- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

VUCC
by Lee Ernstrom 06 Sep '15

06 Sep '15

I just received VUCC Satellite certificate #265 in the mail. This was from only LOTW submissions. Yea! Lee (Doc) Ernstrom, WA7HQD Sent from my iPad

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Driver for M2 rotors
by Jim White 06 Sep '15

06 Sep '15

Does anyone know of a program, or a rotor driver for a tracking program, that works with the M2 RX2800PX rotor control boxes? They use a serial interface. It works something like this The computer sends "A<CR>" and the rotor control box sends back the current azimuth Computer sends "E<CR>" and rotor sends back current elevation Computer sends "A68.4<CR>" and the rotor goes to azimuth 68.4 etc. Any ideas on a tracker that talks that language? Jim

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AA5PK/p in DM92/EM02
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

Thanks to all who worked me while I was portable on the DM92/EM02 grid line. I've received a number of emails from those who either missed the pass due to my notification email hanging up overnight on the AMSAT-BB or because of the chaos on the pass. It was a relatively civil pass from what I could hear--no whistlers and no one using an HT with tone burst enabled. The QSOs will be uploaded to LoTW after I've transcribed the recording. If you desire a hardcopy QSL card, please email me off the BB and I'll mail one to you. No need for your QSL or SASE. I plan to operate portable from DM90 on Monday's SO-50 pass (AOS for me at ~1400Z). Same QSL routine with LoTW and email for mailed QSL card. If you still need DM92, I'll be back up that way when the WX is a little cooler in the afternoon. Perhaps by then we'll have a few more birds from which to choose. 73 Glenn AA5PK DM91

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Driver for M2 rotors
by codrut buda 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

Hello Jim, You can try my PstRotator program http://www.qsl.net/yo3dmu/index_Page346.htm .It can be used like a standalone satellites tracking program, or like an interface between a satellites tracking program (SatPC32, Nova for Windows, Orbitron, HRD Satellite, Sat Explorer, WinOrbit, WXtrack, GPredict, HalloSat, SDR-RADIO) and your rotor controllers.The program supports separate rotor controllers for azimuth and elevation (in any combination), and also a single controller for both azimuth & elevation.The M2 RC2800PX (AZ / EL) rotor control boxes are supported, of course. Codrut - YO3DMU From: Jim White <jim(a)coloradosatellite.com> To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2015 2:53 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Driver for M2 rotors Does anyone know of a program, or a rotor driver for a tracking program, that works with the M2 RX2800PX rotor control boxes? They use a serial interface. It works something like this The computer sends "A<CR>" and the rotor control box sends back the current azimuth Computer sends "E<CR>" and rotor sends back current elevation Computer sends "A68.4<CR>" and the rotor goes to azimuth 68.4 etc. Any ideas on a tracker that talks that language? Jim _______________________________________________ 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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report RX NO-84
by Pablo Mühlberger 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=15> [15:55:14R] s#000019,0z001 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [15:57:33R] T#029,815,073,497,883,876,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=15> [15:58:15R] s#000021,0z001 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=15> [15:59:46R] s#000022,0z001 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [16:38:15R] T#032,838,073,491,879,874,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=15> [16:38:58R] s#000023,0z001 RX UHF PSK: “ W3ADO-5 beacon B “ 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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special call TM37CDXC
by f5gva-1＠wanadoo.fr 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

Hi all >From 5 to 19 September 2015, I activate the special call TM37CDXC for 37 th Convention of Clipperton DX Club. QRV AO-07 in mode B, FO-29, SO-50, AO-73 The activation will be done on my free time I hope to contact you The QSL will be sent automatically by the bureau. 73, good DX Claude F5GVA Satellite amateur radio station http://f5gva.pagesperso-orange.fr/

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HamTV and EsHailsat-2 Update sessions tomorrow
by Graham Shirville 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

The BATC (British Amateur Television Club) is holding its CAT15 meeting this weekend ...tomorrow at 0900UTC they will be discussing the HAmTV system on the ISS and, in particular, the potential use of the system by Tim Peake when he goes up to the Space Station in December. There will be a Workshop session immediately following which will discuss how we can best use the Wide Band transponder on the hosted payload aboard the EsHailsat GeoStationary spacecraft that is expected to launch late next year. These sessions will be streamed here- http://www.batc.tv/live/events/cat15/ 73 Graham G3VZV

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Re: [amsat-bb] VUCC
by Rick Tejera 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

Congratulations, welcome to the club.. Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) (VUCC Satellite #227) Saguaro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 623-572-0713 623-203-4121 (cell) SaguaroaAstro(a)cox.net -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lee Ernstrom Sent: Friday, September 04, 2015 11:03 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] VUCC I just received VUCC Satellite certificate #265 in the mail. This was from only LOTW submissions. Yea! Lee (Doc) Ernstrom, WA7HQD Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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NO-84 Beacon
by John Fickes 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

9/5/2015 02: 17ish W3ADO-5 beacon B 015 1B 2p 822 m)C e el - I'll start paying more attention to time. 73 John W0JW

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DM92/EM02 Tomorrow
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 04 Sep '15

04 Sep '15

Listen for me on the DM92/EM02 grid line tomorrow (Saturday) during the 1447Z SO-50 pass. Perhaps I can get down to DM90 Monday morning. 73 Glenn AA5PK

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SatPC32 map not updating
by Bob KD7YZ 04 Sep '15

04 Sep '15

I wonder if anyone has an idea where the current-setup-ini is located which contains the current SatPC32 option setup? I noticed a day or two ago that the regular map does not update the satellite foot-print. Then in Options I saw that the update rate was set to 999 seconds! I can not make changes to that number although the up/down arrows allow a few steps but then freeze and remain eventually at some hundreds number. -- 73, Bob KD7YZ www.qrz.com/db/kd7yz AmSat LM#901

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ARTSAT1:INVADER in ARS ELECTRONICA 2015
by ji1izr/Masahiro Sanada 04 Sep '15

04 Sep '15

Hello, de ji1izr/Masahiro. I would like to introduce these information. ARTSAT1:INVADER won the Award of Distinction of the Hybrid Art of Prix Ars Ele ctronica 2015. http://prix2015.aec.at/prixwinner/15248/ And the article, "ARTSAT:REPLAY", is displayed in the Ars Electronica festival , from September 3-7 in Linz. http://www.aec.at/postcity/en/cyberarts/ http://www.makery.info/en/2015/09/03/un-hackerspace-lance-le-satellite-arts… aureole-dun-prix-ars-electronica-2015/ Thank you so much for your co-operation during the orbit of the ARTSAT1: INVAD ER. ********************************** Masahiro Sanada de ji1izr Hiratsuka-city Kanagawa,Japan ji1izr_1975(a)nifty.com ji1izr(a)jarl.com ji1izr(a)jamsat.or.jp web: http://ji1izr.atnifty.com/ blog: http://ji1izr.air-nifty.com/ **********************************

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DM90/DM92 this weekend
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 04 Sep '15

04 Sep '15

Thinking about going to DM90 or DM92 this weekend for an SO-50 (and possibly FO-29) pass. I could do one grid in the morning and the other in the afternoon if there's interest. Contact me offline if you're interested in one or both. 73 Glenn AA5PK DM91

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report RX NO-84
by Pablo Mühlberger 02 Sep '15

02 Sep '15

20:01 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [17:01:41R] T#045,805,074,489,880,884,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=15> [17:02:00R] s#000032,0z001 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [17:03:43R] T#047,721,072,489,882,883,00011100 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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NO-84
by John Fickes 02 Sep '15

02 Sep '15

Pass Sep./2/2015 01:22ish UTC Signal started strong,but weakened. Also, does anyone have the latest TLE's ? I didn't find them on spacetrack. 73 John W0JW W3ADO-5 beacon B 014 37 25 784 246 +5 a ol W3A r tco15 93 31 760 247 +10 t t W3ADO-5 bei ef6 ”wf Öw7 214 ao i oe W3ADO-h U ecopM 2oo - /t ol UB 0 34 33 B 2TX Seet aee=i esbeacon B 001 46 23 5F0 C04 +11 en eW3ADO-h beac0 198 sa s0 u056 fdD ¢nn B 0 12 tawexo iDi o

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TODAY, ISS school contact, Europe
by Daniel Cussen 01 Sep '15

01 Sep '15

I don't think I saw this posted to the bb before. For Europeans this is TODAY around lunch time. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS contact for school in Ulvila, Finland An International Space Station contact is planned for Ulvila Upper Secondary School, Finland. The event is scheduled for Tuesday September 1, 2015 at 11.44 UTC, which is 13.44 CEST. This will be a direct radio contact between OR4ISS and OH1F. The signals from space will be audible in adjacent areas on 145.800MHz FM. The Ulvila Upper Secondary School is located in western Finland. The school counts approximately 320 students. The age bracket of students is 16 to 19 years on average. The variety of educational opportunities offered at Ulvila Upper Secondary School can provide a basis for the academic and personal growth. The main academic objective is to give the students means for taking part in studies at universities and polytechnics. We provide a large selection courses consisting of regular courses, specialization courses and practice courses. For example, in our school one can study also the basics of Astronomy and Space Physics in optional courses. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What time zone do you use there? 2. What do you do in your free time at the station? 3. If we found life beyond the Earth in the future, would it be right to disturb its evolution? 4. What is the best experience you’ve had while being astronaut? 5. Is there something that you did not expect to be hard for you, but it is? 6. For how long are you staying in the International Space Station? 7. What kind of food do you eat at ISS? 8. Which is the most interesting project you have been working with on ISS? 9. What is your favorite sight you can see from the space station? 10. Which is the most interesting item you have ever printed with the "Made in space" 3D-printer? 11. What did you study after high school? 12. What has surprised you positively? 13. What kind of physical condition is required of astronauts? 14. Can you see any manmade structures from the ISS? 15. What do you miss the most from Earth/home? 16. What is something you would want to have with you in the space station but you can´t have? 17. Does ISS espresso taste different than normal coffee? Or does micro gravity change the sense of taste? 18. What do you want to say to the young of the present day? 19. Do you have normal showers at ISS or do you have some alternative way to take care of your personal hygiene? 20. Does your personal world view change when you see the Earth from space as planet? 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. 73, Gaston Bertels – ON4WF ARISS-Europe chairman

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NO-84
by John Fickes 01 Sep '15

01 Sep '15

I copied this on pass 9/1/2015 around 01:38 utc B 015 31 23 785 245 +6 oaibo oee p }aet‰ Utta tseae o Didn't have any luck getting my psk through the satellite though. But I'll keep trying. 73 John W0JW

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Soyuz launch + $50SAT Falls Silent
by M5AKA 31 Aug '15

31 Aug '15

Radio hams launch on Soyuz to ISS Wednesday, September 2 http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/31/radio-hams-launch-to-iss-wednesday/ $50SAT Falls Silent http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/30/50sat-falls-silent/ LAPAN-A2 with FM transponder and Digipeater Launches September 28 http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/30/lapan-a2-launch/ Frequencies for nine of the satellites launching on a CZ-6 Sept 5-7 http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/camsat-xw-2/ 7599 km DX contact on FO-29 http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/28/7599-km-dx-contact-on-fo-29/ CPUT planning successor to Africa’s first nanosatellite http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/25/cput-planning-successor-to-africas-first-nan… 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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ISS SSTV July Diploma status update
by John Brier 31 Aug '15

31 Aug '15

They said they would send out diplomas in early August, and since they haven't gone out and it's basically September I asked for an update (while thanking them profusely for their volunteer efforts). This is what I got back: Hello John, I kno, we are out of date. I hope soon we will send diplomas. I'm so soooorrry! 73, Armi You should have gotten an email if you passed the first stage of verification, but I couldn't find mine until I searched my email (subject was "Apollo-Soyuz PASS1verif KG4AKV FM05rv"). You can also see if you are on the list of people who has passed the first stage of verification by searching for your name on the following page (CTRL + F) http://www.arisspolska.info/?page_id=4015 I made it! 73, John KG4AKV

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SEE13 software for Oscar 13
by Fabio Azzarello IZ5XRC 31 Aug '15

31 Aug '15

Hello, reading the old SatGen I've found this particular issue: ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/articles/satgen/sgen383.txt Is anybody aware of the SEE13 sw ? Is it still available somewhere? Thanks! 73s Fabio IZ5XRC (ex iw8qku)

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Department head at the University of Louisiana opening
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 31 Aug '15

31 Aug '15

The University of Louisiana is looking for a department head for EECE. If you know of a qualified person who would like to lead a satellite team, a IEEE champion robot team, likes great food, culture, hunting, fishing and teach please contact me off list. Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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Re: [amsat-bb] SATPC32 registration
by Erich Eichmann 31 Aug '15

31 Aug '15

The program stores the registration code in the file UserDaten.txt in the DATA folder "SatPC32". The path to that folder is shown in the foot line of menu "Satellites". The folder "AppData" in the path is hidden by default. Therefore make first hidden folders and files visible (Windows Explorer - Tools - Folder Options - View). Open the file with Notepad, note your password and enter it in the new installation. 73s, Erich, DK1TB A Am 31.08.2015 um 03:20 schrieb Douglas Phelps: > I have a working and registered SATPC32 on my Windows 7 computer. I > am trying to get SATPC32 working on a Windows 10 computer. I have > lost my registration number but the Windows 7 computer has it and > works fine. I was told to transfer userdaten from the old computer to > the new one. Doing this does not work. Can you help me. Thanks, > > Doug > K9DLP

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Video of my reception of ISS contact with Machonaquah School
by John Brier 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

Took over half the day but I finally finished editing video of my reception of the ISS contact with Machonaquah School in Bunker Hill, Indiana from this past Thursday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StJbYHSMwt0 John Brier, KG4AKV, Raleigh, NC

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SDRplay RSP as downlink receiver
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

Hi! In July, I ordered an SDRplay RSP SDR receiver from the SDRplay web site: http://www.sdrplay.com/ This is an SDR receiver that covers from 100 kHz to 2 GHz without gaps, at bandwidths from 200 kHz up to 8 MHz. There is front-end filtering across the entire range this radio covers - something that caught my eye for use as a satellite downlink receiver with an FT-817ND. At US$ 149 plus shipping from the UK, it is a good value. It is a small box, larger than the FUNcube Dongle Pro+ I have been using for some time. After some issues getting this device working on Windows 8.1 and 10 tablets, resolved with a new API installer, I have been testing my SDRplay on my 8- and 10-inch tablets - now running Windows 10, after being upgraded earlier this month. Over this weekend, after installing the new API and ExtIO drivers needed for HDSDR to see the SDRplay receiver, I wanted to try it to work satellites. I made an attempt on Friday evening, during an AO-73 pass. Although I could hear the satellite, I could not hear myself with the SDRplay and HDSDR. I went back to the documentation and the different interfaces in HDSDR that control the SDRplay, and I figured out the issue. SDRplay's ExtIO driver assumes the user will want to reduce the amount of gain in the receiver, where I want as much as I can get for working satellites. After making some changes, I successfully worked another AO-73 pass this morning. I made two QSOs, with Leo W7JPI in southern Arizona and Brad KG7NXH a few miles/km southeast of me in the Phoenix area. Other than the normal delay I hear from the SDR receiver and software (I hear the same sort of delay when I use my FUNcube Dongle Pro+), the SDRplay receiver did a good job. As I have done when using my FUNcube dongle, I made an RF recording of this pass in HDSDR. That WAV file is big - for an 8:35 recording, it was about 450 MB in size. I also made an audio recording, in the same way I would if I used my second FT-817ND as the downlink receiver - audio splitter plugged into the tablet, feeding audio to both my headset/mic and Sony digital audio recorder. With these tablets, I find that the performance of HDSDR is very poor when it is trying to write both AF and RF recordings. Since I can make an AF recording away from the tablet, I let HDSDR do the RF recording. The default bandwidth used by the SDRplay receiver is 1.536 MHz. It can go up to 8 MHz, but my tablets have issues when the bandwidth is more than the 1.536 MHz default value. When I work our satellites, whether using my tablets or a laptop, I'll probably go with the 200 kHz bandwidth. This is all I really need, and this will help keep the RF recordings from taking over the drives in the tablets and laptop. :-) I have been posting more details about how I have been using the SDRplay to work satellites in a QRZ.com satellite forum thread. That thread is at: https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/sdrplay-as-satellite-downlink-rece… My HDSDR RF recording, along with screenshots and photos of my station, I have put them in my Dropbox space, accessible at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6nl39qjkfyw5y5h/AADynnchNPayKAnU0XYwl3TCa?lst I am not planning on selling my FUNcube Dongle Pro+. It is still a good SDR receiver for working our satellites. It is smaller than the SDRplay, it works with the FUNcube Dashboard software, and sales of the dongle support the FUNcube project. It is nice that there is another SDR device that is showing promise as a downlink receiver for our satellites, and at a reasonable price. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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(no subject)
by Mvivona 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

What is the recommended PC program to plot a grid square map of satellite QSOs? Michael Vivona Sent from my iPad

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satpc32 registration code
by Douglas Phelps 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

I have a registered version of SATPC32. I installed on a new computer but cannot find my registration number. Is there a way to read my registration number from my licensed and running SATPC32? DougK9DLP

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KX9X/p August Grid Trip - Logs Uploaded
by Sean K. 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

Hi all- All the logs from my grid trip last week have been uploaded to LOTW. Sean Kutzko Amateur Radio KX9X

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Re: [amsat-bb] Fw: SATPC32 Error Help
by Erich Eichmann 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

First UNZIP the downloaded file into an empty folder. Then right click on the file name "setup" and choose the option "Run as administrator", even if you are the administrator. Under Windows 7 and higher the Windows Explorer displays the content of the ZIP file. That is no extraction, hower, and clicking on "setup" causes the errro message. In the Windows Explorer look for the extraction button to extract the ZIP file. 73s, Erich DK1TB Am 30.08.2015 um 18:00 schrieb Douglas Phelps: > > ----- Forwarded Message ----- > *From:* Douglas Phelps <dphelps1(a)ameritech.net> > *To:* AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > *Sent:* Sunday, August 30, 2015 10:59 AM > *Subject:* SATPC32 Error Help > > I have tried 6 times to install SATPC32c in my Windows 10 > computer. Everything looks fine until shortly before the install > is finished I get the error contained in the attachment. > > When I click OK, it jumps to finish but after I click on finish, > the program is not installed. Any ideas? > > > > > > >

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SATPC32 Error Help
by Douglas Phelps 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

I have tried 6 times to install SATPC32c in my Windows 10 computer. Everything looks fine until shortly before the install is finished I get the error contained in the attachment. When I click OK, it jumps to finish but after I click on finish, the program is not installed. Any ideas?

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LAPAN-A2/ORARI update?
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

Would one of our Indonesian friends be able to give us an update on the upcoming launch of their satellite? I see from https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto <https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie= UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Forari.web.id%2Fwp%2F%3Fpage_id%3D950&edit-text> &tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Forari.web.id%2Fwp%2F%3Fpag e_id%3D950&edit-text= and https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1 <https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&p rev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://orari.web.id/wp/%3Fp age_id%3D920&usg=ALkJrhhkj1M9f01VohQw3ivG4ZohC_hTRQ> &hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://orar i.web.id/wp/%3Fpage_id%3D920&usg=ALkJrhhkj1M9f01VohQw3ivG4ZohC_hTRQ that they are preparing for a launch at the end of September. This seems to line up with the Astrosat PSLV-XL C30 launch. I can't decipher if it is just for A2, or for LAPANSAT-ORARI, or if the satellites have been combined now? Is http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=152 still correct as to modes and frequencies? If the 650km, 8 degree inclination orbit is still correct, this will be a very interesting satellite for those below 30 degrees N and S latitudes, but unusable for those further north. 73, Drew KO4MA

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share a room
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

I will be attending the symposium in Dayton. I would like to share room expenses. If you are interested please email me off line Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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ANS-242 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 30 Aug '15

30 Aug '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-242 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Ballots Due by 15 September * 2015 AMSAT Symposium Dayton Hotel Reservation Correction * AMSAT-NA Office Closed until September 9th * New Distance Record Set on FO-29 by KG5CI and F4CQA * Bring the Space Station Into Your Classroom With NASA's STEM on Station Website * IARU Reiterates Commitment to Coordinate Satellites Only Within International Band Plans * CPUT planning successor to Africa’s first nanosatellite * ASU Chosen to Lead Lunar CubeSat Mission * AMSAT Events * ARISS News SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-242.01 ANS-242 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 242.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE August 30, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-242.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Ballots Due by 15 September Ballots were mailed to AMSAT-NA members in good standing by 15 JULY 2015, and must be returned to the AMSAT-NA office by 15 SEP 2015 in order to be counted. Those sent outside North America were sent by air mail. Your completed ballot should be returned as promptly as possible, and those from outside North America preferably by air mail or other expedited means. This year there are eight candidates: Barry Baines, WD4ASW Jerry Buxton, N0JY Steve Coy, K8UD Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Mark Hammond, N8MH EMike McCardel, KC8YLD Bob McGwier, N4HY Bruce Paige, KK5DO The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as voting Board Members with two year terms. The two candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will be non-voting Alternate Board Members with terms of one year. Please vote for no more than four candidates. Please take the time to review the candidate statements that accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board. Election of Board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT-NA. [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 AMSAT Symposium Dayton Hotel Reservation Correction The 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held Friday through Sunday, Oct 16, 17, 18, 2015 in Dayton, Ohio. This year we will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 33 East 5th Street, in downtown Dayton, a 3.5 star Hotel which has been recently renovated. Here is the corrected and latest hotel reservation information provided by Crowne Plaza: + Reservations toll-free phone number: 1-800-689-5586 + Group rate reservation code: "AMSAT" + Deadline for discounted reservations: September 17, 2015 by 3:00 PM US eastern time The Symposium Committee announced that arrangements are made for a tour of the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton for Monday, October 19. You may wish to extend your hotel reservation until Monday if you would like to participate on this tour. You must call the 800 number for Crowne Plaza to make your hotel reservations. Registration for the Space Symposium and events can be done on-line via the AMSAT Store: http://store.amsat.org/catalog/ The latest 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium information is posted on the web at: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=3667 -or- click on the "Events" tab at the top of the page at http://www.amsat.org [ANS thanks the 2015 AMSAT Symposium Posse for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA Office Closed until September 9th The AMSAT Office in Kensington, MD will be closed until Wednesday, September 9th. Enjoy the last of summer! [ANS thanks Martha at AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Distance Record Set on FO-29 by KG5CI and F4CQA Dave, KG5CCI reported that at 1732UTC on August 27th, 2015, a QSO was made between himself, KG5CCI, and F4CQA on via the FO-29 satellite. Dave explained, "This was not a scheduled contact, I simply answered Christophe's CQ call. I knew it was a good contact at the time, but as I was portable up on Arkansas' Shinnall Mountain, I did not have the resources available to calculate distances. After returning to my office I began to log the contacts I had made, and noticed the estimated distance between EM34 and JN17 was in excess of 7500km. About the same time I came to this realization, my email chirped with a message from Christophe, who had came to the same conclusion." After some quick exchanges, and verifying 10 digit locators, Dave and Christophe have settled on an official distance of 7599.959km between Dave's grid of EM34ST11TL and Christophe's grid of JN17EA22OT. The http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html website was used for distance calculations. Dave concluded, "To the best of our knowledge, referencing data found on Amsat-UK's website (at http://amsat-uk.org/2015/05/06/uk-texas-extreme-dx-contact/) this breaks the previous distance records of 7537.799km between W5CBF and G4DOL, and the 7538.685km contact between K4FEG and DK1TB. Dave had a camera setup to record the pass as well, and you can view a raw clip of the contact here: https://youtu.be/orY0Re0IY30 If anyone has any questions about the contact, Dave will be happy to answer them. Special thanks and a solid *GOOD-DX* to Christophe for the contact. [ANS thanks Dave, KG5CCI for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bring the Space Station Into Your Classroom With NASA's STEM on Station Website NASA is celebrating NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and their yearlong mission to the International Space Station with the launch of the new STEM on Station website! The website features lesson plans, videos and up-to-the-minute education news. Follow along with Scott and Mikhail to find out what we hope to learn from their extended mission. Get to know the International Space Station, and learn how work there benefits life on Earth as well as prepares us for our future journey to Mars. The STEM on Station website also features Learning Launchers. These "Teacher Toolkits" focus on research and activities related to the space station. Each month, a new Learning Launcher will feature One-Year Mission research or another topic related to the space station. Use lesson plans, videos and related resources to bring the International Space Station into your classroom. Since more topics will be featured, check back often to see what's coming next. We are working "Off the Earth, For the Earth . and in the Classroom"! To check out the new website, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education/STEMstation. [ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Aug. 27, 2015] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Reiterates Commitment to Coordinate Satellites Only Within International Band Plans In apparent reference to efforts by China's Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) to coordinate operating frequencies for nine satellites set to launch in early September, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has made it clear that it will not coordinate frequencies that do not conform with accepted band plans for all three IARU regions. The IARU has informed CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, that it was only able to coordinate uplink and downlink frequencies for two of the nine spacecraft (CAS-3/XW-2D and E), but it has not made that letter public. CAMSAT has said it plans to launch the nine satellites, all carrying Amateur Radio payloads, on September 7 or 8. "The IARU Satellite Adviser, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, and his advisory panel are mandated to coordinate frequencies within the IARU band plans for amateur satellites," said a public statement released on August 20 by IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD. "Coordinated frequencies must comply with band plans that are common to all three IARU regions. Satellites coordinated outside these plans could cause interference to terrestrial amateur operations in other regions." The IARU statement suggested that the popularity and high occupancy of 2 meters "led to a request by satellite builders for coordination outside the spectrum reserved for satellites in the IARU band plans (145.800-146.000 MHz), as not enough channels are available to satisfy their requirements." The IARU said that, in theory, satellites could be programmed only to operate while orbiting above their countries of origin, but "because satellite orbits make it difficult to pinpoint operations, spillover to other regions may occur during parts of the orbit. Accordingly, IARU will not coordinate frequencies for satellites which are planned to operate outside the internationally aligned IARU band plans for amateur satellites." The IARU statement noted that its frequency coordination service aims to "maximize spectrum utilization and avoid possible interference to other satellites and ground stations." The IARU recommended that satellite groups "work on a sharing plan or use other parts of the Amateur Service spectrum designated for satellite operation," and it suggested resurrecting 10 meters - once popular as a satellite band, but largely unused today - as one possibility for uplink channels. "The band segment 29,300-29,510 MHz has been used for Amateur-Satellite downlinks for more than 40 years, beginning with Australis-OSCAR 5 in 1970 and AMSAT-OSCAR 6, AMSAT's first communication satellite, in 1972," the IARU statement noted. Just one amateur satellite actively uses a 29 MHz downlink - AMSAT-OSCAR 7, launched in 1974. Conceding that 29 MHz downlink frequencies "would not be practical for today's very small satellites" due to antenna size considerations, the IARU said the band could be used for uplinks, even with small receiving antennas, because Earth stations can run sufficient transmit power to overcome the disadvantage. "The IARU Satellite Adviser and his panel believe that the 10 meter band offers a good alternative to 2 meter uplinks," the IARU said. AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said his organization's Advanced Satellite Communications and Exploration of New Technology (ASCENT) initiative is exploring alternatives to address the proliferation of CubeSats and the resulting pressure on 2 meters and 70 centimeters. He pointed out that the 200 kHz IARU allocation on 2 meters "is not very wide" given the number of satellites being launched, but the use of 10 meters is impractical in this era of CubeSats. "It is incumbent upon the Amateur-Satellite community to develop new ways of 'keeping Amateur Radio in space' that take advantage of other bands and provide enhanced services through appropriate technologies, given the need to find suitable bandwidth for an increasing number of satellites," Baines told ARRL. He said using digital technology could provide multi-channel capability, and design work is already under way. Transitioning to "underutilized amateur spectrum on bands such as 5 GHz and 10 GHz is also a possibility, Baines added, although he was quick to point out that AMSAT does not intend to abandon use of 2 meters and 70 centimeters for its own satellite projects. The IARU said that when a large group of satellite sharing the same band is launched, "they will soon drift apart which enhances the opportunity to share the same frequencies. For example, during the initial phase, just after launch, a time-sharing system could be used to monitor the payloads before initializing transponders and other systems." "Currently the IARU team also coordinates frequencies for satellites built by universities and educational groups in an effort to maximize spectrum utilization and mitigate any possible interference to Amateur Radio operations," the IARU statement concluded. "The IARU is committed to work with these groups and with the ITU to find other spectrum for these satellites." [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CPUT planning successor to Africa’s first nanosatellite Following on the successes of ZACube-1, a.k.a. TshepisoSat, ZACube-2 is the second instalment in the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) F’SATI mission series. The satellite will serve as technology demonstrator for essential subsystems and form the basis on which an innovative Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform will be developed as primary payload. The SDR is highly flexible to address a wide range of communication needs and will be a test bed to validate vessel detection. Additionally, the satellite will feature a medium resolution imager as secondary payload to demonstrate the feasibility of future remote sensing applications such as ocean colour monitoring and large fire tracking. This paper details the conceptual design and highlights the choices made around the proposed development http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ZACube-2%20%20The%20successor%20to%20Africa%E2%80… %20first%20nanosatellite.pdf Read the recent article by Hans van de Groenendaal ZS6AKV in EngineerIT magazine at http://www.ee.co.za/article/cput-planning-successor-africas-first-nanosatel… .html Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT) http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ASU Chosen to Lead Lunar CubeSat Mission A spacecraft the size of a shoebox with Arizona origins will soon be orbiting our nearest neighbor to create a map of water-ice on the moon. The NASA-selected CubeSat will be designed, built and operated at Arizona State University and is one piece of the agency's larger mission to fully characterize the water content at the lunar South Pole in preparation for exploration, resource utilization and improved understanding of the moon's geologic history. The spacecraft, called the Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper, or "LunaH-Map" for short, will produce the most detailed map to date of the moon's water deposits, unveiling new details about the depth and distribution of the ice that has been tentatively identified from previous missions. Confirming and mapping those deposits in detail will help NASA understand how much water might be available and will help inform NASA's strategy for sending humans farther into the solar system. The ability to search for useful assets, such as hydrogen, can potentially enable astronauts to manufacture fuel and other provisions needed to sustain a crew for a journey to Mars, reducing the amount of fuel and weight that NASA would need to transport from Earth. This is the third major space project for which NASA has selected ASU in the past year, and it is the first planetary science spacecraft mission that will be led by ASU. It represents a major achievement for planetary geologist Craig Hardgrove, the School of Earth and Space Exploration postdoctoral research associate who proposed the mission and will be overseeing it as principal investigator. "All of our previous NASA mission involvement has consisted of us having instruments on other people's missions. This is ASU's first interplanetary mission - this is our mission, our chance to trail blaze," said Jim Bell, professor in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration and mission deputy principal investigator. "It's a privilege to be leading this fantastic team, and I want to make sure we do it right and deliver on our promise to NASA," Hardgrove said. CubeSats are part of a growing movement that is revolutionizing space exploration because of their small size and low cost of construction and operation, effectively opening the door to early-career scientists, providing them an opportunity to operate missions of their own. "How much good science can we do with these small missions? We don't know the answer, but we will be one of the first groups to try to answer the question," Bell said. Although this is one of NASA's first forays into deep-space science experiments with CubeSats, the technology isn't new to NASA and universities, which have recognized their value and have been building them for years. "CubeSats are a model for a new way to gain access to space, but they are also a model for how to teach students how to design, build, operate and troubleshoot a real space mission," said Bell, who also directs ASU's NewSpace Initiative. "Students want to know how a spacecraft works, but not just from a PowerPoint presentation. This is their opportunity to build something. Break it. Fix it. Test it again. Launch it. Operate it. And that is the beauty of CubeSats; they provide students with the experience of going through the complete mission process." LunaH-Map will be designed, built and tested on ASU's Tempe campus, in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and several other partners supplying space-qualified hardware and services. LunaH-Map leverages technology from at least six small commercial space companies with expert knowledge and experience in building spacecraft hardware: Radiation Monitoring Devices, Busek, KinetX, NASA's Ames Research Center, Catholic University of America, and Planetary Resources. Overseeing all aspects of the spacecraft engineering is the mission's chief engineer and co-investigator, Jekan Thanga, an assistant professor in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration. Much of the design and development of LunaH-Map will be done in his Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) Laboratory and clean rooms in ASU's state-of-the-art Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4, which with their glass windows offer an opportunity for visitors to watch the spacecraft being built, tested and operated. In total, there will be 15 to 20 ASU professionals, including students, working on all aspects of the design, development, testing and delivery of the spacecraft. "Within the United States there only about seven institutions that are doing interplanetary CubeSat missions," Thanga said. "ASU brings together scientists and engineers to work on radical new concepts together, from the start. This innovative collaboration strategy leads to greater science return, and more creativity and capability." Other co-investigators from ASU include Professor Mark Robinson and Associate Research Professor Paul Scowen from the School of Earth and Space Exploration. LunaH-Map, along with a number of other deep-space CubeSats, is a candidate to fly to lunar orbit on Exploration Mission-1, the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), which will be the most powerful rocket ever built and will enable astronauts in the Orion spacecraft to travel deeper into the solar system. NASA will provide several CubeSat missions spots on the maiden SLS mission. LunaH-Map is a 6U ("6 unit") CubeSat. One "unit" is a cube measuring 4.7 inches on a side; LunaH-Map strings six of these CubeSat building blocks together and weighs as much as a small child (about 30 pounds). But just because it is small, doesn't mean it is less sophisticated - in this case, as with our smartphones, size doesn't compromise capabilities. LunaH- Map's design allows for all the necessary sensors and instruments to be securely packaged inside. A jack-in-the-box-like deployer releases the spacecraft and panels pop out like little wings. Once it arrives at the moon, the tiny spacecraft will embark on a 60-day science mission, consisting of 141 science orbits, using a suite of science instruments. Its main instrument is a neutron detector designed to sense the presence of hydrogen by measuring the energies of neutrons that have interacted with and subsequently leaked back out of the material in the top meter of the lunar surface. "We know from previous missions there is an increased abundance of hydrogen at the lunar poles. But we don't know how much or exactly where," Hardgrove said. "NASA has funded three different CubeSats to learn more: Lunar IceCube, Lunar FLASHLIGHT and LunaH-Map. They all look for water in different ways and provide different types of information." As LunaH-Map flies over the lunar South Pole at a very low altitude, it counts the energies of neutrons that have leaked out of the lunar surface. The energy distribution of the neutrons that hit the detectors tells us about the amount of hydrogen that's buried in the top meter of lunar soil. LunaH-Map will map the hydrogen content of the entire South Pole of the moon, including within permanently shadowed regions at high resolution. LunaH-Map will measure the bulk hydrogen content, up to a meter beneath the lunar surface, while the instruments on both Lunar IceCube and FLASHLIGHT will tell us about the very top few microns. LunaH-Map will create the highest-resolution maps of regional near-surface (top-meter) water-ice distribution across the entire South Pole of the moon. "Science is a human endeavor, and part of that is knowing each other and trusting each other. And when it comes to a NASA mission and taxpayer dollars to do exploration, you got to have the credentials. You have to be trusted, you need to have proven yourself, you need to show that you can make it happen and you won't fail. And we've got a history now where that's the case," said Linda Elkins-Tanton, director of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration. http://www.moondaily.com/reports/ASU_chosen_to_lead_lunar_CubeSat_mission_ 999.html [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com 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 and Sunday, 5-6 September - ARRL Roanoke Division Convention Shelby, NC Hamfest, AMSAT Forum scheduled for Saturday *Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 2015, AMSAT Symposium in Dayton OH (Dayton Crown Plaza) *Saturday, 7 November 2015 – Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Marana AZ *Saturday and Sunday, 7-8 November 2015 – Stone Mountain Hamfest and ARRL Georgia Section Convention in Lawrenceville GA *Saturday, 5 December 2015 – Superstition Superfest 2015 in Mesa AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts The direct ARISS contact with Kantonschule am Burggraben, Switzerland on August 24, 12:24 UTC, via HB9SG was successful. Contact was established at 12:24 UTC, only 50 seconds later than expected. 18 questions were answered. The downlink signal was loud and clear. Only during the first 4 questions there was a bit QRM due to the antenna location in the middle of the city. The audience was about 300 persons in the contact room and about 1000 students and 230 others via the live-stream on the Internet. TV stations, 3 radio stations "Radio SRF3" and nationwide newspapers covered the event. TV links: http://www.tvo-online.ch/?playlist=news (TV-Ostschweiz) „Erde an ISS“ http://www.teletop.ch/programm/heute-auf-tele-top/art/heute-auf-tele-top- 001691193/ (Tele Top) (look at minute 16.07) Radio links: http://www.srf.ch/wissen/technik/aus-der-aula-ins-all-eine-kanti-in-st-gall… funkt-mit-der-iss (SRF3 - Nationales Radio) Pictures can be found on http://cloud.syso.ch/photo/#!Albums . Maconaquah School Corporation, Bunker Hill, IN, direct via WD9GIU The ISS callsign was NA1SS The astronaut was Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Maconaquah had a very successful contact. All 20 questions were asked and there was one extra. They might have been able to have a few more but they signed off about 1 minute before LOS. It was an outstanding contact. Upcoming ARISS Contacts Sochi, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled cosmonaut is Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Contact is a go for 2015-08-29 11:15 UTC Ulvila Upper Secondary School, Finland, direct via OH1F The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for: Tue 2015-09-01 11:44:03 UTC Kazakhstan, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Aidyn Aimbetov Contact is a go for 2015-09-08 07:10 UTC 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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org -- -73 k6wao Joe Spier k6wao(a)amsat.net

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Extreme DX FO29 Contact
by Dave Swanson 29 Aug '15

29 Aug '15

Satellite friends and colleagues, I'm happy to announce that at 1732UTC on August 27th, 2015, A QSO was made between myself, KG5CCI, and F4CQA on Satellite FO-29. This was not a scheduled contact, I simply answered Christophe's CQ call. I knew it was a good contact at the time, but as I was portable up on Arkansas' Shinnall Mountain, I did not have the resources available to calculate distances. After returning to my office I began to log the contacts I had made, and noticed the "general" distance between EM34 and JN17 was in excess of 7500km. About the same time I came to this realization, my email chirped with a message from Christophe, who had came to the same conclusion. After some quick exchanges, and verifying 10 digit locators, we have settled on an official distance of 7599.959km between my grid of EM34ST11TL and Christophe's grid of JN17EA22OT, using the http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html website for calculations. To the best of our knowledge, referencing data found on Amsat-UK's website ( at http://amsat-uk.org/2015/05/06/uk-texas-extreme-dx-contact/ ) this breaks the previous distance records of 7537.799km between W5CBF and G4DOL, and the 7538.685km contact between K4FEG and DK1TB. I had my camera setup to record the pass as well, and you can view a raw clip of the contact here: https://youtu.be/orY0Re0IY30 If anyone has any questions about the contact, I'll be happy to answer them. Special thanks and a solid *GOOD-DX* to Christophe for the contact, and here's to many more. 73! -Dave, KG5CCI

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N4HF - SO-50, 1659UTC (east coast) pass, Friday
by Philip Jenkins 29 Aug '15

29 Aug '15

Thanks to the 3 stations I worked today on SO-50. It was quite a different experience for me.... ...because I I was using a Kenwood D72A with headset/microphone and "manually controlled" Arrow antenna. I couldn't believe the audio quality difference this time.... ...because the last time I made SO-50 QSOs (March 2013, I think), I was just two different HTs, same Arrow antenna, and a speaker mic (but just for transmit). The receive radio was using the HT speaker, and hanging out of my pants' pocket :-) So, yeah, there's a lot I DIDN'T hear the last time I was on the bird. If anyone has a recording of todays' (Friday) pass, I'd appreciate hearing it. My intent today was to listen, to re-familiarize myself with the protocol, but the satellite was so loud (61 deg pass) and the audio so great, that when a lull occurred, I thought I'd try it anyway. So I didn't have a splitter going to an audio recorder (which I need to do soon, as I plan to (try to) demo SO-50 on loudspeaker at a special event - N4F/ham radio demo at a 10-day Fair in a couple of weeks; see Sept 2015 QST, pgs 65 and 94 for details). So my apologies if my QSOs weren't valid, if my protocol wasn't right; I was a bit nervous that the set-up worked as well as it did. I am AMAZED at the difference in using a headset! The only station I remember working is KI4RO, but don't know his gridsquare, so no valid QSO's on my end. So I'll be back on, but may be after the Fair ends around Sept 20 - and I plan to use the N4F call from the Fair; does anyone need EM85? :-) 73 de Philip N4HF (P.S. I have the equipment for linear sats - even HEOs - but let me get comfortable with SO-50 first, okay?)

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FO-29 max distance
by Bob- W7LRD 29 Aug '15

29 Aug '15

Hello from Seattle What is the maximum theoretical distance one can do on FO-29? 73 Bob W7LRD CN87wk

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FUNcube-1 Operations thsi weekend
by Graham Shirville 28 Aug '15

28 Aug '15

Hi All, Apologies but it has not been possible to switch FC1 over to Transponder Mode this evening as usually happens. We expect that this will now occur tomorrow morning or maybe tomorrow evening thanks and 73 Graham

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Office Closed
by Martha 28 Aug '15

28 Aug '15

The AMSAT Office will be closed until Wednesday, September 9th. Enjoy the last of summer! -- 73- Martha (AMSAT's only employee)

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Going to ARRL SW Division Convention next month?
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Aug '15

28 Aug '15

Hi! The 2015 ARRL Southwest Division Convention is coming up, on 11-13 September in Torrance CA. I had asked this question on Twitter, and I'll widen the question to -BB readers. Is anyone planning to go to this convention? I'm thinking about heading out there for at least Saturday of that weekend (12 September). I won't have a booth there, but hope to meet up with other satellite operators out there, and maybe get a lunch or dinner. I will probably head back to Phoenix late that evening, since I am not able to spend all of that weekend in southern California. Please e-mail me directly - or send me a tweet, if you are on Twitter - if you're going to be there. Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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7599 km DX contact on FO-29 | AMSAT-UK
by My Info 28 Aug '15

28 Aug '15

http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/28/7599-km-dx-contact-on-fo-29/

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1.2 GHz and 2.4 GHz Birds
by WILLIAMS MICHAEL 28 Aug '15

28 Aug '15

Bob, Sat Name: DTUsat-2, Beacon is 200mW, Object 40030, 2401.842 MHz. Signalsare very strong, and do not fade. Easily copied with a single helix. It's a good signal to test tracking on 2.4 GHz. Battery power has failed. Downlink only during ellipse using power from solar panels. DTUsat-2 appears at all locations either once or twice at about 11 AM local time and again about midnight. It is sun synchronous. The CW beacons can be every 30 seconds apart or one minute apart depending if the on board computer (OBC) is running. If the OBC is running, the first three bits following the CW I.D. will be "dash-dot-dot" or 100. If the three bits following the I.D is "dot-dot-dot" or 000, the OBC is powered but not running. When the OBC is running, CW beacons may be 1 minute apart with a tone sounding mid way between beacon intervals. Downlink may be a full CW beacon, partial CW beacon, a tone, or a missingsignal for that interval. The beacon CW coded message following the I.D ( OZ2DTU) is broken into five segmentswhich is STATUS, Radio Temp, Battery Temp, Battery Voltage, and Beacon Count. Beacon count, the last segment, is the "number of beacons since the last full system reboot". This number can be a "dot" which is zero up to a large number, for Example: "Dash Dash Dot Dot Dash" which is 25. To me, a good condition would be a Status of 100 with a Beacon Count 30.Doppler is 100 KHz over the entire pass. Current Keps and accurate computer clock is necessary for good tracking.I've been recording audio for about 3 months for DT University. It's a good signal to track. Google DTUsat-2. 73, Mike (K9QHO)

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FS: Icom 451 UHF all mode radio
by John Geiger 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

I have for sale an Icom 451 all mode 70cm transceiver in very good condition. Looks really good for a radio of this age, and works fine also. I have been using it on the satellites with good results, and also in the UHF contest earlier this month. This will get you on both the linear and the FM satellites. I have had good luck with it so far on AO7, FO29, AO73, and SO50. It has a built in power supply, and does 10 watts out. Comes with a power cord and hand mic. The only "issue" with it is that the level to turn the VOX off and on is missing. It is in the VOX on position, but I just turned the VOX gain all the way down and it functions in PTT mode only. You can turn up the VOX gain if you want to use it in VOX mode. This transceiver covers the 430-440 mhz range of 70cm and doesn't have a tone encoder with it. One could be added, though. Here is a great chance to get on 70cm SSB/CW for not a lot of money. I am asking $160 for it plus shipping, and can take paypal/check/MO. Pickup is also possible in Lawton, OK or can meet close by for an in-person deal. 73 John AF5CC

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Re: [amsat-bb] ARISS school contact
by AJ9N＠aol.com 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

Thanks George, It was an outstanding contact and was also webstreamed. Thanks for the report. 73, Charlie AJ9N ARISS mentor for Maconaquah Schools In a message dated 8/27/2015 9:16:30 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, gkcarr(a)go-express.net writes: I, too, received excellent audio from the ISS in EM30. George WA5KBH -----Original Message----- From: skristof(a)etczone.com Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 11:11 To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] ARISS school contact Had excellent reception (RS 59) horizon to horizon of the astronaut's side of the QSO between the ISS and Bunker Hill School, Indiana. I am located at Ivy Tech Community College in Batesville, IN (southeast corner of state, Grid EM79jg). Thank you very much to the astronauts, the folks in Bunker Hill School, and everyone who supports ARISS for making this possible. I did record it, but haven't checked my recording yet. Steve AI9IN _______________________________________________ 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] ARISS school contact
by AJ9N＠aol.com 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

Thanks John for the report. And thanks for reminding everyone to not attempt to make a contact before a scheduled ARISS contact. The ISS crew will only be listening for one specific callsign; that of the school or telebridge station. Once a contact is over, then it is fair game but just know they are probably back to work as soon as the contact is over. 73, Charlie AJ9N One of the ARISS mentors In a message dated 8/27/2015 1:33:34 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, johnbrier(a)gmail.com writes: I heard the majority of it here in Raleigh, NC (FM05). People should consider listening even for ISS contacts in different states/areas. I received the entire contact with New York here in Raleigh once: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGFEanljOG8 Last Saturday I even heard the tail end of a contact that was happening in Arizona. Granted I was on the Blue Ridge parkway in the Appalachian mountains, but still. Don't have that one on YouTube yet. Most impressively I heard the very beginning of a contact via a telebridge in Italy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsaIN1R6LfY The only reason I heard that though is because Gennady Padalka started calling Italy 6 or 7 minutes early. I actually forgot about the contact and was in the middle of calling them for a random contact. I returned the call only because that's what I thought he was calling for, but you shouldn't call them when they are doing scheduled school contacts so as not to confuse them or interfere. John, KG4AKV On Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 12:42 PM, <skristof(a)etczone.com> wrote: > > > Webstreaming is a great idea! > > But, I believe that I am in the running for "Nerd of the Month" at my > school for standing in the parking lot with my HT and my Arrow antenna, > and with a voice recorder in my shirt pocket and the microphone clipped > to my tie. > > Steve AI9IN > > On 2015-08-27 12:18, AJ9N(a)aol.com wrote: > >> Thanks George, >> >> It was an outstanding contact and was also webstreamed. >> >> Thanks for the report. >> >> 73, >> Charlie AJ9N >> ARISS mentor for Maconaquah Schools >> >> In a message dated 8/27/2015 9:16:30 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, gkcarr(a)go-express.net writes: >> >>> I, too, received excellent audio from the ISS in EM30. >>> George >>> WA5KBH >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: skristof(a)etczone.com >>> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 11:11 >>> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >>> Subject: [amsat-bb] ARISS school contact >>> >>> Had excellent reception (RS 59) horizon to horizon of the astronaut's >>> side of the QSO between the ISS and Bunker Hill School, Indiana. >>> >>> I am located at Ivy Tech Community College in Batesville, IN (southeast >>> corner of state, Grid EM79jg). >>> >>> Thank you very much to the astronauts, the folks in Bunker Hill School, >>> and everyone who supports ARISS for making this possible. >>> >>> I did record it, but haven't checked my recording yet. >>> >>> Steve AI9IN >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available >>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed >>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. >>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >>> Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available >>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed >>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. >>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >>> Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

1 0

REPORT RX NO-84
by LW8EXS 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

NOTHING HEARD IN 435.350RX 145.825 FM - 19:51 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [16:51:48R] T#676,844,076,500,859,846,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [16:52:45R] !17 . N\114 . WS140/999/W3ADO s#016745,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [16:52:46R] s#016745,0z290,haMiHMFJLJbMgeMlHLAJMDbNlgMlHKbJN0cN 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [16:54:19R] !14 . N\111 . WS140/999/W3ADO s#016746,0z290 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

ARISS school contact
by skristof＠etczone.com 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

Had excellent reception (RS 59) horizon to horizon of the astronaut's side of the QSO between the ISS and Bunker Hill School, Indiana. I am located at Ivy Tech Community College in Batesville, IN (southeast corner of state, Grid EM79jg). Thank you very much to the astronauts, the folks in Bunker Hill School, and everyone who supports ARISS for making this possible. I did record it, but haven't checked my recording yet. Steve AI9IN

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] ARISS school contact
by AJ9N＠aol.com 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

Thanks Steve, It was an outstanding contact and went well. 73, Charlie In a message dated 8/27/2015 9:11:26 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, skristof(a)etczone.com writes: Had excellent reception (RS 59) horizon to horizon of the astronaut's side of the QSO between the ISS and Bunker Hill School, Indiana. I am located at Ivy Tech Community College in Batesville, IN (southeast corner of state, Grid EM79jg). Thank you very much to the astronauts, the folks in Bunker Hill School, and everyone who supports ARISS for making this possible. I did record it, but haven't checked my recording yet. Steve AI9IN _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

1 0

EM96
by James Lea - WX4TV 27 Aug '15

27 Aug '15

I will be on the SO-50 pass at 1557Z from EM96. James Lea Sent from my iPhone

1 0

report rx NO-84
by LW8EXS 26 Aug '15

26 Aug '15

21:50 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [18:48:12R] !08 . N\107 . ES140/999/W3ADO s#015848,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [18:49:47R] !05 . N\110 . ES140/999/W3ADO s#015849,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [18:49:47R] s#015849,0z290,NEPNdPHkPecQ0JQMGQLiPbiQfEQIKQMAQHiQ 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [18:50:00R] T#374,847,074,497,877,837,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [18:51:01R] T#375,845,071,496,880,836,00011100 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

EN57 on SO-50
by Mike N8MR 26 Aug '15

26 Aug '15

I will be in EN57 today and tomorrow with my Arrow antenna and two HTs. I will try to get on SO-50 on the 1530 and 1711 URC passes today. 73, Mike, N8MR

1 0

EN57 on SO-50
by Mike N8MR 26 Aug '15

26 Aug '15

I will be in EN57 today and tomorrow with my Arrow antenna and two HTs. I will try to get on SO-50 on the 1530 and 1711 URC passes today. 73, Mike, N8MR

1 0

USA Midwest: Listen on 145.800 Thursday August 27
by JoAnne Maenpaa 26 Aug '15

26 Aug '15

Heads up ... opportunity to copy ISS on 145.800 for stations in the Midwest USA ... Thursday, August 27 at 10:52 CDT (15:52 UTC) opportunity to copy the International Space Station on 145.800. They have a school contact planned with Bunker Hill, Indiana (central Indiana north of Indianapolis). The contact will be direct between NA1SS and KD9BAQ. Details of school contacts posted at: http://www.ariss.org/ -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org AMSAT VP User Services

1 0

CNCTRK update
by Bob Freeman 26 Aug '15

26 Aug '15

Hello amsat-bb, Have updated my CNCTRK site with information on the Raspberry Pi version of the system -- these data are new since the article was published in the May/June issue of the Journal. Am still planning to build a short run of APS units in Q4 (if our travel expenses son't break the bank, that is). Have fun and keep up the good work. Bob KI4SBL

1 1

Question about AMSAT BB
by Rick Walter 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

I know most of the AMSAT operation is done by volunteers. I also have wondered why some posts for satellite passes seem to be very close or even after the pass occurred. What is the average time between someone sending a post and when it actually appears on the BB? I sent a congratulatory message to the AMSAT team who produce the Journal as well as commenting on the content. I also mentioned getting my AMSAT Journal in the mail today to allow members to know it will be arriving soon. That post was sent at 2:46 PM EDT today.I BCC it to myself. It showed up in 5 seconds. Five hours later, I still do not see it listed on the AMSAT BB. I can see why some posts seem to be at the last minute before something happens that may be of interest to most of us. I'm not complaining, I just wonder if we need to post about 12 hours before something will actually happen. Thanks, Rick WB3CSY -- Sent from Rick's gmail account

7 8

Re: [amsat-bb] Question about AMSAT BB
by njwater . 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

I receive a daily digest, but other than checking the archives, is there any real-time or near-real-time way to see new bb messages? Rob, KA2CZU ------------------------------ Rick mentioned: >* I BCC it to myself. It showed up in 5 seconds. Five hours *>* later, I still do not see it listed on the AMSAT BB. * OK, EMike rang a bell :-) The list won't duplicate messages. The settings assumed you already received the message with your BCC. Try it without the BCC on your next message and you should see your messages shortly afterward. There is a Mailman setting for NODUP for all subscribers. The timing of the message actually appearing for you also depends on local settings. I use MS-Office Outlook for my primary e-mail. My Outlook settings are to check for new mail every 300 seconds (5 minutes). So a message actually arriving would be sometime in that 5 minute window depending on the time in the receive window when I sent the message. I use Gmail on my Android tablet and it usually receives messages sooner mostly because it is not likely waiting for the 5 minute receive window as in my Outlook settings. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKMk9jkm at amsat.org <http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> AMSAT VP User Services

2 2

report rx NO-84
by LW8EXS 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

13:45 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [10:45:05R] !08 . N\058 . ES140/999/W3ADO s#014548,0z290 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

PSAT PSK31 experimental software
by aflowers＠frontiernet.net 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

I put together an experimental program called DopplerPSK to compensate for the Doppler shift on the NO-84 (or NO-83) PSK31 uplink. In essence, its a PSK31 transmitter that is merged with an orbital propagator to cause your transmitted signal to drift exactly opposite to uplink Doppler effect. It does this in a phase-continuous correction so that you don't get errors due to discontinuous frequency adjustments from controlling a radio in discrete steps. In the case of PSAT and BricSat, it should cause your signal to stay at constant frequency in the satellite's uplink receiver, and thus you should get a stable frequency on the FM downlink as well. In turn, this means you should be able to use your favorite PSK31 demodulating software to copy the downlink since the frequency drift should stay well within the AFC tolerance of the software. Anyway, if there are any adventurous people who are set up to give this a go, I would be interested in seeing if it actually works. You can find a rough quick-start guide (which contains an explanation of how it works and what you need to get started) and the application package on the rather minimalist page here: http://www.frontiernet.net/~aflowers/dopplerpsk/dopplerpsk.html It's an experiment, so be prepared for disappointment. I am :-) Andy K0SM/2

8 19

Notification of passes
by Skyler Fennell 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

I have been very bad at making satellite contacts recently. The main reason is because they aren't at a specific time every day/week and I don't look for passes very often. When I do search for passes, I am busy during the pass or don't have enough time to prep for a pass in 10 minutes. In addition, I can only work FM, so there aren't many sats (like one) Has anybody ever found something to get notified when a pass is coming up (maybe in the next few hours or so) via text message or email or something else? Thanks, Skyler KD0WHB

7 7

ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference), Chicago, October 9 - 11, 2015
by Mark Thompson 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

2015 ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) DoubleTree HotelArlington Heights, IL October 9 - 11, 2015 The Digital Communication Conference is the premiere annual Digital Conference covering all Digital Modes & Techniques including Data, Voice & Television and SDR. The DCC has two full days of Technical presentations on Friday & Saturday, concurrent Introductory forums on Saturday, a Saturday night Banquet with a Guest Speaker and a Sunday morning Seminar deep dive into a technical subject. There are also Friday & Saturday Lunches and a Friday Night Social. Those who have submitted a Technical Paper to be included in the Conference Proceedings have priority to present a presentation during the Technical Forums, however if you didn't submit a technical paper and want to present a Technical or Introductory presentation please contact the TAPR Office at: https://www.tapr.org/inforequest.php The 2015 DCC will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Chicago northwest suburb of Arlington Heights not far from O'Hare airport with a free hotel shuttle to O'Hare. Be sure to register for the DCC and reserve your hotel room early. The DCC Early Bird Pre-Registration Discount ends on September 19th. DCC Registration is available at: http://www.tapr.org/dcc#registration The DCC Hotel Special Rate ends on September 15th. DCC Hotel Information is available at: http://www.tapr.org/dcc#hotel Look forward to your participation in the DCC.

1 0

It wont be a satellite road trip, but.....
by Tom Schuessler 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

Hello all, My wife and I will be taking 5 days to drive a rental truck from DFW, North Texas to Boston to move daughter and new husband's stuff to their new home and law school. The type of truck and the logistics of the trip will not really work with casual satellite ops. Maybe someday. However, I would love to make terrestrial QSOs with some of you folks along the way as I will have a dual bander and a small antenna mounted to the truck. Would love to say hi on local repeaters along the way. Here is the route and rough projected time table. Friday, August 28th, Afternoon-evening. Dallas, Texarkana, Little Rock. Saturday, August 29th, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Elizabethtown, KY, Springfield KY. Sunday, August 30th, Springfield, KY, Lexington, KY, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland. Monday, August 31st, Erie, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Schenectady. Tuesday, September 1st Albany Springfield, Boston. There might be some schedule flex, especially the last two days but that should be close. Contact me off list via my n5hyp(a)yahoo.com email with Callsign, city, repeater/s PL and other pertinent information. Perhaps we can exchange more than just a Grid Square. What a concept. 73 de N5HYP Tom Schuessler n5hyp(a)yahoo.com

1 0

SO-50 Yesterday at 1738Z
by James Lea - WX4TV 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

Did anyone record this pass? Hope worked a few stations from the beach in EL98 and there was an XE1 station that she worked at the end of the pass. The recording is covered up by someone on the beach coming up and asking what she was doing. I can’t make out the callsign. Thanks for everyone who bears with all of the kids as they learn how to be good operators! This pass was a great learning experience to explain how some people are lids and that it is illegal to key up your mic and whistle on the radio. The youngest wonders why someone would spend so much money and time to make a satellite station and then just try to jam people. She is very observant. 73, James - WX4TV

15 22

Portable rotator
by Bill Attwood 25 Aug '15

25 Aug '15

Hi all, I posted a little too soon about my rotator "blog" on Friday - I've since cleaned up the post and added some high resolution pics (plus a short video). If you'd like to take another boo here's the link again: https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=118737 It would be great to get some comments and thoughts (critical ones welcome!) in the Pi forum. 73, Bill VE6WK --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

2 1

report rx NO-84
by LW8EXS 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

22:18 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [19:18:19R] T#565,869,074,525,848,820,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [19:18:56R] !54 . N\111 . ES090/999/W3ADO s#013924,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [19:20:21R] T#567,867,073,523,852,818,00011100 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

July/August AMSAT Journal
by Rick Walter 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

Just received the very nice July/August AMSAT journal in the mail today at Lancaster, PA. Lots of great pictures and large content. Congratulations to all involved that create this fine publication for us! Rick - WB3CSY Sent from Rick's iPhone 5 "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds" - Albert Einstein

1 0

report RX NO-84
by LW8EXS 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

15:42 UTC 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [12:38:07R] !05 . S\078 . WS120/999/W3ADO s#013652,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [12:38:07R] s#013652,0z290,efGhaadHAEDIcgGgceeI0AEJchGgdgeIbbFJ 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [12:39:24R] T#172,896,073,615,789,834,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [12:39:41R] !08 . S\072 . WS120/999/W3ADO s#013653,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [12:39:41R] s#013653,0z290,aeHehEfbgeIAaDJdhFgdgfJacEKdiGfehfJc 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [12:41:26R] T#174,894,071,628,768,832,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [12:42:27R] T#175,902,074,633,763,830,00011100 73s LW8EXS Mercedes ( Buenos Aires ) Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

Making Reservations
by Martha 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

I have been in contact with the Crowne Plaza in Dayton. Our original Sales Manager is gone! Information she gave us turns out to be incorrect. To make reservations for the AMSAT Space Symposium call 1-800-689-5586 and ask for the AMSAT block. I have been assured by Nicole (our new Sales Manager) that this will work. -- 73- Martha

2 1

EM97 Activation
by James Lea - WX4TV 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

I will be working in West Virginia in EM97 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this week and will work as many SO-50 passes as I can. If anyone needs that grid, let me know and I will let you know when I will be on the satellite. 73, James

1 0

NO-84?
by Steve Kristoff 24 Aug '15

24 Aug '15

I'm making no claim to be the expert on this, but it looks like the voltage on NO-84 has stabilized. Haven't seen anything below 7 volts for a while. Can we anticipate that it will be open for digipeating in the near (or semi-near) future? Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof(a)etczone.com

2 1

AO73 2m passband
by John Geiger 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

What are the downlink passband frequencies for AO73. They seem to be different than I was saw on the Amsat website. 73 John AF5CC

2 1

FUNcube-1 now in autonomous mode
by Graham Shirville 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

Just to advise that FUNcube-1 is now operating in autonomous mode. 73 Graham G3VZV

1 0

PR8ZX (GI64gl) QRV this afternoon
by Paul Stoetzer 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

Good afternoon, Pedro, PR8ZX, tells me he will be on FO-29 and AO-7 this afternoon from his home QTH - GI64 - looking for North American stations. If you need it and you have a window, look for him. 73, Paul, N8HM

1 0

ANS-235 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 23 Aug '15

23 Aug '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-235 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: * Launch Date for AMSAT Fox-1A * Satellite Antennas and the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 * CubeSat Developers' Workshop Presentations Online * JAXA H-II Transport Vehicle to Deliver Two ESA Cubesats * IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies * IARU Region 3 Act on Band Plan Satellite Allocations * AMSAT Satellite Communications Awards * Send Your Name to Mars on NASA's Next Red Planet Mission SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-235.01 ANS-235 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 235.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. August 23, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-214.01 Launch Date for AMSAT Fox-1A Jeru Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President of Engineering advises that AMSAT has been informed that the launch of Fox-1A is now scheduled for October 8. No other details are available at this time. [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Antennas and the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 AMSAT members are encouraged to contact their congressional representatives and senators, asking them to sign on to The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 as a co-sponsor. Passage of the Act (currently consisting of bills in both the House and Senate) will directly benefit AMSAT members and likely help us grow our membership numbers. Putting satellites in orbit is only half the challenge of "working the birds." Reaching them with an appropriate ground station is the other half. Many of us living in housing developments, condos or apartments would love to have a fixed station antenna system but are severely limited by restrictive CC&Rs that forbid outside antennas. We are relegated to working ISS, SO-50 and future LEO satellites with Arrows, Elks and HTs. The Radio Amateur Parity Act of 2015 would not give Amateurs "carte blanche" to do whatever they wished in terms of erecting radio antennas where they now are prohibited. But it would eliminate blanket prohibitions, requiring HOAs and other private land use regulators to extend reasonable accommodation to Amateurs who want to erect antennas. The ARRL is leading on this issue for the larger Amateur Radio community. Sample letters for the U.S. House and Senate, along with instructions for their use. can be found at this link: http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act [ANS thanks Joe Neil Kornowski, KB6IGK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSat Developers' Workshop Presentations Online The 12th Annual Summer CubeSat Developers’ Workshop was a great success!! The Workshop feedback has been amazing, and truly underscores the efforts of all who participated, from the engaging, entertaining, and provocative technical presentations to the incredible networking opportunities. Thank you to all Presenters, Attendees, Sponsors, Live Stream Viewers, and Organizers! Your contribution was invaluable to the success of the Workshop and greatly appreciated! For those of you who could not make it, or for those of you who want to review what you saw, all presentations can be found online on cubesat.org with a link to the video of the presentation. Please join us at the 13th Annual Spring Developers’ Workshop at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA from April 20-22, 2016. [ANS thanks The CubeSat Workshop Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- JAXA H-II Transport Vehicle to Deliver Two ESA Cubesats Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) launch of its H-II Transport Vehicle (HTV)-5 to the International Space Station on Wednesday, Aug. 19 included two cubesats. These satellites will then be deployed together into space in the first half of September, with the involvement of Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen. Both CubeSats originated from Denmark. GOMX-3 is a 3U Cubesat. The mission and its payloads will be used for story telling and teaching. It will include an ADS-B receiver, magnetometer data, solar cells and green energy and radio operation. An experimental X Band transmitter plus an SDR receiver will also be carried. GOMX-3 downlink: 437.250 MHz with 1k2-9k6 GMSK data from a NanoCom AX100 using CSP protocol. AAUSAT-5 is a 1 unit cubesat. The primary mission is to receive AIS beacons from ships with a new design based on AAUSAT-3. In addition to that a educational payload for high school outreach was designed by engineering students. The AIS receiver payload is based on SDR principles. Once deployed from the ISS it is expected to remain in orbit for approx 6 months. AAUSAT-5 downlink: 437.425 MHz, GMSK telemetry. Danish Ministry of Science and Education, House of Natural Sciences http://nvhus.dk/house-of-natural-sceinces.aspx ESA Cubesat launch announcement: http://tinyurl.com/ESA-Gomx SpaceRef.com article about AAUSAT-5: http://tinyurl.com/AAUSAT-Article [ANS thanks ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies The IARU have announced they are committed to only coordinate satellite frequencies within the internationally aligned IARU band plans. The two metre amateur band is one of the most popular and populated bands in all the spectrum allocated to the amateur and amateur satellite services. This recently led to a request by satellite builders for coordination outside the spectrum reserved for satellites in the IARU band plans (145.800 – 146.000 MHz) as not enough channels are available to satisfy their requirements. The IARU Satellite Adviser, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV and his advisory panel are mandated to coordinate frequencies within the IARU band plans for amateur satellites. Coordinated frequencies must comply with band plans that are common to all three IARU Regions Satellites coordinated outside these plans could cause interference to terrestrial amateur operations in other regions. In theory satellites could be programmed so that they only operate over their country of origin. Because satellite orbits make it difficult to pinpoint operations, spill over to other Regions may occur during parts of the orbit. Accordingly, IARU will not coordinate frequencies for satellites which are planned to operate outside the internationally aligned IARU band plans for amateur satellites. The IARU offers frequency coordination in an effort to maximise spectrum utilisation and avoid possible interference to other satellites and ground stations. The IARU requests that satellite groups work on a sharing plan or use other parts of the amateur service spectrum designated for satellite operation. When a large group of satellite sharing the same band are launched, they will soon drift apart which enhances the opportunity to share the same frequencies. For example, during the initial phase, just after launch, a time sharing system could be used to monitor the payloads before initialising transponders and other systems. For instance, the 10 metre band, once popular with satellite builders, is today not significantly used. The band segment 29.300-29.510 MHz has been used for amateur-satellite downlinks for more than 40 years, beginning with Australis- OSCAR 5 in 1970 and AMSAT-OSCAR 6, AMSAT’s first communications satellite, in 1972. The band segment was very popular for downlinks in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, only one amateur satellite actively uses a 29 MHz downlink: AMSAT-OSCAR 7, launched in 1974 [and RS-15 on 29.3525 MHz – Editor]. While a 29 MHz downlink would not be practical for today’s very small satellites, owing to the size of the antenna required, the band could be used very practically for uplinks even with small receiving antennas, because transmitting power at the earth station is easy to obtain. The IARU Satellite Adviser and his panel believe that the 10 metre band offers a good alternative to 2 metre uplinks Currently the IARU team also coordinates frequencies for satellites built by universities and educational groups in an effort to maximise spectrum utilisation and mitigate any possible interference to Amateur Radio operations. The IARU is committed to work with these groups and with the ITU to find other spectrum for these satellites. Rod Stafford W6ROD Secretary International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) [ANS thanks Rod, W6ROD, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Region 3 Act on Band Plan Satellite Allocations The IARU Region 3 (Asia/Pacific) Directors have submitted a band plan paper concerning amateur satellite allocations for consideration at the IARU Region 3 Conference which takes place October 12-16 in Bali, Indonesia. This is the 16th Conference and it will be hosted by the Amateur Radio Organisation of Indonesia (ORARI). 60 Premier and 12 Suite hotel rooms have been booked at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel which is described as being situated in Sanur, the secretly sophisticated side of Bali. ORARI plans to run a special event station YB16IARU from October 11-16 from the conference and the delegates will be taken on a tour of Bali. The President of ORARI, Sutiyoso YB0ST, says: “It’s an exciting time for us as we continue to grow and thrive, remaining always adaptable, motivated and responsive. The world of amateur radio is an exciting area in which to work and play, and we’ll continue to meet and bring inspired people together in forums like this, to ensure IARU Region 3 remains at the cutting edge.” The changes proposed by IARU Region 3 Directors would appear to prohibit the use of the Amateur Satellite Service channel 144.490 MHz as an uplink for crewed space missions. Use of this channel was agreed by IARU Region 3 some 20 years ago but the new paper says: “Note 2: The other portion of the band 144.035-145.8 MHz is exclusively identified for the amateur service.” At the same time IARU Region 3 had agreed the crewed space mission downlink channel would be 145.800 MHz using 5 kHz deviation FM with a Doppler shift of +/- 3.75 kHz. The paper does not record this. Read the IARU R3 Directors amateur satellite band plan paper at http://www.iaru- r3.org/16r3c/docs/022%20Modification%20to%20R3%20Band%20Plan.docx The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) have presented a satellite band plan paper, see http://www.iaru-r3.org/16r3c/docs/023%20Changes%20to%20R3%20Bandplan.docx Other papers submitted for the conference may be seen at http://iaru-r3.org/16th-triennial-conference-of-the-iaru-r3-documents/ 16th IARU R3 Conference http://www.iarur3conf2015.org/ IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/20/iaru-coordination-of-satellite-frequencies/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Satellite Communications Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards provided the following corrected list of AMSAT Satellite Communications Award recipients as an update to the list previously published in ANS-228. Steve Kristoff, AI9IN #564 Frank Westphal, K6FW #565 Fraser Bonnett, W3UTD #566 Carlton Noll, KA4H #567 (also a new member to AMSAT) [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Send Your Name to Mars on NASA's Next Red Planet Mission Mars enthusiasts around the world can participate in NASA’s journey to Mars by adding their names to a silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA's InSight Mars lander, scheduled to launch next year. "Our next step in the journey to Mars is another fantastic mission to the surface," said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By participating in this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you're showing that you're part of that journey and the future of space exploration." Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 8. To send your name to Mars aboard InSight, go to: http://go.usa.gov/3Aj3G The fly-your-name opportunity comes with “frequent flier” points to reflect an individual's personal participation in NASA’s journey to Mars, which will span multiple missions and multiple decades. The InSight mission offers the second such opportunity for space exploration fans to collect points by flying their names aboard a NASA mission, with more opportunities to follow. Last December, the names of 1.38 million people flew on a chip aboard the first flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts to deep space destinations including Mars and an asteroid. After InSight, the next opportunity to earn frequent flier points will be NASA's Exploration Mission-1, the first planned test flight bringing together the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule in preparation for human missions to Mars and beyond. InSight will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in March 2016 and land on Mars Sept. 28, 2016. The mission is the first dedicated to the investigation of the deep interior of the planet. It will place the first seismometer directly on the surface of Mars to measure Martian quakes and use seismic waves to learn about the planet's interior. It also will deploy a self- hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet. These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth. For additional information about the InSight mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/insight/main/index.html You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: https://www.facebook.com/NASAInSight and https://twitter.com/nasainsight [ANS thanks NASA 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, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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Maybe Activating Blueridge parkway in North Carolina
by John Brier 22 Aug '15

22 Aug '15

I'm headed to the parkway mainly to get closer to the Arizona ARISS contact happening this afternoon but I'll have my gear to get on SO-50 for perhaps both Sat and Sun depending on when I decide to come back home to Raleigh. Looks like grids EM96, EM95 and EM85. No promises as I haven't even looked up if there are passes but if you need those grids look out for me! John, KG4AKV

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Servo Based Rotator for $375
by Bill Attwood 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

After fielding a number of questions about my light-duty rotator I finally got around to making a bit of a parts list, etc. I've posted it at https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=118737 for anyone interested. I do hope to clean up the instructions and add some photos as time permits! 73, Bill VE6WK --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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how can I decode packet thru a Funcube?
by Bob KD7YZ 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

I want to monitor a few satellites by using my Funcube Dongle Pro Plus on a different computer. I have a spare antenna, an M2 2m440XP ? I've tried setting the FCDP+ to a frequency with their own controlling device then letting MixW or UISS/Soundmodem listen ... but nothing gets decoded. Is this even possible? 73, -- Bob KD7YZ http://www.qrz.com/db/kd7yz AMSAT LM#901

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HH8/KD8CAO Haiti
by John Papay 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

The last satellite operation by Doug, HH8/KD8CAO, will be on the Friday afternoon passes of FO-29 and SO-50. He is still working on the radio station there and hopes to have everything completed before they leave the island on Saturday. He has also been working HF pileups on 14251 in the evenings with the 5W FT817 and a dipole antenna. Conditions have been good to the US and many satellite op's have made an HF contact with him. No operation is planned for tonight. 73, John K8YSE

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KX9X/m this weekend
by Sean Kutzko 21 Aug '15

21 Aug '15

Hi all- I'll be heading back to CT beginning Saturday morning. Will take a couple days to pass through the following grids on my way home: EN92 FN02 FN03 FN13 FN23 Will be on SO50 and FO29. for FO29, I'm half-duplex, transmitting on 145.930. Hope to work you. Sent from Sean's iPad

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FN53
by Andrew Glasbrenner 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

I will be on FO29 and probably SO50 on the early morning passes tomorrow from Bath, Maine. There have been some other ops up higher in the passband where I normally go, plus I will be paying attention for Europe early in the pass, so I may be in the middle or slightly below the middle of the passband. I'm only running 5watts from a pair of 817s and an Arrow antenna, so listen closely :-). Thanks, and 73, Drew KO4MA/1 Sent from my iPhone

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Ariane 5 Launch Webcast Today
by JoAnne Maenpaa 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

Not an amateur radio payload today, but if you enjoy the rumble in the Amazon Jungle of an Ariane launch tune into http://arianespace.tv/ at 19:56 UTC. Ariane 5 will orbit 2 satellites: EUTELSAT 8 West for EUTELSAT, and Intelsat 34 for INTELSAT. It will be launched from the Ariane 5 launch complex N° 3 (ELA3), in Kourou, French Guiana. Webcast begins at 19:56 UTC. Launch is planned for a window between 20:10 to 21:56 UTC. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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ISS and H-II Transfer Vehicle Both Eyeball Visible
by JoAnne Maenpaa 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ is a cool tool to find the times that the ISS and the H-II transfer vehicle are eyeball visible for the next few days. H-II and ISS are about 10 minutes apart (with H-II flying by first) from an earthling's point of view. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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KX9X/m grid update
by Sean Kutzko 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

Hi all- I'll be on SO 50 today from the EN60/EM69 line in rural Illinois today from 1616-1950z today. Will also try FO29 half duplex passes, but in having trouble getting that to work. I will transmit on 145.930 and trying to listen as I can. I also need suggestions for Sunday activations. I'll be staying Saturday night in Erie, PA, EN92. Won't get there in time for Saturday's SO50 afternoon passes. What else in that neck of the woods do people need? FN23 is as far north as I can go. Be sure to log me as KX9X/x for LOTW uploads, this includes KX9X/9 for today's activation. Sean KX9X Sent from Sean's iPad

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IARU Coordination of Satellite Frequencies
by M5AKA 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

The IARU have announced they are committed to only coordinate satellite frequencies within the internationally aligned IARU band plans http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/20/iaru-coordination-of-satellite-frequencies/ Rad1o 50-4000 MHz SDR Transceiver video features AMSAT-TAPR Banquet speaker Michael Ossmann AD0NR http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/13/michael-ossmann-chaos-computer-camp/ Amateur Radio Allocations Discussed http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/13/amateur-radio-allocations-discussed/ 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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Re: [amsat-bb] ST2 Fox Delta vs lightning
by Kevin M 20 Aug '15

20 Aug '15

Thinking more about the possible 'mechanism of damage', I removed the RS-232 driver chip and the current draw dropped down below 100 mA where I'm sure it belongs. So I am (still) manually adjusting rotors until I can get that replaced. Of course, I'll need to check and make sure the serial board in the computer is working okay as well. 73 all, Kevin N4UFO

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Hawaii on FO-29?
by Mark Johns 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

My tracking software shows a brief FO-29 mutual window with Hawaii and much of the Midwest and Western mainland U.S. in about an hour. Anyone in the aloha state on SSB satellite? -- Mark D. Johns, KØMDJ Decorah, Iowa USA EN43 ----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ---Mark Twain

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Danish CubeSats head to ISS + other news links
by M5AKA 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Danish CubeSats head for ISS. They are expected to be deployed in September by Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ who attended the 2009 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/19/danish-cubesats-head-for-iss/ Newspaper story - School students decode ISS images http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/19/school-students-decode-iss-images/ UKHAS Conference on Saturday http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/17/ukhas-conference-on-saturday/ RSGB Letter to PC Pro Magazine mentions satellites and FUNcube http://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/15/rsgb-pc-pro-letter/ 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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ST2 Fox Delta vs lightning
by Kevin M 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Hello all! I had a lightning storm roll through today... radios and gear were powered down but the computer was not. Not sure what the mechanism was, but either my Yaesu rotor controller or my Fox Delta ST2 has suffered a failure. I tried hooking up a 12V wall wart to the ST-2 and I can get the standard display, albeit the brightness is off (due to voltage being off, I now know)... the buttons work, readings are within the ball park, etc. Simply put, it's still working, just something is off somewhere. - So with the ST2 connected and checking voltages I can see that the ST2 is dragging down the voltages from the Yaesu controller considerably... The 12v line (actually measuring ~15.8v when unconnected) drops to 5.5 volts and when I check the current draw it's around 350-400 mA. Hooking up the wall wart and checking again, I find the 12v wall wart (measuring 12.1V when open) drops to 5.7v when connected and shows a current draw of around 600 mA. The wall wart is rated at 420mA and since I am using a 10A scale to measure, sounds about right... it's pulling max current. And clearly the wall wart is capable of supplying more current than the Yaesu controller. -So what I don't know, are normals... Does anyone know the normal current draw of the ST2? (serial RS-232 version, if it matters). I can't imagine it being that high since it is mounted without heatsink! But I wanted to make sure before I go tearing into the ST-2 to diagnose it. I suspect the 7805 has gone wonky, but still functioning... although it could be something else has shorted. - Thanks in advance for saving me some time and headache! 73, Kevin N4UFO

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HH8/KD8CAO
by John Papay 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Doug just emailed that he will try to be on the next FO-29 at 2105utc. He has been very busy working on the radio station in Jacmel and hasn't been able to get on the afternoon passes. Several satellite ops including N8MH, W5PFG, N8RO and KE8AKW worked him on 14251 last night after 0000z. He might be on again tonight. Conditions to the US were very good and his 5W FT817 and dipole were doing an amazing job. He worked 3 ZL's that I heard as well. Hopefully he will be more active Thursday and Friday on the birds. They leave Saturday. 73, John K8YSE

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report RX PSAT ( NO-84 ) 20:12 utc
by LW8EXS 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

report RX PSAT ( NO-84 ) 20:12 utc Soft Ui-View: 17:12:41R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=1 <UI Len=50>: !02 . N\132 . ES040/999/W3ADO s#009002,0z290 17:12:41R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=2 <UI Len=50>: !02 . N\132 . ES040/999/W3ADO s#009002,0z290 17:12:42R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=1 <UI Len=52>: s#009002,0z290,MBJeEOLiHmaONfKnhLMaNnkIJCOllHbIPimJ 17:12:42R PSAT-1>APOFF,ARISS Port=2 <UI Len=52>: s#009002,0z290,MBJeEOLiHmaONfKnhLMaNnkIJCOllHbIPimJ Soft Soundmodem: 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=50> [17:12:41R] !02 . N\132 . ES040/999/W3ADO s#009002,0z290 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [17:12:42R] s#009002,0z290,MBJeEOLiHmaONfKnhLMaNnkIJCOllHbIPimJ 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [17:13:03R] T#349,898,074,539,844,848,00011100 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=34> [17:14:04R] T#350,869,074,538,850,848,00011100 73s de LW8EXS Buenos Aires - Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Canadian Satellite Launch Platform
by Bill Booth 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Maybe it will come to pass and enable a lot more hamsats ..... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/canadian-company-patent-build-space-e… -- Bill Booth VE3NXK Sundridge ON, Canada 79.23.37 W x 45.46.18 N FN05ns Visit my weather WebCam at http://www.almaguin.com/wxcurrent/weather.html Organ and Tissue Donation - The Gift of Life Talk to your family. Your decision can make a difference.

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report RX PSAT ( NO-84 )
by LW8EXS 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

16:56 utc 1:Fm PSAT-1 To APOFF Via ARISS <UI R Pid=F0 Len=52> [16:56:39R] s#008865,0z290,DeMJCJDfMICKEiKC0LGiJceMHgJifLCcLkhJ 73s de LW8EXS Buenos Aires – Argentina --- El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de virus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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When Might ISS Radios Be Off
by E.Mike McCardel 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Friends, I often see threads on this board an others, as well as social media, pondering why there is no signal from the ISS amateur radios. In lieu of yesterday's Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s H-IIB rocket launch which will rendezvous with the ISS later this week I offer the following flight rules which were provided by Kenneth Ransom N5VHO and were reported in the ANS-313 November 9, 2014. I believe this information explains most of the times when the amateur radios on the ISS are off. Pay attention to ISS announcements for EVAs and dockings and Robotic Arm usage and you will know, most of the time,when the radios will be off. Sites for information include: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/index.html http://www.ariss.org http://http://www.issfanclub.com/ Did You Know... Current flight rules require all the ham radios to be off during an EVA. Technically, the VHF radios needs to be off for Russian EVAs and the UHF radio needs to be off for US EVAs. For dockings and undockings, again the ISS operates under a flight rule that has the VHF/UHF radios off for Progress, Soyuz and ATV vehicle activity. Note that Cygnus, Dragon, HTV and formerly the Shuttle did not require the radios to be off. For Ham TV, already mentioned is that it will be off for any EVA. It needs to be off for ATV (the last one November) docking and undocking. It also has to be off when the Robotics arm is in close proximity. 73, EMike E. Michael McCardel, KC8YLD V.P. for Educational Relations, AMSAT-NA Have you donated to get your Fox-1 Challenge Coin Yet? http://www.amsat.org/?p=3275

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Sat Software on Windows 10
by Fraser Bonnett 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Took the plunge and upgraded my Ham Shack PC (Win 8.1 x64) to Windows 10. Other than switching a few Com Ports around, everything seems good to go: 1. SatPC32 v12.8c and all sub programs like WinAOS and ISS SatPC32 2. Rotor Controller EA4TX ARS-USB 3. AGW Packet Engine 4. UISS 5.4.0d 5. UIView32 v2.03 6. APRSIS32 7. Orbitron 8. Icom IC-9100 9. HRD 10. DM780 11. SDRConsole (V2) with a Funcube Plus Dongle Pretty much everything that ran under Win 8.1 is running under Win10 with no apparent issues so far. 73, Fraser --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Re: [amsat-bb] [VHFcontesting] Waterproof diplexers
by ww8rr 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Both the Diamond and Comet line of diplexers look weather resistant enough.I have used the Diamond type before and really pleased with insertion losses. RonWW8RR From my Samsung Galaxy S4 -------- Original message -------- From: John Geiger <af5cc2(a)gmail.com> Date: 08/18/2015 10:20 PM (GMT-05:00) To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, vhf contesting <vhfcontesting(a)contesting.com>, Chris Boone via VHF <vhf(a)w6yx.stanford.edu> Subject: [VHFcontesting] Waterproof diplexers Does anyone know of any waterproof diplexers that could be used to feed separate 2m and 70cm antennas with a single coax run? 73 John AF5CC _______________________________________________ VHFcontesting mailing list VHFcontesting(a)contesting.com http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting

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Waterproof diplexers
by John Geiger 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Does anyone know of any waterproof diplexers that could be used to feed separate 2m and 70cm antennas with a single coax run? 73 John AF5CC

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Extraordinary Night in Mission Viejo, CA
by Clint Bradford 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

It was a standing room-only crowd of more than 50 last night for my satellite presentation for the SOARA club in Mission Viejo, CA. But what made it truly unique was that 24 attendees passed their Technician tests right before the satellite show ... as well as a couple additional upgrade licenses! SOARA has a wonderful history in the region - and has also been a Special Service Club of the ARRL since 1975. I took a "poll" of how long the attending members have been hams, and there was literally hundreds and hundreds of years of experience present - all excited to welcome the new hams and assist in any aspect of the hobby that crops up. NUMEROUS plugs for the ARRL, AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-UK, and ARISS interspersed throughout the show. And - as always - the Q&A afterward was exciting. THANK YOU to SOARA for the invitation ... AND for weather that was about 20 degrees cooler than staying home tonight! (grin) Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by Paul Stoetzer 19 Aug '15

19 Aug '15

Good evening, As we're nearly two months pass the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, transponder time is increasing on evening passes over North America. Here in Washington, DC, on the 0155Z pass, I had 6 minutes and 10 seconds of pass time from AOS until the satellite entered sunlight and the transponder switched off. I heard and worked PV8DX at my AOS, but no other stations were heard. AO-73 is currently the only amateur satellite consistently available during regular evening hours, even if not for an entire pass, so let's hear some more activity! It's really quite an easy satellite to work with the strong downlink. 73, Paul, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by W M Willoughby 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

Thanks for the L band upconverter info, Jerry. When the time is right, I would probably like to ask one of the developers to write an article for the AMSAT Journal (I am helping Joanne as an Assistant Editor). So, please keep that in mind and let me know who might prepare such an article to inform our membership.

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by W M Willoughby 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

Good info on AO-73 - maybe that will help get some more activity on the transponder. Relative to Nayif-1, I need to be thinking about an up-converter and an antenna for L band. Anyone have any recommendations?

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in Northern Hemisphere
by Paul Stoetzer 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

If you need more than 5 watts to hit 25 watts ERP (AMSAT-UK's recommended power), then feel free to up the output as needed! I find I can get in with no problems using 5 watts to the Arrow even down to a couple of degrees as long as there are no obstructions in the way (tree leaves love to suck up 70cm signals, a medium deciduous tree can attenuate 70cm signals by 10.5 dB, so feel free to compensate for this too if you're beaming into trees). Of course, I am using only 6' of LMR-240 and can switch polarity quickly as necessary as I'm holding the antenna. As far as the other FUNcube transponders - 2 of them are already flying (UKube-1 and EO-79 have the other two). They share the same design and likely exhibit the same frequency instability. As the satellites are different (within a 3U and 2U cubesat, respectively) the temperatures may stay a bit more stable, but we'll have to wait and see when they are made available for general use. FUNcube on Nayif-1 will have an improved design and should be more stable. FUNcube on ESEO will be an L/V FM transponder, so it will be different from the other four FUNcube units. 73, Paul, N8HM On Tuesday, August 18, 2015, W M Willoughby <redski(a)bellsouth.net> wrote: > Same story here, Michael. Manual tuning is the only way I ever hear my > signal, but then only above about 30 degrees elevation. I don't have the > same troubles on FO-29, etc. One problem I am in the process of fixing is > high loss feedlines. Since I am very cautious about using the recommended > low power, my EIRP is very low. But, the feedlines should be replaced soon > with LMR-400. I hope the other four Funcubes that are in the pipeline will > not be as peculiar as 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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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-73 - Evening transponder time increasing in NorthernHemisphere
by W M Willoughby 18 Aug '15

18 Aug '15

Same story here, Michael. Manual tuning is the only way I ever hear my signal, but then only above about 30 degrees elevation. I don't have the same troubles on FO-29, etc. One problem I am in the process of fixing is high loss feedlines. Since I am very cautious about using the recommended low power, my EIRP is very low. But, the feedlines should be replaced soon with LMR-400. I hope the other four Funcubes that are in the pipeline will not be as peculiar as AO-73.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Activation of transponder on EO-79
by Fraser Bonnett 17 Aug '15

17 Aug '15

On a 60 degree pass at 15:20 UTC (Aug 16) I did manage to hear myself briefly. No contacts or other's heard though. Fraser, W3UTD --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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