (the reason of the relatively high-power downlink), we would like all reports of portable ops (handheld radio using some sort of portable directional antenna, i.e. CJU / IOio / Moxon / Arrow / etc). Responses via the amsat-bb [ANS thanks Suryono Adisoemarta – YD0NXX / N5SNN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-LU announces transponder satellite payload and launch (From AMSAT-LU Facebook page:) Dear friends, Since several years ago AMSAT Argentina is working to keep alive the dream of many amateur radio back into space with a satellite of its own, which is the continuity of the legendary LuSat-1 of the años1990 and reaping the benefits of the technological advance of our days. For this held various technical activities, developing experiments on board the occasional platforms, all with the same objective: to preserve the human group, enhance their capabilities and spread their resources by guiding them to the education and development of the activity. In recent times, AMSAT Argentina has been working in many ways with the company Satellogic, which already launched three satellites of low orbit: Captain Beto, manolito and tita, two of them are now broadcast telemetry and data in uhf and are identified in the Distinctive LU7AA. Under an agreement signed between the two institutions AMSAT-LU provides support to those missions operate one of the stations of control in uppsala, Prov. Of BS. As. Currently satellogic is facing the construction of a constellation of satellites of observation of the earth and has invited AMSAT-LU to participate in the project of the next two satellites, the ÑUSAT 1 AND ÑUSAT 2, riding on one of them a Linear Transponder Analog Amateur Radio Antenna and its corresponding. The experiment which provides AMSAT was tested on several occasions in the land, and also on board one of flights in a balloon launched from the prov. Of the Pampas. At that time was called carposat, showing a good performance in spite of its low power and small size and weight. On this occasion, the experiment of AMSAT LU - that has no name yet own - will be further reduced in its dimensions and mounted on a plaque radiadora of 10 x 10 cm, in which also won't hold the necessary components for the Source of food and the duplexer. The package will be installed on the bus from the NUSAT, which will provide the energy and will be part of a number of other experiments that will carry out this satellite. The Transponder receives in the band of UHF and VHF Transmitted in, has a bandwidth of 30 Khz and its output power is 200 mw.; Frequencies of ascent 435.935 ~ 965 Lsb / CW, Frequencies of descent 145.965 ~ 935 USB / CW. Basic telemetry in 145.900 CW. The launch is scheduled for April 2016 with a Chinese launcher in a polar orbit at 500 km. In Height and an inclination of 97 degrees with respect to the equator. This is an extraordinary opportunity to our institution, and for all the Radioamateurs Argentines, be able to have a new satellite in orbit, after after so many years of successful LuSat-1. So far, the funds needed for the preliminary activities of recent years, the construction and the logistics, were provided by a small number of members of the board of directors and partners of AMSAT-LU. Now come the largest economic positions for the completion of the electronics and integration with the satellite principal. In order to comply with this circumstance, it has been proposed the establishment of a list where it will include the names and distinctive signs of all those who are able and willing to work together, and then give them a certificate alluding to his gesture. The neighbors of the autonomous city or the great Buenos Aires, can perform their collaboration personally during the monthly meetings of AMSAT-LU. Also at the headquarters of the RC Qrm Belgrano, permanent partners of AMSAT-LU. If I'd be interested in making donations from other sites away, we'll let you know the way to make their contribution. Also, we would like to take this opportunity to invite all the partners of AMSAT and amateur radio colleagues who are interested in suggest the name and the logo for our next satellite Argentine, write to us on the page of AMSAT Argentina in Facebook or sending it by e-mail to parapente(a)amsat.org.ar. [ANS thanks Ignacio Mazzitelli, LU1ESY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Brazilian Agency With Amateur radio PY2SDR LABRE/AMSAT-BR Brasilia, November 20, 2015 - The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) received on Tuesday (17) the visit of amateur Edson Wander Pereira, the first to receive and decode the data sent by Serpens-1 cubesat. The nanossatélite was launched into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS), the 17th of last September. Ham Radio is in Brasilia (DF) to attend the 7th Meeting of Science and Technology (ECT - FGA) which ends today (20) in the Range Campus of the University of Brasilia (UNB). Pereira lives in Pardinho (SP) and his visit emphasized the importance of dissemination of knowledge to amateurs and students who are interested in nanossatélites. "The experimental amateur radio is an activity that collaborates with the nanossatélites projects. This joint action causes the development of CubeSats in schools and universities is promoted by having more data exchange possibilities transmitted by these nanos, "says Pereira. At the meeting with President of the Agency, José Raimundo Braga, Pereira received from teacher Chantal Capeletti, of UNB and coordinator of Serpens Program, a transmitter that can be used to send data to the satellite and experiment with its payload. This equipment is part of the mission ground follow-up and was produced in limited numbers, but will be distributed to experimental radio amateurs operating in the area and among the member institutions of the nanossatélite consortium. See the story here http://www.aeb.gov.br/radioamador-experimental-visita-aeb-apos-decodificar- dados-do-serpens-1/ [ANS thanks Paulo, PV8DX for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- United Launch Alliance Reveals Transformational CubeSat Launch Program Centennial, Colo., (Nov. 19, 2015) – As the most experienced launch company in the nation, United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today it is taking CubeSat rideshares to the next level by launching a new, innovative program offering universities the chance to compete for free CubeSat rides on future launches. “ULA will offer universities the chance to compete for at least six CubeSat launch slots on two Atlas V missions, with a goal to eventually add university CubeSat slots to nearly every Atlas and Vulcan launch,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “There is a growing need for universities to have access and availability to launch their CubeSats and this program will transform the way these universities get to space by making space more affordable and accessible.” "This is exactly the kind of collaborative innovation that we celebrate in Colorado," said Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia. “Here, we have a Colorado company giving Colorado students at a Colorado university an unbelievable opportunity to send a satellite into space. What a great day for our state." Rideshare is a flight-proven, innovative approach that provides customers a low-cost way to achieve various mission objectives without the need for a dedicated launch vehicle. CubeSats are miniaturized satellites originally designed for use in conjunction with university educational projects and are typically 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm (4 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches) and approximately 1.3 kg (3 lbs). “Since its inception, ULA has been committed to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives and programs such as this help to motivate, educate and develop our next generation of rocket scientists and space entrepreneurs,” said Bruno. “We are making the announcement today with University of Colorado President Bruce Benson and University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano, key partners in STEM education, and are pleased to offer the university the first free CubeSat launch slot in 2017.” "CU-Boulder students have been building and operating small satellites for 20 years, including the Colorado Student Space Weather CubeSat launched on a ULA Atlas rocket in 2012," DiStefano said. "The ability to provide science and engineering students with the opportunity to fly the satellites they build is an invaluable motivational and educational tool. We are thrilled to partner with ULA, a visionary organization that is helping to facilitate a nationwide STEM effort." Interested universities should email ULACubeSats(a)ulalaunch.com by Dec. 18, 2015 to notify ULA they are interested in participating. In early 2016, ULA will release a request for proposal (RFP) for the first competitive CubeSat launch slots. The selected universities will be announced in August 2016. In addition, ULA is offering the nation’s universities the chance to help name the new CubeSat program. Universities, educators and students can submit names for consideration to ULACubeSats(a)ulalaunch.com using a campus-issued email address. Submissions are due by Dec.18, 2015. The winning name will be announced early next year, and the institution will receive a free CubeSat launch slot on a future mission. As America’s ride to space, ULA has launched 102 missions, including 55 CubeSats, with 100 percent mission success. About United Launch Alliance With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 100 satellites to orbit that provide critical capabilities for troops in the field, aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the mysteries of our solar system. For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com . Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch. See America’s Ride to Space Offers University Competition for Free STEM CubeSat Rides on Future Launches http://www.ulalaunch.com/ula-reveals-transformational-cubesat-launch.aspx?t… =United+Launch+Alliance+Reveals+Transformational+CubeSat+Launch+Program+ http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx See also: http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/11/19/ula-says-it-will-launch-some-cubesats-… -free/ [ANS thanks Jeff Yanko, WB3JFS on the AMSAT-BB for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nayif-1 at UAE YouthConnect YouthConnect is an initiative led by the Expo 2020 UAE team and is catered specifically for the Youth of today. The Nayif-1 team took part in the event by throwing a workshop titled “Introduction to Cubesatellites.” YouthConnect is the first in a long-lasting and wide-ranging series highly interactive forums designed by youth for youth. The inaugural event took take place on Saturday, November 14, 2015. This first interactive, full-day forum, part of a far wider programme to talk to the younger members of society, was open to all UAE residents between the ages of 18-25. “From our earliest days conceiving Expo”, says Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and Director General of the Bureau Dubai Expo 2020 “we were determined to put our youth at the heart of our plans. It is these young men and women who will be representing and leading our nation in the years to come. So it is important that they contribute to these events and decide what they want to see and do on the day.” Nayif-1 was built by students at the American University of Sharjah, UAE, in partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. The nanosatellite will incorporate a novel autonomous attitude determination and control system. This will be the first flight of this system. Additionally it will carry a UHF to VHF linear transponder that will have up to 0.5 watt output and which can be used by Radio Amateurs worldwide for SSB and CW communications. A launch is planned for the first half 2016 on the SpaceX Falcoln 9 SHERPA mission with deployment into an elliptical, sun synchronous, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) of about 450 by 720 km. Follow Nayif-1 on Twitter https://twitter.com/Nayifone Frequency information http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/nayif-1/ YouthConnect at Expo 2020 Dubai http://expo2020dubai.ae/en/news/article/expo_2020_dubai_unveils_youthconnect [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- DeorbitSail Update and Initial Camera Image Chris Bridges 2E0OBC of the Surrey Space Centre provides this update on the status of the DeorbitSail Cubesat. Dear AMSAT Community, We would like to express our gratitude for your cooperation in the DeorbitSail project, and update you on the status of the mission. As you know the DOS mission was launched on 10th July. After 4 months of operations, the satellite is healthy and stable, although unfortunately we have not been able to meet all of the mission objectives. Initial contact with the satellite was established relatively smoothly and we received a lot of good data, both through our own ground station but also via the network of you radio amateurs who have been very generous with your time and help. We achieved a power stable state early on, with good comms (uplink and downlink) established within the first few days. We deployed the solar panels successfully, and managed to return to a good and stable power state after deployment. The ADCS has been challenging from the start, and continues to be challenging – we have struggled to accurately determine the satellite tumble rate and get it under control (more detail on that is included below). We know that the satellite has seen some very high spin rates for various reasons, including some inherent design/magnetic characteristics which have become apparent. Despite many attempts, we have unfortunately not been able to deploy the sail, and having recently thoroughly analysed and investigated the possible causes, mission events and ground test data and history, we are now reaching the conclusion that achieving successful sail deployment is very unlikely. Again there is more detail on that in the main body of text below. We thank you for your patience and would like to apologise for not keeping you updated on mission progress as often as we’d hoped. The operations phase has been a learning and sometimes stressful experience for all of the team at SSC, with a lot of head scratching and sleepless nights involved. Here is some more detailed information regarding what progress and achievements have been made during the operations to date. • After the launch on the 10th of July, and the first week in orbit, with a power safe and healthy satellite, the operation passed from the LEOP phase to the ADCS Commissioning phase. This second phase was estimated to last between three and four weeks; this proved to be optimistic. • Although the spin up of the S/C was much higher than expected and saturated the sensors, the SU simulations and the available data suggested a large Z-spin rate on DOS which was confirmed by the B-field and MEMS magnetometry measurements. To induce a bigger difference in the Moments of Inertia (MoI) of the two non-longitudinal axes, the decision was taken to deploy the solar panels. This operation was performed the 10th of August. • More than a month after the launch the satellite was really healthy, power safe and with great comms through newly developed software defined radio and database backend operations. Although the stabilization wasn’t achieved even with the solar panel deployment, at one month from the launch the team decide to proceed with the sail deployment. • This decision was agreed with DLR that confirmed that tumbling rates were no issue for the sail deployment, because the Moments of Inertia increase rapidly slowing down the tumble rate. DLR has performed a deployment test on Gossamer while tumbling before coming to this opinion. • On the 15th of August, the first attempt for sail deployment was performed, the command was sent and the acknowledgement from the S/C was received, but no current was drawn from the boom deployer motor. Multiple experiments were performed to try and determine the cause of sail deployment failure. • At this point, after a thorough investigation, the most plausible hypothesis and justification seems to be a physical disconnection of the motor cables. (Note that after the vibration test, it wasn’t possible to physically inspect the connection due to the design itself of the S/C) Our simulations showed that with the actual configuration (deployed solar panels, undeployed sail) the decay time should be 20 years circa. The aim now is to exercise and exploit the parts of the satellite that are working, and gain more confidence and experience with the SU ADCS system, the ISIS TRXUV and solar panels, and the SSC SDR groundstation and database tools to explore better the interaction of the panel circuitry with the attitude stabilisation. That will allow us to improve our performances in the next missions. From here, the team have worked hard to take images of the Earth and via SU’s CubeSense camera – which we are delighted to show you today. This would not be possible without the dedication from the SSC team here and, of course, the amateur telemetry you kindly send us. We are going to continue imaging and testing at higher resolutions too so watch this space. We thank you for all the support. Chiara Massimiani, DOS Project manager & Prof Guglielmo Aglietti SSC Director and DOS PI DeorbitSail http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/telemetry/deorbitsail/ Surrey Space Centre http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ssc/research/space_vehicle_control/deorbitsail/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SPROUT SSTV and Digitalker active every Sunday Slow Scan TV (SSTV) images in Scottie 1 format will be transmitted from the SPROUT satellite every Sunday (Japanese Standard Time) on 437.600 MHz FM (+/- 9 kHz Doppler shift). The Digitalker will also be active. SPROUT, a 20 x 20 x 22 cm amateur radio nano-satellite with a mass of 7.1 kg, launched successfully with the L-band (1236.5 MHz/1257.5 MHz/1278.5 MHz) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite ALOS-2 on May 24, 2014 at 0305 UT. SPROUT is in a 654 km, 97.9 degree inclination Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). SPROUT (Space Research On Unique Technology) was built by students from Nihon University and its objectives are: 1. Operation of satellite by radio amateurs. A FM Digitalker will enable the satellite to speak to amateurs around the world. The Voice Message Box will record transmissions from radio amateurs and play them back. Pre-loaded images from the Message Gallery can be transmitted using Slow Scan TV (SSTV). Pictures of the Earth can be transmitted by SSTV and radio amateurs can receive it using free software such as MMSSTV. As part of the Earth mapping project the team ask radio amateurs to contribute pictures they have received from the satellite for display on the SPROUT website. The satellite also has a packet radio Digipeater and Text Message Box function. 2. Demonstration of the deployment of the combined membrane structure and verification of the design method of the structure SPROUT has a triangular membrane supported by two tubes like framework. They are folded and stored in the satellite before the launch. After the launch, the nitrogen gas is injected into the tubes in space, and they extend, so that the membrane deploys (called “combined membrane structure”). 3. Demonstration of attitude determination and control of a nanosatellite using the sun sensors, gyros, geomagnetic sensor and magnetic torquers. Callsign: JQ1ZJQ Size: 214x210x220 mm Weight: 7.1 kg Mode: 1200bps AFSK, 9600bps GMSK CW downlink 437.525 MHz FM packet downlink 437.525 MHz Digipeater uplink 437.600 MHz Digitalker downlink 437.600 MHz SSTV downlink 437.600 MHz SPROUT English website http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout-e/ SPROUT Japanese website http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout/ Nihon-Univ. Miyazaki Laboratory on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nihon-Univ-Miyazaki-Laboratory/4065666428188… Telemetry Software http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout-e/2-Software-e.html Telemetry format http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout-e/2-Formats%20of%20telemetry-e.html SPROUT launch data page http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout-e/2-Launch%20data-e.html TLE’s from the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) are also available at http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt Free Slow Scan TV (SSTV) software MMSSTV http://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php The JE9PEL website has information on other satellites on this launch http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/jaxalos2.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Saturday, 5 December 2015 – Superstition Superfest 2015 in Mesa AZ *Saturday, 9 January 2016 – Thunderbird Hamfest 2016 in Phoenix AZ *Friday and Saturday, 19-20 February 2016 – Yuma Hamfest and 2016 ARRL Southwest Division Convention in Yuma AZ *Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 March 2016 – ScienceCity science fair, on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson AZ *Saturday, 19 March 2016 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Spring Hamfest 2016 in Scottsdale AZ *Saturday, 26 March 2016 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * Kiluutaq School, Umiujaq, Nunavik Quebec, Canada, telebridge via W6SRJ The ISS callsign was NA1SS The scheduled astronaut was Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact was successful: Tue 2015-11-17 16:47:02 UTC 41 deg We are students from Kiluutaq school. Our school is located in the village of Umiujaq. This is a small village of about 460 people in northern Quebec (Canada). In winter, we use special clothes to go hunting. We hunt seals, belugas, caribou, fish and foxes. In addition, every year we celebrate the blueberry festival and we pick a lot of blueberries. Our village is very special since we are talking 3 different languages: Inuttitut, English and French. In our village there are two stores, a school, an arena, an airport,a health center and a community center. Steve, VE3TBD reported: Contact went well... very well in fact. All questions answered - 13 140 students. 50 parents. Astronaut was a little low at times but overall very good. I heard him well but I know the many languages and cultures do influence how we hear things - very interesting to have the French, English and native languages involved. Our humanoid robot did a very god job of getting the students up for event. Presentations were undertaken in both English and local language. My thanks goes to the very excellent job by Radio Station W6SRJ, Moderator Brian Jackson and all else connected and involved. * A direct contact via OEØARISS with students at BORG Monsbergergasse, Graz, Austria, was successful Mon 2015-11-09 09:42:15 UTC 49 deg. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS answered 11 questions for students. The BORG Monsbergergasse is a grammar school in Graz, Monsbergergasse 16. Graz is the second largest city in Austria, located in the southeast of the country. The school can easily be reached from everywhere in Graz using public transport. About 800 students attend the school and there are about 100 teachers. Our students can choose between 5 different areas of interest: sports, science, music, art and informatics. After four to five years the students graduate from school after taking their A-levels. The school offers a fantastic infrastructure for the students. Apart from the classrooms there is a lab, a library and a cafeteria. There are special computer rooms, four gyms and outside there are several courts for doing sports. Besides there is a garden to relax in the breaks. Upcoming Contacts * Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, And, Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado “Benedetto Croce”, Civate, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is a go for: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg The event will be webcast on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFhGc2nes4 * Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go: Tue 2015-11-24 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Satellite Shorts From All Over * W5PFG Plans Satellite Operation From South Padre Island IOTA NA-092 - (Satellite Op) Clayton, W5PFG, will operate portable from South Padre Island, Texas, in EL16 between November 22-26th. He plans to operate several passes a day from EL15, covering the southern-most tip of Texas. An operation from EL06 is possible sometime in the beginning of that week. You can follow his operation on Twitter <https://twitter.com/@w5pfg> starting November 21st. It's possible he will operate once or twice while enroute. Clayton will try to work as many different satellites as possible. He tends to favor FO-29, typically 15-20 kHz above the center of the transponder. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1240 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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AO-13(B) Record Updated - Still looking for more!
by Joe Leikhim 22 Nov '15

22 Nov '15

What would be the record for AO10? I think I have a 12,001.66 KM with JA6BX way back when I was KE4TZH (now K4SAT). EM70UP to PM53EN. Most my other qso's were about 8,000 km. -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-21 22:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 21 Nov '15

21 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-21 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is go for: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg Watch for live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFhGc2nes4 (***) Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-21 22:00 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 1009. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 974. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-17 19:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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FUNcube Warehouse
by David Johnson 21 Nov '15

21 Nov '15

Hi, There may be a some short short outages of the display part of the warehouse as we do some upgrades. The upload data service will not affected. Happy birthday FC1 !!!! 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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Re: [amsat-bb] QSO hunt from HM77fr
by Pedro Sousa 21 Nov '15

21 Nov '15

Hi all, Thanks to Glenn AA5PK for pulling me out of a 3.47 degrees elevation on AO-7 today, setting my new QRB record of 4170.5 miles (6711.8 Km). I'll be on the rest of the week, according to the plan below. 73 de Pedro CU2ZG HM77fr > > -----Original Message----- From: Pedro Sousa via AMSAT-BB > Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 2:30 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] QSO hunt from HM77fr > > Hi all, > > I'm on a daily hunt for QSOs west of my location. > > Here are my plans for this week: > > Wednesday 18th at 19:25 UTC on a AO-7 looking for US and Canadian calls > specially those around the line from Manitoba, North Dakota down to > Texas. Any South/Central American calls are also very welcome! > Same on Friday 18th around 19:17 UTC. > Daily evening passes of XW-2F looking for East Coast. > Daily late night passes of AO-73. > SO-50 on Saturday at 13:50 UTC and 15:30 UTC, and again on Sunday at > 14:10 UTC, for those seeking FM contact to Europe. > Weekends, occasionally, on FO-29. > > On linear sats you can find me, as always, on center frequency +2kHz. > > Looking forward! > > 73 de Pedro CU2ZG > HM77fr > > --- > Este e-mail foi verificado em termos de vírus pelo software antivírus > Avast. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus > > --- Este e-mail foi verificado em termos de vírus pelo software antivírus Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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WD9EWK @ DM33/DM43 in Phoenix, now
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 21 Nov '15

21 Nov '15

Hi! I have been working passes from the DM33xp/DM43ap grid boundary in Phoenix since 1600 UTC, and will be here for another hour or two. This used to be my "home QTH" when working satellites for several years. My location is visible via APRS or http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 and I have been updating my @WD9EWK Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/WD9EWK ) as well. QSOs will be uploaded to LOTW later today. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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AO-13(B) Record Updated - Still looking for more!
by Paul Stoetzer 21 Nov '15

21 Nov '15

NJ1H submitted an updated record for AO-13 Mode B this morning - a 16,464 km QSO between him in FN42fs and VK1ZZT in QF44ms on 5-Oct-1988. That edges out IK1SLD's 16,337 km QSO with VK4ASB. Did anyone ever do better? I would also like to find records for other satellites, including, but not limited to: AO-6 AO-7(A) AO-8(A) AO-8(J) RS-* AO-10(B) AO-10(L) AO-13(L) AO-13(S) ISS (Packet) ISS (Repeater) AO-27 AO-51 VO-52 SO-50 The AMSAT Satellite Distance Record page is located at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4751 73, Paul, N8HM

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FUNcube-1 in transponder mode for our 2nd Birthday
by Graham Shirville 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Hi All, Just to confirm that, as usual, FUNcube-1 is now in permanent transponder mode for the weekend. Tomorrow, Nov 21st, marks our second birthday in space and an update about the mission has just been posted on the http://funcube.org.uk/2015/11/20/the-second-birthday-of-funcube-1/ webpage to celebrate this event. The FUNcube team is really delighted to have reached this milestone with the spacecraft continuing to perform pretty well perfectly. We are very grateful to everyone who is continuing to download the telemetry and to forward the data to our Data Warehouse. It is really valuable both to the Operations team and for outreach purposes. Please keep this data flowing if you can and if you know of any possible listening sites in out of the way places around the globe we would be pleased to hear about them. We are continuing to develop further enhancements of the ground software and will be making further announcements about these as soon as we can. Have FUN 73 Graham G3VZV FUNcube-1 Ops Team

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VUCC Trivia
by David Jaeger 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Hello to all, Over the past decades I have accumulated a stack of QSL cards covering satellite QSOs dating back to the early Oscars and RS12/13 days. I never got around to applying for the VUCC award or any others associated with working the birds. Last year I made the decision that when I hit 100 satellite LOTW grids I would apply for the VUCC sat award the easy way electronically. Two weeks ago I checked my total online and found out that I was at 91 grids. At that time I figured that at the rate I am going it would be in 2016 before I ever hit 100. Then along came Wyatt AC0RA as W0N with his roving grid expedition and I picked up 12 new grids and they were all uploaded and confirmed by Monday afternoon. A few more grids were picked up from other stations in the last two weeks and yesterday I applied for my LOTW VUCC for 107 grids. Thanks Wyatt and all the others that uploaded their logs. Now for the trivia part of this post. Rovers made up a large part of my LOTW log. Those that uploaded multiple grids for my award were as follows: KG5CCI - 14 grids, AC0RA (W0N) - 13 grids, WD9EWK - 8 grids W5PFG - 5 grids, N8HM - 3 grids, KX9X - 3 grids, WA7HQD - 3 grids, K8YSE - 2 grids, KA4H - 2 grids, N6UA - 2 grids, VE3NKL - 2 grids That is 57 grids out of 107 total. In that stack of cards that I have yet to turn in for credit are additional grid confirmations from some of those listed above. My best example is my QSL from KF9PL/6Y5 (now KX9X) from 5/27/94. So thanks again to all those that upload to LOTW for helping with my VUCC... 73, Dave WN9Q

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Scuola Media Statale "G. Marconi", Soleto, Lecce, Italy
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Scuola Media Statale "G. Marconi", Soleto, Lecce, Italy on 23 Nov. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 09:21 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. Scuola Media Statale "G. Marconi": The Soleto state institute includes preschool, primary school and 1st grade secondary school in the Cities of Soleto, Zollino, and Sternatia. A total of 811 students are attending in these three locations. There are 10 sections of preschool, 20 of primary school and 12 of secondary school 1st grade Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How long do people train to become an astronaut? 2. At first, were you afraid of living on the space station? 3. Do astronauts get cabin fever while they're in orbit? 4. What are the objectives of your mission? 5. Why don't they place the moles on the comets surface? 6. About the veggie experiment, how many days does it take to grow salad and what's its taste? 7. Is it true that clothes become garbage when used? 8. What time zone is used on the ISS? 9. How do they dispose of the rubbish? 10. Which is the best moment on a space day? 11. Is there space junk? 12. Do you like living with other six people? 13. Do you sleep in a sleeping bag or in a bed? 14. Have you got any problems on the ISS? 15. Do you bring a supply of additional food from earth? 16. What's your favorite planet? 17. How do you communicate with earth? 18. What are you doing on the station at the moment? 19. How do you wash your hair? 20. When did you start to enjoy astronomy? 21. In the USA a pensioner, the famous astronaut John Glenn, went into space at the age of 69. wasn't he too old? 22. Which is the first place you want to see when you return home? 23. How expensive is going in space? 24. How has this experience changed your life? 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. Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Wed, Nov. 25, 2015 09:44 UTC ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program visit the ARISS website at ariss.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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High Performance Portable Rotor
by Thomas Doyle 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Hi, http://www.tomdoyle.org/hpr 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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Re: [amsat-bb] Nova question
by Graham Shirville 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Thanks everyone for the feedback! All seems now to be working again properly. I removed the existing Novakeps.dat file and repaired the software from the setup.exe programme. I then modified the internet keps update to only look at the ftp://www.amsat.org/amsat/keps/current/nasabare.txt file. This is a much smaller file than I had originally! So far so good - after 24 hours operation the antennas are rotating properly still 73 Graham -----Original Message----- From: Graham Shirville Sent: Sunday, November 15, 2015 10:35 AM To: AMSAT BB Subject: Nova question Hi All, I have been a NOVA user for many years but I know find that, when it is set up to drive the rotator to track FUNcube-1, at start up I get a Nova message box that says “ List index out of bounds (0) " - this comes up immediately, before the prog starts to update the keps, and the rotator operation is very unreliable. I am using W10 machine and a LVB tracker box with its built in USB converter. Any suggestions about a cure would be much appreciated... thanks Graham G3VZV

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(no subject)
by Gregory Beat 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Spaceflight Now expanded on Tory Bruno's ULA CEO announcement from Thursday, November 19. University of Colorado at Boulder appears to be lined up for an early launch (ULA is headquartered in Colorado). ULA says it will launch some cubesats for free https://spaceflightnow.com/2015/11/19/ula-says-it-will-launch-some-cubesats… Sent from iPad Air

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Funcube Dongle Pro+ settings with FoxTelem 1.02b
by Mark L. Hammond 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Hi Bob, I am going to copy AMSAT-BB because this will help some others I hope! Here is what works well for me and the FuncubeDongle Pro + and FoxTelem 1.02b: 1-On main screen, "Check" Track Doppler and Find Signal; I use default values in the boxes (15.0dB, 6.0dB) 2-Under the Spacecraft Menu, go to both Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D parameter screens and "Uncheck" Track when Find Signal Enabled 3-Under the Spacecraft Menu, go to Fox-1A and "Check" Track when Find Signal Enabled; I use Downlink=145979, Lower Freq. Bound=145973, Upper Freq. Bound=145985 THAT should get your good, fast lock on the Fox-1A signal. Works well here setup like that. Let me know how you make out! 73, Mark N8MH On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 8:02 AM, Bob KD7YZ <kd7yz(a)denstarfarm.us> wrote: > Hi Mark. > Early on with Fox1A "somebody" emailed me about trimming down the > FOX1A_fm.dat a bit and limiting the scan range for FoxTelem to find the > beacon early on in an orbit. > > I just beeefwittedly overwrote some data files when updating the > FoxTelem program. Thus I now have numerous "Tabs" of Fox1-1C and H and > so forth. > > Were you the one who suggested the trim-down ? > > Otherwise, any ideas on shaping that Dat file to make it find the signal > earlier and stay locked on? > > Mine "was" working just fine with whatever I'd put in the folder. Or > maybe the stock program as it is now written is just fine. > > > -- > 73, > Bob KD7YZ > www.qrz.com/db/kd7yz > AmSat LM#901 > -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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FM Repeater Test at IO-86 Satellite
by P. Suryono Adisoemarta 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Dear all, We just received a confirmation for the upcoming test of the FM Repeater on IO-86 Satellite (LAPAN-A2/ORARI), that would be conducted this weekend: - Saturday, 21 Nov 2015, at 02:30 UTC - 04:50UTC - Sunday, 22 Nov 2015, at 02:55 – 05:00 UTC Voice Repeater info: - Uplink 145.880 Mhz tone 88,5 - Downlink 435.880 Mhz AMSAT Keplerian data 0 IO-86 1 40931U 15052B 15316.15776324 .00001070 00000-0 60618-4 0 9994 2 40931 6.0030 69.3893 0012877 275.6206 84.2533 14.76374433 6653 As the satellite was designed for emcomm using handheld radio (the reason of the relatively high-power downlink), we would like all reports of portable ops (handheld radio using some sort of portable directional antenna, ie. CJU / IOio / Moxon / Arrow / etc). 73 de Suryono Adisoemarta – YD0NXX / N5SNN

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Colorado Amateur Satellite net Begins in 1 hour
by Skyler F 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

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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R: Re: Satellite QRB records
by Claudio Ariotti, IK1SLD 19 Nov '15

19 Nov '15

Hello, I confirm all my reports and this too: IW1BMJ in JN45fc and VK4BRG in QG28aa (Nov 18, 1990 00:01 UTC) were via AO-13 Mode B 73' Claudio IK1SLD Inviato da Samsung Mobile -------- Messaggio originale -------- Da: Peter Budnik <kb1hy2(a)comcast.net> Data: A: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net>,claudio(a)ariotti.com Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Oggetto: Re: [amsat-bb] Satellite QRB records Hi All KB1HY CT FN31MR to Spratley VIA AO13 Mode B What do you think? Peter,KB1HY ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Stoetzer" <n8hm(a)arrl.net> To: <claudio(a)ariotti.com> Cc: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2015 12:23 PM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Satellite QRB records > Thanks, Claudio. > > I'll put your QSO with VK4ASB (16,337km) up for now unless someone has one > better than that from AO-13. What mode was that? I'm assuming Mode B? > > 73, > > Paul, N8HM > > On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 12:16 PM, claudio <claudio(a)ariotti.com> wrote: > >> >> Hi Pedro, >> I found this 2 Qso by AO-13 when I was using IW1BMJ callsign: >> IW1BMJ in JN45fc and VK8KTC in PH86ed (Jun 7, 1990 12:19 UTC) >> IW1BMJ in JN45fc and VK4ASB in QG62mp ( Nov18, 1990 23:04 UTC) >> 73' Claudio IK1SLD >> >> Da "AMSAT-BB" amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org >> >> A amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >> >> Cc >> >> Data Thu, 19 Nov 2015 16:01:23 +0000 >> >> Oggetto Re: [amsat-bb] Satellite QRB records >> >> > Hi, >> >> > >> >> > I'm using formulas to determine the distance to the horizon from the >> >> > satellite, then the distance across the (curved) surface between two >> >> > opposite locations. >> >> > Again, it's meant for sea level. AO-7 solves with 7,858.478 Km which >> >> > is below the record of 7,947.381 Km. This is because the higher from >> >> > the sea level you are, the farther you are in the sat horizon. >> >> > I'll send you that list later today. >> >> > >> >> > 73 de Pedro CU2ZG >> >> > >> >> > Quoting Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net>: >> >> > >> >> > > Thanks, Pedro. I've seen calculations for those distances before, >> but they >> >> > > always seem to vary by method used. It would be a nice addition to >> put the >> >> > > records in perspective. >> >> > > >> >> > > 73, >> >> > > >> >> > > Paul, N8HM >> >> > > >> >> > > On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 10:09 AM, Pedro via AMSAT-BB < >> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >> >> > > wrote: >> >> > > >> >> > >> Hi, >> >> > >> >> >> > >> Thanks! >> >> > >> >> >> > >> I'm compiling a list of the maximum possible QRBs for two targets >> standing >> >> > >> at sea level, and the max known sat altitude that I can find. If >> you'd like >> >> > >> that I can send it to you later. >> >> > >> >> >> > >> 73 de Pedro CU2ZG >> >> > >> >> >> > >> >> >> > >> >> >> > >> Quoting Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net>: >> >> > >> >> >> > >> This page is now live on the AMSAT website: >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=4751 >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> There's a link to it at the bottom of the Communications >> Satellites page. >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> Again, please claim records for other satellites if you think >> you >> may hold >> >> > >>> the record! >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> 73, >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> Paul, N8HM >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 7:54 AM, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> >> wrote: >> >> > >>> >> >> > >>> There has been things like that in the past, but I don't know >> about any >> >> > >>>> currently existing. We could certainly create one on the AMSAT >> website! >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> This is what I can find: >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> AO-40 - 18,263km (I8CVS in JN70es and ZL1AOX in RF72mv) >> >> > >>>> AO-7 - 7,947.381km (KG5CCI in EM24uq01mu and EA5TT in >> IM99sl48cx) >> >> > >>>> FO-29 - 7,599.959km (KG5CCI in EM34st11tl and F4CQA in >> JN17ea22ot) >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> If anyone would like to claim records on any other satellite, >> please post >> >> > >>>> your claim. I will create a page with this information. >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> 73, >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> Paul, N8HM >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 7:35 AM, Pedro via AMSAT-BB < >> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >> >> > >>>> wrote: >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> Hi all! >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>>> Is there any website around that keeps track of each satellite >> confirmed >> >> > >>>>> QRB records? >> >> > >>>>> I'm looking into how far anyone worked on each sat. >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>>> 73 de Pedro CU2ZG >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>>> -- >> >> > >>>>> This message has been scanned for viruses and >> >> > >>>>> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is >> >> > >>>>> believed to be clean. >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>>> _______________________________________________ >> >> > >>>>> 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 >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>>> >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>>> >> >> > >>> -- >> >> > >>> This message has been scanned for viruses and >> >> > >>> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is >> >> > >>> believed to be clean. >> >> > >>> >> >> > >> >> >> > >> >> >> > >> >> >> > >> >> >> > >> -- >> >> > >> This message has been scanned for viruses and >> >> > >> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is >> >> > >> believed to be clean. >> >> > >> >> >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> >> > >> 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 >> >> > >> >> >> > > >> >> > > -- >> >> > > This message has been scanned for viruses and >> >> > > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is >> >> > > believed to be clean. >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > -- >> >> > This message has been scanned for viruses and >> >> > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is >> >> > believed to be clean. >> >> > >> >> > _______________________________________________ >> >> > 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 > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2015.0.6176 / Virus Database: 4460/11029 - Release Date: 11/19/15 > > >

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SatPC32, AO-85, Icom IC-9100
by Clayton Coleman 19 Nov '15

19 Nov '15

This post is specific to Icom IC-9100 users. There have been some ongoing discussions about whether or not to use Narrow FM for uplink or downlink on AO-85. My observation is that Narrow FM (Filter 2) for the downlink works best. For the uplink, I leave Filter 1 enabled. This is easy to do in your DOPPLER.SQF: AO-85,145980,435175,FMN,FM,NOR,0,0,Transponder The first FMN will set Filter 2 for your downlink The second FM will set Filter 1 for your uplink. I've also noticed Filter 3 makes LilacSat-2 sound best but I am unaware of a command via SatPC32 to select that filter automatically. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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ULA to provide free cubesat launches for universities
by Jeff Yanko 19 Nov '15

19 Nov '15

Hi all, Not sure if this is recently known but ULA is now offering free launches for cubesats made by universities. Should bring an interesting round of competition between the schools. http://www.ulalaunch.com/ula-reveals-transformational-cubesat-launch.aspx?t… 73, Jeff WB3JFS

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ANS 321 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN - AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations
by E.Mike McCardel 19 Nov '15

19 Nov '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-321 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: * AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-321.01 ANS-321 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 321.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. November 17, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-321.01 AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations AO-85 has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT Operations, who are now responsible for the scheduling and modes. The following guidelines are provided for users: Uplink power should be on the order of minimum 200 W EIRP for full quieting at lower antenna elevation angles. Your mileage may vary. With an Arrow, 5 W has been used successfully to make contacts. Polarity is important. The satellite antennas are linear. So, if you are using linearly polarized antennas, you will need to adjust throughout the pass. Full duplex operation facilitates these adjustments while transmitting and is highly recommended. The downlink is very strong and should be heard well with almost any antenna. Downlink audio is 5 kHz deviation, as expected. Many will perceive that the audio is "low." This is an effect of the filtering below 300 Hz, which provides for the DUV telemetry, coupled with any noise on the uplink signal resulting from lack of full quieting or being off frequency. That makes for less fidelity than a typical receiver in terms of audio frequencies passed. Transmit (downlink) frequency varies with temperature. Due to the wide range of temperatures we are seeing in the eclipse cycle, the transmitter can be anywhere from around 500 Hz low at 10°C to near 2 kHz low at 40°C. Receive frequency has been generally agreed to be about 435.170 MHz, although the AFC makes that hard to pin down and also helps with the uplinks that are off frequency. Probably the most notable observations about AO-85 are an apparent lack of sensitivity and difficulty in turning on the repeater with the 67 Hz CTCSS when it is not yet activated, or holding it on by the presence of the CTCSS. We have determined a probable cause for the sensitivity issue and while that can't be fixed on AO-85 we are taking steps to prevent similar issues on the rest of the Fox-1 CubeSats. The tone detection threshold along with the receive sensitivity issue makes it hard to bring up the repeater. This is being addressed by adjusting the values for a valid tone detection in the other Fox-1 CubeSats now that we have on orbit information about temperatures and power budget. Full details will be in the Nov/Dec AMSAT Journal. It is important to remember that science is the reason behind the Fox-1 satellites. Not only does science help with the launch cost, it provides a great amount of educational value both from the science payload and in amateur radio itself. The data-under-voice (DUV) telemetry is an excellent way to provide the science without sacrificing the use of the satellite for communications, which would be the case if higher speed downlinks were needed. DUV provides constant science as long as the repeater is in use, which in turn provides more downlink data for the science - a mutually beneficial combination. Fox-1A is AMSAT-NA's first CubeSat. Many new techniques are incorporated and lessons will be learned, as with any new "product." The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be built and flown. Launches are scheduled for three more, and a new NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative proposal will be submitted for the fifth. We will incorporate changes from what we learn in each launch, to the extent possible, in subsequent Fox-1 CubeSats. Of the four NASA sponsored CubeSats on the ELaNa XII launch October 8, we are sad to report that ARC1 was never heard from and BisonSat was lost after a few weeks of operation. AMSAT extends our deepest sympathy to the people who worked so hard on these projects. To our members, we want to say that the Fox Team is very proud and pleased that our first CubeSat is very successful and hopefully will be for some time. [ANS thanks Jerry NoJY 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, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-19 07:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 19 Nov '15

19 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-19 07:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Contact is go for: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-19 07:30 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 1009. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 974. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-17 19:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Birds in 1976
by Joe 18 Nov '15

18 Nov '15

When we played with Oscars for the very first time it was a mode "A" bird and in 1976. so what bird would that have been? Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-18 19:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 18 Nov '15

18 Nov '15

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-11-18 19:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi”, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, And, Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado “Benedetto Croce”, Civate, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH (***) Contact is go for: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg (***) Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-11-25 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************************** 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 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** 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 2015-11-18 19:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1009. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 974. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. 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, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, 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 2015-11-17 19:00 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. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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If you have just one choice, what is the best polarization to receive LEO Birds?
by Vinicius Leite 18 Nov '15

18 Nov '15

Hi Folks! I'm novice and sorry if this is a dumb question. I have a regular 7 Element Yagi UHF antenna, and i would like to know what is the best position to receive LEO birds: horizontal, vertical or 45 degrees to the right? I've googled this, but i found a lot of different opinions. On the field, if somebody tested this options, can please share the results with me? Thanks a lot! 73s! -- *Vinícius Leite* PU4VLT / PY4218SWL Grid Locator.: GH70XD pu4vlt(a)gmail.com Cel.: (31) 9 8422-0424

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