- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Anyone want to work DM32 tomorrow afternoon?
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 08 Nov '14

08 Nov '14

Hi! After the Tucson Hamfest wraps up tomorrow, I am thinking about driving home via grid DM32 south of Phoenix. I could work some passes in the afternoon, possibly into the early evening. If you want to try for a satellite QSO with DM32 tomorrow, please e-mail me directly. As with my other road trips, my travels should show up on APRS. Look for WD9EWK-9 there, or use this link: http://aprs.fi/wd9ewk-9 I also use Twitter to send out updates. You are welcome to follow me (@WD9EWK), or if you don't do Twitter use this link to read my Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK-9 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Another satellite demo Saturday (8 November) AM
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 08 Nov '14

08 Nov '14

Hi! Craig KL4E e-mailed a bunch of us, asking to pass along a bit of last- minute news.... KL4E will do a satellite demonstration from grid DM16 in southern Nevada during the 1619-1627 UTC SO-50 pass tomorrow morning. Please call Craig and be a part of his demo if you hear him on. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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AO-40 Mounting Bracket FS - Benefits AMSAT-NA
by Clint Bradford 08 Nov '14

08 Nov '14

Details at ... http://tinyurl.com/FOX-FUNDRAISING Sent from my iPod touch.

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FUNcube/AO-73 Mode change
by Jim Heck 07 Nov '14

07 Nov '14

Hi Folks, FUNcube/AO-73 is now in continuous transponder mode with low power beacon, as at 19:15 UTC. Change back to Auto eclipse mode planned for Sunday PM UTC. Enjoy the transponder 73s Jim G3WGM

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Amsat.org Celestrak.com tle.info SatPC32
by Thomas Doyle 07 Nov '14

07 Nov '14

Q: Amsat.org, celestrak.com, tle.info and a host of others provide TLE lists for use with tracking programs. Which one should I use. A: In my humble opinion - unless you are a beginner - none of them. This is not a big deal but if you are interested in a simple alternative that puts you in control of your lists take a look here www.tomdoyle.org/TleTools If this does not work for you check around as I am sure there must be many other people who have created similar and possibly better programs for doing this very simple task. It is early days for this program so let me know how it goes. 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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AMSAT @ Tucson (Arizona) hamfest, this Saturday
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 07 Nov '14

07 Nov '14

Hi! I will have an AMSAT booth at the Tucson Hamfest in southern Arizona this Saturday, 8 November 2014. The hamfest will be at a school in the city of Marana, about 20 miles/32km northwest of downtown Tucson along the I-10 freeway. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://www.tucsonhamradio.com/tucson-hamfest During the hamfest, on-air demonstrations of satellite operating will be done. Either WD9EWK or K8YSE/7 will be on the air from the hamfest site, in grid DM42jk, throughout the morning. If you hear either of these calls on the air Saturday morning, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. I'll take care of QSLing any QSOs with WD9EWK, and John will do the same for any QSOs with K8YSE/7 at the hamfest. WD9EWK QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World. Don't forget that the AMSAT web site has an updated listing of events with an AMSAT presence. That listing can be seen at: http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=218 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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W7O scheduling
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 07 Nov '14

07 Nov '14

Hi! Thanks to all who have posted in public forums and sent me private e-mails about the upcoming W7O operation. I am now ready to take sign-ups for those who would like to operate as W7O during the 15-24 November (UTC time) period. An important point regarding who can operate as W7O... W7O can only be operated from US territory, where amateur radio is regulated by the FCC. It cannot be used from outside US territory, as these 1x1 special calls - just like US club calls - are not covered by any of the arrangements like CEPT, IARP, or other agreements between the USA and other countries. I have been asked by some non-USA hams who were interested in operating as xxx/W7O or W7O/xxx in their countries. I'm sorry - this is not possible. For the HF/6m operating, I will take signups for one- hour increments on the HF bands (excluding 60m) plus 6m, for CW, phone, and digital modes. For the 30m band, only CW and digital modes. I am wanting to avoid two stations operating on the same band/mode combination as W7O at the same time. If you are willing to operate for 2, 4 or more hours at one time - please feel free to sign up for more consecutive slots. Also, please let me know about your HF station - rig(s), antenna(s), etc. If you do sign up, please follow through with being on the air at the specified times. Stations will be looking for W7O on the different bands. For the satellites, I am looking for operators in different parts of the USA. In particular, operators in the eastern USA capable of working Europe, north Africa, and South America along with North America will be welcomed. Other operators who are not able to work other continents are also welcome, but there has been interest from hams outside of North America to work W7O on the satellites - especially AO-7. I plan on working W7O on the satellites during weeknights and as much as possible on the two weekends during this 10-day period, but would be happy to share the work with others who may want to work as W7O during those times. Operators would need to operate within the limits of their amateur licenses. The W7O call does not grant additional privileges to the operator. Operators are required to give their personal call signs once per hour when operating under a 1x1 special call. For example, saying "W7O, operated by (operator's call)" would satisfy this requirement. On the satellites with passes that are typically 10 to 20 minutes in length, giving the "W7O, operated by (operator's call)" announcement around the midpoint of each pass worked would be a good thing. Once I get some operating commitments from operators, I will publish the schedule through a link on my WD9EWK QRZ.com entry and my web page. This way, others will know where and when to look for W7O during this 10-day period. After the 24th, W7O operators would need to send me a log of stations worked, with the usual bits of data - date/UTC time, call, band (or bands, for satellite QSOs), mode, and (for satellites) satellite name. I can handle ADIF log files, Excel spreadsheets, text files, and logs pasted into the body of e-mails. If you are not able to send me a file in any of these formats, please let me know, so we can work out a way to get the logs. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and I (WD9EWK) will handle the QSL cards for W7O. Please e-mail me directly if you're interested in operating as W7O, or if you have any other questions about this operation. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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W1AW/7 SO-50
by Bob- W7LRD 07 Nov '14

07 Nov '14

0135Z W1AW/7 will be on SO-50 73 Bob W7LRD

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W1AW/7 SO-50 Washington
by Bob- W7LRD 06 Nov '14

06 Nov '14

next SO-50 pass at 1706Z-will try to work as many as possible-if you have worked W1AW/7 before please do not call-circuit discipline is a must-I will have about 12 minutes. 73 Bob W1AW/7 aka W7LRD

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W1AW/7 SO-50
by Bob- W7LRD 06 Nov '14

06 Nov '14

Next two passes possibly the third this morning 73 Bob W7LRD

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WTB working Yaesu 5400 or 5500 rotor
by Jeff 06 Nov '14

06 Nov '14

Must work 100% – please send condition/price shipped to 08750, to my email. Thanks, Jeff K2SDR jkelly at verizon.net

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Japanese Microsatellites Launched
by M5AKA 06 Nov '14

06 Nov '14

Kosmotras report all spacecraft have been inserted into their target orbits. http://amsat-uk.org/2014/11/06/japanese-microsatellites-launched/ ---- 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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w1aw/7
by Bob- W7LRD 06 Nov '14

06 Nov '14

SO-50 W. W1AW/7 W. Coast this pass 73 Bob W7LRD

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W1AW/7
by Bob- W7LRD 05 Nov '14

05 Nov '14

I will be putting W1AW/7 on satellites as time permits from Washington (state). If you need that contact drop me a email. I will try to announce on the bb in advance as much as I can. Ward if you read this email me 73 Bob W1AW/7 aka W7LRD

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Re: [amsat-bb] STUDENT INTERN OPPORTUNITY
by Kilroy, Patrick L. (GSFC-5680) 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

Picked up by ARRL very nicely: http://www.arrl.org/news/nasa-gsfc-seeks-cubesat-simulator-intern Please pass on THIS LINK to any college kids with a major in EE or ECE that you know. Thank you! Cheers, Pat N8PK In FM19 P.S. There are LOTS of paid internship Opportunities listed at the OSSI site in addition to mine, hundreds at my location and the ten other NASA field center locations, for this spring (AND this coming summer, although the application process for summer does not open until later). Students interested in summer-only positions ought to be applying in December and early January. The NASA OSSI site: https://intern.nasa.gov

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Dnepr MicroSat launch Nov 6 07:40 UT
by M5AKA 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

@Zarya_Info tweets that the Dnepr launch from Dombarovsky near Yasny is planned for Nov 6 around 07:40 UT http://zarya.info/a The Dnepr is believed to carry four microsatellites: ChubuSat 1 (Kinshachi 1) 437.485 MHz Hodoyoshi 1 467.674 MHzTsubame 437.505 and 437.250 MHz QSAT-EOS (Tsukushi) an AX.25 GMSK payload has been reported but frequency unknown QSAT-EOS Facebook https://ja-jp.facebook.com/pages/Qsat-Eos-Project/105478576258136 Twitter https://twitter.com/QSAT_EOS ----Trevor M5AKAAMSAT-UKWebsite http://amsat-uk.org/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatukTwitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

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Donate to AMSAT-NA - Own a Piece of History!
by Clint Bradford 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

I am working on an AMSAT-NA fundraising project ... I am digging up some unique space-related items and am offering them for sale, with 100 per cent of the sale price forwarded directly to AMSAT-NA's Fox fund. Just so no one complains about this being a "commercial" post, I will repeat myself: 100 per cent of the sale price will be sent to AMSAT-NA. I will pay postage fees myself. SO ... People will get to acquire a piece of history, AND support AMSAT-NA. Available right now are six commemorative USPS first day covers celebrating the Apollo/Soyuz projects and the Apollo 11 Moon landing, as well as a 24-stamp plate block. Details at ... http://tinyurl.com/FOX-FUNDRAISING Clint K6LCS 909-241-7666 - cell

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UAE’s first CubeSat Nayif-1
by M5AKA 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

UAE’s first CubeSat Nayif-1 http://amsat-uk.org/2014/11/04/uae-nayif-1-cubesat/ IARU Region 1 Approve Youth Budget and Satellite Allocation IARU Region 1 Approve Youth Budget and Satellite Allocation ----Trevor M5AKAAMSAT-UKWebsite http://amsat-uk.org/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatukTwitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

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CUBESAT INTERN OPPORTUNITY
by Kilroy, Patrick L. (GSFC-5680) 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

> CubeSat Simulator Intern Opportunity in Greenbelt, MD USA > > The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is offering an internship > position for the Spring, 2015 semester. Applications are being taken > on the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) recruiting web site: > https://intern.nasa.gov/ > > Internship Title: CubeSat Simulator Upgrade Plus > > The objective of this Opportunity is to allow a university level > student to rework, repair and improve a prototype "1-Unit" CubeSat > simulator/model on loan from AMSAT and then to share his or her > experiences as a result. The model used in this Opportunity is similar > to that described in The AMSAT Journal article "Education With a > Satellite Simulator: ETP CubeSat Simulator," by Mr. Mark Spencer, > ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator, Part 1 in the > September/October 2009 issue and Part 2 in the November/December 2009 > issue. > > Back copies are available at: > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ETP/CubeSat/CubeSat-Pt1-SepOct09.pdf > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ETP/CubeSat/CubeSat-Pt2-NovDec09.pdf > > A course of study in engineering is required. Electrical/Electronics > Engineering (EE) or Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) for > university students in their junior class or higher. Experience in > hardware is also required. Open to U.S. citizens. > > The immediate skills required of the intern are to be a well-rounded > individual, and to have an excellent knowledge of and experience with > Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office (especially in using > spreadsheets), electrical and electronic circuits (theory and practice), > microcontrollers, interfacing, and the use of basic laboratory > test equipment and procedures. > > Familiarity with the CubeSat community is important. > > A proficiency in either C++ or a similar language for microcontrollers > and the desire to learn a new one is necessary. A basic understanding > of data acquisition, signal processing, or control is required. > > Hands-on experience in building something, repairing or upgrading > PCs or other electronic gear, or just getting stuff to work is required. > Mechanical and electrical construction skills will be used. > > Experience in RF or wireless technology (anywhere between 3 and > 2400 MHz) is very important. Holding or obtaining an Amateur Radio > license from the FCC and practical radio experience is a distinct > advantage. > > A good attitude, an exceptional willingness to learn and to contribute > as a team player are essential qualities. Likewise, excellent > communicator skills (verbal, writing and definitely e-mail), > reliability, punctuality, having a self-starter work ethic and the > ability & desire to work independently for long periods are required. > > You may ask questions regarding the tasks and skill requirements > with the mentor in advance (Mr. Pat Kilroy, Code 568, > Patrick.L.Kilroy(a)nasa.gov<mailto:[email protected]>) and telephone interviews will be > available. The deadline to apply for the Spring 2015 semester > is this month November 9. Applications must be made via the > OSSI web. > Mr. Pat Kilroy Integration and Test (I&T) Lead NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Building 5, Mail Code 568 Greenbelt, Maryland 20771-5860 W: 301-286-1984 E: Patrick.L.Kilroy(a)nasa.gov<mailto:[email protected]>

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W5PFG/P November EL09 & DL89 area ops
by Clayton Coleman 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

Nov 23-25 I will operate from grid EL09, not far from the DL99 line. It's likely I'll operate from DL99 on several passes. I will try to visit DL98/DL99 line at least once. I have not operated from those grids since 2011. I know that N8RO operated from this area not too long ago but I'll activate it again for those who missed Ron on his trip. November 25-28, I will be operating from DL89 with occasional operations from DL79/89. It is possible, though I have not made reservations yet for 4x4 transportation, that I will operate from DL88 for a 2nd time in 2014. November 28-29, I will operate from the DM90/DM91 area. I won't have a lot of time in this area and will only notify via Twitter in advance of me working a pass. It's becoming common to see satellite operators post their updates via Twitter (recent examples: KG5CCI, WD9EWK, AC0RA, XE3DX.) Here's a little explanation: Twitter is possibly the most versatile tool for notifying individuals about grid operations. You can access my Twitter feed by web at http://www.twitter.com/w5pfg. If you create an account on Twitter, you can configure email and text (SMS) alerts. It is not necessary to have Internet access to send notifications. I can post a Tweet simply by sending a text (SMS) to a special phone number. Alternatively, I can send a Tweet even if I don't have cell coverage but do have Internet access. It provides a lot of flexibility. There is no cost for this service and it is generally as reliable or better than email service. It does not rely on any individuals relaying information for you. 73, Clayton W5PFG

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Standard time = More convenient pass times for AO-73
by Paul Stoetzer 04 Nov '14

04 Nov '14

Good evening, Just a reminder that AO-73 now has more convenient evening pass times as we've fallen back to Standard Time here in the United States. Just worked a pass that started at 9:41pm EST covering the eastern and central United States and heard just two other stations. Now that many ascending FO-29 passes come too early in the day for those of us who work 9-5, AO-73 is our only evening satellite when SO-50 pass times do not fall in the evening. Hope to hear more people on. I'm still waiting to issue 73 on 73 Award #3! 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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Virgin Galactic "SpaceShipTwo" crash
by Alan 03 Nov '14

03 Nov '14

Just breaking: http://preview.tinyurl.com/l5565d3 Another reminder that flight is never routine. Alan WA4SCA

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AmsatDroid Free on Android 4.4 (KITKAT)
by David A B Johnson 03 Nov '14

03 Nov '14

Hi, It has been brought to my attention that there is a problem uploading and using a nasabare.txt on the SDCARD on some devices with 4.4 (KITKAT). After reading the Google docs, I've found that they have changed the file access model. I will be building a new release in the next couple of days to fix this. 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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Nasabare.txt on AMSAT website - no permissions?
by Tom Deeble - KA6SIP 03 Nov '14

03 Nov '14

I just tried to access the nasabare.txt keps but I get an error "You don't have permission to access /amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasabare.txt on this server." Has anyone else run into this? Thanks, Tom Tom Deeble - KA6SIP, ka6sip(a)aol.com Mt. Diablo Amateur Radio Club Membership Chairman MDARC, PO Box 23222, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523-0222 PACIFICON - Oct 16-18, 2015, San Ramon

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Re: [amsat-bb] Nasabare.txt on AMSAT website - no permissions?
by Joe Fitzgerald 03 Nov '14

03 Nov '14

> > I just tried to access the nasabare.txt keps but I get an error "You don't > have permission to access > /amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasabare.txt on this server." > Tom, Thank you for this report. I believe the problem has been resolved. Would you check to see if it is working properly for you now? 73 de KM1P Joe

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KLM parts
by Jeff KB2M 03 Nov '14

03 Nov '14

The KLM antenna parts went to the first reply. There was a surprising amount of interest, and some good needs. But I had to be fair. Thanks for all the interest. 73 Jeff kb2m

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DN30vx and DN41aa via FO-29
by Lee Ernstrom 03 Nov '14

03 Nov '14

Wow, what a day. It all started this morning when I exchanged emails with Frank, K5FEG and Jeff, NX9B. Both of them expressed their need for some grids close to my QTH so I checked the weather outside and it looked pretty decent so I decided I would activate DN30. In August of this year while I was checking out good locations on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake for the Perceids meteor shower I found a great spot on the east side of the island with a great take off to the east. Unfortunately, it was in DN30 and I really wanted to operate from DN31 for the shower. This morning when I found out there was some interest in DN30 I immediately thought of the high spot on the island that would be an ideal spot to access low angle shots to FO-29 to the east. So I packed up the car with my radio gear and camera and drove the 18 miles to the spot I had in mind. When I got there there was a little wind and it was a little cold but I figured I could withstand fifteen minutes of that. Since I was several hours early I drove back home and puttered around the house until it was time to leave for the island again. When I got there the wind had picked up considerably and the temperature had really dipped, so instead of operating on the picnic table like I had planned I moved the radio gear back into the car and operated from there. Since the satellite didn't rise into the sky very high I didn't have much adjusting of the antenna to do. Here is a list of the stations I worked through FO-29 from DN30vx. K4FEG, KB1RVT, AA5PK, N5JF, AC0RE, NX9B, K3SZH, KB0VXN, WB8RJY, NM3B, NX9G, WN9Q, K8YSE/7, and WA4NVM (I think). Well, when that was over I dashed home, grabbed a bite to eat and drove to a park in west Kaysville, Utah in DN41aa where there was a big parking lot. FO-29 passed practically right over my location so I struggled to keep the antenna pointed in the right direction. the stations I worked from there were... N5JF, AC0RA, NX9B, XE2BHL, W5PFG, K4FEG, K8YSE/7, AND N6FUB. When I got home I uploaded all the QSOs to LOTW. I will also produce QSL cards for anyone who wants a hard copy. Just let me know. Thanks for the fun! 73, Doc, WA7HQD

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FO-29 from DN41aa
by Lee Ernstrom 02 Nov '14

02 Nov '14

I am almost set up now for the next pass of FO-29 from DN41aa. Hope to work you. Coordinates: 41 deg 01.900 min N. 111 deg 58.493 min W Doc, WA7HQD Sent from my iPad

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FO-29 in DN30
by Lee Ernstrom 02 Nov '14

02 Nov '14

If anyone is interested I am now set up and ready to operate portable in DN30vx on the FO-29 sat on Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake. All QSOs will be uploaded today into LOTW. My exact coordinates are 40 deg 59.670 min N 112 deg 12.143 W. Find me on Google Earth. The pass will be at 22:33. I am running the FT-897D with the Arrow antenna and will be semi-duplex so please if you hear my CQ give my call several times so I can find you. 73, Doc, WA7HQD Sent from my iPad

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Improvements to ISS TLEs on www.amsat.org
by Joe Fitzgerald 02 Nov '14

02 Nov '14

With encouragement from Lou W5DID, and advice from Gil, WA5NOM nasabare.txt as well as on line tracking for the ISS are now updated on www.amsat.org at least daily, more often when orbital maneuvers occur. TLE's come from ISS mission control planning data, and are expected to be slightly better than those from NORAD/AFSPC especially in the 24-48 hours after reboost maneuvers. Feedback is welcome, especially if anyone detects problems. -Joe KM1P

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KLM antenna parts
by Jeff Griffin 02 Nov '14

02 Nov '14

I recently gave away my KLM sat antennas. Today while packing up the garages I found a box of the KLM element clips and insulators. There is about 20 or so. If you own one of these antenna systems you know what I mean. I'm offering them free to a good home. 73 Jeff kb2m

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ANS-306 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 02 Nov '14

02 Nov '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-306 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: * Amateur Radio Satellite Payloads Lost in Antares Launch Explosion * Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! * ARISS U.S. Partners Now Accepting Proposals for Contacts in 2015 * Recent ARISS Contacts * Beta Testers Sought for New Heavens-Above Android app SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-306.01 ANS-306 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 306.01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD. November 2, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-306.01 Amateur Radio Satellite Payloads Lost in Antares Launch Explosion The RACE and GOMX-2 CubeSats were among more than 2 dozen satellites lost after an unmanned Orbital Space Sciences (OSC) Antares 130 vehicle exploded spectacularly shortly after launch at 2222 UTC on Tuesday, October 28, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Both satellite packages carried Amateur Radio payloads. The rocket exploded about 6 seconds after launch, sending a huge ball of fire hurtling toward the ground, which set a massive fire at the NASA launch site. The RACE (Radiometer Atmospheric Cubesat Experiment) CubeSat was a joint project between The Texas Spacecraft Laboratory (TSL) at the University of Texas-Austin and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Built by a 30-student team, it carried a 183 GHz radiometer, a new science instrument designed by JPL. The spacecraft was equipped to transmit using GMSK at 38.4 k and CW telemetry on a downlink frequency of 437.525 MHz. TSL’s Glenn Lightsey, KE5DDG, a UT engineering professor, oversaw the student project that worked hand-in-hand with NASA staff in creating a satellite that aimed to measure water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere. “It’s unfortunate, but it is also part of the aerospace industry,” Lightsey told the Texas Statesman newspaper. “The nature of building space vehicles is that it is not a 100 percent reliable process. Getting into space is really the hardest part.” The 2U GOMX-2 CubeSat was intended to test a de-orbit system designed by Aalborg University in Denmark. Karl Klaus Laursen, OZ2KK, is listed as the “responsible operator” on International Amateur Radio Union frequency coordination documents. The Amateur Radio payload proposed using a 9.6 k MSK data downlink on 437.250 MHz. Also on board was an optical communications experiment from the National University of Singapore. The mission also aimed to flight qualify a new high- speed UHF transceiver and SDR receiver built by an Aalborg University team. The Antares 130 launcher was on a resupply mission, carrying some 5000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station.RACE, GOMX-2 and the other satellites onboard the rocket were to be launched into orbit from the International Space Station. The Antares 130 also was carrying the Flock-1d array of 26 satellites as well as Arkyd-3 and Cygnus CRS-3. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. “The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step.” The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills Enhance international goodwill Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said “Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let’s consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes.” Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all- volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. Design Implementation – CubeSat platform Estimated timeline Cost – volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units Launch – how does it get to orbit Strategy – how it fits into AMSAT’s Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download here. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. “Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world” says Jerry. “Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals.” While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. “It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization.” The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS U.S. Partners Now Accepting Proposals for Contacts in 2015 The ARISS U.S. partners have opened a window seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations in the U.S., individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS during 2015. The proposal window is October 17 – December 15, 2014. Read the announcement at: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARISS/ARISS%20Proposal%20Window%20Announceme… Oct-2014.pdf 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. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions about hosting a contact in the U.S.to ariss(a)arrl.org. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent ARISS Contacts A direct contact via 8N4STAR with students at Bisei Elementary School, Ibara, Japan was successful Mon 2014-10-27 08:52:46 UTC 41 deg. Astronaut Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO answered 6 questions for students. Bisei Elementary School with 162 students was established at 1970 in the small town of Bisei. It is the home of the Bisei Astronomical Observatory. ****************** A telebridge contact with members of The Explorers Club, New York City, New York, USA via IK1SLD was successful Sat 2014-10-25 16:36:09 UTC 56 deg. Astronaut Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO responded to nine questions, which included questions from Apollo astronauts Charles Duke, Apollo 16 moon walker, and Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 Lunar Module pilot. Two ticket holders for Virgin Galactic SpaceShip 2 also were among those who asked questions. The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Founded in New York City in 1904, The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. The Club’s members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon—all accomplished by Club members. [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Beta Testers Sought for New Heavens-Above Android app A few features of the app: - Spacecraft visibility predictions based on current GPS location - Visibility calculations are done on the device, so you only need to go online once every few days to update the list of orbital elements - Works on phones and tablets - Live Sky Chart, which shows all currently visible satellites - Prediction of Iridium flares There will be two versions of the app, one will be free of charge and will include advertisements, the other will be a paid for version without ads. The price is still to be determined. To participate, just send me an email to chris.peat(a)heavens-above.com from your google mail account (or let Chris know the name of your Google account) and you will be added to the Heavens-Above testers community. You will then receive an invitation with further instructions on how to download and install the test version of the app. The first official release will be available to all for download from the Google play web site. A forum is also available on the Heavens-Above site; http://www.heavens-above.com/forum/default.aspx?g=forum&c=5 [ANS thanks Chris Peat 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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Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise
by David G0MRF 01 Nov '14

01 Nov '14

Hi again It appears the IC706 does transmit low level wideband noise over most of the VHF/UHF spectrum when in 'transmit' mode. My issue was solved with a cavity filter in the TX output line. Now the 2m receive is nice and quiet. I'll investigate replacing the cavity with a High pass filter which should have a lower insertion loss and be much smaller. Also......Thanks to DG0ER for my first QSO on AO-73 earlier today. - Success at last. 73 David -----Original Message----- From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> To: David G0MRF <g0mrf(a)aol.com> CC: amsat-bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:34 Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise David, Try a diplexer on either the transmit or receive side (whichever works better) with the common port to the antenna, the appropriate band port hooked to the radio, and the other band port left disconnected. If your Icom is putting something out on 2m when transmitting on 70cm, that should filter it out. 73, Paul, N8HM On Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 12:41 PM, David G0MRF <g0mrf(a)aol.com> wrote: > > Hi all. > > Inspired by the FUN on the YouTube videos from the car park at Baltimore, I've been trying to set up a satellite station using two independent radios. An IC706G on 70cm transmit and an FT736R on 2m receive. > Antennas are a 4 ele yagi ( horizontal ) on 2m receive with an AMSAT-UK filtered preamp. Transmit antenna is a 9 ele Tonna mounted vertically. > Antennas are on a rotator using a fibreglass boom about 1.8m long. > > The problem: Whenever I press the 70cm transmit 'button' - ptt on SSB, or key on CW I get S8 noise on the 2m receiver. (and S6 without the preamp) > > Note...This does not appear to be RF overload as I can turn the power down to minimum on SSB, even remove the microphone and the noise level remains. > On CW the noise level is constant when the 706 is in transmit mode. It does not appear and disappear with each dot or dash. > > My conclusion is that on 70cm the IC706G is transmitting something on 2m whenever it is in it's transmit mode.- possibly phase noise. > > Has anyone else come across this issue with ICOMs or is it just this one? and is there a known minimalist solution. > > Many thanks > > David G0MRF > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Chang'e-5-T1 landed
by Masahiro Arai 01 Nov '14

01 Nov '14

The Chang'e-5-T1 landed on Chaina at 1st Nov(local time). There is no news about 4M. Where is 4M?? Here is the nwes form CASC. It's in Chinese. http://zhuanti.spacechina.com/n763863/n763893/c770599/content.html Masa JN1GKZ

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Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise
by David G0MRF 01 Nov '14

01 Nov '14

Hi Doug / Paul / Nick / Patrick. Thanks for all the comments and ideas. It seems the diplexer may work but only if it can filter the 70cm transmit output, not for desense, but for spurious emissions coming out of the IC706. A quick check earlier today following Patrick's reply shows there is significant wideband noise transmitted on 2m whenever the 706 enters its transmit mode on 70cms. This seems to be a 'feature' Moving the antennas apart by 30 feet reduces the noise to the general background level. Unfortunately a 30 ft boom isn't a practical solution. I've tried a cavity filter in the 435MHz transmit chain and miraculously the noise on 2m disappeared. But again, a cavity is not the easiest thing to include. I'll have a look at the diplexers. Hopefully there will be one with a low loss, but now I know the 706 is the problem I may just add a high pass filter in line with the output on 435MHz. Hopefully, after monitoring telemetry for the last 11 months I'll get this up and running over the weekend and finally manage a QSO on AO-73 Fingers crossed. Thanks for all the great suggestions David Here's the AMSAT link about "Desense" that describes the method to try. http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=2136 GL Nick, KB1RVT _______________________________________________ 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 -----Original Message----- From: Doug - k4gkj <k4gkj(a)embarqmail.com> To: n8hm <n8hm(a)arrl.net>; g0mrf <g0mrf(a)aol.com> CC: amsat-bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 21:10 Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise My 706mk2g doesn't do this. And at the moment, I have a diplexer on my tower to have one feedline share VHF & UHF antennas... I am not happy with the 2.5db+ of loss that comes along with putting that diplexer on... Doug K4GKJ Doug Bennight K4GKJ 850-528-5772 850-926-2052 -------- Original message -------- From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> Date: To: David G0MRF <g0mrf(a)aol.com> Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise David, Try a diplexer on either the transmit or receive side (whichever works better) with the common port to the antenna, the appropriate band port hooked to the radio, and the other band port left disconnected. If your Icom is putting something out on 2m when transmitting on 70cm, that should filter it out. 73, Paul, N8HM On Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 12:41 PM, David G0MRF <g0mrf(a)aol.com> wrote: > > Hi all. > > Inspired by the FUN on the YouTube videos from the car park at Baltimore, I've been trying to set up a satellite station using two independent radios. An IC706G on 70cm transmit and an FT736R on 2m receive. > Antennas are a 4 ele yagi ( horizontal ) on 2m receive with an AMSAT-UK filtered preamp. Transmit antenna is a 9 ele Tonna mounted vertically. > Antennas are on a rotator using a fibreglass boom about 1.8m long. > > The problem: Whenever I press the 70cm transmit 'button' - ptt on SSB, or key on CW I get S8 noise on the 2m receiver. (and S6 without the preamp) > > Note...This does not appear to be RF overload as I can turn the power down to minimum on SSB, even remove the microphone and the noise level remains. > On CW the noise level is constant when the 706 is in transmit mode. It does not appear and disappear with each dot or dash. > > My conclusion is that on 70cm the IC706G is transmitting something on 2m whenever it is in it's transmit mode.- possibly phase noise. > > Has anyone else come across this issue with ICOMs or is it just this one? and is there a known minimalist solution. > > Many thanks > > David G0MRF > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] ICOM 706G phase noise
by Doug - k4gkj 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

My 706mk2g doesn't do this. And at the moment, I have a diplexer on my tower to have one feedline share VHF & UHF antennas... I am not happy with the 2.5db+ of loss that comes along with putting that diplexer on... Doug K4GKJ Doug Bennight K4GKJ 850-528-5772 850-926-2052 -------- Original message -------- From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> Date: To: David G0MRF <g0mrf(a)aol.com> Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise David, Try a diplexer on either the transmit or receive side (whichever works better) with the common port to the antenna, the appropriate band port hooked to the radio, and the other band port left disconnected. If your Icom is putting something out on 2m when transmitting on 70cm, that should filter it out. 73, Paul, N8HM On Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 12:41 PM, David G0MRF <g0mrf(a)aol.com> wrote: > > Hi all. > > Inspired by the FUN on the YouTube videos from the car park at Baltimore, I've been trying to set up a satellite station using two independent radios. An IC706G on 70cm transmit and an FT736R on 2m receive. > Antennas are a 4 ele yagi ( horizontal ) on 2m receive with an AMSAT-UK filtered preamp. Transmit antenna is a 9 ele Tonna mounted vertically. > Antennas are on a rotator using a fibreglass boom about 1.8m long. > > The problem: Whenever I press the 70cm transmit 'button' - ptt on SSB, or key on CW I get S8 noise on the 2m receiver. (and S6 without the preamp) > > Note...This does not appear to be RF overload as I can turn the power down to minimum on SSB, even remove the microphone and the noise level remains. > On CW the noise level is constant when the 706 is in transmit mode. It does not appear and disappear with each dot or dash. > > My conclusion is that on 70cm the IC706G is transmitting something on 2m whenever it is in it's transmit mode.- possibly phase noise. > > Has anyone else come across this issue with ICOMs or is it just this one? and is there a known minimalist solution. > > Many thanks > > David G0MRF > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Office Closed
by Martha 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

The AMSAT office will be closed on Monday, November 3rd. -- 73- Martha

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Re: [amsat-bb] ICOM 706G phase noise
by dnkucij＠myfairpoint.net 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

Here's the AMSAT link about "Desense" that describes the method to try. http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=2136 GL Nick, KB1RVT

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Special-event station for 40th anniversary of OSCAR 7 launch
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

Hi! I have secured the special call sign W7O (WHISKEY SEVEN OSCAR) for use in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 7 on 15 November 1974. I plan on having this call on the air between 15 and 24 November 2014, working satellites and possibly other bands. I will work satellite passes from Arizona, including AO-7 passes, and hope to recruit a small group of operators who can work other passes that cover eastern North America along with other places I can't work from here (Europe, north Africa, South America). I may also try to get some operators working HF with this call. I will handle the QSL requests for W7O during this period. I am thinking of incorporating the original QSL card design AMSAT used to confirm AO-7 reception reports from the 1970s in the W7O card. (Does anyone have a good scan of both sides of that 1970s QSL card? Not the 30th anniversary AO-7 card - I have those, and there is a copyright on that design I do not wish to violate.) The QSL cards will be printed after the W7O activity wraps up. I will also upload W7O QSOs to ARRL's Logbook of the World system. Please contact me directly if you have any questions related to this operation, or if you are willing to operate on satellites and/or HF as W7O during this 10-day period. Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Chinese Spacecraft To Return 2014-10-31 EDT
by B J 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/chinas-lunar-sample-return-test-space… Additional details about a third of the way down the page at: http://planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.704 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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NASA Completes First Review of Wallops Launch Site Damage
by Eric Rosenberg 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

>From Via Satellite: ---------------------- NASA Completes First Review of Wallops Launch Site Damage By Caleb Henry | October 30, 2014 | Satellite TODAY News Feed [Via Satellite 10-30-2014] NASA's Wallops Incident Response Team has concluded its preliminary assessment of the launch pad at Wallops Island, Va. following Orbital Sciences' Oct. 28 Antares launch vehicle explosion. Initial findings show the damage was largely contained to the southern third of the island. The team discovered imploded doors and shattered windows at many nearby support buildings. The closest buildings and a sounding rocket launcher adjacent to the pad were the most affected infrastructure. The transporter erector launcher and lightning suppression rods at Pad 0A were also damaged. Several environmental tests are currently underway. Air samples from three different sites detected no hazardous substances, and the U.S. Coast Guard and Virginia Marine Resources Commission have not observed obvious signs of water pollution, such as oil sheens. More testing of air, water, and soil samples are planned for comparative analysis. The response team will take several weeks to continue evaluating the extent and influence of the damage. Local authorities such as the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the Virginia Marine Police are also involved. NASA cautions anyone who discovers debris from the explosion to keep distance and report it to the Incident Response Team at 757-824-1295.

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I love not having responsibilities anymore
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

http://drwebkulim.com/enzwfzjow/orezyd.htm?googleid=659519_sid=9031566

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Antares OK During First Few Seconds
by B J 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/data-show-antares-rocket-fine-for-fir… Initial review completed: http://www.americaspace.com/?p=70000 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Did you attend the BWI Board Meeting, or know someone who did?
by Alan 30 Oct '14

30 Oct '14

Hi, We try to preserve for posterity a list of those who observed or gave presentation to the Board. While not required, if you would like to be included, let me know. We already have the various officers and members. Here is our current list: Bill Tynan, W3XO Clayton Coleman, W5PFG Dan Schultz, N8FGV Dave Taylor, W8AAS Hector L. Martinez, CO6CBF/KF5XYV Jennifer Rojowski, N8GZL Jim Hain, W2IMY Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P Keith Pugh, W5IU Jan King, W3GEY Kira Gantt Nick Pugh, K5QXJ Pat Kilroy, N8PK Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK Phil Karn, KA9Q Ray Hoad, WA5QGD 73s, Alan WA4SCA Corporate Secretary

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Torque Coil turns vanish?
by Robert Bruninga 30 Oct '14

30 Oct '14

I keep coming up with the number of turns of a torque coil vanishing with respect to torque (for a given wire size). Given that Torque = A x B x I x n where A is area, B is field, I is current and n is number of turns. But I is inversely proportional to the length of wire (resistance). I = V/R but R is proportional to n. Hence the number of turns. So I is proportional to V/n. But V is fixed in the cubesat, (5v) area is fixed (where we can put the coil) and so plugging in, T = A x B x V/n x n and the n’s cancel. So I can get the same torque with –any- number of turns for a given size wire. What changes with turns, of course, is the current. So to save spacecraft power, the more turns, the less current, and thus, the least power for the same torque. Interesting result. We ended up with 600 turns of #34 wire to keep the current at 25 mA so we can drive it directly from a CPU pin. I wonder where’s the limit? Infinitie number of turns… Zero current? I guess you run out of space. AH HA! Yes, that was it. We started with #30 wire but it took so many turns to get to below the 25 mA, that there wasn’t room for the coil. So we went to smaller wire and ended up with the #34 to give us a ¼” thick coil with 600 turns to give 25 mA. But I just always found it interesting that once you have chosen the wire size, the number of turns is only determined by the current you want. The Torque is constant. Bob, WB4APR

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Re: [amsat-bb] Torque Coil turns vanish?
by Joe Leikhim 30 Oct '14

30 Oct '14

I am no rocket scientist, but wouldn't the earths magnetic fields tend to bias those diodes on as the satellite cuts through them, creating subtle drag? Joe K4SAT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ _ __Amen, one has to have kickback diodes to the rails to absorb that energy. (Else, poof goes the pin) Bob_ -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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WTB IC 910
by Jim White 30 Oct '14

30 Oct '14

Looking for an ICOM 910 to buy. H or not. Please reply direct. Jim jim(a)coloradosatellite.com

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whoops !
by Ted 29 Oct '14

29 Oct '14

Wallops Is rocket explodes just now K7TRK 22:35z

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K1N Navassa
by Andrew Glasbrenner 29 Oct '14

29 Oct '14

If you follow DX news at all, you've probably heard that the same group that put K5D on the air from Desecheo has been granted approval for Navassa. AMSAT provided a radio and antenna for the K5D operation and many ops got a brand new one on satellite. I've offered to the group to again provide gear and training for satellite operations, including linear transponders this time. I received an immediate response indicating they would inquire with the team for any interested ops. I've gotten several inquiries about this, and just wanted to share that we did indeed reach out to them with an offer of gear and assistance. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations

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We lost satellite payloads this evening!
by Eric Rosenberg 29 Oct '14

29 Oct '14

From the ARRL website: http://www.arrl.org/news/satellites-carrying-amateur-radio-payloads-among-t… <http://www.arrl.org/news/satellites-carrying-amateur-radio-payloads-among-t…> Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio Payloads Among Those Lost in Launch Explosion 10/28/2014 The GOMX-2 and RACE CubeSats were among more than 2 dozen satellites that were lost after an unmanned Orbital Space Sciences (OSC) Antares 130 vehicle exploded spectacularly shortly after launch at 2222 UTC on Tuesday, October 28, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Both satellite packages carried payloads that operated on Amateur Radio frequencies. The Antares is a new medium-class launch vehicle developed by OSC. The rocket exploded about 6 seconds after launch, sending a huge ball of fire hurtling toward the ground, which set a massive fire at the NASA launch site. “A mishap has occurred at pad 0A,” a launch conductor said during the live broadcast on NASA TV. “There is no indication there is personnel in danger, although we do have significant property damage and significant vehicle damage.” The 2U GMX-2 CubeSat was intended to test a de-orbit system designed by Aalborg University in Denmark. Karl Klaus Laursen, OZ2KK, is listed as the “responsible operator” on International Amateur Radio Union frequency coordination documents. The Amateur Radio payload proposed using a 9.6 k MSK data downlink on 437.250 MHz. Also on board was an optical communications experiment from the National University of Singapore. The mission also hoped to flight qualify a new high-speed UHF transceiver and SDR receiver built by an Aalborg University team. The Radiometer Atmospheric Cubesat Experiment (RACE) CubeSat was a joint project between The Texas Spacecraft Laboratory (TSL) at the University of Texas-Austin and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It carried a 183 GHz radiometer, a new science instrument designed by JPL. The primary objective of the RACE mission was to collect atmospheric water vapor measurements. The spacecraft was equipped to transmit using GMSK at 38.4 k and CW telemetry on a downlink frequency of 437.525MHz, as coordinated with the IARU. TSL’s Edgar Glenn Lightsey, KE5DDG, was listed in the IARU coordination documents as the responsible operator. The Antares 130 launcher was on a resupply mission, carrying some 5000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station. GOMX-2 and the other satellites onboard the rocket were to be launched into orbit from the International Space Station. The Antares 130 also was carrying the Flock-1d array of 26 satellites as well as Arkyd-3, Cygnus CRS-3, and the RACE CubeSat

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More On Antares Mishap
by B J 29 Oct '14

29 Oct '14

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/10/28/53809/ http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/october/nasa-statement-regarding-oct-28-orbi… http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/42345nasa-statement-on-antares… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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NASA Post-launch News Conference @ 8:00 PM ET
by Eric Rosenberg 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

NASA will be holding a post-launchnews conference at 8:00 PM ET tonight on the nasa.com website. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#.VFAm8xZNe6U should be interesting. Eric W3DQ (was at the MLK Memorial -- a great viewing site)

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D700 vs D7 at 9600 baud?
by Robert Bruninga 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

9600 baud differences in the D700 vs D7? We are testing a cubesat with 9600 baud AX.25 uplink on VHF and it works fine with the D7 as the transmitting radio, but the satellite ignores the same commands transmitted from the D700 radio. Anyone else noticed this? I guess we will have to put it on a scope and see if we can see the difference. But maybe we are doing something stupid. The D700 (and D7) receive the cubesat just fine. I knew there was a slight difference on 1200 baud with regard to pre-and-de-emphasis between the two radios, but that should not apply at 9600 which is baseband modulated. Bob, WB4APR

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Two Perspectives On Orbital Debris And Cubesats
by B J 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/4207665th-international-astron… http://www.spacenews.com/article/opinion/42329another-view-on-cubesats-and-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Antares Launch: Tonight (Weds) from Wallops Island, VA @ 6:22 PM
by Eric Rosenberg 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

from NASA.GOV -----------------------Antares Launch Postponed to Oct. 28 Posted on October 27, 2014 at 6:47 pm The next launch attempt for Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket carrying its Cygnus cargo spacecraft is scheduled for 6:22 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 28 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. There is a 10 minute launch window. Live coverage on NASA TV will begin at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Monday’s launch attempt was scrubbed because of a boat down range in the trajectory Antares would have flown had it lifted off. At last report, the weather forecast for Oct. 28 was 95-percent favorable. Arrival of the Cygnus spacecraft at the International Space Station would occur Nov. 2. › How to View the CRS-3 Launch: http://blogs.nasa.gov/orbital/2014/10/24/how-to-view-the-crs-3-launch/ >Maps of viewing locations: http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/MissionUpdates/Orb-3/Maps/default.aspx› > NASA's Orbital Website: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/orbital.html Should be quite a show from those of us in the mid-Atlantic area. Enjoy! 73, Eric W3DQ Washington, DC

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AO-73 1st contact
by Clayton Coleman 27 Oct '14

27 Oct '14

It was nice to hear K4SQC making his first contact on AO-73 last night with AC0RA. Since the inception of the 73 on 73 award, over 100 unique call signs have been copied by AC0RA over North America. Paulo, PV8DX has been the only South American station I have personally heard and worked. Others in the US have reported working him. I've seen several emails implying it is somewhat esoteric to make contacts via AO-73. AO-73 remains the easiest bird to hear after the loss of VO-52. It doesn't not require much power or high gain antennas to use effectively. If you are not hearing it, you should not increase your power. Many stations are successfully using Elk and Arrow-style portable antennas with low-power QRP-style transceivers such as the Yaesu FT-817. Pick a clear downlink frequency in the transponder's pass band. Adjust your uplink frequency until you hear your own signal. It's that simple. Make adjustments to the uplink frequency as necessary so that you do not "drift" across the pass band. Manual tuning is probably best for most stations. Follow the rule of tuning/adjusting your higher frequency (the UHF uplink.) You can you use computer control via SatPC32 if you keep your fingers on the +/- buttons and pay close attention to the frequency. It's exciting to see some new stations getting on the SSB birds and using AO-73 in their rover plans!!! 73 Clayton W5PFG

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FUNcube Data Warehouse Status
by David A B Johnson 25 Oct '14

25 Oct '14

Hi, I thought I would give a quick update on the the activity within the warehouse. As at 22:49 (25/10/2013) Number of registered users: 1286 Number of active users since launch: 757 Number of active users (data received in last two weeks): 195 Number of packets transmitted by satellite since deployment: 5865120 (1.5GB) Number of packets uploaded by users before deduplication: 6370976 (1.63 GB) Number of packets stored in warehouse: 1466239 (376.9 MB) which also represents the same number of realtime data points (collected once every 5 seconds), I.e., get on average, 4 people uploading the same packet. Whole orbit Data: 276.3 days of data (collected once every minute) High Resolution Data: 806 hours of data (collected once every second, for a period of a minute, every other minute) Our recovery rates: Realtime (25%) WOD (81%) HiRes (22%) As always, many thanks to all those who have and continue to send us data. 73 Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube Team Member.

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Time for a low cost upgrade ?
by Thomas Doyle 25 Oct '14

25 Oct '14

Hi, I know a lot of folks are still using old XP machines for their satellite station. Here is the best deal I have ever seen on an up to date Windows 7 machine. Not saying it is the best computer just the best value I have ever run across. This deal is too good to last long. http://www.neweggflash.com/product/83-280-382?utm_source=NEEmail102514&utm_… 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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4M Lunar Payload Update
by M5AKA 25 Oct '14

25 Oct '14

4M Lunar Payload Update http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/25/4m-lunar-payload-update/ Listen to 434 MHz STEM balloon and high-altitude plane launch world-wide on Sunday 1200 GMT (+/-1h) with SUWS WebSDR http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/25/uk-stem-434-mhz-balloon-flight-to-release-pl… NoV suggestion for UK Airborne Ham Radio http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/24/novs-suggested-for-airborne-ham-radio/ ---- 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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FUNcube forum back on line
by David A B Johnson 25 Oct '14

25 Oct '14

Hi, Due to a mis-configuration of the web server, forum.funcube.org.uk was redirected to one of my test sites. It's been fixed, but you may have to clear your browser cache to see it again. 73, Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube Team Member

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4M data submission client
by wouter weggelaar 24 Oct '14

24 Oct '14

Hi All, I have decoded some 4M telemetry and its currently sitting in the upload client. However, it states waiting under Delivery Status. Anyone that has successfully sent in the frames? The client is connected and authenticated. Uploading recordings works just fine. Wouter PA3WEG http://pa3weg.nl/

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4M moon mission for SatPC32
by Alan 24 Oct '14

24 Oct '14

Hi, Here are the current Keps from the mission page: 4M 1 99999U 14298.79728009 .00000066 00000-0 00000-0 0 00006 2 99999 030.6553 295.6956 9746689 147.2577 071.9585 00.10600338000010 and DOPPLER.SQF information; 4M,145980.00,0,USB,,,0,JT65B TLM for SatPC32. I have not had the opportunity to copy the mission, but I have run SatPC32 against the mission on-line tool, and the azimuth and elevation agree well. The predicted Doppler shift looks reasonable but has not been verified. The SatPC32 display is interesting if you turn on the ground track. It looks like a white gash across the screen. 73s, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- Keep Calm and Carry On

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4M Mission first copied in Brazil !
by Roland Zurmely 24 Oct '14

24 Oct '14

Please see here: Manfred Memorial Moon Mission | | | | | | | | | | | Manfred Memorial Moon Mission191700 0 -25 8.491 -19 17 191800 16 -10 1.845 -127 1* 110V222A +33C 1 0 0.0 191900 20 -9 1.847 -127 3* MANFRED FUCHS ... | | | | View on www.qsl.net | Preview by Yahoo | | | | | 73 de Roland.

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4M moon mission
by Jim White 24 Oct '14

24 Oct '14

We used our modest EME station to receive and do a live feed of data from 4M into the online database for a couple of hours in the early evening here in Colorado. Signal was plenty strong and we sent along a couple hundred packets, although sun noise was a bit high just off the spacecraft direction. We could hear the JT65B tones in the speaker much of the time. Sample below. We will continue to feed in data as we have time. TLEs on the mission web site are now OK in NOVA for tracking, even though NOVA shows an AOS of "CRASHED" because the orbit intersects the earth after the lunar loop around. The signal levels shown in this WSJT capture are quite strong at up to -8dB. My EME station is 2x15 element Yagis on 38' booms, horizontal, .8dB NF preamp on the short tower. About 17dB gain overall. Probably somewhat less since they are cut for 144.1 and this spacecraft is at 145.980. 224300 12 -13 2.509 143 1* 157V230A +8C 1 0 0.0 224300 2 1/7 157V230A +8C 1 0 224400 4 -12 2.500 148 2* POLITICS OH 1 0 0.0 224400 1 1/9 POLITICS OH 1 0 224400 2 1/7 157V230A +8C 1 0 224500 11 -10 2.509 151 3* RA56W4D5 S 1 0 0.0 224500 1 1/9 POLITICS OH 1 0 224500 2 2/8 RA56W4D5 S 1 0 224600 15 -8 2.694 156 1* B BELONGS TOD 1 0 0.0 224600 1 2/10 B BELONGS TOD 1 0 224600 2 2/8 RA56W4D5 S 1 0 224700 11 -11 2.507 159 3* LX0OHB-4M0041 1 0 0.0 224700 1 2/10 B BELONGS TOD 1 0 224800 11 -10 2.510 159 4* 150V235A +8C 1 0 0.0 224800 1 3/11 150V235A +8C 1 0 224800 11 -10 2.510 159 4* 150V235A +8C 1 0 0.0 224800 1 4/12 B BELONGS TOD 1 0 224900 10 -11 2.694 161 1* AY TO ONE OF 1 0 0.0 224900 1 4/12 B BELONGS TOD 1 0 225000 16 -10 2.702 164 3* R42Q+47GOY 1 0 0.0

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Reception.
by David Hopkins 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

Copying data here in Eastern Australia. Current range is about 58000kms David David G. Hopkins (VK4ZF) CAPALABA QLD AUSTRALIA 27.32.38S 153.12.03E QG62OL Skype :- davhop

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4M Moon mission
by Jean-L. RAULT 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

Successful launch confirmed See http://moon.luxspace.lu/blog Jean-Louis F6AGR

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Re: [amsat-bb] 4M Moon mission
by Jean-L. RAULT 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

I think so :o) Just received a brief e-mail from Ghislain LX2RG, the project manager of the 4M payload. The e-mail just says "It's working !" 73 Jan-Louis F6AGR Le 23/10/2014 18:39, David Jordan a écrit : > > Jean-Louis, > Any word on the launch? Was it successful? > > Dave, _AA4KN_ > > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > <https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/mobile/?.src=Android> > > From:"Jean-L. RAULT" <f6agr(a)orange.fr> > Date:Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 10:28 am > Subject:[amsat-bb] 4M Moon mission > > Hi all > > I just had Ghislain LX2RG on the phone a few minutes ago > > The launch of the 4M mission is confirmed tonight the 23rd at 17:59 UT > > See details on http://moon.luxspace.lu/ > > 73 de Jean-Louis F6AGR > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. <javascript:return> 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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4M Moon mission
by Jean-L. RAULT 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

Hi all I just had Ghislain LX2RG on the phone a few minutes ago The launch of the 4M mission is confirmed tonight the 23rd at 17:59 UT See details on http://moon.luxspace.lu/ 73 de Jean-Louis F6AGR

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VIBE table available to government agencies
by Robert Bruninga 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

Our vibe system is available to other government activities. You do the paperwork… It is only a few years old, is working fine. But we got another one – bigger. We needed one to provide a full 20G vibe on a 3U cubesat. This one can only get to 20 g on a 1U. Here is what it looks like: http://www.labworks-inc.com/general_purpose_systems/lw127_123-500D12.htm I have no idea how things get transferred, but I am certain that our comptroller will only let us transfer it inter-agency. So if you are not somehow able to get a government transfer, please don’t bother asking. And we are still waiting to see if any other department on campus wants it. This thing is big. The image on the above web page has a 19” half-rack for the amp as shown on the left, but the image of the VIBE table itself is at HALF that same scale in that image. SO it is actually twice as big, about 4’ long, 3’ high and 2’ wide and very heavy half inch steel, double the size shown. Bob, WB4aPR

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LituanicSAT-2 + 4M lunar payload
by M5AKA 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

The LituanicaSAT team has announced on Facebook that the LituanicaSAT-2 CubeSat with propulsion will be coming soon http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/23/lituanicasat-2-announced/ The 4M Lunar amateur radio JT65B payload launches 1800 UT today - watch a video of of Beijing's Chang Zheng CZ-3C/G2 launcher at https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=781398611903190 4M lunar payload - live TV coverage http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/15/4m-lunar-payload-integrated-keps-released/ ---- 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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Saturday Oct-25 14hs GMT Betty V Balloon Launch
by Amsat Argentina 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

Amsat Argentina launch from Victorica, La Pampa Province, Argentina, Balloon Betty V, carrying a Linear Transponder Up:435.850 KHz +/- 15 KHz LSB, Down: 145.850 KHz -/+ 15 KHz USB 200mW. Will include also FM Voice Repeater up:435.950 (123Hz CTCSS), down:145.950 2W, with CW ID & TLM, APRS Beacon on 144.930/145.950, SSTV R-36 pictures live on 145.950. DMTF Commands for users & control. On board video 2 GoPro-3 cameras. Vaisala sonde around 403 MHz. More info on http://amsat.org.ar/globo25.htm Tracking http://aprs.fi?call=lu7aa-11 <http://aprs.fi/?call=lu7aa-11> & http://lu7aa.org.ar/vor.asp Coordination previous & during flight 7095 KHz LSB. Launch experiments toward CARPOSAT/LUSEX satellite platform validation tests. 73, Amsat Argentina info at amsat.org.ar

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AMSAT Journal Sep/OCT 2014
by Rick Walter 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

I just received the latest AMSAT Journal in the mail today (Lancaster, PA). At first glance it looks great. I'm looking forward to reading all the articles. Thanks to all involved for a job well done! Rick - WB3CSY -- Sent from Rick's gmail account

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Re: [amsat-bb] Going Digital Someday
by Doug - k4gkj 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

How about fldigi? It offers several modes, not too many, but allows for some room for everyone to explore their favorite mode..... Other software programs can run these same modes, but if we promote the one package (fldigi), we hope to limit the mides to a few popular modes rather than a free-for-all....... Just a thought.... Open to anything myself.... Doug K4GKJ Doug Bennight K4GKJ 850-528-5772 850-926-2052 -------- Original message -------- From: Stefan Wagener <wageners(a)gmail.com> Date: To: JoAnne Maenpaa <k9jkm(a)comcast.net> Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Going Digital Someday Point well made, JoAnne. Now, can AMSAT official support this mode, maybe help/encourage the developers and start to implement it (testing) on for example FO-29? What about a digital mode for the FM satellites? One of the big frustration I have is to decide which one of the digital modes to pick. What is beautiful about this hobby is the diversification which now also becomes the "curse" with promotion and competition of various commercial and open source modes/codecs. Maybe we can help and focus on one "system" for amateur satellite use and get it used/implemented. Food for thought, Stefan, VE4NSA On Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 4:10 PM, JoAnne Maenpaa <k9jkm(a)comcast.net> wrote: > During the Symposium in Baltimore last week there was a discussion that I > found quite interesting. Billed as a proposal for fairly long-term, future > AMSAT HEO possibilities, this blue-sky proposal offers projects that will > be > fun for myself (and maybe yourself) to learn what's next ... or could be > next ... > > It seems the cubesat form factor is here to stay for practical launch > opportunities available to us ... (please don't ask for getting a phase > III-B form factor in this thread!) Wiser people than myself have assured me > of this. > > Analog SSB and CW modulation in a 3U to 6U cubesat may not be practical at > HEO apogee due to antenna size limits on a cubesat and power generation > capability of the cubesat limited number of solar cells. Digital techniques > were described as a way to make this work. > > FreeDV HF Digital Voice for Radio Amateurs was one of the types of > technologies mentioned just as an example. I found a demonstration at: > http://nicktoday.com/freedv-hf-digital-voice-radio-amateurs/ > > Interesting, eh? A soundcard interface to your existing radio, sound card > in > the PC, we're teaching ourselves the first steps into digital radio ... > getting ready for the future. > > I've only had to interface my soundcard interface to my Yaesu 857D just > once. The interface remains stable from a hardware point of view. My PC > runs > the appropriate software for FUNcube telemetry, SSTV from ISS and prior > ARISSat-1, PSK31, JT65, RTTY ... and when I get some time in between > preparing the next issue of the Journal I'll add the software for the > FreeDV > codec. > > Perhaps we'll hear more interesting ideas or a fresh approach! At least we > could have a thread with some fun discussion ... > > -- > 73 de JoAnne K9JKM > k9jkm(a)amsat.org > AMSAT VP User Services > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Going Digital Someday
by JoAnne Maenpaa 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

During the Symposium in Baltimore last week there was a discussion that I found quite interesting. Billed as a proposal for fairly long-term, future AMSAT HEO possibilities, this blue-sky proposal offers projects that will be fun for myself (and maybe yourself) to learn what's next ... or could be next ... It seems the cubesat form factor is here to stay for practical launch opportunities available to us ... (please don't ask for getting a phase III-B form factor in this thread!) Wiser people than myself have assured me of this. Analog SSB and CW modulation in a 3U to 6U cubesat may not be practical at HEO apogee due to antenna size limits on a cubesat and power generation capability of the cubesat limited number of solar cells. Digital techniques were described as a way to make this work. FreeDV HF Digital Voice for Radio Amateurs was one of the types of technologies mentioned just as an example. I found a demonstration at: http://nicktoday.com/freedv-hf-digital-voice-radio-amateurs/ Interesting, eh? A soundcard interface to your existing radio, sound card in the PC, we're teaching ourselves the first steps into digital radio ... getting ready for the future. I've only had to interface my soundcard interface to my Yaesu 857D just once. The interface remains stable from a hardware point of view. My PC runs the appropriate software for FUNcube telemetry, SSTV from ISS and prior ARISSat-1, PSK31, JT65, RTTY ... and when I get some time in between preparing the next issue of the Journal I'll add the software for the FreeDV codec. Perhaps we'll hear more interesting ideas or a fresh approach! At least we could have a thread with some fun discussion ... -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org AMSAT VP User Services

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Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 Rotor issue
by Gregory Beat 21 Oct '14

21 Oct '14

Yaesu G-5500 Operating Manual http://www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=994&FileCatID=155&FileName=G%2… How Things Work. TURN to Page 9, schematic diagram Meters M1 and M2 are analog meters in the Control Box. Potentiometers VR5 and VR6, located INSIDE the outside rotator and geared to motor movement, changes resistance -- which is measured and reported on the meters M1 and M2. Dirty or failing potentiometers are common, and required maintenance with heavily used antenna rotators. w9gb Sent from iPad Air

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pics from 1998 Symposium
by Jeff KB2M 20 Oct '14

20 Oct '14

I'm packing up stuff from the Ocean View property and ran into a packet of photos Bill W0oqc SK had sent me from the 1998 Symposium. What a blast from the past. Pics of W0oqc, W0sat, N8ocx, Ki0ag,N7sfi,W5iu,K5vas,Wd5gqm,Kb1sf,W3xo,Wd5gqm,K5nrk. Such great memories of the morning Breakfast club on the FOO birds, FO20, and FO29 with most of these guys and more. Very fond memories.. 73 Jeff kb2m

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Luxspace 4M Mission Orbit simulation
by Fabio Azzarello IZ5XRC 20 Oct '14

20 Oct '14

Hello, I was just wondering if the 4M mission's orbit could be simulated using g3ruh's Cowell integrator, provided that orbit injection state vectors were available... I've found some videos (luxspace cloud) with this simulation and I was wondering if I could do the same... Can anybody help ? 73s Fabio iz5xrc

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grid square calculator
by Bob- W7LRD 20 Oct '14

20 Oct '14

might be useful for some of us http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html 73 Bob W7LRD

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Re: [amsat-bb] antennas for sale
by Keith McDonnell 19 Oct '14

19 Oct '14

Sorry, i should of posted yesterday. The antennas sold within a half hour. Thank you everybody, 73, Keith

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ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-292 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS-US Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 * Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! * Russian 'Smart' Mini-Satellites to Go Into Orbit in 2016 * UKSA announces CubeSat payload opportunity * 4M (Manfred Memorial Moon Mission) * Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational Use * HamTV Bulletin #15 * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.01 ANS-292 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 292.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 19, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-292.01 ARISS-US Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 You are encouraged to share the following "Message to US Educators" with teachers, administrators and leaders at your local schools, museums, science centers and scouting organizations. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Proposal Window October 17 - December 15, 2014 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 May 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. 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 SUMBIT A PROPOSAL IS DECEMBER 15, 2014. 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. More details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions are available at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl dot org. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. * Design * Implementation - CubeSat platform * Estimated timeline * Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units * Launch - how does it get to orbit * Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Russian 'Smart' Mini-Satellites to Go Into Orbit in 2016 The first group of Russian "smart" mini-satellites should be launched into orbit in 2016, Mikhail Sonkin, the Deputy Governor of Russia's Tomsk Region, said Wednesday. "The signing of an agreement on the creation of an association to carry out projects in the sphere of the development of groups of miniature satellites is in progress...The launch [of the satellites] is planned for 2016," Sonkin, who is responsible for the scientific and educational complex and innovation policy in the region, said at the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow. A number of Russian universities and space industry companies are expected to join the association, which will work on creating software to control groups of mini-satellites and improve their interaction with each other. According to Sonkin, members of the association, which will include Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) and Tomsk State University (TSU), will also be working on developing new materials for the space industry and on establishing communication networks in remote areas. Last month, Chairman of the Presidium of the Tomsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Psakhie announced that Russian scientists were planning to create unique mini-satellites capable of group interaction. The satellites, similar to CubeSat developed in the United States, would be able to self-educate and repair each other without leaving the Earth's orbit. Source: RIA Novosti [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UKSA announces CubeSat payload opportunity The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has announced an opportunity to fly payloads on the 3U CubeSat AlSat-1N. AlSat-Nano is primarily an education programme, its top level objective is to teach Algerian students how to design, build and operate a 3U CubeSat. The programme involves a number of Algerian graduate students who will be hosted at the Surrey Space Centre (University of Surrey) and focuses on the development of the CubeSat as a hands-on learning exercise for the students, to demonstrate the practical implementation of this type of low cost space technology. As well as the practical element of the programme there will be a focus on research modules around the use of low cost nano-satellite technologies and applications in developing nations such as Algeria, which would help to create sustainable growth and have practical uses such as earthresource management (agriculture, water), atmospheric monitoring, and disaster management. The design and build of the nano-satellite will take place at Surrey Space Centre. Final assembly, integration and verification will take place at the ASAL satellite development facility in Oran, Algeria. Operations will be carried out from Oran also. The bus will be built using hardware sourced from UK suppliers and the CubeSat will also carry payloads which will be supplied by the UK CubeSat community. These payloads will be selected in a competitive process following an Announcement of Flight Opportunity which will be issued in December 2014. The precise interface specifications will be developed during the first trimester of the project to be integrated in the Announcement of Opportunity, however it is foreseen that a maximum volume of 1U (10cm x 10cm x 10cm) and maximum mass of 1kg will be available for payloads. The selection of the payloads will be carried out in early 2015 via a selection panel. Payloads must be ready for functional testing and integration by September 2015. Launch will be in Q2 2016. Because of the educational and collaborative nature of the programme there are two further specific points that should be noted: * Payload providers must be actively engaged in all programme reviews and an active participant in the consortium * Payload providers must be willing to share payload data with the programme for research purposes, and to receive interpreted payload data via the ASAL ground segment in Oran, Algeria Submissions should be sent to Ryan King, UK Space Agency - ryan.king(a)ukspaceagency.bis.gsi.gov.uk with 'AlSat-Nano RFI' as the subject line. The deadline for responses is 12 noon, November 14th 2014. Submissions received after this time will not be read. RFI PDF http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-AlSat-Nano-Info UK Space Agency Announcement http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-alsat-nano-payload [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4M (Manfred Memorial Moon Mission) 4M or Manfred Memorial Moon Mission is a mission dedicated to LuxSpace founder, Prof. Manfred Fuchs, who died early this year. The mission is a lunar flyby of a spacecraft that is attached to the last stage of a Chinese Long March 3C rocket. The launch is scheduled for October 23, 2014 at 1800 UTC. Beijing plans to launch a Lunar spacecraft on a journey lasting 196 hours that should take it around the Moon before returning and re- entering the Earth's atmosphere. It will carry a 14 kg payload known as 4M-LXS which was developed at LuxSpace. The 4M-LXS amateur radio payload will transmit on 145.980 MHz +/- 2.9kHz (-40°C to +125°C), Doppler max: -2200Hz, +1000Hz. The continuous transmissions will start 4670s (77.8 minutes) after launch (-0, +600s). Five successive 1 minute sequences are sent during the 5 minutes cycle. The digital mode JT65B will be used, this can be decoded by radio amateurs using the free WJST software, there will also be 'human readable' tone transmissions. See the transmit sequence description on page 14 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment available at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/lxs-4m-eme2014-a4-v3.pdf During the lunar flyby, the range will be 399,636 km at the most and the distance to the Moon will be between 12,000 and 24,000 km depending on the final injection vector. The transmitter produces 1.5 watts to a simple Monopole antenna which should give a Signal to Noise ratio ( S/N) comparable to amateur moon bounce (EME) signals at the Earth's surface. LuxSpace encourages radio amateurs around the world to receive the transmissions and send in data. There will be a number of Experiments and Contests with prizes to the winners in each experiment and category. Details are given on page 19 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment. A Java client will be made available to automatically send the WSJT ALL.TXT and the decoded.txt files to a central database. The orbiter is one of the test models for Beijing's new lunar probe Chang'e-5, which will be tasked with landing on the moon, collecting samples and returning to Earth. The launch is aimed at testing the technologies that are vital for the success of Chang'e-5. The orbiter will be launched into Lunar Transfer Orbit (LTO) then will perform a flyby around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere after 196 hours (9 days). The orbiter arrived by air in Xichang, Sichuan on Sunday, August 10 and was then transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The integration of the LX0OHB-4M amateur radio payload was completed on Sunday night, October 12 and is now ready to launch The onboard clock has been adjusted to start JT65B (145.980 MHz) at the UTC minute +/-1 second. It is likely to drift during the mission, and manual offset introduction will be required after a week or so. The launch date is October 23 at 1800 UTC. Beginning of transmission of 4M will start between 1917 UTC and 1927 UTC. Refer to the provided maps and animations links in the blog section (see also older messages) to determine your visibility. Alternatively, use the 'tracking' section where you can compute your tracking elements by introducing your geographic coordinates. The table can be copied/pasted into a text file. As the apparent movement will be close (and closer) to the one one of the Moon, manual pointing is easy but for the largest arrays. The link budget is quite tight, but the first hours should give comfortable signals. QSB is to be expected. As JT65B is used: please remind those not yet too familiar with it that the receiver must not be tuned during the transmission. A dedicated webpage is being written to detail the procedure. A dedicated java application is also available to automatically transmit the decoded messages to the 4M website and ease the data collection. (Thanks to LSE Space). Alternatively, you can also send the decoded messages by eMail, sending the ALL.txt file. For those not wishing to use JT65B, please record the signals (11025s/s, 8or 16 bits, mono), taking care not to saturate the recording and NO MP3 please. SpectrumLab is an excellent choice, although some may wish to use simpler recording software. You can imagine that the team is quite eager to receive the first reports, so, do not hesitate to mail immediately, send decoded messages or even phone or text me at +352 661 678 986. Our friends of IC CMalaga are also quite eager to receive the results of their radiation dosimeter experiment. Basic rules of the contest have been delineated in the blog section. Complete rules will be published soon. Stay tuned on our website or Facebook page. The following is a tentative set of orbital elements that should remain valid from the launch to at least up to the October 27 when using usual classical and simple tracking software which does not integrate Moon. 1 99999U 14298.79728009 .00000066 00000-0 00000-0 0 00006 2 99999 030.6553 295.6956 9746689 147.2577 071.9585 00.10600338000010 The following set is to be used after the flyby from October 28 onwards 1 99999U 14301.79728009 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00009 2 99999 049.9434 067.2017 6639865 045.9865 124.5019 00.06612018000010 Details on receiving signals from the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) can be found at http://moon.luxspace.lu/receiving-4m/ Ghislain Ruy LX2RG Email ruy(a)luxspace.lu with "4M Amateur" in the subject Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) http://moon.luxspace.lu/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LuxSpaceSarl The launch will be broadcast by CNTV/CCTV: http://www.cntv.cn/ or http://english.cntv.cn/ or http://english.cntv.cn/live/p2p/index.shtml Information animations and some JT65B test files at http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-Animations AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amsatuk Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK [ANS thanks LuxSpace.lu, AMSAT-UK and Southgate ARN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational Use NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions and museums to request space shuttle thermal protective tiles and other special items offered on a first-come, first-served basis while quantities last. Organizations previously allocated thermal protective tiles may request an additional three tiles. There will be a nominal shipping fee that must be paid online with a credit card. To make a request for special items online, visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS292-ShuttleTiles. Questions about this opportunity should be directed to GSAXcessHelp(a)gsa.gov. [ANS thanks NASA Education Express Message -- Oct. 16, 2014 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HamTV Bulletin #15 Ham Video reception with low gain antenna. Tonino Giagnacovo IZ8YRR did an experiment with a low gain antenna during the Ham Video commissioning. Tonino wrote an article about this experiment, which was published in Radio Rivista, the magazine of ARI, Associazione Radioamatori Italiani, the Italian IARU society. Tonino translated his article in English. It is now available on the ARISS-Europe website: www.ariss-eu.org Please see left column. Thanks to Tonino for making his article available in English. 73, Gaston Bertels - ON4WF ARISS-Europe chairman [ANS thanks Gaston ON4WF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News ARISS-US is Accepting Proposals To Host Scheduled ISS Contacts In 2015 See lead story above or visit http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact + A Successful contact was made between Team Sky and Rocket (NPO Sora-To-Rocket-Dan), Aichi, Japan and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-10-09 09:00 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via 8J2YSM. ARISS Mentor was 7M3TJZ. + A Successful contact was made between Pilton Bluecoat School, Barnstaple, United Kingdom and Astronaut Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT using callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2014-10-08 10:08 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was MØXTD. + A Successful contact was made between Indiana Area School District, Indiana, PA, USA and Astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO using callsign NA1SS/IRØISS. The contact began 2014-10-17 16:41 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridged via IK1SLD. ARISS Mentor was AJ9N. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule >From 2014-11-10 to 2014-12-07, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 931. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 909. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS The successful school list has been updated as of 2014-10-10 06:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 Exp. 40/41 on orbit Maxim Suraev Gregory Wiseman KF5LKT Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Exp. 41/42 on orbit Barry Wilmore Alexander Samokutyayev Elena Serova [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Yes, it is rocket science... a nasty place to ride... Bob Bruninga WB4APR offers the following link of interest. To see the violence that a cubesat has to go through, here is a test we did today on a power supply board. http://aprs.org/psat/Vibe-coil-test1724.MOV (1 meg file) It failed even before we got to the 22G requirement! [ANS thanks Bob WB4APR for the above information] + Why radio hams should consider 3D printing Mike Grauer, Jr, KE7DBX, asks radio amateurs to think about how 3D printers can be used in home construction He says: As a member of the ham radio community, I have always been fascinated by the maker mindset which has existed since the early days of radio. From making radio equipment from scratch, to kits and even modifying commercially available equipment, the maker movement and radio go hand in hand. The 3D printing community shares many traits with the ham radio movement. At the heart of it all is making, creating and inventing. And just like ham radio operators, those involved with 3D printing are constantly learning new technical skills that can be used in other areas of our lives. Read the full story at http://www.inside3dp.com/ham-operators-consider-3d-printing/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + New Website For Indian Amateur Satellite Organization Posted by our UK friends on Southgate ... The Indian amateur satellite organisation have launched a new website The site describes two projects which AMSAT-India is currently working on, a 435/145 MHz linear transponder and a 435 MHz CubeSat communication sub system. Some back issues of the AMSAT-India newsletter are available for download. Web http://amsatindia.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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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Amsat preamp
by Jim Barbre 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

What is the noise figure at 137 MHz of the Amsat preamp? Thanks. Jim Barbre KB7YSY

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M2 antennas for sale
by Keith McDonnell 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

If anyone is interested, I have never used M2 436cp42ug and 2mcp22 antennas up for sale on separate auctions on ebay. Both too big for me to use. Thanks, keith

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Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 rotor issue
by Richard Lawn 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

It sounds like it could be an internal pot issue. I hope not for your sake as they are a pain to break open and replace but doable. It all depends on how long yours has been out in the wx. I found once I got my apart that I also had to replace a bunch of bearings, but that was nearly 10 years ago and so far so good. Before you go doing this though mKe sure that your wife connections topside are solid. I've also had problems with that more than once. They can work loose. Good luck 73 Rick W2JAZ

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J'aimerais vous inviter à rejoindre mon réseau professionnel sur LinkedIn.
by Jean-Claude Aveni 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

Bonjour amsat, J'aimerais que vous rejoigniez mon réseau pour partager des nouvelles et rester en contact. Jean-Claude Accepter : http://www.linkedin.com/blink?simpleRedirect=0Mc3oNe3gVejgUcjoVdj4VczARfkh9… Vous avez reçu une invitation à rejoindre un réseau. LinkedIn utilise votre adresse e-mail pour faire des suggestions à nos utilisateurs dans des fonctionnalités telles que Les connaissez-vous ? Se désabonner ici : http://www.linkedin.com/blink?simpleRedirect=70QbmBBqTxMpj5FbjdHemlRrzRAqmk… e-mail est destiné à amsat NA. Découvrez pourquoi nous avons inclus ceci en suivant ce lien : http://www.linkedin.com/blink?simpleRedirect=3wUdPgZp4BBr6dFt79x9DhPpnlDnSl… © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct., Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

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G-5500 Rotor issue
by Greg 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

Hi all, This is a strange one for me that I can’t seem to solve. My elevation rotor still operates up and down as usual. However, when I hold the “Up” key when the elevation starts at 0 degree’s, within a second or two the meter shoots up to 180 degree’s. However, if I keep holding the “Up” switch, the elevator still goes smoothly as usual but the meter stays at the 180 mark. When I hit the down button the elevation meter jumps back to 0 degrees in a second or two. This while the rotator is still smoothly declining. I retinned and rehooked the cables at the box entrance thinking one may have shorted from box movement. Same result. Would a short somewhere down the line cause this or do I have a bad meter or box switch. My mast mounted elevation rotor works fine as far as functionality, just can’t get the readings on the meter. Of course, this throws off the LVB Tracker. Any other thoughts? Greg N3MVF

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Cubesat Vibration Test
by Robert Bruninga 18 Oct '14

18 Oct '14

To see the violence that a cubesat has to go through, here is a test we did today on a power supply board. http://aprs.org/psat/Vibe-coil-test1724.MOV (1 meg file) It failed even before we got to the 22G requirement! Yes, it is rocket science… a nasty place to ride… Bob, WB4aPR

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SO-50
by Andrew Glasbrenner 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

There were a total of three stations on SO-50 right up the east coast just now. Myself, N8IUP, N6RFM, and a couple of guys with no tone chatting on the uplink. That seemed really odd for a beautiful Friday mid-afternoon pass. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Fwd: Beaconsats
by Shamai Opfer 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

Hi, DUCHIFAT-1 has a short CW beacon every 1 minute on 145.980 (saying "hi de duchifat"), and a BPSK 1200bd telemetry every 20 sec. I found out that passes above 50-60 deg elevation can be heard with just a handy and its original rubber ducky antenna, such as the Kenwood TH-F6. good luck! shamai 4z1ws ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Alan <wa4sca(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Oct 17, 2014 at 1:55 PM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Beaconsats To: Tom Schuessler <tjschuessler(a)verizon.net>, AmsatBB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Cc: Starcom-bb(a)star-com.net Tom, LU-19 has only a boring carrier, but it is strong and reliable. 73s, Alan WA4SCA <-----Original Message----- <From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tom Schuessler <Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 11:06 PM <To: 'AmsatBB' <Cc: Starcom-bb(a)star-com.net <Subject: [amsat-bb] Beaconsats < <Aside from HO-68 which has a rather strong beacon CW signal, and UKube-1, <EO-79, does anyone have any suggestions for satellites with relatively <strong beacon signals of any kind that would make good "Track the Sat" demos <for the JOTA event I am running this weekend. Keith Pugh, W5IU will be <helping me with AMSAT demos but I have wondered for some time now which <birds folks felt had the strongest, most easily tracked beacon signals. < <Thanks Much < <Tom Schuessler, N5HYP. <n5hyp(a)arrl.net < < <_______________________________________________ <Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available <to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed <are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. <Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! <Subscription settings: http://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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ANS-290 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
by E.Mike McCardel 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-290 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: * Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-290.01 ANS-290 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 290.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 17, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-290.01 Design the Next AMSAT Satellite! At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas. AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first step." The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals * Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications skills * Enhance international goodwill * Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers * Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions * Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware changes." Submissions should be thorough and contain the following information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in carrying out the idea. * Design * Implementation - CubeSat platform * Estimated timeline * Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units * Launch - how does it get to orbit * Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform. This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the foreseeable future. In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him for more details on the criteria. In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to provide experiments or other support and you are not representing that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with our existing partners or establishing a new partnership. "Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a particular trap because of our history of communicating with other amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite projects with foreign nationals." While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must take particular care of they choose to become involved in a collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules. Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name is well known. "It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization." The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed in September 2015. For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal. The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and the project(s) will move forward. Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite! [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA 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 Special ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Beaconsats
by Tom Schuessler 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

Aside from HO-68 which has a rather strong beacon CW signal, and UKube-1, EO-79, does anyone have any suggestions for satellites with relatively strong beacon signals of any kind that would make good "Track the Sat" demos for the JOTA event I am running this weekend. Keith Pugh, W5IU will be helping me with AMSAT demos but I have wondered for some time now which birds folks felt had the strongest, most easily tracked beacon signals. Thanks Much Tom Schuessler, N5HYP. n5hyp(a)arrl.net

4 3

satpc32 rotor question
by Keith McDonnell 16 Oct '14

16 Oct '14

Hello to all. I just took my g5400b out of storage and decided to test it. The g5400 appears fine when not under computer control. Az/El motors work fine and the needles on the controller box correspond where the rotor is pointing. I ran satpc32 V.12.8b with the labjack u12 interface. I loaded all drivers for the labjack as well as serverlabjack. under computer control, the elevation works flawlessly but the az is out of wack. as soon as I hit the R+ button to initiate rotor control, the az will go completely to the clock wise end point and the labjack light remains on, power still going to the motor even at end stop. I even switched the turning point setting to north from south. This made the az do the opposite, completely CCW without shutting off. While I was playing with it, a satellite came in view. The g5400 started tacking the sat. At first it was right on target, but then the az kept moving CCW in small increments until it reached its end stop, still not shutting off power. I thought it might be a bad pot in the rotor, but I am receiving accurate readings on the controller. Position readings on the serverlabjack dde screen do not correspond with the actual pointing direction. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and 73, Keith

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Rumble in the Amazon Jungle Today - Ariane 5 Lauch WebCast
by JoAnne K9JKM 16 Oct '14

16 Oct '14

Here is some news for those who enjoy the roar of a rocket engine in the evening. On the fifth Ariane 5 launch this year, Arianespace will orbit two telecommunications satellites: Intelsat 30 for the operator Intelsat and, Arsat-1 for the Argentine operator Arsat. The ARIANE 5 ECA Launcher lift-off for this flight is scheduled on October 16 to 17, 2014 as soon as possible within the following launch window: Kourou : Between 06:00pm and 07:51pm on October 16, 2014 TU/GMT : Between 09:00pm and 10:51pm on October 16, 2014 Paris : Between 11:00pm and 00:51am on October 16 to 17, 2014 Washington : Between 05:00pm and 06:51pm on October 16, 2014 Webcast of the launch will be on http://www.arianespace.tv/ -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org AMSAT VP User Services

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Re: [amsat-bb] Beaconsats
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 16 Oct '14

16 Oct '14

Hello Tom, Good luck with your event at the weekend - I am hoping to be available for an event to be held over here in Wales on the Sunday. Amsat -UK have kindly posted to the Funcube-1 message board ( Dashboard ) best wishes to all Scouts participating in the JOTA event. Not sure at the moment on the operating status for the weekend ( ie usual weekends the transponder is fully on and data mode in low power ) The message to the scouts is currently available on the "Fitter" display you may like to save it and perhaps use in your demonstration. Regarding other satellites -please consider EO-79 and EO-80 they are quite strong if the pass times are co-incident with your events. Sadly UO-11 has not recovered from its shut down but you might also like to consider DO-64 or the packet modes from the ISS. Good luck hope all goes well. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat -UK Amsat NA

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Re: [amsat-bb] Scouting's jamboree on the Air this weekend.
by Geert Jan de Groot 16 Oct '14

16 Oct '14

> This coming weekend, October 17-19, is the 57th annual Jamboree on the Air, A point of trivia, related to AMSAT as it is using OSCAR zero: You may know that in the Netherlands, the CAMRAS foundation took over the large telescope of Dwingeloo. This year during upcoming JOTA weekend, several stations will try to make QSO's using QRP EME via the moon using WSJT and the telescope (accessible via WebSDR) as Receiver With Large Ears. Information, in Dutch alas, can be found at http://www.camras.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog… You should be able to listen in using the same WebSDR station. Please join me to congratulate the volunteers of CAMRAS, and especially Frans PE1RXJ, for organizing and facilitating this impressive feat. Unfortunately, I'm too busy with other aspects of JOTA but I wish the stations doing this experiment / demonstration the best of luck! Geert Jan

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Great symposium
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 15 Oct '14

15 Oct '14

Hello00 All The symposium this past weekend was fantastic A big thanks to Frank and his crew and the inspiring talk by Jan King nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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Scouting's jamboree on the Airr this weekend.
by Tom Schuessler 15 Oct '14

15 Oct '14

Hello all, This coming weekend, October 17-19, is the 57th annual Jamboree on the Air, a World Scouting Organization event linking Scouts to Scouts internationally via Amateur Radio. There will be hundreds of JOTA stations on the air this weekend, most on HF and local V/U repeaters but some of us will also attempt satellite contacts as well. I will be managing a rather large event at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, TX, EM12. We will be operating as K2BSA/5. Aside from HF and V/U, Echolink and IRLP, we are hoping to make a few satellite contacts as well. Our operation will be limited to 1500-2200Z on the 18th so our satellite opportunities are limited but for sure we will be on an afternoon SO-50 pass and hopefully an earlier AO-73 pass as well. Please look for K2BSA/5 and any other JOTA stations on the birds and give them a shout. Tom Schuessler Irving Amateur Radio Club Scout Radio Coordinator 214-403-1464 (Cell) n5hyp(a)arrl.net

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FUNcube WOD csv Data
by David A B Johnson 14 Oct '14

14 Oct '14

Hi, The warehouse is now hosting weekly WOD csv files at: http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/wodweekly.html?satelliteId=2 It currently up to 26/6/2014 (32 files) The files are on average: 9706 lines (expected 10080) ~ 96.3% capture 905 KB - Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube Team Member

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Re: [amsat-bb] New Rotator X/Y as opposed to Azimuth/Elevation SPX X-Y Rotor
by Robert Bruninga 13 Oct '14

13 Oct '14

> ... with a dish with a 8 degree beamwidth. > There is a strong null even when right overhead, > if the tracking system is way off. The maximum range > I can receive a TV signal is 800Km to the ISS. As usual, I shot from the hip and pontificated about the disadvantage of an XY mount when in general they are ideal overhead if you don't need the two horizon points that are problematic. Now that I understand that you are only targeting the high elevation portion of all passes, then you are absolutely correct, that the XY will be better since it gives you un-hindered overhead high elevation successs without the zenith keyhole. > The aim is to use the entire pass without a gap in the middle, > and then hand over to another European station to continue the contact. AMEN. Great plan and I agree the XY is ideal since you don't care about the low E/W horizon. > With 800KM range I will not be able to pick up the signal from ISS at low elevations. >Would you recommend XY or ordinary AZ/EL? You are right to choose the XY for this mission. Thanks for hanging in there. Devil is always in the details. Bob, WB4APR

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Re: [amsat-bb] New Rotator X/Y as opposed to Azimuth/Elevation SPX X-Y Rotor
by Robert Bruninga 13 Oct '14

13 Oct '14

> ... it says " the X-Y pedestal has its limitations at low elevation angles > (< 2°) around 90° and 270° in azimuth." which ... is West and East My bad. Our XY here is N and S. So I "assumed" that was what they all were. But E and W would seem to be worse because you have the problem on both assending and descending passes that cross east -or- west. Where as with N/S, nothing much passes North. Oops, wrong again. I am remembering our problems with the SHUTTLE on 28 deg launches so all passes always were to the south, never north. So we only had to deal with low southern pass problems. But with ISS in a 52 degree inclined orbit, then it goes north just as much as south. Ah, Ha, Maybe E/W is best, then, since the only time you are down low on the horizon to the due east or due west, the entire pass is so low it probably isn’t worth bothering with anway! So ignore my stream of consciousness. Looks like they did their homework and so they have a good design with E/W axis and it will not be a problem. On the other hand, as I suggested before, the number of times that an AZ/EL gets into trouble directly overhead (when the signal is so strong one doesn’t even need a beam anways) is so exceedllingly small with typical LEO passes, it might not be worth changing. Not saying either is better. Just filling in some details to think about. Thakns for the correction about the E/W. Also I have not read the link, so you can ignore anything I say too... <wink> Bob

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FUNcube Data
by David Johnson 13 Oct '14

13 Oct '14

Hi, From the early planning stage of the project we decided that we would make telemetry information available to end users. Since deployment the warehouse has displayed the latest data: Reatime Whole Orbit High Precision Fitter Messages and of course the upload rankings. Additionally we have made available small csv files for WOD and HiRes. Starting today, we will be making all captured WOD available as weekly csv files. To start the ball rolling, we have dumped the WOD for 21st-30th Nov 2013 (incl.) into a csv file. Please see: http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/wod.html?satelliteId=2 for the link to the downloads page. We will play catch up over the next few days and then automate the process. This is a LARGE file of 11558 rows (we will test out compression on the host server) If you want to graph it, I would advise you to edit in a text editor before trying it in Excel or LibreOffice Calc It it really intended for consumption by an analytical suite such as MatLab, or a DIY one, in a language of your choosing. Feedback would be appreciated. Enjoy! 73 Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube Team Member

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