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Scottsdale AZ hamfest this morning - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Mar '15

22 Mar '15

Hi! I was at the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club's "Springfest" hamfest this morning, with an AMSAT table. This is one of the larger hamfests around the Phoenix area in the unofficial hamfest "season" - basically, anytime that isn't summertime. :-) After a light rain last night in parts of the Phoenix area, the weather was perfect this morning, and there was a great turnout. As with most hamfests around Arizona, this one started before sunrise, and wrapped up by midday. Satellite passes were not the best for the hamfest this morning. I was able to do some demonstrations early - FO-29 around 6am (1300 UTC), and SO-50 an hour later. I made one QSO on the FO-29 pass, with Yuri UT1FG/MM (as did many others on that pass). On SO-50, seven QSOs went in the log. The ISS pass around 1600 UTC was a good one - I could see my packets being retransmitted, but no QSOs were logged. Thanks to everyone who worked WD9EWK during those passes - especially to UT1FG/MM, whose unique call is nice to hear during the demonstrations. These QSOs have been uploaded to Logbook of the World, and - as I do with any of these events - I would be happy to send you a QSL card to confirm our QSO. Please e-mail me directly with the QSO details, so I can check that against my log. If you're in the log, I'll send out a card - no SASE needed. Being able to talk up the upcoming Fox-1 series of satellites has been a very good thing. The Fox project has been around since late 2009, but there is more interest from the ham community when launch dates can be given, instead of "in the future" or "real soon now". I was even able to talk about my portable SDR setup using a USB dongle (both the FUNcube Dongle Pro+ and the cheaper "RTL-SDR" dongles) and the smaller Windows 8.1 tablets. One ham couldn't believe that the small tablets could do this, so I set up one of my Windows 8.1 tablets (the WinBook TW800, which has been retailing at $79) and the FUNcube dongle (it works well as the receiver when working our satellites) to prove the point. The ham already had an RTL-SDR dongle, and said he was going to order the tablet. That's it for this morning's hamfest. I will be at another hamfest next Saturday morning in Tucson AZ, complete with an AMSAT table and hoping to do more demonstrations for the hamfest crowd there. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK

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FUNcube-1 operating mode for the next 24 hours
by Graham Shirville 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Hi All, FUNcube-1 was commanded to continuous amateur transponder mode at approx 2301 UTC this evening. We will keep this mode until around the same time tomorrow Sunday when the normal autonomous switching between the telemetry and amateur modes will be restarted 73 Graham

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Re: [amsat-bb] lost amateur satellite.txt insat32pc
by Scott Smith 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Hi folks, tnx to Jan,Dave and Erich I found out the problem was not me lol. The download site was the problem, now it’s fixed and I’ve downloaded the latest keps 73 de Scott VE6ITV

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FWD: FUNcube-1 Operations update
by PE0SAT | Amateur Radio 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Below the message from Graham regarding the FUNcube-1 operation this weekend. 73 Jan PE0SAT -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [FUNcube] FUNcube-1 Operations update Date: 20-03-2015 13:09 From: "'Graham Shirville' g.shirville(a)btinternet.com [FUNcube]" <FUNcube(a)yahoogroups.co.uk> To: <funcube(a)yahoogroups.co.uk>, "AMSAT BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Reply-To: FUNcube(a)yahoogroups.co.uk Hi All, As there is a Scouts demonstration planned for tomorrow..we are leaving FUNcube-1 in telemetry mode until Saturday evening this weekend. Thanks for your understanding 73 Graham G3VZV PS – FUNcube-1 did “see” the eclipse this morning – see http://funcube.org.uk/news/ [1] __._,_.___ ------------------------- Posted by: "Graham Shirville" <g.shirville(a)btinternet.com> ------------------------- Reply via web post [2] * Reply to sender * Reply to group * Start a new topic [3] * Messages in this topic [4] (1) All up-to-date FCD information at http://funcubedongle.pbworks.com [5] Visit Your Group [6] [7] * Privacy [8] * Unsubscribe * Terms of Use [9] . __,_._,___ Links: ------ [1] http://funcube.org.uk/news/ [2] https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FUNcube/conversations/messages/9663;… [3] https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FUNcube/conversations/newtopic;_ylc=… [4] https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FUNcube/conversations/topics/9663;_y… [5] http://funcubedongle.pbworks.com [6] https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FUNcube/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbTJiZGs2BF… [7] https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlMnE5ajc4BF9TAzk3NDkwNTAzBGdycE… [8] https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/uk/yahoo/groups/details.html [9] https://info.yahoo.com/legal/uk/yahoo/utos/en-gb/details.html -- With regards PE0SAT Internet web-page http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/ DK3WN SatBlog http://www.dk3wn.info/p/

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AO-73 ???
by Michel F6GLJ 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Hello. AO-73 is not in full time transponder mode this week end ? 73 qro de Michel F6GLJ

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Overcoming desense on FO-29
by Jim Barbre 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Is the use of a downconverter effective in overcoming desense on the FO-29 70 cm downlink? The downconverter would convert 435 to 10 MHz. Receiver is an SDR. (I have different ones for HF and for VHF.) Also, what is the minimum recommended distance between linearly polarized 2 m and 70 cm antennas on the same crossboom? Does it help with desense if one is mounted horizontally and the other vertically? Thanks. Jim Barbre KB7YSY

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Balloon
by Vincenzo Mone 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Hi to the list, Apologize for the question. I see several times on the AMSAT list about the Launch Balloons. Anybody please can explain me about it? Thanks 73's de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ********************************** ******* GSM +39 328 7110193 ******* ****** SMS +39 328 7110193 ****** *** 2nd e-mail: vimone(a)tin.it *** *********************************

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G5500 Rotor LVB Tracker SATPAC Program Parking
by Rich/wa4bue 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Went to tweak the azimuth rotor position and now can't get it to park properly. Elevation is fine. It is 30 degree off in park. Help. Park is essential since the tower tilts down on a trailer. What did I do wrong? Rich W4BUE

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lost amateur satellite.txt in Sat32PC
by Scott Smith 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Hi, this morning I was updating my satellite base , all downloaded well, geo.txt, noaa.tx,nasa.all etc and when I updated the amateur.txt I lost all the satellites in this section. how does one restore in this part of the satellite base?. Any help appreciated. 73 de Scott VE6ITV

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Modern Equipment Matrix
by Jeff Davis 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

Has anyone assembled a reasonably modern (currently available) table of equipment suitable for sat work? Dual-band, full-duplex - handhelds, mobiles, base equipment. Thanks. Jeff, KE9V

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Antennas
by Terry 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

While we are working on the equipment matrix how about available antennas? I can only think of the ones from M2 and Arrow. Who else makes them and which are rotor mounted and which handheld? --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com

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Re: [amsat-bb] Modern Equipment Matrix
by Kevin M 21 Mar '15

21 Mar '15

"The Icom W31AT is also full duplex, an earlier version of the W32A." Yes, but the controls are arranged differently and a fatal flaw.... On my W32A, it is easy to turn the knobs to adjust for doppler. On the W31A the knobs are volume and squelch. In order to change frequencies you have to push buttons on the face plate. Very cumbersome and I wouldn't recommend it for portable sats. It's easy to see why they upgraded to the W32A model. As for W32A's... I went through two of them and still have problems with desense on SO-50. There is info on the web about 5 digit serial numbers being okay... not true. The actual difference is whether or not the rig has the ability to be opened up to receive on 800 MHz. There is a sequence of button pushes (a soft mod) that will do it. If you can get the 800 Mhz band to appear then it's much more likely to do full duplex on Mode V/U without desense from third harmonics That said, I use my W32A with an Arrow on SO-50 half duplex because it's no worse in regards to desense than all my attempts with two Baofengs. Despite the mantra 'just buy two cheap HTs and run full duplex', I found that concept far easier said than done. I am looking forward to the future 2m downlink birds as my setup with the W32A will be excellent for that. In the meantime, if anybody wants the grid I am operating from with it on SO-50, they will just have to put up with my half duplex. =^D 73 all, N4UFO ------------------------------------------------------------------"Control is the need of the fearful mind. Trust is the need of the courageous heart."

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MacDoppler gets better every day!
by Stefan Wagener 20 Mar '15

20 Mar '15

Hi folks, Don Agro, VE3VRW has been very busy updating MacDoppler and incorporating new features and customer requests. For example, the manual flip option for 180 degrees elevation rotors is a beautiful enhancement and let's you go beyond the limits of other software (limited to north or south switch). If you have a Mac and like to use it for your rotor and radio, check it out. It is truly a great piece of software (available at a discount at the AMSAT store) with great customer support. ....and NO, I don't get paid for writing this... and Yes, I really like it and have completely switched over my computer control to MacDoppler. 73, Stefan, VE4NSA

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Modern Equipment Matrix
by Clint Bradford 20 Mar '15

20 Mar '15

For portable work on the FM birds, there are some wonderful, long-discontinued full-duplex HTs that many are using, like the early models of the Icom IC-W32a, Kenwood TH-D7 and TH-D79, and Yaesu’s FT-470/FT-51/FT-530 models. The only currently manufactured HT that works well in U/V and V/U mode is the Kenwood TH-D72a - at about US$450. For the FM voice LEOs (as well as the ISS packet and SSTV), many are using their "primary" HT, and purchasing a less-expensive rig for receive - in order to work full duplex. Heck, two Yaesu FT-60R radios PLUS an Arrow Sat antenna cost the same at the TH-D72a all by itself ... (grin). Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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Astronaut issues challenge for UK students to “make that call”
by M5AKA 20 Mar '15

20 Mar '15

Astronaut issues challenge for UK students to “make that call” http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/20/astronaut-issues-challenge-for-uk-students-t… FUNcube-1 Solar eclipse update http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/20/funcube-1-solar-eclipse-update/ ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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Re: [amsat-bb] SO-50 and Yuri UT1FG
by Kevin M 20 Mar '15

20 Mar '15

"Perhaps Yuri has some equipment issue on SO-50?" Yuri always has difficulty hearing on SO-50... He's running an Elk antenna, and I'm fairly sure it's at a fixed elevation. Between that, no preamp and feedline loss, I am surprised he can hear SO-50 at all! When I had up a 7 element fixed elevation yagi and about 60 feet of feedline, I could work FO-29 pretty well, but could barely hear SO-50... I could copy the downlink better sitting in my shack chair holding an HT with a CJU mounted on top of it than with my former mounted antennas. Looking forward to the new birds!!! A good reminder... donate to help fund Fox 1C's launch! =^D https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6pz92/tw/f3qmG9 ------------------------------------------------------------------"Control is the need of the fearful mind. Trust is the need of the courageous heart."

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SO-50 and Yuri UT1FG
by Bryan Green 20 Mar '15

20 Mar '15

Last couple of passes of SO-50 for me I have noticed that Yuri UT1FG calls and many answer but he never calls back. KA7FVV reports that on FO-29 he is quite active, as I would expect. Perhaps Yuri has some equipment issue on SO-50? -- bag KL7CN/W6 CM98

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Help AMSAT launch Fox-1C satellite in 2015!
by Clint Bradford 20 Mar '15

20 Mar '15

Which payment method takes less of a percentage/cut - this FundRazr campaign, the PayPal link on AMSAT.org, or a direct call to Martha with a credit card number? Clint Bradford

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Help AMSAT launch Fox-1C satellite in 2015!
by Paul Stoetzer 19 Mar '15

19 Mar '15

Good morning, I noticed that no one had contributed to the Fox-1C FundRazr in some time, so I sent $20, tweeted the link, posted it on Facebook, and shared it with a few amateur satellite Facebook groups. Please give what you can and share the link to the campaign. https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6pz92/tw/f3qmG9 Or donate directly at http://www.amsat.org/ 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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UT1FG/MM heard from DK69
by Bryan Green 19 Mar '15

19 Mar '15

On SO-50 at 0425z pass earlier this evening. Heard loud and clear signing from DK69 in CM98 but did not yet QSO. Soon! 73! -- bag KL7CN/W6 CM98

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SO-50 newbie question
by Steve Kristoff 18 Mar '15

18 Mar '15

On the most recent pass of SO-50 over EM79, just minutes ago (about 0248 to about 0301), I didn't hear anybody! Max elevation was about 78 degrees so it should have been a good pass. I have had good contacts on past passes, but I have never heard nothing before today. Just wondering if I was doing something wrong, or that just happens sometimes, or was the satellite wounded by the recent solar radiation attack? Steve Kristoff AI9IN EM79ji Oldenburg IN skristof(a)etczone.com

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Balloon launch at BBC Stargazing live + New OSCAR News
by M5AKA 18 Mar '15

18 Mar '15

OSCAR News Issue 209 available to members http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/18/oscar-news-issue-209/ UK CanSat 2015 Winner Announced http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/14/uk-cansat-2015-winner/ ITU: Small satellite communication systems regulatory requirements http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/16/itu-small-satellite-communication-systems-re… 434 MHz balloon launch at BBC Stargazing event http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/16/434-mhz-balloon-launch-at-bbc-stargazing-eve… Two Million Packets Uploaded to Data Warehouse http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/15/two-million-packets-uploaded-to-warehouse/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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N2IEN in Haiti 4/4-4/6
by Paul Stoetzer 18 Mar '15

18 Mar '15

Good morning, I noticed this posted on N2IEN's QRZ page this morning: "Dxpedition to HH coming April 4-6!! Mostly HF cw, some SSB. And will try to work SO 50 satellite. Hopefully I'll also be QRV RTTY. " Pat has done very well from the rarely heard FJ and VP2V over the past month with his Yaesu VX-8 and Arrow antenna. His QSL manager is NR6M. 73, Paul, N8HM

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Fwd: Live ham radio show tonight Tuesday 8 PM
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 17 Mar '15

17 Mar '15

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "Tom" <wa5kub(a)gmail.com> To: "Tom" <wa5kub(a)gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 2:47:20 PM Subject: Live ham radio show tonight Tuesday 8 PM Put a reminder on your pc. Tonight at 8:00 PM is the new live ham radio show "Amateur Radio Roundtable" . go to w5kub.com to watch it at 8:00 PM. The show is every Tuesday night at 8:00 PM central. We have special guests from around the world. Tonights show will feature Michael Kalter W8CI from the Dayton Hamvention, and Bharathi VU2RBI from India. We will also have some arduino segments regarding cw. Thanks, Tom W5KUB -- Live ham radio show Amateur Radio Roundtable every Tues night at 8:00 PM central (0200 UTC Weds) on W5KUB.COM Please check out our ham radio video broadcast page at http://w5kub.com and please join our W5KUB video facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/279273778772594/ Senior Member of the I.E.E.E

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PQ2 Brazil Satellite Operation March 20-22
by JoAnne Maenpaa 17 Mar '15

17 Mar '15

Just a heads up for a DX opportunity that will occur before the next ANS bulletins are sent: Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1206 PQ2, BRAZIL (Satellite/6m Op). Operators Pedro/PR8ZX and Augusto/PU8MET will be active as PQ2ZXT and PQ2/PU8MET, respectively, from Tocantins State (WW Loc. GI64) between March 20-22nd. Activity will be on the satellites and 6 meters. There are very few operators in this state. QSL via LoTW or their home callsign, direct or by the Bureau. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org AMSAT VP User Services

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Re: [amsat-bb] Moxon on top a Baofeng UV-5R for 70cm experiment
by Richard Tejera 17 Mar '15

17 Mar '15

Pavel, yes, the Baofengs are going to defense on 70 cm, it's what you get for $30.00. The good news is Fox 1 is U/V, so the De Sense shouldn't be a problem. Or at least less of one. 73 Rick K7TEJ On March 16, 2015, at 19:50, Pavel Milanes Costa <co7wt(a)frcuba.co.cu> wrote: Yes, that's the tool for the job. That was my starting point, then with mmana and nec I made some adjustments on the design, cosmetics adjustments... The final result is few mm more or less against the generated by moxgen... A few minutes ago I tested the antenna on the SO-50 pass... 56 degrees pass here, among others I heard K8YSE, UE1FG/MM, K?8KW, K4FEG. RX: Success, strong and clear signal till LOS... TX: a real failure, STRONG desense, I think it's problem of the "cheap" RX radio... Setup here: RX Baofeng UV-5R with the moxon on top, almost ZERO coax length, TX Feidaxing FD 268A 5/1 W with coax to a Jpole with almost 10m of RG-213 Coax... (+ 1m of soft RG-58 pitgail from the radio to the RG-213) The Jpole is 5 meters away and about 2 meters above my head. No matter if I use 1 or 5 Watts, once I press PTT the baofeng goes deaf and only noise is heard with my scrambled voice on it (this voice is not from the sat) This can be the 3rd harmonic of 2m, but it's normal to get this behavior with the baofeng or other radios? What can I do for improve/solve this situation? A low pass filter (LPF) for 2m right on the output of the TX radio? The Baofeng is the only option here for RX on 70cm... this is driving me crazy... 73 El 16/03/15 a las 20:37, Richard Tejera escribió: > Pavel, > > Here is a link to a program as m called MOXGEN. It will calculate the dimensions for a moxon given the frequency &wire size. Once done it'll generate an EZ-NEC model for the antenna. > > The model should give you a good idea of the gain, beamwidth & front to back > > http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/design.htm > > I'd be interested I what it tells you. > > 73 > Rick > K7TEJ > > > > On March 16, 2015, at 17:05, Pavel Milanes Costa <co7wt(a)frcuba.co.cu> wrote: > > Hi to all. > > Yesterday I was evaluating the construction of a small antenna for > portable use on top of the Baofeng UV-5R... at the end I finished with > two choices CJU vs moxon for 70cm handheld > > After some modeling I choose the moxon over the CJU because: > - Smaller > - Less wire > - Less weight > - Less stress for the connector > - Just ~0.6 dB down vs the CJU > - By far better F/B ratio > > After completion of the first "prototype"... > > I successfully heard the CW beacon of Jugnu, CO-57, CO-58, PRISM and others. > > The fire test will be tonight on SO-50, I know now I will copy ok, but > the challenge is eliminate the desense of having two yaguis on a cross boom. > > I will test the moxon handheld on RX (UHF) and a Jpole for the 2m uplink > with 5W of a handheld. > > I have not measured the SWR of the moxon, but with the simulation the > measures are not "that critical" for getting a less than 1:2 of SWR over > the entire 70cm band (1:3 bandwidth is about 16 Mhz) > > The moxon "experiment" is just ~25 cm width and ~15 cm height (may be > smaller also, the minimal height is ~10cm + connector) over the Baofeng > UV-5R, there is no much stress on the connector. > > I used a SMA to BNC adapter (the kind with a rim to fit tight to the > radio body) and then a clamp on BNC (male) with a bronze tube as coaxial > shield/boom of the antenna. > > Wish me luck with the desense problem... > > 73 >

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Scottsdale AZ Hamfest, Saturday (21 March)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 17 Mar '15

17 Mar '15

Hi! After spending Saturday in Tucson, I'm back to a hamfest next Saturday. The Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club is hosting its annual Springfest hamfest on Saturday, 21 March 2015. It will be in the parking lot at the Mountain Valley Church, on Perimeter Drive north of Princess Drive and west of AZ-101 exit 36 in Scottsdale AZ. The hamfest is a half-day event, typical of most hamfests in this state. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://scottsdalearc.org/springfest-our-version-of-a-swap/springfest-2015-m… I will have an AMSAT table at this hamfest, offering demonstrations of satellite operating using any satellites passing by in the morning - including attempts at QSOs using the ISS packet/APRS digipeater using APRS messages from the hamfest site, located in grid DM43. I will use my own call, WD9EWK, for these demonstrations. As with my other demonstrations, I will upload all QSOs to Logbook of the World. If you work WD9EWK at the hamfest and want to receive a QSL card, please e-mail me after the hamfest with the QSO details. If you are in my log, I will be happy to send you a QSL card. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: [amsat-bb] Moxon on top a Baofeng UV-5R for 70cm experiment
by Richard Tejera 17 Mar '15

17 Mar '15

Pavel, Here is a link to a program as m called MOXGEN. It will calculate the dimensions for a moxon given the frequency &wire size. Once done it'll generate an EZ-NEC model for the antenna. The model should give you a good idea of the gain, beamwidth & front to back http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/design.htm I'd be interested I what it tells you. 73 Rick K7TEJ On March 16, 2015, at 17:05, Pavel Milanes Costa <co7wt(a)frcuba.co.cu> wrote: Hi to all. Yesterday I was evaluating the construction of a small antenna for portable use on top of the Baofeng UV-5R... at the end I finished with two choices CJU vs moxon for 70cm handheld After some modeling I choose the moxon over the CJU because: - Smaller - Less wire - Less weight - Less stress for the connector - Just ~0.6 dB down vs the CJU - By far better F/B ratio After completion of the first "prototype"... I successfully heard the CW beacon of Jugnu, CO-57, CO-58, PRISM and others. The fire test will be tonight on SO-50, I know now I will copy ok, but the challenge is eliminate the desense of having two yaguis on a cross boom. I will test the moxon handheld on RX (UHF) and a Jpole for the 2m uplink with 5W of a handheld. I have not measured the SWR of the moxon, but with the simulation the measures are not "that critical" for getting a less than 1:2 of SWR over the entire 70cm band (1:3 bandwidth is about 16 Mhz) The moxon "experiment" is just ~25 cm width and ~15 cm height (may be smaller also, the minimal height is ~10cm + connector) over the Baofeng UV-5R, there is no much stress on the connector. I used a SMA to BNC adapter (the kind with a rim to fit tight to the radio body) and then a clamp on BNC (male) with a bronze tube as coaxial shield/boom of the antenna. Wish me luck with the desense problem... 73 -- M.Sc. Pavel Milanes Costa, CO7WT SYSOP Nodo Gateway CO9JAZ Ciudad de Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba. Cell: (+53) 53-847819 _______________________________________________ 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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Moxon on top a Baofeng UV-5R for 70cm experiment
by Pavel Milanes Costa 17 Mar '15

17 Mar '15

Hi to all. Yesterday I was evaluating the construction of a small antenna for portable use on top of the Baofeng UV-5R... at the end I finished with two choices CJU vs moxon for 70cm handheld After some modeling I choose the moxon over the CJU because: - Smaller - Less wire - Less weight - Less stress for the connector - Just ~0.6 dB down vs the CJU - By far better F/B ratio After completion of the first "prototype"... I successfully heard the CW beacon of Jugnu, CO-57, CO-58, PRISM and others. The fire test will be tonight on SO-50, I know now I will copy ok, but the challenge is eliminate the desense of having two yaguis on a cross boom. I will test the moxon handheld on RX (UHF) and a Jpole for the 2m uplink with 5W of a handheld. I have not measured the SWR of the moxon, but with the simulation the measures are not "that critical" for getting a less than 1:2 of SWR over the entire 70cm band (1:3 bandwidth is about 16 Mhz) The moxon "experiment" is just ~25 cm width and ~15 cm height (may be smaller also, the minimal height is ~10cm + connector) over the Baofeng UV-5R, there is no much stress on the connector. I used a SMA to BNC adapter (the kind with a rim to fit tight to the radio body) and then a clamp on BNC (male) with a bronze tube as coaxial shield/boom of the antenna. Wish me luck with the desense problem... 73 -- M.Sc. Pavel Milanes Costa, CO7WT SYSOP Nodo Gateway CO9JAZ Ciudad de Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba. Cell: (+53) 53-847819

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AMSAT at 2015 ScienceCity/Tucson Festival of Books - report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 16 Mar '15

16 Mar '15

Hi! AMSAT was part of the K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club's booth at the 2015 Science City/Tucson Festival of Books, which combined a book fair with a science fair on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson last weekend. AMSAT was present on Saturday. A local radio club, the Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club (W0HF), was there all weekend. This event is a joint effort between the University of Arizona and the Arizona Daily Star newspaper in Tucson. The university side of the event, the science fair, had representation from many colleges and departments on the campus, including the K7UAZ radio club. The newspaper managed the book fair. The university took good care of the many volunteers, with bottled water available all weekend, and lunches as well. With temperatures going as high as 94F/34C on Saturday afternoon, the water was appreciated by all working at this event. During Saturday, the K7UAZ booth had two HF stations in operation, another station demonstrating SDR technologies, and my satellite station. The SDR station was copying ADS-B data from aircraft flying around southern Arizona, which was plotted on a map for the crowds to see. The HF stations were busy making contacts on different bands. The satellite station, which was set up in front of the booth, was on the air for several passes on Saturday. My @WD9EWK Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK has lots of photos I took throughout the day. I also uploaded a short video showing the K7UAZ booth, which is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puzNyK1y5zM Throughout Saturday, 14 satellite contacts were made using 4 different amateur satellites (AO-7, AO-73, FO-29, SO-50) and the International Space Station, with stations across the USA and Mexico. The satellite activity started with an SO-50 pass just before the official start of the event at 9.30am (1630 UTC), and wrapped up with an FO-29 pass in the final half-hour. One contact was made using the ISS packet digipeater, between WD9EWK and Craig N6RSX in southern California, by exchanging APRS messages just before noon (1900 UTC). With the buildings and the intense RF environment around the university, my windows for these passes were no more than 5 to 7 minutes per pass. Sorry if I was not able to work you during Saturday. I had uploaded the contacts I made on Saturday to Logbook of the World, but there was an error in that upload. I will fix that tonight, and do another upload. In addition to LOTW, I will have QSL cards available for those who want that form of confirmation. Please e-mail me with the QSO details, and I will mail a card out to you if you are in my log. It is not necessary to first send me a QSL card or SASE to get my QSL card. Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I was not able to stay in Tucson for the Sunday half of the event. The K7UAZ club reported the same sort of crowds on Sunday at their booth, and for the event in general. Local media reports are stating the organizers estimated the attendance for this event at approximately 130,000 for the weekend. I have no reason to doubt that count, given the crowds I saw all day on Saturday. Many thanks to Kirk Krentzel N7VGJ and the K7UAZ club for inviting AMSAT to be a part of this fun weekend. With so many people, this was a great way to show off amateur radio, and in particular this corner of our hobby. Next year's event is scheduled for 12-13 March 2016, and I hope to be there and representing AMSAT for the entire weekend. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: [amsat-bb] UT1FG/MM Update Next Port Oregon
by Richard Tejera 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Saw him on 10m PSK31 this morning. He was weak and gone b4 I could work him. Gonna keep an eye out for him there as well. 73 Rick K7TEJ On March 15, 2015, at 13:44, Jeff Moore <tnetcenter(a)gmail.com> wrote: Uri is heading for Longview, Washington (there is no Longview, Oregon TIKO). Longview, Washington sits on the Washington side of the Columbia River (the North side). There is nothing on the Oregon side except a road and the closest Oregon town is Ranier to the East towards Portland. If you Google Longview, Oregon - you will get Longview, Washington - they are NOT the same place. Longview, Washington is one of the larger ports on the West Coast. 7 3 Jeff Moore -- KE7ACY Bend, Oregon On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 12:31 PM, John Papay <john(a)papays.com> wrote: > Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently in EK42 in the Pacific Ocean > off the coast of Guatemala. He expects to be in EK42 through > Sunday evening March 15th. He is going to be > drifting for the next few days, likely to the northwest. His > next port is Longview, Oregon, but he cannot arrive at the port > until 1 April. Therefore he is waiting a bit where the weather > is good before heading up the coast. > > His course up the coast will be fruitfull in terms of new grids. > Amongst those that are highly sought after are DM02 and CM79 which > are both part of the Continental US and required for those trying > to work all 488 Continental USA grids. His time in DM02 may be > very limited and passes may not correspond to his track across > the grid. But Yuri knows that this grid is rare and sought after > and will do what he can to be there during workable passes. His > time in CM79 will be much longer and it should be possible to work > him in that grid. > > In addition Yuri will go through the middle of CN70 through CN76 > which all have land on their eastern edge. These grids are normally > hard to work but should be relatively easy due to the low horizon > that he has on the ship. His speed is normally around 11-14 knots > so you can judge how long he will be in a grid. Each of these > grids is about 70 miles from south to north. > > His next port after Oregon is unknown but if he picks up cargo > destined for ports in the east, he will likely come back down the > coast to the Panama Canal and give everyone another shot at working > grids that they missed when he was northbound. > > Yuri is a very patient operator and skilled at operating with just > one IC706 tuned manually. Remember that he has to find those calling > him. If you give your call just once he will not likely get it. Give > it twice at a reasonable pace, with phonetics, and you will increase > your chances of a qso. Call and then listen for a bit to see if he > calls someone. Yuri is very good at recognizing callsigns that he has > worked before, even if he just gets a few letters. But that doesn't > mean you can rattle off your call without phonetics and expect him to > get it right. Phoentics might seem like a waste of precious satellite > time but if he doesn't get it the first time, the extra time it takes > to correct it will be worse. Yuri's English is very good but remember > it is not his first language. > > Yuri uses an ELK antenna mounted on a PVC mast that runs from the deck > of the Bridge up to the Flying Bridge. The Flying Bridge appurtenances > can block the sky from the port to stern. For example, if the ship is > traveling due north, his signal at lower elevations will be blocked from > 270 to 180 degrees. See where the satellite is with respect to his > course and you will be able to predict when he may not be able to hear > very well. If he is in range of an AIS station you can get his speed > and course on marinetraffic.com. Search for the "Greenwing." The ELK > antenna is pointed up at 15 degrees and can be rotated by the crew. > Sometimes you can hear Yuri requesting that they turn the antenna for > him (not in English). The ELK is a few years old now and has been blown > down before. He takes it apart and greases the connections to prevent > the salt from destroying it. Based on what I see the salt do to > antennas here in Florida, it is amazing that he has been able to keep > this antenna in working condition. > > Yuri has been working on QSL card requests from last season as well as > this season. My guess is that he will mail some from Oregon where they > will be sure to go out without problems. So be patient. Yuri has a > manager, Eugene, UX0FY, however he does not have the logs for the last > part of the previous season. Yuri does prefer to do the cards himself > even if it takes a little longer. > > We have many new operators on the birds and they don't always understand > what it means to have a rare grid on a pass. Many don't know country > prefixes to know where a station is, or what grid is rare. Those who > have been around for a while can mentor others and give the rover station > a chance to make more contacts. Things have changed now that Yuri is > on the west coast. Suddenly the east coast operators who normally have > a big advantage with Yuri are now at a disadvantage since he is in the > Pacific. So if you are on the west coast and will have a footprint with > Yuri for a long time or have a shot at a pass that doesn't cover the east > coast, hold off so that Yuri can work those who have a very short opening. > Yuri gets on most every visible pass while he is on the move, day or night, > so passes out over the Pacific will work fine for west coasters. And if > the situation is reversed, hopefully, east coasters will reciprocate. It > should be noted, however, that there is much more interest in working DX > by those in the east compared to those in the west. > > Yuri is an amazing operator and has likely operated in more grids than > anyone. He is a very experienced Captain and you can see how his crew > respects him for that. We are fortunate to have him on the birds. Have > fun working him. > > 73, > John K8YSE > > John Papay > john(a)papays.com > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions > expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of > AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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UT1FG/MM Update Next Port Oregon
by John Papay 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently in EK42 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guatemala. He expects to be in EK42 through Sunday evening March 15th. He is going to be drifting for the next few days, likely to the northwest. His next port is Longview, Oregon, but he cannot arrive at the port until 1 April. Therefore he is waiting a bit where the weather is good before heading up the coast. His course up the coast will be fruitfull in terms of new grids. Amongst those that are highly sought after are DM02 and CM79 which are both part of the Continental US and required for those trying to work all 488 Continental USA grids. His time in DM02 may be very limited and passes may not correspond to his track across the grid. But Yuri knows that this grid is rare and sought after and will do what he can to be there during workable passes. His time in CM79 will be much longer and it should be possible to work him in that grid. In addition Yuri will go through the middle of CN70 through CN76 which all have land on their eastern edge. These grids are normally hard to work but should be relatively easy due to the low horizon that he has on the ship. His speed is normally around 11-14 knots so you can judge how long he will be in a grid. Each of these grids is about 70 miles from south to north. His next port after Oregon is unknown but if he picks up cargo destined for ports in the east, he will likely come back down the coast to the Panama Canal and give everyone another shot at working grids that they missed when he was northbound. Yuri is a very patient operator and skilled at operating with just one IC706 tuned manually. Remember that he has to find those calling him. If you give your call just once he will not likely get it. Give it twice at a reasonable pace, with phonetics, and you will increase your chances of a qso. Call and then listen for a bit to see if he calls someone. Yuri is very good at recognizing callsigns that he has worked before, even if he just gets a few letters. But that doesn't mean you can rattle off your call without phonetics and expect him to get it right. Phoentics might seem like a waste of precious satellite time but if he doesn't get it the first time, the extra time it takes to correct it will be worse. Yuri's English is very good but remember it is not his first language. Yuri uses an ELK antenna mounted on a PVC mast that runs from the deck of the Bridge up to the Flying Bridge. The Flying Bridge appurtenances can block the sky from the port to stern. For example, if the ship is traveling due north, his signal at lower elevations will be blocked from 270 to 180 degrees. See where the satellite is with respect to his course and you will be able to predict when he may not be able to hear very well. If he is in range of an AIS station you can get his speed and course on marinetraffic.com. Search for the "Greenwing." The ELK antenna is pointed up at 15 degrees and can be rotated by the crew. Sometimes you can hear Yuri requesting that they turn the antenna for him (not in English). The ELK is a few years old now and has been blown down before. He takes it apart and greases the connections to prevent the salt from destroying it. Based on what I see the salt do to antennas here in Florida, it is amazing that he has been able to keep this antenna in working condition. Yuri has been working on QSL card requests from last season as well as this season. My guess is that he will mail some from Oregon where they will be sure to go out without problems. So be patient. Yuri has a manager, Eugene, UX0FY, however he does not have the logs for the last part of the previous season. Yuri does prefer to do the cards himself even if it takes a little longer. We have many new operators on the birds and they don't always understand what it means to have a rare grid on a pass. Many don't know country prefixes to know where a station is, or what grid is rare. Those who have been around for a while can mentor others and give the rover station a chance to make more contacts. Things have changed now that Yuri is on the west coast. Suddenly the east coast operators who normally have a big advantage with Yuri are now at a disadvantage since he is in the Pacific. So if you are on the west coast and will have a footprint with Yuri for a long time or have a shot at a pass that doesn't cover the east coast, hold off so that Yuri can work those who have a very short opening. Yuri gets on most every visible pass while he is on the move, day or night, so passes out over the Pacific will work fine for west coasters. And if the situation is reversed, hopefully, east coasters will reciprocate. It should be noted, however, that there is much more interest in working DX by those in the east compared to those in the west. Yuri is an amazing operator and has likely operated in more grids than anyone. He is a very experienced Captain and you can see how his crew respects him for that. We are fortunate to have him on the birds. Have fun working him. 73, John K8YSE John Papay john(a)papays.com

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Recommendations for dual-core mobile for in-car SO-50
by Jacob Tennant 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

I am looking installing a mobile dual-band radio in my Subaru Forester for occasional SO-50 and other FM sats on my lunch break or while out and about. I already have a dual-band antenna on the vehicle. Not looking at investing a fortune for this radio as I will probably buy it from eBay used. Jacob Tennant

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Satellite Day for Radioamateurs on April 25 in The Netherlands
by PA3GUO 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

In cooperation with the VERON VHF day, a second 'Satellite Day for Radioamateurs' will be held in The Netherlands. Date: April 25, 2015 (Saturday) Time: 09:00 - 16:30 (local time) Location: City of Apeldoorn, in the Mid-East of the Netherlands. Most presentations will be held in Dutch, while the Delft/Delfi presentation will be in English. Of course almost everyone in The Netherlands speaks English so we invite everyone whom is interested to join us! Sponsored by the VERON (http://www.veron.nl), the entrance is free (no admission), including free coffee, tea and lunch. We would like to know how many participants we will have, so please sign up via email to either one of us. We look forward to another exciting satellite event! http://amsat-nl.org/satday2015 Best regards Ivo Klinkert - PA1IVO, email: pa1ivo AT amsat.org Henk Hamoen - PA3GUO, email pa3guo AT amsat.org Listed below is the program: FUNcube: from launch to the future - Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG: In 2013 Wouter addressed us about the then upcoming launch of FUNcube-1 and we had the working engineering model of the satellite on stage. This time Wouter will update us on the experiences with the (still fully operational) FUNcube-1 satellite that in the mean time celebrated its first anniversary in space! Wouter is closely involved in various FUNcube projects and will be able to share a lot of inside information. Spacenews from the University of Delft: Delfi-n3Xt, DelFFi and more .. - Nils von Storch and Ehsan Tofigh: Nils and Ehsan will update us about Delfi-n3Xt, DelFFi and the Stratos II (amateurrocket of the TU Delft) missions. Satellites: currently operational and future satellites - Jan van Gils, PE0SAT: An overview of the currently operational satellites working on amateur radio frequencies plus a sneak preview into the (near) future. Projects like AMSAT-NA's new satellite (Fox), the upcoming AMSAT-DL geostationary satellite with transponders (Es'HailSat-2) and many more interesting cubesats. How to start with amateur radio satellites - Henk Hamoen, PA3GUO: This presentation is expecially geared towards starters: what do you need to get going? What is LEO/HEO? When is a satellite in reacvh and can I hear it? Also we will discuss equipment: what do you (and what do you not) need for this fascinating hobby. Satellite tracking for expert users - Nico Janssen, PA0DLO: What is the meaning of all these secretive Kepler sets and their parameters inside. What can be derived from TLE sets and what can you do with it? Can you do measurements using satellite tracks? How to identify satellites using TLE sets? How to calculate the moment a satellite will de-orbit and burn down into the atmosphere? All this and more will be discussed by Nico. Reception of satellite signals: SDR, software modems and other tools - Jan van Gils, PE0SAT: Many satellite transmit digital signals, which are very interesting... if you can decode them! Jan share his experience in decoding these signals using software defined radio (SDR), softmodems and other tools. Plus not to forget: about all the university contacts & friends around the world with whom he works together on this exciting technology! Deep Space Probes on the amateur radio bands - Rob Hardenberg, PE1ITR: Think you did DX? Think again! Listen tot his presentation by Rob about the reception of deep space probes MRO, LX0OHB-4m, Shinen-2 and Artsat2:Despatch. A record was set at 4.7 million kilometers from Earth! Hands-on session Amateur satellites - PA3GUO, PA3WEG, PE0SAT and PA1IVO: We will do live sessions where we will listen to Cubesats and transmit via satellite transponders. Equipment will be on site, but we encourage everyone to bring their own set-up along. Doesn't matter whether that is small or big - it's all about fun! In 2013 we made QSOs via satellites from one end of the parking lot to the other. See here: http://ivok.home.xs4all.nl/other/img/SatDay2013_1.jpg More information and detailed timelines can be found here: http://amsat-nl.org/satday2015

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Re: [amsat-bb] Yaesu G-5500 Potentiometer replacement
by Kevin Schuchmann 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

For what it's worth, I have a rotor that has been going for 14 years, the set screw issue was cured early on with a drop of blue Lock tight, this counts for both the pot drive gear and the motor drive which also has a small set screw that likes to back out and then the rotor runs forever or until the windings fry. I did lose a motor winding once due to a jam so after that I shoved a thermal switch down between the windings to cut power in a over heat situation, 4 lock to lock rotations and it will cutout, the motors that Yaesu used have a very short duty cycle. The Pot... never have had one go really bad where I had to replace it but that #$%^ wire in the middle for the wiper can be vexing, the turning and flexing breaks it and then you get wild extremes or bad readings in one spot, replacing it with the most flexible wire you can winding it like a loose coil and putting a small drop of epoxy at each end to stop wire movement helps it last the longest (several years for me), never had a problem realigning the stops if you make good marks of where it was when you started or if possible you run it to zero before you begin. I have also found that quicksilver marine grease 2-4-c with ptfe works really well and is readily available for the gears and bearings. YMMV 73 Kevin WA6FWF On 3/12/2015 11:14 AM, Todd wrote: > I recently bought a _very slightly_ (like new) used Yaesu G-5500 > rotator and have had some issues with the indication system. During > rotation of the elevation rotor sometimes both indication meters would > sometimes fluctuate violently to full scale. Finally the elevation > indicator just stopped at 90 degrees and stayed there or went to zero > when hitting the zero stop microswitch. Anyway, if figured the > position potentiometer was the problem and opened up the unit and > _found the gear on the pot shaft was slipping due to the set screw not > holding_. Although, it would grab at some point during the rotation > cycle again and hence be out of sync now with the motor stop! This > grabbing again in the rotation cycle destroyed the pot. Got two (one > spare) replacement pots from Yaesu and installed and calibrated very > carefully I might add. Adjusted pot to display "0" degrees, installed > gear on pot shaft and rechecked indication to be be sure I still read > "0". Assembled motor gearing with boom tube so stop switch @ zero > just actuated. Installed other case half and checked ok and dead on > after standard manual cal. > Anyway, just checked the azimuth operation and see that the indication > is off at 90 degrees by 10 degrees or so. Watching needle from zero > the needle delays in movement by a couple of seconds after motor > starts turning. I suspect another set screw slipping again. I will > investigate further. I'm getting closer to interfacing the LVB Tracker > now. Anyhow, after looking everywhere on this BB and internet for any > procedure to change these pots in either rotator I did find this > posting from a Yaesu Rep that gives a guide to a individual if he > decides to take on the task of changing out the azimuth pot. The Rep > advises him to sent the unit to him in California.

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FW: AO-7
by dnkucij＠myfairpoint.net 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Kerry, Congrats, that was a great DX contact on AO-7! It's always a thrill when you can complete one of those. Tor, DJ8MS is a fine sat op also. 73, Nick, KB1RVT

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Palm Springs HamFest 2015
by Clint Bradford 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

THANK YOU to those I met from this list today out at the Palm Springs HamFest! We had a blast ... worked SO-50, AO-73, and APRS on the ISS - all before noon. And when a guest speaker had a personal emergency crop up minutes before his scheduled time, the convention manager snagged me and declared, "Clint, you're on!" So I conducted a completely off-the-cuff "Q&A" session - and we all had a great time. Wonderful event ... well-attended ... not too hot for Palm Springs ... ARRL reps there, and AMSAT's FOX-1A project promoted to all within earshot (grin). For raffle prizes, I acquired a Heil PR-10 Set from Dr. Heil, a gift certificate from RT Systems, and I offered a new Arrow 146/437-10WBP for $50 off to a happy ham. If you are in the Southern California region, please make it a point to attend this wonderful show next year - the second Saturday in March. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Kenwood TH-D72a via Samsung Tab4 for packet?
by Scott Smith 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Hi, just bought one of those Samsung Tab4 units and was wondering if there was a way to connect my Kenwood Th-D72 handheld to for packet display?. At the moment, I do packet on the handheld and it works great, I also downloaded a program into the Samsung called Aprsdroid which also works nice (via the internet), but can the tablet be used just to the handheld and no internet to display the packets coming in?. maybe someone out there has a similar setup and give me some ideas. I’ve tried hooking the handheld via the usb on the handheld to the tablet and in the setup changed it to the Kenwood setting but no luck. 73 de Scott VE6ITV

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Young ham’s first contact is via FO-29
by M5AKA 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Young ham’s first contact is via OSCAR satellite http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/14/young-hams-1st-contact-via-sat/ Notice of Variation to UK Amateur Radio Licence 75.875-76.000 GHz Amateur and Amateur-Satellite allocation restored to Primary status http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/13/nov-uk-amateur-radio-licence/ UK 434 MHz CanSat Competition http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/13/434-mhz-cansat-competition/ Sarah Brightman – A message from Tim Peake KG5BVI http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/11/sarah-brightman-tim-peake-video/ Listen to FUNcube-1 during Solar Eclipse http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/09/funcube-1-and-solar-eclipse/ Bitcoin Pioneer Jeff Garzik ex-KB4UZB signs contract with DSI for CubeSat constellation. DSI's Daniel Faber VA3DRF attended the 2012 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium http://deepspaceindustries.com/bitcoin-pioneer-inks-contract-for-satellite-… UK Space Agency teams up with Clyde Space and Outernet to provide free telecommunications services through CubeSats https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cubesats-to-provide-telecomms-through-in… ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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ANS-074 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-074 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 Hamfest Recruiting Brochure Available * AMSAT Presence at 2015 Science City/Tucson Festival of Books * New SpaceMath@NASA Resources Available * 2015 NASA Office of Education -- Aeronautics Undergraduate Scholarship * ARISS School Proposal Window, for US, Remains Open Through April 15 * More satellite DX News * $50SAT/MO-76: 15 months, 15 orbits per day, and some unexpected behavior * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-074.01 ANS-074 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 074.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 15, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-074.01 AMSAT 2015 Hamfest Recruiting Brochure Available As hamfest season nears we've added a link to AMSAT's 2015 Recruiting Brochure to the page listing the hamfests our AMSAT Field Ops guys and helpers plan to attend: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=218 This color PDF file is a recruiting tool to help share the excitement of AMSAT and amateur radio in space. The brochure designed to print double-sided and be folded tri-fold. The AMSAT office maintains a small stock of these printed brochures. They have been included in the hamfest support boxes available to support your event. For more information about these kits, contact: martha at amsat dot org If you are setting up a hamfest or club support activity let our Director of Field Operations, Patrick WD9EWK know via wd9ewk at amsat dot org and you will be listed on the events page. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Field Ops team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Presence at 2015 Science City/Tucson Festival of Books AMSAT took part in the University of Arizona's K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club booth at the 2015 Science City/Tucson Festival of Books, on the main mall of the University of Arizona in Tucson on Saturday, 14 March 2015. Science City/Tucson Festival of Books is a large science fair held yearly in Tucson, and AMSAT is happy to support the K7UAZ club. More information about this event is available at: http://www.sciencecity.arizona.edu/ During the day (0930-1730 local, 1630-0030 UTC), Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK took advantage of opportunities for on-air demonstrations of amateur satellite activity. Satellite demonstrations were conducted using Patrick's WD9EWK call sign. The radio club's K7UAZ call sign was used for making HF contacts. The University of Arizona campus is in grid DM42. Patrick posted updates during the day from Science City on his @WD9EWK Twitter feed. If you aren't on Twitter, you can view these in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Satellite QSOs made during the demonstration using Patrick's WD9EWK callsign will be uploaded to the Logbook of the World, and Patrick have QSL cards available on request for those wanting to receive a written confirmation. Please e-mail him with the QSO details: WDEWK at amsat dot org The K7UAZ club callsign was used for using HF contacts, please direct those QSL requests to the K7UAZ club, email to k7uazarc at gmail dot com, or at the club's postal address: K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club Systems & Industrial Engineering Department The University of Arizona 1127 E. James E. Rogers Way P.O. Box 210020 Tucson, AZ 85721-0020 PAtrick reports that QSOs were made using his WD9EWK callsign via AO- 7, AO-73, FO-29, SO-50 and a QSO using APRS messages via the ISS packet digipeater. Patrick would like to thank Kirk Krenzel N7VGJ and the K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club as well as the Ohio Valley Amateur Radio Club W0HF, for their hospitality in Tucson. [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New SpaceMath@NASA Resources Available Explore behind-the-scenes mathematics that occur when scientists make discoveries and engineers solve technical problems in spacecraft design and spaceflight. Each module uses press releases to spark student interest, then standards-based mathematics and science skills are explored that relate to the missions discussed. New modules are now available that focus on the SAGE III stratospheric aerosol mission and the JPL InSight Mars Lander mission to be launched in 2016. The multimedia modules follow the 5E education approach. The SAGE III stratospheric aerosol mission modules are available at http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/SAGEIII/SAGEIII.html. The JPL InSight Mars Lander mission modules are available at http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/Mars.html. Questions about these resources should be directed to Dr. Sten Odenwald at sten.f.odenwald at nasa dot gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- March 5, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 NASA Office of Education -- Aeronautics Undergraduate Scholarship NASA's Office of Education is accepting applications for the for the Aeronautics Undergraduate Scholarship, or AUS, program. The Aeronautics Undergraduate Scholarship is for individuals pursuing or planning to pursue undergraduate studies leading to an Associate's or a Bachelor's degree in areas related to aeronautics. These scholarships are directed toward enhancing the state of aeronautics for the nation, transforming the nation's air transportation system, and developing the knowledge, tools, and technologies to support future air and space vehicles. Eligible students include freshmen, sophomores and juniors at the undergraduate level. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals. The scholarship includes 75% of tuition up to $9,000 academic scholarship, based on tuition amount, and $6,000 for a summer internship. Applications are due March 31, 2015. Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at http://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select "scholarship" for the type of application. Questions about the 2015 Aeronautics Undergraduate Scholarship opportunity should be emailed to: NASA.ASP2015 at nasaprs dot com. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- March 5, 2015 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS School Proposal Window, for US, Remains Open Through April 15 February 17, 2015 - ARISS is now accepting proposals for U.S. schools wishing to schedule contacts between their students and the International Space Station for the next cycle. Details on submitting proposals can be found below in the attached ARRL News Release. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window February 15 - April 15, 2015 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between *January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2016*. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 15, 2015. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students and educators to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in contact dates and times. Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA. More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS. For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Information Sessions are available for those wishing to obtain more information or to ask questions about the ARISS Proposal process. Upcoming sessions will be held Monday March 16 at 7pm EDT and Thursday March 26 at 4pm EDT. Those interested in attending one of these sessions should send email to ariss at arrl dot org to request login information. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl dot org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- More satellite DX News: Mike, WA0SPG, who will be on his first DXpedition, will be active as WA0SPG/4 from the Dry Tortugas between May 4-6th. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB. Equipment will be a KX3 and a FT-817 into a buddipole vertical dipole near saltwater, Alpha vertical and Loop antenna. Mike will also be on the satellite using 2x FT-817's for SO-50 and FO-29 (CW/SSB) with both arrow and elk antennas. All power will be by Goal Zero batteries being charged by Solar PV panels. QSL via his home callsign. Clayton, W5PFG says several AMSAT satellite operators are working with Mike to prepare for this trip. [ANS thanks the OPDX Bulletin, John Papay, K8YSE, and Clayton, W5PFG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- $50SAT/MO-76: 15 months, 15 orbits per day, and some unexpected behavior Saturday, February 21, 2015 marked the 15 month anniversary of the launch of $50SAT/MO-76, and you guessed it - it is still operating. Thursday, February 12, 2015 marked a different milestone - its orbit has decayed to the point where its mean motion crossed the 15 orbits per day threshold. The TLEs from Saturday, February 21, 2015 indicate it is now at 15.00521293 orbits per day. Some people noticed that something odd started happening on Monday, February 23, and Tuesday, February 24. The $50SAT/MO-76 team noticed the same thing - during daytime passes in the northern hemisphere, $50SAT was transmitting once per minute, always sending telemetry in RTTY format, but never sending GFSK telemetry packets. Moreover, the total reset count kept going up by one each time. The link below will list all the RTTY telemetry messages (of which the $50SAT/MO-76 team are aware) gathered on February 23 and 24: http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/05/mo-76-15-months/ What seems to be happening on the decending (daytime) passes is the CPU is reset just after sending a full RTTY telemetry message, as here are no GFSK packets sent, but within a half minute the FM Morse beacon is heard with Stuart's callsign (GW7HPW, the first one in the rotation). The teams guess is that the battery voltage is decaying during the operational cycle, and goes below the 2.9V reset threshold just after sending the RTTY or just as it is about to send the GFSK packets. nce the satellite is able to enable solar power (PCB temperature >= 0 degrees C), it starts behaving normally; it is now able to send GFSK packets. During ascending (nighttime) passes, it behaves normally, at least here in EN82 land. There was a brief time where this behavior stopped (2015-02-25, 17:05 UTC through 2015-02-26, 3:47 UTC). It did, however, start back up sometime before 2015-02-26, 05:21 UTC, and has continued since. Why is this happening now? The team is still investigating, but it is apparent when looking at the chart of battery voltage over the lifetime of $50SAT/MO-76 that the battery has suffered a sizeable drop in capacity. If the battery voltage under load is dropping below 2.9V, how is it able to recover back above 3.3 V (the minimum required to enable transmission) and nearly complete another operational cycle? Moreover, why does it always seem to be able to finish sending an entire RTTY packet before resetting? In the hopes of better understanding what is happening, I am in the process of re- assembling my "BoxSat" test setup in an effort to reproduce on the ground what is happening in space. In the meantime, the once-per- minute transmission is actually convenient from telemetry monitoring standpoint, as one no longer has to wait 3 minutes for $50SAT/MO-76 to start transmitting. So, for any of you who have not heard $50SAT/MO-76, now is the time. Who knows how long it will continue to operate in this manner? Who knows how long it will continue to operated at all? Every time an anomaly has occurred and thought, "this is it - well, it was great while it lasted", $50SAT/MO-76 has proven to survive. The team hopes that is the case here as well. The Dropbox has been updated with all the telemetry observations through (Wednesday, March 4 2015, and can be accessed via the following URL: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-074-50Dollar-Telemetry I have also uploaded an MP3 file from the daytime pass over EN82 land on Friday, February 27, 2015 starting at 16:59 UTC (11:59 AM local time); it can be accessed via the following URL: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-074-50Dollar-MP3 During the recording, I switch back and forth between FM and LSB modes so I can hear the FM Morse beacon as well as the RTTY telemetry. Please keep the telemetry observations coming, especially now! $50SAT was 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. The transmitter power is just 100 mW on 437.505 MHz (+/-9 kHz Doppler shift) FM CW/RTTY. $50SAT uses the low cost Hope RFM22B single chip radio and PICAXE 40X2 processor. There is a discussion group for $50SAT http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/50dollarsat/ 50DollarSat http://www.50dollarsat.info/ [ANS Thanks Michael Kirkhart KD8QBA, the $50SAT/MO-76 team and AMSAT- UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Double School Contact for Samantha Cristoforetti, IZØUDF Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 10:51 UTC, 11:51 local time and at 12:29 UTC, 13:29 local time, students at "G. Salvemini - G. La Pira", Montemurlo, Italy, and "Dante Alighieri" 1st Grade Secondary (Middle) School, Casale Monferrato, Italy established two ARISS contacts with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, IZØUDF onboard the International Space Station. These were direct contacts performed by Amateur radio ground stations IQ5VR, located at "G. Salvemini - G. La Pira" in Montemurlo and IK1SLD located at "Dante Alighieri" School in Casale Monferrato. Presentation G. Salvemini - G. La Pira The school "Salvemini - La Pira" is in Montemurlo, province of Prato, Tuscany region and it is a Secondary Middle School; it has 21 classes with pupils aged between 11 and 14. The name of the school derives from the fusion of the two schools of the commune. This is the only secondary middle school of the area. The schoolhouse hosts around 520 pupils. Presentation "Dante Alighieri" The "Dante Alighieri" School is situated a bit off the town centre of Casale Monferrato, near the ancient Cittadella, province of Alessandria, Piedmont region. It's a modern construction, developed on two main buildings: one for the school's didactical and administrative activities, one for the sport activities (gym and pool). It's surrounded by a wide playground, with a little plantation of poplars, planted by the pupils of the school. There are 12 classrooms (4 at the main floor and 8 at the first floor) and different labs: Science lab, Informatics lab, Techno lab, Art lab, Maths lab, Languages lab and a coloured and wide library. There is also a lot of afternoon activities, such as Latin courses, Languages courses and sport tournaments (soccer, basket, volley). The Dante Secondary I grade School has a current roll of 230 and a teaching staff of 29. In the last few years the school has been enhanced by the richness of its diverse student population. Mentor Francesco De Paolis IK0WGF proposed to the radio coordinators Mr. Alessandro Tesconi IK5EHI and Mr. Claudio Ariotti IK1SLD to set up a combined direct contact, with the support by IK1SLD back-up ground station and this was accepted. A phone conference call allowed the full sharing of the events between all the contact sites involved. The sequence of questions was made alternately by the students at two schools. ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZ0JPA participating to the event in the Montemurlo school, presented the International Space Station, talked about his experience aboard and before the AOS trained the students for thecontact. Great Paolo! Contact was established at 10:51 UTC, 11:51 local time with IR0ISS via IK1SLD and then via IQ5VR, alternately. Mr. Claudio Ariotti IK1SLD proposed to astronaut continue the contact during the following orbit. ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti IZ0UDF agreed. During the first scheduled contact Cristoforetti answered 10 questions from students. Samantha Cristoforetti was really very accurate in giving the answers with many details. At 12:29 UTC, 13:29 local time, contact was established again with IR0ISS, not on the primary channel, which was interfered, but on a back-up channel where the event continued normally without problem. During the second random contact Cristoforetti answered 11 questions from students and exchanged greetings with the schools. Signals from the ISS were good during both passes. Both contacts established with IR0ISS were webcast live on: http://www.livestream.com/amsat_italia (from Montemurlo) http://www.livestream.com/ariss (from Casale Monferrato) The Montemurlo event is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egJ72f_I6To The Casale Monferrato event is available at: http://livestre.am/545U4 Regional and Local Televisions and newspapers covered the event also. About 700 students, parents, visitors and media attended the events at contact sites. The event was announced on ESA Portal - National News: http://tinyurl.com/ANS074-ESAPortalNews (Information is in Italian) [ANS thanks Francesco IK0WGF for the above information] + A Successful contact was made between SCHOOL CITY DIVISION COUNTRY and Astronaut FNAME LNAME CALLSIGN using CALLSIGN NA1SS/IRØISS. The contact began YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct/telebridged via CALLSIGN. ARISS Mentor was CALLSIGN. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Collège Paul Langevin, Saint Junien, France, direct via F8KFZ/P and Ecole "La Malmaison", Rueil-Malmaison, France, direct via F6KFA/p The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled astronaut is Samantha Cristoforetti IZØUDF Contact is a go for: Thu 2015-03-19 08:17:56 UTC ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for any of the contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n at amsat dot org or aj9n at aol dot com. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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FW: AO-7
by KERRY LA*DUKE 15 Mar '15

15 Mar '15

Just worked DJ8MS on AO7b. The distance is 7671.89km. See email below. I first heard Tor via FO29 earlier today. We exchanged emals and decided to try the AO7b pass at 1810Z with great success. Attached are photos Tor sent of his antenna. I used 22 element HiGain with AR2 preamp on RX. 73 WC7V Kerry Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2015 12:05:51 +0100 From: dj8ms(a)web.de To: kladuke1144(a)msn.com Subject: Re: AO-7 Kerry, thanks for the really interessting email. I just got an equivalent mail from John, K8YSE... This is just a copy of what I wrote him, don't want to type it again. :) >>> Yes, indeed I was just trying on AO-7... FO-29 was already far below the horizon and I did not try on it at all, just in the 2 passes earlier. AO-7 was pretty weak all the time just a while ago. It had either an unfortunate direction away from me, or just too few sunlight. I heard/read about such double hops from prior I think FM-SATs. And actually was joking with some other guy years ago to try some dxing with VO-52 and FO-29 I think. As their up&downlink could actually match. A pitty VO-52 is gone... I was calling on AO-7 on 145.954 (local), thus maybe 956 at AO-7 directly... this could give .844 on FO-29 as they have almost constant distant I assume there is not much Doppler. At 10:38 FO-29 was pretty close to your EN91 station, if you used that one, the Doppler was likely minimal too... Sooo I'd assume you've heard me around .845 or so. Does that fit ? Thanks again for this real cool non-scheduled test. >>> No, sri.. I did not hear you, but I'm happy to try again, when you have time. I'm not certain, how much better the window may be for us both, it's extremely high distance. Btw. I just made some pictures of my current setup, after AO-7 set... 73 - Tor, DJ8MS Am 12.03.2015 um 11:51 schrieb KERRY LA*DUKE: Toralf, Heard your cw signal around 10:38Z on FO29. I realized you were actually on AO-7. Once AO-7 was in range I found your signal at around 145.958 on the down link and gave you a call but it must have been at your LOS. Hope to work you sometime. I also heard UA9CS via FO-29. 73 WC7V Kerry dn45rp

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Yaesu G5500 rotor pics?
by Floyd Rodgers 14 Mar '15

14 Mar '15

I need a picture of an assembled azmith rotor part so I can see how the upper and lower case are postioned when the rotor is setting at mid travel. Yes, I forgot to document before dis-assembly for bearing replacement. KC5QBC

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France (IN94) on AO-07B
by Michel F6GLJ 14 Mar '15

14 Mar '15

Hello every body. I'll be on next pass of AO-07 between 17:48 and 18:03, and I hope meet SA and NA stations. A question : I haven't receive any mail on Amsat-BB list since Tuesday, is there a problem ? 73 qro de Michel F6GLJ

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France (IN94) on FO29
by Michel F6GLJ 13 Mar '15

13 Mar '15

Hello, I'll be on next pass of FO29, between 18:10 and 18:15. I hope meet you 73 qro de Michel F6GLJ

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Video of KM4IPF making her first ever QSO on ham radio... (FO-29)
by James Lea - WX4TV 13 Mar '15

13 Mar '15

Hope, KM4IPF, had received her call sign about 30-45 minutes before the satellite pass. Not too many 8 year old girls can make the claim that their first QSO as a licensed ham was via satellite! Rich, W4BUE, was kind enough to invite her and her brother (WX4TVJ) and sister (WA4BBC) to the shack to work the satellite. All three of them were able to make contacts on that pass. https://vimeo.com/122112807 <https://vimeo.com/122112807> 73, James - WX4TV

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT P4A: the worlds first ham radio transponders in geosynchronous orbit
by Michael Fletcher 13 Mar '15

13 Mar '15

Just in case somebody is interested in the concept and engineering, the ITU presentation is downloadable from: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/space/workshops/2015-prague-small-sat/Presentat… Michael, OH2AUE

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K1N DXpedition Article
by Paul Stoetzer 12 Mar '15

12 Mar '15

A very detailed article about the K1N DXpedition has been published in the Twin Cities DX Association's March 2015 newsletter, which is available for download here: http://www.tcdxa.org/newsletter.html There is a short paragraph about the satellite operation and a photograph. 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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eQSL Strategy for multiple grid locations
by Bryan Green 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Greetings, all! I hate to ask, but since i can't find any clear information on it I will: For those who use eQSL, what is the best strategy for maintaining distinct grid locations? I have that figured out for LotW pretty well with one location per grid/callsign combination in TQSL, but eQSL isn't as clear. My desire is to be as speedy with eQSL confirmation as I am now with LotW, maintaining my position just behind Doc WA7HQD as Charter Member #2 LOTW upload-same-day-that-I-work-you Club Thanks in advance for your help! 73! -- bag Bryan KL7CN/W6 CM98fn

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AO-73 - Reminder for Northern Hemisphere Evening Passes
by Paul Stoetzer 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Good evening, Just a reminder that we are starting to lose transponder time here in the Northern Hemisphere on evening passes when the satellite is in it's normal auto eclipse mode. For example, during the second pass over Washington, DC this evening, I have AOS at 02:17 UTC and LOS at 02:30 UTC. However, the satellite will enter sunlight at 02:28:40 UTC, one minute and 20 seconds before LOS and the transponder will shut off. As we move towards the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, transponder time will continue to decrease on the evening passes. At my latitude, by May 15th, for example, the satellite will be in eclipse during evening passes for only 4-5 minutes. On June 21st, the summer solstice, I show about 3 minutes of transponder time on evening passes before the satellite enters sunlight. Keep this in mind if you suddenly hear the transponder shut off during a weekday evening pass. Tune down to the beacon frequency, and you'll find it's suddenly 10 dB louder. 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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New Hams on FO-29
by Clint Bradford 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

That would be a great recording to listen to! Congratulations! Clint K6LCS

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AMSAT @ Science City/Tucson Festival of Books, 14 March
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Hi! AMSAT will be part of the University of Arizona's K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club booth at the 2015 Science City/Tucson Festival of Books, on the main mall of the University of Arizona in Tucson on Saturday, 14 March 2015. This is a large science fair held yearly in Tucson, and AMSAT is happy to support the K7UAZ club. This is a two-day event, but I will only be able to attend on Saturday. More information about this event is available at: http://www.sciencecity.arizona.edu/ During the day (0930-1730 local, 1630-0030 UTC), there may be opportunities for on-air demonstrations of amateur satellite activity. I will have my gear in Tucson for this event, and demonstrations would be done either with my WD9EWK call sign or the radio club's K7UAZ call sign. The University of Arizona campus is in grid DM42. I will post updates during the day from Science City on my @WD9EWK Twitter feed. If you aren't on Twitter, you can still see these updates in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK If WD9EWK is used for the demonstrations, I will upload those QSOs to the Logbook of the World, and have QSL cards available on request for those wanting to receive a written confirmation. Please e-mail me with the QSO details. If K7UAZ is used, please direct those QSL requests to the K7UAZ club. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: [amsat-bb] Settings for Kenwood 710
by Clint Bradford 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

http://www.ariss.org/uploads/1/9/6/8/19681527/k9jkm_2012_symposium_ver2.pdf Sent from my iPod touch.

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Photo upload
by Lee Ernstrom 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Hi Sat Grid Chasers, For those of you I worked and those interested I just uploaded the photo of my grid expedition to DN42ca to my QRZ.com page. Thanks to all for the fun! Doc, WA7HQD

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Kenwood TM-D710 Settings
by Clint Bradford 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

There is a great article for you at http://www.ariss.org on this! Sent from my iPod touch.

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Settings for Kenwood 710
by John Fickes 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Hi Folks I've recently been in talks with a Teacher, that is a ham, and he has done a great job at getting a station set up for his school. And he now is starting to incorporate satellites and has a Kenwwod 710.They have it set up for regular APRS on .390 and it works fine. He found the article from N4LS on setting up a 710 for ISS and give it a try with no luck. Now we know it was a first try with no luck but we just want to make sure on the settings for the radio. For the path the article calls for path to be Type=Other and path=ARISS is this still correct ? I know I use UISS and AGWPE for the ISS and the path I use is To: CQ Via: RS0ISS. I don't remember if ARISS and RS0ISS will both work and I guess I don't understand what Kenwood means by Type. I've told him about the amsat-BB, so he might be signed up,not sure though. So any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 73 John KC0BMF

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DN42 Idaho QSOs
by Lee Ernstrom 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Hi Grid chasers, I had a very successful rover expedition to DN42 this evening and I even got to demonstrate the satellite operation to a guy who was hired by the city of Franklin, Idaho to eradicate the moles, boles and mice in the Franklin cemetary. He held the iPad and told me what direction to point the antenna. I worked K8YSE/7, NR0T, W6GMT, W0DHB, W5CBF, W7SXM, WC7V, VA7VW, and K8YSE. This was great practice and I'm starting to iron out the bugs in my operating techniques. I think I need better coax because I'm getting a little rf feedback. Better to work out the kinks now before the alaska cruise in August. I will upload all contacts to LOTW when I get home. Lee ( Doc) Ernstrom, WA7HQD Sent from my iPad

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DN42
by Lee Ernstrom 10 Mar '15

10 Mar '15

I will be on FO-29 for Pass at 2234 UTC in DN42 WA7HQD

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Yaesu Rotator Controller Parallel Port for sale
by Daniel Cussen 10 Mar '15

10 Mar '15

I noticed on ebay a UK HAM has a Rotator Computer Interface for sale. It is quite an old model with parallel port control and looks to have been home assembled. Photos on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/EA4TX-ARS-Antenna-Rotator-system-controller-wired-f… Info from manufacturer: http://www.ea4tx.com/download/download-ars-manuals/ It seems to be RCI-SE Board which was sold from 2002 till End-2011. It seems to be PIC or similar microcontroller operated, rather than the newer USB arduino version. I don't know the seller but someone here might be glad of the tip.

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Re: [amsat-bb] New M2 LEO Antenna System
by Clint Bradford 10 Mar '15

10 Mar '15

>> ... how many were made on SO-50 ... You are missing the point - ESPECIALLY with the ISS and the upcoming AMSAT-NA FOX-1A project with its 2M downlink, providing up to 400mW TX power, and approximately 6db stronger receive signal than having a 440 downlink. SO ... if one's more "simple" antenna is doing well now with SO-50 and the ISS, just imagine how exciting an educational project FOX-1A is going to be! Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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DN42 anyone?
by Lee Ernstrom 10 Mar '15

10 Mar '15

GE grid hunters, Since Tuesday is my day off and the XYL is still out of town I'm toying with the idea of heading to my son's house up in Cove, Utah at the north end of the state so that he an I can cut loose with our hog legs (mine is a 1911 .45 ACP and his is a 9mm model 19 Glock) on some paper targets. After I bounce the grandkids on my knee for awhile I could slip across the border into Idaho and work the 2234 to 2251 UTC pass of FO-29 in DN42. If there is enough interest I might be persuaded. WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Sent from my iPad

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K1N video
by Andrew Glasbrenner 09 Mar '15

09 Mar '15

Here's a short video of the K1N DXpedition. No satellite ops, but some pretty neat views of the island. http://youtu.be/51xqfySAOB8 73, Drew KO4MA

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Special FUNcube-1 Fitter Message + ISS + 47 GHz
by M5AKA 09 Mar '15

09 Mar '15

Listen to FUNcube-1 during Solar Eclipse http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/09/funcube-1-and-solar-eclipse/ Sarah Brightman’s fellow astronaut gets ham license http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/08/sarah-brightmans-co-astronaut/ RSGB respond to Ofcom 5G consultation - 47 GHz Amateur Satellite Allocation http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/06/rsgb-respond-to-ofcom-5g-consultation/ There will be a special FUNcube-1 AO-73 Fitter Message for Science and Astronomy Weekend (SAW) March 21-22. Among the stations active will be GB0SAW in Basildon, Essex. Mike Lynn @Mike_L G1KOT tweets: Great to hear that @AMSAT_UK are sending out our fitter msg for our SAW event.. @e2v @OfficialHPI @wsplc only weeks to go!! @BritSciAssoc The Sunday Times newspaper covered Sarah Brightman's upcoming mission to the International Space Station (ISS) http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/features/article1527951.ece A press conference is slated for March 10. $50SAT/MO-76: 15 month update http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/05/mo-76-15-months/ Good luck to the Warwick University WUSAT CubeSat team flying out to Sweden March 9 for the sub-orbital launch https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk/posts/849607015082349 ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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Solar eclipse March 20th around 0900UTC
by Graham Shirville 09 Mar '15

09 Mar '15

Hi all, Just a heads-up that we have a total solar eclipse coming up on March 20th which tracks across the North Atlantic and eventually covers a lot of the Arctic. It would seem that this will affect most spacecraft that are in a polar orbit to some extent as, at that sort of time, they would expect to be in sunlight at the time and location. This website has a good animation of the eclipse http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2015-march-20 On FUNcube-1 we have a good power budget which means that we should be able to maintain our normal autonomous operation schedule for the day but, of course, if the spacecraft does go fully into darkness it should switch autonomously to transponder and low power telemetry. It will be interesting to see what actually happens and we hope that as many listeners as possible will upload the data they receive between 0740 and 1150 UTC on that morning. Our Whole Orbit Data will show the solar currents, battery voltage and external temps clearly during this period so we should get a clear understanding of the effects on board. If anyone has some super software that can model the satellite’s track and the expected impact of the solar eclipse it would be great to hear about it! 73 Graham G3VZV

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AMSAT-BB
by Paul Stoetzer 09 Mar '15

09 Mar '15

We sometimes have our disagreements and can get into some heated arguments, but the AMSAT-BB is such a great resource for amateur satellite enthusiasts. Since Friday, we've learned about an antenna special for AMSAT members, a satellite operation on VP2V coming up, an AMSAT partnership with the University of Iowa to fly their experiment on Fox-1D, and a trip to a rare grid. This board is truly a one stop shop for information about all facets of amateur satellites, whether or not your interests lie in operating on the satellites, the technical side of satellite construction, or both! Kudos to all! 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] New M2 LEO Antenna System
by Doug - k4gkj 09 Mar '15

09 Mar '15

Okay boys.... That's enough... Your grounded... No desert tonight. And you can stick your noses in the corner till your ready to come back and play nicely. Be it an economical 'tape measure' design, a telescopic whip, or Acme's super duper 80 foot long gold plated beam with 5 different polarities to choose from, the 100 Watt linear your using is really ruining the fun for the rest of us. Seriously though, this is terrible. The M2 design is something to consider, that is for those that can afford to consider it. And if your serious, it's most likely a viable solution for those in the market.... But I'm sure many starting out will try the economy route. If it's for experimentation or learning, then the whip and tape measure is a great way to go. But if your teaching others, or on a special event - such as an ARISS contact, it only takes the concentration of a couple brain cells to figure out what will serve me best. Either way, the kindness of the folks at M2 is a very nice thing to be thankful for... What I see here is a sad battle of the egos competing against one another. And in the wake of it all, your simply stating obvious facts most already know..... It's obvious yall have issues with each other that goes far beyond 'the ideal antenna'. Get real boys. And take it off line - *please. Doug Bennight K4GKJ -------- Original message -------- From: Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> Date: To: 'Clint Bradford' <clintbradford(a)mac.com>,'Paul Stoetzer' <n8hm(a)arrl.net> Cc: k6lcs(a)ham-sat.info,'AMSAT BB' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] New M2 LEO Antenna System I agree Clint, and there is obviously room for both systems in our store. When can I expect you to have the first batch ready to drop ship to the purchasers? 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Clint Bradford Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2015 7:02 PM To: Paul Stoetzer Cc: k6lcs(a)ham-sat.info Bradford; AMSAT BB Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] New M2 LEO Antenna System >> ... You contributed to this thread because you wanted to make sure >> that people don't think you need a $500 antenna system to work LEOs - and that is true, but on the same token, a $15 tape measure antenna will produce disappointing results in most cases if someone is trying to make QSOs on SO-50. PRECISELY. I believe that - properly marketed - AMSAT-NA could make more profit selling 500 tape measure beam kits this year at $25 retail to schools, individuals, and clubs - than the profit they will realize selling a handful of $500 antenna systems. ESPECIALLY with the FOX projects coming up. What better way to get MORE PEOPLE INVOLVED in the satellites than to offer them an affordable and educational DIY antenna building project for their new satellites? Clint Bradford _______________________________________________ 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://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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] New M2 LEO Antenna System
by Clint Bradford 08 Mar '15

08 Mar '15

This is what makes this aspect of the hobby so incredibly exciting: SUCCESS can be achieved with antennas ranging from the $30 Pryme AL-800 or $25 Smiley 270A ... to handheld $15 home-made tape measure beams ... to beams made out of barbed wire or old umbrellas ... to the commercial units and elevation rotators. I lost track of how many successful satellite contacts Alan N5AFV has made with "merely" his Icom IC-W32a and AL-800 antenna - last time I checked with him, it was MORE THAN 9,000. SO ... please do not think you need to spend hundreds of dollars to work LEOs! Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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DN30vx
by Lee Ernstrom 08 Mar '15

08 Mar '15

Today I drove out to Antelope Island and worked the AO-73 satellite with my FT-897 and my new FT-817 so that I could try and get used to the duplex mode. I'm still not sure whether I should tune my transmitter to the receive frequency or tune the receiver. I know this has been discussed here but I guess I wasn't paying attention. Anyway I was able to work AC0RA, K4FEG, VE5SWL and NX9B. Thanks to all of you for the contacts. I'm trying to get good at duplex operation before our Alaskan cruise this August when I plan to take the 897 and the 817 with me so that I can cover some of those coastal grids that are mostly in the water from Seattle to Skagway. I plan to go back to the Island for this afternoons FO-29 pass. If you are interested is seeing my operation location I just posted the new photo on my QRZ page. Hope to work you all on FO-29 this afternoon from DN30vx. WA7HQD, Doc

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Sat Magazine
by Kevin Deane 08 Mar '15

08 Mar '15

http://www.satnews.com/register_new.php Free...

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ANS-067 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 08 Mar '15

08 Mar '15

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-067 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT-NA and M2 Antenna Systems Announce Member-Only Special Pricing * Fox-1A Delivery and P-POD Integration Set For March 25 * AMSAT and University of Iowa Partner on Scientific Payload for Fox-1D * ISS Deploys Cubesats * I0/W5PFG/P Active on Satellites from Italy * Upcoming ARISS Contact 07 March 2015 * Danish Astronaut Earns Technician License * NASA JPL 2115 MHz Moonshine Signals Received in Australia SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.01 ANS-067 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 067.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. March 8, 2015 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-067.01 AMSAT-NA and M2 Antenna Systems Announce Member-Only Special Pricing M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. of Fresno, CA introduced the new satellite antenna LEO- Pack using their 436CP16 and 2MCP8A yagis during the 2015 HamCation in Orlando, FL. The 436CP16 and 2MCP8A are light weight, circularly polarized antennas optimized for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite communications or other applications where a small circular polarized antenna is required. Optimum match and gain designed for the satellite band. Rear mounted for easy coaxial cable routing. A preamp (not included) can be mounted close to the antenna for almost no coax loss before the preamp, maximizing your receive performance. Computer design techniques help keep spurious side lobes down for optimum signal to noise rations. Both the 436CP16 and 2MCP8A feature the same CNC machined, O- ring and silicone-gel sealed, driven element assemblies common to all M2 Yagi Antennas. This insures years of trouble free performance regardless of weather. M2 designed a custom LEO cross boom to pair these two antennas together for a very manageable amateur satellite ground station. AMSAT-NA and M2 Antenna Systems are pleased to announce that the LEO-Pack system is being offered to members only at $499, shipping included (US only). Non- members can join AMSAT-NA at time of purchase to participate in this special purchase. The M2 list price is $545.99. To place your order, visit the AMSAT store at: http://store.amsat.org/catalog/ M2 Antenna System's LEO-Pack page can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/nyhgmcr [ANS thanks the AMSAT Store and Robert Brown, KR7O, Amateur Marketing and Sales Manager at M2 Antenna Systems for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1A Delivery and P-POD Integration Set For March 25 Following the successful conclusion of vibration and thermal/vacuum testing Fox-1 now is stored in a clean environment waiting for launch. AMSAT Vice- President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY says several required reports are being reviewed by the launch provider. Fox-1 completed its Mission Readiness Review (MRR) at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo CA on February 24 before a review board of Cal Poly and NASA representatives. Jerry sums it all up, "Fox-1A delivery/P-POD integration is now set, for March 25, 2015 at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. From there, we won’t see her again – but certainly look forward to hearing from her again!" Ongoing updates will be posted on the AMSAT web page, on the AMSAT-NA Facebook page, and in the AMSAT Journal. [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT and University of Iowa Partner on Scientific Payload for Fox-1D AMSAT and the University of Iowa have agreed to include the University’s HERCI (High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment on Fox-1D. According to Don Kirchner, KDØL, Research Engineer at the University of Iowa, “HERCI is intended to provide a mapping of radiation in a low earth orbit. This is of scientific interest for planning CubeSat test flights for low energy X-Ray detectors.” “The instrument consists of a digital processing unit (DPU) derived from processors currently in orbit around Saturn on Cassini and on the way to Jupiter on the Juno spacecraft,” says Kirchner. “The DPU was shrunk to a CubeSat form factor with funding from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.” The University of Iowa’s history in spaceflight research dates back to the earliest satellites. As Kirchner puts it, “HERCI can be considered a direct descendent of the first University of Iowa spaceflight instrument flown on Explorer I in 1958. The instrument is being constructed as a Senior Design Project by four Electrical Engineering students from the UI College of Engineering, under supervision of Space Physics engineering staff from the Department of Physics and Astronomy.” AMSAT’s VP of Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY, noted the win-win benefits of the agreement, stating, “This partnership with the University of Iowa illustrates our strategy of leveraging the new CubeSat design to assist universities that need a way to fly scientific payloads while providing a viable ongoing platform for amateur radio.” [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- I0/W5PFG/P Active on Satellites from Italy Clayton, W5PFG, will be active as I0/W5PFG/P from Italy between March 7-12th. He will operate the satellites from Rome (WW Loc. JN61et). He states, "Due to my work schedule, I will only be available to work satellite passes in the late evening or early morning hours. If you would like to schedule a contact, please send an E-mail to w5pfg at arrl.net. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1205 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISS Deploys Cubesats Lambda-Sat was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on July 13, 2014, in an Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket CRS-2/ORB-2. Deployment from the ISS took place on March 4, 2015 along with the MicroMAS CubeSat. This followed the deployment of two other CubeSats GEARRSAT and TechEdSat-4. The Lambda team encourages amateur radio operators around the world to listen for and report the Lambda-Sat signal. Frequency: 437.462 MHz Downlink: AX.25 Unnumbered Information (UI) packets at 1200 bps AFSK Transmission Power : 1W Call Sign KK6DFZ The Secretary of the Cyprus Amateur Radio Society (CARS) Nestor 5B4AHZ has written an article on Lambda-Sat, he says: The naming of the Lambda-sat satellite came from the Greek letter L, lambda, a reminder of Hellas, Helios, the Greek word Thalassa for sea, the Greek word Lithos which directly translates to stone (meaning “Land of Light”). The Lambda-sat was constructed entirely of Greek volunteers who worked feverishly, selflessly and without any personal gain. Members of Lambda-sat contributed to the construction of the satellite system each with their knowledge in robotics, electronics, software development and telecommunications. The group consists of young people from Greece who traveled to Silicon Valley in California to participate in this project. “I want to motivate the youth in Greece to continue to dream,” says the original initiator of the project, Periklis Papadopoulos, Professor of Aerospace Engineering of the Federal University of California San Jose, which has been awarded from NASA for his contribution with the prize Turning Goals Into Reality (TGIR). As the professor states, “My goal is to demonstrate the capabilities of young people in Greece.” The professor believes that our country could be active in this area and this is not an economic issue, but a question of will alone. Reception reports of Lambda-Sat came be submitted to: http://lambdasat.com/?page_id=181 Additional Lambda-Sat links: Lambda-Sat http://lambdasat.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lambdateam Article on Lambda-Sat by Nestor 5B4AHZ http://www.cyhams.org/index.php/en/news-and-events/359-the-first-greek- microsatellite-is-a-fact [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact 07 March 2015 An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at G. Salvemini - G. La Pira, Montemurlo, Italy, and "Dante Alighieri" 1st Grade Secondary (Middle) School, Casale Monferrato, Italy on 07 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:51 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between IR0ISS and two other stations IK1SLD and IQ5VR. The contact should be audible over portions of Italy and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English/Italian. The school "Salvemini - La Pira" is in Montemurlo, province of Prato, Tuscany region and it is a Secondary Middle School; it has 21 classes with pupils aged between 11 and 14. The name of the school derives from the fusion of the two schools of the commune. This is the only secondary middle school of the area. The schoolhouse hosts around 520 pupils. The "Dante Alighieri" School is situated a bit off the town centre of Casale Monferrato, near the ancient Cittadella, province of Alessandria, Piedmont region. It's a modern construction, developed on two main buildings: one for the school's didactical and administrative activities, one for the sport activities (gym and pool). It's surrounded by a wide playground, with a little plantation of poplars, planted by the pupils of the school. There are 12 classrooms (4 at the main floor and 8 at the first floor) and different labs: Science lab, Informatics lab, Techno lab, Art lab, Maths lab, Languages lab and a coloured and wide library. There is also a lot of afternoon activities, such as Latin courses, Languages courses and sport tournaments (soccer, basket, volley). The Dante Secondary I grade School has a current roll of 230 and a teaching staff of 29. In the last few years the school has been enhanced by the richness of its diverse student population. [ANS thanks Dave, AA4KN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Danish Astronaut Earns Technician License Danish Astronaut Andreas Mogensen Andreas Mogensen completed his license class on Feb 23 and passed his exam on Feb 25. He has been assined the callsign KG5GCZ. Andreas was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009 and completed the astronaut basic training programme at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany in November 2010. Since completing the astronaut basic training programme, Andreas has been trained and certified as a private pilot by the Lufthansa flight school and is trained and qualified for spacewalks using both the American EMU suit and the Russian Orlan suit. Andreas has been assigned to a 10-day mission to the International Space Station to be launched September 2015 on the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft. He will be the first astronaut of Danish nationality to go to space. [ANS thanks ARISS and ESA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA JPL 2115 MHz Moonshine Signals Received in Australia Last week's NASA JPL EME lunar ranging experiment was received in Australia. On Tuesday March 3 between 0600 to 0900 UTC, the JPL tested its Lunar Ranging Experiment. With JPL using 20 kilowatts into a 34-metre antenna, it was suggested that reception of the reflected signal would be possible on a basic receiving antenna. This inspired Noel Ferguson VK3FI in Mildura, who decided to have a listen. As his three metre dish was out of service, he decided to try an old "grid pack" pay TV antenna to pick up the reflection on 2115 MHz. The initial noise floor was about strength five. The reflected signal first appeared as the moon rose over the tree line at about 0820 UTC, with the moon's distance at that time about four hundred and three thousand kilometers from earth. Signals in Mildura peaked at strength seven using the FT847 as an IF on 164 MHz. Noel VK3FI reports that reception continued through to 0900 UTC, when the JPL test was terminated. Well done on getting that signal. [ANS thanks Vk1wia-news, Australia's WIA 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, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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New M2 LEO pack antenna system is now available in AMSAT store
by Andrew Glasbrenner 07 Mar '15

07 Mar '15

Since not everyone reads ANS or the Twitter or Facebook feeds, I thought I'd share this here a bit early. 73, Drew KO4MA M2 Antenna Systems, Inc. of Fresno, CA introduced the new satellite antenna LEO-Pack using their 436CP16 and 2MCP8A yagis during the 2015 HamCation in Orlando, FL. The 436CP16 and 2MCP8A are light weight, circularly polarized antennas optimized for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite communications or other applications where a small circular polarized antenna is required. Optimum match and gain designed for the satellite band. Rear mounted for easy coaxial cable routing. A preamp (not included) can be mounted close to the antenna for almost no coax loss before the preamp, maximizing your receive performance. Computer design techniques help keep spurious side lobes down for optimum signal to noise rations. Both the 436CP16 and 2MCP8A feature the same CNC machined, O-ring and silicone-gel sealed, driven element assemblies common to all M2 Yagi Antennas. This insures years of trouble free performance regardless of weather. M2 designed a custom LEO cross boom to pair these two antennas together for a very manageable amateur satellite ground station. AMSAT-NA and M2 Antenna Systems are pleased to announce that the LEO-Pack system is being offered to members only at $499, shipping included (US only). Non-members can join AMSAT-NA at time of purchase to participate in this special purchase. The M2 list price is $545.99. To place your order, visit the AMSAT store at: http://store.amsat.org/catalog/ M2 Antenna System's LEO-Pack page can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/nyhgmcr

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N2IEN in VP2V
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 07 Mar '15

07 Mar '15

Got an email from N2IEN stating he will be in VP2V this coming Thursday through Sunday with Arrow and VX8. His QSL manager is Rex NR6M for those that work him. Dave-KB1PVH Sent from my Samsung S4

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test
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 07 Mar '15

07 Mar '15

Please ignore Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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UHF Preamp Needed
by Paul - K6HR 06 Mar '15

06 Mar '15

Anyone have an ARR MSP432VDG-160 preamp excess to their needs they want to sell? Paul Delaney - K6HR paul.hamradio(a)verizon.net http://gw.k6hr.ampr.org:8080

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Operate a camera aboard an interplanetary spacecraft
by Clint Bradford 06 Mar '15

06 Mar '15

In May, the ‘webcam’ on board Mars Express will be available for public imaging requests. The European Space Agency is inviting schools, science clubs and youth groups to submit proposals for one of eight opportunities to image another planet. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Have_you_ever_used_a_camera_on… Clint Bradford K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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Dawn In Orbit Around Ceres
by B J 06 Mar '15

06 Mar '15

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-spacecraft-becomes-first-to-orbit… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: [amsat-bb] Antenna question
by Jacob Tennant 06 Mar '15

06 Mar '15

So as I understand the general consensus with this antenna a small up tilt is all I need even if my western horizon is almost 45 degrees. Nobody mention anything about my ides of tilting the antenna at 45 degrees, halfway between horizontal and vertical? Any comments on that idea? Or should I just install it horizontal with the UHF side up for better reception of the UHF downlink satellites. Jacob Tennant WF8S On Thursday, March 5, 2015, Rolf Krogstad <rolf.krogstad(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Jacob, > > I have that same antenna which I use for satellite work. > I have it mounted vertical polarization and I modified the mounting > bracket so it is mounted at about a 15 degree elevation. > It seems to work quite well except when the satellites are directly > overhead. And that rarely happens in practice as I am not on that many > passes every month. > > The difference between us is that I have it above my HF yagi at the top of > my 50 foot tower, so I am over the trees and houses and I find I can work > down to the horizon. I think a 45 degree angle for your situation would be > too much. Maybe something more like 25 to 30 degrees. > Most of the time you will be aiming at satellites in lower elevations > where they are farther away, so that should give you the best performance > when they are the furthest. And when they are overhead they are much > closer so it seems to work ok. > > You will have to get a couple of diplexers to act as filters otherwise the > desense of transmitting so close to your receiving antenna will make it > hard to heard yourself on the downlink. > > GL es 73 > > Rolf, NR0T > Grid = EN34it > Amsat #38889 > Amsat-UK > > On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 10:09 PM, John Geiger <af5cc(a)fidmail.com > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','af5cc(a)fidmail.com');>> wrote: > >> Hi Jacob, >> >> I have had a few of those antennas before. Are you only going to use it on >> the satellites, or are you thinking of using it for terresterial use as >> well? As you look at the antennas, one set of elements is on the top of >> the boom and the other set of elements are on the bottom of the boom. >> When >> it is mounted for horizontal polarization, the band that is on the top has >> a rather high angle of elevation. I always mounted it with the UHF >> elements >> on top, so the satellites would have to get up a bit in elevation before I >> could really pick them up well on Mode J. When VO52 was on, being Mode B, >> I >> would work it from horizon to horizon. The band on the bottom side of the >> boom seemed to function as one would expect a yagi to. >> >> If you were only going to use it for the satellites, mounting it for >> vertical polarization might eliminate this problem and give similar >> performance on both bands. I have never tried that, but someone who has >> might answer that question for you (and for me if I ever get another one). >> I am now using separate antennas for 2m and 70cm and the Diamond 15 >> element >> yagi I have for UHF hears SO50 better than the A270-10S usually did. >> >> 73 John AF5CC >> >> P.S. congrats on the 2 x 1 callsign as well! >> >> On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 9:52 PM, Jacob Tennant <jakewf8s(a)gmail.com >> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','jakewf8s(a)gmail.com');>> wrote: >> >> > A buddy of mine has given me a Cushcraft A270-10S dual-band antenna. I >> was >> > going to try to use it start my satellite antenna farm and was thinking >> of >> > mounting it on a rotator, angled at 45 degrees up from the horizon and >> > angled at 45 degrees polarization. >> > >> > The main reason for the high up angle is that I live in a bit of a >> valley >> > or as I call it a hole. North and South aren't to bad as I have heard >> > passes at about 20 degrees, to the east my horizon is about 25 to30 >> > degrees. To the west though I have a horizon of 40 degrees. >> > >> > So I was thinking wit the antenna pointed at 45 degrees above the >> horizon >> > would give me the best chance all around. >> > >> > Am I on the right track or lost in the snow? >> > >> > Or would I be better to just mount the antenna horizontal aimed at the >> > horizon and take what I can get? >> > >> > Jacob Tennant WF8S >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org >> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org >> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> > >

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Are satellites visible by moon light?
by Graham Shirville 05 Mar '15

05 Mar '15

Last night was cold and clear here in the UK and the moon was full, or nearly full. I could easily see a number of aircraft “con” trails by the moonlight. This got me thinking about whether it would be possible to see space objects by moonlight in good conditions. Maybe it has already done or maybe it would not work but I would love to know! thanks and 73 Graham G3VZV

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Predicting launch times to space stations
by andy thomas 05 Mar '15

05 Mar '15

Hi I remember a few years ago the question arose about the launch window to the ISS. I think there was a program or algorithm that, based on the TLE of the station and lat/long of the launch site, looked at the sub-satellite points of the station orbiting over the launch site, and calculated the launch by allowing a delay so that the launch vehicle orbited behind the station prior to docking. Could anyone guide me towards the method or program, please? The reason for the request is to apply it to a review of the launch of the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft to the Tiangong-1 space station. I am interested in what the options were for the launch window of Shenzhou-10, i.e. when other launches could have taken place, but didn't. I'm sure that there was a couple of days around the actual launch, and a period of time before and after until the window appeared again. But I would like to nail the issue. Any help gratefully received e.g by direct email: andythomasmail AT gmail Dot com or AT yahoo Dot co Dot uk thanks in advance 73 de andy g0sfj

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Lambda-Sat CubeSat – ISS Deployment
by M5AKA 05 Mar '15

05 Mar '15

Lambda-Sat CubeSat – ISS Deployment http://amsat-uk.org/2014/08/23/lambdasat-cubesat-iss-deployment/ Radio hams will be at BBC Solar Eclipse event http://amsat-uk.org/2015/03/02/radio-hams-will-be-at-bbc-solar-eclipse-even… RSGB respond to Ofcom UHF review (70cm band) http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/26/rsgb-respond-to-uhf-review/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK ----

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 10, Issue 82 Message 12
by K5VOU 05 Mar '15

05 Mar '15

Omedetoogozaimasu ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Wed, 04 Mar 2015 09:47:26 +0900 From:<tanaka(a)fit.ac.jp> To:<amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] FITSAT-1 Message-ID:<20150304004726.0000307C.0378(a)fit.ac.jp> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Dear Ham Friends, The paper of FITSAT-1 was accepted on Journal of Acta Astronoutica\\(^O^) // http://WWW.fit.ac.jp/~tanaka/paper/1-s2.0-S0094576514004019-main.pdf Best 73, JA6AVG -- Takushi Tanaka

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Antenna question
by Jacob Tennant 05 Mar '15

05 Mar '15

A buddy of mine has given me a Cushcraft A270-10S dual-band antenna. I was going to try to use it start my satellite antenna farm and was thinking of mounting it on a rotator, angled at 45 degrees up from the horizon and angled at 45 degrees polarization. The main reason for the high up angle is that I live in a bit of a valley or as I call it a hole. North and South aren't to bad as I have heard passes at about 20 degrees, to the east my horizon is about 25 to30 degrees. To the west though I have a horizon of 40 degrees. So I was thinking wit the antenna pointed at 45 degrees above the horizon would give me the best chance all around. Am I on the right track or lost in the snow? Or would I be better to just mount the antenna horizontal aimed at the horizon and take what I can get? Jacob Tennant WF8S

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UT1FG/MM FJ08 on FO-29 at 21:05 UTC
by Clayton Coleman 04 Mar '15

04 Mar '15

Yuri UT1FG indicated one more hour until his next grid (FJ07) on FO-29 at 21:05 4-March. He has traversed the Panama Canal system. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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Yaesu G5400-B parts needed
by w4upd 04 Mar '15

04 Mar '15

I am presently working on rebuilding my G-5400 rotator. I have the elevation unit done and seems to work fine. However, I have finally started working on the azimuth unit and find that one of the two mast clamps has a crack at the top. I was wondering if anyone has a spare(s) or a unit not working that you can part out. The rotator itself works but needs some TLC with bearings, greasing etc. The mast mounting clamp halves have the part number: 7501-075. I only need one since they are the same, but two would be fine but not necessary. You can contact me off the list. Reid, W4UPD

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FITSAT-1
by tanaka＠fit.ac.jp 04 Mar '15

04 Mar '15

Dear Ham Friends, The paper of FITSAT-1 was accepted on Journal of Acta Astronoutica\\(^O^) // http://WWW.fit.ac.jp/~tanaka/paper/1-s2.0-S0094576514004019-main.pdf Best 73, JA6AVG -- Takushi Tanaka

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB outage and changes.
by Joe Fitzgerald 04 Mar '15

04 Mar '15

Glen Zook<gzook at yahoo.com >wrote: >Unfortunately, Yahoo is still dumping most AMSAT BB messages to the SPAM >folder. Glen, K9STH Glen, Thanks for your feedback. So far, the change I implemented seems to be working ... note that your "From" address has been "munged" such that it no longer claims to be sent from a Yahoo! server, when it in fact comes from amsat.org - the AMSAT server checked to see if yahoo.com had a restrictive DMARC policy, saw that it did, so replaced your address with the list address. Other mail servers around the internet don't see a DMARC policy violation, and list mail is delivered. Spam folders, on the other hand, are a separate problem. ISP's have a different methods of sorting spam from ham. Yahoo! has some tips for its users at: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/mail/SLN4910.html Other ISP's have their own procedures. -Joe KM1P

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UT1FG/MM FJ09 - 21:56 UTC
by Clayton Coleman 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

I just worked Yuri from the Panama Canal, grid FJ09. He indicated he would be in the Pacific Ocean around 0600 (local) tomorrow. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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K4AMG request for orbit data
by wa7eth＠frontier.com 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

This web site will provide you ten days of orbit data. You will have to put in your location but it works great. You can put in any satellite you like and it will show the orbit data and even provide a map with the track on it..LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING AND PREDICTIONS: ISS (ZARYA) | | | | | | | | | LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING AND PREDICTIONS: ISS (ZARYA)This is the main page of the real time satellite tracking web site, tracking thousands of satellites and other objects, showing WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY, making predictions about satellite passes over your location, sending alerts and more. | | | | View on www.n2yo.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | | .73'..Ed WA7ETH

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AMSAT P4A: the worlds first ham radio transponders in geosynchronous orbit
by Michael Fletcher 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

It is now the second day of the ITU Symposium and Workshop on small satellite regulation and communication systems (Prague, Czech Republic, 2-4 March 2015). The symposium is streamed live at: http://media.fel.cvut.cz/stream/itu.asx Apparently this will only work with Windows Media Player. Todays lectures just started with SSTL. There is a presentation at ~17:50 local time: "Es’hail-2 Satellite AMSAT Payload" The presentation schedule may be found here: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/space/workshops/2015-prague-small-sat/Documents… This presentation covers also frequencies, polarisation data and block diagrams of the implementation. Maybe food for thought stateside, how something similar could be negotiated with the NA space industry ? With some clever planning, maybe even some continent hopping could be implemented ;-) Symposium main page: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/space/workshops/2015-prague-small-sat/Pages/def… Michael, OH2AUE

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help with satpc32
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

Sunday my satpc32 crashed probably from picking a de orbited sat . I erased files and now my rotator is off in azimuth by 225 deg changing the turning point from N to south and calibration has no effect Pse help Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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73 on 73 Awards #12, #13, and #14
by Paul Stoetzer 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

Good evening, Three more 73 on 73 Awards have been issued since my last update. Congratulations to the following operators for working 73 different stations on AO-73 since September 1, 2014: #12 - Jerry Tuyls, ON4CJQ #13 - Jose Elias Diaz Rodriquez, EB1FVQ #14 - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG For more information on the award see http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/ 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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AMSAT-BB outage and changes.
by Joe Fitzgerald 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

The GNU Mailman software used to manage our mailing lists is in the process of being upgraded to address the problem with some ISP's rejecting messages. Some difficulties in this upgrade caused an outage for the last day or so. The outage is believed to be behind us, however additional configuration work still needs to be done to take advantage of the new capabilities of the upgrade and get mail to all addressees with a minimum of confusion and delay. Thank you for your patience. -Joe KM1P

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FT-8800 SO-50
by Bob- W7LRD 03 Mar '15

03 Mar '15

I am having some "issues" setting up the frequencies for SO-50 with a FT8800. Anyone familiar, email me off list. 73 Bob W7LRD

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73 on 73
by on4cjq＠telenet.be 02 Mar '15

02 Mar '15

Hello all Today i received my 73 on 73 Award, #12 ! Only my last name is written wrong on it,but it doesn't bother me(on the envelop it was correct),hihi. Thank you all for working me on AO-73, i got 78 initials in 5weeks of activity on the sat. Best 73's,hope te meet you on the birds. Jerry,ON4CJQ

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I0/W5PFG/P JN61et, 7-12 March Marzo
by Clayton Coleman 01 Mar '15

01 Mar '15

During 7-12 of March, I will operate satellites from Rome, Italy. Due to my work schedule, I will only be available to work satellite passes in the late evening or early morning hours. If you would like to schedule a contact, please send an email to w5pfg at arrl.net. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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EL84 Dry Tortugas May 4-6th, 2015
by John Papay 01 Mar '15

01 Mar '15

The March 2, 2015 edition of the OPDX Bulletin edited by Tedd Mirgilotta KB8NW states the following: "NA-079. Mike, WA0SPG, who will be on his first DXpedition, will be active as WA0SPG/4 from the Dry Tortugas between May 4-6th. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB. Equipment will be a KX3 and a FT-817 into a buddipole vertical dipole near saltwater, Alpha vertical and Loop antenna. Mike will also be on the satellite using 2x FT-817's for SO-50 and FO-29 (CW/SSB) with both arrow and elk antennas. All power will be by Goal Zero batteries being charged by Solar PV panels. QSL via his home callsign." The OPDX Bulletin can be read every Sunday on http://wwww.papays.com/opdx.html EL84 is one of the grids that is needed for the 488 Continental USA Gridmasters Award offered by the Star Comm Group (http://starcommgroup.org/index.html) hosted by Rick WA4NVM and Damon WA4HFN. The last operation from the Dry Tortugas was by K4T back in 2010. You can read about it at http://www.papays.com/sat/k4t.html This one is a little more rare than DM03, but only if you don't have it confirmed! 73, John K8YSE

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Anyone still need DN-30?
by Lee Ernstrom 01 Mar '15

01 Mar '15

I'm thinking about heading out to Antelope Island for the 22:05 to 22:30 pass of FO-29. Anyone still need DN30? WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Sent from my iPad

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help with satps32 update
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 01 Mar '15

01 Mar '15

This is an update on my earlier post when I open satpc32 it puts in Germen an error invalid floating point operation clicking the ok button does not respond and it continues to through errors and the only way to stop the program is to reboot Please help? Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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satpc 32 help
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 01 Mar '15

01 Mar '15

On start up satpc32 running on xp on start up throws an error I think divide by 0 error What file do I have to delete to get going again Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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Best portable beam
by John Geiger 01 Mar '15

01 Mar '15

I am looking at getting a dualband antenna to take on some grid activations while traveling this year, and wonder if there is a consensus as to which one is the best? It wouldn't have to be a specific handheld one as I think most of the dualband ones can be held by the end of the boom and also mounted for portable operations. 73 John AF5CC

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Help on ISS Packet Needed
by Richard Lawn 28 Feb '15

28 Feb '15

Years ago I used to understand packet and actually used to work the store and forward orbiting BBS satellites we had access to. Things have changed radically in my station setup and I'm baffled as to how to get things to work together. I'm sure I could re-learn this if I knew what to read that would walk me through things and refresh my memory. Here is my software/hardware setup: Flex5000A V/U I use virtual serial and audio ports and the computer's sound card. I have installed: UISS, AGWPE, Packet Engine Pro, UZ7HO Term and SoundModem Using AGWPE and UISS I am receiving packet station son 144.390 no problem. Past that I'm stumped on how to get the transmit side going and what protocols are used for connecting to anything let along ISS. Any help would be appreciated and for that matter just point me to something I can read and come away understanding this. It's days like this that I long for hardware TNC's and radios with knobs! :) Although I'd still probably have trouble as I was a lot younger when I got all this to work years ago. 73 Rick, W2JAZ

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