- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

W4UOO please email me
by TJ Campie 01 May '14

01 May '14

Mike, I think you subscribe to the list, please send me an email. I'd like to QSL our contact this morning on FO-29. Pardon the bandwidth. 73, W0EA TJ ---- QRP ARCI #14612 | CW Ops #953 | SKCC #4593T NAQCC #3768 | Flying Pigs QRP #2254 http://W0EA.us *Because QRO is too easy (but sometimes required!)*

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New to sats, please listen for me half-duplex
by TJ Campie 01 May '14

01 May '14

Hello all! I am w0ea and I just got an FT817 so I will be joining the mix on the linear satellites. Please help me out us you hear me by giving long calls since I can only tune my receiver. I'm still figuring out the splits and Doppler so please forgive me if I accidentally step on your qso in progress. Hope to work you soon from en41. -- 73, W0EA TJ ---- QRP ARCI #14612 | CW Ops #953 | SKCC #4593T NAQCC #3768 | Flying Pigs QRP #2254 http://W0EA.us *Because QRO is too easy (but sometimes required!)*

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Re: Antenna Question
by Mark Spencer 01 May '14

01 May '14

Hi Doug, I doubt that I have greater understanding of antennas than you do, but I'll give your question a shot. Actually, I have been working on circularly polarizing the ARROWS with the WRAPS lately, a work still in progress but almost complete. So I am throwing out the draft information I have been working on to date. You can circularly polarize a pair of ARROWs and they actually work well together from my experience (one of the reasons I suspect is that the feed system of the individual antennas is very well matched). If you are mounting the two antennas virtually on the same boom (sticking them right next to each other) it might get pretty crowded and interactions complicated. I have mounted two ARROWs separated horizontally about 3 feet apart with pretty good success. I have done this with stock ARROWs, and also with one side with the two meter elements, and the other side with the 70 CM elements (had to drill extra holes for the 70 CM mod), both ways worked about the same. The tricky part is coming up with the right feed lines (the transformer lines and the phasing line). I have a first draft of an article I am working on that describes my latest effort to come up with a polarity switching arrangement for ARROWs with the WRAPS, it can be downloaded here (if you have download issues, let me know and I'll try and get it to you another way). Click here to view Circling the WRAPS <https://www.dropbox.com/l/xvKKUtfwUN5gFhGyCiXjua?> I will be adding to the conclusion of the piece some suggestions on where to include an external diplexer in the line to handle the single feed line issue that you mention in your post. Anyway, I hope this will stimulate some ideas. Mark Mark Spencer, WA8SME 860-381-5335 mspencer(a)arrl.org

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LituanicaSAT-1
by PY5LF 01 May '14

01 May '14

Hi The LituanicaSAT-1 has just passed over South America working nicely . Only the signal is a little weak . 73 PY5LF Luciano Fabricio Curitiba-PR-BR GG54jm <http://www.qrz.com/db/PY5LF> http://www.qrz.com/db/PY5LF

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Antenna Question
by Douglas Phelps 01 May '14

01 May '14

I have finished building the WRAP rotor. Works great. Actually I finished it a month ago. I want to put 2 Arrow Antennas on it (and it will lift the weight) at cross angles so there is a vertical and horizontal VHF and UHF array. The arrows do not work well with circular polarization. I tried taking 2 arrows and make a VHF and UHF crossed YAGI but the 2 antennas will not tune. so now my idea is to have 2 regular arrow antennas at cross angles and, using a proper power splitter, feed the horizontal VHF (or UHF)vertical and horizontal antennas at the same time. It seems to me that the E fields will be at right angles and should not interfere. Also, because I am feeding them from the same TX, the waves should pretty well maintain phase (that is, I should not have an cancellation due to phase difference). I want to do this to help eliminate the fade as the satellite rotates. I have a receive preamp also. It seems, to me, that as the vertical signal moves to horizontal that the vertical antenna will receive less and the horizontal antenna will receive more. Can anyone, with a greater understanding of antennas than myself, tell why my idea would not work. I would like a technical answer if possible. Thanks, Doug

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Re: LituanicaSAT-1 FM Transponder - Possible NA Activity
by Kevin M 01 May '14

01 May '14

> the LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder will be active from 0930Z-1400Z tomorrow. > That window includes three passes over North America at around 0940Z, 1115Z, and 1245Z > (if I've got the TLEs right - Object 39569, I believe) I think you may have your times off Paul... I show passes over North America for May 1st at 0940 and 1115 EASTERN time (EDST). =^( Which only makes sense, because the 0930Z-1400Z operating period would need to coincide with passes over EU for people to be working LY5N. Otherwise, I'd be outside waving my yagi around looking for you. =^D 73, Kevin N4UFO

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Rotor interface
by Elizabeth McDonnell 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

Hello everyone, Does anyone know of a USB interface to control azimuth on one of those basic Radio Shack T.V. Antenna rotors? in my search I have only found only older parallel port versions. Thank you all in advance, 73, Keith

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Re: LituanicaSAT-1 TLE Confirmation
by Kevin M 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

> Can anyone confirm if these are the proper TLEs for LituanicaSAT-1? From Celestrak, it's object > 39569U, other sources seem to give a different object number. AMSAT-UK sends readers to N2YO and he agrees... http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=39569 73 Kevin N4UFO

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LituanicaSAT-1 TLE Confirmation
by Paul Stoetzer 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

Can anyone confirm if these are the proper TLEs for LituanicaSAT-1? >From Celestrak, it's object 39569U, other sources seem to give a different object number. LITUANICASAT-1 1 39569U 98067EN 14120.05707906 .00127956 00000-0 12069-2 0 1884 2 39569 51.6459 334.7226 0006240 190.0958 300.7756 15.66112809 9450 73, Paul, N8HM

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Falcon 9 Flight 9 Landing Burn + Leg Deployment
by Bryce Salmi 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

Elon tweeted this and I wanted to share, one step closer to reusable rockets and reduced launch costs! This view is from a camera near the top of Falcon 9 looking down the rocket. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/461055064438628353

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LituanicaSAT-1 FM Transponder - Possible NA Activity
by Paul Stoetzer 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

Good morning, According to the latest update from the LituanicaSAT-1 team posted on the AMSAT-UK website this morning ( http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/30/lituanicasat-1-fm-transponder-active-may-1/), the LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder will be active from 0930Z-1400Z tomorrow. That window includes three passes over North America at around 0940Z, 1115Z, and 1245Z (if I've got the TLEs right - Object 39569, I believe) The uplink is 145.950 MHz, PL 67.0 Hz and downlink is 435.180 MHz. 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Washington, DC

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LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder active May 1
by M5AKA 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

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Re: Arianespace Launch Webcast Tuesday Evening
by Clint Bradford 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

>> ... Here is something for those who enjoy the roar of a rocket engine in the evening ... And it was successful. What excitement. Clint

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AO-07 Distorted audio
by Peter Wilson 29 Apr '14

29 Apr '14

Just worked IK8YSS on AO-07. Haven't worked this satellite for a while and whilst I know the bird is very old, the audio on this pass was very distorted. Is this common? Peter G8KEK

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Arianespace Launch Webcast Tuesday Evening
by JoAnne Maenpaa 29 Apr '14

29 Apr '14

Here is something for those who enjoy the roar of a rocket engine in the evening ... http://arianespace.tv/ says they will webcast the Arianespace Flight Vega VV03 -KasEOSat-1 Launch set for Tuesday, April 29 2014 from Kourou. Lift-off of the Vega launcher is now set for Tuesday, April 29 2014, at exactly: 10:35:15 pm local time on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 09:35:15 pm in Washington, D.C. 01:35:15 am UTC on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 No amateur satellite payload ... just the thrill of the countdown which brings us to the smoke and flames and kick in the seat ... -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT Journal

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Aeneas
by Gabor Berczi 29 Apr '14

29 Apr '14

Hi, Does anyone have a confirmed uptodate+working TLE for the Aeneas satellite? http://www.isi.edu/projects/serc/aeneas_news I had an exact one, but it quickly deteriorated lately for some reason, being off by 10-15 minutes. Aeneas is a cool sat with a strong AX.25 beacon which can be cleanly detected by even rudimentary setups. -- G

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ATK And Orbital To Merge
by B J 29 Apr '14

29 Apr '14

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/orbital-and-atk-announce-merger No mention on how this will affect smaller payloads such as amateur radio satellites. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 9, Issue 152
by LARRY CORREA 28 Apr '14

28 Apr '14

----- Original Message ----- From: amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 12:00 PM Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 9, Issue 152 Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to amsat-bb(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb<http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]> You can reach the person managing the list at amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Where was everyone on AO-7? (Paul Stoetzer) 2. My Juno QSL card received - thanks! (andy thomas) 3. Re: My Juno QSL card received - thanks! (David Barber) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 18:45:27 -0400 From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> To: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Where was everyone on AO-7? Message-ID: <CABzOSOqWkXj6KQodUjHWA-C+eQNv_OB_E_sp007YjhHwEzZSsg(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Great pass of AO-7 in Mode B just ended. The footprint covered the entire contiental United States, South and Central America at the beginning of the pass, then through all of Canada and into Alaska by the end of the pass. I heard KJ4MCZ calling at the beginning of the pass and a W3 station calling in CW, and I worked AC0RA and WN9Q. Where was everyone else? The bird sounded great with good strong signals. On the first afternoon pass, I worked GS3PYE/P on their expedition to the Isle of Lewis in Scotland (IO68) and heard EB8AYA. On the second afternoon pass, I worked KB3EJZ. Again, very good signals, but few stations heard. All the QSOs were made with 2 FT-817s running 5 watts and an Elk antenna. AO-7's transponder is still working great even after 39 years and 5 months in space. It also gives us the largest footprints and longest passes of any of our satellites currently in orbit. Let's use it! 73, Paul, N8HM ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 10:35:11 +0100 (BST) From: andy thomas <andythomasmail(a)yahoo.co.uk> To: amsat <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] My Juno QSL card received - thanks! Message-ID: <1398677711.3717.YahooMailNeo(a)web172801.mail.ir2.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 This morning's post included my Project Juno QSL card from JPL - many thanks to them! A great project. 73 de andy g0sfj ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 13:42:50 +0100 From: "David Barber" <david.barber(a)dbelectronics.co.uk> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: My Juno QSL card received - thanks! Message-ID: <A22B0FBDC7124F8888AD1C7BE6F604AA@DBXPPPOR> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Mine arrived too this morning, posted on the 23 April. First Class International Mail @ Only $1.15 David Barber G8OQW ******** -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of andy thomas Sent: 28 April 2014 10:35 To: amsat Subject: [amsat-bb] My Juno QSL card received - thanks! This morning's post included my Project Juno QSL card from JPL - many thanks to them! A great project. 73 de andy g0sfj _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. 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. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 9, Issue 152 ****************************************

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My Juno QSL card received - thanks!
by andy thomas 28 Apr '14

28 Apr '14

This morning's post included my Project Juno QSL card from JPL - many thanks to them! A great project. 73 de andy g0sfj

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Where was everyone on AO-7?
by Paul Stoetzer 27 Apr '14

27 Apr '14

Great pass of AO-7 in Mode B just ended. The footprint covered the entire contiental United States, South and Central America at the beginning of the pass, then through all of Canada and into Alaska by the end of the pass. I heard KJ4MCZ calling at the beginning of the pass and a W3 station calling in CW, and I worked AC0RA and WN9Q. Where was everyone else? The bird sounded great with good strong signals. On the first afternoon pass, I worked GS3PYE/P on their expedition to the Isle of Lewis in Scotland (IO68) and heard EB8AYA. On the second afternoon pass, I worked KB3EJZ. Again, very good signals, but few stations heard. All the QSOs were made with 2 FT-817s running 5 watts and an Elk antenna. AO-7's transponder is still working great even after 39 years and 5 months in space. It also gives us the largest footprints and longest passes of any of our satellites currently in orbit. Let's use it! 73, Paul, N8HM

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Forums at Dayton
by Doug Kuitula 26 Apr '14

26 Apr '14

Hi all, I just checked out the Dayton Hamfest website and found some forums that the folks who use the site may be interested in. Of course the AMSAT forum on Sat. May 17 at 11:15 AM will be of interest. But I found a couple more that may be of interest. They are both on Friday May 16. The first is the Balloon Sat, at 12:15 PM. And the other is the Hams In Space forum at 2:15 PM. There are many others, but these caught my interest. Check out the following site for more info: http://www.hamvention.org Hope to see you there at Dayton in May..............73 de Doug KA8QCU

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ISEE-3 Reboot Project
by Ethan Waldo 26 Apr '14

26 Apr '14

?This is just a friendly reminder that there are only about 3 1/2 weeks left to help fund the ISEE-3 Reboot Project http://spacecollege.org/isee3/ http://www.rockethub.com/42228<http://www.rockethub.com/42228.> which is currently at 32% funding. The orbit change maneuver must be completed by mid-June. [http://d1tcpxgmtqbpd1.cloudfront.net/images/42228/1398449925-large.png]<http://www.rockethub.com/42228.> ISEE-3 Reboot Project by Space College, Skycorp, and SpaceRef | RocketHub ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft will soon fly by the Earth. NASA can't save it. With your support we will. Read more...<http://www.rockethub.com/42228.>

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AO-07 an US station answer my call.
by LU2DPW Juan Carlos 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Hello to all In recent AO-7 pass about 20:23 UTC in mode B, I'm calling in CW on 145952 down and copy an W...... station answer me. Thanks for your answer and please call me next Sunday in Mode B window to USA. I work two US station in CW with distance record in 2008. My elements are very simple: FT-726R with 10w input(I opined about 5w output) Now my antennas: In tx: Diamond X-200 vertical and in Rx: 5 element Yagui home brew for 50Mhz. In 2008 QSOs I'm using same X-200 in tx and Quad Swiss TET in rx. 73 de Juan - LU2DPW - GF05gi

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Re: Help
by MICHAEL 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Hi Stephan! AMSAT U.K. has a wealth of information on their website for beginners. You may want to take a look there. 73's Mike / N8GBU --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com

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Re: HELP
by Mr. Stephen Thornber FRSPH FBCS CITP CISM 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Hello all, Dan Cussen asked me to list kit and interests. IN THE SHACK. Computer in the shack MAC PRO TOWER - With VMWare so I can run PC(XP) on the mac. (also got a couple of iPads ) the shack is finer connected networked to a synology disc station and there is a MacBookPro on the network in the house. Older (first HF rig) Yaesu FT-817 UHF/VHF/HF Low power - currently used only for local 2mtr repeater. KENWOOD TS 2000 VHF/UHF HF Has SAT features. No Antenna (Has separate VHF/UHF & 1.2Ghz connectors ) currently I do not have suitable antenna awaiting ideas. HAS SignalLink connected and to Computer for Ham Radio Delux connection ICOM IC7000 [AT-100ProII Autotuner] Connected to two G5RV Jr] 2 x SCS PTC-IIusb DSP Multimode PACTOR Controllers these have ability (Not that I know how in most cases) to do Pactor, amt or, rtty, fax/sstv, CW, Packet Rotator is dead - so will buy new onadvice. I can will change any / all of this configuration on advice I have a morse key and paddle but have NO morse. More importantly is it worth doing any longer - I have listened for a long time and not heard much chit chat about satellite or space or radio astronomy. As for what interests me - all sorts, just getting the stuff to work and talk voice or digitally to somebody else would be a good start. I want to know if there are sats that can be accessed regularly and relatively easily from the UK? Is there much activity. I would do weather stuff, moon bounce, data, packet, aprs or anything else for that matter if I could and understood (I mean i'm not stupid I do know some stuff) more about what was out there to do and get my teeth into. Is there any real research stuff worth doing and so the list goes on with the questions. for Dave G4DPZ - I have a FunCube dongle, lost interest when I couldn't get anything out of it on day one… so perhaps you can help me get my monies worth their too. Cheers all for the replies thus far. Stephen G6SGA Stephen Thornber FRSPH FBCS CITP CISM Chair Medanaid is a registered Charity https://medanaid.com/ Registered in England 1138609 Registered Office: 18 Lichfield Road, ST7 1SQ

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Re: ISS keps
by Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

At 01:19 PM 4/25/2014 +0400, "jean paul" <jeanpaul.marodon(a)izi.re> wrote: >Hello > >For many and many years I receive the keps from Ray Hoad to update my IT .I >just look ISS keps are not the week . > >How to get these one..? > >Best regards from FR5CY I just update my IT from the latest keps, ISS was updated. Maybe you have it listed as Zarya? KB7ADL

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have now received Kicksat
by andy thomas 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Just to thank Dave KB1PVH for walking me through the complicated computerised decoding to get: 2014-04-25 17:47:45.280 UTC: [147 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)] from KD2BHC to CQ via TELEM: 1 > 50 34 43 2C 37 35 31 2C 30 2C 34 36 38 2C 30 2C 55 89 F1 90 21 > 4E 8A 5B 8A 32 8A B0 8A 61 90 40 90 51 90 5F 90 67 89 A5 90 41 > 31 8F 2B 90 F1 8F FE 8C D5 85 F7 88 2C EB 6D B7 4C 90 ED 90 61 > EB 91 C3 90 F0 83 D0 8F 9F 82 5E 80 95 7D E0 7E F1 8F A6 8F 81 > B8 8F E6 8F C7 8E 48 8F DA 20 20 20 20 28 68 64 C9 34 40 22 101 > 7C FD D5 44 D0 20 20 20 20 20 20 98 B1 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 121 > 20 P4C,751,0,468,0,U‰ñNŠ[Š2Š°Ša@Q_g‰¥1+ñþŒÕ…÷ˆ,ëm·Líë‘ÃðƒÐŸ‚^€•}à~ñ¦¸æÇŽHÚ (hdÉ4@"|ýÕDÐ ˜± Note time group is decode time not rx time, as the tlm was received earlier this afternoon at the first 66 deg pass over the uk. I did hear it yesterday; the difference from yesterday was that I increased the IF gain on the FCD proPlus until the colour threshold change. 73 de Andy G0SFJ

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HELP
by Stephen Thornber 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Hello, I live in Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Any body close to me who can help me set up for satellite operations. Or even decide if it is worth doing in the UK ? I have a great shack, a number of VHF/UHF & HF rigs, a mast - deciding if I should buy a new AZ/EL rotator mine current one is 15yrs old and dead. I need proper advice on what to by how to configure and maybe help to operate the set up once it is going. I have tried shout outs on local repeater but nobody seems to do Satellite. Cheers Stephen G6SGA

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Re: HELP!
by Clint Bradford 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Stephen - here is a site that offers the basics of working FM birds ... http://www.work-sat.com For working the SSB birds - and a LOT more, please visit ... http://www.amsat-uk.org ... and ... http://ww2.amsat.org/ (AMSAT-NA) There are plenty of excellent articles and help on those three sites for you! And do not hesitate to ask your question here! Clint K6LCS

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Re: W1AW/2 NJ on SO-50
by Chris Del Plato KQ2RP 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Sorry for the confusion. Doesn't look great tonite, with over 80% chance of rain at the time of the pass, but we'll see. At any rate, to clarify - 11PM eastern, 0300z. 73, Chris KQ2RP

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Re: W1AW/2 NJ on SO-50
by Bill (W1PA) 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Chris, My bad... I read the previous post as _last night_ (Thr) at 0347Z, not Wednesday. There were a couple of us that read it wrong, so we worked each other instead. :-) Will look for you tonight (Friday) if the rain holds off. I am handheld portable as well (Arrow and FT530). Bill W1PA

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Re: W1AW/2 NJ on SO-50
by Chris Del Plato KQ2RP 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Bill, I worked the 4/23 0320z and 4/24 0347z passes. Did not try last night as I was operating W1AW/2 on 20/40m CW. http://kq2rp.tumblr.com/post/83741319734/w1aw-2-nj-on-last-nights-so-50-pass Would like to try again tonight at 0301z, but I am portable/handheld so impending rain may preempt. Chris KQ2RP ---------------------------------- We were there... where we you? :-) Will you try again tonight? Would love to get at least one of the W1AW remotes on satellite. Bill W1PA

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Re: W1AW/2 NJ on SO-50
by Bill (W1PA) 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Chris, We were there... where we you? :-) Will you try again tonight? Would love to get at least one of the W1AW remotes on satellite. Bill W1PA

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ISS keps
by jean paul 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

Hello For many and many years I receive the keps from Ray Hoad to update my IT .I just look ISS keps are not the week . How to get these one..? Best regards from FR5CY

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ANS-114 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT-NA Is Moving!
by JoAnne Maenpaa 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-114.01 ANS-114 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT-NA Is Moving! AMSAT News Service Bulletin 114.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 24, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-114.01 After 30 years in the same location, AMSAT-NA is moving to a new office. The office will be closed Friday, 25 April, and will reopen Friday, 2 May. During the move, our e-mail will be operational, however responses will be delayed. Purchases through the AMSAT Store may be made normally, but they will not be processed until the move is completed. Our new street address will be: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT-NA) 10605 Concord St, #304 Kensington, MD 20895 For those visiting, we are about 5 miles north of the old office, outside I-495, the Capital Beltway. During the move, we are changing some phone numbers. After the new office opens, the new numbers will be: >From the US call toll free: (888) 322-6728 (Unchanged) >From all other locations call: (301) 822-4376 FAX: (301) 822-4371 The deterioration of the current building has been discussed in the AMSAT Journal Apogee View. Martha Saragovitz and the rest of the office team have gone to great lengths to minimize disruptions under very trying, uncomfortable, and sometimes unsafe circumstances in the old office. Finally, the county authorities ordered the building closed. It will take some time to get the new office fully up and running. However, the improvements in building facilities and especially safety will be worth it. If you are in the area after the move, give us a call, and come by and visit. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above information] /EX --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com

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Satellite operation from IO68 Isle of Lewis by GS3PYE/P
by M5AKA 24 Apr '14

24 Apr '14

Satellite operation by GS3PYE/P from the Isle of Lewis starts April 26 http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/24/gs3pyep-isle-of-lewis-from-april-26/ 7-Day Arctic Tour for B-46 Party Balloon http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/24/7-day-arctic-tour-for-b-46-balloon/ ---- 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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ALL-STAR Tracking
by Franklin Hinckley 24 Apr '14

24 Apr '14

The Colorado SpaceGrant Consortium had their ALL-STAR/THEIA satellite launch on the Dragon CRS-3 mission on Friday the 18th and the student team here at University of Colorado-Boulder is working on verifying that the satellite is indeed functioning. If anyone with an S-Band receiver would be able to assist in this it would be greatly appreciated. The satellite is currently identified by JSPOC as NORAD ID 39684, identifier 14022E. The downlink is 2401.7 MHz 254kbps BPSK. The satellite, when over the Boulder, CO area will point the transmit antenna at the ground station and transmit constant carrier with a 15s beacon interval, when not over Boulder the satellite will align the transmit antenna nadir and beacon every 15s, with no carrier in between. Any assistance in confirming that the satellite is transmitting, and beacon data if possible would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, -- Franklin Hinckley *Aerospace Engineering Sciences* BS/MS Co-term -- Remote Sensing *Colorado SpaceGrant Consortium* Ground Station Lead DANDE COM/Science Lead

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LoTW
by Bruce 24 Apr '14

24 Apr '14

i had so much fun the past few weeks loading all my satellite qso's up on lotw that i thought i would do it for my daughter's (w5bts) log. i just finished loading her 520 satellite qso's from 2000-2003 and she wound up with 19 matches. of those, 2 had cards sent with no return, 3 never had cards requested as they were dupes for grids or states, etc. the rest were all confirmed with qsl cards. did not expect a big return as lotw was not around then and it is a lot of work to convert a log to the proper format. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Live webstreaming now of CubeSat Developers' Workshop
by M5AKA 24 Apr '14

24 Apr '14

Live webstreaming of the 2014 Spring CubeSat Developers' Workshop is taking place now, see http://www.cubesat.org/ $50SAT celebrates five months in space http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/24/50sat-celebrates-five-months-in-space/ The Basement Satellite at Canadian Documentary Film Festival http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/23/the-basement-satellite-movie/ Book now for International Space Colloquium July 25-27 http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/22/book-now-for-international-space-colloquium/ ---- 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/2 NJ on SO-50
by Chris Del Plato KQ2RP 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

Not much activity last night. Worked a couple. I'll give it another go tonight at 0347 (a nice 70 deg. pass) for those interested. And perhaps again on Friday night 0307z (85 deg). 73, Chris KQ2RP

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Anyone hearing Kicksat?
by andy thomas 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

I was unable to hear Kicksat on a high elevation pass in the UK las night. I see DK3WN's blog reports similar issues. Has anyone heard Kicksat since the weekend? 73 de andy G0SFJ

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FUNcube, Educators
by Clint Bradford 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

I have received a couple messages regarding the 45-second video of reception of SO-73 with just a handheld radio and a meager antenna. First, as written as captioning on that video, THAT IS NOT THE OPTIMAL MANNER TO WORK AO-73 BY ANY MEANS. This was merely an experiment that shows you that you can expand your horizons with a very inexpensive DIY antenna and your handheld radio. Those with AM-receiving equipment and even better antennas are downloading telemetry from several birds, and decoding and/or uploading that information to control operators. Second, the next time you read that working satellites with minimal equipment is a waste of time and effort ... refer the writer to the story of Geoff Perry. And then step outside and listen to a satellite or two ... Geoff Perry took a few students outside in 1966 to demonstrate the Doppler phenomenon with antiquated equipment - and he discovered a Russian military base that the Russians refused to admit existed for another seventeen years ... -------- In October 1966 the eyes of the world became focused briefly on Kettering Grammar School. This was due to the activities of the science teacher, Geoff Perry, who, with the help of antiquated equipment and a team of enthusiastic pupils, managed to unlock the secrets of the Soviet Russian space programme even before the Americans. Extraordinarily, this was not the only time he achieved such a feat. From the early 1960's, Perry had realised that by studying the Doppler Effect - marked by a change in the signal as the spacecraft passed overhead - he could discover the orbit of the Soviet Cosmos satellites. Starved of equipment - at first he was obliged to use the computer at the corset factory in Desborough - he relied on close monitoring and improvisation (his receiver needed "a smart tap with the hand from time to time"). His breakthrough came with the launch of Cosmos 112, in May 1966, which alerted him to something strange about the Soviet space effort. The satellite did not seem to have come from the usual site at Baikonur in Khazakstan. The launch of Cosmos 129 in October of that year from the same unknown site enabled him to pinpoint it. The new site was identified as Plesetsk, south of Archangel. The USSR did not admit to its existence for a further 17 years. That same year he enjoyed another scoop when he became the first scientist to announce the launch of an unmanned Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Perry's life changed as the world's media descended upon him. His name was often in the newspapers as he teased out one secret after another about the Soviet space programme. He realised the significance of the varying signals transmitted by satellites and was able to identify which were on short missions and which were up for longer. He even managed to track the signals monitoring the cosmonauts' vital functions from one of the first manned Soyuz craft. He inspired a growing band of space trackers among his pupils who named themselves the Kettering Satellite Group. In the 1970's, he became space consultant to Independent Television News, commenting on the Apollo moonshots and the Apollo-Soyuz link-up in 1975. He retired from teaching in 1984, and died in 2000. -Courtesy KSG, and others /end/

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FUNcube telemetry performance?
by Phil Karn 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

I haven't done anything with AO-73, but I understand it's transmitting the FEC format I originally designed for AO-40. How well is it working? What fraction of the frames are successfully decoded? How bad is the fading? I designed my format specifically for the spin fading on AO-40, and if the fading due to the tumbling of a cubesat is too slow my format won't be able to fix it. Phil

7 8

W5PFG/P EM03 North Texas
by Clayton Coleman 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

I will be staying the night in EM03 tomorrow and will operate a few satellite passes for those who want this grid confirmed. 23-Mar SO-50 20:53 UTC 23-Mar VO-52 23:55 UTC 24-Mar FO-29 00:13 UTC I will work this pass upon request only: 24-Mar FO-29 13:10 UTC 73 Clayton W5PFG

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LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder test
by M5AKA 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

See http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/22/lituanicasat-1-fm-transponder-test/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

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Sierra Vista AZ hamfest on 3 May
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Hi! I will have an AMSAT table at the Cochise Amateur Radio Association's hamfest in Sierra Vista, Arizona, on Saturday, 3 May 2014. This is another half-day hamfest, which starts around 0600 local time (1300 UTC), running until some time around noon. More information about the hamfest can be found at: http://www.k7rdg.org/Hamfest%20Flyer%20-%202014.pdf and a map to find the hamfest site: http://www.k7rdg.org/hamfestmap.pdf During the morning, I will have demonstrations working whatever satellites are available. Please call WD9EWK if you hear us on any of those passes, and be part of the demonstrations. Thehamfest site is in grid DM41. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

2 2

quick post-hamfest road trip on 3 May 2014
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Hi! After the hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ on 3 May 2014, I plan on taking a longer route back home. Similar to the last hamfest I attended in late March in Tucson, I can either retrace my route back to the DM51/DM52 grid boundary, go up to the DM52/DM53 grid boundary or somewhere in grid DM53, or even head into New Mexico if anyone needs a satellite QSO with that state. Any preferences? I don't mind the drive to any of these spots, even if I end up back where I just was a few weeks ago at the DM51/DM52 grid boundary. I'll add at least 100 to 200 more miles to my trip, going to any of these places. Please e-mail me directly if you have a preference for any of these options. I still need to look at the available passes on that date, but should be able to work at least FO-29 and VO-52 in the late afternoon and early evening timeframe. If AO-7 is in mode B, that would also be a satellite I could work from out there. SO-50 might be available in the afternoon, which would certainly help those not set up to work SSB on the satellites. Thanks in advance, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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W1AW/2 NJ SO-50
by Chris Del Plato KQ2RP 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Weather permitting (portable), I hope to be on the SO-50 FM repeater as W1AW/2 during tonight's (approx) 0320z pass (11:20PM Eastern time) for those interested. I hope to do the same on the following night as well (0347z AOS). 73, Chris KQ2RP

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W1AW/2 NJ SO-50
by Chris Del Plato 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Weather permitting (portable), I hope to be on the SO-50 FM repeater as W1AW/2 during tonight's (approx) 0320z pass (11:20PM Eastern time) for those interested. I hope to do the same on the following night as well (0347z AOS). 73, Chris KQ2RP

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FUNcube Warehouse Outage
by David A B Johnson 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Hi, We had a problem with the server yesterday evening and it was only reported to me at 09:30 UTC today! The problem has been fixed and should not re-occur (we had not allocated enough memory to a process). If you see any problems with the server please email me directly at the above address. Thanks 73, Dave, G4DPZ FC Warehouse Developer

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(no subject)
by 5172027862＠vzwpix.com 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Landwehr uhf preamp model N GAS 435 MA the on line schematic shows tuned input only. This unit has both tuned input and tuned output. Does anyone have a schematic for this model? Thanks to all who reply Jeff WB8RJY

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Controlling IC-910 With Gpredict 1.4
by B J 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

I recently installed Gpredict 1.4 on a machine running openSUSE 13.1, along with Hamlib 1.2.14. I can control my radio with that combination, except the radio switches between VFOs every time the software updates the output. That temporarily cuts out the audio, which would be rather annoying during a QSO. Is there anyone on the list who uses Gpredict 1.4 for their '910? If so, could you send me a private message? Please advise. Thanks. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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SpaceX First Stage Landing Test Successful
by B J 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/space-flight-missions/commercial-space-sp… http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/spacex-landing-experiment-works-nasa-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

1 0

Wanted: IQ recording of UO-11 pass
by Douglas Quagliana 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

Does anyone have a recording of a good UO-11 pass made with an SDR receiver? I'm looking for a recording that has I and Q channels (not just regular audio) and something that has most of a "good" pass. Douglas KA2UPW/5

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Re: FUNcube telemetry performance?
by i8cvs 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

Hi John, W0JAB On AO40 you should remember at least the spin fading due to the tumbling of AO40 i.e. the spin modulation...... .......... WOW..........WOW.............WOW...... because of rotation of the satellite over the Z axis ! ! 73" de i8CVS Domenico ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Becker" <w0jab(a)big-river.net> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2014 12:42 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube telemetry performance? > I guess I was lucky I dont recall any fading with AO 40 > > > > On 4/19/2014 4:33 AM, Phil Karn wrote: > > I haven't done anything with AO-73, but I understand it's transmitting > > the FEC format I originally designed for AO-40. > > > > How well is it working? What fraction of the frames are successfully > > decoded? How bad is the fading? I designed my format specifically for > > the spin fading on AO-40, and if the fading due to the tumbling of a > > cubesat is too slow my format won't be able to fix it. > > > > Phil > >

1 0

LitSat-1 Decoder
by Bruce Brown 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

Hello… I am having a problem with the V1.83 decoder from the Litsat website. It copies the rawdata, converts it to Hex but will not decode hex file to text file. Any one else seeing this problem?? Also…anyone using a hardware tnc with this program successfully? Bruce ke0lx En25lc Sent from Windows Mail

2 1

FUNcube Warehouse Outages 21st April
by David A B Johnson 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

Hi, The warehouse is undergoing some changes today to add reporting of eclipse (transponder) status on the RealTime screen , please excuse and short lived outages. 73 Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube Team Member

1 0

Yaesu G-5500 Wiring
by David Rush 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

I've got a used set of Yaesu G-5500 az/el rotors, and the plugs that attach to the rotor housings. I need to build cables to connect them to the Yaesu controller. Page 3 of the instruction manual shows some info about the wiring, but doesn't explicitly say which screw terminal on the controller goes to which pin on the rotor plugs. Is it simply 1-1, 2-2, ... 6-6? David, ky7dr

2 1

Re: Yes - FUNcube IS Fun!
by Clint Bradford 20 Apr '14

20 Apr '14

I have to check the FUNcube data - but it is possible that it was just transmitting 30mW on this pass ... Which makes this little experiment all the MORE incredible: Hearing a 30mW signal from a bird no closer than about 450 miles - what a GREAT "line of sight" experiment for ANY classroom! Clint K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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SpaceX Dragon Successfully Berths
by Clint Bradford 20 Apr '14

20 Apr '14

ISS Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, with the assistance of NASA’s Rick Mastracchio, successfully berthed the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at the space station at 9:06 a.m. EDT today. The mission is the company's third cargo delivery flight to the station. Dragon's cargo will support more than 150 experiments to be conducted by the crews of ISS Expeditions 39 and 40. Included in the payload are five CubeSats, including KicksSat - which carries 104 Sprite satellites on 437 MHz. The mission was launched on Friday, April 18 at 19:25:22 UT. More info: http://amsat-uk.org/ Clint K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

1 0

W1AW/5 MS
by Rick Largent 20 Apr '14

20 Apr '14

I hope to be working the following passes as W1AW/5 MS. 4.20.2014 AO-7 - 21:39 UTC mode b VO-52- 2309 UTC FO-29- 23:27 UTC 4.21.2014 FO-29 - 1:12 UTC Rick N5ZNL

1 0

ANS-005
by Joe Spier 20 Apr '14

20 Apr '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-005 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: * NASA Digital Learning Network Special Opportunity * Winter Issue of AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Available * Hillbilly Tracking for Low Earth Orbit Satellites * High Resolution Data available on FUNcube Data Warehouse * Call for Papers for the AMSAT-SA Space Symposium * OPDX Interview With ND9M.VQ9JC Diego Garcia * AMSAT Representatives Requested for Vienna Wireless Society Hamfest * ARISS News - TBD * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-005.01 ANS-005 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 005.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 5, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-005.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Digital Learning Network Special Opportunity ***Special Opportunity*** Would you like to have your class participate in an interactive webcast with an astronaut? NASA invites students and teachers to an inside look at America's Spaceport at 2:30pm ET on January 31st. Four schools (target audience grades 5-9) will have the special opportunity to connect directly and ask questions of astronaut and Director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center Bob Cabana. Learn about his education and training, living and working in space, and the future of space exploration. All other schools may participate by watching the web stream athttp://dln.nasa.gov. Email rachel.b.power(a)nasa.gov for more information. [ANS thanks NASA for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Issue of AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Available E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the PDF of the Winter edition of the OSCAR News magazine here (as well as previous 2013 and 2012 issues). The paper edition should be posted to members soon. In this issue • FUNcube-1 Operations Report • FunCube Dongle Pro+ V2.0 on Shortwave • The Fun-Loop • Space Science at Someries Junior School • A newcomers view of satellite operating • UKube-1, ESEO, QB50pc1 – Update • Low Cost DVB-S Receivers Suitable For HAMTV • HAMTV Reception • FUNcube-1 – The Launch – A Personal Account • IET/RSGB Joint Meeting • $50SAT a low cost amateur radio satellite • Shorts The AMSAT-UK Membership year lasts for 12 months starting on January 1 each year. Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in amateur radio satellites or space activities, including the International Space Station (ISS). E-members of AMSAT-UK are able to download OSCAR News as a convenient PDF that can be read on laptops, tablets or smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Join as an E-member at Electronic (PDF) E-membership There are two rates for the paper edition to cover the extra postage costs: UK Rest of the World (Overseas) [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hillbilly Tracking for Low Earth Orbit Satellites In a video, Travis Goodspeed KK4VCZ describes his Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite tracking system to the 30th Chaos Computer Congress which took place December 27-30, 2013 at the Congress Center Hamburg in Germany. The YouTube description reads: Satellites in Low Earth Orbit have tons of nifty signals, but they move quickly though the sky and are difficult to track with fine accuracy. This lecture describes a remotely operable satellite tracking system that the author built from a Navy-surplus Inmarsat dish in Southern Appalachia. The entire system is controlled through a Postgres database, fed by various daemons spread across multiple machines. So when I click on a satellite on my laptop or cellphone, it runs “UPDATE target SET name=’Voyager 1?;” and the motor daemon then begins to track the new target while the prediction daemon maintains accurate estimates of its position in the sky. Additional daemons take spectral prints or software-defined radio recordings of the targeted object for later review. There is a description of the system on Travis Goodspeed’s Blog at http://travisgoodspeed.blogspot.co.uk/ Other 30c3 videos available at http://www.youtube.com/user/albertveli/videos 30th Chaos Computer Congress https://events.ccc.de/congress/2013/wiki/Main_Page [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- High Resolution Data available on FUNcube Data Warehouse As promised, we are making the FUNcube-1 (AO-73) CubeSat High Resolution Data available for download from the Data Warehouse. It contains Hi-Res data generated every hour, on the hour for the 60 minutes preceding the extract. Please note that unlike the Whole Orbit Data, the Hi-Res data may be incomplete (have significant gaps) because of a lack of ground stations on the ground track. Now that we have the WOD and Hi-Res extracts working, we are going to move on to the RealTime extract. Please provide any feedback on the FUNcube forum. 73 and Happy New Year, Dave, G4DPZ FUNcube-1 High Resolution Data https://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/highres.html?satelliteId=2 Data Warehouse – Telemetry Archive https://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ Dashboard App – Telemetry Decoder http://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Papers for the AMSAT-SA Space Symposium SA AMSAT has announced that its annual Space Communication symposium will be held on Saturday 24 May 2014 at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria. Proposals for papers are now called for. Submit a brief overview of the planned paper by 15 March 2014 to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za. Authors will be advised of the acceptance of their paper by 31 March. The final written paper will be requited by 30 April and PowerPoint presentation by 15 May. Please also include a short CV and a photograph of your self. Registration for the symposium will open on 1 February. Follow details of www.amsatsa.org.za. [ANS thanks SARL News for Sunday, December 29, 2013 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- OPDX Interview With ND9M.VQ9JC Diego Garcia (Here is an interview from the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin with Jim Clary, ND9M, known for his amateur radio and amateur satellite operation from Diego Garcia, and maritime mobile operation. - ANS Ed.) VQ9, CHAGOS (Update). Last week we reported that Jim, ND9M, is once again active as VQ9JC from Diego Garcia. Jim informed OPDX that he arrived on the island a month ago, but he had to get his license renewed; it expired a couple days before he landed. Jim states, "Normally, I get it renewed within one business day, but this time there was an administrative hiccup that led to a month- long delay. The British military officer in charge of the island - called the 'Brit Rep' - was new to his post here. He read all the can's and cannot's of the job, and the legal info about issuing ham licenses says that tickets are signed by the Territorial Commissioner who's back in the U.K. The Brit Rep finally got the official word last week that issuing authority was delegated to the local office, and my license was signed the next day. This was the first time in the 15 years I've been coming here that anything like that had happened. In fact, licensing had been so smooth here that in 2008, I walked in to the Brit Rep's office without an appointment and left 45 minutes later with not only a signed renewal for my regular VQ9JC license but also a special temporary license for my VQ98JC operation. I wonder if anyone else can claim receiving two licenses fully authorized with- out previous notice that fast! Anyway, I'm still operating Field Day style from the covered picnic table at the park which has AC power and dozens of gecko lizards chasing the bugs. The table is about 30 feet from the wall of the jungle, and this weekend I'll try to thread a 135-foot OCF dipole through all the trees in the jungle so that I can not only leave the antenna up but also have multi-band capability. If I hoist the antenna where it can be seen, I would stand a very good chance of it being quickly removed as the 150 pound fishing line that I use to secure the antenna and the copper wire are both precious commo- dities here. The OCF dipole doesn't work on 15m, 30m, or 60m, even with a match- box, so I'll put up separate dipoles for 15 and 30 and feed those two and the OCF to a switch. I don't know yet if I'll put up a 60m dipole. The 80m OCF is going to be a big enough project just to get it hoisted to only 25 feet; the jungle's pretty thick! I'll also be putting up a 20m dipole and maybe a 30m dipole as well on the ship. Obviously, I sign /MM during any contacts made from the ship as I did earlier this year. Contacts with me as /MM aren't valid for DXCC of course, but SKCC ops can count them if my ship's QTH is near the island. The rig is an FT-857D. I'll be running 100 watts most of the time, but I'm expecting to do some QRP work from here too. Most of my oper- ating will be CW as usual (with a cootie most times), but I'll be on SSB occasionally. Also, I'm a rookie when it comes to digital comms, but I'm hoping to get my Rigblaster and FLDigi software configured to do some PSK and RTTY work. While on board the ship, I use an Icom IC-760 that I have set up in my service shop. I feed the coax through a helicopter control center that's directly above my shop. My shipboard antennas are about 115 feet above the water line. I don't have internet connectivity when I'm at my operating QTH on the island, so I obviously can't help with real-time QSY requests or the ever present 'EU PSE' when I'm calling for NA & SA stations." OPDX asked Jim about the status of the club station, possibly using a special VQ prefix for 2014, activity on the satellites and if he would attend the 2014 Dayton HamVention, and he replied, "Yeah, the ham club station is gone forever unfortunately. The log periodic has been grounded and dismantled, and everything in the shack has been turned back over to the Navy. I'm here six months out of the year of course, but once Larry, VQ9LA left three years ago, there was no one reliably present during my off times. When the Navy's MWR office personnel made a routine visit, they found nobody there since I was Stateside, so they decided that the club was no longer in use and took what they thought were appropriate steps. By the time I got back to the island and worked my way up the chain of command, the deal had been sealed. And yes, I'm working the satellites out here although there aren't many ops to work. I'll be on the birds when I get home again next year. I don't know yet if my XYL Cori (KK4CGA) and I will be at Dayton this coming May or not. We're hoping to go to New England for the ARRL Centennial in July, and we'll likely do only one trip. My assignment schedule has me returning to the ship a few days before the national convention, and I'm trying to work things out with the guy that's here when I'm off ship for him to stay a little longer so that I can attend. He hasn't given me a firm answer yet though. My plan for 2014 is to get VQ94JC issued for sometime during the second half of the year. The local licensing office has no require- ments toward my getting a ticket other than having one already issued by the FCC. My US license expires in April, and the FCC won't enable the renewing process until 90 days before the expir- ation date, so I have to wait until early January to do that. If I can get the renewed license here - actually just a scanned copy will do and my XYL will send that - I can turn that over to the local office, and they should issue me the short-term ticket. Emphasis on special. It's all legal of course, but the folks in that office are all British military who typically do one-year tours here before being re-assigned, so I can never assume that the next person will cooperate. I'm optimistic though as I've already had 7 VQ9xJC licenses plus the VQ975FOC ticket earlier this year, so the precedent's pretty well established. When I started doing the VQ9xJC bit in 2007, I did it just for fun and I thought the WPX chasers would like it. I really didn't expect to still be doing it after so many years. Now I'm looking ahead at rounding out the decade of annual special callsigns and thinking about what special prefix variation to initiate after the 10th one!" QSL via ND9M. [ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1143 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Representatives Requested for Vienna Wireless Society Hamfest Jack Welch, coordinator for the Vienna Wireless Society Hamfest, in Northern Virginia is seeking AMSAT-related representatives, who would like to either do a classroom presentation or a parking lot demo during their winterfest this February. The event is on Feb 23rd in Annadale, VA. It will be held at the Northern Virginia Community College. They have a classroom and seminar room available for 30-60 minute presentations. Also available are parking lots, some for parking, some for tailgating, that have a pretty good view of the horizon for demos. If you are available to help pleae contact AMSAT Director-Field Operations, Patrick Stoddard, WE9EWK, at wd9ewk(a)amsat.org or Jack Welch, AI4SV, dhakajack at gmail dot com Our hamfest info is at: http://www.viennawireless.org/winterfest.php [ANS thanks Jack Welch AI4SV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Uncoming ARISS contact with Zespel Szkel Technicznych, Ostriw Wielkopolski, Poland An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Zesp?l Szk?l Technicznych, Ostr?w Wielkopolski, Poland on 08 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:43 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and SP3POW. The contact should be audible over Poland and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. The Centre of Technical Schools in Ostrew Wielkopolski is a school which educates future electronics and mechatronics engineers, computer scientists and renewable energy specialists. Our school has been cooperating with Polish universities, electronic and mechatronic industrial plants and schools in Germany and the UK, what brings very good results. Thanks to the participation in the ARISS program our school has partnered with the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Our students participate in various forms of extra-curricular activities which develop their passions and interests. As a result, they have created many interesting electronic and mechatronic devices. For example, some of the recent constructions include fpv plane, a qudrocopter, a stratospheric balloon capsule, some amateur radio equipment and many more. Currently, the school has 800 students aged 16 - 19 years. The Center of Technical Schools has invited its younger mates (students 13 - 15 years old) from Junior High School No. 1 named of Polish Nobel laureates in Ostr?w Wielkopolski and 10 - 12 year-old students from Pope John Paul II Primary School in Lamki so that they all can participate in the ARISS program. Preparations for the ARISS contact began in late 2011. A series of amateur radio classes were carried out so that students could learn the rules of work on the radio. It was a very interesting experience to carry out radio communications through amateur radio satellites and to take photos from NOAA satellites. In addition, we monitored other radio signals from the space. Most emotions were from the radio contact with the ISS in the APRS system and from listening to ARISS contacts of other schools in Poland and Europe. The schools participating in the ARISS program organized a series of events to promote various fields of science, particularly those that are the most relevant for the development of astronautics. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What scientific experiments are carried out on the space station at present? 2. How does the magnetic needle work in space? 3. How do you handle different illnesses? 4. How would a pendulum clock work on board of the ISS? 5. Was there anything that surprised or impressed you during your stay in space? 6. What was the largest mammal (except for humans) which was on the ISS? 7. How do flying insects behave in zero gravity? 8. Do you know how many centimeters your body lengthened in weightlessness? 9. Is it easy to use a pen or a fountain pen on the space station? 10. Do you think that time in space passes faster? 11. How do you observe and explore the Moon? 12. What or how did you feel when you saw the Earth from space for the first time? 13. Does Kirobo work well and fulfill its mission on the ISS? 14. Is it hard to get used to weightlessness? 15. Is it possible to be able to breed crystals in weightlessness? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Sign up for the SAREX maillist at http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Berkeley Middle School, Williamsburg, VA, direct via K4RC Wed, 08Jan2014, 18:33 UTC ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on- board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada). [ ANS thanks David, AA4KN for the above update] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from all over SkyCube 2meter highly reflective balloon The empty gray box shown at the top of the satellite model is the container that holds SkyCube's balloon. We will command the ballon to inflate 90 days into the mission. Most CubeSats are far too small to see from the ground, but SkyCube will be an exception. The satellite will carry a tightly-packed balloon, made of 0.35-mil (9 µm) low-density polyethylene, coated with highly reflective titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder. During the final phase of the mission, the balloon will be inflated with a 4- gram CO2 cartridge, and expand to a diameter of nearly 7 feet (2 m). This will make SkyCube brightly visible to millions of people on the ground as it passes over the Earth's twilight regions. SkyCube's balloon serves another purpose. Once it inflates, SkyCube's orbit will decay rapidly due to atmospheric drag. Less than two weeks after balloon inflation, SkyCube will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly. The balloon lets SkyCube end its mission cleanly, and avoid becoming space debris that could harmfully impact future missions. SkyCube's balloon was developed by Global Western, an experienced supplier of aerostats for NASA, JPL, and others with unique high-altitude ballooning needs. Further details are available in SkyCube's Orbital Debris Assesment Report (ODAR), required by NASA and approved with our FCC license, above. [ANS thanks Kevin Fetter and the Seesat-l mailing list for the above short] 2M Scotland Listen for Paul Robinson, 2E1EUB/2M1EUB/P operating portable from Scotland beginning on 4 January for 7 days. Paul plans to be active on the satellites via AO7, AO73, VO52, FO29 and SO50. His operations will be from his van, holiday style. Paul says that on this trip he will only be in NE Scotland this time. [ANS thanks Paul, 2E1EUB/2M1EUB/Pfor the above short] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

3 7

"Alaskan Arrow" now available from Arrow Antennas
by Paul Stoetzer 20 Apr '14

20 Apr '14

It looks like the "Alaskan Arrow" 146/437-14 with 4 elements on 2 meters and 10 elements on 70 cm is now available as a regular item from Arrow Antennas. It had previously been a special order item only. http://www.arrowantennas.com/arrowii/alaskanarrow.html 73, Paul, N8HM

1 0

FUNcube telemetry performance?
by Mark Spencer 19 Apr '14

19 Apr '14

Phil, I have been monitoring the FC telemetry pretty closely and have some observations for what it is worth: 1. The last update to the Dashboard produced marked improvement in decoding the telemetry. 2. Using an IC910, M^2 14-element RHCP yagi with antenna mounted preamp, I typically decode around 120 frames and lose around 10 frames. 3. Using the FCD with a simple turn-style RHCP with antenna mounted preamp, I will get approximately one third the performance of the main station setup. Using a simple antenna with no preamp I get dismal performance with the FCD. 4. Of course I have more success decoding the telemetry when the bird is in the daylight mode than when operating in the night/transponder mode. 5. I have not noticed any significant fading of the signal with the M^2 setup except some minor fading at AOS/LOS. I will get fading using the turn-style however the fades appear to be due to the nulls in that antenna pattern more than due to fades from the satellite. However, the reduced signal strength helps to emphasize the fades with the turn-style. 6. I estimate that it takes a minimum of 50 decoded frames to capture a full set of whole orbit data. It requires a significant number of additional frames to capture usable high resolution data during a pass (I define a usable data set as being able to determine the rotation rate of the satellite from the high resolution data). 7. There is significant frequency drift in the downlink frequency that tracks the temperature of the satellite internals. I also notice significant FMing of the downlink frequency when the transponder is being used (appears to track with the power used by the transponder). The Dashboard does a pretty good job of compensating for these frequency deviations, I haven't noticed any significant loss of data due to this FMing. The frequency drifting needs some attention when using a traditional rig under computer control (the drift is beyond Doppler). When using the FCD, the Dashboard takes care of the temperature drift issue. One of the many interesting things that I am monitoring on this bird is the rotation rate. The bird started out with a rotation rate of .4 RPM, then something happened on or about December 28th and the rotation abruptly started to slow down to a minimum rate of .12 RPM (or 8.5 minutes per revolution) around the end of January, then it started to spool up again to a maximum rate of 1.16 RPM around the end of March, and then it started slowing down again.today at .65 RPM (1.54 minutes per revolution) with the curve trending down. I have taken many mind trips trying to rationalize what I am observing.but all those roads are leading somewhere near Albuquerque and I have no reason to go there (nice place though hihi). Let me know off line if you would like the graphics of my rotation study. Mark Spencer, WA8SME mspencer(a)arrl.org

1 0

Re: Any latest news on the Cubesats that fly with SpaceX CRS-3 mission
by Clint Bradford 19 Apr '14

19 Apr '14

AMSAT-UK is on top of this 108-satellite payload! (That's five CubeSats ... one with 104 Sprite satellites!) http://www.amsat-uk.org Clint K6LCS http://www.hamradioprogramming.com

1 0

Further To Today's SpaceX Launch
by B J 18 Apr '14

18 Apr '14

http://innerspace.net/spacex/nasa-spacex-press-conference-reveals-new-detai… http://www.newspacejournal.com/2014/04/18/falcon-9-launches-dragon-outcome-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

1 0

Space - X Launch Success
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 18 Apr '14

18 Apr '14

Hi all, Not seen any postings yet on the Amsat BBS - But the good news from various sources is that despite a threat of bad weather -The Space -X launch to the ISS went ahead successfully today - Friday 18th April. Reports also state that the expected arrival at the ISS is planned for arrival on " Easter Sunday". Glad that after the delays's the launch finally went ahead especially in view of the payloads. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat-UK Amsat NA

1 0

Icom 9100 interface
by george hinkle 18 Apr '14

18 Apr '14

I have an Icom 9100 been using if for a good time now. I'm using SatPC32 which works very well with their driver .....if you can get it to work. I did it two years ago but now I have two new computers and can't get it to work now. Any one to help out there? george wi9i

2 1

SpaceX F9R First Hop Video
by Bryce Salmi 18 Apr '14

18 Apr '14

http://youtu.be/0UjWqQPWmsY Just wanted to share the events from yesterday. Very cool and one step closer to drastically reducing launch costs! Bryce KB1LQC

1 0

Any latest news on the Cubesats that fly with SpaceX CRS-3 mission
by PE0SAT | Amateur Radio 18 Apr '14

18 Apr '14

Is there some more information available? I found information on http://www.cubesat.org/index.php/missions/upcoming-launches/139-crs3-launch… but nothing else. Any extra info would be appreciated. 73 Jan PE0SAT -- With regards PE0SAT Internet web-page http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/

1 0

K5UTD Is On The Air
by Andrew Koenig 18 Apr '14

18 Apr '14

Hello Group! After about 6 months of work, I'm proud to say that the K5UTD Amateur Radio Club (University of Texas at Dallas) has finished setting up our satellite station. Typically it should take a weekend and a case of beer to get the job done, but this required a little more planning and involvement as we had to collect the parts from various people and build several components on our own; not to mention the fact that we get side-tracked like no other club. For example, an effort to get the rotor controller resulted in moving about four truckloads worth of gear. We're using an FT-847 for our primary radio, and a Kenpro G-5400 for our rotor system. We've interfaced the G-5400 to the computer using an Arduino. It works rather well with GPredict. The final bug in the system has to do with GPredict talking to the '847, but that should be easily fixed with an update. The antennas are on the roof of our Engineering and Computer Science building, about 20 feet off the roof, 70 feet above ground. Out of luck, we had a GlenMartin RT-936 and the associated non-penetrating mount just hanging out in our closet. Carrying the 50 cinder blocks up to the roof for that mount was not fun though. Coax wise, we have about 20 feet of Davis Bury-flex for our initial run, which then feeds some very nice ARR preamps. The final 200 foot run of coax to the shack is 1/2" Heliax. There are a few jumpers here in the shack too. I was able to make a few contacts through SO-50 today, and plan to be more active. With the help of DK3WN's SatBlog, I've had no trouble picking out some cubesats and listening to the beacons and telemetry. Telemetry collection is one of the primary goals for this station. Our other goals for this station, aside from having fun on the air, are to get club recognition on campus and to work with the William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences on upper atmospheric projects. Station photos: http://imgur.com/a/6TGOJ Also, if you know a member of the former TI club, give them a hug (or handshake) on our behalf. None of the current K5UTD projects could have been possible without them. 73! Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB Vice President, K5UTD Research Assistant, Center for Space Sciences

7 14

FUNcube items in AMSAT-UK shop
by M5AKA 17 Apr '14

17 Apr '14

FUNcube items in AMSAT-UK shop http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/17/funcube-items-now-in-the-amsat-uk-shop/ Video - Excalibur Amateur Radio Satellite Antenna http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/17/excalibur-amateur-radio-satellite-antenna/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

1 0

Info Satellite XW-1 (HO-68)
by Francesco Grappi 17 Apr '14

17 Apr '14

XW-1 satellite (HO-68) Any news about ? 73" Frank IW4DVZ

2 2

Re: K5UTD Is On The Air
by W M Willoughby 17 Apr '14

17 Apr '14

Nice story, Andrew, and great work! Kudos to the K5UTD team. > On Apr 17, 2014, at 2:00 PM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > > Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. K5UTD Is On The Air (Andrew Koenig) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 11:05:57 -0500 > From: Andrew Koenig <ke5gdb(a)gmail.com> > To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Subject: [amsat-bb] K5UTD Is On The Air > Message-ID: > <CAFingdP=W1W38QL8KK9KN6Y_9PEUPsbvP_DxUUUGgR+x_561bw(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Hello Group! > > After about 6 months of work, I'm proud to say that the K5UTD Amateur Radio > Club (University of Texas at Dallas) has finished setting up our satellite > station. Typically it should take a weekend and a case of beer to get the > job done, but this required a little more planning and involvement as we > had to collect the parts from various people and build several components > on our own; not to mention the fact that we get side-tracked like no other > club. For example, an effort to get the rotor controller resulted in moving > about four truckloads worth of gear. > > We're using an FT-847 for our primary radio, and a Kenpro G-5400 for our > rotor system. We've interfaced the G-5400 to the computer using an Arduino. > It works rather well with GPredict. The final bug in the system has to do > with GPredict talking to the '847, but that should be easily fixed with an > update. > > The antennas are on the roof of our Engineering and Computer Science > building, about 20 feet off the roof, 70 feet above ground. Out of luck, we > had a GlenMartin RT-936 and the associated non-penetrating mount just > hanging out in our closet. Carrying the 50 cinder blocks up to the roof for > that mount was not fun though. Coax wise, we have about 20 feet of Davis > Bury-flex for our initial run, which then feeds some very nice ARR preamps. > The final 200 foot run of coax to the shack is 1/2" Heliax. There are a few > jumpers here in the shack too. > > I was able to make a few contacts through SO-50 today, and plan to be more > active. With the help of DK3WN's SatBlog, I've had no trouble picking out > some cubesats and listening to the beacons and telemetry. Telemetry > collection is one of the primary goals for this station. Our other goals > for this station, aside from having fun on the air, are to get club > recognition on campus and to work with the William B. Hanson Center for > Space Sciences on upper atmospheric projects. > > Station photos: http://imgur.com/a/6TGOJ > > Also, if you know a member of the former TI club, give them a hug (or > handshake) on our behalf. None of the current K5UTD projects could have > been possible without them. > > 73! > Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB > Vice President, K5UTD > Research Assistant, Center for Space Sciences > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via amsat-bb(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 9, Issue 138 > ****************************************

1 0

The STELAR Project 2014 + RAGazine
by M5AKA 16 Apr '14

16 Apr '14

The STELAR organisation supplied a number of FUNcube Dongle SDR's to schools for use in receiving the FUNcube-1 satellite http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/15/the-stelar-project-2014/ The RAGazine amateur radio astronomy magazine now available for free download http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/16/ragazine-now-available-for-download/ The SpaceX CRS-3 Dragon launch of five CubeSats and 104 Sprite satellites may take place on Friday, April 18, 2014 at 1925 UT, see KickSat Sprites – Radio Competition http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/10/kicksat-sprites-radio-competition/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

1 0

Fwd: [Amateur Radio] BREAKING NEWS: Final Ham Video Commissioning Pass 4 is Planned for Sunday April 13 at 18.23 UTC.
by Mark Thompson 15 Apr '14

15 Apr '14

-----Original Message----- Bill Pasternak posted in Amateur Radio https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmateurRadioGroup/permalink/101520479572207… Bill Pasternak BREAKING NEWS: HamTV Bulletin #11 April 12, 2014 Final Ham Video Commissioning Pass 4 is Planned for Sunday April 13 at 18.23 UTC. Configuration 4 will be used: • ARISS antenna 43 • Frequency 2395 MHz • Symbol rate 2.0 MS/s Koichi Wakata will operate OR4ISS. Ground stations F6DZP and IK1SLD will receive the signals and stream the video over the BATC server. The video is expected to be received during 5 minutes. This will mark the end of the Blank Transmissions. We thank the operators who filed reception reports of blank transmissions. Your participation to the Ham Video testing campaign has been invaluable. No decision has been taken yet on the future use of Ham Video. We will keep you informed on any progress. 73, Gaston Bertels, ON4WF ARISS Europe chairman

2 1

FUNcube Data Warehouse Outage
by David Johnson 14 Apr '14

14 Apr '14

Hi, If you experienced problems uploading or accessing the warehouse at around 21:00 UTC on the 14th March, we were appliying security patches and the Apache web server did not come up cleanly after the reboot. All fixed now. 73 Dave, G4DPZ FUNCube Team Member

1 0

Video of ISS HamTV – Koichi Wakata KC5ZTA April 13, 2014
by M5AKA 14 Apr '14

14 Apr '14

HamTV video recorded by Jean Pierre F6DZP http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/14/video-of-iss-hamtv-koichi-wakata-kc5zta-apri… ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

1 0

Scrub For SpaceX
by B J 14 Apr '14

14 Apr '14

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/04/spacex-crs-3-dragon-new-milestones/ http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/04/14/spacex-scrubs-falcon-9-launch/ http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/spacex-scrubs-crs-3-launch Next earliest day will be this coming Friday, weather permitting. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

1 0

@m / &0cms Antennas
by Simon Brown 14 Apr '14

14 Apr '14

Hi, Are there any crossed Yagi antennas for 2m and 70cms made from stainless steel which are available in the UK? My WIMO antennas are ~8 years old and as I'm moving house I'm thinking about something better. Looking for ~3m boom length. Simon Brown G4ELI http://v2.sdr-radio.com

2 3

(no subject)
by Gaston Bertels 14 Apr '14

14 Apr '14

HamTV Bulletin #13 April 14, 2014 Ham Video Commissioning completed The final Ham Video Commissioning Pass was performed flawlessly Sunday April 13 at 18.23 UTC. ISS Commander Koichi Wakata operated OR4ISS while ground stations G4KLB, F6DZP, IK1SLD and KI (Livorno) received the signals and streamed the video over the BATC server. The DATV signal was received for about 6 minutes. Commander Wakata congratulated ARISS for this achievement and answered a series of questions, prepared in the manner of a school contact. He also proceeded to a microgravity experiment. The recorded video of this historical transmission is available at: <http://www.vivadatv.org/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=317>http://www.vivadatv.org/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=317 and also on YouTube <http://youtu.be/EpFzbKvK1pk>http://youtu.be/EpFzbKvK1pk Congratulations to the Ham Video team for this outstanding performance. Next step should be a video enhanced ARISS school contact. We will keep you informed on any progress. 73, Gaston Bertels, ON4WF ARISS Europe chairman

1 0

Re: Wouxun KG-UV8D
by Clint Bradford 13 Apr '14

13 Apr '14

If Alinco couldn't get true, full-duplex ops for working the U/V - V/U birds right at the $250 price point, I am not holding my breath for release of the new Wouxun. Wouxun brought a couple demo models to IWCE last month. They slapped FCC ID numbers on them from another radio ... The only dealer on the planet that I would personally purchase anything "Wouxun" is Powerwerx.com. Rn by hams, and they care. And they have the "clout" with Wouxun to get things done (like firmware updates, cosmetic and other improvements). The fact that they - at least at this time - are not excited about this ris in interesting. And, of course, I do not see this rig on the FCC's OET site for certification for anything. Clint K6LCS http://www.hamradioprogramming.com

7 8

Re: CO6CBF/p EL93, 82, 81, 72 and 71
by Hector, CO6CBF 13 Apr '14

13 Apr '14

Hello to all I just finished logging all contacts done during my recent grid trip. 87 QSOs were logged and uploaded to LoTW using just CO6CBF. Please, If you need a paper QSL card, request it to my QSL manager: George, WA5KBH. I just sent him the logs. George reported that he already had some QSL requests waiting for my logs and he will work on return cards this evening and early week. Once again, thanks very much for all the great contacts and all the fun! 73! Hector, CO6CBF / KF5YXV

1 0

Monday Launch For SpaceX
by B J 13 Apr '14

13 Apr '14

http://www.americaspace.com/?p=57305 http://innerspace.net/spacex/spacex-3-the-word-is-go/ http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/04/imminent-spacewalks-external-mdm-fai… http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/04/13/spacex-dragon-flight-iss-monday/ http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/spacex-crs-3-launch-good-to-go-for-ap… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

1 0

KickSat Sprites Competition
by M5AKA 13 Apr '14

13 Apr '14

KickSat Sprite launch to go ahead Monday, April 14 despite ISS MDM failure http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/04/imminent-spacewalks-external-mdm-fai… KickSat Sprites – Radio Competition http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/10/kicksat-sprites-radio-competition/ Juno spacecraft QSL cards sent out http://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/12/juno-spacecraft-qsl-cards-sent-out/ ---- Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK Website http://amsat-uk.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-UK/208113275898396 Twitter https://twitter.com/AMSAT_UK----

1 0

ANS-103 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 13 Apr '14

13 Apr '14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-103 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: * March/April 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready * NASA, SpaceX Officials Continue Preparations for 14 April Launch * KickSat CubeSat to Deploy Smallest Earth-Orbiting Satellites * AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention - 2nd call for volunteers * N8PK appears with students in YouTube video * ISS HamTV moves to 2369 MHz * FUNcube/AO-73 Transponder plans for the future * Upcoming AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-103.01 ANS-103 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 103.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. DATE April 13, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-103.01 March/April 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready The March/April 2014 AMSAT Journal is completed. It is on its way to the print shop and then to your mailbox. Here is what you will find in this issue: + AMSAT Announcements: Straight Key Night on OSCAR Results Steve Coy, K8UD Joins the AMSAT Board of Directors + Apogee View by Barry Baines, WD4ASW + G. Gould Smith, WA4SXM - Thank You for Your 25 Years of Accomplishment + 2014 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Notice by Alan Biddle, AMSAT Corporate Secretary, WA4SCA + Anthony "Tony" J. Monteiro, AA2TX Silent Key + Upcoming Amateur Radio Cubesats: The Flood Has Arrived by Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO + W5PFG/P: Observations from a roving operator by Clayton Coleman, W5PFG + Fox-1 Telemetry Coding and Modulation Design by Phil Karn, KA9Q; Paul Williamson, KB5MU; Michelle Thompson, W5NYV + AMSAT Field Day Announcement + Meet Jerry Buxton, N0JY AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering + AMSAT Field Operations Group Updates Events by Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK + AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes by Alan Biddle, AMSAT Corporate Secretary, WA4SCA Please send your operating information, articles, and photos to the AMSAT Journal mailbox: journal(a)amsat.org. Our editors are looking forward to working with you to get your items published! [ANS thanks the AMSAT Journal Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA, SpaceX Officials Continue Preparations for 14 April Launch NASA and SpaceX officials decided this morning to continue preparations for launch of a commercial resupply run to the International Space Station on Monday after a computer failed aboard the complex Friday, but managers will meet again Sunday morning to make a final decision on whether to proceed with the launch. The failed computer, called a multiplexer-demultiplexer, or MDM, provides redundancy for the space station's mobile transporter, part of the outpost's robotics system that allows the Canadian-built robot arm to move along the lab's truss backbone. The robot arm will be used to grapple the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft when it arrives at the space station. In a statement issued Saturday, NASA said the Canadian-built robot arm has other backup capabilities not affected by the failed computer. NASA says the failed MDM is known as "EXT-2" and measures 10.5 x 14.9 x 16.4 inches and weighs 50.8 pounds. The computer failed during a routine health check of the device, according to NASA. "Station program officials, flight controllers and teams of engineers are working to determine whether there is any risk to launching the SpaceX cargo craft Monday," the statement said. "They will evaluate whether the station has enough redundancy to permit the launch to proceed." NASA says a separate team is planning a contingency spacewalk to replace the failed computer box, but no date for the spacewalk has been set. [ANS thanks Spaceflightnow.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- KickSat CubeSat to Deploy Smallest Earth-Orbiting Satellites When the third SpaceX ISS resupply mission launches on April 14 from Cape Canaveral, it will carry the 3U KickSat CubeSat into orbit. NASA TV is scheduled to broadcast the launch live. If all goes according to plan, KickSat, in turn, will release 200 "Sprite" satellites -- each about the size of a small cracker -- into orbit. They will become the smallest Earth-orbiting satellites ever. Zac Manchester, KD2BHC -- a Cornell University PhD student in aerospace engineering -- is heading up the project, which was funded via Kickstarter. "Our goal is to dramatically lower the cost of spaceflight, making it easy enough and affordable enough for anyone to explore space," the KickSat project website proclaims. "We can do this by shrinking the size and mass of the spacecraft, allowing many to be launched together." The tiny Sprite spacecraft will be single-function, short-lifespan units operating on 437 MHz. Each is essentially a double-sided printed circuit board measuring 3.5 cm × 3.5 cm, incorporating a microcontroller or two, radio, and solar cells. Each can carry single- chip sensors, such as thermometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers. All Sprites operate on the same frequency -- 437.240 MHz -- and use Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Transmitters run 10 mW output of minimum shift keying (MSK) modulated binary data, with each data bit modulated as a 511 bit pseudo-random number (PRN) sequence (The ITU emission designator is 50K0G1D). Andy Thomas, G0SFJ, points out that the Sprites will only operate when in sunlight. "Characteristically they have a 60 kHz bandwidth, and so narrowband receivers are not of any use to receive them," he explained in a tutorial that describes plans for a simple Earth station. "Therefore, the receiver of choice is a software defined receiver." When KickSat reaches orbit, it will perform a "de-tumble" maneuver and establish communication with Cornell University's ground station. After everything has been checked out, the spacecraft will be put in a sun-pointing attitude and spun up to maintain that attitude. Then a command signal from the ground will trigger deployment, and the Sprites will be released as free-flying spacecraft. The Cornell ground station in Ithaca, New York, will monitor telemetry and sensor measurements from the individual Sprites, with assistance from several other Amateur Radio ground stations around the world. Due to their low orbit, the Sprites will have short lifetimes, perhaps as long as six weeks in a best-case scenario but possibly a lot shorter, depending on atmospheric conditions. KickSat is being planned as a technology demonstration mission for the Sprite spacecraft. It's being launched through NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) program. The KickSat project was founded in 2011 by members of the Space Systems Design Studio at Cornell University and is an outgrowth small spacecraft research that has been conducted there since 2007. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention - 2nd call for volunteers The Dayton Hamvention is less than five weeks away! It is time to be creating your shopping list and making your travel plans. If you can stay for more than a day and you want to stay with at the AMSAT hotel, contact Martha ASAP. Last year, we had 41 people assist with the AMSAT booth at the Dayton. We've had a good response so far to our call for volunteers, but we could really use another 10-15 people. The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun. Meet or renew acquaintances, exchange operating tips, and find out what antennas, software and equipment other AMSAT members use. We currently expect all of the AMSAT senior officers and 6 of the 7 board members to be there too. The 2014 Hamvention is May 16-18. Would you consider helping AMSAT at Dayton this year? If you're an experienced operator, great! We can use you and your experience. If you've never operated a satellite before, but want to learn more, that's OK. We can use your help too. Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please send an e-mail to Steve, n9ip at amsat dot org if you can help. Thank you! [ANS thanks Steve N9IP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- N8PK appears with students in YouTube video Pat Kilroy, N8PK makes a brief appearance in a recently released video on YouTube. In it, he is working with a couple of his students working the AMSAT satellites as practice for future NASA engineers. They get a whole minute of the seven-minute limelight starting at about the 2:07 mark. And get a little chuckle at the tail end during our thank you's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AbG1ZiVi5Y That video was shot, at the same time the follwing was recorded, last summer and released last fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TQufCcxLkc [ANS thanks Pat N8PK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISS HamTV moves to 2369 MHz The Digital Amateur TV (DATV) station in the Columbus module of the International Space Station has changed frequency to 2369 MHz Presently, Ham Video is transmitting permanently a "blank" image and no audio in configuration 5: * ARISS antenna 43 * Frequency 2369 MHz * Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php Participants using the Tutioune receiving software can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see: http://www.vivadatv.org/ Reports are available at http://www.vivadatv.org/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=294&p=785#p785 Thank you for your participation to the Ham Video testing campaign. [ANS thanks Gaston Bertels, ON4WF for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FUNcube/AO-73 Transponder plans for the future Following the 48 hour test last weekend, we have concluded that the battery temp does reduce slightly during full time transponder mode, but only by a degree C or so; it remains within specification. Hence we have decided in future to switch the satellite into 'forced eclipse mode', ie full time transponder and low power beacon at weekends. The aim is tosignificantly increase the availability of the transponder to radio amateurs. We will continue with this plan until further notice. We plan to switch to full time transponder mode during the first suitable pass over the UK on Friday evenings, normally between 19:30 and 22:30 UTC. If for some reason this is not possible, then the switch will be done on the first suitable pass on Saturday, normally between 09:30 and 12:00 UTC. We plan to switch the full time transponder mode off during a suitable pass on Sunday evenings (UK time), which normally occur between 1930 and 22:30 UTC. Again, if this is not possible the switch off will be made on Monday mornings, approx. 09:30 to 12:00 UTC. Do PLEASE NOTE that this schedule is totally reliant on the availability of command stations, who will do their very best to ensure it is maintained. We will not normally announce successful full time transponder mode on/off commands, but if it proves not possible to make one of them, then we will make a note here and on the FUNcube web site at www.funcube.org.uk/news. So please do enjoy the transponder, and use it any time you hear it on. We are always pleased to hear of your activity, so either leave a comment on the website, or email g3wgm -at- amsat.org. A recent QSO made by Paulo PV8DX can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMVetMKnCMQ Thanks for the report, Paulo! [ANS thanks Jim G3WGM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). Monday, 28 April 2014 - presentation at Franklin County Amateur Radio Club meeting in Greenfield MA by Barry Baines WD4ASW (AMSAT President) Saturday, 3 May 2014 - Cochise Amateur Radio Association's Larry Warren Hamfest in Sierra Vista AZ (southeast of Tucson) - AMSAT will have a table at this hamfest, and satellite demonstrations are planned. Friday through Sunday, 16-18 May 2014 - Dayton Hamvention AMSAT will have their usualy booth set-up with a sales area, display of Engineering and Education activities, outside satellite demonstrations and will present anAMSAT Forum. Set-up is Thursday 15 May 2014. Saturday, 7 June 2014 - Kachina Amateur Radio Club's White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ (eastern Arizona, south of US-60/AZ-77/AZ-260) - AMSAT will have a table at this hamfest, and satellite demonstrations are planned. Friday and Saturday, 13-14 June 2014 - Ham-Com in Plano TX (north of Dallas) Thursday through Sunday, 17-20 July 2014 - ARRL Centennial Convention in Hartford CT. AMSAT will host a day-long Satellite Workshop on Thursday, and have a booth at the convention along with an AMSAT Forum and demonstrations throughout the convention. Saturday and Sunday, 30-31 August 2014 - Shelby Hamfest in Shelby NC (west of Gastonia and Charlotte) - Barry Baines WD4ASW (AMSAT President) will host an AMSAT Forum on Saturday of this weekend Friday through Sunday, 12-14 September 2014 - ARRL Southwestern Division Convention 2014 in San Diego CA (north of the city center, near Montgomery Field airport & I-805/CA-163 interchange) - AMSAT will have a booth at this convention, there will be on-air demonstrations using satellites throughout the convention, and a presentation on amateur satellites and AMSAT AMSAT maintains and updated list of known upcoming events at http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=218 [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above announcement] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Due to Koichi Wakata's, KC5ZTA, increased work load beginning 2014- 03-11, ARISS has had to move 3 schools back to our long term waiting list. We hope to get to them in the fall of 2014. There are also several other schools that are on the list for possible postponement to the fall. >From 2014-05-12 to 2014-06-15, ARISS will be going into a period of no contacts as there will be no hams onboard. [ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + GNURadio Code and other stuff for setting up a Sprite ground station https://github.com/zacinaction/kicksat-groundstation [ANS thanks Zac Manchester KD2BHC for the above information] + KickSat Technical Summary http://www.bis-space.com/2013/03/09/9301/kicksat-technical-summary [ANS thanks Andrew Vaudin and The British Interplanetary Society for the above information] + Funcube's Jim Heck talks to Tx Factor about Transponder tests Project Manager Jim Heck G3WGM has given an exclusive audio interview to the TX Factor's Bob McCreadie, G0FGX which explains what the tests were all about. Will these tests lead to more time being made available to amateurs wanting to communicate via the satellite? Listen to the interview at www.txfactor.co.uk (click on the link under 'TX Factor Exclusive!') [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + SatMagazine and MilsatMagazine now online April edition of SatMagazine is now online http://www.satmagazine.com/download.php March edition of MilsatMagazine in now online http://www.satmagazine.com/download.php Free Satnews Subscriptions Satnews allows you to choose which of our free services you wish to receive. Our news coverage includes all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry. We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. http://www.satnews.com/register_new.php [ANS thanks ANS Editors for the above information] + Make a #GlobalSelfie with NASA on Earth Day NASA invites you -- and everyone else on the planet -- to take part in a worldwide celebration of Earth Day this year with the agency's #GlobalSelfie event. The year 2014 is a big one for NASA Earth science. Five NASA missions designed to gather critical data about our home planet are launching to space this year. NASA is marking this big year for Earth science with a campaign called Earth Right Now, and as part of this campaign the agency is asking for your help this Earth Day, April 22. While NASA satellites constantly look at Earth from space, on Earth Day we're asking you to step outside and take a picture of yourself wherever you are on Earth. Then post it to social media using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. See details at http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/globalselfie/#.U0gmGfldWSo [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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Re: Wouxun KG-UV8D
by sgholly＠optonline.net 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

> Message: 6 > Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 18:30:32 -0000 > From: "John Geiger" > To: "Clint Bradford" , > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Wouxun KG-UV8D > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > Which current HT models do perform full duplex without any > desense on the > receive side? > > 73 John AF5CC The ICOM IC-24AT works great Full Duplex on the FM birds. 73, Steve WI2W

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Re: Wouxun KG-UV8D
by Kevin M 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

> Another point to consider is you can buy two of the cheap Chinese HTs for about what the diplexer > in the Arrow costs. That's the cheapest way to get to full duplex. 73, Drew KO4MA Sure, now you tell me that after I buy the Arrow with the diplexer! =^D But seriously, I bought a used Arrow that already had the diplexer, however I have done just as you suggested... I bought a second Baofeng and a couple of BNC jumper cables. Now I have to sort out splitting to headphones and my recorder both. 73, N4UFO

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Re: Wouxun KG-UV8D
by Kevin M 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

> Some older full duplex HTs that you can pick up at a fest or on eBay > include Yaesu FT-470 and FT-530 and Icom W2A and W32A. > > 73 > Glenn AA5PK On the IC-W32A's... I read several places that the early ones with 5 digit serial numbers are okay, but that is not necessarily true from my experience. I bought two of them with five digit numbers over 11000 and still had the desense problems. The determining factor, as best I can tell, is if it receives in the 300 Mhz and 800 Mhz bands then it's possible it doesn't have the desense problem. Just FYI for anyone looking... And I think you can ad IC-Z1a to that list. I found a pretty good list of older compatible rigs here, not just HTs but all rig: http://herrons.com/satellite-radios/ 73, N4UFO

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Cape-2 #2198 over Brazil
by Roland Zurmely 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

Commands: 20:40 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *forcebeac# 20:40 W5UL-15>W5UL>UI,C,F0: +W5UL,CAPE-2,c,GR,201301281953CST,5229mV,01006,c,28C,18C,ulcape.org# 20:40 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *dump# 20:40 W5UL-15>W5UL>UI,C,F0: W5UL,5307,890,5270,6,5279,62,5279,GR,001,28,18,ulcape.org# 20:40 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *clock201404121740CST# 20:40 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *modeGN# 20:41 W5UL-15>W5UL>UI,C,F0: *ACK# 20:41 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *clock201404121741CST# 20:42 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *forcebeac# 20:42 W5UL-15>W5UL>UI,C,F0: +W5UL,CAPE-2,f,GR,201404121742CST,5292mV,01006,f,25C,20C,ulcape.org# Text to speech, voice from Gretchen: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/cape.htm#p 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ GH70un Satélite CAPE Satélite CAPE-2 = LO-75 por PY4ZBZ em 28-11-2013 rev. 12-04-2014 Recepção do primeiro beacon em AX25. Primeira execução de comand... View on www.qsl.net Preview by Yahoo

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Satellites with Transponders
by Les Rayburn 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

I've had trouble lately keeping up with the launches of new satellites, and trying to separate those that carry experiments, beacons, etc. from those that have active transponders available for amateur use. Is there a list online somewhere that only lists satellites with active transponders? Any help is much appreciated. Lately it's been tough to keep SATPC32 up to date! : - ) A very good problem to have. -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light -- -- 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf 6M VUCC #1712 AMSAT #38965 Grid Bandits #222 Southeastern VHF Society Central States VHF Society Life Member Six Club #2484 Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light

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LoTW
by Bruce 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

I just completed uploading all my satellite QSO's to LOTW, 1993-2001. I only did a handful of satellite contacts after that with my HT which I also uploaded. It took a little bit of programming to convert the old storage locations of data (pre-LoTW) to the LoTW fields. I even uploaded my trips to EL39/EM30, EL19/EM10, FN21 and EM99. As there was no really great program that would allow changing all the necessary fields, I used Macro Express (which I use to automate my system). It allowed me to make mouse moves and clicks, change and massage text (AO10, AO13, AO27 to AO-10, AO-13, AO-27, etc) and add the prop mode which were never in existence when I started logging. Then I setup a VUCC account in my LoTW account. How many matched QSO's? 193 How many Grids for Satellite VUCC? 40 After loading the 6,000 QSO's, I checked back in about 15 minutes and had only matched 55 QSO's. When I checked the next day, there were the 193 matches. Guess LoTW takes a bit of time to run your matches. Maybe when I check back tomorrow, there will be more Grid matches as I just created the VUCC account. That really is not a bad match percentage since many hams have since become SK and many have reached the age of non-operating. Also, those back then used either paper or early logging programs which have not been converted to LoTW format and uploaded. I gained no new DXCC entities. Unsure if I have any new grids, I will have to take the paper receipts from the ARRL and manually check them. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Possible Launch Delays For SpaceX, Orbital
by B J 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/balky-iss-computer-may-delay-spacex-c… http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/space-flight-missions/commercial-space-sp… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Configuring a pair of IC-706MKIIG's for satellites
by Ronald G. Parsons 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

I am in the process of configuring a pair of Icom IC-706MKIIG transceivers for Full Duplex U/V and V/U satellite service. They will be controlled by SatPC32 with one being the transmitter and the other the receiver. This will require switching the duplexer-separated UHF and VHF input/output between the UHF and VHF antennas. I would like to control the coax switches automatically to avoid human error. I am looking for a signal, either from SatPC32 or the transceivers to switch the relays between U/V and V/U modes. The transceivers have a signal on the 13-pin DIN ACC socket pin # 5 labeled BAND with the description “Band voltage output. (Varies with amateur band) 0 – 8.0 V” No other details. Does anyone have any additional information on this signal? Is there another signal available from SatPC32 or the transceivers that would enable automatic switching between U/V and V/U? Ron W5RKN

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FUNcube / AO-73 weekend operations
by wouter weggelaar 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

Hi All, During the last pass, I have attempted to command FUNcube-1 into fixed amateur mode for the weekend. However, this did not succeed yet. It does not indicate a spacecraft problem, but some problems in my (very limited) commanding setup. The next attempt will be made tomorrow 12th of April around 09:00 UTC using another set of hardware with proper tracking yagi's Sorry for the delay folks! Wouter PA3WEG FUNcube team

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New Full Duplex HT: Wouxun KG-UV8D
by Paul Stoetzer 12 Apr '14

12 Apr '14

The new Wouxun KG-UV8D looks like a very interesting HT and may potentially be useful for FM satellite operations as it does have full duplex functionality. http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/wouxun/kg-uv8d.aspx The question is whether or not the receiver desenses too much to be useful for full duplex V/U FM satellite work like the Puxing and Alinco models. I look forward to seeing reports. 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

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Cape-2 #2183 over Brazil
by Roland Zurmely 11 Apr '14

11 Apr '14

Successful commands: 21:16 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *forcebeac# 21:16 W5UL-15>W5UL>UI,C,F0: +W5UL,CAPE-2,c,OR,201301281955CST,5211mV,01005,c,23C,22C,ulcape.org# 21:16 W5UL>W5UL-15>UI,C,F0: *dump# 21:17 W5UL-15>W5UL>UI,C,F0: W5UL,5196,866,5188,5,5186,54,5186,OR,001,25,22,ulcape.org# 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ GH70un

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SASI Sat Tracker
by Bruce 11 Apr '14

11 Apr '14

I have a SASI Sat Tracker I am no longer using. I do not have the software, although I am sure it is somewhere. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to pop it in a padded envelope. It connects to the computer using a Parallel Port (uh huh... one of those old things that used to make a printer work). 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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w1aw/4 on ao7
by Bruce 11 Apr '14

11 Apr '14

w1aw/4 called cq the entire 2120z pass of ao7 and only worked 2 or 3. had a good signal. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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test
by Dale Hershberger 11 Apr '14

11 Apr '14

I keep being bounced from my email address.....daleh(a)alaska.net What is going on? I can not even get in the AMSAT store. Dale KL7XJ

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