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FO-29 with RTL-SDR
by Roland Zurmely 30 Jun '13

30 Jun '13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc7ESgpxYeg 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ

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FO-29 from FJ13
by N0JY 30 Jun '13

30 Jun '13

There is a good pass of FO-29 over my QTH tonight, starting 7/1 at 02:19 UTC. I expect to be on the bird on SSB. I have many constraints here, operating inside the house for safety reasons and surrounded by mountains and buildings which mean the bird must be at least 20 degrees up for me to see it. There is also a lot of QRM from uncontrolled devices here. I'll probably hit LOS due to the terrain about 02:35 but it looks like FO-29 will give coverage of the Southeast U.S. from Texas to Pennsylvania at that time. Let's give it a try! 73 Jerry HK5JY

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FITSAT-1 heard 1458Z
by Armando Mercado 30 Jun '13

30 Jun '13

Copied FITSAT-1. Satellite was running about 10 seconds ahead of latest keps. 73 Armando, N8IGJ

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amsat droid
by WCP 29 Jun '13

29 Jun '13

Where can I find just the apk file for "Amsta Droid". My tablet (Pipo) does not see it in the app store.

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Nigerian scam span purporting to be from W0SL
by Phil Karn 29 Jun '13

29 Jun '13

Today I got a scam email purporting to be from Roy Welch, W0SL, asking for an emergency loan. If I got it, I suspect many others on amsat-bb got it too. The originating IP address is in Nigeria. Where else? I've seen this exact scam before. In those cases someone had stolen the password of the person they were pretending to be. I don't think that happened here. The "From" address was his correct email account 'rdwelch(a)swbell.net' but the Reply-To: address was 'rdwelclh(a)yahoo.com'. Note the extra 'l'. I think the scammers created this second account on Yahoo and used it to send the scam email, forging Roy's address in the from field. Any reply would, of course, go to the scammer's address on Yahoo and many people might not notice the subtle change. swbell.net has no SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records in the Domain Name System to indicate to the rest of the Internet which IP addresses may legitimately originate email from that domain, so recipient systems cannot easily detect forgeries.

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Roger Beeps
by Rob styles 29 Jun '13

29 Jun '13

Trying to work AO-07 at 17:00 UTC and yet again I'm hearing the same station with a Roger Beep/bleep on every CQ satellite call Please refrain from using these (IMHO) awful beeps,sounds like a strangled cat half the time. Rob M0TFO

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Re: Back Issues of AMSAT Journal in PDF
by Clint Bradford 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

>> ... I'm sure my staff would enjoy taking a break from scanning endless issues of "Radiological Imaging Today" ... I just renewed my print subscription of Radiological Imaging Today ... (grin) What a marvelous offer! Between the free Adobe Reader app available for about every platform, plus the advent of eReaders like the Kindles and Kobos and Nooks, your offer to bring this valuable resource to the masses is truly generous. Clint K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com 909-241-7666 - cell

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Re: FITSAT-1 (NIWAKA)
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

Hi, My update for later pass today ( a low elevation pass ) Beacon heard: Acquisition 1533 hrs GMT when the satellite was out to the West and the Atlantic ocean. Strong initially but noticed a tendency for fading, whether this was perhaps spin or due to the low elevation and terrain from my QTH. Lost signal approx. 1538 hrs GMT Same set up: Kenwood TS 2000 plus ELK antenna and tracking with SATPC32 and AZ/EL Rotator. Ken Eaton GW1FKY

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AMSAT RX broadband Preamp
by Hans Hopstaken 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

Hello group, I received my broadband VHF/UHF/WX Satellite RX Preamp and installed it direct to the feedpoint of my 70 cm antenna. Put 11 volts DC on it, however no increase of noise on the receiver. And I do not notice any amplication of received signals. Taking the preamp out of circuit results in same signalstrength as before without preamp. Any ideas? 73 Hans, pa0hop JO21xu

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Re: FITSAT-1 (NIWAKA)
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

Hi, Sorry to learn about the decay of FITSAT-1 - I congratulate everyone concerned with the project and pleased to the success that you had. I have just listened for the beacon over here in Wales-UK and at 1229 hrs GMT I heard it quite strong with just my "ELK" Antenna. It brought memories of first hearing it using the same set up and I pleased that I had the opportunity to be one of those monitoring the success since its launch. My very Best Regards to All. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat-UK Amsat NA

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NH and GA for 13 Colonies
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

Is there anyone in NH and GA that could at least do ISS packet contacts for the 13 Colonies Special Event, just so we can get all 13 on the air? http://www.13colonies.info/ Dave-KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless Droid RAZR

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ARR preamp repair
by George Henry 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

Anybody ever try fixing an ARR P432VDG preamp yourself? I was recently given one that I suspect was transmitted into. Drawing more current than spec'd (45 mA vs. spec of 25), no S-meter increase when connected. Or am I better off just sending it in? ARR's website says most GaAsFET preamp repairs run around $22.50 plus shipping... George, KA3HSW

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Turksat status
by paul robinson 28 Jun '13

28 Jun '13

I listed to turksat for the first couple of days in orbit,the becon was weak for the first day,there were reports that the transponder had been heard also weak,i did not hear it, I did try and put a signal through it while the becon was on but nothing heard...the becon lasted a few days and got very weak until not heard...my throughts are that some how the solar cells did not charge..and its a dead duck...I was hoping for great things like a few of us but looks like its dead.Paul. 2E1EUB amsat-uk amsat-na RSGB

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Re: turksat
by Richard Lawn 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

Its not you. i don't think any one has hear a peep out of this supposed new bird. Information does not seem to be plentiful also though a friend,on the list did find keps, but we aren't sure if they are accurate. Perhaps they just haven't opened it up? I have no idea. Rick W2JAZ

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TURKSAT-3USAT Status?
by Les Rayburn 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

Does anyone know the current status of TURKSAT-3USAT? I can't find much news about it since early May, and haven't copied it's CW beacon recently either. Still learning the ends and outs of PCSAT32, so it's more than likely I've screwed up entering the Kep data. -- -- 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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$442,000 Kickstarter Lunar CubeSat / Scout Project
by M5AKA 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

A Kickstarter project from Bristol in the United Kingdom that aims to raise £290,000 ($442,000) to send a 3U CubeSat to the moon. Interesting from the point of view that it aims to have it's own propulsion and in the "Scout" satellites it intends to deploy in both Earth and Lunar orbits. See http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1677943140/send-your-own-pocket-spacecr… 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Planet Labs (formerly Cosmogia Inc.) to fly 28 3U CubeSats
by M5AKA 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

Planet Labs, builders of the Dove-1 and Dove-2 CubeSats plan to launch 28 3U CubeSats on single Antares flight into a 400 km orbit. Presumably these will be operating in the 2400 MHz band ? anyone have any further info ? 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: FO-29 wierdness during field day
by Art McBride 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

Greg, I had a hard time getting into the bird on that pass, figured it was pointing angle or inversion layer. Next morning it was fine. Art, KC6UQH (W6NWG for FD) -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Greg D Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 8:50 PM To: Amsat BB Subject: [amsat-bb] FO-29 wierdness during field day Hi folks, Now that the bustle of Field Day is over, an observation I want to pass on. Did anyone else experience this? On one of the Saturday night passes I noticed that FO-29 suddenly went kind of silent. Not totally so, but enough that the QSO that I was desperately trying to complete was interrupted. It was around 9:45 pm local PDT, if I recall. Just finished with K6MMM, and was trying to get K6AA, I think. (Note to self: turn on the recorder next time!) I didn't check for an eclipse, but that's my guess, though it was also about the time the bird went past TCA and all Doppler had broken loose. The bird sounded like 20 meters during the day, but with everyone's VFO on skids going in different directions. Right towards the end of the pass I heard another station on, so I know the bird hadn't died. Anybody hear that? Greg KO6TH _______________________________________________ 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

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FD Postmortem: was "a cheap LEO tracker for single op"
by Bill (W1PA) 26 Jun '13

26 Jun '13

A quick follow-up and some questions. I made it to the FD site about 11pm local. Schedule had two passes of SO-50 (1am and 3am) and two passes of AO-7 (at 4am and 6am local). Let's focus on AO-7. I had my FT-847, two 10 ft lengths of coax, and the trusty Arrow dual-band. I had my Ubuntu netbook with gpredict and a printed frequency list. I ran AO-40 full manual back in the day (no computer assist or Doppler) --I can do this, right?: AO-7 (B) 432.125-175 up, 145.975-925 down. Load 432.125 on the main VFO, and 145.975 (USB) on the secondary. Set Sat mode, (tracking REVERSE) Hear the bird great -- can’t find my downlink. Nada. Voice or CW. Confirmed 432 TX and power out with a meter -- ran up to 30 watts in. Moved the sub-tune up and down on the RX side for Doppler (at least 15khz each side). Coax was connected correctly. Nothing on the next pass either.... excellent hearing, can’t find myself. Bird is directly overhead. Epic fail. So what did I do wrong? Did I have a de-sense issue because of the crossed yagi? Enough power? What sideband should the uplink have been (LSB, correct)? Even if it was wrong, I should have heard CW, right? Bill W1PA

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2400 MHz Consultation + ESA CubeSats
by M5AKA 26 Jun '13

26 Jun '13

Joint Submission by AMSAT-UK, UKuG, BATC and RSGB to Ofcom 2.4 GHz Consultation http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/26/joint-2400-mhz-submission/ ESA Announce Six CubeSats Chosen for Phase 1 http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/26/esa-announce-six-cubesats/ Two Lithuanian Amateur Radio CubeSats Plan 2013 Launch to ISS http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/26/two-lithuanian-cubesats/ ---- 73 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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FO-29 wierdness during field day
by Greg D 26 Jun '13

26 Jun '13

Hi folks, Now that the bustle of Field Day is over, an observation I want to pass on. Did anyone else experience this? On one of the Saturday night passes I noticed that FO-29 suddenly went kind of silent. Not totally so, but enough that the QSO that I was desperately trying to complete was interrupted. It was around 9:45 pm local PDT, if I recall. Just finished with K6MMM, and was trying to get K6AA, I think. (Note to self: turn on the recorder next time!) I didn't check for an eclipse, but that's my guess, though it was also about the time the bird went past TCA and all Doppler had broken loose. The bird sounded like 20 meters during the day, but with everyone's VFO on skids going in different directions. Right towards the end of the pass I heard another station on, so I know the bird hadn't died. Anybody hear that? Greg KO6TH

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Kudos to the Amsat PR and Publications team(s)
by Tom Gentry 26 Jun '13

26 Jun '13

To all the AMSAT volunteers in the Webpage, Newsletter and Dayton Video teams, please accept my profound thanks for your efforts. I am enjoying the newsletters and the webpage is looking better and better. I think the new "Blog" format is very informative and useful as are the restored links to the old pages. Keep up the good work. Recently I complained about the perceived lack of information and action on the issues with ARISS and NASA. Now after watching the videos from the Dayton Hamvention presentations, I understand the challenges of dealing with bureaucracies much better. Many thanks to the ARISS team for explaining the issues so clearly in the video. I also am hopeful that the ITAR issue will be resolved soon and we can get back to perhaps exchanging technology and knowledge for rides. A couple of long lasting birds would go a long way toward attracting new ground stations and users. Perhaps a cloud based application where captured telemetry from the "CubeSats" could be forwarded to be stored for later download and information on the necessary hardware to build such stations would be a low maintenance yet broad based program. This way hams and non-hams could participate and contribute, with ease. Thanks again for a job well done (and doing). 73s, Tom K5VOU

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CO6CBF/P Western Cuba
by K4FEG 26 Jun '13

26 Jun '13

Late Breaking Update on CO6CBF/p!!! Hector reported on the 0155UTC pass of FO29 just now that EL81 would be IMPOSSIBLE for him to operate from. He was operating from the EL72/EL82 grid line with an excellent signal on FO29. I am sure Hector will have some details for us once he is back home from this trip, still I personally have worked him in 3 additional new grids for myself and I have heard him work many others as well. I have no additional information on his plans at this time so "Stay Tuned"!!! /*73 ALL FRM;*//* *//*K4FEG;*//* *//*STARCOM DIV GGG*//* *//*GGHQ: EM55*//*aj84ta*/

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CO6CBF West Cuba Operations
by k4feg 25 Jun '13

25 Jun '13

An update! on Hector; I apparently misunderstood Hector this morning about *which FO29 pass, *he would be on today for his /*EL81ax*/ operation later today. We had a bad pass between us on VO52 when he told me he would be in EL81ax for *1 pass only! *on FO29. I understood him to say that it would be in the morning but on a subsequent SO50 pass he told John, K8YSE that he would in EL81ax later tonight on FO29. *CHECK YOUR PASSES!! I AM NOT 100% SURE WHICH PASS HE WILL BE ON*!! I am sorry for the earlier confusion but EL81ax is the only portion of that grid that is on dry land, to the best of my knowledge there has not been a satellite operation from that grid, RARE ONE FOLKS! Remember Hector is operating half duplex, please allow him the time to respond before calling him, when he is transmitting he CAN NOT HEAR the satellite. 73 ALL FRM K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGG GGHQ: /*EM55*//*aj84ta*/

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Lincoln Highway Special event
by Wyatt Dirks 25 Jun '13

25 Jun '13

Hello all, This weekend I will be activating K0KBX special event via satellite for the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Highway. The event will take place from EN31XX. The event will take place from 1400utc to 2100utc both Saturday June 29th and Sunday June 30th. I maybe be on passes slightly before or after these times if I see a good pass to work. I will try and work a pass of so50 to allow the fm users to work us as well but will focus on the three ssb satellites. Also look for the Event on general portions of the hf bands as well. There will be both voice and cw stations on several bands. for more info look in the June issue of QST and/or the qrz page of K0KBX. Hope to catch you on the birds and other bands! 73 Wyatt AC0RA

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June-29 free balloon UV repeater from La Pampa, Argentina
by Amsat Argentina 23 Jun '13

23 Jun '13

Amsat Argentina is pleased to announce that on Saturday June 29, 2013 from 14hs GMT, climate permits, launch of free balloon repeater 'Betty II' is planned from Victorica, La Pampa, 665 Km. west of Buenos Aires. Details and photos of the announcement and prior experiences in http://www.amsat.org.ar/globo29.htm Approval of ANAC (Argentina FAA)) had been granted by NOTAM (NOtice To AirMen) http://amsat.org.ar/images/faxanac.jpg . For these experiments members of AMSAT-LU, LUSEX, project development group http://lusex.org.ar , are working together with Pampeano and QRM Belgrano Radio Clubs, APRS Group, etc. Electronics is comprised of a voice UHF to VHF FM repeater with CW TLM, APRS, DTMF and SSTV. According to estimates balloon could reach 30,000 meters high, traveling for 3 hours, 150 km east of the launch site. This would allow contacts between stations located in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Cordoba, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, La Pampa, San Luis, Mendoza, San Juan, Rio Negro, Neuquen, Uruguay and Chile. (It is launched from the center of the country to facilitate greater participation). Coverage at http://www.amsat.org.ar/picocubr.jpg To receive the payload, if less than 750 km from launch site, only need is a handy or base FM receiver on 145,950 KHz for voice/sstv and 144,930 for APRS. The repeater which is enabled via 123 Hz CTCSS subtone, receives 435,950 KHz FM voice (-112dBm, 0.56 uV) emitting 2W output simultaneously on 145.950 KHz. Payload will also carry an emergency long duration APRS transmitter sourced by solar cells and supercapacitors as batteries. To enable better utilization, it is suggested short QSOs (license, own locality, grid locator, received signal and short comments). Simultaneous emits APRS 1200 baud at 144,930, and also in 145,950. The DTI symbol on APRS will change from a balloon ( /O ) during ascent to a slider ( /g ) during the parachute descent. Will operate for 90 seconds voice, then a beep alerting the end of that time will make way for the issuance of APRS at different frequencies. Every five minutes CW TLM via telegraphy audio tones sends callsign LU7AA and height in meters, then repeat the cycle. On 145,950 KHz SSTV images ROBOT-36 mode (36 seconds) will be emitted on demand showing what the balloon sees (Can be received, with either MIXW or RX-SSTV (recommended)). Balloon will carry two GoPro TV cameras (one to ground and another to the horizon) that will record images and sound during flight and can be retrieved with the payload. It will be live in APRS on http://aprs.fi/?call=lu7aa-11 every minute, including speed, height, internal and external temperatures and battery voltage. Local georeferenced maps are available for UI-View in http://www.amsat.org.ar/pico2.jpg , http://www.amsat.org.ar/pico2.txt to be renamed to pico2.inf . The experiment on 435.950 KHz voice also receives and accepts DTMF user issued commands i.e. B * (DTMF keypad UHF handy) will return S5 ... ..... on VHF CW 145.950, your signal strength received at balloon, if P10 that states S9 +10. There are more commands that enable issuance of TLM in CW or APRS beacon and remote commands to drop payload, mode changes, control of timers, energy, power, enable SSTV, etc.. Additionally a VAISALA RS92SGP radiosonde emitting FM wide on 402.740/403 Mhz has been added, providing GPS location, pressure, winds, height, course, dwt point, temperatures, etc. Same data as daily collected by the National Meteorological Service. Data can be received using an SDR dongle and sondemonitor program available as test for 21 days from internet. On launch day/time Amsat-LU will have one of his members on the Ezeiza Airport Traffic Control, acting as a contact between ANAC and Amsat, using VOR locations application, adapted from EOSS and available on http://amsat.org.ar/vor.asp . Local frequencies coordination and announcements before and during flights will be 7095 kHz LSB + / -10 kHz and VHF frequencies of local repeaters in the area. During flight 430.930 AMSAT-LU APRS will operate wide coverage Igate LU7AA, installed at the Investigation Center, besides a portable Igate close to launch site. Any area stations that can receive and provide bridge to the APRS network are welcome. Being an experiment aimed at a next satellite, contacts made between stations thru this UV repeater will be considered valid and awarded upon request by Amsat-LU Permanent Satellite Certificate, free and also applicable for license upgrades, see http://www.amsat.org.ar/certsat.html, http://www.lu4ao.org.ar, http://www.amsat.org.ar/lu4aao. Top 10 participants with the highest two-way contacts/distances sum thru repeater will be awarded with a special certificate. Send email with data filled on form http://www.amsat.org.ar/lu4aao/Globo_29jun2013.xls QSOs with stations via the balloon including QRA Locators, QTR to RC QRM Belgrano before July 23. All reports welcome. If you want or can organize or be part of launch teams, control, monitoring and recovery, operating as an independent station and capturing data, and / or want to join us in this adventure from the launch site can do it through an email to parapente arroba amsat.org.ar. We appreciate having read this information and forward if possible. 73, LU7AA, AMSAT-LU. aiming to the future by making present fun. www.amsat.org.ar info at amsat.org.ar facebook.com/Amsat.LU

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VUCC Awards
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 23 Jun '13

23 Jun '13

I, of course, have a few comments. While I'm not much in favor of an expansion, the ARRL is having enough problems administering the awards they all ready offer. I would suggest you pattern any expansion along the lines of the DXCC Challange, total of band grids. The second thought would be a multiplier for the shorter wave lengths. Lastly what about the bands such as 70 mhz which are not international allocations. Tom K8TL

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2E1EUB QRV LOOKING FOR FIELD DAY STATIONS
by paul robinson 23 Jun '13

23 Jun '13

QRV FROM I092BX IN UK LOOKING FOR FIELD DAY STATIONS NEXT FEW PASSES AO7 AND FO29 PAUL 2E1EUB ( rx ao7 145.945? )

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Book Now for AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium
by M5AKA 22 Jun '13

22 Jun '13

The 2013 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will start late afternoon on Friday, July 19 and will run through until the afternoon on Sunday, July 21 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK. It will be preceded by a “Hands-on” CubeSat Workshop. This free workshop will take place at the nearby University of Surrey on Friday, July 19 and this will be followed, at the hotel, by the usual Colloquium “Beginners Session” in the late afternoon. Further details and booking information at http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/ ---- 73 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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5 Band VUCC & VUCC Triple-Play
by Les Rayburn 21 Jun '13

21 Jun '13

After some persuasive arguments and constructive criticism from Paul K7CW, Sebastian W4AS, and Pete WA7JTM I've decided to modify my proposal for the creation of a new 5 Band VUCC Award. * Eliminate the requirement to "reset to zero" all previous grids worked and confirmed. * Eliminate a requirement to include at least one of the low bands like 2 Meters or 6 Meters. * Insure that the 5 Band VUCC Award complies with all existing rules and requirements for VUCC Awards, with no changes needed. This will reduce the cost to administer the award, and minimize programming changes needed for Logbook of the World. But Pete WA7JTM made some some great points about how activity has declined in the past few years as many experienced VHF operators have worked nearly all possible grids in their area. His suggestion caused me to do more research on other awards that the ARRL has recently implemented. Inspiration came in the form of the Worked All States (WAS) Triple-Play Award. So in addition to the 5 Band VUCC Award, I'm proposing the establishment of a VUCC Triple-Play Award that would allow operators to earn VUCC on any amateur band above 50 MHz provided that they could work the required number of contacts for a basic VUCC Award, but on each of the three modes Phone, CW, and Digital. For example, you could earn VUCC Triple-Play on 432 by confirmed contacts with 50 Grids in Phone, CW, and Digital Modes. All previous grids confirmed in the past would count towards the new award, but it would be a rare station that has already earned this award passed purely on past contacts. * Insure that VUCC Triple-Play complies with the existing rules for VUCC, with no changes needed. Keep costs to administer low, and make programming in LoTW easier. * Allow all previous confirmed grids to count towards the new award. * Any digital mode would be acceptable. While I expect WSJT modes would dominate, PSK, RTTY, and others would qualify too. * Satellite operators could join the fun by digipeating through the International Space Station and digital satellites. Tough but possible! This would serve my original purpose of immediately increasing on-air activity especially during contests when more grid-chasers would turn out hoping to pick up new grids. And everyone would be happy because they wouldn't see a lifetime of accomplishments wiped clean by resetting to zero. I hope that others will continue to offer constructive criticism, and join me in writing their Division Directors and Vice Directors, along with their VUAC reps to support these ideas. VHF-UHF operation could use a shot in the arm, and this a great way to do it. Thanks to all who took the time to offer their thoughts on this proposal. -- -- 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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ISSSAMOR II: Save the Date!
by Taksha University 20 Jun '13

20 Jun '13

ISSSAMOR II, 2013: 2nd International Symposium on Small Satellites for Arctic and Maritime Operations and Research Washington, DCTues.-Wed., Dec. 3-4, 2013 Save the Date! Save the Date Announcement Based on the success of last November's ISSSAMOR I, we are expanding the agenda for this annual symposium by a half-day. This will allow us to accommodate the welcome demand for presentation opportunities, and to increase our information exchange to a second day. Our focus for 2013 is on Arctic Ocean Requirements and the Role of Small Satellites. This announcement is to notify past participants and potential new attendees of our dates and general location. Details will be sent as available. In the meantime, mark your calendar, to be in Washington, DC on December 3-4! Write to contact(a)taksha.org ( mail:[email protected] ) , to inquire about presenting or participating in this upcoming event. ________________________________________________________ ISSSAMOR is sponsored by Taksha University's Global Maritime Awareness Institute for Safety, Security and Stewardship (GMAISSS) and the Taksha Institute for Small Satellite Space Systems (TISSS), as well as the Journal of Small Satellites (JoSS), with the cooperation of invited government and industry representatives. The Symposium is led by Prof. Guy Thomas, Director, C-SIGMA Centre (Ireland) and Chair, Taksha GMAISSS (Baltimore, MD, USA). The primary purpose of the symposium is to provide a forum to discuss and exchange information for the enhancement of the safety and security of the Arctic environment and global maritime assets, including the protection of the maritime environment and its resources, as well as the people and vessels traversing the waters of the world. The secondary purpose is to promote collaboration on science and technology to further Arctic and maritime awareness through increases in the capability of systems and communications, both terrestrial and space-based, as well as the shared use of the output of existing systems for the good of all. It will examine the complete cycle of knowledge from requirements generation to tasking, seeking, collection, fusion and analysis, "big data" analytics, automated decision-making aids,decision-making itself, and to dissemination of information. The tertiary purpose is to develop short- and long-term recommendations for future action items, and to produce an edited symposium proceedings. All proceeds from sales, registration fees, charitable contributions, and other sources support the educational and research programs of Taksha University, founded as a not-for-profit institution in 1976. (C) 2013 Taksha University Taksha University, 15 Research Dr., Hampton, VA 23666 Unsubscribe | Privacy policy ( http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3a%2f%2fcache.nebula.phx3.secures…! ) ( http://twitter.com/?status=View+%22ISSSAMOR+II%3a+Save+the+Date!%22+at+http… )

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Fw: Open access to Surrey Space Centre research output
by M5AKA 20 Jun '13

20 Jun '13

A new blog aims to provide open access to SSC research output by sharing pre-print copies of publications. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/19/open-access-to-ssc-research/ Also on the AMSAT-UK site: UK High Altitude Society (UKHAS) Conference London Sept 7 http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/19/ukhas-conference-sept-7/ ICSEDS 2012/13 video showcases Rocket and Balloon Achievements http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/18/icseds-201213-video/ CubeSat Demo Flight Tests Technologies http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/19/cubesat-demo-flight/ ---- 73 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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Re: TurkSat-3usat??
by M5AKA 20 Jun '13

20 Jun '13

> Have keps been made public as I can't find them. CubeSat keps including TURKSAT-3USAT are available at http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt Information on the sats is posted at • TURKSAT-3USAT https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turksat3usat-Fun-Club/484648341591111 • AMSAT-TR https://www.facebook.com/tamsat.amsattr • Twitter https://twitter.com/tamsat_tr However, it doesn't appear in this list http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=29535 and I've not heard the beacon for a while. 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Sub orbital launch from Wallops Island Virgina
by John Floyd 19 Jun '13

19 Jun '13

A Sub orbital launch from Wallops Island Virgina will carry a payload built by students from Eastern Shore Community College as a RockSat-c project. I am posting to this group in hopes that some of you mid-Atlantic hams with high gain 2 meter antennas and possibly elevation control (depending on where you are- approx 70 miles elevation at apogee) will give a listen for it. Due to antenna constraints it will have a very low eirp. It will be transmitting standard aprs packets on 144.390 Look for kn4ge-12 or kk4pgr -12 as the profile changes. Launch is scheduled for 5 am EST on June 20th. Keep abreast of any delays or follow the launch at: https://www.facebook.com/NASAWFF?fref=ts Also, you can watch the launch live from Ustream when the time comes. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops Any reception reports are invited, even partially decoded packets at Thomas.c.Riley(a)NASA.GOV Of interest to many hobbyist, it will carry the first Raspberry Pi into space and also a nooelec SDR dongle that may possibly also be a first. I apologize in advance for any flooding of aprs that it causes but promise you it is a very fast flight. The profile change above 15k is intended to minimize potential for flooding. Thank You John KN4GE

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5 Band VUCC Award
by Les Rayburn 19 Jun '13

19 Jun '13

Several amateurs have written to tell me that they are reaching out to their ARRL Division Directors and endorsing the idea of a Five Band VHF-UHF Century Club Award. My hope is that VHF Associations such as the SEVHFS, Central States, AMSAT, etc. would also endorse the proposal. Some more clarification on my suggestion to create a Five Band VHF-UHF Century Club Award: The main purpose of the award is to increase on-air activity both during contests and band openings. It would also spur activity on linear satellites, and hopefully encourage more weak signal operators to try satellite operation. There are more than a few operators who have already achieved VUCC on multiple bands, and worked a lot of grids during their careers. Some of these stations now only get on for contests, and largely ignore band openings and day to day operation. The award is an incentive for these stations to return to the air since it resets everyone's score card to zero. My other hope is that the award will help to elevate the status of the VUCC Award overall, and encourage more operators to get involved in VHF DXing. 1.) A requirement to include at least one of the lower VHF bands such as 6 Meters, 2 Meters, or 222 to prevent someone from simply going out with microwave gear and earning the award in a weekend. Personally, I would favor 2 Meters as a requirement since this is perhaps the most difficult of the VUCC Awards to achieve and would insure the most on-air activity. 2.) By making the award a Five Band award, you insure that at least one microwave band will be required to earn the award, thus increasing participation on the Microwave bands. (Technically, this could be avoided by earning one for Satellite operation and then 902, but you get the point) 3.) Satellite VUCC has been available since the award was created. It would remain one of the options for earning the award and qualify as a "band" for that purpose. Anyone who thinks Satellite work isn't weak signal doesn't operate satellites. 4.) Resetting everyone to zero has no bearing on past VUCC award credit, FEMA credit, or your bragging rights. It just helps to get people out of their chair during the NFL Championship game and back onto the air. It also simplifies the programming requirements for Logbook of the World in implementing the new award, and makes it faster for the ARRL to implement the new award. 5.) Endorsements for modes such as CW, digital, EME, etc. would certainly be a good option. If anyone could earn this award on a single mode or type of propagation my hat would really be off to you! More likely would be endorsements for other bands, so you could have a eight band VUCC, etc. To work the award would need a lot of Public Relations support from the ARRL to promote it, and build it's prestige among amateurs. Sean are you listening? (ha, ha) VUCC has always suffered an identity crisis among hams, and been viewed as the "little brother" to the DXCC. The Fred Fish Memorial Award seems to have avoided that problem, and is coveted by operators. Have you checked the total number of VUCC Awarded once you exclude 6 Meters? It's amazingly small on some bands---proof positive that even VHF Operators don't always consider VUCC as a goal. Changing the perception of the award will be an important job for the league and VHF associations. -- -- 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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WINAOS error message
by John Kopala 19 Jun '13

19 Jun '13

WINAOS was working earlier on one PC (V. 4.0) but giving an error message on the other (V. 12.8). Now I get error messages on both PC's with both versions: V 4.0 - Listenindex uberschreitet das Maximum (0) V 12.8 - Listenindex uberschreitet das Maximum (-1) With these errors, I can no longer print out a list of satellites for a desired time period. Any help would be appreciated. John Kopala N7JK jkopala(a)gmail.com

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TurkSat-3usat??
by Lawn, Richard 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

Anyone have any info on this supposed new bird? Have keps been made public as I can't find them. Rick W2JAZ Sent from my iPad http://RickLawn.com

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Satellites Status
by Vincenzo Mone 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

Hi to the list, It is about 4 years that i was off the bird due to rifacing roof so i had to pull down my antennas system. In this week i have mounted again the antennas system and would like to test them. I went on the amsat.org site to see the satellites status and i saw that the web is changed since my last visit and cannot find the requested page. Any body can please tell me which are the satellites that still works and perhaps also the frequencies as i saw that they have been launched mew ones? Any help will be really appreciated. 73's de Enzo IK8OZV Inviato da iPhone

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ISS O/S
by M5AKA 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

There's been mention on the web about NASA switching to using GNU/Linux on its part of the ISS. https://www.linux.com/news/featured-blogs/191-linux-training/711318-linux-f… From what's been said it would appears it's just the NASA section of the ISS that is changing, rather than the Russian, ESA and JAXA sections is that correct ? Will this have any impact on the laptop running the Slow Scan TV and any other amateur radio software ? I guess it depends on which organization owns the laptop. 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: psk-1 tnc-nb96 question
by Mike Nettles 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

>From the link you posted looks like I have to use the TNC-MB96 and PSK-1 together to use it for regular 9.6k packet but I'm sure the TNC-MB96 could work by itself. I'll look at the jumper settings..ect and see what I can findout. Sure wish there were some birds up that I could use this with. Thanks for the reply, 73 Mike kb5wbh ----- Original Message ----- From: Stefan Wagener To: Mike Nettles Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2013 7:57 AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] psk-1 tnc-nb96 question Looking at this: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200003/msg00528.html it looks like it should work. Stefan On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 10:44 PM, Mike Nettles <Mike_Nettles(a)centurytel.net> wrote: I picked this up a while back and it came with all the docs, jumper info..ect. Can these be used for 9.6k baud regular packet? I hooked up the tnc and it comes on with WA8DED Tnc Firmware V 2.6 . If it can be used for regular packet can that firmware be replaced? Thanks 73 Mike kb5wbh _______________________________________________ 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

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DM97
by ted 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

The plan for this day, if all goes well, is to work the 1630Z SO-50 pass from DM97. 73...ted....aa5ck

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Re: FOX-2 MPPT Presentation
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

Hi, Many thanks for the information - Very interesting reading and useful information. Wish you lots of "Good Luck" and success with the project. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat -UK Amsat NA

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Google Project Loon - 2400 / 5800 MHz
by M5AKA 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

The first trial High-Altitude Balloon launches have taken place from New Zealand. Google plans to sending up 300 balloons transmitting on 2400 MHz and 5800 MHz around the world at the southern fortieth parallel that would provide coverage to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina. The company hopes to eventually have thousands of balloons flying in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 km. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/17/google-project-loon-using-2400-and-5800-mhz/ ---- 73 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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Satellite Status page?
by Gordon JC Pearce 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

For a while now when I've tried to look at the satellite status page, it's thrown a database error: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/status.php "*** Database Error - sql - InitDB line 14" Any word on when this is going to be back up? -- Gordonjcp MM0YEQ

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Re: AO7 in Mode B
by Wayne Estes 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

K4FEG wrote: There have been questions as to whether or not a program like SATPC32 is calculating the solar position based on ground track or actual satellite position in orbit, I have not reached out to find out the method of calculations but based on how AO7 has reacted to even the briefest of eclipse's as predicted by SATPC32, I suspect the relationship of the satellite to the Sun is being predicted based on the actual satellite position in orbit and not based on ground track. W9AE replies: SatPC32 displays "Sat in Sun" when the satellite's footprint overlaps the sun's footprint. You can see it change to "Eclipse" when the two footprints no longer overlap. In practice, AO-7's solar panel probably quits generating enough power when only a portion of the sun's "disc" is obstructed by earth. Consequently, the satellite would quit working a bit sooner than the actual eclipse, when 100% of the sun is shaded by earth. This year I plan to make Field Day satellite contacts for the first time in several years. In western Oregon I can operate the un-crowded satellite passes where most of the footprint is over the Gulf of Alaska. Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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For sale-moving
by James Sanford 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

Satellite antenna farm for sale: M2:2mX22el, 70cmX42el, 8' fiberglass boom; 1.2Ghz helix 16t; UEK3000 2.4Ghz to 2m downconverter; G5500 rotor w/W0LMD interface for SatPC32; Icom AG-25 es AG-35 preamps. All of the above with manuals for $900.00 Prefer pickup (45mi NW of Detroit) but will meet up to 150mi Jim K8ZZU EN82gr

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FOX-2 MPPT Presentation
by M5AKA 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

Looks like they'll be a presentation on the Fox-2 Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) project at the PART of Westford meeting taking place 7:30pm on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at the Westford Police station MA. http://www.wb1gof.org/index.html https://www.facebook.com/WB1GOF 73 Trevor M5AKA

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iridium comms in space
by Howie DeFelice 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

While there may be good reason not to have a 2G/3G/4G phone transmitting from orbit, I'm not so sure the same problems would apply to an Iridium transceiver. Iridium is a global system with dedicated worldwide spectrum. There are no terrestrial "cell sites" to interfere with. The Iridium system utilizes satellite to satellite relay to handle handoffs, as long as the process happens quickly enough this should not be a big problem. Even though the Iridium transceiver on the spacecraft was referred to as a "phone", it will more likely be a data modem using one of the burst data capabilities of the system. This would make more sense from a power and size perspective and an entire message could probably be sent during visibility of a single sat, negating handoff issues. Of course, this only deals with the technical issues. There are probably regulatory ones as well. Iridium transceivers have been used on aircraft for many years now, extending the application to LEO should not be that much of a regulatory stretch. Howie AB2S

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Fitri Rahmawati
by Fitri Rahmawati 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

wer http://note-cs.net/zcb/xbiuyvljguc/tpjadgtcldtd/dpo.php Fitri Rahmawati

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AO7-b MODE??
by k4feg 17 Jun '13

17 Jun '13

Hello everyone, I know it is fathers day, but I have a question for the BB'S, Can we check to see if AO7 is in Mode A today? I have reports from Europe that it was not heard in Mode B but my compatriot in Europe does not have mode A capabilities. I have been doing yard work this morning in advance of rain so I missed the morning passes over the USA, I will be on later to see if we have had a switch. While during this Eclipse Cycle, AO7 has been coming up in Mode B since May 21, 2013, I have been advised that it is a purely random chance that it will come up in one mode or the other. There are periods of full eclipse lasting 9 or more minutes over Antarctica and maybe this was a random switch to Mode A. I will be monitoring the 1852UTC pass over EM55aj84ta to see what I copy, it is a 2 degree pass for me so it is not my best pass, any reports would be appreciated. 73 All FRM K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGHQ: EM55aj84ta

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ANS-167 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-167 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: * HAM Video for the ISS Announced by ARISS * AMSAT Videos from Dayton Hamvention * AMSAT Area Coordinator Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, now SK * RECENT AMSAT AWARDS * Fox-2 MPPT Team Selected In TI Design Contest * AMSAT Field Day 2013 - One More Time * Wilse Morgan WX7P (ex-KL7CQ) SK * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-167.01 ANS-167 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 167.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. DATE June 16, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-167.01 HAM Video for the ISS Announced by ARISS ARISS-Europe Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF has drafted an overview of a new "Ham Video" DATV downlink system on S-Band being developed for placement on the International Space Station later this year. The equipment is being developed by Kayser Italia under contract with the European Space Agency using a Canon XF-305 camera provided by NASA. The equipment is currently slated for deployment to the ISS on Japan Space Agency's HTV-4 in August 2013. HTV is Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle for resupplying the International Space Station. Gaston's paper provides an overview of both the equipment that is being placed on the ISS as well as discusses ground station requirements. The ESA contract calls for Kayser Italia to provide five ground stations for placement in Europe that will be "chained" to provide overlapping video reception coverage, with the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) serving as a central server site for receiving video from these ground stations and making it freely available to others via the internet. It is hoped that amateurs will support other ground station "chains" in other countries as multiple stations are needed to provide up to 15 minutes of video in support of school contacts. Gaston's paper with block diagram and photographs of key components will be available soon on the AMSAT website (www.amsat.org). [ANS thanks ANS thanks Gaston Bartels, ON4WF for this information for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Videos from Dayton Hamvention A series of videos taken during the AMSAT Forum during The Dayton Hamvention have been released. + AMSAT ARISS Program Status, by Frank KA3HDO - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hju20svHK5k + AMSAT Education and You, by Mark N8MH - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzCRiNaTXw&feature=youtu.be + AMSAT Status Report, by Barry WD4ASW - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGj5_wjomzI&feature=youtu.be + FUNcube Satellites, by Howard G6LVB - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NSD39MNKe0&feature=youtu.be + Fox Classroom Experiments, by Spence WA8SME - 2013 Dayton Hamvent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl8HCBEGv4Q + Fox-1 Status Update, by Tony AA2TX - 2013 Dayton Hamvention http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gub5182mowg You can view these videos, collectively, and lots of other AMSAT video content by going to: www.amsat.org and click on "AMSAT YOUTUBE CHANNEL" or by going to www.youtube.com/AMSATNA [ANS thanks AMSAT Steve N9IPand Andrew KO4MA,for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Area Coordinator Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, now SK Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, age 59, passed away suddenly Monday night, 10 June. He had successfully battled a blood disorder for several years, but was stricken Monday morning. Kevin was an AMSAT Area Coordinator for many years and co-chaired the team that hosted the 2007 AMSAT Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to that, he was a key player in executing an ARISS contact from Upper St. Clair (PA) High School. An enthusiastic member of the Wireless Association of the South Hills (WASH) local club, Kevin was always upbeat and positive, and looked forward to the satellite contacts at Field Day, even after the loss of AO-13 and AO-40, and to VHF/UHF operating. He worked hard at the easy contacts, developing ingenious lightweight hand-held antennas and means of controlling two radios to make it all work for the one satellite contact. He moved on to the microwaves, building a 10 GHz kit when he could have bought the completed DownEast Microwave transverter, and was working on one of the W1GHZ transverters for 2.4 GHz. A few weekends ago, several WASH members did some work on his VHF/UHF antennas, and Kevin was looking forward to the VHF contest this past weekend. `He is known to have made at least one 2-meter QSO. Kevin is survived by his wife Peg, married son, Michael, and married daughter, Jen. His obituary may be found at, http://obituaries.triblive.com/listing/226203/Kevin-Smith/ In lieu of flowers, Kevin's family suggests memorial donations be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the MDS Foundation, or to Be the Match. [ANS thanks Jim Sanford, WB4GCS for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RECENT AMSAT AWARDS Here is our latest induction into some of the AMSAT awards community. There is a pretty good batch since the last report in April. The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO. Jim Whitfield, K5JAW The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award. Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #555 The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award. Joseph Fouquet, N5JF, #US185 The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award. George Carr, WA5KBH, #163 Zeljko Ulip, 9A2EY, #164 Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #165 The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI Award. Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #80 The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI 5000 Award. Doug Papay, KD8CAO, #30 [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-2 MPPT Team Selected In TI Design Contest AMSAT sponsored a senior design project at the Rochester Institute of Technology this academic year. The students included senior EE majors: Bryce Salmi KB1LQC Brent Salmi KB1LQD Ian MacKenzie KB3OCF and Dan Corriero. The project was to develop an MPPT circuit that could be used on a future Fox-2 (3U) CubeSat. The students completed a working prototype which was on display in our engineering booth at Dayton last month. With my agreement and encouragement, the students entered this project into Texas Instruments' 2013 Analog Design Contest for university students. See: http://tinyurl.com/mf6nzhr I am happy to pass along the great news that the AMSAT MPPT project was selected as one of the top 10 semi-finalists and the students were invited on an all-expenses paid trip to TI's contest summit to be held July 21-23 in Dallas where the final winners will be announced. Congratulations to the Fox-2 MPPT team! [ANS thanks Tony AA2TX for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Dayton Volunteers Thanked / Asked for Feedback First and most important, I want to thank each of you for your assistance at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. I'm thrilled with our presence at Dayton this year. In my opinion, it went well because of the efforts of the 40+ volunteers who assisted in so many different ways. You made a difference. As I'm wrapping up my Dayton notes, I'm looking for suggestions. How can AMSAT make our presence next year at Dayton more effective? Was there anything we did that made things more difficult for the hams who stopped at the booth? What can we do to attract more potential members and communicate the excitement we feel about building, launching, and operating satellites? Thanks again for all of your help. It was truly a privilege working with you! 73,Steve N9IP Contact Dave with your feedback - seb at wintek dot com [ANS thanks Steve N9IP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Field Day 2013 - One More Time Every year AMSAT promotes a satellite version of Field Day during the ARRL annual operating event which is held on the 4^th weekend in June. This year Field Day will take place from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 22, 2013 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 23, 2013. SaudiSat-Oscar-50 will be the only operational FM transponder satellite this year. If you are considering only FM voice operating for your AMSAT Field Day focus the single uplink/downlink channel will be extremely challenging. As in prior years, this intense congestion on FM LEO satellites drives the limitation in the rules allowing their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). If you have worked the satellites on Field Day in recent years, you may have noticed a lot of good contacts can be made on the linear transponder satellites including VO-52, FO-29, and AO-7. During Field Day the transponders come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The transponders on these satellites will support multiple simultaneous SSB or CW contacts. The AMSAT Field Day 2013 event is open to all Amateur Radio operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of all amateur satellites, both analog and digital. For the complete listing of the AMSAT Field Day Rules please refer to the documents posted on-line at: http://www.amsatnet.com/2013fd.docx http://www.amsatnet.com/2013fd.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wilse Morgan WX7P (ex-KL7CQ) SK Wilse Morgan, WX7P (formerly KL7CQ) passed away June 13 in Rice, Washington. He is survived by his wife, Gimmie AL7LB. An ARRL Life Member, Wilse was an Assistant Section Manager for Eastern Washington and was very active on satellites, PSK31, DXing and contesting. In 2009 he was inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. During his 20 year tenure in Alaska as KL7CQ, he taught courses in Amateur Radio at the University of Alaska and at Anchorage Community College, graduating more than 800 licensed hams. As a Volunteer Examiner, Wilse was involved in the very first VEC exam in the nation and was the first VE certified by the local FCC office in Anchorage. For more information http://www.arrl.org/news/view/wilse-morgan-wx7p-ex-kl7cq-sk http://www.sdxa.org/ http://www.sdxa.org/?p=3321 [ANS thanks AMSAT The ARRL and Patrick, WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Succesful Contacts + A Succesful contact was completed with Belarus State Universtity, Minsk, Republic of Belarus. Contact began 2013-06-04 21:00 and lasted about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Contact was direct. + A succssful contact was completed with participants at Astronomy Camp, Tucson, AZ and Christopher J. Cassidy, KF5KDR, on 08 June. The event began at 19:55 UTC. The duration of the contact was approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact was telebridged between NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact was audible over portions of Australia and adjacent areas. The contact was conducted in English. Astronomy Camp is a week-long residential program held at Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Catalina Observatories near Tucson, Arizona. Several thousand teenagers from 49 states and 20 countries have attended the program since 1988, participating in an informal education program involving hands-on activities in astronomy and related subjects. The camp also operates workshops for adult leaders in Girl Scouts, USA. The ARISS contact dovetails well with the camp's projects involving radio astronomy. The students engage in experiments with electromagnetic energy, construct crystal radios, and tour the radio telescope facilities at Kitt Peak, including climbing into the antenna structure. Upcoming Contacts Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei, Catania, Italy, telebridge via VK4KHZ Contact is a go for: Sat 2013-06-22 14:57:26 UTC 41 deg ARISS is requesting listener reports for the above contacts. Due to issues with the Kenwood radio that are not fully understood at present, the Ericsson radio is going to be used for these contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Current occupants of the ISS include Exp. 35/36 on orbit Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS Aleksandr Misurkin Christopher J. Cassidy KF5KDR Exp. 36/37 on orbit Fyodor Yurchikhin RN3FI Karen L. Nyberg Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 823. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 806. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 44. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave AA4KN, and Charlie AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + APRS Messenger Android app now released http://tinyurl.com/l2tes3v + World QRP Day Monday 17 June Monday 17 June, is World QRP Day. Switch off the amplifier, turn down the power on your rig and try QRP power. How many kilometres per watt can you achieve. You will be amazed at what you can achieve with QRP. Best is, aim an antenna skyward and connect via a satellite using 5 watts or less. + According to Frank, K4FEG, Look for AO-7 to be in Mode "B" the entire duration of Field Day. --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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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AO7 in Mode B
by K4FEG 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

Thanks everyone!! Thanks everyone for the reports on AO7 and it being in Mode B. I think it should be in Mode B for a few more weeks so Field Day should have it in Mode B the entire duration of Field Day. We are in the middle of the Eclipse Cycle, by all standard means of calculating, we (the Earth), are near the furthest distance from the Sun and the Southern Hemisphere is quickly approaching their "Winter" Equinox (shortest daylight period of the year), so this would be the time when AO7 would have the least amount of exposure to the Sun during passes over Antarctica. I know there are programs that will tell you when a satellite is "in the Sun" or not and SATPC32 seems to do a better than average job of predicting when an eclipse period is occurring. There have been questions as to whether or not a program like SATPC32 is calculating the solar position based on ground track or actual satellite position in orbit, I have not reached out to find out the method of calculations but based on how AO7 has reacted to even the briefest of eclipse's as predicted by SATPC32, I suspect the relationship of the satellite to the Sun is being predicted based on the actual satellite position in orbit and not based on ground track. When AO7 first started its "Zero Voltage Reset" and ceased switching modes back on May 21st, the eclipse period that triggered the reset was only estimated to be about 15 to 20 seconds. Reports that I have received from an operator in New Zealand, who has access to the satellite at times when it is heading into eclipse and coming out of eclipse, has stated that the satellite merely "fades" out and then "fades" back in when it comes out of the eclipse. Based on research about the construction of AO7, it has a better than needed solar array, from that era in which it was designed and built, and appears to suffer no ill effects from the "fading voltage" as the satellite loses the sunlight. If the Eclipse Cycle holds true to the predictions and continues to react as we have see it do so for the last almost 4 weeks, it should continue to do what I am calling "Zero Voltage Reset" until it is in continuous Sun over Antarctica, which will not occur for several more weeks. This is one of the reasons I have been studying the reactions of AO7 during this period, the way the satellite was designed gave an outline of how it should react coming out of eclipse, with no on-board battery system, but to my knowledge there has not been a case study, trying to accurately track how the satellite will react. I am just trying to collect data that will help in trying to predict how the satellite may react when the next Eclipse Cycle occurs. Perhaps during future eclipse events we can have a much more scientific study of the "Grand Old Lady" of satellites, AO7. If nothing else I think we can learn much from the how this satellite was built and has been "reborn" to help serve the satellite community! My hat is off to the design team for building one tough bird! Job Well Done! Thank you everyone who sends me email updates about their observations. I hope I am not boring people with my current obsession of AO7, but I like the old bird! 73 ALL FRM, K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGHQ: EM55aj84ta

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Yaesu 5500 Connectors
by Gary "Joe" Mayfield 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

If I remember correctly someone had found a source for the Yaesu 5500 rotor connectors from a regular supplier (Digi Key, Mouser or the like). Does someone have that info handy, as I find myself in need of a few (in a hurry). Thanks and 73, Joe kk0sd

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Bdale and Karen Garbee
by Robert McGwier 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

They've rented an apartment. You can follow the next adventure here: http://gag.com

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SatPC32 Radio frequency control
by alriccio1 16 Jun '13

16 Jun '13

I am having a problem getting SatPC32 satellite frequency control to work. I have a IC-9100 radio and an Apple Pro laptop connected via a USB cable. Com ports 1 & 2 and SiliconLabs CP210x USB to UART bridge are listed in my PC ports list. Inputing these ports into the SatPC32 program does not do anything. The frequency display on the IC-9100 does not change even after a reboot . Can someone take me through the proper steps?

2 1

Re: Wilse WX7P SK
by dnkucij＠myfairpoint.net 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

I had the pleasure of working Wilse, WX7P on AO-27, in the summer of 2009, while I was portable on top of Cadillac Mtn. in Acadia National Park. Maine was the last state he needed for WAS/Satellites. I still remember him excitedly calling me with "Hey, are you in Maine?" Nick, KB1RVT

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FW: ryan woods
by ryan woods 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

http://elierramirez.com/nwxddjo/fotrac/tcaqdtrpjmmrn/rjsvwi.html ryan woods zsgg/div>

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Three CubeSats from Santa Clara University
by M5AKA 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

Three CubeSats from Santa Clara University plan to launch this year on three different launch vehicles. One of them Lambdasat is apparently planning to use the Iridium sat phone system which struck me as odd given that TechEdSat had to have it's Satphone facility disabled due to regulatory issues. Anyone know how they got around these issues ? Details of the three CubeSats are on the IARU pages http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/ Select Sats which have formally requested Frequency Coordination then scroll to the bottom of the page. 73 Trevor M5AKA

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KB0G, Bdale Garbee home destroyed
by Robert McGwier 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

I know you will join me in sadness when you learn that Bdale and Karen lost their home in the big Colorado fire. They are fine otherwise and staying with friends, taken in by some Good Samaritan folks in their area. -- Bob McGwier Owner and Technical Director, Allied Communication, LLC Professor Virginia Tech Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY Faculty Advisor Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn. (K4KDJ)

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Re: Wilse WX7P SK
by Rick Tejera 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

Like many DN08, is in my log from Wilse. Worked him only once, from my parking lot at work no HO-68. Got a great looking QSL card from him. I'll now have to move it to the section in my book for SK's. My deepest sympathies to his family & friends. Rick Tejera (K7TEJ) Sagauro Astronomy Club www.saguaroastro.org Thunderbird Amatuer Radio Club www.w7tbc.org 30 Meter Digital Group # 5794 Feld Hell Club #3994 OMISS #8629 -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) Sent: Friday, 14 June, 2013 16:23 To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Wilse WX7P SK Hi! I saw this on the ARRL web site this afternoon: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/wilse-morgan-wx7p-ex-kl7cq-sk I worked Wilse many times between 2006 and 2011 on the satellites (my last QSO with him was logged in late April 2011), and he was the only station I ever worked from his home grid DN08. I saw him at Dayton a couple of times in that period working at the AMSAT booth. The Spokane DX Association has an article about his passing on its home page: http://www.sdxa.org/ and a separate page specifically about him: http://www.sdxa.org/?p=3321 73..... Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ _______________________________________________ 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

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Wilse WX7P
by k4feg 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

If you had DN08 crossed off of your Satellite Grid list, there was a better than good probability that you had worked Wilse, I had last worked him back on September 20, 2012. Our condolences to his family from /The Grid Guerrillas/ and the /STAR-COM BB./ /*"...no grid left behind..."*/ Thanks Wilse for the memories and QSO's. Frank; K4FEG STARCOM DIV GGHQ: EM55aj84ta

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Wilse WX7P
by Allen F. Mattis 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

I too have fond memories of Wilse WX7P. I first worked him on December 3, 2005. He was very active on the FM birds from 2005 through 2008. My last contact with Wilse was on September 20, 2012. 73, Wilse, my friend and thank you for the many contacts. Allen N5AFV

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Wilse WX7P SK
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 15 Jun '13

15 Jun '13

Hi! I saw this on the ARRL web site this afternoon: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/wilse-morgan-wx7p-ex-kl7cq-sk I worked Wilse many times between 2006 and 2011 on the satellites (my last QSO with him was logged in late April 2011), and he was the only station I ever worked from his home grid DN08. I saw him at Dayton a couple of times in that period working at the AMSAT booth. The Spokane DX Association has an article about his passing on its home page: http://www.sdxa.org/ and a separate page specifically about him: http://www.sdxa.org/?p=3321 73..... Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

5 4

Quest-1 SSTV CubeSat + Nanoracks
by M5AKA 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

Quest-1 plans to have a 2m Digitalker and SSTV downlink. It's currently slated to launch to the ISS on the SpaceX CRS3 in November with deployment in December. The IARU satellite status pages say that Quest-1 will be part of a Nanoracks deployment from the ISS with Lithuanica-1 1U CubeSat, ArduSat-2 2U CubeSat, GOMSPACE-1 2U CubeSat, SkyCube [915 MHz] 1U CubeSat, TaiwanSat 2U CubeSat, GOMEX-2 2U CubeSat, Cosmogia TWENTY SIX other 3U CubeSats. It's the 26 other 3U CubeSats that intrigue me. Does anyone know if they are to be deployed in the sense of put into a free orbit or if it's just intended to mount them on the outside of the ISS to expose them to a space environment ? There's an article on Nanoracks in Space Quarterly at http://nanoracks.com/wp-content/uploads/Space-Quarterly-NanoRacks.pdf 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: Ft-847 & icom preamp
by Richard Lawn 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

I guess the real question I should have posed since the 847 manual isn't clear, is DC voltage dropped from running down the coax when PTT is activated. Someone has told me it s dropped but wanted to se if others old verify this as I fried this icom preamp before with another radio when using constant voltage from a T bias when in receive and transmit., Rick W2JAZ

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Re: SatPC32 using flip mode at AOS
by Greene, Stephan A 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

Yesterday I wrote: It just occurred to me that I can use direct serial port commands to the ST2 to test that the azimuth rotor moves CCW from, say, 175 deg to 185 deg, and does not try to go CW through the rotor stops. Repeating with SatPC32 interface should verify I have the azimuth stops set correctly without having to wait for a suitable satellite pass. I am hoping this may have something to do with flip mode being triggered. Or it may just give me something to try between satellite passes until I figure it out! I think I figured it out.....and SatPC32 is behaving correctly. SatPC32 will use flip mode at AOS when the azimuth range of a pass goes through the rotor's South stop (in my case). There were several passes last night that ranged from around 165-175 degrees azimuth at AOS to 270-350 degrees at LOS. Flip mode lets SatPC32 use an azimuth range of 345-170 degrees (think of it as 345-530) to avoid the rotor South stop limit. Restarting SatPC32 once the satellite was at an azimuth above 180 degrees seemed to confirm this behavior (I need to test again to be sure). 73, Steve KS1G at a.m.s.a.t dot org

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Re: tnc-2 kiss off
by Mineo Wakita 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

Upload the binary file "C0 FF C0" into TNC of state of KISS_mode. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/kiss_off.htm JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Mystery Spacecraft
by Roland Zurmely 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

About GSO and GEO, please see here: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satdif.htm 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ

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Re: Mystery Spacecraft Identified.
by Joe 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

Thanks Steve. Yes this was a learning thing for me. I knew all about the Geosynchronous I thought. But i guess my thinking was actually Geostationary. Even after 30+ years playing with these birds I never thought of a Geo sync that moved he he he. Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 6/13/2013 8:26 PM, Stephen Melachrinos wrote: > Joe - > > You used two different terms here, and there's a distinction that > helps with the explanation. > > A "geosynchronous" satellite is one whose orbital period is one > sidereal day. This makes its orbit track (on the earth's surface) > repeat day after day. A "geostationary" satellite is a special case of > geosynchronous that is truly stationary with respect to the earth. > This means that not only is its orbital period one sidereal day, but > its inclination and eccentricity are zero. (This requires regular > orbit adjustments, typically referred to as north-south stationkeeping > and east-west stationkeeping.) From your description ("a good amount > of vertical drift"), Terrestar is geosynchronous but not geostationary. > > Unfortunately it's not always obvious which is meant when we describe > a satellite with the shorthand term "Geo." Furthermore, some > satellites start out as geostationary and end up becoming simply > geosynchronous when the owner decides to (or has to) skip the > stationkeeping maneuvers (e.g., to save fuel). > > Steve > W3HF > On 06/13/13, Joe<nss(a)mwt.net> wrote: > <snip> It's a Geosynchronous communications > satellite. > > <snip>And thats where we also got messed up, the Geo bird is more or less > Stationary in the sky. It has a pretty good amount of vertical drift > tho. it's orbital period makes it Geo Stationary. but it has a pretty > high inclination so it drifts up and down in declination some.

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tnc-2 kiss off
by Nick Pugh 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

I have my tnc-2 in kiss mode and want to return it to ax.25. How do I do this from hyper terminal?? Thanks nick ARS K5QXJ EM30xa 30.1N 92.1W Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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SatPC32 using flip mode at AOS
by Greene, Stephan A 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

I am having a problem getting computer-controlled antenna tracking working in time for Field Day next weekend! System is G5400B az/el rotors, ST-2 trackbox, and SatPC32. Software is communicating with ST2 and rotors. The ST-2 appears to be properly configured, including the 180 deg elevation rotor range and the location of the azimuth stops at 180 deg (South). Manual control of the rotors is normal using the G5400 controller, ST-2 panel buttons, serial port commands to ST-2, and using the SatPC32 manual interfaces. SatPC32 sometimes goes into "flip mode" (use max elevation rotor range of 180 deg to avoid loss of tracking from a 180 deg azimuth swing mid-pass for high elevation passes) immediately at AOS. According to the manual, SatPC32 will not begin tracking a pass in flip mode. I've seen several times now SatPC32 enter flip mode immediately at AOS for low and mid-elevation passes where flip is not needed for the 2nd half of the pass. Toggling automated rotor control (R+/-) off and on during the early part of the pass doesn't alter the behavior. I assume I have an incorrect value in the SatPC32 rotor setup (yes, I've closed and restarted the program). Guess - how does the rotor setup use the "N" or "S" field to locate the azimuth rotor stops (my rotor has the stops at 180 deg/South) and does this come into play for flip mode? This doesn't explain why a flip would be commanded at AOS. I could prevent flip mode by setting the max rotor elevation to 90 deg, but I'd like to have flip mode capability when I need it. Suggestions? Can someone email me (no need to clutter the list) working settings for either ST-2 or LVB Tracker (I think they are electronically the same)? I've tried searching the amsat-bb list archive (to the extent it is searchable - if someone has a way to use, say, Google and the "site:" command or similar to do this, let me know) and searched the SatPC32 site and files and haven't found a clear answer. It just occurred to me that I can use direct serial port commands to the ST2 to test that the azimuth rotor moves CCW from, say, 175 deg to 185 deg, and does not try to go CW through the rotor stops. Repeating with SatPC32 interface should verify I have the azimuth stops set correctly without having to wait for a suitable satellite pass. I am hoping this may have something to do with flip mode being triggered. Or it may just give me something to try between satellite passes until I figure it! Thanks & 73 Steve KS1G ks1g(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]>

1 0

Ft-847 & icom preamp
by Lawn, Richard 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

I just got my icom preamp back from repair. I somehow fried it using my ts2000. I now plan to use it with my ft-847 which can send 12 vdc down the coax to power a remote preamp. Can I assume this will work fine with the icom preamp? I really don't want to fry it again and wish I had a different brand. Rick W2JAZ Sent from my iPad http://RickLawn.com

2 1

AMSAT Awards
by Bruce 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

Here is our latest induction into some of the AMSAT awards community. There is a pretty good batch since my last report in April. The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO. Jim Whitfield, K5JAW The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award. Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #555 The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award. Joseph Fouquet, N5JF, #US185 The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award. George Carr, WA5KBH, #163 Zeljko Ulip, 9A2EY, #164 Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #165 The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI Award. Alessio Vacondio, IK4IDY, #80 The following have earned the AMSAT W4AMI 5000 Award. John Papay, KD8CAO, #30 Until the amsat.org website is fully restored, you can see all the awards at my website. To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com/awards.html 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 streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes

3 2

AMSAT Awards oops
by Bruce 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

The award is for Doug Papay, KD8CAO. AMSAT W4AMI 5000 Award #30 -- 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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Mystery Spacecraft Identified.
by Joe 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

This was a very interesting journey. To Summarize, A buddy of mine is a very active Amateur Astronomer. His telescopes and other equipment would equal to one of the best Amateur Radio stations in the country. Anyway while he was observing Saturn the other evening, he saw a object pass nearby very slowly. Far too slowly compared to most Satellites we have ever seen, and Far too fast to be an asteroid too. So it was an interesting Mystery. He made a posting on a local club message system about it, and that's when I came here to this list looking for help to identify it. Someone, (Sorry do not remember who) suggested I go to the seesat-l(a)satobs.org E-Mail list and ask. Very interesting group. Of course there was at first no answer to it, but no fault to them, but a fault of the original date of the observation, a typo had it on Jun 1 instead of when it really happened Jun11. After the correct date was posted it was no time when an identification was made. It was TERRESTAR-1. It's a Geosynchronous communications satellite. Thats what somewhat fooled us, an Illusion. His scope of course has drives to make it follow the objects in the sky. So In his scope Saturn appears motionless. And thats where we also got messed up, the Geo bird is more or less Stationary in the sky. It has a pretty good amount of vertical drift tho. it's orbital period makes it Geo Stationary. but it has a pretty high inclination so it drifts up and down in declination some. But thats even slower motion. What we saw as the object moving slowly, was not that but Saturn moving past the Bird! DUH? Anyway Now for the other reason for this E Mail today... In this Mystery chase I learned a lot. And that seesat group helped out a lot and sent me to a cool program that displays the birds, all of them. Now this totally amazed me. And it makes me wonder even more, why we can not get a ride to space. Everyone is familiar seeing a image that shows an average daily air traffic congestion say above the USA like this. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/212/481648154_61472fbe50_o.jpg But what amazed me is when using that Satellite viewing program is how many Birds are actually up there! look at this hemisphere shot! http://i44.tinypic.com/120o7kg.jpg It's CRAZY!! Then a more detailed view looking south right now13:30 zulu, http://i39.tinypic.com/2m6ubrs.jpg It's NUTS! Now what I can't understand is why, out of literally THOUSANDS of launches why we can't get a ride. I can understand in like the 60's when launches were not very often. But even then we were getting rides every couple years. Now with litterally Thousands of birds getting launched by the looks of stuff in this program, why in what decades? we havent been able to get a ride to a HEO type of orit? or even a LEO transponder type of bird. Like WOW! Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

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Possible Mystery Spacecraft?
by Joe 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

Howdy All, I have no ideas as to where to possibly look for an answer to this. But of course we have all seen satellites, crosing the night sky. and seen them in binoculars. and even ever more rarely while using a telescope viewing something in the sky happen to have one of these things go zipping past. But a buddy of mine was viewing Saturn the other night, and he spied something moving. very small and faint. It was almost like a moon of Saturn itself, but of course these do not move so fast you can see them move. This was moving in the same plane and directions of the moons. at a estimated speed of about 0.02 degrees a minute. It was passing right through the field with Saturn. Saturn was located at. celestial location 14H, 17m, 50s -11 deg 00 min,,20 sec az 196 deg 16 min el 34 deg 04min Viewing location near Dodgeville, WI. +42.96103 W 90.12580 anyone have a way to try to learn what this interloper may have been? Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com

7 9

ISS Packet via UISS and "Dire Wolf"
by Les Rayburn 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

JoAnne, I'm sure we've all heard the phrase, "You're the Man!"---well clearly that does not apply in your case, but for your extraordinary help in my ventures to make contacts through the ISS, you're the woman! Coming over from the weak signal side of the world above 50 MHz, it's great to meet so many nice VHF Men (and VHF Women) so willing to share their expertise with a newcomer. Everyone on this list, and on the air has been wonderful. I'll give all this a try tomorrow if I can ever get home from work at a decent hour. -- -- 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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Non-amateur frequency Cubesats
by Thomas F Davis 13 Jun '13

13 Jun '13

Hello, Do anyone know of any satellite ground stations that have downloaded scientific data from Cubesats on non-amateur frequencies? If so please reply to me off-reflector at w1tfd(a)snet.net - thanks! Tom Davis W1TFD http://discoverymuseum.org/ed/programs/nasa.html http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2013/feb/HQ_13-064_CubeSat_4.html

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AMSAT-UK OSCAR News magazine available for download
by M5AKA 12 Jun '13

12 Jun '13

The Summer issue of OSCAR News is now available for download by AMSAT-UK members. It contains a very informative article - D-STAR digital amateur communications in space with OUFTI-1 CubeSat. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/12/summer-issue-of-oscar-news/ 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: IC-910H Vs. FunCube Dongle Pro
by Burns Fisher 12 Jun '13

12 Jun '13

Hi Les, I have an FCD (not Pro) that I use pretty often for satellites and a TS2000 for the main rig Given that the T and R bands are always different, and given that the TS2000 has separate inputs for U and V bands, I use a coax switch on each antenna (type N for UHF). One output of each coax switch goes to the matching antenna of the TS2000. The other goes to a U/V diplexer (again with N-type connectors). Then this goes into the FCD. Of course there is some loss, but I have RF-switched preamps out on the antennas so that is less critical. 73, Burns W2BFJ Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:26:39 -0500 > From: Les Rayburn <les(a)highnoonfilm.com> > To: AMSAT Mailing List <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Subject: [amsat-bb] IC-910H Vs. FunCube Dongle Pro > Message-ID: <51B8851F.3060000(a)highnoonfilm.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > I just received my FunCube Dongle Pro in the mails, and am interested in > incorporating it into my station for both weak-signal VHF/UHF reception > and satellite work. I'd be > interested in hearing from others who have already used this nifty device. > > My questions are as follows: > > 1.) What would be the best method for T/R switching with the device and > the IC-910H that I'd be using for transmission? Loss with switches and > connectors needs to be avoided, but I really don't > want to run separate feedlines, etc. > > 2.) How does the performance of the Dongle Pro compare to that of the > IC-910H receiver, especially for satellite work? > > 3.) Any other caveats that I'm not considering? > > I currently use a Flexradio 1500 as my primary IF rig for transverters > on 222, 902, and 1296, so I'm familiar with SDR technology. Have also > owned an SDR-IQ for several years now. But this will be my > first attempt with using an SDR for direct reception of signals above 30 > MHz. > > > -- > -- > 73, > > Les Rayburn, N1LF > 121 Mayfair Park > Maylene, AL 35114 > EM63nf >

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Re: Improving performance of packet communications through the ISS
by JoAnne Maenpaa 12 Jun '13

12 Jun '13

Hi Les, Here is a quick follow up to your earlier question: > ... SignaLink interface, through Packet Engine Pro and UISS ... > ... provide other suggestions on how to improve my ability to > communicate through the ISS? Replies from others to your question offered alternatives to using AGWPE and UISS for software packet application on the ISS digipeater. These included substituting either 'Dire Wolf' or the UZ7HO AX.25 modem in place of AGWPE. Yesterday I had a chance to try substituting 'Dire Wolf' for AGWPE. Here is a quick summary of my set up and results. 1. Download Dire Wolf from http://home.comcast.net/~wb2osz/site/ 2. The setup guide and user guide are easy to follow. 3. The out-of-the-box application for Dire Wolf is for APRS. I tuned to 144.390 for a quick test and immediately received raw and decoded APRS data just like the user guide says. 4. Next I tested with UISS. a. Start Dire Wolf first. b. You need to change the setup of UISS between running with AGWPE or Dire Wolf. c. In UISS top menu select Setup -> UISS -> LAN d. In LAN setup click on 'Enable LAN Mode' Host 127.0.0.1 Port 8000 e. UISS may ask you to restart, go ahead and restart UISS. The Dire Wolf is only a software emulation of a hardware TNC. You still need a user interface for you to communicate via packet. That is what UISS or UI-View will do for you. There is no place to enter the PASSALL command but the error correction in Dire Wolf visibly improved performance. I saw more packets than previously with AGWPE (AGWPE just rejects the whole message if there a checksum error). One glitch for me is Dire Wolf displays an error message when I transmit from UISS. It says something about a packet header error. But it transmits my UI packet OK. I saw myself successfully digipeat several times via 145.825 ARISS packet on last evening's passes. I think the error message is related to how UISS talks with Dire Wolf. I noted seamless integration with Dire Wolf and APRS applications such as UI-View. I haven't had time to dig much further at this point. When time permits I'll try the UZ7HO software with UISS but I gotta get back to the July/August AMSAT Journal project. Links to dozens of ham radio digital mode software packages, including Dire Wolf and UZ7HO, can be found at this starting point: http://www.qsl.net/rv3apm/ -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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IC-910H Vs. FunCube Dongle Pro
by Les Rayburn 12 Jun '13

12 Jun '13

I just received my FunCube Dongle Pro in the mails, and am interested in incorporating it into my station for both weak-signal VHF/UHF reception and satellite work. I'd be interested in hearing from others who have already used this nifty device. My questions are as follows: 1.) What would be the best method for T/R switching with the device and the IC-910H that I'd be using for transmission? Loss with switches and connectors needs to be avoided, but I really don't want to run separate feedlines, etc. 2.) How does the performance of the Dongle Pro compare to that of the IC-910H receiver, especially for satellite work? 3.) Any other caveats that I'm not considering? I currently use a Flexradio 1500 as my primary IF rig for transverters on 222, 902, and 1296, so I'm familiar with SDR technology. Have also owned an SDR-IQ for several years now. But this will be my first attempt with using an SDR for direct reception of signals above 30 MHz. -- -- 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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AMSAT Journal Latest Issue?
by Les Rayburn 12 Jun '13

12 Jun '13

Since joining AMSAT about three months ago, I've only received my initial copy of the AMSAT Journal (March/April 2013). Can anyone tell me if a later issue has shipped yet, or when I could expect to receive the next one? Hungry for everything I can read on the topic. Did receive my ordered copy of the Proceedings from the 30th Annual AMSAT-NA Space Symposium, and the 2013 edition of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites". Great stuff. Thanks as always. 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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2310 and 3400 MHz Amateur Bands - UK Consultation
by M5AKA 11 Jun '13

11 Jun '13

The UK communications regulator Ofcom has initiated a public consultation on the amateur radio 2310 and 3400 MHz bands. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/11/2310-and-3400-mhz-consultation/ ---- 73 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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N5AFV VUCC Satellite Upgrade
by Allen F. Mattis 11 Jun '13

11 Jun '13

Thank you to Rick WA4NVM for telling me who to contact at ARRL to straighten out my VUCC satellite upgrade application. The ARRL staff took action quickly and I now have credit for working 761 grid squares. 73 Allen N5AFV

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Re: Pass prediction - New Option - ALL
by Elisa Albrecht 11 Jun '13

11 Jun '13

Many thamks to the AMSAT web team for restoring this very page which is very useful, in particular for educational purposes and for planning. Aldo IZ1ANT-- Aldo Marchetto CNR Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi Largo Tonolli 50 - 28922 Verbania Pallanza VB Italy tel. +39 0323 518 331

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Item of interest IC-970H with 2.4 and 1.2 GHz modules
by Joe Leikhim 11 Jun '13

11 Jun '13

I have no interest in this auction other than to bring it to attention of the group. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ICOM-IC-970H-VHF-UHF-ALL-MODE-TRANSCEIVER-/18115211… -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Timing on VUCC Upgrade Processing
by Allen F. Mattis 11 Jun '13

11 Jun '13

On March 23, 2013 at the Greater Houston Hamfest I had my QSL cards checked to upgrade my VUCC Satellite Award from 700 grid squares to 761 grid squares. I received the processed VUCC upgrade from the ARRL today, June 10, 2013. The upgrade took 80 days to process. For some reason a QSL card from XE1AY for a contact in EL10 was not counted and the upgrade only took me up to 760 grid squares. Also, I did not find a sticker for 750 grid squares in the envelope. I paid by credit card and did not receive a statement of the costs that were charged to my credit card. I surmise that the person who processes the VUCC upgrades is probably over worked. My personal feeling is that the ARRL VUCC award is a very worthwhile award and that satellite operators should continue to participate in it. Allen N5AFV

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[amsat-bb] Video – Amateur Radio FUNcube Satellites
by M5AKA 10 Jun '13

10 Jun '13

AMSAT-UK representative Howard Long, G6LVB, in his presentation at the AMSAT Forum at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention describes recent activities at AMSAT-UK. See http://amsat-uk.org/2013/06/10/funcube-satellites-video ---- 73 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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Improving performance of packet communications through the ISS
by Les Rayburn 10 Jun '13

10 Jun '13

I've got my Icom IC-910H working with it's SignaLink interface, through Packet Engine Pro and UISS. I've been able to receive lots of stations through the ISS, and managed to have short QSOs with a couple. Fun! But I notice that this combination seems to do a poor job of decoding weak signals. I hear packets in the speaker that seem plenty strong enough to decode, but they don't show up on UISS. I'm wondering if I used a traditional TNC, such as a Kantronics unit, if I'd get better performance? Does anyone in the group have any experience along these lines? Or could someone provide other suggestions on how to improve my ability to communicate through the ISS? Thanks in advance. Having a ball on the birds. -- -- 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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LUSAT-19
by K4FEG 10 Jun '13

10 Jun '13

Since the reports of hearing a CW signal from LUSAT (LO-19), I have been trying to listen to it during daylight hours over the USA, It just came over Western USA with only a 1.2 degree elevation /*here at EM55aj84ta*/, the random Dashes were there and readable during the footprint over my QTH. The tone seems random at times and then just excessively slow at others. I have also noticed a tone shift during the transmissions, a possible indication of voltage fluctuations at the satellite. I am just venturing a guess because I have no working knowledge of the satellites design. I am not sure what if anything can be done with the 23 year old satellite, but it has a nice orbit and it would be nice if it could somehow be put back into service, even if only on a limited "Sunlight only" type of operation. If anyone wants or needs recording of the CW signal. I can save some and send them in MP3 format, let me know what information you need and I will try to help. 73 Frank E. Griffin K4FEG EM55aj84ta The current Keps on SATPC32 are tracking the satellite perfectly.

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Re^2: LO-19 Signal Stop ?
by Mineo Wakita 10 Jun '13

10 Jun '13

I was examined using the Illum Software(by DK3WN) for the period of Eclipse(Shadow) of LO-19. It was found that 15:56 UTC, 9 June 2013 was exactly the beginning of Eclipese over Japan. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30610l22.png http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30610l23.png http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30610l24.png Amsat Argentina / LU7AA wrote on 9 Jun 2013, > Hello Mineo, > > Looks like on 06/09/13 at 15:56 UTC LUSAT-1 (LO-19) over Japan, > LUSAT entered shadow, please confirm if possible. > > Also given your valuable information, LO-19 seems to be operating > only on solar panels due onboard nicad batteries after 23+ years > and 122,140 charge/discharge cycles are not keeping charge anymore. > > Much appreciate your neat and useful audio and waterfall capture. > > Best 73, > > Amsat-Argentina > lu7aa(a)yahoo.com > www.amsat.org.ar JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Pass prediction - New Option - ALL
by Robert Bruninga 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

The pass prediction page is wonderful! Great work! But it is tedious if you simply want to know what is the next satellite to demo. I's like to ask the programmers to add a second link to an ALL-SATELLITES page. This page would simply list the next 10 satellites to come in view at the subscribers location. This is what I need because I never know when someone is going to walk through the door and I need to give a quick demo. Or when I have a few minutes in the shack and just want to see if something is in view in the next 10 minutes. The page would have these entries: LAT/LONG and TIME (defaults to now). Then there are several buttons: * FM only * ALL mode * Voice * Digital * All beacons If ALL BEACONS is checked, then all satellites with telemetry in the ham bands are included in the list including all the bleepsats. If this is not checked, then the other 4 buttons are used to filter. The result is a LIST of the next 10 passes of any satellite that meets the criteria. This type of pass prediction engine is of extreme value to people that want to DEMO Amateur satellites without having to go run pass predictions on over 30 different satellites just to see what might be in view. With that many satellites there is almost always coming coming up real soon, and this is invaluable for quick demos. It is also invaluable for the ham that only gets a few minutes in his shack now and then. This page would show him what might be available for the next several minutes... Bob, WB4APR

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HamSatDroid now AmsatDroid FREE
by David A B Johnson 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

Hi, As part of the transition to a 'paid' version of the application. The original HamSatDroid has been removed from 'Google Play' and replaced with 'AmsatDroid FREE'. It has all the functionality of HSD and can now - support 4/7/10 inch displays in landscape for the current satellite position and next two orbits - take the user location as a IARU locator The requirement to access user email info has been removed (the original thought was to issue remeinders, but was never implemented) 73 Dave, G4DPZ

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Re: LUSAT-1 Heard
by Hector, CO6CBF 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

Hello to all! Very strong signal received from LUSAT-1 (LO-19) in Cienfuegos city, EL92sd. Orbit number 22137, 1843z max elevation 82 degrees. Setup: FUNcube Dongle with SDR-Radio V2.0 and ELK antenna. I recorded audio and IQ data. If anyone need the recording, please let me know and I will be happy to send it. 73! Hector, CO6CBF EL92sd -----Mensaje original----- De: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] En nombre de Jean-Pierre Godet Enviado el: domingo, 09 de junio de 2013 8:48 Para: Amsat Argentina CC: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org; amsat-francophone(a)yahoogroupes.fr; amsat-f(a)yahoogroups.com Asunto: [amsat-bb] Re: LUSAT-1 Heard Hello my friends from AMSAT-Argentina ! Your bird was heard here in the North of France, very very strong signal, the sort you received with dash and dots, strong especially according to the conditions : ground plane antenna in the attic, AM receiver and 456,9 kHz transmitter poorly hacked together to receive CW, GaAsFET preamp. Orbit nr 22133, acquisition at 1202 UTC, lost at 1215 UTC (elev. then was about 4 deg.). The max elevations was around 42 deg. I recorded audio and spectrogram, I send you both later. Best 73 ! Jean-Pierre/F5YG -- Powered by Linux (Slackware 10.0 - kernel 2.4.26) On Sat, 8 Jun 2013, Amsat Argentina wrote: > LUSAT-1 (LO-19) CW Beacon on 437.125 KHz quit transmiting on Dec-2012 after 23 years of operation, only a very weak carrier from local osc could be copied. > > Recent reports state that LUSAT was again heard, today we received a regular signal compatible with LUSAT on 437.125 +/- Doppler in two passes. > > By the strong level and QRG of the signal it corresponds to LUSAT. > > Modulation is CW without a morse logic, just some dots, regular spaces and sometime a dash, no information is decoded, not always the same sequence or message. > > Waterfall at http://amsat.org.ar/lusatsdr.jpg > Audio at http://amsat.org.ar/lusat2013.mp3 > > Any further heard or reports appreciated. > > Amsat Argentina > lu7aa(a)yahoo.com > www.amsat.org.ar > _______________________________________________ > 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-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: LO-19 Signal Stop ?
by Amsat Argentina 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

Hello Mineo, Looks like on 06/09/13 at 15:56 UTC LUSAT-1 (LO-19) over Japan, LUSAT entered shadow, please confirm if possible. Also given your valuable information, LO-19 seems to be operating only on solar panels due onboard nicad batteries after 23+ years and 122,140 charge/discharge cycles are not keeping charge anymore. Much appreciate your neat and useful audio and waterfall capture. Best 73, Amsat-Argentina lu7aa(a)yahoo.com www.amsat.org.ar

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Dayton Youth Forum
by John Spasojevich 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

If you visit http://n9xh.org/ you will see a photo of a young man and his dad. This young man you may have seen in the AMSAT Journal or QST or CQ. standing in the snow copying ARISSSat-1 some months ago. I was sent that photo by a friend and I thought it was great so I forwarded it to AMSAT and if you click on WATCH THE VIDEO in the caption of the photo you can watch the presentation he was invited to make at the Dayton Hamvention this year largely as a result of that photo. While we spend a lot of time grumbling about the good old days, lets remember that there are plenty of people coming into the hobby and getting interested in the satellites we do have. 73, John - AG9D

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LO-19 Signal Stop ?
by Mineo Wakita 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

The signal of the LO-19 was stopped suddenly at 15:56 UTC, 9 Jun 2013. Please confirm whether the signal is sent later. The following MP3 files is recording the moment before and after the signal has stopped suddenly. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30610l19.mp3 http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30610l20.png http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/30610l21.png JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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LUSAT-1 Heard
by Amsat Argentina 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

LUSAT-1 (LO-19) CW Beacon on 437.125 KHz quit transmiting on Dec-2012 after 23 years of operation, only a very weak carrier from local osc could be copied. Recent reports state that LUSAT was again heard, today we received a regular signal compatible with LUSAT on 437.125 +/- Doppler in two passes. By the strong level and QRG of the signal it corresponds to LUSAT. Modulation is CW without a morse logic, just some dots, regular spaces and sometime a dash, no information is decoded, not always the same sequence or message. Waterfall at http://amsat.org.ar/lusatsdr.jpg Audio at http://amsat.org.ar/lusat2013.mp3 Any further heard or reports appreciated. Amsat Argentina lu7aa(a)yahoo.com www.amsat.org.ar

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ANS-160
by Joe Spier 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-160 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 <http://amsat.org>. In this edition: * Fox-1 Receives IARU Frequency Coordination Letter * _Reminder_: Deadline for AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Approaching * AMSAT Field Day 2013 * AMSAT Online Satellite Pass Predictions Webpage Restored * 2013 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT Forum Presentations Now on YouTube.com * New Video on Ham Radio Satellite SO-50 on FM handheld * South Africa Radio Amateur of the Year Awards 2013 Nominations Closes June 10 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-160.01 ANS-160 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 160.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 9, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-160.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1 Receives IARU Frequency Coordination Letter On June 4 the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Board accepted the following frequencies for our AMSAT Fox-1 cubesat: + 435.180 MHz Uplink + 145.980 MHz Downlink Fox-1 will serve as a communications relay for amateurs worldwide via the onboard FM repeater system. Fox-1 is currently scheduled to launch into a 470 x 780 km at 64 degrees inclination orbit from Vandenburg during 2014 on the NASA ElanaXII mission with ARC1, BisonSat, Lightsail & R2S(NEO). The Fox-1 Engineering Team will deliver the satellite for integration with the launch vehicle during May, 2014 with the launch scheduled for November, 2014. The Fox cubesats are designed to host advanced science payloads to support future science missions that help us to continue qualify for NASA ELaNa (free) launches. President Barry Baines says, "AMSAT's focus on STEM education and development of a cubesat platform capable of flying a science mission with a reliable communications link resulted in the selection of Fox-1 in the third round and RadFxSat (Fox-1B) in the fourth round of NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative." The Fox-1 satellite will include a space radiation experiment from Vanderbilt University and a JPEG Digital Camera from Virginia Tech. The Vanderbilt Low Energy Proton experiment will detect single-event upsets in memory devices and will operate all the time. The experiment data will be downlinked with the satellite telemetry. The camera will operate when the satellite is in the high-speed digital data mode and will take one photo each minute. Watch the AMSAT Journal, the AMSAT web site (http://www.amsat.org) and the AMSAT News Service for more details to follow. [ANS thanks the Fox-1 Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- _Reminder_ Deadline for AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Approaching It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors. A nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member for the position. Four director's terms expire this year: Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Drew Glasbrenner, K04MA, and Tony Monteiro, AA2TX. In addition to traditional submission of written nominations, which remains unchanged and is the preferred method, nominations may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, FAX, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA at AMSAT.ORG <http://AMSAT.ORG> or faxed to 301-608-3410. Written nominations, consisting of names, calls and individual sig- natures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA 850 Sligo Ave #600 Silver Spring, MD, 20910 No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Field Day 2013 Every year AMSAT promotes a satellite version of Field Day during the ARRL annual operating event which is held on the 4^th weekend in June. This year Field Day will take place from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 22, 2013 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 23, 2013. SaudiSat-Oscar-50 will be the only operational FM transponder satellite this year. If you are considering only FM voice operating for your AMSAT Field Day focus the single uplink/downlink channel will be extremely challenging. As in prior years, this intense congestion on FM LEO satellites drives the limitation in the rules allowing their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). If you have worked the satellites on Field Day in recent years, you may have noticed a lot of good contacts can be made on the linear transponder satellites including VO-52, FO-29, and AO-7. During Field Day the transponders come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The transponders on these satellites will support multiple simultaneous SSB or CW contacts. The AMSAT Field Day 2013 event is open to all Amateur Radio operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of all amateur satellites, both analog and digital. For the complete listing of the AMSAT Field Day Rules please refer to the documents posted on-line at: ·http://www.amsatnet.com/2013fd.docx ·http://www.amsatnet.com/2013fd.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Online Satellite Pass Predictions Webpage Restored A favorite feature of the AMSAT website has been restored. The AMSAT Online Satellite Pass Predictions Webpage back on AMSAT's webpage. Please visit: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/index.php After a team effort by Emily, N1DID,Bryce, KB1LQC, Brent, KB1LQD, and Rick, W2GPS, the pass predictions are working again. They can also be found at the PASS PREDICTION link on www.amsat.org <http://www.amsat.org> [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT Forum Presentations now on youtube.com Two presentations from the AMSAT Forum at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention have been posted on the AMSATNA channel on YouTube. Title:AMSAT Status Report, by Barry WD4ASW - 2013 Dayton Hamvention In the first of six videos from the AMSAT Forum at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention, AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, presents an update on AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.Barry's talk covers a review of AMSAT's mission and vision, recent history, Journal, regulatory environment, 2013 Symposium plans, and where AMSAT is headed. Title:Fox-1 Status Update, by Tony AA2TX - 2013 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT VP for Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, provided an up-to-the-minute review of AMSAT-NA's next satellite, Fox-1, at the AMSAT Forum at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention.The first of a number of satellites planned for Project Fox, Tony reviews the motivation for building a CubeSat, the components that comprise Fox-1, and the capabilities and experiments included.He describes the launch assigned by NASA for Fox-1 and gives a brief look at future Project Fox satellites. You can find these videos and many others on the AMSATNA channel at: http://www.youtube.com/AMSATNA Additional presentations from the AMSAT Forum should become available next week. [ANS thanks Steve Belter, N9IP for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Video on Ham Radio Satellite SO-50 on FM handheld David Mercado KK4MND has produced a video showing how easy it is to receive the amateur radio satellite SO-50. This video demonstrates how to communicate via Amateur Ham Radio Satellite using an inexpensive $50 Baofeng UV5R Dual Band Radio and MFJ dual band antenna from Amazon. Among the stations heard are Hector Martinez CO6CBF, Dave Beumer W0DHB and James Bayne KI4SIY. Watch Ham Radio Satellite w/Baofeng UV5R MFJ on Saudisat SO-50 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2013/ham_radio_satellite_so50_on_fm_ha… SO50 frequencies Uplink - 145.850 MHz with 67 HZ CTCSS (initial 74.4 Hz CTCSS tone required if satellite has not already been activated) Downlink - 436.800 MHz SO-50 article by Howard Long G6LVB http://www.g6lvb.com/Articles/operatingSO50.htm SO-50 http://amsat-uk.org/2012/01/30/working-the-fm-sat-so-50/ [ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News' Website for this June 3, 2013 announcement for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- South Africa Radio Amateur of the Year Awards 2013 Nominations Closes June 10 Nominations are now invited for the 2013 MTN Radio Amateur of The Year Awards : GARTH MILNE TECHNICAL INNOVATION AWARD The award is made for the support, development and application of Technological Innovation in Amateur in South Africa. The recipient will be a person who has promoted the use of technology in amateur radio at club level, nationally, at schools or tertiary education institution MTN RADIO AMATEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD The award is made for the support and development of the Amateur Radio Service in South Africa, not for individual achievements such as DXCC and other operational awards or contests. The recipient will be a person who has given of his or her expertise and time to the promotion of Amateur Radio in South Africa. MTN AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD Annually the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust is recognizing a radio amateur or a group of radio amateurs for service to the community. Community service can be assistance to a handicapped radio amateur, communications support during a sporting event or a disaster situation like a road accident or a natural disaster like a flood, veld fires, or an earthquake. Nominations are invited for an individual or a group of people like a radio club, or an association. NOMINATIONS Nominations must reach the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust by not later than 10 June 2013 P O Box 90438, Garsfontein 0042. Fax: 012 991-5651 Email to: saardt(a)intekom.co.za <mailto:[email protected]> [We thank AMSAT SA's Website for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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