- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Preliminary SpaceX Conclusions Pending
by B J 06 Jul '15

06 Jul '15

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/musk-preliminary-conclusion-expected-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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New Horizons Scheduled To Resume Normal Operations
by B J 06 Jul '15

06 Jul '15

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/07/05/horizons-set-return-normal-operation… http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/new-horizons-team-planning-on-re… http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/pluto-mission-to-resume-normal-operat… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Adding NO-84 PSAT to Gpredict
by Stephan Greene 06 Jul '15

06 Jul '15

Trying out ham radio packages on a Raspberry PI 2 (which is a nice piece of kit, particularly with the new "official" case . Gpredict runs well, but... I can't find the TLEs to load NO-84/PSAT. The TLE's from celestrack do not include it (at least I have not found it searching by object number, int'l number, oscar #, name,...). I probably missed emails here why celestrack can't provide the TLEs, and on configuring GPredict to use a different source (AMSAT). Wasn't an issue for me before - I usually run SatPC32 and "it just works". Suggestions, pointer to an email thread here, etc. welcome. 73 Steve KS1G ks1g(a)amsat.org

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one more double-hop NO-84/ISS test, around 2345 UTC
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Hi! I have one more shot at the double hop, starting around 2345 UTC today. This time, I'll have a better NO-84 pass, with maximum elevation of 70 degrees around 2350-2351 UTC, and the ISS will be barely above my western horizon (maximum elevation of 1 degree). It is possible that gateway stations along the west coast can hear the ISS, if I'm able to get through NO-84 and the ISS. I will use WD9EWK-9 once again for this test. Robert KO6TZ will also be trying to do this. Here's hoping for some good luck, for both of us... 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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double-hop test
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Hi! As far as I can tell, my packets did not make the double hop from Arizona through the ISS and NO-84. I could easily reach the ISS, and was able to exchange messages with K7TRK & N7NEV. I also saw Robert KO6TZ trying the double hop as well. I know NO-84 responds to ARISS in the UNPROTO path, as I saw that in action last weekend during Field Day and yesterday when I tried to go through only NO-84. I had been using RS0ISS, APRSAT based on a post by WB4APR recently. Had I used RS0ISS, ARISS as my UNPROTO path, would the ISS key on ARISS being in the path, or would it have used RS0ISS being the first item in the path, leaving ARISS untouched for the next station (NO-84) to use? I want to keep an eye out on this, and give it another try sometime. I missed out on the best chances to do this with the ISS and NO-44 earlier this year, although I enjoyed using NO-44 to make QSOs when it was in more sunlight. I doubt I'll try this test while I'm on the road later this week, but it is something I will try after the trip with the ISS and NO-84 - if I see passes line up like these two did today. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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double-hop ISS/NO-84 packet around 2209 UTC today
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Hi! It looks like we have a chance to do double-hop packet through the ISS and NO-84, around 2209 UTC. ISS is passing to my west, and NO-84 is to the southeast. Using SatPC32, it looks like the two should see each other in orbit. I'm going to give this a try, sending my packets first through ISS using its RS0ISS call, as it will be higher and easier to get into. I'm hoping that something makes it to - and through - NO-84. Even though I had tweeted that I would use ARISS for the second part of my path, I'll go with APRSAT instead. I can change it on the fly, if needed. I'll watch the usual web sites, to see what makes it through each digipeater. Please let me know if you see WD9EWK-9 make it through both. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Chat Room?
by Joe 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Is there like a chat room where OSCAR or any Sat for that matter hang out in? Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

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Progress Spacecraft Now At ISS
by B J 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/07/05/progress-resupply-ship-arrives-space… http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/russian-cargo-ship-arrives-at-iss 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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New Horizons Anomaly
by B J 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/07/04/horizons-enters-safe-mode/ http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/press-releases/new-horizons-team-responds… http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-establishes-anomaly-board-to-dia… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Possible Clue To Last Week's SpaceX Failure
by B J 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technolog… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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TH-D72a and SO-50
by Clint Bradford 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

On your 'D72a and the FM birds ... -Use VFO B for TX -VFO A for RX (it has better sensitivity) -balanced audio all the way to VFO A -open squelch for VFO A -5W transmit From another post ... Another thing that's handy for the TH-d72 is the M>V key. Put the center freq in memory, but before the pass copy it into the VFO for Doppler tuning. Saves having a lot of memories used for Doppler shift and the TX frequency isn't as likely to need big adjustments thanks to the capture effect on the satellite receiver. Clint K6LCS

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DeorbitSail Launch + Phase 4 Frequencies
by M5AKA 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

The DeorbitSail satellite developed at the Surrey Space Centre, Guildford, should launch on July 10. It carries a 9k6 BPSK beacon on 145.975 MHz http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ssc/research/space_vehicle_control/deorbitsail/ http://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/pslv-c28-dmc3-mission Phase 4 Spacecraft Frequencies http://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/03/phase-4-spacecraft-frequencies/ UK school plans 2am balloon launch http://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/05/school-plans-2am-balloon-launch/ UWE-3 Status Report http://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/05/uwe-3-status-report/ The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at Guildford July 25-26 is open to all, admittance is £10 each day, parking free http://amsat-uk.org/2015/06/16/international-space-colloquium-at-guildford/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK ----

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Kenwood D72 on SO-50
by Philip Jenkins 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

I bought a D72A a little over a year ago because it had APRS built-in; this made it very handy for the balloon-chasing I used to do. Now I'm trying to set it up for SO-50. I'm successfully putting it into full-duplex mode - with the 144 Mhz freq (pl 67.0) on the B-band, and the 435 Mhz frequency on A-band. (Duplex cannot be engaged while the radio is on the A-band.) I'm running into two problems though. 1 ) Whenever I want to change the receive (downlink) frequency because of Doppler, turning the knob changes the B-band side, the transmit, which is what I don't want. As it is, since I can't get the 435Mhz to change, this setting is only going to allow me to hear the satellite mid-pass 2) I had the idea of putting this/these VFO settings - including duplex - into memories, one memory for each 5 Khz step on receive. When I follow the manual directions for entering odd splits in memory, whenever I check to see what's in the memory by transmitting, (it appears) I'm just transmitting simplex on the 435Mhz frequency; the radio's display doesn't change (other than the s-meter showing that power is being transmitted). I'm wondering how others are making their D72s work successfully on SO-50. Is/are there (a) certain step(s) that I'm missing in order to change the receive frequency AND enter full-duplex VFO settings into memory successfully? Thanks for the help...either replying to the BB or to me personally is ok. ( N4HF(a)AMSAT.ORG) Philip N4HF EM85

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SO50 gridline protocol
by Michael Adams 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Due to a death in the family, I am currently enroute to my parents' place in Memphis. I have a (not full duplex, unfortunately) HT in my bag, and I just discovered I had left my Elk in the car from Field Day. The 90th meridian passes through my old childhood bedroom. I was wondering, in case the opportunity arises, what the protocol is for operating on a gridline, and the subsequent LOTW record keeping. -- Michael Adams | mda(a)n1en.org

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Yaesu FT-847 for sale!
by Stefan Wagener 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Have a very nice FT-847 available. Unit is a 9/10 (very minimal signs of wear), fully functional, no modifications, non-smoking radio, very clean and very well kept, never mobile! Comes with original manual, laminated quick set-up guide, new microphone and power cable. Has a removable protective cover on the display (beautiful green appearance). Asking $875 plus shipping. PayPal or MO okay. Questions? ship me an email. My callsign at gmail.com 73, Stefan VE4NSA

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ANS-186 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-186 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 2015 Symposium Call for Papers * Reminder - Send in AMSAT Field Day Results * $50SAT 19 months in Space and still working * International Space Colloquium at Guildford * WD9EWK California road trip July 9-13 * ARISS Poster Presented at ISS R&D Conference * Help Wanted - Editor-in-Chief for the AMSAT Journal * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-186 ANS-186 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 186 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. July 5, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-186 AMSAT 2015 Symposium Call for Papers This is the first call for papers for the 2015 AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 16- 18, 2015. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, but no later than August 1. The final copy must be submitted by September 15 for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv at amsat.org The 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held October 16, 17, 18, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 33 East 5th Street, in Downtown, Dayton, Ohio. [ANS thanks the 2015 Symposium Committee for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder - Send in AMSAT Field Day Results Please send your AMSAT Field Day results to Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Refer to the AMSAT Field Day web page at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=216 for a copy of the rules document. This also includes the format of the Satellite Summary Sheet. The Satellite Summary Sheet should be used for submission of the AMSAT Field Day competition and be received by KK5DO (email or postal mail) by 11:59 P.M. CDT, Monday, July 13, 2015. The preferred method for submitting your log is via e-mail to kk5do(a)amsat.org or kk5do(a)arrl.net. You will receive an email back (within one or two days) from me when I receive your email submission. If you do not receive a confirmation message, then I have not received your submission. Try sending it again or send it to my other email address. You may also use the postal service but give plenty of time for your results to arrive by the submission date. If mailing your submission, the address is: Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director of Awards and Contests PO Box 310 Alief, TX 77411-0310 Please add photographs or other interesting information that can be used in an article for the Journal. Certificates will be awarded to the first-place emergency power/portable station at the AMSAT General Meeting and Space Symposium in the fall of 2015. Certificates will also be awarded to the second and third place portable/emergency operation in addition to the first-place home station running on emergency power. A station submitting high, award- winning scores will be requested to send in dupe sheets for analog contacts and message listings for digital downloads. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Awards and Contests for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- $50SAT 19 months in Space and still working Michael Kirkhart KD8QBA provides an update on the $50SAT amateur radio spacecraft which measures just 5x5x7.5 cm Sunday, June 21, 2015 marked the 19 month anniversary of the launch of $50SAT/MO-76/Eagle-2. The good news is it still operating. The bad news is the power situation has been degrading, with an apparent step change on or near May 12, 2015, followed by another on Tuesday, June 23, 2015. The last full telemetry capture made here in EN82 land was on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, and the last time it was heard was on Friday, June 6, 2015. I continued to attempt to listen for it for another week or so, and heard nothing. Has anybody heard it since then? At this point, I have been monitoring it using Anton's (ZR6AIC) WebSDR as it makes daytime passes over South Africa. These occur between 7:30 and 9:00 UTC, which translates to 3:30 and 5:00 AM here in EN82 land. This is tough, as I am not a morning person. Sometimes, however, you have to do these things; helping build a satellite might be a once-in-a-lifetime event. During these passes, where it has already spent a significant amount of time in sunlight, the battery voltage is below 3400 mV. Is the battery going bad? While it is certainly possible the battery has suffered from some loss of charge capacity, one has to remember it is does not generate energy; it merely stores it. Since it is the solar power system that generates the power used by the satellite and stored in the battery, could the drop in battery voltage be due to a degradation in solar power generation? Back around May 12, I noticed the MPPT (solar) current readings were typically less than 10 mA. This much lower than it should be. To better understand what might be going on, a new chart was added to the telemetry spreadsheet which shows both the battery voltage and the MPPT (solar) current (with the zero readings removed), each with its own linear regression line. This chart can be seen from the following URL: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l3919wtfiywk2gf/ AABKSR5V4cOvEPqPYbs8QYZNa/Telemetry-analysis/Current- Telemetry/Battery-Voltage-MPPT-Current-Chart.pdf Notice how the MPPT current trend line has been sloping downward, similar to that of the battery voltage. Moreover, starting 2 weeks before June 4, 2015 (each X axis division on the chart represents 2 weeks time), each reading has been at or below the trend line. A more striking comparison can be seen by doing the following: 1. Zoom in of the Battery-Voltage-MPPT-Current-Chart to show the 4 week interval starting May 7, 2015, and ending June 4, 2015 (see https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l3919wtfiywk2gf/ AACdQtySHZW3kVl7UMgSrxfHa/Telemetry-analysis/Battery-Voltage-MPPT- Current-Comparison-2015-05/Battery-Voltage-MPPT-Current-2015-05.pdf) 2. Zoom in of the Battery-Voltage-MPPT-Current-Chart to show the 4 week interval starting May 8, 2014, and ending June 5, 2014 (see https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l3919wtfiywk2gf/ AACracUWkivilfsKGBUFkmDXa/Telemetry-analysis/Battery-Voltage-MPPT- Current-Comparison-2015-05/Battery-Voltage-MPPT-Current-2014-05.pdf) [Editor's Note: The URLs above don't port well via tinyurl.com and have been truncated to fit the ANS format requirements. They should be copy and pasted as a continuous line to work with most browsers.] In comparing these charts, it is clear both the battery voltage and the MPPT current were significantly lower this year that during the same period last year. On June 5, 2014, the trend line value for battery voltage was about 3610 mV, and for MPPT current was about 30 mA. One year later (June 4, 2015), the trend line value for battery voltage was about 3380 mV, and for MMPT current was about 14 mA. Therefore, while it is likely the battery has suffered some loss of capacity, it appears the low battery voltage is due to low solar power output. There are many possible reasons for this, including: * Solar cell damage due to sputtering: since there was no protective covering on the solar cells, impacts from high energy particles can damage the cells, causing a drop in output. * Solar cell damage due to thermal cycling: We know from telemetry data the interior of the satellite cycle between +30 degrees C and - 30 degrees C each orbit. It is likely the exterior temperatures experienced higher extremes, and this periodic thermal cycling may have caused the solar cells to fracture, thus leading to a drop in output. * Short circuit failure of one or more of the diodes which isolate each MPP tracker output, which can cause an inactive MPP tracker (one whose corresponding solar panel is not facing the sun) to load an active one (one whose corresponding solar panel is facing the sun). Because of the limited amount of telemetry gathered, it may not be possible to determine the exact cause. If the solar output power continues to drop, the battery voltage may never get above the 3300 mV threshold needed to enable the transmitter, at which point we will lose the ability to monitor its status. Even if this does happen, however, we never really thought it would last this long. We would have been happy if it just worked, and really happy if it lasted a month or two. 19 months - this is way beyond what any of us expected! As of June 25, 2015, the orbit has decayed by about 73 km since launch. Since April 21, 2015, it has been decaying at a rate of about 1 km per week. Apogee is now at 561 km, and perigee is at 529 km. The following are the TLEs from 2015-06-25: EAGLE 2 1 39436U 13066W 15176.16386703 .00013608 00000-0 90105-3 0 9991 2 39436 97.7444 252.3622 0022818 80.2035 280.1767 15.07230510 86697 Again, if anyone wants to make an attempt at predicting when it will de-orbit, here is some useful information: Average cross-sectional area = 0.014252 m^2 Mass = 210 g Area/mass ratio = 0.06787 m^2/kg >From the 2015-06-25 TLEs: Semi-major axis: 6922.8 km Eccentricity: 0.0022818 Apogee: 560.6 Perigee: 529.0 As always, please post any telemetry, or for that matter, any reception reports to the Yahoo discussion group. We would especially like to encourage our friends in the southern hemisphere to listen for $50SAT/MO-76/Eagle-2. We really appreciate everyone who has provided reception reports and telemetry as well as access to their WebSDRs. To date, we have 3,098 individual error-free telemetry captures, and the vast majority of these did not come from Stuart, Howie, or I. 73 Michael Kirkhart KD8QBA $50SAT/MO-76/Eagle-2 team $50SAT is one of the smallest amateur radio satellites ever launched at 5x5x7.5 cm and weighs only 210 grams. Transmitter power is just 100 mW on 437.505 MHz (+/-9 kHz Doppler shift) FM CW/RTTY. It uses the low cost Hope RFM22B single chip radio and PICaxe 40X2 processor. $50SAT has been a collaborative education project between Professor Bob Twiggs, KE6QMD, Morehead State University and three other radio amateurs, Howie DeFelice, AB2S, Michael Kirkhart, KD8QBA, and Stuart Robinson, GW7HPW. Further information in the $50SAT Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l3919wtfiywk2gf/-HxyXNsIr8 There is a discussion group for $50SAT http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/50dollarsat/ 50DollarSat http://www.50dollarsat.info/ {ANS thanks Michael KD8QBA and Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- International Space Colloquium at Guildford The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held on July 24- 26 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK. Among the speakers will be: • Peter Guelzow DB2OS with an update on AMSAT-DL projects, including the Phase 4 satellite • Chris Brunskill, formerly of Surrey Space Centre (SSC), now working at the Space Catapult at the Harwell Campus. He will be presenting an extremely novel project aimed at schools and education • It is hoped the BATC will be able to demonstrate live Digital TV reception from the International Space Station, using the Ham TV system • Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA, from AMSAT North America will be attending, and presenting the latest news of the FOX satellite(s) due for launch later this year, and also on their Phase 4 project The Colloquium is open to all further information is at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- WD9EWK California road trip July 9-13 Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK will be driving to southern California next Thursday (9 July), in advance of a presentation he will give for the Escondido Amateur Radio Society that evening. After that presentation, and after spending the next day (Friday, 10 July) in and around San Diego, he will head north. Other than a planned stop at the DM04/DM05 grid boundary north of Los Angeles (the same spot he stopped at last September, near Mojave CA and Edwards AFB), He may be going to head further north. He hopes to have some time to go either north through the San Joaquin Valley, or over to the Pacific coast, or some sort of loop to see a lot more of central California. Whereas there is not a set itinerary for the portion of his trip after the DM04/DM05 stop, he has asked other satellite operators via Twitter for feedback on some grids that would make for worthwhile visits during his trip. Patrick is asking for feedback, "If I look to go up or down the Pacific coast, grids I could visit include CM94 through CM96, and possibly even as far north as Santa Cruz and the almost-all-wet grid CM86. If I stay inland, DM0x grids would be where I'd probably drive through. I'm not planning to go all the way up to the Bay Area, although Santa Cruz is not that far from San Jose. Any thoughts from the crowd here, on grids that I should try to visit between 11 and 13 July?" On his return trek to Phoenix on 13 July, he could be able to make a stop on the DM23/DM24 boundary, either north of Quartzsite on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, or just across the river along US- 95 in California. This stop will depend on whether or not a satellite pass is available as he passes through that area. Patrick notes that he won't be passing that way on his trip out to San Diego. During his travels he will be running APRS using WD9EWK-9, which should be visible on sites like http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 . Check his twitter feed, @WD9EWK, for updates. Any QSOs made will be uploaded to Logbook of the World. [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Poster Presented at ISS R&D Conference Frank Bauer,KA3HDO, on behalf of ARISS-US team will host a poster presentation “Educational Outreach and International Collaboration Through ARISS---Amateur Radio on the International Space Station” during the 4th Annaul International Space Station Research and Development Conference July 7-9, 2015. The poster is a colaborative work by members of the ARISS-US Executive team and outlines the objectives, capabilities, and impact that amateur radio plays in international collaboration and STEM education engagement aboard the International Space Station. Poster are available for viewing throught the conference and are the center attraction during one of the receptions where Bauer will be available to answer questions. This is the second year that ARISS has been represented at the conference. The ISS R&D conference is being held in the Marriott Copley Hotel in the center of Boston, MA. Each morning of the 4th International Space Station Research & Development Conference will be webcast live starting at 8:00 am eastern on July 7. Opening remarks by Michael Suffredini, Manager, ISS Program Office, NASA JSC, will be followed by a conversation with Elon Musk, CEO and Lead Designer, SpaceX. To watch at no charge visit http://www.issconference.org/livestream.php [ANS thanks ARISS, the American Astronautical Society for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Help Wanted - Editor-in-Chief for the AMSAT Journal AMSAT is looking for an Editor-in-Chief for the AMSAT Journal. This position is now open due to the expansion of opportunities in the User Services Department. Our current editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, is also the Vice President of User Services. The Officers and the Board have discovered that it is impossible for a single volunteer to accomplish management of the AMSAT Journal with the other pending User Services leadership requirements. Hence we are planning on a handover in editorship when a suitable candidate is found. Experience with the Adobe InDesign CS6 publication system would be helpful (AMSAT provides the software). However, this publishing system resembles a word processor on steroids; while there is a learning curve it will not be impossible. The editor-in-chief will continue to lead the team of Journal assistant editors arranging for content to publish. To volunteer send an e-mail to JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM at: k9jkm(a)amsat.org [ANS thanks JoAnne K9JKM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Recent Contacts + A telebridge contact with students at Universidad Tecnológica de Chile INACAP sede Temuco, Temuco, Chile was successful Fri 2015-06- 26. Contact was established at about 18.50 UTC via ARISS ground station W6SRJ in Santa Rosa, CA, USA. Though the signal from the ISS was strong and clear, a delayed start for the interview meant that there was time for four questions for the Russian cosmonaut. Responding to one of the questions during the interview that was conducted in English, the Russian crew member explained that the temperature outside the ISS varies between +120° and -120° Celsius. School Information: We are a technical university located in Temuco city, 700 kms south of Santiago de Chile and we are planning this event together with telecommunications engineering area. Our university has direct contact with local schools which will be taking part on the event that day. We are planning to invite around 400-500 students because we will organize an open science fair called "telecommunications and space" and we will be teaching them radio communications, antennas and space science along with professional astronomers and engineers. The children will be from five or six different schools located in Temuco and surrounding rural areas. We will coordinate with the schools to select the students and ask their own questions. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule + A direct contact with students at Tulsa Community College, Northeast Campus,Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA was successful Wed 2015-07-01 15:59:17 UTC 20 deg. Students ranging in age from 60 to 13 asked cosmonaut Gennady Pedalka, RN3DT thirteen questions. The interview included a question from a deaf engineering student that was managed through an interpreter. Preparing for the contact, students assembled the ground station that was used to make the contact and participated in an antenna design contest. Students tested their antennas by hand tracking the ISS. They practiced doing receiving tests with the assembled ground station prior to the day of the contact to sharpen their skills. A video recording of the contact is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZVWkPPLCEM&feature=youtu.be School information: TCC is Oklahoma’s largest community college with more students and more degree earners than any other community college in the state. We offer students a choice of 235 associate degree and certificate of completion programs of study. TCC students come from every walk of life, and our graduates work in all sectors of business and industry to help build a stronger, more diverse economy. Four campuses (Metro, NE, SE, and W) serve the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. If you're passionate about electronics, criminal justice, horticulture, engineering, computer networking, human services, fire emergency services, interpreter education or aviation science, "Northeast" is the campus for you. Located near Tulsa's industrial and aerospace hub, the campus is perfect if you're seeking a career in high-tech business or service-focused careers. Along with a strong educational curriculum, the campus is home to the Resource Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, offering access to higher education for all segments of the population. The TCC Electronics club started in the early 1980’s on the NE Campus which is where the Electronics and Engineering Technology classes are offered. Amateur Radio activities were added in 2000 (the year an instructor came on board as the only HAM operator), and we became an “ARRL” affiliated club in 2005. Now the TCC-ARC station consists of two towers for HF and VHF, along with two EME and Radio Astronomy arrays. Upcoming Contacts A direct contact with students at Kopernik Observatory, Vestal, NY, USA is planned for the week of July 6. More details will be provided when the schedule is confirmed at www.ariss.org. >From 2015-06-11 to 2015-07-24, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any school contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Space Related Special Event DX Short EUROPEAN RUSSIA, UA. Special event station UE40SA is QRV until July 20 to commemorate the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 40 years ago. QSL via GM0WRR. [ANS thanks ARLD026 DX news for the above information] + Forever Remembered exhibit Astronaut artifacts line the walls of a new, permanent memorial called "Forever Remembered," at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. NASA and astronaut families collaborated on the memorial designed to honor the crews lost on missions STS-51L and STS- 107, pay tribute to space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, and emphasize the importance of learning from the past. The memorial contains the largest collection of personal items of both flight crews and includes recovered hardware from both shuttles, never before displayed for the public. [ANS thanks This Week @ NASA for the above information] + NESC Academy Online The NESC Academy was established by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), headquartered at NASA Langley Research Center, to enable effective knowledge capture and transfer and ensure technical information remains viable and accessible. The NESC Academy provides a forum through which senior technical experts can teach critical competencies required to effectively accomplish the NASA mission. The online courses were conducted by discipline experts and provide the unique opportunity to share critical knowledge with broad audiences in a self paced manner. For more information visit http://nescacademy.nasa.gov [ANS thanks NASA-Space for the above information] + Fox-1 Update As of Tuesday morning the GRACE mission CubeSats including Fox-1 were successfully transported to VAFB and mated to the Aft Bulkhead Carrier (ABC) plate. Wednesday instrumentation was completed, GRACE CubeSats are ready and waiting to be attached to the Centaur which should occur later this month. [ANS thanks Jerry N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX AMSAT User Services and the Editors of the AMSAT New Service pass on our condolences to ANS Weekly Co-Editor Joe Spier K6WAO and his family on the death of Joe's mother this week. In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Fox, "Easy Sats"....et al....
by Michael 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Once again I feel the need to say that we have gone in the wrong direction by trying to convince everyone how easy a "sat" is to work with a handheld antenna. I got into satellite communication because of the technical challenge involved, not by how "easy it was". This whole half or full duplex issue is a symptom of "dumbing down" There should never be any question on it. Full duplex should ALWAYS be used. 73, Michael, W4HIJ

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My upcoming road trip (9-13 July)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 05 Jul '15

05 Jul '15

Hi! This is going to be the plan for my upcoming road trip, starting on Thursday (9 July) and wrapping up on the following Monday (13 July). This includes an AMSAT presentation, some time in/around San Diego, and at least a thousand miles' driving. Here goes... Thursday (9 July) AM: drive to San Diego. Thursday PM: Work afternoon AO-7/FO-29/SO-50 passes from either DM12 or DM13, possibly both if there is any interest in both grids. Then an AMSAT/satellite presentation at Escondido Amateur Radio Society in DM13, including a possible demonstration before or after club meeting on AO-73. Friday (10 July): no radio until late in the day, possible DM04/DM05 activity on AO-73 @ Mojave CA in the evening. Saturday (11 July) AM: morning AO-7 or FO-29 passes from DM04/DM05 line @ Mojave CA, then 5-hour drive to Santa Cruz CA. If I'm making good time, I might stop in DM06 for 1 or 2 AO-73 passes on the way to Santa Cruz. Saturday PM: hoping to work afternoon AO-7/FO-29/SO-50 passes from CM86/CM96 line @ Santa Cruz CA. If not possible, work from one of the grids in the afternoon, then the other via AO-73 in the evening. (CM86 appears to be the rarer of these two grids) Sunday (12 July) AM: morning AO-7 or FO-29 passes from Santa Cruz CA (hoping for CM86/CM96 line, but probably just CM86 if I can't get on the line), then drive south - either along the coast on CA-1, or inland on US-101. I might be able to work from the CM95/CM96 line, if I'm not able to get CM96 on the air much from Santa Cruz, before going down to Santa Maria. Sunday PM: hoping to work afternoon AO-7/FO-29/SO-50 passes from CM94/CM95 line @ Santa Maria CA. Maybe eastern AO-73 pass in the evening as well. Monday (13 July): not sure if I will work passes before departing Santa Maria, but hoping to get through Los Angeles and make it to DM23/DM24 line north of Quartzsite AZ for afternoon AO-7 or FO-29 passes. Then a quick drive home. Weather conditions, especially the fires, might cause my plans to be altered. I'll use Twitter and posts to the -BB to make updates. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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Fox, "Easy Sats" - segway to PSAT PSK31?
by Robert Bruninga 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

Segway this argument to the 10m uplink now 100% available on PSAT PSK-31 which virtually no one is using. > With OSCAR 6 and 7... ten meter downlinks, it was just a matter of adding two meter transmit capability to an HF station. For PSAT PSK31 it is even simpler. Add a UHF FM HT to your HF station! > many... people that worked OSCARs, 6, 7, 8, and RS birds never graduated from Mode A... > Just like many of the FM satellite users never graduate from FM. We give them what they ask for, a multi-user simultaneous transponder supporting dozens of simultaneous contacts, yet we have only seen 1 or 2 stations at a time give it a try. http://aprs.org/psat.html Just an observation. I thought this PSK-31 linerar uplink with FM downlink would make everyone happy. It's a foot in both camps.. <wink> Bob, WB4aPR

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Re: [amsat-bb] Fox, "Easy Sats"....et al....
by Joe 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

yes it was that big not because of the antennas but the radio technology of the day. I posted about Oscar -5 because of the tape measure antennas and your statement about deploying such an antenna. Joe WB9SBD On 7/4/2015 1:59 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: > Now try to deploy it from a spinning and tumbling cubesat!

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Re: [amsat-bb] Spectacular Photo of the ISS (pixel)
by Robert Bruninga 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

> this potographer had a few-seconds' window to capture the ISS against the moon: > http://www.cnet.com/news/stunning-photo-catches-the-iss-in-transit-over-th e-full-moon/#ftag=CAD590a51e The ISS appears big because it is close to us. I was curious to see what it would look like if it was in orbit around the moon. Turns out, it would be one-tenth the size of even a single pixel. I edited the image to show this: http://aprs.org/ISS-moon-picture.png Bob, WB4APR

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Working FOX-1A
by Clint Bradford 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

>> ... At the time I got started I was influenced by an article on the web titled "Work FM Satellites with your HT!" advocating that all I needed was a single handheld and a tape measure antenna ... Wow. I take that as a compliment ... >> ... I notice that the article has been since updated to include "Ideally, we should be working the satellites in full duplex mode, where we can simultaneously listen to the downlink as we are transmitting." Thank you for clarifying this. Then I am teaching it correctly. Whew. Clint

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Re: [amsat-bb] Fox, "Easy Sats"....et al....
by Joe 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

I have a 12 foot tape here that when coiled up is less than a inch in diameter MAX, Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 7/4/2015 1:31 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: > A 10m dipole is almost 17 feet long. You could fit it in a cubesat, > but where are the batteries, transmitter, receiver, IHU, etc going to go? > > NO-83 and NO-84 have 10m uplinks that use a 72' wire antenna for > reception. That depends on the ground station to supply a bit more > uplink power. With a cubesat, you don't have adequate power to > overcome a poor downlink antenna. > > 73, > > Paul, N8HM > > On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 2:22 PM, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: > > tape measure dipole worked in the past. > Joe WB9SBD > > The Original Rolling Ball Clock > Idle Tyme > Idle-Tyme.com > http://www.idle-tyme.com > On 7/4/2015 1:10 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: >> Because of the difficulty of putting an adequate antenna for a >> 10m downlink on a cubesat. >> >> 73. >> >> Paul, N8HM >> >> On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 2:07 PM, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> Why don't they have mode "A" anymore? even the single channel >> FM could be mode a true? >> >> The Original Rolling Ball Clock >> Idle Tyme >> Idle-Tyme.com >> http://www.idle-tyme.com >> On 7/4/2015 12:48 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: >>> Well, you are partially right. With OSCAR 6 and 7 and their strong ten >>> meter downlinks, it was just a matter of adding two meter transmit >>> capability to an HF station. Now it does take a little more work to >>> receive and transmit at VHF and UHF with SSB or CW and the prevalence >>> of man-made noise on VHF and UHF these days generally requires a beam. >>> >>> I am quite certain that many of the people that worked OSCARs, 6, 7, >>> 8, and the RS birds never graduated from Mode A. Just like many of the >>> FM satellite users never graduate from FM. >>> >>> People tend to think it's more difficult than it is. I've made over >>> 2,000 linear transponder contacts with nothing more than two Yaesu >>> FT-817s (for a few hundred of those I used an Icom IC-R10 receiver) >>> and an Arrow antenna handheld. >>> >>> The radios for operating via a linear transponder are widely available >>> and inexpensive. A Yaesu FT-100, FT-817, FT-857, FT-897, FT-991 or an >>> Icom IC-706MkII(g), Icom IC-7000, or any of those plus a FUNcube >>> dongle and computer to receive the downlink are all the radio you need >>> and an Arrow or Elk antenna will get you going. >>> >>> 73, >>> >>> Paul, N8HM >>> >>> >>> On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 1:19 PM, Joe<nss(a)mwt.net> <mailto:[email protected]> wrote: >>>> Funny how a linear bird is a technical challenge, wow, as a novice in 1975 I >>>> listened to Oscar 6 & 7 all the time. and once up graded used them also all >>>> the time. Sad to think that 1970's technology is high tech to anyone. >>>> Joe WB9SBD >>>> Sig >>>> The Original Rolling Ball Clock >>>> Idle Tyme >>>> Idle-Tyme.com >>>> http://www.idle-tyme.com >>>> >>>> On 7/4/2015 12:10 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: >>>>> Michael, >>>>> >>>>> The idea is to get people hooked on satellite operating and then have >>>>> them "graduate" to more challenging aspects of satellite operating. >>>>> >>>>> AMSAT is, of course, working on projects that be more of a technical >>>>> challenge than FM satellites, like Fox-1E with a linear transponder >>>>> and the geosynchronous P4B project. >>>>> >>>>> 73, >>>>> >>>>> Paul, N8HM >>>>> >>>>> On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 1:02 PM, Michael<Mat_62(a)charter.net> <mailto:[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> Once again I feel the need to say that we have gone in the wrong >>>>>> direction >>>>>> by trying to convince everyone how easy a "sat" is to work with a >>>>>> handheld >>>>>> antenna. I got into satellite communication because of the technical >>>>>> challenge involved, not by how "easy it was". >>>>>> This whole half or full duplex issue is a symptom of "dumbing down" >>>>>> There >>>>>> should never be any question on it. Full duplex should ALWAYS be used. >>>>>> 73, >>>>>> Michael, W4HIJ >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> Sent viaAMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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 viaAMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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 viaAMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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] Fox, "Easy Sats"....et al....
by Joe 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

tape measure dipole worked in the past. Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 7/4/2015 1:10 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: > Because of the difficulty of putting an adequate antenna for a 10m > downlink on a cubesat. > > 73. > > Paul, N8HM > > On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 2:07 PM, Joe <nss(a)mwt.net <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: > > Why don't they have mode "A" anymore? even the single channel FM > could be mode a true? > > The Original Rolling Ball Clock > Idle Tyme > Idle-Tyme.com > http://www.idle-tyme.com > On 7/4/2015 12:48 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: >> Well, you are partially right. With OSCAR 6 and 7 and their strong ten >> meter downlinks, it was just a matter of adding two meter transmit >> capability to an HF station. Now it does take a little more work to >> receive and transmit at VHF and UHF with SSB or CW and the prevalence >> of man-made noise on VHF and UHF these days generally requires a beam. >> >> I am quite certain that many of the people that worked OSCARs, 6, 7, >> 8, and the RS birds never graduated from Mode A. Just like many of the >> FM satellite users never graduate from FM. >> >> People tend to think it's more difficult than it is. I've made over >> 2,000 linear transponder contacts with nothing more than two Yaesu >> FT-817s (for a few hundred of those I used an Icom IC-R10 receiver) >> and an Arrow antenna handheld. >> >> The radios for operating via a linear transponder are widely available >> and inexpensive. A Yaesu FT-100, FT-817, FT-857, FT-897, FT-991 or an >> Icom IC-706MkII(g), Icom IC-7000, or any of those plus a FUNcube >> dongle and computer to receive the downlink are all the radio you need >> and an Arrow or Elk antenna will get you going. >> >> 73, >> >> Paul, N8HM >> >> >> On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 1:19 PM, Joe<nss(a)mwt.net> <mailto:[email protected]> wrote: >>> Funny how a linear bird is a technical challenge, wow, as a novice in 1975 I >>> listened to Oscar 6 & 7 all the time. and once up graded used them also all >>> the time. Sad to think that 1970's technology is high tech to anyone. >>> Joe WB9SBD >>> Sig >>> The Original Rolling Ball Clock >>> Idle Tyme >>> Idle-Tyme.com >>> http://www.idle-tyme.com >>> >>> On 7/4/2015 12:10 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: >>>> Michael, >>>> >>>> The idea is to get people hooked on satellite operating and then have >>>> them "graduate" to more challenging aspects of satellite operating. >>>> >>>> AMSAT is, of course, working on projects that be more of a technical >>>> challenge than FM satellites, like Fox-1E with a linear transponder >>>> and the geosynchronous P4B project. >>>> >>>> 73, >>>> >>>> Paul, N8HM >>>> >>>> On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 1:02 PM, Michael<Mat_62(a)charter.net> <mailto:[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> Once again I feel the need to say that we have gone in the wrong >>>>> direction >>>>> by trying to convince everyone how easy a "sat" is to work with a >>>>> handheld >>>>> antenna. I got into satellite communication because of the technical >>>>> challenge involved, not by how "easy it was". >>>>> This whole half or full duplex issue is a symptom of "dumbing down" >>>>> There >>>>> should never be any question on it. Full duplex should ALWAYS be used. >>>>> 73, >>>>> Michael, W4HIJ >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Sent viaAMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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 viaAMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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 viaAMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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] Signal on 145.825 (CW?)
by Robert Bruninga 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

> I was hearing ... "sewing machine" on 145.825 MHz FM. ANS: AO-11. NEW QUESTION: Which one sends CW? I hear it in FM, but am on the other side of the lab and haven’t gotten across to switch to SSB to copy it. Been too busy. Bob

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Working FOX-1A
by Clint Bradford 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

>> ... the quote that is purely out of context ... Pure nonsense. From the article ... "Working Fox-1A" "With a minimum power output of 400mW, Fox-1A should be easy to work with an ordinary VHF/UHF handheld transceiver and a dual-band handheld Yagi antenna. Most VHF/UHF handhelds can only communicate in "half duplex." This means they cannot receive simultaneously while transmitting. A half- duplex rig will be adequate for the Fox satellites, but a "full duplex" transceiver is even better. A full duplex transceiver receives and transmits at the same time. This allows you to monitor the quality of your signal through the satellite so that you can make antenna and frequency adjustments as needed." My quotation of ... " ... a half-duplex rig will be adequate for the Fox satellites, but a "full duplex" transceiver is even better ... " ... captures the "essence" properly. Clint Bradford

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Signal on 145.825
by Mark Johns 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

At about 16:15z this morning I was hearing a strong carrier with "sewing machine" modulation on 145.825 MHz FM. It wasn't 1200bps packet. ISS, PSAT, NO-44 and other usual suspects were nowhere nearby. It seemed to be passing to the south of my location in EN43. Can anyone tell me what this was? -- Mark D. Johns, KØMDJDecorah, 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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Working FOX-1A
by Clint Bradford 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

I was startled reading AA4KN's proclamation in his July, 2015 QST article that " ... a half-duplex rig will be adequate for the Fox satellites, but a "full duplex" transceiver is even better ... " Gawd, if I had published that, I would have crosses burning on my front lawn. Confirming we should still be teaching that "Working FOX-1A in true, full duplex mode is preferred ... " - and suggesting methods to accomplish just that? Clint K6LCS

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Spectacular Photo of the ISS
by Clint Bradford 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

While all the rest of us were watching Venus and Jupiter this week, this potographer had a few-seconds' window to capture the ISS against the moon: "The ISS only passed over the moon for 0.33 seconds as it shoots by quite quickly. Knowing the second it would pass I fired a 'burst' mode of exposures then crossed my fingers and hoped it would show up in review -- and it did!" ... http://www.cnet.com/news/stunning-photo-catches-the-iss-in-transit-over-the… It is now MY newest screensaver photograph ... Clint K6LCS

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My ft-736 meter lamp went dark, and scratchy pots.
by Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL 04 Jul '15

04 Jul '15

Anyone know off hand the voltage and current rating of the meter lamp in an FT-736 and hard it is to get too? Replacement source? When I have it apart I need to address scratchy pots issue too with the AF gain, squelch, RF gain, and mic gain. Anyone ever taken care of that? What cleaner to use? Thanks Happy 4th everyone. KB7ADL

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LVB tracker boards for sale
by Bob- W7LRD 03 Jul '15

03 Jul '15

I that the two LVB tracker boards v1.1 with cd cluttering up my shack. $10 free shipping 73 Bob W7LRD

1 1

First contact via satellite!
by Bill Dillon 03 Jul '15

03 Jul '15

After five attempts on SO-50, I was able to make a QSO with N4UFO (love the call sign!) on the 08 UT pass this morning! Slant range was over 1000 miles for me, pretty close to my limit with my Arrow II antenna and HT. I'm still recovering from the shock and awe of being able to do this. :-) --Bill, KG5FQX, Missouri City TX, EL29

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AMSAT Bulletin Article KI4SBL
by Thomas Doyle 02 Jul '15

02 Jul '15

The latest AMSAT Bulletin Vol. 38 No. 3 was great. Quite a number of interesting articles. I found the CNCTRK article by KI4SBL particularly interesting. The modular, metal construction seems like a really good idea. Bob is very good on returning emails so let him know if you have any questions about his interesting system. In addition to CNCTRK there are a number of other portable rotors that have been around for a while (satnnogs, WRAPS and http://www.mobypicture.com/user/MeltdownCore/view/18165109 to name a few). Has anyone built and used any of these relatively new lightweight portable rotors. If you have any first hand experience with one or know of any others please let me know direct and/or on the board. tnx & 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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FOX-1A Tentative Launch Date 09/25/2015?
by Clint Bradford 02 Jul '15

02 Jul '15

Is FOX-1A's tentative launch date now September 25, 2015? Confirming it is still on the NROL-55 payload? Clint K6LCS

2 1

Video of reception of ISS Tulsa CC ARISS contact from Raleigh, NC
by John Brier 02 Jul '15

02 Jul '15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-XIz5OUXn4 Unedited video from my phone of today's International Space Station (ISS) contact with Tulsa Community College in Tulsa, Oklahoma as received in Raleigh, North Carolina on top of a landfill park. At some point I hope to edit the video from my digital SLR together with this video from my phone plus the voice recorder audio from my radio. 0:39 - beginning of reception 5:30 - ending of school contact and beginning of me unsuccessfully calling the ISS 7:55 - clearing and giving up 8:18 - explanation of situation/setup My reception of the ISS begins with Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka answering question number five from the list of prepared questions (see below). You won't be able to hear the students because they are too far away and they keep the uplink frequency confidential to avoid anyone trying to hijack the contact opportunity. The contact ends with them trying to ask question number 13, but it was apparently too noisy for Padalka to hear. 5. What are some things that you go through to be trained to become an astronaut? 6. What is the maximum amount of time recommended to be on the ISS due to lack of gravity? 7. Is it hard to integrate with other crew members that live on board the space station? 8. How do you keep a look out for space debris and how do you respond to avoid a possible collision? 9. Does each crew member work on the same experiments? 10. Of the current experiments, how many do you expect to complete while you are onboard the International Space Station? 11. What hobby or pass time items are you allowed to take on board the ISS from home? 12. What is the most interesting looking country from space? 13. What is the largest space object that has hit the ISS? Full details of the contact as provided by Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS): http://www.amsat.org/pipermail/sarex/2015/004315.html

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IC-9100 SatPC32 Sub Audible Tone for SO-50
by Frank Westphal 02 Jul '15

02 Jul '15

I have acquired an ICOM IC-9100 and am stumped on how to program SatPC32 to select the correct sub audible tone for SO-50. I have studied the SubToneSQF file and the ICOM manual. When I click on T0 and change it to T1 or T2 in SatPC32 the sub audible tone is turned on in the IC-9100. The tone frequency in the IC-9100 does NOT change to the value in the SubToneSQF file. Has anyone figured out haw to correctly setup SatPC32 SubToneSQF file to work with the IC-9100? Could you post the correct command line so I could copy it into my file? Thanks in advance for any guidance. Frank K6FW

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IC-9100 SatPC32 Sub Audible Tone for SO-50
by Frank Westphal 02 Jul '15

02 Jul '15

Thanks for the help. Have it configured right now and it sets the tone correctly. 73, Frank K6FW

1 0

PSAT PSK31 Great! and nopw Posit Reporting
by Robert Bruninga 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

PSAT is working very well. Plenty of energy. The PSK31 transponder is on all the time in AUTO mode as long as there are users in the 10m uplink passband. Doppler is a challenge for some stations depending on geometry to the pass. Question? Have we had any success in PSK31 authors to include Doppler correction in their software? KO6TZ provided a table summary of various PSK programs and their capabilities on the PSAT web page. Ideal satellite mode operations include operating full duplex and Doppler correction. http://aprs.org/psat.html If anyone has direct influence on any PSK31 authors, you might mention our needs for a Satellite mode that includes these features. PSAT has an estimated life of over 3 years. Although PSK31 operation is primary, we have plenty of power, so the APRS digipeater (only 300 mW) is also on full time. In addition, we have activated PSAT’s own APRS position reporting, and with its position knowledge, it also has unique Bulletins for each Continent. Take the positions with a grain-of-salt, however, since we have quirks in the onboard clock and have to frequently re-sync the clock to the real orbit. But we have ground stations in Maryland and Europe assisting in this. Your best PSK31 Uplink opportunity with least Doppler change (so everyone else can decode you) is the highest elevation pass while coming towards you and then away from you. You can see these stations in the waterfall with practically no Doppler change. Those uplink stations off to either side will have more and more changing Doppler during the pass. Its fun to watch the waterfall ad visualize what is going on. Bob, WB4APR

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Re: [amsat-bb] VP2MKV and LOTW
by Kevin M 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

Just got a proper confirmation here on LotW, Jim... thanks!!! 73, Kevin N4UFO We have been working on getting the sat contacts formatted properly to be accepted by LOTW. Two uploads last week did not work. We have further edited the file and will upload again tonight or tomorrow. We will post here when we are successful and see some matches. Jim Jim White WD0E at amsat.org jim at coloradosatellite.com

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AMSAT presentation & California road trip (9-13 July)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

Hi! I will be driving to southern California next Thursday (9 July), in advance of a presentation I will give for the Escondido Amateur Radio Society that evening. After that presentation, and after spending the next day (Friday, 10 July) in and around San Diego, I will head north. Other than a planned stop at the DM04/DM05 grid boundary north of Los Angeles (the same spot I stopped at last September, near Mojave CA and Edwards AFB), I am probably going to head further north. I don't have to be back home until the following Monday (13 July) evening, so I have some time to go either north through the San Joaquin Valley, or over to the Pacific coast, or some sort of loop to see a lot more of central California. I have not set an itinerary for the portion of my trip after the DM04/DM05 stop, but have asked other satellite operators via Twitter for feedback on some grids that I could visit while I am on the road. I'm now asking the grid hunters here on the -BB the same thing. If I look to go up or down the Pacific coast, grids I could visit include CM94 through CM96, and possibly even as far north as Santa Cruz and the almost-all-wet grid CM86. If I stay inland, DM0x grids would be where I'd probably drive through. I'm not planning to go all the way up to the Bay Area, although Santa Cruz is not that far from San Jose. Any thoughts from the crowd here, on grids that I should try to visit between 11 and 13 July? On my way back to Phoenix on 13 July, I may be able to make a stop on the DM23/DM24 boundary, either north of Quartzsite on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, or just across the river along US-95 in California. This stop will depend on whether or not a satellite pass is available when I go through that area. I won't be driving I-10 on my way to San Diego on 9 July, so I won't be able to make this stop early in the trip. While on the road, I plan on running APRS using WD9EWK-9, which should be visible on sites like http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 . I'll also use my @WD9EWK Twitter feed to post updates, even if I can only send SMS messages with those updates. QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World. Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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IC-9100 SatPC32 Sub Audible Tone for SO-50
by Fraser Bonnett 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

Frank, Check the auxiliary file SubTone.SQF In mine, there's one entry for SO-50 "SO-50,67.0,$3F,1" It works for my IC-9100 73, Fraser, W3UTD I have acquired an ICOM IC-9100 and am stumped on how to program SatPC32 to select the correct sub audible tone for SO-50. I have studied the SubToneSQF file and the ICOM manual. When I click on T0 and change it to T1 or T2 in SatPC32 the sub audible tone is turned on in the IC-9100. The tone frequency in the IC-9100 does NOT change to the value in the SubToneSQF file. Has anyone figured out haw to correctly setup SatPC32 SubToneSQF file to work with the IC-9100? Could you post the correct command line so I could copy it into my file? Thanks in advance for any guidance. Frank K6FW --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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VP2MKV and LOTW
by Jim White 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

We have been working on getting the sat contacts formatted properly to be accepted by LOTW. Two uploads last week did not work. We have further edited the file and will upload again tonight or tomorrow. We will post here when we are successful and see some matches. Jim Jim White WD0E(a)amsat.org jim(a)coloradosatellite.com

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AMSAT Journal Article: CNCTRK Tracking System and AZ/EL Positioner
by Bob Freeman 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

Hello, Want to say hello to all members in this my first post to this BB. Also, want to say thanks to Tom, W9KE, for the message on the board about my tracking and positioner project that was just published in the latest issue of the AMSAT Journal. As a follow-up to the article I have updated my web page with some detailed information on the CNCTRK system and on the AZ/EL APS, here: ki4sbl.dodropin.org/CNCTRK/ . If there are questions, omissions, or feedback, I'll be happy to hear from you. Thanks and Have fun! 73, Bob KI4SBL

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NO-84 / ISS Double Hop
by KO6TZ Bob 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

There was a NO-84 / ISS double hop opportunity this evening between 00:55-01:05utc. I was able to send packets both directions, but did not see a double hop. Both spacecraft were in view of each other as well as an i-Gate. There is always next time. KO6TZ BOB

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PSAT Satgates in Eastern USA?
by Robert Bruninga 01 Jul '15

01 Jul '15

We need more Tracking Satgates in the eastern USA: During the last pass Solidly over Eastern USA and dozens of packets and many users, only two packets made it to the APRS-IS. So there seems to be a paucity of Oscar class SatGates at the moment.. Of course tracking and gain antennas are not needed for SatGates for the ISS, but are essential for PSAT. So if anyone in the USA has rotors and wants to exercise them and put a little wear and tear on them for the next week or so, please feel free to come on line. We are trying to get PSAT properly set up for its attitude control and for it to know where it is, and we need more data for a while. We are getting solid data horizon to horizon over Europe, but very little over the USA. I completely understand the usual need not to keep rotors running for routine. That is why we want to develop the Omni Satgates. But until we get enough of them on line, we welcome more conventional tracking SatGates for a while. Thanks Bob, Wb4APR

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-06-30 07:00 UTC
by EMike McCardel 30 Jun '15

30 Jun '15

From the SAREX Listserv Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-06-30 07:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Tulsa Community College, NE Campus, Tulsa, OK, direct via WD5AGO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS/RSØISS or RSØISS/OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is TBD Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-07-01 15:59:17 UTC 20 deg (***) **************************************************************************** ** From 2015-06-11 to 2015-07-24, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any school contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** ** From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org oraj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 107 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2015-06-30 07:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 975. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 940. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2015-06-28 06:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 43/44 on orbit Gennady Padalka RN3DT Scott Kelly Mikhail Korniyenko RN3BF **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors ---- Sent via sarex(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. Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings:http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex EMike McCardel, KC8YLD VP for Educational Relations AMSAT-NA Sent from my iPhone

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Preamps and Circular Polarization Switch.
by Jim Bennett 30 Jun '15

30 Jun '15

Hey guys. I just took a lighting strike the other day. Wipe out the big stick in the air. Also took out one preamp and possible a circular polarization switch on the sat antennas alone with both PCs that I had, a power supply, plus my network. The pair of KLM appear ok. So I am going to redo my tower layout. New coax(probably hard line), new preamps, new cp switch and new control cable to the preamps and CP switches. Rotor cables appear good, but will check to make sure. I put this system together about 20 years ago. So I am starting out fresh trying to find the stuff. Is Lanwear amps still available? If not, what is the next best. Are there any shelf available CP switches. The ones I have were on the antennas when purchased. And they appear home built. Any suggestions are appreciate. Jim Ke4kol

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Keps on Space Track
by Carl Rimmer W8KRF 30 Jun '15

30 Jun '15

I am on the Space Track website and cannot find any Keps for either PSAT or BricSat. Where are you guys getting the Keps? I have used all these designations. PSAT (NO 84) = 90720 = ULTRASat 1 = 40654 = 2015-025D BRICSat (NO 83) = 90729 = ULTRASat 10 = 40655 = 2015-025E I find them but the Keps are blank. I've been using Space Track for all my Sat Keps and this is the first time I have had problems. 73, Carl W8KRF

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SO-50
by Steve Kristoff 30 Jun '15

30 Jun '15

I still can't hear SO-50. I've checked out the receiving radio and it works just fine. Has anyone ever had a problem with the UHF portion of an Arrow antenna going bad? Loose connector? Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof(a)etczone.com

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PSAT is ready to be used on Fieldday 2015
by PA3GUO 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

We just turned the APRS digipeater back on, so you can test your systems. (PSAT APRS was off for 2 days to adjust some internal parameters.) Everyone should be able to use it: uplink & downlink for APRS 145.825 (UNPROTO APRS VIA ARISS) !S 19:23:35 !PSAT-1>ARISS>APOFF:!25 . N\003 . WS040/999/W3ADO s#043610,0z290 !S 19:26:53 !IS0EBO-4>PSAT>ARISS*>APRSAT>WIDE>4P4TX3:'~<.l i/]73 FROM SPACE !T 19:27:04 !PA3GUO>APRS,PSAT,ARISS*,qAR,DK3WN-8::test APRS !S 19:27:06 !IS0EBO-4>PSAT>ARISS*>APRSAT>WIDE>4P4TX3:'~<.l i/]73 FROM SPACE !T 19:27:13 !PA3GUO>APRS,PSAT,ARISS*,qAR,DK3WN-8:Ready for Filed day !! !T 19:27:24 !PA3GUO>APRS,PSAT,ARISS*,qAR,DK3WN-8:Ready for Field day !! !S 19:27:39 !PSAT>ARISS>APRSON:!36 . N\005 . ES060/999/W3ADO s#043614,0z290 !S 19:27:40 !PSAT>ARISS>APRSON:s#043614,0z290,MLkMJlMHmMCmMemMhmLkmJlmHmlDnjanghnA !T 19:27:43 !PA3GUO>APRS,PSAT,ARISS*,qAR,DK3WN-8:PSAT is ready to be used on Field day 2015 !T 19:28:00 !PA3GUO>APRS,PSAT,ARISS*,qAR,DK3WN-8:U APRS VIA ARISS !T 19:28:38 !PA3GUO>APRS,PSAT,ARISS*,qAR,DK3WN-8:Also try thew PSK31 transponder ! !S 19:28:40 !PSAT>ARISS>APRSON:!39 . N\009 . ES060/999/W3ADO s#043615,0z290 !S 19:28:41 !PSAT>ARISS>APRSON:s#043615,0z290,knGlmKmlLmjNmgOm0OmEOlJOgLOdMNaNMDNK !S 19:29:23 !IS0EBO-4>PSAT>ARISS*>APRSAT>WIDE>4P4TX3:'~<.l i/]73 FROM SPACE Also try the PSK transponder ! Have fun! Henk PA3GUO

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APRS Satgate Antenna page (dB's)
by Robert Bruninga 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

OK, I did a quick look and the gain of the 3/4 wave vertical is a real winner over the basic 1/4 wave vertical for OMNI Satgates with no moving parts optimized for high elevation gain above 30 deg. Low elevations are simply covered by another SATgate 600 miles away.... We will write it up in detail, but here are the rough figures. 1/4 wave vertical with radials: -2 at 30 and -6 at 60 ==> Basically a dipole pattern 3/4 wave vertical with radials: +2 at 30 and -1 at 60 ==> 4 to 5 dB better, 2 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical w 6' gndpln: +2 at 30 and +3 at 70 ==> 4 to 9 dB better, 5.5 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical w 9' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +3 at 65 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 5.3 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical perfect gnd: +3 at 30 and +3 at 68 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 6.9 dBi max We are going to do a 3' ground plane too for comparison, but even the 3/4 vertical with just the four 19" radials gives a huge 4 to 5 dB improvement over a classic ground plane for omni satellite SATgate work. Notice too that the Lilenblatt, eggbeaters, and all other "omni"s that try to keep their gain down on the horizon, are equally as poor as the 1/4 wave vertical at these higher elevations. This is OK for strong satellits like the ISS with 5 to 10 watts, but abisimal when all that gain on the horizon is completely wasted when you cannot hear the satellite anyway because it is 6 to 10 dB farther away! The result is these "omni's" give up the 4 to 9 dB at higher elevations where the satellite is much stronger. Ill eventually put all this on the Omni SATGATE page: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Summary: The 3/4 wave vertical makes it so you CAN hear LEO satellites 5 to 9 dB better when they are closer and does this by giving up on hearing them when they are so far away you can't hear them anyway! Bob -----Original Message----- From: Robert Bruninga [mailto:[email protected]] Subject: RE: [aprssig] APRS Satgate Antenna page > One question,what constitutes a large ground plane? > Is it 12"or 12'? Is it a multiple of the vertical whip? Good question. Most people think that four 1/4 wave radials make a ground plane. But if you model a 1/4 wave vertical over 1/4 wave radials, all you get is the exact pattern of a DIPOLE. The radials are just providing a "groundplane" to complete the electrical part of the antenna and give a good match. They do not affect the pattern at all. I modeled verticals over 6' or larger ground planes and only found that you get the added "reflection" gain when the ground plane starts getting that big or more. I wish I had time to use EZNEC to show the added gain (skyward) versus the size of the ground plane. And how "radials" (above actual ground) have nothing to do with the "pattern". SO, the bigger the better. It should be worth 2 to 3 dB if you could make it very large... This is the page in question: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Bob, WB4aPR On 6/19/2015 3:57 PM, Robert Bruninga via aprssig wrote: > Subject: APRS Satgate Antenna page > > Since the ideal APRS Satellite IGate OMNI antenna is exactly the > opposite of the typical terrestrial IGaate antenna, I prepared the > following WEB page: > > http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html > > It shows how a vertical ¼ or ¾ wave VHF omni equals the performance of > a full OSCAR class array (over half the sky) but does it with no > moving parts. > It makes up for the weak-signal horizon part of the sky by there > simply being more omni-IGates. The APRS-IS cloud with all of its > IGates is probably one of the largest spatially distributed satellite > receiver system in the world (?). > > But with people used to the 10W transmitter on the ISS, just a few > IGates can capture just about every packet from the ISS horizon to > horizon on a whip. But with the 14 dB weaker signal from PSAT, we > need more SatGates to make up for their smaller skyprint. For the USA > we need more than a dozen such Omni-SATgates. > > To see the significance of the weaker downlink from PSAT, look at the > successful IGates on the http://pcsat.aprs.org page compared to the IGates > that hear the ISS packets on http://ariss.net Both are listening on > 145.825 and passing along every packet they hear. But only TRACKING > IGates or good vertical gain satgates hear PSAT. And since we want > these running 24/7/365, we do NOT expect people wearing out motors > when an omni will do fine (if we have enough). > > The page also shows how every SATgate with a HIGH and terrestrial type > antenna actually creates a DEADZONE around it, effectively blocking > any nearby user heaerd direct from appearing on any of the APRS-IS > cloud satellite web pages. Hence, Omni-satgate antennas should be low > to everything surrounding it w hile still seeing the sky above 30 degrees. > > If your TH-D7 HT is just sitting there, not in use 99% of the time, > then just hook it to a vertical whip and let it be an IGate. With the > low antenna it will also probably be safe from all weather lightening too. > Put > the UHF side on 435.350 and turn up the speaker. When PSAT PSK31 > comes into view, you can watch the PSK31 activity as a bonus! > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > aprssig mailing list > aprssig(a)tapr.org > http://www.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig

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Typical SO-50 exchanges
by Koos van den Hout 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

I'm trying to improve on my number of successful satellite QSO's (at the moment: 3) and because I'm quite good at forgetting a callsign in the heat of the moment I am trying to build a working setup to record FM QSO's. The setup with a splitter from my HT to the line-in of a mp3 device does record something but it's still distorted. I will try on the FT-857 again but that's a bit heavy for satellite contacts. It can give more output power than the default 5W (.. if the specs are to be believed) of the HT which may improve the chance of actually getting across. I noticed (again) that there seems to be a fixed format in action for exchanging callsign / signal report / locator. But I'm not sure of the right order. Can someone explain this? I haven't seen this mentioned on amsat-bb. My latest recording where I heard this type of exchange twice is linked from http://idefix.net/~koos/newsitem.cgi/1435521672 Koos -- Koos van den Hout, PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 via keyservers koos(a)kzdoos.xs4all.nl Weather maps from free sources at http://idefix.net/ http://weather.idefix.net/

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Field Day
by Paul Stoetzer 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

How did everyone's Field Day go? Heard quite a bit of QSOs made. Heard quite a bit of struggling too! Weather was awful, so I was just operating from the grounds of my apartment building here in DC. I managed 20 QSOs with 5 watts, which wasn't easy with how overloaded the transponders were with strong signals. Next year maybe I'll help out a local club on the sats. 73, Paul, N8HM

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Satellite Software
by Mike Jones, W6GYC 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

Hello. My name is Mike Jones, W6GYC. I help out with content on the AMSAT.ORG web site. The software pages currently on AMSAT.ORG are a bit out of date I it has been decided to bring them a bit more current. What I would like to do is hear from the satellite community on what software they are using for their Amateur Satellite operations. Remember I would like to hear not just a list of software apps, but what you actually use in your day-to-day operations. Please include the following: Title Website (if available) Type of software (commercial, shareware, freeware, etc) Cost if appropriate Platform (Windows, MAC, Linux, mobile (Android, iOS, other, multiple) What distribution you use if applicable Is the software included in your distribution repositories, or third party download, build, etc Short description if possible Please feel free to include any additional information you may feel important. I have created a special, personal email account for this, please do not spam the mailing list. Please send to: satsoft(a)w6gyc.com Thank you in advance -- 73 Mike Jones W6GYC - AMSAT Number: 38250 Home Grid: DM04rl http://w6gyc.com

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Fwd: Field Day
by Bill Dillon 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

I made my first via-satellite contact attempt on two afternoon SO50 Saturday passes. I suppose Field Day is probably the worst time to try for a first contact. ;-) I also had a bunch of people come out to watch me (No! Go away! I hardly know what I'm doing! I want to fail in peace, without an audience!). I do appreciate fellow BVARC hams who helped hold the antenna, make a recording, and call out az and elevation, while I shifted frequencies and tried to make a contact. I was absolutely thrilled (and I think others were impressed) to start picking up voices at a slant range of 1500 miles. I couldn't bust the pile up with my little HT, but I can't wait to try again (and again, and again)! 73, --Bill, KG5FQX (operating as KK5W for Field Day) On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 9:00 PM, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: > How did everyone's Field Day go? Heard quite a bit of QSOs made. Heard > quite a bit of struggling too! > > Weather was awful, so I was just operating from the grounds of my > apartment building here in DC. I managed 20 QSOs with 5 watts, which > wasn't easy with how overloaded the transponders were with strong > signals. > > Next year maybe I'll help out a local club on the sats. > > 73, > > Paul, N8HM > _______________________________________________ > 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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Need help with SatPC32 - WinAOS
by Greg Higgins 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

I updated my SatPC32 from 12.8b to c during field day and everything ran fine. Used WinAOS for pass predictions. This morning I tried to run WinAOS and am suddenly getting an error message in German: Listenindex uberschreitet das Maximum (-1). Does anyone have any ideas what the error is and how to fix it? Thanks!! Greg Higgins

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Field Day
by Bill ACITO, W1PA 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

Ran the satellite station for W1BIM (6A central MA). Nothing fancy -- FT-847, tripod mounted arrow, no computer (full manual). Worked KA4H on the very first AO-7 pass (but out of habit used my call instead of the club call --- idiot), then worked Wyatt at W0GQ on the next FO-29 pass. Tried a few more times Saturday afternoon but no luck. Packed up the gear and moved to one of the HF stations. We were on a high plateau football field with a single Winnebago and multiple tents/easy ups. Started raining around 7pm, turned to horizontal rain by 11pm, and then at 3am the wind gusts toppled multiple station tents -- one of the easyups was found 30ft up in a tree, with the aluminum structure. Horizontal rain, and 30mph gusts the rest of Sunday morning -- a real Nor'easter. No injuries, but we may have lost one rig and one laptop. I was sleeping in my car when it happened. Winnebago stations kept going; what was left of the tent stations were packed up by 6am. Btw, these were all properly staked and secured... in at least one case, the bottom flanges of the easyup post stakes were torn from the metal masts --- metal welds torn off. Found during FD: the UHF internal pre-amp on my FT-847 had failed. Before I go through the schematics, anyone ever had one fail and can identify the MAR or FET device I am most likely going to have to replace? Bill W1PA

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Re: [amsat-bb] APRS Satgate Antenna page (5/8 wave)
by Robert Bruninga 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

> I have actually received APRS packets from the ISS and for that matter have been digipeated using a simple 5/8 mag mount antenna oriented 90 degrees off vertical. I only mention that to offer some background. Ah, but the ISS is 10W compared to PSAT’s 0.3W, so it is 15 dB stronger and any piece of wire as an antenna can hear ISS, even in the very strong NULL that a 5/8 wave antenna has above 15 degrees. All of my comments are trying to help SatGates hear the weak ones… > I'm not aware of how to forward anything useful to the database that populates the map you provided a link to. That is simple or hard. Depending on your patience with software. Any APRS software just about automatically becomes a SatGate if you leave your radio tuned to 145.825 and leave your PC running th software connected to the internet. Then your station feeds the pcsat.aprs.org satellite downlink data base. Hope that helps. Bob, WB4aPR ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----- Original Message ----- *From:* Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> *To:* amsat-bb(a)amsat.org *Sent:* Sunday, June 28, 2015 17:13 *Subject:* [amsat-bb] APRS Satgate Antenna page (More work needed) Well, someone with time to burn might want to check all these numbers. Today I am getting inconsistent results and probably because to make a 9' ground plane at 2m with good segment sizes, I need more than the 500 point limit in EZNEC. Also, to cover the USA with omni satgates with good gain above 25 degrees will need almost 9 times as many satgates compared to the number with full AZ/EL OSCAR arrays. But then the omni satgates are 10? Times simpler... (just your HT while you are not actually using it)... At this point we need to simply see what a 1/4 wave over a large ground plane can actually HEAR. It is easy to just run it for days and see how many PSAT packets are received per 24 hours. And then compare antennas based on that number. If a 1/4 wave can hear down to 25 degrees, then there is no need for the higher 3/4 wave gain at higher angles. Anyway, a great opportunity for study. -----Original Message----- The gain of the 3/4 wave vertical is a real winner over the basic 1/4 wave vertical for OMNI Satgates with no moving parts optimized for high elevation gain above 30 deg. Low elevations are simply covered by more SATgates.... New: If we can get the angle down to 25 degrees then still need 9 times more stations) 1/4 wave with radials: -2 at 30 and -6 at 60 ==> Basically a dipole pattern 3/4 wave with radials: +2 at 30 and -1 at 60 ==> 4 to 5 dB better, 2 dBi max 3/4 wave w 3' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +1 at 60 ==> 5 to 7 dB better, 3.3 dBi max 3/4 wave w 6' gndpln: +2 at 30 and +3 at 70 ==> 4 to 9 dB better, 5.5 dBi max 3/4 wave w 9' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +3 at 65 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 5.3 dBi max 3/4 wave perfect gnd: +3 at 30 and +3 at 68 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 6.9 dBi max Even the 3/4 vertical with just the four 19" radials gives a huge 4 to 5 dB improvement over a classic ground plane for omni satellite SATgate work. Also, this antenna does not need to be high. Just see sky above 30 deg. In fact, is better to be low to reduce terrestrial QRM. Notice too that the Lilenblatt, eggbeaters, and all other "omni"s that try to keep their gain down on the horizon, are equally as poor as the 1/4 wave vertical at these higher elevations. This is OK for strong satellits like the ISS with 5 to 10 watts, but abisimal when all that gain on the horizon is completely wasted when you cannot hear the satellite anyway because it is 6 to 10 dB farther away! The result is these "omni's" give up the 4 to 9 dB at higher elevations where the satellite is much stronger. Ill eventually put all this on the Omni SATGATE page: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Summary: The 3/4 wave vertical makes it so you CAN hear LEO satellites 5 to 9 dB better when they are closer and does this by giving up on hearing them when they are so far away you can't hear them anyway! THE BIG QUESTION though is What is the lowest elevation angle at which an OMNI can hear PSAT? Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: Robert Bruninga [mailto:[email protected] <bruninga(a)usna.edu>] Subject: RE: [aprssig] APRS Satgate Antenna page > One question,what constitutes a large ground plane? > Is it 12"or 12'? Is it a multiple of the vertical whip? Good question. Most people think that four 1/4 wave radials make a ground plane. But if you model a 1/4 wave vertical over 1/4 wave radials, all you get is the exact pattern of a DIPOLE. The radials are just providing a "groundplane" to complete the electrical part of the antenna and give a good match. They do not affect the pattern at all. I modeled verticals over 6' or larger ground planes and only found that you get the added "reflection" gain when the ground plane starts getting that big or more. I wish I had time to use EZNEC to show the added gain (skyward) versus the size of the ground plane. And how "radials" (above actual ground) have nothing to do with the "pattern". SO, the bigger the better. It should be worth 2 to 3 dB if you could make it very large... This is the page in question: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Bob, WB4aPR On 6/19/2015 3:57 PM, Robert Bruninga via aprssig wrote: > Subject: APRS Satgate Antenna page > > Since the ideal APRS Satellite IGate OMNI antenna is exactly the > opposite of the typical terrestrial IGaate antenna, I prepared the > following WEB page: > > http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html > > It shows how a vertical ¼ or ¾ wave VHF omni equals the performance of > a full OSCAR class array (over half the sky) but does it with no > moving parts. > It makes up for the weak-signal horizon part of the sky by there > simply being more omni-IGates. The APRS-IS cloud with all of its > IGates is probably one of the largest spatially distributed satellite > receiver system in the world (?). > > But with people used to the 10W transmitter on the ISS, just a few > IGates can capture just about every packet from the ISS horizon to > horizon on a whip. But with the 14 dB weaker signal from PSAT, we > need more SatGates to make up for their smaller skyprint. For the USA > we need more than a dozen such Omni-SATgates. > > To see the significance of the weaker downlink from PSAT, look at the > successful IGates on the http://pcsat.aprs.org page compared to the IGates > that hear the ISS packets on http://ariss.net Both are listening on > 145.825 and passing along every packet they hear. But only TRACKING > IGates or good vertical gain satgates hear PSAT. And since we want > these running 24/7/365, we do NOT expect people wearing out motors > when an omni will do fine (if we have enough). > > The page also shows how every SATgate with a HIGH and terrestrial type > antenna actually creates a DEADZONE around it, effectively blocking > any nearby user heaerd direct from appearing on any of the APRS-IS > cloud satellite web pages. Hence, Omni-satgate antennas should be low > to everything surrounding it w hile still seeing the sky above 30 degrees. > > If your TH-D7 HT is just sitting there, not in use 99% of the time, > then just hook it to a vertical whip and let it be an IGate. With the > low antenna it will also probably be safe from all weather lightening too. > Put > the UHF side on 435.350 and turn up the speaker. When PSAT PSK31 > comes into view, you can watch the PSK31 activity as a bonus! > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > aprssig mailing list > aprssig(a)tapr.org > http://www.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig _______________________________________________ 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

3 2

KL7CN/W6 from DM05/DM06 in LotW
by Bryan Green 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

Hello, AMSAT-BB! The following stations are in the log from yesterday's operations in DM05/DM06. The QSOs are uploaded to LotW: SO-50 at 01:00Z: AA5PK W0DHB KJ6WNS KK6OTJ KG5CCI W7JPI -- Hi, Leo! NX9B N8HM -- Awesome that we made it, Paul! N8XQM -- At something like 3 degrees. Always wait until the very end of the pass! Please let me know if you have any trouble claiming the QSLs from both grids. 73! -- bag Bryan KL7CN/W6

1 0

SpaceX Launch Failure Today
by Alan 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

http://preview.tinyurl.com/qfyz92n Key point: nobody hurt. 73s, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- Keep Calm and Carry On

4 3

SO-50 Help
by Clint Bradford 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

Sorry you are having trouble with SO-50 ... Use TWO sat pass data sources as you work it. JUST IN CASE one is not set up properly with your geographical area ... or the wrong time of day. And make sure the Keplerian data is current on whatever you use. There's a widget on my SAT SKEDS page that shows you where SO-50 is live - http://www.work-sat.com Also on the home page is the frequency programming chart for SO-50, FOX-1A, and the ISS. Let me know if any of this helps!!! Clint K6LCS 909-241-7666 - cell

1 0

SO-50 help
by Steve Kristoff 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

I could use some help here. For the third time this week, I've gone outside during what was supposed to be a nice high pass of SO-50, pointed my Arrow in (what I think is) the right direction and I hear nothing. Just now, I was supposed to have a max elevation of 80 degrees at EM79. Should have been an easy one. But I hear nothing. In the past I've had QSOs on SO-50 with some of you, so you know I know how to point the antenna and use the radios. Does anyone else use the Pass Predictions on the AMSAT page? That's what I've been using, but it's starting to seem like the satellite isn't where the prediction says it is. I'd really appreciate some replies on this one. If other folks are finding the AMSAT Prediction Page for SO-50 to be correct, then I'll know it's me and I'll check all my radios and connections one more time.Thank you. Steve Kristoff AI9IN skristof(a)etczone.com

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] the SATgate donut effect
by Robert Bruninga 29 Jun '15

29 Jun '15

The donut hole is a problem... With two more APRS satellites to launch this year, we need -more- Omni Satgates with *lower* antennas. The vertical omni 1/4 or 3/4 wave satgate vertical antenna needs to be as low as possible (to minimize the donut hole null and to reduce lightening risk) while still seeing sky above 30 degrees. See: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Once I deliver the last of these next two transponders, I hope to build such a satgate with a D7 HT and document its performance. I can place the HT at the base of the antenna with near zero coax, and being low, it is not vulnerable to lightening compared to surrounding structures. Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of kb2m(a)arrl.net Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2015 10:02 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] the donut effect Is there anyway to get any APRS client to not Igate a packet with a path of ARISS in it. I run a satgate here in NJ and the donut effect is causing problems for several hams in the area that can't get a packet Igated after it is digi'd by the ISS because it's a dup. My Igate hears the first packet direct that then causes the ISS digi'd packet to be a dup. It would seem to be a simple thing to set a filter to ignore a path of ARISS, and accept everything else. I would think that this would fix the problem of people who want to run Igates, but don't because of this. I recently moved to Florida for the winter and had to shut my igate down in NJ for this reason. Also, I noticed when down there that there is a lack of satgates along the eastcoast. ISS,PSAT, and PCSAT are hearing stations fine but no satgate's available until the bird's footprint move well inland. 73 Jeff kb2m _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

2 1

DM05/DM06 TODAY SO-50 01:00Z LotW
by Bryan Green 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

Will be active TODAY from DM05/DM06 line on SO-50 at 01:00Z TODAY 2015-06-29Z. LotW confirmation. -- bag Bryan KL7CN/W6

1 0

APRS Satgate Antenna page (More work needed)
by Robert Bruninga 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

Well, someone with time to burn might want to check all these numbers. Today I am getting inconsistent results and probably because to make a 9' ground plane at 2m with good segment sizes, I need more than the 500 point limit in EZNEC. Also, to cover the USA with omni satgates with good gain above 25 degrees will need almost 9 times as many satgates compared to the number with full AZ/EL OSCAR arrays. But then the omni satgates are 10? Times simpler... (just your HT while you are not actually using it)... At this point we need to simply see what a 1/4 wave over a large ground plane can actually HEAR. It is easy to just run it for days and see how many PSAT packets are received per 24 hours. And then compare antennas based on that number. If a 1/4 wave can hear down to 25 degrees, then there is no need for the higher 3/4 wave gain at higher angles. Anyway, a great opportunity for study. -----Original Message----- The gain of the 3/4 wave vertical is a real winner over the basic 1/4 wave vertical for OMNI Satgates with no moving parts optimized for high elevation gain above 30 deg. Low elevations are simply covered by more SATgates.... New: If we can get the angle down to 25 degrees then still need 9 times more stations) 1/4 wave with radials: -2 at 30 and -6 at 60 ==> Basically a dipole pattern 3/4 wave with radials: +2 at 30 and -1 at 60 ==> 4 to 5 dB better, 2 dBi max 3/4 wave w 3' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +1 at 60 ==> 5 to 7 dB better, 3.3 dBi max 3/4 wave w 6' gndpln: +2 at 30 and +3 at 70 ==> 4 to 9 dB better, 5.5 dBi max 3/4 wave w 9' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +3 at 65 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 5.3 dBi max 3/4 wave perfect gnd: +3 at 30 and +3 at 68 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 6.9 dBi max Even the 3/4 vertical with just the four 19" radials gives a huge 4 to 5 dB improvement over a classic ground plane for omni satellite SATgate work. Also, this antenna does not need to be high. Just see sky above 30 deg. In fact, is better to be low to reduce terrestrial QRM. Notice too that the Lilenblatt, eggbeaters, and all other "omni"s that try to keep their gain down on the horizon, are equally as poor as the 1/4 wave vertical at these higher elevations. This is OK for strong satellits like the ISS with 5 to 10 watts, but abisimal when all that gain on the horizon is completely wasted when you cannot hear the satellite anyway because it is 6 to 10 dB farther away! The result is these "omni's" give up the 4 to 9 dB at higher elevations where the satellite is much stronger. Ill eventually put all this on the Omni SATGATE page: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Summary: The 3/4 wave vertical makes it so you CAN hear LEO satellites 5 to 9 dB better when they are closer and does this by giving up on hearing them when they are so far away you can't hear them anyway! THE BIG QUESTION though is What is the lowest elevation angle at which an OMNI can hear PSAT? Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: Robert Bruninga [mailto:[email protected]] Subject: RE: [aprssig] APRS Satgate Antenna page > One question,what constitutes a large ground plane? > Is it 12"or 12'? Is it a multiple of the vertical whip? Good question. Most people think that four 1/4 wave radials make a ground plane. But if you model a 1/4 wave vertical over 1/4 wave radials, all you get is the exact pattern of a DIPOLE. The radials are just providing a "groundplane" to complete the electrical part of the antenna and give a good match. They do not affect the pattern at all. I modeled verticals over 6' or larger ground planes and only found that you get the added "reflection" gain when the ground plane starts getting that big or more. I wish I had time to use EZNEC to show the added gain (skyward) versus the size of the ground plane. And how "radials" (above actual ground) have nothing to do with the "pattern". SO, the bigger the better. It should be worth 2 to 3 dB if you could make it very large... This is the page in question: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Bob, WB4aPR On 6/19/2015 3:57 PM, Robert Bruninga via aprssig wrote: > Subject: APRS Satgate Antenna page > > Since the ideal APRS Satellite IGate OMNI antenna is exactly the > opposite of the typical terrestrial IGaate antenna, I prepared the > following WEB page: > > http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html > > It shows how a vertical ¼ or ¾ wave VHF omni equals the performance of > a full OSCAR class array (over half the sky) but does it with no > moving parts. > It makes up for the weak-signal horizon part of the sky by there > simply being more omni-IGates. The APRS-IS cloud with all of its > IGates is probably one of the largest spatially distributed satellite > receiver system in the world (?). > > But with people used to the 10W transmitter on the ISS, just a few > IGates can capture just about every packet from the ISS horizon to > horizon on a whip. But with the 14 dB weaker signal from PSAT, we > need more SatGates to make up for their smaller skyprint. For the USA > we need more than a dozen such Omni-SATgates. > > To see the significance of the weaker downlink from PSAT, look at the > successful IGates on the http://pcsat.aprs.org page compared to the IGates > that hear the ISS packets on http://ariss.net Both are listening on > 145.825 and passing along every packet they hear. But only TRACKING > IGates or good vertical gain satgates hear PSAT. And since we want > these running 24/7/365, we do NOT expect people wearing out motors > when an omni will do fine (if we have enough). > > The page also shows how every SATgate with a HIGH and terrestrial type > antenna actually creates a DEADZONE around it, effectively blocking > any nearby user heaerd direct from appearing on any of the APRS-IS > cloud satellite web pages. Hence, Omni-satgate antennas should be low > to everything surrounding it w hile still seeing the sky above 30 degrees. > > If your TH-D7 HT is just sitting there, not in use 99% of the time, > then just hook it to a vertical whip and let it be an IGate. With the > low antenna it will also probably be safe from all weather lightening too. > Put > the UHF side on 435.350 and turn up the speaker. When PSAT PSK31 > comes into view, you can watch the PSK31 activity as a bonus! > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > aprssig mailing list > aprssig(a)tapr.org > http://www.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig

2 1

uc:
by James Hickox 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

http://sunskie.com/0lf1g2t3r4w5q6z7x8p9o.php >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.Karan Fama

2 1

the donut effect
by kb2m＠arrl.net 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

Is there anyway to get any APRS client to not Igate a packet with a path of ARISS in it. I run a satgate here in NJ and the donut effect is causing problems for several hams in the area that can't get a packet Igated after it is digi'd by the ISS because it's a dup. My Igate hears the first packet direct that then causes the ISS digi'd packet to be a dup. It would seem to be a simple thing to set a filter to ignore a path of ARISS, and accept everything else. I would think that this would fix the problem of people who want to run Igates, but don't because of this. I recently moved to Florida for the winter and had to shut my igate down in NJ for this reason. Also, I noticed when down there that there is a lack of satgates along the eastcoast. ISS,PSAT, and PCSAT are hearing stations fine but no satgate's available until the bird's footprint move well inland. 73 Jeff kb2m

1 0

ANS-179 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Joseph Spier 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-179 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 Field Day on the Satellites * Brazilian CubeSat NanosatC-Br 1 Team Requests Reception Reports * FUNcube-1 / AO-73 Glitch and Commanded Reboot * Kletskous Development News From the SA AMSAT Symposium * North Texas Moon Day Event Annouced * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-179.01 ANS-179 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 179.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE June 28, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-179.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites It’s that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!”. The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2015 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 27, 2015 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 28, 2015. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 28 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event. If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellite SaudiSat-Oscar-50 for your AMSAT Field Day focus … don’t … unless you are simply hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points. The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use to one- QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). Click for document: http://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015FieldDay.pdf See: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=216 [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Brazilian CubeSat NanosatC-Br 1 Team Requests Reception Reports Edson, PY2SDR requests fellow amateur satellite operators listen for a downlink signal from NanosatC-Br 1, the first Brazilian cubesat. NanosatC-Br 1 was launched on a Dnepr rocket from Dombarovsky near Yasny in 2014. The 1U CubeSat carries an ISIS U/V transceiver with 1200 bps FM AX.25 UHF command uplink and a 9600 bps BPSK downlink on 145.865 MHz. NanosatC-BR1, is experiencing battery issues for the last several months and it now seldom emits a beacon in CW. For some time, Paulo PV8DX, was able to detect a beacon signal when the satellite was over the Caribbean sea during daylight. But now, no more signals have been detected. Edson would like to request assistance from hams in the northern hemisphere to see if NanosatC-BR1 is still transmitting any signals. Any help will be much appreciated. [ANS thanks Edson, PY2SDR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNcube-1 / AO-73 Glitch and Commanded Reboot On Sunday, June 21, there was an anomaly on FUNcube-1 that required the reboot of the satellite’s MCU (Microcontroller). After a bus freeze, the databus watchdog did kick in as expected and rebooted the satellite. However, we did need to command the satellite back on to automatic mode. When we did so on the 20:00 UTC pass, it came back up in the correct mode. We envisage to switch back to autonomous mode either tonight or tomorrow morning local time. FUNcube is still happy and healthy. This is the 4th reboot since launch, of which one was intentional. Thanks for your reports and concerns. On behalf of the whole team best 73s, Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG FUNcube team FUNcube-1 (AO-73) Telemetry: • Dashboard App http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/ • Data Warehouse Archive http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ • Whole orbit data http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/wod.html?satelliteId=2. [ANS thanks the FUNcube Team and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kletskous Development News From the SA AMSAT Symposium At the SA AMSAT Symposium pre-conference Engineering meeting held on Friday evening on June 19, 2015, members of the SA AMSAT CubeSat team reached some decisions about the development and launch of the South African Kletskous amateur radio satellite. During the past few years, various options and subsystems have been experimented with. The team has now set the launch date of Kletskous at July 2017 with the first flight model to be ready by February 2016 for testing after which final integration will start. This requires that various module designs are locked down and built by October 2015. It is planned to have all the modules wired together in a breadboard configuration for testing the interoperation of the various subunits by December 2015. Some modules are at a more advanced stage than others, but in the next few months, the team expect to catch up and meet the deadline for the first breadboard test. Frik Wolff, ZS6FZ, the League's technical manager, has joined the team and is working on solar panels and stabilization issues. Francois Oberholzer, an honors student at Stellenbosch University, is working on improving the weight/strength relationship of the space frame, a project that is part of his thesis. Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL, as programme manager and the person responsible for documentation, will support the project manager, Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP. There are many opportunities for radio amateurs to join the engineering team. If you have a particular expertise or passion to add value to the KLETSKOUS project, please discuss your participation with Hannes Coetzee or any of the team members and send your details to saamsat(a)intekom.co,za. The SA AMSAT website is at: http//www.amsatsa.org.za/ See SARL http://www.sarl.org.za/ KLETSkous http://www.amsatsa.org.za/KLETSkous.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the SARL weekly news in English 2015-6-20 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- North Texas Moon Day Event Annouced A great opportunity to showcase Amateur Radio and especially Amateur Radio in space to the general public will be held on Saturday, July 18th at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, TX. In commutation of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the museum has celebrated "Moon Day" for the last number of years as a STEM outreach specializing in astronomy, space science and space flight past and future. This year the Moon Day organizers decided to theme the day around the International Space Station. They applied for and were granted an ARISS scheduled contact to become part of the event. Keith Pugh, W5IU is serving as ARISS mentor for the event and is working diligently on setting up all the details of this "Telebridge" contact. The museum is sponsoring an "Ask a question of an astronaut" contest with details at http://www.flightmuseum.com/iss-expedition-crew-43-question/ General details can be found at http://www.flightmuseum.com/moon-day-2015/ If you know young people interested in astronomy and space science/exploration, have them check out the links and see if they submit a question to be used during the ARISS contact. Deadline for entry is June 30th. In years past, several of us have participated in Moon Day activities by manning an AMSAT table showing off Amateur Radio in space and even doing some on-air contacts for and with interested participants. Keith will be very busy all morning setting up and preparing for the ARISS contact and has several individuals working with him on that. I have volunteered to help staff an AMSAT display table but need additional volunteers to assist with the table and also to be available to make Amateur Satellite contacts and demonstrations as the sats allow. Please contact Keith w5iu(a)swbell.net or myself Tom Schuessler, n5hyp(a)arrl.net to volunteer to help at least part of the day or the whole 10A-5P duration and tell us what you can "Bring to the table" as it were. Help us to support the Museum's ARISS contact and also to put a bug in the ears of many event goers about the fun and challenge of Amateur Radio Satellites. [ANS thanks Tom Schuessler, N5HYP 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). *Thursday, 9 July 2015 – presentation for the Escondido Amateur Radio Society in Escondido CA *Friday and Saturday, 7-8 August 2015 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX *Saturday and Sunday, 22-23 August 2015 – Boxboro Hamfest and ARRL New England Convention in Boxborough MA *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) [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contact Universidad Tecnológica de Chile INACAP sede Temuco, Temuco, Chile, via telebridge W6SRJ ccontact was successful: Fri 2015-06-26 18:41:26 UTC with ARISS Russian Team Upcoming ARISS Contacts Tulsa Community College, NE Campus, Tulsa, OK, direct via WD5AGO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS/RSØISS or RSØISS/OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is ARISS Russian Team Contact is a go for: Wed 2015-07-01 15:46:28 UTC ARISS does not anticipate any voice contacts from the ISS during this weekend's Field Day. But you never know, so please listen in case they are on the air. Packet will probably be operational. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over * Satellite Grid Operation in Progress GRID SQUARES TO BE ACTIVATED (Satellite Op). Ron, N8RO, announced that he will be on a road trip during the period June 22nd and July 4th. He plans to operate portable from EM50, EM84, EM99, FN13, FM28, FM04, EL79, EL49 and possibly other grids along the way. Ron will operate on SO-50 and FO-29. {ANS thanks the DX Newsletter - DXNL 1942 - June 24, 2015 for the above information] * Inventors hope to launch 'backyard satellites' to fill gap in Australian space exploration Stuart McAndrew is making history from a backyard shed in suburban Perth. The IT worker is building a satellite capable of being launched into space and taking pictures of Earth. Australia is the only OECD nation without a dedicated space agency, and Mr McAndrew is one of a growing number of Australians turning to homemade space exploration to fill the gap. He has designed the satellite PocketQube, a Rubik's cube-sized box with antennas, solar panels and electronics. It is made from mostly off-the-shelf items, including aluminium from the local hardware shop, a tape measure and electronics bought over the internet. Mr McAndrew believes it is the first of its kind in Australia. He has been working on the project for two years. "Australia has been lagging behind in recent times," he said. "We were one of the first countries to send an amateur satellite to space and then we dropped the ball. "The PocketQube gives us an opportunity to set that straight and it (will) hopefully inspire other people to continue on this path and build a bigger space industry for Australia." Radical change described as 'Space 2.0' Commercial satellites weigh hundreds or even thousands of kilograms and cost millions of dollars to launch. In comparison, nano-satellites can be made for as little as $1,000 and weigh between one and 10 kilograms. Mr McAndrew's creation is even smaller, weighing less than 200 grams. But how an earth do you get it into space? It takes a lot of planning and a very expensive taxi ride on a much larger space craft. "The actual launch cost for a pocket cube is around $30,000," Mr McAndrew said. "That's a bit out of my reach so I'm looking to crowd source funding to help me get my satellite into space." About 80 nano-satellites were launched in 2013, while 132 went up in 2014. It is estimated a further 500 will be in orbit by the end of this year. The University of NSW is sending its own small satellites into space as part of a global project. Andrew Dempster, head of the university's Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research, said the industry was going through a period of "radical change". "Cubesats are creating this idea that people describe as Space 2.0," he said. "People like Stuart or universities like us can get relatively easy access to space and it means you can develop space capability without a space agency." Mr Dempster said Australia's lack of a space program was concerning. "For many years we've been receiving some of our data for free — we get our our weather data from Japan; some of our remote sensing data we get from Europe and the US," he said. "The problem is that's going to come to an end. "Budgets are being restricted around the world; NASA's budget in particular is declining. "So someone needs to be asking the question: what happens next? "We're going to be left with our trousers down if we don't have a way of providing the data we've become addicted to." Inventors hope to 'unlock access to space' Mr Dempster is hoping the rise of nano-satellites will encourage young Australians to study science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and put space on the agenda for a new generation. "If you want to get young kids into science and so on, the things that do it for them are dinosaurs and space," he said. "The emergence of cubesats mean we can have our students working on something that will actually be launched into space, which attracts good quality students and very motivated people." The expense and logistics of launching small satellites into space remains a key problem. An Australian organisation called the Delta-V Space Hub was formed last year to solve it. Tim Parsons is the head of Delta-V. "There's no dedicated launcher for small spacecraft so typically we have to piggyback off larger space launchers," he said. "That means you have to deliver your spacecraft up to a year before the launch and hope it doesn't go brown on the pad. "Those are the biggest limitations right now: the frequency of launch opportunities and how much time you need to get everything prepared." Delta-V is working with the NSW Government, universities and start-up companies to help people develop ideas and get their inventions into space. "Our first step is really just to fly an aircraft that other people can put (their satellites) onto, so essentially a rideshare model," he said. "By doing that first model we will essentially unlock access to space." Call to lower cost for launch certificate For Mr McAndrew, the backyard inventor, there are still a few barriers to overcome. He must first test his satellite before obtaining a launch certificate from the Australian Government, which costs $10,000. The fee is reduced to just $100 for educational and scientific institutions. Mr McAndrew wants the Commonwealth to ease those financial requirements in recognition of the industry's potential. He is still hopeful of securing a place for his satellite onboard an Italian spacecraft set to launch late next year. "Space has always been seen as this pinnacle of engineering and it's not necessarily the case," he said. "I can't wait for the day when I see the rocket launch into space with my satellite on board." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/backyard-satellite-fills-australian- space-research-hole/6563614 [ANS thanks Australian Broadcast Co. News for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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FT-847 Field day help needed
by Douglas Phelps 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

I have used my 847 with cat control without problem. So far today, the 847 will not transmit in sat mode but works fine when not in sat mode. Anyone have any quick suggestion? I am hearing all satelite great but, in satellite mode, The TX indicator comes on but no actual power. I would like to make my 1 contact before Field day is over. Thank, Doug K9DLP

2 2

doppler.sqf
by Douglas Phelps 28 Jun '15

28 Jun '15

Wouls someone please send me their current doppler.sqf file for field day use? Thanks, Doug K9DLP

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My first attempt on a linear bird
by Indiana Jones 27 Jun '15

27 Jun '15

Thanks for asking this question Michael, I too have spent the last couple weeks trying to use HRD with my IC9100 and was overcome with frustration that sometimes I would look at the radio and notice that one thing or another was wrong.. (both of them were on USB or whatever). I then began configuring the radio correctly then turning on tracking in HRD so all it had to do was adjust freq.. I would only hear others however if i turned the dial and searched for them.. Yesterday I installed SATPC32 and was surprised how well it worked. So - here is where I'm stuck.. 1) I'm using the “turnstiled” Moxon rectangles for 2 m and 70 cm with pre-amps. But in this scenario how much power do I need. I'm guessing 10 watts? Anything lower and my IC9100 doesn't appear to have any real output. 2) When I do talk (with appropriate mic gain) I think I hear myself but it's just way over-modulated sounding. Using Heil Pro-set with icom adapter.. Maybe today (field day) with the one FO29 pass I will try with the ICOM microphone.. This will be my first linear bird as well. For Field Day if anyone hears me, I will greatly appreciate a reply - and I will be operating as K5EOK 3A. 3) How do I add the other 'channels' to SATPC32 for FO-29's uplink/downlink.. Looks like it comes with only 435.850 programmed so I need to add .860, .870, .880, .890 and .900 as well as .800 to .840.. but why does it show in CAT tuning as 435850.45 with a downlink of 145952.15.. I would think it would be 850.0 and 950.0?? Thanks, and I apologize for my ignorance and desperation. It's sad that I'm doing a field day demo of how fun satellites are but I can't make a satellite contact to save myself. -- 73 N5ZY Marcus N5ZY(a)ARRL.NET

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AMSAT North Texas outreach opportunity on July 18th.
by Tom Schuessler 27 Jun '15

27 Jun '15

Greetings North Texas friends of AMSAT and ARISS. A great opportunity to showcase Amateur Radio and especially Amateur Radio in space to the general public will be held on Saturday, July 18th at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, TX. In commutation of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the museum has celebrated "Moon Day" for the last number of years as a STEM outreach specializing in astronomy, space science and space flight past and future. This year the Moon Day organizers decided to theme the day around the International Space Station. They applied for and were granted an ARISS scheduled contact to become part of the event. Keith Pugh, W5IU is serving as ARISS mentor for the event and is working diligently on setting up all the details of this "Telebridge" contact. The museum is sponsoring an "Ask a question of an astronaut" contest with details at http://www.flightmuseum.com/iss-expedition-crew-43-question/ . General details can be found at http://www.flightmuseum.com/moon-day-2015/ . If you know young people interested in astronomy and space science/exploration, have them check out the links and see if they submit a question to be used during the ARISS contact. Deadline for entry is June 30th. In years past, several of us have participated in Moon Day activities by manning an AMSAT table showing off Amateur Radio in space and even doing some on-air contacts for and with interested participants. Keith will be very busy all morning setting up and preparing for the ARISS contact and has several individuals working with him on that. I have volunteered to help staff an AMSAT display table but need additional volunteers to assist with the table and also to be available to make Amateur Satellite contacts and demonstrations as the sats allow. Please contact Keith w5iu(a)swbell.net or myself Tom Schuessler, n5hyp(a)arrl.net to volunteer to help at least part of the day or the whole 10A-5P duration and tell us what you can "Bring to the table" as it were. Help us to support the Museum's ARISS contact and also to put a bug in the ears of many event goers about the fun and challenge of Amateur Radio Satellites. 73 Tom Schuessler, N5HYP

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Office Closed
by Martha 26 Jun '15

26 Jun '15

The AMSAT Office will be closed the week of June 29th. We will reopen on July 6th. For those who celebrate have a safe July 4th. -- 73- Martha(AMSAT's only employee)

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AO-7
by W. M. Willoughby 26 Jun '15

26 Jun '15

Is anyone working AO-7B successfully? I am not hearing it and the Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page is showing a variety of heard, not heard and conflicting reports. It also appears to be randomly switching to mode A. Does anyone have any info? Thanks,RedKC4LE(a)amsat.org

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Re: [amsat-bb] [aprssig] APRS Satgate Antenna page (final)
by Robert Bruninga 26 Jun '15

26 Jun '15

Added in the 3' ground plane... -----Original Message----- OK, I did a quick look and the gain of the 3/4 wave vertical is a real winner over the basic 1/4 wave vertical for OMNI Satgates with no moving parts optimized for high elevation gain above 30 deg. Low elevations are simply covered by another SATgate 600 miles away.... We will write it up in detail, but here are the rough figures. 1/4 wave vertical with radials: -2 at 30 and -6 at 60 ==> Basically a dipole pattern 3/4 wave vertical with radials: +2 at 30 and -1 at 60 ==> 4 to 5 dB better, 2 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical w 3' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +1 at 60 ==> 5 to 7 dB better, 3.3 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical w 6' gndpln: +2 at 30 and +3 at 70 ==> 4 to 9 dB better, 5.5 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical w 9' gndpln: +3 at 30 and +3 at 65 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 5.3 dBi max 3/4 wave vertical perfect gnd: +3 at 30 and +3 at 68 ==> 5 to 9 dB better, 6.9 dBi max Even the 3/4 vertical with just the four 19" radials gives a huge 4 to 5 dB improvement over a classic ground plane for omni satellite SATgate work. Also, this antenna does not need to be high. Just see sky above 30 deg. In fact, is better to be low to reduce terrestrial QRM. Notice too that the Lilenblatt, eggbeaters, and all other "omni"s that try to keep their gain down on the horizon, are equally as poor as the 1/4 wave vertical at these higher elevations. This is OK for strong satellits like the ISS with 5 to 10 watts, but abisimal when all that gain on the horizon is completely wasted when you cannot hear the satellite anyway because it is 6 to 10 dB farther away! The result is these "omni's" give up the 4 to 9 dB at higher elevations where the satellite is much stronger. Ill eventually put all this on the Omni SATGATE page: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Summary: The 3/4 wave vertical makes it so you CAN hear LEO satellites 5 to 9 dB better when they are closer and does this by giving up on hearing them when they are so far away you can't hear them anyway! Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: Robert Bruninga [mailto:[email protected]] Subject: RE: [aprssig] APRS Satgate Antenna page > One question,what constitutes a large ground plane? > Is it 12"or 12'? Is it a multiple of the vertical whip? Good question. Most people think that four 1/4 wave radials make a ground plane. But if you model a 1/4 wave vertical over 1/4 wave radials, all you get is the exact pattern of a DIPOLE. The radials are just providing a "groundplane" to complete the electrical part of the antenna and give a good match. They do not affect the pattern at all. I modeled verticals over 6' or larger ground planes and only found that you get the added "reflection" gain when the ground plane starts getting that big or more. I wish I had time to use EZNEC to show the added gain (skyward) versus the size of the ground plane. And how "radials" (above actual ground) have nothing to do with the "pattern". SO, the bigger the better. It should be worth 2 to 3 dB if you could make it very large... This is the page in question: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html Bob, WB4aPR On 6/19/2015 3:57 PM, Robert Bruninga via aprssig wrote: > Subject: APRS Satgate Antenna page > > Since the ideal APRS Satellite IGate OMNI antenna is exactly the > opposite of the typical terrestrial IGaate antenna, I prepared the > following WEB page: > > http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html > > It shows how a vertical ¼ or ¾ wave VHF omni equals the performance of > a full OSCAR class array (over half the sky) but does it with no > moving parts. > It makes up for the weak-signal horizon part of the sky by there > simply being more omni-IGates. The APRS-IS cloud with all of its > IGates is probably one of the largest spatially distributed satellite > receiver system in the world (?). > > But with people used to the 10W transmitter on the ISS, just a few > IGates can capture just about every packet from the ISS horizon to > horizon on a whip. But with the 14 dB weaker signal from PSAT, we > need more SatGates to make up for their smaller skyprint. For the USA > we need more than a dozen such Omni-SATgates. > > To see the significance of the weaker downlink from PSAT, look at the > successful IGates on the http://pcsat.aprs.org page compared to the IGates > that hear the ISS packets on http://ariss.net Both are listening on > 145.825 and passing along every packet they hear. But only TRACKING > IGates or good vertical gain satgates hear PSAT. And since we want > these running 24/7/365, we do NOT expect people wearing out motors > when an omni will do fine (if we have enough). > > The page also shows how every SATgate with a HIGH and terrestrial type > antenna actually creates a DEADZONE around it, effectively blocking > any nearby user heaerd direct from appearing on any of the APRS-IS > cloud satellite web pages. Hence, Omni-satgate antennas should be low > to everything surrounding it w hile still seeing the sky above 30 degrees. > > If your TH-D7 HT is just sitting there, not in use 99% of the time, > then just hook it to a vertical whip and let it be an IGate. With the > low antenna it will also probably be safe from all weather lightening too. > Put > the UHF side on 435.350 and turn up the speaker. When PSAT PSK31 > comes into view, you can watch the PSK31 activity as a bonus! > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > aprssig mailing list > aprssig(a)tapr.org > http://www.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig

1 0

AO-7 Oldest?
by Nicholas Mahr 26 Jun '15

26 Jun '15

Hi, I know this topic has been debated for some time, but I believe by just looking around the Wikipedia and google, AO-7 would have to be the longest operating satellite around earth. All I have seen people mention is GOES 3 and ATS 3, but never once AO-7.. Even if it was silent for 21 years, it's still technically the longest operating satellite. Can anyone else confirm there are no other satellite older than it still operating? It's kinda hard to find a current answer because it's always changing, and you have to scavenge the internet. If so it would be awesome to think a low tech, ham built satellite would beat a commercial, million dollar satellite... 73's KE8AKW

2 1

Field Day Operations
by wa7eth＠frontier.com 26 Jun '15

26 Jun '15

The Snohomish County Washington HAMS Club WA7LAW will be participating in Field Day this year. I will be operating the satellite station for the club. Unfortunately, it looks like there is only one real good pass available on FO-29 for us, and that is at 2233Z. I will be in the upper end of the passband, around 435.870MHZ +/- Doppler. Please look for us and make a contact. I will answer any CW as well as SSB calls. We will not be joining the mele on SO-50!.73'...Ed WA7ETH

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HRD and linear birds
by Vivona, Michael (CMG-Orlando) 25 Jun '15

25 Jun '15

I am trying to get a clarification about using HamRadioDeluxe and linear birds. I have heard on several occasions that HRD and its associated satellite tracking module works fine for FM birds but not for linear birds. Can someone please clarify what the actual issue is? I currently have HRD version 6X and I am looking to purchase an IC9100 to mate it with. I have contacted the HRD support folks, but the answer I get is: "not sure, try it". Well, I don't have the IC9100 yet so I can't try it. I have permission from my local AES outlet store to connect up my laptop to one of there IC9100 before I buy it. So, I need to know what the actual problem is with HRD and linear birds so I can try it in person. I hope to get to the bottom of this once and for all.thanks in advance for anyone that wants to jump in on this. Michael Vivona Sent from my iPad

8 14

For Sale 2m - 10m transverter
by Connie Dodson 25 Jun '15

25 Jun '15

I see the listing was Jan 2015. Is it still available? Connie w7cjd

1 0

AO-7
by Joe 25 Jun '15

25 Jun '15

This has peaked my interest in this old bird. Is there a schedule someplace that I can view to know when it will be in mode "A"? Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

3 2

W5PFG/P DM81/82 short notice - op tonight
by Clayton Coleman 25 Jun '15

25 Jun '15

I'll try SO-50 at 0100 UTC tonight (25-June) from the DM81/82 line near Midland, TX. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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HRD and linear birds
by Ted 25 Jun '15

25 Jun '15

Hi Michael ...good points, however, the fact is that HRD does not perform the proper doppler adjustments. Does it look good? Does it integrate with your log book? Does it have a better graphical presentation? YES to all these questions. But, to prove to yourself the doppler problem, start HRD Sat program and SATPC32 in the same window. Make sure all keps are updated and apples are apples as they say. A radio hook up is not necessary. Now, pick the same sat in a pass that is good for your location. As it tracks, look at the data from SATPC32 and the data from HRD. You will see that the AZ is virtually the same. BUT Note the figures for range, altitude and elevation. You will Cleary see a huge difference. The graphic picture will look like the sat is in the same place but something is clearly not right with the HRD data. And, thus it does not tune the radio properly for linear use. For some reason, it worked great on the old FM birds like AO51, etc., but again, not with linear. I have personally discussed these issues with Rick Ruhl, the HRD co-owner. I believe they intend to fix the issue sometime in the future, but to date, they have concentrated on fixing and updating the basic program. It's an issue of priorities based on 'supply and demand' from the user base. Sat operation is a niche group, so they have put us at the back of the bus in terms of development. That is just the way it is. Also, HRD 's sat program DOES NOT work for the ISS (neither does SATPC32 but they have the ISS add on. What you can do, though, is take advantage of the great HRD graphic presentation to visually follow things and use SATPC32 to run your radio. If you have 2 screens or a TV in the shack, you can through the HRD picture to those for a full screen graphic presentation and thus have full screen SATPC on your main computer. Good luck in the journey and congrats on the 9100 73, Ted K7TRK -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mvivona via AMSAT-BB Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 2:59 PM To: Paul Stoetzer Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org; Vivona, Michael (CMG-Orlando) Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] HRD and linear birds Paul, I am only giving my humble opinion here, but to answer your question of why I want to use HRD over SatPC32. After using both, my conclusions are that they are not even in the same class. HRD is a one stop full integrated software suite for everything a ham could ever need. Logbook with synchronized web call lookup, digital mode module, satellite module, mapping that visually shows all your logbook contacts, rig control, remote access, rotor control, dual radio sync, built in solar cycle progression, DX cluster window, built in calendar, fully configurable user layouts throughout the entire suite. SatPC32 is a satellite tracking program that has rig control via the sat window, and rotor control. It to me is quite clunky and has that old timey DOS look and feel. Please, I don't want this to turn into a pi$$ing match. I am just trying to be as true to myself as I can. Me being a life long systems administrator and programmer have watched the upward progression of HRD over the years and have been in awe with everything Simon has accomplished. If what I'm hearing is that I just have to use SatPC32 for linear birds, then so be it. At the same time I am also hearing from many users that they only use SatPC32 or HRD just to track, but actually run their rigs by hand for the Doppler offset. So, maybe it's a moot point, I don't know? I really want to thank you guys for all your input in making me a better operator. Michael Vivona KC4ZVA Sent from my iPad On Jun 24, 2015, at 5:14 PM, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: Even if you were to test it at AES, I doubt they have adequate antennas (and, even more importantly, feedline) set up for decent satellite reception, so it may not make a good test. May I ask why you are so eager to use HRD for this purpose? An IC-9100 is probably the best satellite transceiver on the market and many hams use them very successfully as part of a fully computer controlled satellite station - with SatPC32. 73, Paul, N8HM On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 5:09 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > Repeated over a few high elevation passes, actually working stations. It may work for you. > > Don't get me wrong, I like HRD. I used it last night with my IC-910 to work 2m Eskip remotely while out of town. However, I don't know a single active transponder op that uses it successfully. I invite them to step forward and speak up. > > Myself, the response from HRD you got would give me significant pause. On the other hand the author of SatPC32 is an active participant here, and has provided outstanding, even custom, support. > > 73, Drew KO4MA > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jun 24, 2015, at 4:55 PM, Mvivona <Mvivona(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> >> Thanks Andrew, >> OK, so the test would be for me to wait for a pass of an SSB bird like FO-29. Let HRD take control of the transceiver, manually override till I hear my return. Then let HRD take over and see if it holds the Doppler offset lock for the entire pass. Is that the test Andrew? >> >> Michael Vivona >> Sent from my iPad >> >> On Jun 24, 2015, at 2:17 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> wrote: >> >> In my case, from hearing a dozen+ ops try it on the air. The tuning does not update the frequencies fast enough for use on SSB. In every case I've been involved with, switching to SatPC32 solved the problem. $45 for SatPC32 will make that $2500 radio sing on the transponders. >> >> 73, Drew KO4MA >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Jun 24, 2015, at 2:00 PM, Mvivona via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >>> >>> I'm confused. How do you know it doesn't work if you don't know what the issue is? Just sayin'. >>> >>> Michael Vivona >>> Sent from my iPad >>> >>> On Jun 24, 2015, at 1:41 PM, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: >>> >>> The automatic Doppler control does not work properly. I've never >>> tried it, so I'm not sure what the actual issue is. >>> >>> SatPC32 is the way to go for computer control on the linear transponders. >>> >>> 73, >>> >>> Paul, N8HM >>> >>> On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 12:43 PM, Vivona, Michael (CMG-Orlando) >>> <michael.vivona(a)wftv.com> wrote: >>>> I am trying to get a clarification about using HamRadioDeluxe and linear birds. I have heard on several occasions that HRD and its associated satellite tracking module works fine for FM birds but not for linear birds. Can someone please clarify what the actual issue is? I currently have HRD version 6X and I am looking to purchase an IC9100 to mate it with. I have contacted the HRD support folks, but the answer I get is: "not sure, try it". Well, I don't have the IC9100 yet so I can't try it. >>>> I have permission from my local AES outlet store to connect up my laptop to one of there IC9100 before I buy it. So, I need to know what the actual problem is with HRD and linear birds so I can try it in person. >>>> I hope to get to the bottom of this once and for all.thanks in advance for anyone that wants to jump in on this. >>>> >>>> Michael Vivona >>>> 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 >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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

PCSat pass
by TJ Campie 25 Jun '15

25 Jun '15

I heard a packet, didn't decode but that was it. And a 90 deg pass too! Tough cookie. Got a couple packets gated by ISS on the overlapping pass and sent a few messages to the stations heard but nothing got ACK'd. Next time! GL out there. 73, W0EA TJ ---- QRP ARCI #14612 | CW Ops #953 | SKCC #4593T NAQCC #3768 | Flying Pigs QRP #2254 http://W0EA.us *Because QRO is too easy (but sometimes required!)*

1 0

HRD and linear birds
by Nicholas Mahr 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

Hello, Instead of fussing with automatic dopper control, I would honestly just do manual tuning, I think its superior to automatic, if you have alot of experience with manual tuning. I wouldent mess with HRD, Just use SatPC32... As for tracking I recemmend Nova For Windows, flawless 3D software! 73 KE8AKW

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] HRD and linear birds
by Fraser Bonnett 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

I have an IC-9100 and tried for quite a while to get it to work with the HRD. I do not want to disparage HRD at all, I use it for all my HF work, it's a fantastic suite of software. However, the Satellite part just isn't up to the same level that the rest of it is. From my tribulations with HRD and my IC-9100, I can say: 1. It works for tracking satellite beacons and NOAA weather sats just fine. Doppler correction works quite well 2. It doesn't support tones so you can't use it on SO-50 unless you edit the tone after HRD takes over the CAT, something I couldn't figure out 3. It could possibly work with linear transponders if you could figure out how to adjust the offsets. This is extremely difficult to do in HRD, and something I could never manage to get right. 4. Finally asking a question in the Satellite sub-forum on the support site never elicits any response, probably because no-one is using it. So, like everyone else suggested, I switched to SatPC32 and it works with the IC-9100 perfectly. 73, Fraser, W3UTD --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

1 0

AMSAT: 7th Annual Golden Packet Attempt 18 July 2015
by Robert Bruninga 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

AMSAT: Can’t get enough of the bugs at Field Day? Then take 3 weeks to recuperate and join us: The 7th annual attempt to do APRS contacts along the 2000 mile path along the Appalachians using 14 hops will be Saturday 18 July. Last year was the first end-to-end success. This year we plan a repeat, plus, DX branches off to other “trails” and into Canada will be considered. We still have some gaps in Commitments to the 14 main-line stations: AL. Huntsville - ? TN. Lookout Mtn - ? GA. Springer - Glenn, N4AZR TN. Clingman’s Dome - Larry, K4AEC NC. Roan Mtn - Dave, K4KWL VA. Comers Rock - Zack, KJ4LQP + VTARA VA. AO Mtn - ? VA. VA Mtn - ? MD. MD Mtns – Mike George PA. GD Hill – Bob, WB4APR PA. Camelback - ? NY. Sam’s Pt - ? MA. Greylock - WECA, WA1PLE MA. Equinox - ? VT. Mt-Wash - John, NT1I ME. Sugarloaf - John, WA1KLI ME. Katahden - ? We do –not- generally encourage other local digis as they QRM the DX packets which are vulnerable enough as it is. But we will consider branches going off at least 100 miles or to exciting places. We operate NOT on the national 144.39 APRS channel so that we avoid the wall-to-wall QRM. The event lasts a minimum of 4 hours starting at noon until success. See the web page: http://aprs.org/at-golden-packet.html Further we would like to ecnourage other groups across the USA to try to activate any of the other 50,000 linear miles of hiking trails in the USA such as the Pacific Coast Trail, and Intercontinental trails, or Lewis-and-Clark trail, Pony Express?, First Telegraph route to Calif, etc? Also don’t forget the same date/time is Scouting’s Operation On-Target where scouts and hams take to the mountain tops to try to make contact with signal mirrors. Team up with a group and show off ham radio. Bob, WB4APR

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APRS Satgate Antenna page (grouind planes)
by Robert Bruninga 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

Subject: RE: APRS Satgate Antenna page > One question,what constitutes a large ground plane? > Is it 12"or 12'? Is it a multiple of the vertical whip? Good question. Most people think that four 1/4 wave radials make a ground plane. But if you model a 1/4 wave vertical over 1/4 wave radials, all you get is the exact pattern of a DIPOLE. The radials are just providing a "groundplane" to complete the electrical part of the antenna and give a good match. They do not affect the pattern at all. I modeled verticals over 6' or larger ground planes and only found that you get the added "reflection" gain when the ground plane starts getting that big or more. I wish I had time to use EZNEC to show the added gain (skyward) versus the size of the ground plane. And how "radials" (above actual ground) have nothing to do with the "pattern". SO, the bigger the better. It should be worth 2 to 3 dB if you could make it very large... This is the page in question: http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html This shows the very common misunderstandings of the term "ground plane". (As a MATCHING system with 1/4 wave radials, or as a true Ground reflector (infinite) Bob, WB4aPR On 6/19/2015 3:57 PM, Robert Bruninga via aprssig wrote: > Subject: APRS Satgate Antenna page > > Since the ideal APRS Satellite IGate OMNI antenna is exactly the > opposite of the typical terrestrial IGaate antenna, I prepared the > following WEB page: > > http://aprs.org/aprs-satellite-igate-antennas.html > > It shows how a vertical ¼ or ¾ wave VHF omni equals the performance of > a full OSCAR class array (over half the sky) but does it with no > moving parts. > It makes up for the weak-signal horizon part of the sky by there > simply being more omni-IGates. The APRS-IS cloud with all of its > IGates is probably one of the largest spatially distributed satellite > receiver system in the world (?). > > But with people used to the 10W transmitter on the ISS, just a few > IGates can capture just about every packet from the ISS horizon to > horizon on a whip. But with the 14 dB weaker signal from PSAT, we > need more SatGates to make up for their smaller skyprint. For the USA > we need more than a dozen such Omni-SATgates. > > To see the significance of the weaker downlink from PSAT, look at the > successful IGates on the http://pcsat.aprs.org page compared to the IGates > that hear the ISS packets on http://ariss.net Both are listening on > 145.825 and passing along every packet they hear. But only TRACKING > IGates or good vertical gain satgates hear PSAT. And since we want > these running 24/7/365, we do NOT expect people wearing out motors > when an omni will do fine (if we have enough). > > The page also shows how every SATgate with a HIGH and terrestrial type > antenna actually creates a DEADZONE around it, effectively blocking > any nearby user heaerd direct from appearing on any of the APRS-IS > cloud satellite web pages. Hence, Omni-satgate antennas should be low > to everything surrounding it w hile still seeing the sky above 30 degrees. > > If your TH-D7 HT is just sitting there, not in use 99% of the time, > then just hook it to a vertical whip and let it be an IGate. With the > low antenna it will also probably be safe from all weather lightening too. > Put > the UHF side on 435.350 and turn up the speaker. When PSAT PSK31 > comes into view, you can watch the PSK31 activity as a bonus! > > Bob, WB4APR > _______________________________________________ > aprssig mailing list > aprssig(a)tapr.org > http://www.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig

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Re: [amsat-bb] Fair Price for Yaesu FT847
by Bill ACITO, W1PA 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

(Copied the list for everyone’s reference and benefit) http://www.supercontrol.de/cat/ft847faq/ft847faq.htm http://www.supercontrol.de/cat/ft847faq/page4.htm#catcontrol Only FT-847s starting with serial # 8G05xxxx, or earlier units that were sent back to Yaesu for retro-fit, will have bi-directional CAT. The “update” requires replacement of the main processer CPU chip (a high pin-count quad flat pack, not for the faint of heart); I would want to see the Yaesu receipt to confirm it was done. I was told that other updates were done at various points in the lineage (e.g. better power switch?), but I don’t have any details on that. I have a uni-directional-CAT 847; to his credit and my continued, sincere thanks, Erich (of SatPC32 fame) provided me a “special” .exe last year so I could use the radio with SatPC32. The limitation is that I must do all VFO, doppler, and mode control from the PC -- if I touch the radio, the PC does not recognize what I have done, and quickly overwrites the radio with what it is doing. Bill W1PA From: Dennis Griffin Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 10:10 AM To: Bill ACITO, W1PA Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Fair Price for Yaesu FT847 Hi Bill, Is there a known cut-in s/n that would signify inclusion of this feature? Were there any other feature changes at the time of this change? If not, this change would only be of interest to those wanting to use CAT control with their FT-847, correct? 73 de Dennis KD7CAC Scottsdale, AZ

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Fair Price for Yaesu FT847
by Bill ACITO, W1PA 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

Make sure you get a later model year that has bi-directional CAT, and not uni-directional. Bill W1PA

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Fair Price for Yaesu FT847
by Steve May 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

What would the group say is a fair price to pay for an 847 in really good condition? I am working on a possible deal for one but I don't really want to overpay for it. Steve, W5IEM

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Field Day ISS voice contact probability
by Nicholas Mahr 24 Jun '15

24 Jun '15

Yes, it still is a split... RX: 145.800, TX 144.490. I also believe they wont be making field day contacts, look here http://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html . Seems all radios are not in use except one are being used to school contacts. Heres some info http://www.issfanclub.com/frequencies 73's KE8AKW

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AO-7
by Nicholas Mahr 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Hello, I heard AO-7 mode B today at around 18:45, It was very warbly and weak. On June 22 at 19:31 Mode B was not heard, but I heard the mode A beacon. It seems to switch modes now between NA and SA, Because I will see people from SA saying mode B is on than when it comes over NA, Mode A is on.. Seems it not fully powering down in eclipses. 73's KE8AKW

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Field Day ISS voice contact probability
by John Brier 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Looks like there are only three folks on the ISS now: Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF Kelly is not a ham, right? So since Field Day is a US/CA event mostly, it's very unlikely the Russians will get on, right? John Brier, KG4AKV, Raleigh, NC, FM05 P.S. I found this video of Astronaut Reid Wiseman talking about his field day contacts from last year. One thing I found especially interesting is that he said afterwards he got on for random contacts about once a week. I didn't hear anyone reference this in previous correspondence on the topic. [1] [2] It's always exciting to hear of increased possibilities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nLFNG-Njlo 1) http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-April/052618.html 2) http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2015-April/052623.html P.P.S Here is a teaser video I made of an SO-50 pass I recorded for a new YouTube channel I am slowly creating https://youtu.be/hbu5xZEsBTE

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ISS and Field Day 2015
by Clint Bradford 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

I have been told both by NASA and by ARISS officials that we should not expect FM voice contacts this Field Day like we enjoyed last year. BUT - You KNOW many are programmed for FM Voice for regions 1 and 2/3, as well as Packet and SSTV - just in case something occurs ... Not necessarily for FD points, but for the public relations value for visitors to Field Day locations. Clint K6LCS

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PC sat 32
by John Becker 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Can PCsat be run on a windows box or does it have to be dos. either way not a problem as I do have DOS 6.22 ans XP/ JAB

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SatPC32 actinh wierd
by Scott Smith 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Hi, I fired up my SatPC32 in the wrong order from the way I usually do it, I usually turn on radio and my LVB tracker first then fire up the computer. The LVB works fine,but I got a message “could not open Com3 and to check if It was available” this is weird as this laptop is dedicated only for satellite use, and I have not changed anything. I use a Kenwwod IF232r between my computer and my TS790a radio. I opened the device manager and it says for the FT232r USB UART “the drivers for this device are not installed (Code 28). I tried to downoard the driver from ZLP and it still does not work?, any ideas? Tnx in advance. 73 de VE6ITV Scott

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AMSAT-UK Colloquim 2015 Speaker Slots
by David Johnson 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Hi, I have a couple of speaker slots available over the weekend of the 25/26 July at the colloquium if you want to make your activities known to the Amateur Satellite community. Please contact me via email to discuss. 73 Dave, G4DPZ AMSAT-UK Committee Member

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Doppler shift and oscillator offset
by Peter Kazakoff 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Hi folks, I'm in the process of designing the modem for a university-developed cube satellite. We'd like amateurs to be able to use the packetized data channel for interaction with the satellite. The plan is for amateurs to be able to do stuff like initiate file downlink (there's a small camera on board), write text files for use as a message board, query the telemetry files, and possibly route packets from ground -> satellite -> ground. Right now I'm trying to gauge the capabilities of amateur ground stations. Obviously, the ground stations will be attempting to correct for Doppler shift, but there's only so far that can go. Does anyone have a good idea what the typical velocity error is between a NORAD TLE and a cube satellite TLE? This will go into my maximum frequency error specification. The other issue, frequency wise, is oscillator drift and offset error. The satellite will be using a very stable Stratum-3 TCXO with 280 ppb or better stability, which gives me good accuracy on the satellite side (within 100 Hz or so on 70cm). The other side of the link would be the amateur transceivers. What's a reasonable oscillator stability spec for a typical SSB transceiver used on amateur satellite frequencies? For modulation scheme I'm leaning towards either pi/4 DQPSK or standard QPSK with a BPSK barker code preamble on each packet. Both schemes will use convolutional coding for FEC. Which scheme I go with depends on which ends up being more robust under severe doppler while still fitting into hardware constraints - the comms system is all going to be done in SDR. Suggestions for alternate schemes are welcome though. Thanks for your help, -- *Peter Kazakoff* ECOSat <http://csdc.uvic.ca/> Communications Lead 4th Year Electrical Engineering Student University of Victoria *(250) 920 - 6870*

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W0LMD Satellite Tracker Junior info request
by sgholly＠optonline.net 23 Jun '15

23 Jun '15

Greetings, In preparation for Field Day I'm looking for documentation on the W0LMD Satellite Tracker Junior. Specifically I need the configuration switch settings and if possible a copy of the manual. Thank you es 73, Steve WI2W

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Re: [amsat-bb] USB driver needed
by Scott Smith 22 Jun '15

22 Jun '15

Tnx to everyone for your kind help. I downloaded the driver but still no success. Guess I’ll just have to change frequencies manually, at least my LVB tracker works great. 73 de VE6ITV Scott

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